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Obama and Petraeus Slept, for Disparate Reasons

by Bob Pappas, USMC, Retired

There is always more to a story than is immediately evident on the surface and stories about General Patreaus' resignation abound.  It is notable that the FBI knew of Patraeus' affair for months before it became public. Evidently that juicy tidbit was leaked by an Obama Administration operative in response Patreaus' defense of the CIA vs. State Department assertion that the CIA had failed to protect the Benghazi compound; and that it was a terrorist attack, not a spontaneous, violent protest about a Muslim insulting video.

Resigned because of an affair...Humm. Pathetic few are guiltless. Didn't Americans endure a Presidential libertine who Democrats, without regard to integrity have enshrined in their hall of honor as the most popular politician in America? It is evident that there is something more about the Petraeus resignation than meets the eye.

A brief review of the situation...no not the Petraeus' affair, those are so commonplace in Washington that it's old fashioned to not have one and that without regard to Party affiliation. Likewise there is likely plenty of dirt under and around the "infidelity bush" if anyone cares to dig. So, one is well-advised to not sit in condemnation of Petraeus' dalliance.  By deductive reasoning it is evident that he was forced out because of his deviation from the Administration line to the effect that a poorly done video insulting to Muslims was the cause.  However, the Petraeus CIA concluded that it was an organized terrorist attack.

Moveon.org, that "fount of truth and integrity" bought a full page ad in the New York Times on September 9th, 2007 for $65,000.00 in which it asked, "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" The ad then proceeded to lay out a case from which then Senator Clinton at a Senate Hearing on September 12, 2007, told General Petraeus that it would require the "willing suspension of disbelief" for her to accept his narrative of progress in Iraq. At the time Clinton was a White House aspirant and considered Petraeus a potential challenger.  Now the worm has turned: immediately after Benghazi Clinton developed a case of the flu; that was followed by a concussion; then she suffered a cranial blood clot. Humm. Sounds queer, and stinks to high heaven. It requires one to exercise Clinton's own "willing suspension of disbelief" to accept her prevarication.

If Clinton was Republican there would be cheers of glee about her maladies with the View, Shultz, Maddow and other MSNBC democrat operatives and programs voicing hope that the next bell to ring for her would be at Heaven's...or Hell's gate. Unlike the political left, conservatives did not wish her ill. In fact they hope that she will fully recover from her ailments to lead a long well-deserved retirement with husband Bill. It is undeniable that Rodham-Clinton and by extension Obama utterly failed. She is not longer worthy of her former position and she has covered herself, the Stated Department and the United States with shame. She is certainly not one to be seriously considered for any future national leadership post. May Clintons live long, inseparably together forever.

But, how about Obama...where was he? We know...Obama was "Absent/asleep-in-Chief" during the attack on U.S. outpost, he went to bed notwithstanding ostensible orders to do "everything possible" to protect Benghazi. "Everything possible" according to Secretary of Defense Panetta was evidently absolutely nothing, stating to the effect that absent specific intelligence a rescue operation would have posed too great a danger to participating U.S. forces. YGBSM! Until recently no one in the media or the Administration challenged the "talking points"...except one. General Petraeus made it clear that it was a terrorist attack, not a video that caused a "spontaneous violent demonstration;" and that the CIA did not stand in the way of help. Not many days later and shortly after the election, revelations of his extramarital affair were leaked. And now you know the rest of the Petraeus resignation story.

Semper Fidelis and Peace

Copyright © May 21st, 2013 by Robert L. Pappas. With proper attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed, except it may not be used in conjunction with any advertisement without the author’s expressed written permission.

What I Mean by the Words, "I Love You"

by Colonel Bob Pappas, USMC, Retired

If ones listens to or watches the media, Christianity is to be eschewed, Christians are scorned and being "born again" is laughable...which for a Christian is expected because there is an ongoing war between the forces of God who is love, and of Satan who is evil. Succinctly put, God loves and Satan destroys. So, what is love? Thousands, if not millions of expressions and definitions of the word love flood music and written media, but few people actually know the real meaning. One thing is certain, it's not "making love" or the shorter description, "sex." God is love and because of that inherent quality He gave His only begotten son so that those who believe on Him should not perish but have eternal life. 

God's love is abundant and unfailing. One can find it referenced throughout the New Testament of the Bible and is definitively explained in the thirteenth chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. 

It is said that people "fall in love" as into a condition over which they have no control. And all too often they fall out of love with the same intensity as they fell into it leaving them empty and lonely. These are not experiencing love, instead they experience the raging emotions that accompany a compelling desire for sex. That condition is mistakenly referred to as "love." There is some honest confusion about love and it deserves clarification.

Love is when knees racked with pain, a wife of fifty years provides tender care for her bedridden, stroke victim husband. She shaves him daily, sits him up and feeds him despite his severe stroke condition. She dotes on him as she would a new born child, cleaning him and carefully turning him regularly to avoid bed sores. She does this for not ten days, or a month, but for years with joy and yes, grim determination through the agonizing pain caused by bowled legs and knee bone on bone contact.  When the end came, she did not sigh with relief, rather, she bemoaned that she had not been able to do more. She never asked for help, never criticized, but persevered in her expression of love for a man who would only occasionally utter a cogent sentence and who was otherwise incommunicado.

Love is expressed by a wife who with the passage of time remained childless, and who in an era before micro surgeries and high tech solutions in fertility medicine, without hesitation endured repeated major surgeries in an effort to correct internal damage that precluded pregnancy.  Love is despite complete exhaustion, that same wife, a loving daughter cared for her terminally ill mother for months, no whining or complaining but filled with expressions of love and devotion.

Love is when someone does something for a person or cause at great personal cost with no expectation of reward, because it is the right thing to do. Love is to give up one's own objectives to support another's aspirations.  Love is shown by the widow who gives  a mite, all she had to advance God's Kingdom.  Love is expressed by the Marine or soldier who without hesitation wraps himself around a live grenade and absorbs the blast to protect his fellow combatants. Love is expressed by Jesus' obedience to the Father who sent Him, so that when the time was ripe, he interposed Himself on a cross between evil and humankind. "Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

A mother's love may begin with sex but is brought to fruition when despite her own hunger, she passes meager food to her child whose growing body demands more than she can provide for both. Her love is expressed by instant willingness to interpose herself between danger and her family.  She expresses it through a kiss to heal a cut or scrape, by sitting near her child's bed for hours, even days when the child's body is afire with fever. She answers interminable questions and the single word follow-up, "why?" She knows how far it is to the moon, the sun and the planets; she knows the answer to every question and never loses patience with her child's insatiable desire to know more. She listens attentively and consoles when her child pours out his heart over hurt feelings or loss of his first pet. She caresses, consoles and disciplines with love that flows from a pure heart.

One young mother bore a child out of wedlock and because she did not terminate him, he later became President of the United States. Yet, tragically, that same President supports the killing of an aborted baby who might survive the abortion. Is it out of self-loathing or short circuited values? Another let raging hormones win and when she learned that she was going to have a baby, she loved that living child within her enough to carry it full term and give it up for adoption, then years later by God's grace is reunited with a young man who would make anyone proud.

Mothers, thank you for your love, never let it go. Have a well deserved and Happy Day that rightly honors you. Mother, I love you and I'll stand by you.

Semper Fidelis


Copyright © May 12th, 2013 by Robert L. Pappas. With proper attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed, except it may not be used in conjunction with any advertisement without the author’s expressed written permission.

A Gun Didn't Kill-I Did!

by Colonel Bob Pappas, USMC, Retired

Until December 2012 I was Bin Berry Hussein. Until then I lived in Connecticut with my Mom where I played and lived for violent video games.  They were games of violence and involved a wide array of scenarios. Some were very expensive and most could be downloaded from the internet, so I didn't have to leave the house. Whenever I felt like it I would download any game I wanted for free because in addition to being really hip on video games, I loved porn and was an expert hacker...I could hack just about anything. 

Some people thought I was weird, in fact my Mom had expressed concern about my mental health to my face and it made me furious. But I just sulked away to my "dungeon" in the basement and played my games; that gave me some relief because I could blow away my enemies, both real and imagined. Mom recently told me that unless I began to get my act together she was would have me committed to The Center with Humane Treatment for evaluation.  Well, I had news for her...that would never happen!

My Mom and Dad split up a number of years ago and I elected to stay with Mom because she was a lot easier to get along with than my hated Dad. She fed and otherwise cared for my needs and pretty much stayed out of my way. That was fine with me because I could go downstairs, turn off the lights then immerse myself for hours in violent video games that taught me how to fight using a wide array of martial arts weapons and firearms.  I knew that someday I would use what I learned.

When a game was over, I just "reset" and played another scenario; the scenarios never repeated. Those who play video games know how absorbing they can be and the feeling of power when unleashing the fury of an all out attack. With headphones on and the volume turned up, it was awesome! The good part was, when it's over, I could hit "reset" and the program delivered another scenario.  I did that for as long as I could remember...Mom would be apoplectic if she had known about the porn and masturbation marathons but she never came down...when meal time arrived she just yelled that it was ready. 

I never saw her play a video game and suppose she didn't need to because she had a closet full of weapons and plenty of ammo to go with each one; and she knew how to use them. We had gone shooting together a number of times. She thought that Obama is going to destroy the country and wanted to be able to defend us and our home...I thought she was nuts, but as long as she left me alone I really didn't care about Obama or any other politician. Besides I knew what to do if they ever bothered me.

What did bug me was her constant picking at me about getting my life together, and that "those video games" were having an adverse effect on my disposition.  I told her to butt out, to which she would say that she loved me and was advising me for my own good. Bullshit! It still pisses me off; I know what's good for me...although it is uncomfortably hot here.  Whenever she did it I yell at her and she would back off. But in recent weeks I exploded when she became too insistent on my doing something about my mental health.  In fact the last time she said that she was planning to have me evaluated, I screamed that if she brought it up again I would blow her away...and I was surprised that I meant it.  I would rather die than be put in some mental institution...hum...I began to give that eventuality serious thought. 

In the meantime I would fall asleep while playing, then when I woke up I would continue the same game I was playing when I fell asleep. Once awake and after playing half a dozen scenarios I would go upstairs and make myself something to eat.  By then Mom would be gone to her daily events, some of which included volunteering at a local grade school, Saney Looke.

I played so many games that eventually a sense of boredom and worthlessness set in. Even in my addicted and crazed state I realized it was all empty and meaningless. But I couldn't break the cycle...nor did I really want to. Recently I began to wonder what it would be like to blow away real people.  The debate with myself was short and although I knew there would be consequences I didn't care. I wanted to find out but would have to give some thought about who, how and when. If I was going to kill a bunch of people I could head to the Mall, a ballgame, church, or a movie theatre like the one in Aurora, Colorado. But my chances to kill a lot of people would be improved if I went somewhere that I knew has no defenses, a place where I knew there would be no police and where firearms were prohibited.  It didn't take long to for me to decide. 

I could make and use a suicide belt, that would be easy enough. Finding the "how to" on the internet and buying required ingredients to make the explosive wouldn't prove to be much of a challenge. Making a detonator would be no sweat...I had done that a dozen times in various game scenarios.  But...if I used a suicide belt it would all be over the moment I actuated the detonator... not nearly as satisfying as feeling the recoil of a high powered weapon as I repeatedly pulled the trigger.  So....

Mom asked me this morning what I was doing when she saw me with her AR-15 and clips of ammo stuck in my belt.  I told her I was going "hunting" and she blew up, yelling at me that I must be out of my mind, that I had no business with her gun and to put it back where I found it, immediately!  But it was too late, I had my mind made up and screamed at her that there was nothing she could do to stop me. She reminded me that she was my mother to which I screamed back that I could care f___ing less!  As I turned and started to walk down the wide foyer toward the front door I could hear her run toward me from behind...it sounded just like any number of scenarios in the video games I had played...and just as I had done hundreds of times in those games, I spun around aimed from the hip and without even thinking pulled the trigger.  Mother recoiled like a shaken rag doll, then fell flat and lay motionless five feet away in an expanding pool of blood.  It was just like the games but this wasn't an ordinary game and I knew I had done something that would not "reset." I bolted from the house and raced toward the car filled with determination to kill as many people as I could before "they" could stop me.

On the way to the target I mentally rehearsed what was going to happen. I was an expert at blowing my way through doors not to mention shooting anyone who got in the way.  Once in the target area it came easy. I blew my way through the locked entrance door, and once inside targets fell exactly as I had practiced hundreds of times in my video games. But before I finished I felt a familiar emptiness.  Maybe I should have used a suicide belt after all.

I was totally immersed in my "project" when I realized that there were sirens close by. The reality of what I was doing suddenly came into focus...no this wasn't a video game, there in front of me lay real children and adults. I knew that there would be no turning back and no escaping from what I had just done. One thing was certain...the sirens were there to stop me but I would deny them the satisfaction of putting me in handcuffs or a straight jacket and taking me to police headquarters, then a cell in a psycho ward...with the AR-15's muzzle under my chin and a single trigger-pull, I made sure of it.

I was too out of touch with the world to understand that my actions would stir a national fire-storm about limiting access to firearms, and to be frank I didn't care.  But now, as I watch events from the "dark side," flames dancing all around, it angers me because what's missing in all the clamor is no real interest in me or why I did it. There's too much political theatre to be played; and a political agenda that scares even me. Those SOBs still don't care about me, but at least I got momentary vengeance. Even I know that in a sane world there would be vigorous pursuit of why I did it, but seemingly intelligent people are interested only in demonizing metal and plastic assembled to form a rifle that without me pulling the trigger would have remained nothing more than an inanimate object. 

It really insults me that anyone would suggest that the weapon was responsible. Hell no! It wasn't the  weapon...it was me, me, look at me!!! I was responsible, without me nothing would have happened that day...but have you listened to the idiots on MSNBC, CBS, ABC and CNN? If you believe them you might conclude that I was nothing more than the chauffeur for and porter of an AR-15 that on its own barged into Saney Looke where it performed its deadly work. If you believe them, I had little or nothing to do with it and that really pisses me off! But as angry as I am I can do nothing about it from this side of the "Force."

If Saney Looke had been guarded, if anyone had a weapon I probably would have been stopped at the first door as I blew my way through.  As crazy as it is, there is a huge outcry against the kinds of weapon I used without regard to the fact that I could have done much more damage if I had used a suicide bomb.  It raises the question about why their society is having so much trouble, and not only with violence.  Maybe, just maybe, in my selfish rage I will have contributed toward finding a real solution.  Now that I am here, I know the central problem is rooted in their pervasive and unsatisfactory relationship with God...and yes, there is God.

Maybe I should have used a suicide belt, the explosion would have killed and maimed a lot more people, damaged a lot more property and made me really famous! But if I did it that way I would not have had the satisfaction of witnessing the mayhem I caused before I shattered my head and splattered blood and brains on the ceiling. It was the watching, while exacting vengeance against a world that hardly knew or cared that I existed, was what it was all about.  All the noise and clamor about guns is rubbish, It was me, I did it! Tell them!

Semper Fidelis

Copyright © April 14th, 2013 by Robert L. Pappas. With proper attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed, except it may not be used in conjunction with any advertisement without the author’s expressed written permission.

Another Bad Democrat Idea, Politicizing a Military Training Accident

by Colonel Bob Pappas, USMC, Retired

One wonders how it is possible to have people in elected positions whose apparent sole objective is to play political games. But watching the evening news verifies that malady with regularity and today's latest is no exception. In addition to the White House "spin room" under the auspices of spokesman Jay Carney expertly twisting the facts to suit the politics, today Democrat leader of the U.S. Senate, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada further sullied his reputation, position and status by blaming the death of eight Marines on the Sequestration Law...albeit without explanation as to how he arrived at that conclusion.

In my opinion, it is unacceptable for any member of the Senate or House of Representatives to allude that Marine Commanders and Marines in general would cut safety corners, especially during training.  Too many years ago, Major Chuck Sewell, then Commanding Officer of Marine Fighter/Attack Squadron-314, and later Chief Test Pilot for Grumman Aircraft made it a point to tell squadron crewmembers that there wasn't a target in all of Southeast Asia worth dying for. As tragic as they are, training accidents happen but not because of some vacuous politician's empty headed political reason. To disavow Reid's remarks would be too charitable; words are insufficient and inadequate to express the disdain and contempt for him which his remarks evoke. Reid is disgusting; if Democrats had any cajones he would be history.

Senator Reid has by his commentary on the Senate floor, as one Sergeant Instructor at Quantico Marine Officer training explained in a different context many years ago lowered himself, "lower than whale shit on the bottom of the ocean." Having recently returned from the spectacular sights and sounds of Hawaii including whale watching activities, it is fortuitous that the ranking Democrat member of the U.S. Senate has distinguished himself with what we proffer here to him: the "Whale Shit Award." Congratulations Senator Reid.

Message to the political class: Military members understand that they are subject to the legal Constitutional orders of the President and his designated civilians appointed over them. Despite the spate of social justice activity imposed by contemporary politicians on the military services, most military members notwithstanding institutional ticket-punching careerists, are not bootlickers and serve the cause of freedom for all Americans and America's Allies.  Politicizing military activity and/or active duty military members is both counter-productive  and potentially dangerous.  Keep the military out of it!

Therefore, we urge Senator Reid to retract his reckless comments about sequestration causing the training accident that killed Marines in Nevada; to apologize to all Marines for the implication that they cut safety corners due to the Sequestration Law; and disavow further politicization of legitimate military activity. 

Semper Fidelis


Copyright © March 19th, 2013 by Robert L. Pappas. With proper attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed, except it may not be used in conjunction with any advertisement without the author’s expressed written permission.

A Country Anesthetized

by Colonel Bob Pappas, USMC, Retired

We have entered the era of American dictatorship. First there’s Obama’s circumvention of the Constitution and law by issuing Executive Orders to implement provisions of law that had not been enacted by the Congress, then there’s Mayor Bloomberg dictating what New Yorkers can drink, and how much. Petty? Hardly, it’s an indication of the direction that so called liberals, who of course know better than ordinary Americans, what is good for them.  In Obama’s case it would be to buy Hispanic votes and in Bloomberg’s case it is because he is a complete loony tune democrat.

It is amazing to watch the current administration with its squad of mini-czars, that is “special assistants” to the President who in his own words are chosen because they are likeminded as himself. That frees Obama to do campaign work and know that the nation is left in the hands of those who think and act like he would/does. Of course he must delegate the authority for them to do so, but the interesting part is that none of them requires confirmation by the Senate.

If one were President who really didn’t want the job of governing, rather preferred to take advantage of the lavish lifestyle available such as golfing, vacationing and making speeches away from Washington his would be a fulfilling avocation. In Obama’s case living large at taxpayer expense is the right thing to do because it spreads the wealth around he “won.”  So, by winning it’s okay to close the White House to visitors because of Sequestration, but we can’t give up a round of golf the expense of which would keep the White House open for weeks. Or, we wouldn’t consider not visiting Tiger Woods for a week of golf at huge taxpayer expense that would have kept it open for a year. After all those are different pots of money and it’s going to be spent anyway.

Then there’s the pesky little matter of how the Department of Homeland Security is behaving with its purchase of 1.6 billion rounds of ammo and scoffing up and refurbuishing retrograded war equipment. Does Napolitano know something that low information voters are not aware…that would be preparation for and introduction of Obama’s “civilian national security force” described in a speech on July 2nd 2008: "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." And, Mr. Obama what would be your national security objectives? And why the need for it to be as powerful and well funded as the military? It is beyond comprehension that the media, including Fox News has not examined this in detail.

As an interested and somewhat attentive observer, it is obvious that Mr. Obama is up to no good…he knows that he cannot have an extended term in office through the normal means of the political process and if he is going to continue to “completely transform” America and the world he will need more time. The way to gain that is to have the forces in place so that at an opportune moment to no let a “good crisis go to waste,” Obama and his bootlicking surrogates in the media would move quickly and with force to set aside the rule of law, albeit “only temporarily” to facilitate continued implementation of his “transformation” agenda.

Watching this come to pass is like the frog in a pot of water where the temperature is gradually increased. The frog doesn’t notice and is cooked without realizing what happened. As one who generally is not given to alarm, the confluence of these events it all too familiar to anyone who pays attention both to current events and history; and it scares me for my country. Am I afraid of socialism…no, if that’s the path that informed Americans want…but to do it in a way that is inimical to the American way…perhaps the thuggish Chicago way, but not the American way, raises a certain rebellion in me that is uncomfortable and real.

We can no longer trust our political leaders to do what is right, with the likes of Senator McCain badmouthing genuine patriots as “wacko” and attempting to drown out legitimate debate and political activity. I’ve always been suspect of him, even as I supported him for his candidacy…but as the lesser of evil not because he ever was a conservative…he’s not and has fully revealed himself in his attacks on Senator Rand Paul.

When America turns its back on its allies, neglects an attack on the United States and proclaims, “What difference does it make?” It is obvious that American traditional leadership has indeed changed, and it’s time to change it back.

Thanks for losing America Mitt! You bought your way then you quit the fight, you have brought shame on the Romney name in perpetuity…and freedom loving Americans will equate your name to a perverted act; America got “Romneyed!”

Semper Fidelis and Peace

Copyright © March 11, 2013,by Robert L. Pappas. With proper attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed, except it may not be used in conjunction with any advertisement without the author’s expressed written permission.

Obama's Dream...Destroy Uh, "Fundamentally Change" America

by Colonel Bob Pappas, USMC, Retired

Since the advent of the Geneva Conventions there have been constant efforts to "civilize war." Huh?  Right...civilize war!  Now Obama has taken that to an unprecedented level by opening the door for women to be assigned to frontline combat units. Some believe that is to bring increased civility to an otherwise brutal "game." But no, his is not to civilize war, rather it is to provide an opportunity for expanded promotions for females. YGBSM! Since Secretary of Defense Panetta announced the decision, much has been written on the subject. So, why is this essay focused on it?  To remind readers...again... that Obama made clear during his first campaign that his intention was to "fundamentally change the United States." No one can accuse him of being coy or dishonest about it. His intent has been crystal clear but pathetic few in the media with notable exception of conservative talk radio, some on Fox News and this writer have repeatedly warned about it.

Most were/are asleep, and/or mesmerized by Obama's glib tongue and skin color.  Democrats have gone wholesale to the left, and Republicans, that disgusting lot are afraid of their own shadows, albeit with notable exceptions.  Both are complicit in leading the greatest nation in the history of the world down a path to national suicide. What is even more amazing is that educated, articulate even patriotic people drink freely of the Obama Kool Aid without batting an eye; not even considering for a moment where money will come from to pay for the "social justice" programs. Recently, another leftist loon in the U.S. Congress proclaimed, "We don't have a spending problem, we have a payment problem." Right! Do citizens and politicians actually believe that by government simply borrowing and printing money then distributing it to the poor, that all the poor's' "needs" will be met? It may be hard to believe for any thinking person (thank you Dr. Carson), but that is what is actually happening. 

Is the sky falling? Actually, there is abundant evidence that it is; and unless something changes in the right direction the United States of America will sooner than later join Persia, China, Mongolia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, etc. and the USSR on the ash heap of history.  And that is effectively and precisely what Barack Hussein Obama said he would do. Few in the Congress seem to actually care...but thanks to those who do.

Many have repeatedly warned that unless the budget is brought under control that Obama will have successfully implemented his father's dream of one hundred percent taxation with the government deciding how it is distributed. That act would fulfill his campaign statement, "I just want to spread the wealth around." Realistically there will always be wealthy people and there will always be poor people, with the best way to improve the situation being to provide economic opportunity by decreasing taxes on businesses and individuals, throttling unions, and rescinding the "tons" of government regulations. Those simple steps will improve economic activity and status of the poor more than all the government programs combined and a lot faster. Even with confiscation of all the wealth of the "one percent" it would have only a minute salutary effect on the poor. The way Obama is leading the country, the middle class will be disappear, crushed by the weight of taxation required to make his "dream" come true.

Unfortunately, he is doing as much or more harm to the very people he purports to help than the wealthy who he allegedly despises. But are the poor even watching? No, they can't get past his skin color, broad smile and glib tongue. How tragic! And in another twist of irony despite his rhetoric, he spends a huge part of his schedule with the upper one percent; i.e. Tiger Woods.

Introducing women into ground combat roles is for the ostensible purpose of improving their competitiveness for promotion but in reality is another aspect of his agenda to destroy the country. Only an enemy of the United States could come up with such idiotic nonsense. There is no doubt that some American amazons can physically compete with men in ground combat situations, but one would venture that there are relatively few. Among other realities, females have menstrual cycles and associated mood swings that diminish their combat effectiveness and they are as a general rule smaller stature. Saddle them with a forty pound back pack, a weapon and ammunition, then subject them to the rigors of combat with men and it won't be long before some doughboy or Marine will be carrying not only her pack, but likely her lifeless body; that is, unless he reacts instinctively and sacrifices himself to protect her.

Then there is the sex factor...unless and until some "genius" comes up with a way to stop raging hormones in eighteen and twenty year olds there will be intense sex competition in foxholes that detracts, no, neutralizes what everyone is there to do, win wars. All the leadership in the world won't change that rather obvious and fundamental fact. What's the deal, provide mutual sex outlets for combat soldiers by integrating them together into ground combat units? One is compelled to conclude so given homosexuals on the one hand and females on the other will now serve together in the most dangerous situations on earth. But alas, at last everyone has a choice: straight, or ac/dc...notwithstanding proscriptions in the UCMJ. Assignment specialists must be sure to provide one for one, otherwise someone will have to do without and that just wouldn't be fair, would it? This is disgusting, what has America become? Michelle, finally, the proverbial shoe is on the other foot... because I am no longer proud of my country!

If Obama, his DoD civilian lackeys and bootlicking General Dempsey's of the world think they have sex problems now, they "ain't" seen nothing yet! How much time will commanders have to devote to counseling, disciplinary actions, social training, rather than focus on combat training? The notion of females in ground combat is so obviously buffoonish that any halfwit should be able to see through it. "Women in Ground Combat" may sound good, after all there are a number of historic examples of genuine heroism; but those are exceptions and if America wants to kill a lot of good soldiers, sailors and Marines of both genders and lose all future wars...go ahead, because that is exactly what will happen. And that, dear reader is exactly what Obama intends unless men in Congress grows a set and intervene.

P.S. "Thanks" for losing America, Mitt!

Semper Fidelis


Copyright © February 19th, 2013 by Robert L. Pappas. With proper attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed, except it may not be used in conjunction with any advertisement without the author’s expressed written permission.

On Being Wrong, I Was

If you wish to listen to a reading of this column
click here: Pappas02_11_13

by Bob Pappas

In the essay titled, "Roe v. Wade 40 Years Later" I argued that God could not violate His own precept, "Thou shalt not kill" and therefore naturally miscarried fetuses likely do not have a soul. I was wrong, but not where I or those who challenged the statement  had considered.  My obvious mistake was that the Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" does not apply to God.

The following are two examples and there are a number of others illustrate the point: Genesis 6:17 "And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die."  The second is the example of Sodom and Gomorrah: Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground." And there are others.

God's command is, "Thou shalt not kill." The applicable word is: "Thou," but we think of God in the context of our own experience and within the framework of our own understanding.  As combatants in war we kill in self defense and to advance national objectives, the so called, "just war." That would be the subject of another essay. 

We do know a number of things about God's attributes: Almighty, Everlasting Father, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, is love, is just, His grace is plenteous, and numerous others. What we don't know is: what rules does God impose on Himself, or does He in any way restrict His behavior? The mistake became an enlightening moment because I had put God in a human box not out of any intention to limit Him, but out of my finite perspective and genuine desire to advance the discussion about Life in a spiritual and logical manner and direction. 

Is a fetus an empty vessel into which God imparts a soul, or is a soul imparted into the cellular mass at fertilization/conception? No one knows, but scriptural evidence is clear that at some point during pregnancy the soul/spirit in imparted: Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." So, that obviates the longstanding argument derived from Genesis 2:7 that everyone becomes a living soul when the "breath of life" is drawn, although it applied to Adam.

What is known is that life indisputably begins the moment that spermatozoa and ovum unite. Readers are encouraged to peruse the Association of Pro Life Physicians: "When Does Human Life Begin?"  The article is an excellent summary of the subject. However, it does not, nor has any respondent to the last essay definitively answer the question: "when does God impart a soul/spirit?" Although some excellent points were made.

For the time being I am satisfied that the answer is not known, and likely cannot be known as definitive fact; the how and when is entirely within God's purview...and all others guess. It is somewhat analogous to the second coming of Jesus: Mark 13:32 "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."
       
In the final analysis it is my opinion that in the Roe v. Wade decision the Supreme Court erred by elevating itself to the position of God which it most certainly is not, when it granted legal authority for abortion that was not within the Court's moral authority to grant. Readers are encouraged to review and support Senator Rand Paul's Legislative initiative

Semper Fidelis and Peace


Copyright © February 10th, 2013 by Robert L. Pappas. With proper attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed, except it may not be used in conjunction with any advertisement without the author’s expressed written permission.

Roe v. Wade, Forty Years Later

Want to listen? Click here:  BP_02_03_2013

by Bob Pappas

There has been much commentary about abortion in recent months perhaps because this year was the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court Decision in the case of Roe v. Wade, the case that defined a woman's right to an abortion incident to due process and privacy under the 14th Amendment. The majority decision was rendered by Justice Blackmun on January 22, 1973. Now, forty years later, it is notable that most Americans oppose abortion.

Since that date an estimated 55 million pregnancies have been terminated resulting in the death of that number of potential American citizens. Who knows who may have been born...for good or ill? Perhaps a genius equal or even superior to Einstein, or on the other hand someone who might have eclipsed the tyrants of history. That will only become known at the Judgment, the eventuality that is totally ignored in most instances. Since most abortions arise out of "inadvertent" illicit pregnancies, abortions are performed to hide the behavior, in Obama's words to the effect, to avoid "the punishment of an inadvertent pregnancy."  And, no doubt there are some abortions incident to relatively small numbers or pregnancies that result from rape or incest. Arguments fly in all directions about the morality of terminating a pregnancy including the latter instances.  Meanwhile abortionists celebrated the Roe v. Wade decision this year with a commercial in which a black male smiling, proclaims: "our special day baby."

Males who impregnate a female and thereafter agree to pay for an abortion to avoid paternity are the most contemptible of the human species. Of course married men who find themselves having "knocked up" some honey nearly always offer to pay for an abortion to avoid being found out by their wives not to mention professional associates. Eventually such marriages collapse under the weight of deception anyway, unless you are Hillary and Bill Clinton. Does anyone really care to trade places with either one of them? If so, I know a good psychiatrist you might want to contact for a mental health enema.

Most human adults and too many minors engage in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite gender (and no, it's not better for it to be the same gender), some are married and legitimate while many are one night stands or living together outside the bonds of God ordained marriage.  All the arguments in the world do not change the fact that sexual activity is designed and intended to result in a pregnancy. Sexual intercourse is analogous to pulling a trigger on a loaded weapon...the weapon will fire and a bullet will strike somewhere. In the case of sexual intercourse, the bullet is the release of millions of spermatozoa that find their way to the ovum target, an event in which the former fertilizes the latter. Cellular reproduction begins and the growing mass of cells has DNA separate and distinct from either the male or female participants.  A discrete life indisputably begins at that moment.

The question is: "At what point does God impart a soul into the mass of cells?" Some argue "at the moment of conception," but that is doubtful when one considers the number of natural miscarriages. Here's why: if God imparts a soul at the moment of conception and since a miscarriage results in death of the fetus, then all natural miscarriages put Him in squarely in violation of His own law; "thou shalt not kill." But God cannot violate His own precepts, so, one must conclude that a fetus that dies in a natural miscarriage is not yet imparted with a soul. At what point a soul in imparted  is imponderable; no human knows and to suggest otherwise one assumes the mantle of God. The fact is, a fetus dies in a miscarriage whether natural or induced. The distinction is that one is of God and the other of humanity and to my knowledge God has not yet granted authority for humans to abort despite the arrogance of the Supreme Court in its Roe v. Wade decision and those who celebrate it.

God's intention is for people to engage sexual intercourse for the purpose of procreation within the bonds of marriage, despite what Bill Clinton or Hollywood advocate by their actions. Liberals argue that since "it's" going to happen and if so, as Obama suggests, "he would not want one of his daughters to be punished with an inadvertent pregnancy." Obama calls himself a Christian and in his so called, "Christian" worldview it is okay and lawful to withhold life-support from any child that miraculously managed to survive an abortion. That's Christian? As previously noted, there will be a Judgment and whereas God will no doubt bestow abundant mercy and grace that grows out of His love for the penitent,  impenitent political, religious and other hypocrites explanations' will fall on His Ears of Justice.

Sex is a powerful force, just look around; but then consider the fact that despite its force humans ability to reason and exercise self control is not suspended.  Therefore, the evident solution to an unwanted pregnancy and abortion would be to not put oneself in temptation's way in the first place. Today, every worldly force advocates promiscuity as normal and expected, so most succumb. To succumb however suggests that there resides in one or both parties some element of conscience that urges restraint. But restraint flies in the face of everything that Hollywood, most colleges and universities, and the media advocate. Their liberal mantra since the 1960s is: "If it feels good, do it" and there is abundant evidence that they are "doing it."

As an observer of human behavior one is aware of much handwringing over the abysmal state of the nation: sexual promiscuity, rape, abortion, murder, violence, drug and alcohol abuse that are at epic proportions, and immorality, that is: lying, cheating, and white collar crime and etc. in the larger context is rampant.  Most problems are traceable to political, social and religious liberalism without regard to political party although it is evident that Democrats cloaked in their secular vestments of human rights account for most of it, claiming that diversity and tolerance are inherently righteous.

Hugh Heffner popularized the notion that sexual behavior between consenting adults is acceptable, and whereas it may be acceptable to Heffner and millions of others, that does not make it right.  Furthermore, it is not legal or moral for married people to commit adultery or for unmarried people to fornicate. Old fashioned?  The notion is certainly not original with me, but logic and reason compel a serious national re-examination of its merits. 

Semper Fidelis and Peace


Copyright © February 3rd, 2013 by Robert L. Pappas. With proper attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed, except it may not be used in conjunction with any advertisement without the author’s expressed written permission.

Why I Did it...My Way

by Bob Pappas

Hello, my name is Berry Hussey; I live in Connecticut with my Mom and play and live for video games day and night.  The games I play are mostly games of violence and involve a whole bunch of scenarios. Some are very expensive and most of which can be downloaded from the internet, so I don't have to leave the house. When I feel like it I download games for free because in addition to being really hip on video games, I love porn and am an expert hacker...I can hack just about anything.  Some people think I am weird, in fact my Mom has expressed concern about my mental health to my face and although I haven't told her, it makes me furious. I just sulk away to my dungeon in the basement and play my games; that gives me some relief because I can blow away my enemies. She recently told me that unless I begin to get my act together she was contemplating having me committed to some sort of mental health institution for evaluation.  Well, I've got news for her...that will never happen; and I told her as much.

My Mom and Dad split up a number of years ago and I elected to stay with Mom because she is a lot easier to get along with than my hated Dad. She feeds and otherwise cares for my needs and pretty much stays out of my way which is fine with me because I can go downstairs, turn off the lights and immerse myself for hours in video games that have taught me how to fight using a wide variety of martial arts weapons and an entire array of firearms.  Someday I'll use them if I get a chance. It would be hard for me to tell you which game I like most because I enjoy blowing up and shooting anything and anyone. When the game is over, I just "reset" and play another scenario; my games' scenarios never repeat. Those who play video games know how absorbing they can be and what a feeling of power one feels when unleashing the fury of an all out attack. With headphones on and the volume turned up it is awesome! The good part is, when it's over, I just "reset" and the program delivers another scenario. 

I've been doing this for as long as I can remember and don't  have any outside interests...Mom would be apoplectic if she knew about my porn and masturbation marathons, but she never comes down...just yells when supper is ready; and that's usually something she bought on the way home from one of her many meetings.  I've never seen her play a video game and suppose she doesn't need to because she has a closet full of weapons and plenty of ammo to go with each one; and she knows how to use them. We've been shooting together a number of times. She thinks that Obama is going to destroy the country and wants to be able to defend us and our home...I think she's nuts, but as long as she leaves me alone I really don't care.

What does bug me is her constant picking at me about getting my life together, and that "those video games" are having an adverse effect on my disposition.  I've told her to butt out, but she says she loves me and is advising me for my own good. Bullshit! I know what's good for me.  When she does it I explode at her and she backs off, but in recent weeks I've had to really explode because she has become so insistent on my doing something for my mental health.  In fact the last time she said that she was planning to have me evaluated, I screamed at her that if she brought it up again I would blow her away...and I was surprised to sense that I meant it.  I'd rather die than be put in some mental institution...maybe dying is the solution to the addiction that has completely absorbed my life.  I fall asleep while playing then I wake up and continue the same game I was playing when I went to sleep. Then, I might play half a dozen more scenarios before going up to make myself a breakfast of toast or cereal.  By then Mom is gone to her daily events, some of which include volunteering at a local grade school.

I've played so many of these games that a sense of boredom and worthlessness has set in because even in my crazed and addicted state I realize it's all so empty, so meaningless. But I can't break the cycle...nor do I really want to. Recently I've begun to wonder what it would be like to blow away real people and whether that would give me any sense of worth.  I know there would be consequences but don't care. I think I'd like to find out but have to give some thought about who, how and when. If I'm going to kill a bunch of people I could head to the Mall, a ballgame, church, or a movie theatre like the one in Aurora, Colorado. But my chances to kill a bunch of people would be improved if I went somewhere that I know has no defenses at all, where I know there would be no police and where firearms are prohibited. And I have such a place exactly in mind. 

I could make and use a suicide belt, that would be easy enough. Finding the "how to" on the internet and buying required ingredients that are not common household items to mix the explosive shouldn't prove to be much of a challenge. Making a detonator is no sweat...I've done that a dozen times in various games.  But...if I were to use a suicide belt it would all be over the moment I actuate the detonator, not nearly as satisfying as feeling the recoil of a high powered weapon as I take out each target.  So....

Mom asked me this morning what I was doing when she saw me with her AR-15 and clips of ammo stuck in my belt.  I told her I was going "hunting" and she blew up, yelling at me that I must be out of my mind, that I had no business with her gun and to put it back where I found it, immediately!  But I had my mind made up and there was nothing she could do to stop me, and screamed at her as much. She reminded me that she was my mother to which I screamed back that I could care f___ing less!  I turned and started to walk down the wide foyer toward the front door and I could hear her run toward me from behind...it sounded just like any number of scenarios in the video games I had played...and just as I had done hundreds of times in those games, I spun around aimed from the hip and without even thinking pulled the trigger; mother fell flat and lay motionless five feet away.  It was just like the games but this wasn't an ordinary game and I knew I had done something that would not "reset." I bolted from the house and raced toward the car filled with determination to kill as many people as I could before "they" could stop me.

On the way to my target I had a firm idea about what was going to happen and was a practiced expert at blowing my way through doors and shooting anyone who got in the way of my mission.  And that "mission" was exactly what I was going to carry out. I did a quick mental rehearsal and once in the target area it came easy. I blew my way through the locked entrance door, and once inside targets fell exactly as I had practiced hundreds of times in my games, but before I finished I noted that I had done far less damage than I had hoped.  Maybe I should have used a suicide belt after all. Suddenly, even with all the noise I could hear sirens close by and one thing was certain...they were not going to put me in a straight jacket and take me to a psycho ward...and with the weapon aimed at my head and a single trigger-pull, I made sure of it.

Little did I know that my actions that day would stir a national fire-storm about firearms.  Now, as I watch events from the other side, flames dancing on all around, which incidentally is also like some video games, it angers me and is missing in all the clamor, that there is no real interest in why I did it. Those SOBs still don't care about me, but at least I got a measure of vengeance. Even I know that in a sane world there would be vigorous pursuit of why I did it, but seemingly intelligent people are interested only in demonizing some pieces of inanimate metal and plastic assembled to form a rifle that without me pulling the trigger would have remained nothing more than an inanimate object.  Actually, it is an insult for anyone to suggest that the weapon was responsible. Hell no! I was responsible, without me nothing would have happened that day...but have you listened to the media?  You are all but forced to conclude that I was nothing more than the chauffeur for the AR-15 to barge in and perform its deadly work...that I had little or nothing to do with it.

If the place had been guarded, if anyone had a weapon I probably would have been stopped at the first door as I blew my way through.  As crazy as it is, there is a huge outcry against the kinds of weapon I chose to use without regard to the fact that I could have done even worse damage with a suicide belt.  It raises the underlying question about why their society is having so much trouble, and not only with violence.  Maybe, just maybe, in my selfish rage I will have contributed toward finding a real solution, one, now that I am here, I know is rooted in their pervasive and unsatisfactory relationship with God...and yes, there is God.

Like I said, maybe I should have used a suicide belt; the explosion would have killed and maimed a lot more people, damaged a lot more property and made me really famous. But if I did it that way I would not have had the satisfaction of witnessing the mayhem before my own demise; and watching, while exacting vengeance against a world that hardly knew or cared that I existed was what it was all about.  No matter what they say, everything else is rubbish.

Semper Fidelis and Peace

Copyright © January 17th, 2013 by Robert L. Pappas. With proper attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed, except it may not be used in conjunction with any advertisement without the author’s expressed written permission.

Attack on the United States; and Obama Slept

by Bob Pappas

There is always more to a story than is immediately evident on the surface.  Stories abound about General Patreaus' resignation and it is likely that in time even more details will emerge.  Whether or not those details will be valid will be the topic of continued media and political speculation.

Resignation because of an affair...humm. Is there anyone who is guiltless of sin? Didn't Americans endure a libertine who Democrats, without regard to integrity have enshrined in their hall of honor as the most popular politician in America? It is evident that there is something more about the Petraeus resignation than meets the eye.

A brief review of the situation is worthwhile...no not a Petraeus' affair, those are so commonplace in Washington that it's old fashioned to not have one and that without regard to Party affiliation. As Affair-in-Chief, aka Bill Clinton said of the bad economy during his first term, "there's plenty of blame to go around." Likewise there is likely plenty of dirt around the infidelity bush if anyone cares to dig. So, one is well-advised to not sit in condemnation of Petraeus' dalliance, but...how does it relate?  Benghazi, in this writer's opinion is the underlying story, more sordid than any dalliance with a pathetic, albeit attractive, book ghost writer.

Moveon.org, that fount of truth and integrity bought a full page ad in the New York Times on September 9th, 2007 in the amount of $65,000.00 in which it asked, "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" Then proceeded to lay out a case from which then Senator Clinton at a Senate Hearing on September 12, 2007, told General Petraeus that it would require the "willing suspension of disbelief" for her to accept his narrative of progress in Iraq. At the time Clinton was a White House aspirant and considered Petraeus a potential challenger.  But now the worm has turned: first with a case of the flu, followed by a concussion, and now a cranial blood clot? Humm. Sounds queer and stinks to high heaven. It kind of requires Clinton's own "willing suspension of disbelief" to believe the current story line.

Well, if Clinton was Republican there would be cheers of glee and hope from the View, Shultz, Maddow and other MSNBC political operatives disguised as "journalists," as well as most other media outlets that the next bell to ring for her would be at heaven's...or hell's gate. But unlike the political left conservatives do not wish her ill, in fact they hope that she fully recovers from her ailments to go on to lead a long life in well-deserved retirement with husband Bill. However, in this instance Clinton has been shameful, not worthy of her title and certainly not one to be seriously considered for any future national leadership post. In short, good riddance from public service...but do get well.

But then, how about Obama...where was he? We know...Obama was "Absent-in-Chief" during the attack on the United States of America and didn't lift a finger, in fact likely went to bed (Because he had to rest up for a Campaign trip to Las Vegas.) notwithstanding ostensible orders to do everything possible for the beleaguered U.S. outpost in Benghazi. Everything possible was evidently absolutely nothing and no one in the media or the Department of Defense has challenged him...except one...General Petraeus made it clear that it was not the CIA that stood in the way of help. And now you know the rest of the Petraeus resignation story.

Semper Fidelis and Peace

Copyright © January 1st, 2013 by Robert L. Pappas. With proper attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed, except it may not be used in conjunction with any advertisement without the author’s expressed written permission.