Vast Write Wing - June 2010

[lwoolley]

Lynn: For your information, on June 21, 2010 U.S. Senators led by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa learned of a possible plan by the White House to provide an amnesty to the nation's estimated 11 to 18 million illegal foreign nationals in this country by executive order, thereby bypassing the U.S. House or Senate. The move would take immigration enforcement out of the hands of Congress and place it in the hands of the Executive Branch. If you are opposed to granting amnesty to illegal foreign nationals by executive order you may want to give your congressman and senators a call/fax expressing your concern. Your can get your representatives contract info at: congress.org or usa.gov



For more information on this issue you can go to: numbersusa.com



Duane Langerman

Temple, TX

[lwoolley]

Congratulations to Lt. Brian Birdwell, the new Texas Senator from District 22! We have finally seen a grassroots campaign with a superb candidate win against a well-funded lobbyist. Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell is our next Texas Senator from Central Texas.



With 24,531 votes cast, Birdwell got 57.87% while David Sibley got 42.12% (all precincts reported). This wasn’t just sort of a victory; it was a landslide, particularly considering the fact that Sibley had made over $13.6 Million in seven years from his lobbying activities (including the tobacco and alcohol industries), had collected huge campaign donations from his lobbyist friends, and was supported by wealthy Democrat Bernard Rapoport (the biggest contributor to Planned Parenthood Waco).



Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell had to raise money not only for the primary race but for the runoff with Sibley. Birdwell is a man of limited means, is a grassroots, patriotic hero who believes in America and all of its glorious heritage, and was willing to fight to preserve it.



Birdwell surrounded himself with one of the best campaign teams I have ever witnessed. Their timing was impeccable, and they understood the voters of Central Texas and what it is that we want in a legislator.



Birdwell sought after and received the endorsements of key conservative leaders in Texas and across the country because they were convinced of his integrity.



This victory was symbolic of what can be done when conservatives come together to support a fabulous candidate, and we are thankful to be able to send Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell to the Texas Senate.



Donna Garner
wgarner1@hot.rr.com

[lwoolley]

One thing that has been overlooked in the oil spill.....................I was involved in a major blow out in 1985.............12,000 bbls per day blowing out in Eastland County on the Ora B Jones #3..................the well in the Gulf is blowing out 5-10 times that.................this is a disaster for sure but also a huge Major oil strike like nothing ever hit before....HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If they ever get control of it through the relief wells, they will make 50-100 time the money they will be out in clean up..........this discovery is HUGE!

MM

[Thane]

Lynn,
President Obama must dismiss or accept the resignation of GEN McCrystal. The general’s conduct, his statements, the mindset and tone of his inner circle of command are unacceptable and unforgivable in a military professional at his level. While not exhibiting outright disobedience, this is rank insubordination by the general and his closest aides and as such cannot be tolerated by any president. He must go despite his talents and many achievements. This is not his first time in trouble as one recalls the disgraceful Tillman episode. Serious misjudgment of the purpose and consequences of an embedded reporter in your inner circle are yet another example of either poor judgment or crass arrogance, take your pick. The military teaches that everyone is expendable, everyone can be replaced. America has other talented generals to take over who will not allow this breach of conduct in themselves or their command. We’ve had the “conventional” tanker General McKiernan sacked, and now the Special Forces “COIN” General McCrystal will come home to stay; my guess is a Marine will be sent in to pitch next. Moreover, like Truman, Obama must act decisively to show the preeminence and dignity of the office of President over any general no matter how popular or crucial to any particular war effort. McClellan, Stillwell and MacArthur all come to mind. To not do so would be a serious neglect of leadership on the part of the President.
It is what I would decide in the same circumstances.

Thank you for your service General McCrystal. You are a great Soldier.

Sincerely,
Thane

[lwoolley]

Lynn,

Dick Morris is a political strategist, and as such he is very much like a litigating lawyer. He, as do all in his profession, state an extreme position with the intent of drowning out logic and rationality and thereby swaying the jury, which in this case is the voting public.

Lynn, I would like you to consider the prospect of a couple of states declaring bankruptcy, in this case California and New York. The short term effect would be to see municipal bond rates at least double. That would mean that the typical person in the United States who holds municipal bonds would see the value decrease by about half. It would also mean that cities, school districts, and every other municipal entity would see their cost of borrowing double. Because we have seen property values decline so much, and particularly commercial property, property tax revenues have fallen substantially across the country. In cases where bond refunding is coming due and municipalities have recently opted to issue a series of short term bonds rather than a single long term issue, they would suddenly find themselves either obligated to pay a heck of a lot more interest, or in many cases, simply unable to issue the new refunding bonds. That would result in a wave of local bankruptcies in municipalities across the nation.

Then there is the little issue of the host of small businesses who sell things to municipalities. Since a very substantial number of municipalities (such as the local school districts) would suddenly find themselves in a severe cash crunch, they would cease making purchases. Small businesses would start to fail at a rate that makes the crisis along the gulf coast right now look very, very mild.

The only rational solution to the resulting economic slide would be for state and local governments to raise the tax rates on property. Otherwise we would see schools shut down, fire and police departments undermanned, and unrepaired sewage leaks begin to rise. The increase in tax rates, mainly on businesses, would certainly accelerate the business downturn started when the municipalities ceased buying.

If you, here in Temple saw raw sewage flowing and discovered that the local government simply did not have the cash to pay enough sewage workers to fix it, what would you do? Would you put on waders and pitch in, or would you demand that “government” fix it? If the local government couldn’t, would you demand that the state step in? If the state was experiencing the same fiscal crisis and had reduced its workforce to the point where it was unable, would you then demand assistance from the federal government?

We tried the laissez faire method of letting the states fail a couple of times in our history. The first was in 1837. The resulting after-shocks ultimately resulted in the civil war. We let corporations, local municipalities, and even states default on their debt and obligations in the early 1930s. Indeed it was a great way to bust the unions. The only problem was that the end result was about as effective as using a twelve-gage shotgun to kill insects in your home. It kills insects, but the damage to the home far exceeds the damage to the insects.

I agree that both California and New York have gotten well ahead of themselves and like Greece need to have a reality check, but it is good to remember that a default of a state means that those who loaned that state or its municipalities money are the ones who are most damaged. Factually, California and New York only have to stop paying the municipal bond holders and they would have all the money they need to run their states. The result would be effectively that Temple, TISD, and Bell County would give up the ability to grow. No new schools, expanded sewer or water systems, new streets or anything else funded by municipal bonds. Downtown Temple is just now recovering from a bout of that several decades ago. Are you willing to pay the price of boarded up businesses and empty buildings where thriving businesses are today?

Do not ask for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for you.

Jeffrey W. McClure

[lwoolley]

I wonder if Obama will be as forgiving to the comments by McCrystal as he was for the comments about the Senator who said he should cut off his *&%^. UH, DON'T THINK SO!

Kevin Morris

[lwoolley]

I listened to you this morning out of Waco. Could not agree more with the Sibley arrogance S.O.S. seat campaign was arrogant!

If Sibley and Averitt were so worried about the residency of Birdwell, why did they not file suit during the election? Now it looks like sour grapes on Averitts part because his buddy Sibley lost.This is Chicago style politics at its worst

Rick in Waco

[lwoolley]

Lynn, your three reasons for General Stanley McChrystal left out one very important "reason" that I observed working indirectly with McChrystal in my line of work in Iraq a few years ago. What you left out was "arrogance" - arrogance mixed with frustration.

The incident in Paris was just a drunkfest since they were out of Afghanistan should be taken with a grain of salt. However, the generals and commanders I worked with would NEVER have let a reporter representing a magazine such as Rolling Stones (even though the reporter previously worked for Newsweek) loose in the headquarters and staff with a recorder (which in and of itself surprises me). Only a general with a huge amount of arrogance (or confidence depending on your point of view) would allow such a situation to happen. That is the impression I got a few years ago in Iraq in a couple of instances I had the opportunity to be in along with the impression others got when they came back from similar meetings. Honestly, this really doesnt surprise me that much. The only general I thought was equal in arrogance was general Wesley Clark in Bosnia and maybe not even then.

Also... what did McChrystal say that was so heinous? Sure... his staff had a lot of fun at the expense of Biden - but that is well deserved, IMO. I dont know if you know that McChrystal is a left leaning democrat who voted for president Obama. Even so, no general likes to be ignored as McChrystal has been, esp if he cares about the soldiers. How many months did it take to get a face to face meeting with the president? seven? Even then, he didnt get but a fraction of what he felt he needed to prosecute the war effectively. If McChrystal cares about soldiers and responsibility to their families, which I think he does, then this will lead to an extreme amount of frustration.

Lynn... In McChrystal's defense and personal demeanor aside, he is a warrior's general; not unlike General Patton but in the special ops area, In my opinion. There is a REAL division in the army as to whether a guy will functionally fall on the symbolism side or the substance side - the admin side or the tactical side - the corporate side or the warrior side, etc. With field grade and flag officers (generals), you generally have corporate generals or warrior generals. General Wesley Clark is a good example of a corporate general and general McChrystal and general Petraeus are an examples of warrior commanders. I'll take a warrior commander any day of the week and twice on sunday and not think twice about it.

Keep up the good work
Bob
Killeen/Ft Hood

[lwoolley]

Latest comments by Rep. Kip Averitt today, 6.23.10 --

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/breakingne ... allot.html



Averitt says he's taking his name off the ballot

By Michael Shapiro / Tribune-Herald reporter

Wednesday June 23, 2010



Granbury Republican Brian Birdwell, the new state senator for District 22 as of yesterday, will serve out the remaining six months of Kip Averitt's term, and as of this morning it looks increasingly likely that he'll have a shot at running to serve in the upcoming legislative session.

Averitt told the Tribune-Herald this morning that he will be removing his name from the general election ballot, leaving separate sets of Democratic and Republican party chairs in the 10-county district free to name new nominees for the race. Presumably, given his special election victory, Birdwell will be the favorite among the GOP chairs.

"I want to let folks know that I said I was not going to run again and I'm not going to run again. I'm going to stick to my word," Averitt said.

Averitt had told the Trib on Tuesday that he was concerned about a potential Birdwell victory. He said his health had recovered enough since pulling himself off the campaign trail in January and he was contemplating remaining a candidate out of a conviction that Birdwell fails to meet a residency requirement for the seat. The logical extension of that, which Averitt said troubled him, was that the Democratic Party could legally challenge Birdwell's candidacy, knocking him off the ballot and taking the seat by default.

But this morning Averitt said he was swayed by the election results: "My goal in this whole process was for the people to be able to pick their senator, and we've had a process in which that's happened. I have all the confidence in the world in the voters."

As far as the Republican party chairs' upcoming decision, he said: "I'm assured that the county chairs know of the eligibility issue."

====================================================================

4.26.10 -- Excerpts from: Texas Court Declares Brian Birdwell -- a 37-year Texas Resident



(Granbury, TX) - Today, Senior Judge William Brigham ruled that Lt. Col. (Ret.) Brian Birdwell has been a Texas resident since 1973, confirming that Birdwell meets all of the residency requirements to serve in the Texas State Senate.



The Judge granted Birdwell’s petition for Declaratory Judgment.



At a hearing this morning in Granbury, Judge Brigham signed an order (attached) which reads as follows:



“It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that this Original Petition for Declaratory Judgment is granted. Lt. Col. (Ret.) Brian Douglas Birdwell is and has been a resident of Texas continuously since 1973.”



Judge William Brigham is a long-time trial and appellate judge who, after retiring as a Justice from the Ft. Worth Court of Appeals, has continued to sit by assignment as both a trial and appellate judge. Judge Brigham was assigned to hear the case by Judge Jeff Walker, the presiding Judge of the 8th Administrative Judicial Region and Judge of the 96th District Court in Tarrant County.



In response to the ruling, Birdwell said “I’m grateful that my candidacy has now been certified by both the Texas Secretary of State and a well-respected member of the Texas judiciary. The process worked, and this matter is now behind us. I would urge all candidates to now focus on the important matters before us, such as who can best fight the liberal agenda of President Obama and stand up for Texas conservative values. I believe I’m that candidate, and that’s why more conservatives are joining my campaign every day.”



Former Republican Party of Texas Vice Chairman David Barton said, “Although Col. Birdwell was not required to seek this ruling affirming his candidacy, it was important to him that voters had absolute confidence in his legal status to serve as state senator. Once again, this speaks to Brian’s character and why we need him in the Texas Senate. He will always place the interests of citizens above his own.”



===================================================================

Earlier comments made by Averitt and Sibley: http://www.wacotrib.com/news/Birdwell-d ... unoff.html

Birdwell defeats Sibley in state Senate special election runoff

By Michael W. Shapiro Tribune-Herald staff writer

Wednesday June 23, 2010

Retired Army officer Brian Birdwell defeated retired lobbyist and former lawmaker David Sibley by a comfortable margin in Tuesday’s state Senate special election runoff.

Birdwell, a Granbury Republican, overcame a sizable fundraising disadvantage, winning with 57.9 percent of the vote.

He will serve out the last six months of the term of former Sen. Kip Averitt, who announced his resignation in mid-March.

Brian Birdwell will serve the rest of state Sen. Kip Averitt’s term.

Averitt, who won the GOP primary to serve in the 2011 session, is still on the November ballot.

Averitt suggested Tuesday afternoon before the votes had been counted that if Birdwell were to win, he might stay on the ballot and in the state Senate.

If Averitt were to remove his name, separate sets of county party chairs from the 10-county district — both Democratic and Republican — could select nominees for the general election.

Averitt, however, said he was concerned that if Birdwell was nominated, Democrats could knock him off the ballot because he didn’t meet an eligibility requirement.

Sibley’s campaign said voting records from Virginia showed Birdwell hadn’t been a Texas resident for the past five years and thus failed to meet a state requirement.

“I really don’t want to go back to the Senate, but I feel like I’m physically capable of doing so,” said Averitt, who pulled himself off the campaign trail for health reasons in January.

“It’s nothing personal against Mr. Birdwell, but we need to make sure there’s a Republican candidate on the ballot.”

In an interview after the election, Birdwell said, “I think it’d be a disappointment to the people of Senate District 22, who took (Averitt) at his word that he’d be stepping down.”

If Averitt stays on the ballot, Birdwell said, it would be an insult to voters who were treating the election as “a meaningful opportunity for folks to fill his vacancy.”

Birdwell also maintained that he is eligible to serve in the Senate.

“Residency is not the question,” he said.

Regardless of what happens with the general election ballot, Birdwell’s win was impressive.

In Sibley, Birdwell faced an opponent who was well-funded, well-connected as a once-powerful state legislator and endorsed by former President George W. Bush.

But the political atmosphere nationally is anti-incumbent, and Sibley, a former state senator, was running on his legislative experience.

“I’m disappointed,” Sibley said, “but I always thought the voters were smart when they elected, so who am I to question what they did tonight?”

Sibley, who made a big advertising appeal in the Waco region for keeping a local in the Senate seat, also noted Birdwell’s strength in the northern counties of the district, where Birdwell had roughly a 6,500-vote lead.

By contrast, Sibley won McLennan County by 63 percent and had about a 3,000-vote lead.

Birdwell, who works as a motivational speaker for an evangelical Christian group, played up his military background in radio ads.

Waco Tea Party president Toby Marie Walker recorded a last-second robo-call on behalf of Birdwell.

Though Walker didn’t state her affiliation in the recording, she said that “as a lobbyist, David Sibley is out of touch with tea party values.”

Birdwell said after the election, “We’re very pleased by the conservatives who’ve worked hard for this victory.”

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

[lwoolley]

Lynn -

Maybe what we need now is cash for clunker (stripper) oil wells. Then we can plug them and cut our domestic
oil production in half.
How are you liking that "Hope & Change Now" folks!!

We have an imcompetent, coward pretending to play President of the United States!

Mike the UT guy in Midland - there are obviously lot's of Mike's in Midland so you should start a Mike category.
Michael

[Thane]

To Bob of Killeen/Ft Hood
You have no idea what you are talking about. Virtually every one of your points is invalid.

“Also... what did McChrystal say that was so heinous?” Bob, a four-star general commanding the most important war going right now cannot make flippant, disparaging remarks about “the wimps in the White House”, the Vice-President, the Director of the National Security Counsel (himself a former 4-star), Ambassador Holbroke, and especially Ambassador Eikenberry, who is himself the former commander in Afghanistan and, as Ambassador is the president’s direct personal representative in Afghanistan. A four-star does not say these things himself, which he did, and does not allow a command climate in his staff that permits or even encourages such intemperate conduct. Maybe it’s not so bad for you to say such things from wherever you sit (wherever that may be) but it is very bad for the most important general on the planet.

GEN McCrystal has not been “ignored” as you say. He has massive resources to prosecute this war. You simply have no idea what you are talking about. Did he get everything he asked for? No, no general in any war gets all the troops and all the resources he would want in ideal circumstances. What kind of fantasy world do you work in? Secondly, as any marketplace haggler knows, you ask for far more than you really want in order to get bargained down to what you really need. Apparently you didn’t make it out to any bazaars in the Middle East or you would already know that.

As far as the “Warrior General” stuff, you are again way off in many ways. Obviously you didn’t actually read the Rolling Stone article that highlighted very clearly how the troops doing the actual fighting definitely do not agree with GEN McChrystal’s policies, regardless of how much they may admire him as a soldier. The restrictive Rules of Engagement in Afghanistan, the very ones the frontline soldiers complain about, were put in place by Stanley McChrystal, not Barack Obama or anyone else. You got that Bob?

Did you read that Lynn? The Rules of Engagement inAfghanistan came from GEN McChrystal, not President Obama!

Furthermore Bob, Patton was not a “Soldiers” general, although he certainly had a warrior mentality. Patton was very often despised by his own soldiers while they were under his command because they considered him a gloryhound caring only for headlines, bodycounts, and taking real estate fast. Contrast Patton with someone like Omar Bradley, or better yet Matthew Ridgeway. Ridgeway was a true soldier’s general and, interestingly enough, it was he who replaced Douglas MacArthur who was fired for running his mouth off and bad-mouthing the Commander in Chief. Ridgeway didn’t seem to have the same problems with his civilian bosses, and he was certainly no “corporate” type as you describe.

As far as you not thinking twice about things...I agree with you, you don’t.

Sincerely,
Thane

[lwoolley]

Lynn... Former Dr Cohen wrote a pretty good article in the WSJ (article and link posted below). He makes some very valid points. He also uses different words to describe what I summarized as "arrogance mixed with frustration." I agree that Gen McChrystal should go but I think some of Cohen's expectations are high-minded corporate egg-headedness. His perspective is from the state department, theoretical, and think-tank point of view. Of course he is going to think that soldiers talking about the state department is a bad thing; he wouldnt like it himself when he was there.

Officers do have political opinions and they do express them in the office, in the field, in the headquarters, and anywhere they have had alcohol. From the outside looking in... it looks bad but the reality is usually it is harmless male banter. I havent read anything so far that was anything close to what was said about President Bush and "neo-cons" for eight years. French comments are said ALL the time and usually with "gay" references. Lynn... how do you know if you are buying an old french rifle at an auction? Because the description will say something to the effect, "never shot - dropped once." come on... who doesnt take shots at the french when drinking.

Bottom line is... soldiers are going to do what they are suppose to do when it is time to do it, regardless of their political opinions in down time banter.

Believe me... this is really only an issue because the comments are against Obama, democrat politicians and incompetent appointees. This Rolling Stones reporter did a hack job... pure and simple. It is only when thin skinned democrats are in office when things like this happen. People were making fun of Bill Clinton so bad that an executive order was published from the Secretary of Defense reminding people that he is in fact, the commander in chief. In my opinion, Gen McChrystal's arrogance (or extreme confidence) influenced his subordinates and staff. It isnt my style of leadership; actually, it is annoying. Nonetheless, his style worked in Iraq for several reasons but, in an open forum, it just comes across that they lost their bearing. However, you mix McChrystal's leadership atmosphere with the utter incompetence of President Obama and his Afghanistan state department team, and, yeah... you potentially have a real bad situation.

I will put General McChrystal's professional 34 years of uber competent experience up against ANY of the state departments inexperienced appointees, the blundering Binden, or even President Obama who has never ran ANYTHING in his life. It would be like my archie bunker grandpa trying to work in a shop that is owned and ran by inexperienced frat boys - we are talking two different worlds. Guess what? Grandpa would have quit too.

Keep up the good work
BoB
Killeen/Ft Hood

[Thane]

Bub,
There you go again! There is no such thing as “…harmless male banter” when you are a four star general entrusted with the most important aspect of a worldwide war. You just don’t get it man.

Please provide me the quotes, dates, times and places for the top four-star generals who made disparaging remarks, while still on the job, about Presidents Clinton or Bush and didn't lose their jobs for it? You wouldn't be exaggerating to make a point now would ya?

Rolling Stone Hack Job? McChrystal and his staff allowed this man unfettered access. He says he basically walked around with a notepad and tape recorder. No one is disputing the accuracy of his quotes. One of the disparaging remarks concerning Senator John McCain who I believe was run by the Republicans as a candidate for some office a year or two ago. This was a hard-hitting article, but no hack job, no one was deceived. Such an article should never have been allowed in the first place which is precisely one of the criticisms of McChrystal (or more accurately his Chief of Staff) for playing along with this.

“…utter incompetence of President Obama and his Afghanistan state department team…”? I guess you don’t know much about the background of Ambassador Eikenberry, a retired three-star who was the commander in Afghanistan under President Bush. You want to make this into a partisan Republican vs. Democrat or a State Department vs. Military issue and it just ain’t that simple Bub.

Bob, normally I would have to go to a bowling alley lounge just before closing time or a Greyhound bus station waiting room to hear sophisticated opinions such as yours. Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,
Thane

[lwoolley]

Lynn,

Have you seen any information regarding Joe Heflin’s being fined for ethics violations? Heflin is the democratic representative in the 85th district. There are a number of conservatives in this district that listen to your show and I’m sure would appreciate verification as to the allegations against Heflin. I was told that it was reported on a Lubbock radio station that he had committed multiple violations. I know that you have many more available resources than I, and would appreciate any information.

Many thanks,

Craig Bailey
Big Spring, TX

[lwoolley]

Hi Lynn, Have you done any research on The New World Currency? I googled it last night and spent a couple of hours reading what was there. It is very scarey and kind of explains what Obama is up to.
I hope all is well with you.
Steph