Ed's Blog

"Some people know everything, but that's all they know."

A SOLDIER’S JOURNEY TO AN UNKNOWN DESTINATION – Memorial Day 2010

Forty-three Memorial Days ago—four wars ago now—I was a second lieutenant artillery observer with the 9th Infantry Division’s Mobile Riverine Force in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam. The day I set out for that incredible combat zone five months earlier, I began a journey to an unknown destination, a place inside myself I had not yet discovered.

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MEMORIAL DAY

How would you prefer to spend Memorial Day?

  • Visit a military cemetery
  • Watch a good military movie
  • Barbecue with friends and family
  • All of the above

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BLAIR’S RESIGNATION – A Symptom of a More Serious Problem

The resignation of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Dennis Blair, is a symptom of a more serious problem within the Obama administration than the failures of the DNI. It’s a problem that won’t disappear with Blair’s departure. Fixing it requires more than appointing the right replacement. it requires a hard look at the DNI position itself and how President Obama and the White House oversee it.

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Filed under: Terrorism, National Security, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

WAS A DNI A GOOD IDEA?

Was the creation of a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) a good idea or a bad idea?

• A good idea
• A Bad idea
• Not sure

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Read my May 24 column BLAIR’S RESIGNATION – A Symptom of a More Serious Problem

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PHONY VIETNAM WAR VETERANS

Approximately 3.4 million Americans, overwhelmingly men, served “in theater” during the Vietnam War. That includes Navy personnel serving on ships at sea and Air Force people who flew missions over Vietnam from bases in Thailand. Approximately 8.7 million people served in the U.S. Armed Forces during those years. Research, based on Veterans Administration claims and other documentation indicates that approximately 13 million Americans claim to have served “in theater” during the war.  Now we learn in the Monday, May 17 edition of the New York Times that Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who is running to replace Senator Chris Dodd has repeatedly falsified his service in Vietnam. You would think a politician would be smarter than that. Those kind of facts are easy to verify. Nevertheless, isn’t it odd that so many people claim service in a war that was so unpopular.

Candidate’s Words on Vietnam Service Differ From History

Filed under: Military, , , , , , , , , , , ,

ROBIN HOOD – A Role Model for Conservative Politicians

Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, which opened to mixed reviews in American movie theaters on May 14, is an excellent educational film for current and future conservative American politicians. It reinforces the importance of championing limited government, individual rights, and freedom over the pursuit of self interest.

If you haven’t yet seen the film, this may confuse you. The countless versions of Robin Hood, from 1938’s Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood onward, portrayed the medieval hero as a liberal. Robin always had the right talking points, but his main activities were the pursuit of his own interests and the redistribution of wealth. He pursued merriment with Lady Marian and his merry men. He fought for his beloved but absent King Richard the Lionheart and to recover his lost estates. And he taunted the Sheriff of Nottingham for entertainment. Most important, he took from the rich to give to the poor—a defining liberal characteristic.

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Filed under: Movies-TV, Satire, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

WHICH ROBIN HOOD DO YOU PREFER?

Which Robin Hood do you prefer, the traditional Robin Hood who takes from the rich and gives to the poor or the new Robin Hood who fights for limited government and the Magna Carta?

  • The traditional Robin Hood
  • The Robin Hood who fights for limited government and the Magna Carta

Return to Poll

Read Ed’s May 17  Column ROBIN HOOD – A Role Model for Conservative Politicians

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DEFEATING ISLAMIST-JIHADISM – A Lesson From the Cold War

Every war requires a unique grand strategy, but certain strategic principles never change. They apply to all wars and are essential to victory. So why is the Obama administration deliberately avoiding the one most essential to winning the war with Islamist-Jihadism?

In the sixth century BC, Chinese general and military strategist Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War (Sūn Zǐ Bīng Fǎ), “Know thy self, know thy enemy; a thousand battles, a thousand victories.”  (More)

Filed under: Military, Terrorism, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

ISLAMIST-JIHADISM AND THE MUSLIM WORLD

Post your comments here to the EWRoss.com May 10, 2010 poll.

Can America effectively fight and defeat Islamist-Jihadism without alienating the Muslim World?

  • Yes
  • No

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Filed under: Poll, , ,

VIETNAM TO ARIZONA – The Strategy of Moral Misdirection

A Vietnam veteran, on April 30, the 35th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, I reflected on my two tours of duty there. On May 1, “Immigration-Day,” I watched protesters on television march in opposition to Arizona’s new law on illegal immigration and the failure of the federal government to enact “comprehensive” immigration reform. They reminded me of anti-Vietnam-War protests and got me thinking about what they have in common. (More)

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RACISM AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Post your comments below to EWRoss.com’s May 3 poll question: To what extent is racism a factor in the border security/illegal immigration debate?

  • Less than 5 percent
  • 5 to 25 percent
  • 25 to 50 percent
  • Greater than 50 perceent

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