ewross « Ed's Blog

February 12, 2012 • 12:21 PM 39

THE USS GABRIELLE GIFFORDS

The U.S. Navy announced last week that it will name its newest Littoral Combat Ship (LCS 10) after former Representative Gabrielle Giffords. I admire Giffords, and I believe she has handled her situation with grace and courage; and if Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus wants to name a ship after her, that’s his prerogative. Nevertheless, is it a good idea to name Navy ships after young, living former politicians, no matter how much we may empathize with them? (Read the full column at EWRosss.com)

Filed under: Military, world war II, ewross, Arizona, Ed Ross, Washington D.C., Member of Congress, Tucson Arizona, Eleanor Roosevelt, U.S. Navy SEAL, French Revolution, US Navy, Vietnam War combat veteran, Medal of Honor recipients, USS Gabrielle Giffords, Littoral Combat Ship, Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, distinguished USN USMC officers, enlisted men, Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, American Revolution, USS Jimmy Carter, SSN-23, USS George H. W. Bush, CVN-77, nuclear submarine officer, aircraft carrier, Florence Nightingale, Susan B. Anthony, RDML Grace Hopper, Amelia Earhart, deranged lunatic, military veterans, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USS Michael Murphy, DDG-112, Ray Mabus, 2011 Tucson shooting

February 5, 2012 • 12:48 PM 17

DISSUADING IRAN FROM BUILDING A NUCLEAR WEAPON: THE LESSON OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

Can the U.S. dissuade Iran from building a nuclear weapon without having to resort to the use of military force?

American presidents have a mixed record of success in the post-World War II world of influencing the decision making of our adversaries and avoiding war. Where they have succeeded—the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis is the prime example—it was because they were prepared to use the full force of American power; and the adversary had no doubt that they would do so.

When it comes to Iran, Israel’s threat to use unilateral force complicates U.S. decision making, but it should not prevent Washington from taking the lead and doing what is necessary. (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: National Security, adversaries, American power, American presidents, assassination, avoiding war, building a nuclear weapon, core beliefs, covert activities, deep underground facilities, dissuading Iran, Ed Ross, enriched uranium, ewross, influencing decision making, intermediate range nuclear missiles in Cuba, international affairs, Iran, Iran’s nuclear program, Iranian nuclear scientists, Iranian weapons facilities, Israel-Iran conflict, Israel’s threat, military force, Moscow, nuclear war, Obama administration’s attempts, October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, oil exports, post-World War II world, President John Kennedy, sabotage attacks, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, showdown with the Soviet Union, Soviet decision makers, Soviet Politburo, Stuxnet virus, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the essence of ultimate decision remains impenetrable to the observer, The Washington Post, U.S. decision making, uranium enrichment, world view, World War II veteran, zone of immunity

January 29, 2012 • 11:00 AM 10

SEEK TRUTH FROM FACTS: THE KEY TO DEFEATING PRESIDENT OBAMA

“Seek truth from facts” (實事求是), a Chinese expression that dates from the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 25 AD) and used by Deng Xiaoping to reclaim China from Mao Zedong’s destruction, should be the Republican Party’s campaign slogan in 2012. President Obama and the leadership of the Democratic Party seek to create truth from campaign rhetoric, fear, and deception. If the Republican presidential nominee and candidates down the ticket simply and clearly present the facts and conservative policies they won’t abandon in office, Republican candidates will win in a national landslide. (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: Politics, 2012, al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda terrorists, Arab Spring, Berkshire Hathaway, Bush administration, campaign promises, campaign rhetoric, capital gains, Central and Eastern Europe, China’s military buildup, Chinese expression, commander-in-chief, conservative policies, deception, Democrats in Congress, Democrats’ favorite communist, disincentives on investment, drone-missile attacks, earned income, Ed Ross, ewross, fear, federal income taxes, Han Dynasty, hostages in Somalia, insult voters’ intelligence, investments, Iran, Iraq, Islamist winter, landslide, Mao Zedong, millionaires and billionaires, Mitt Romney, nanny state, national defense, Newt Gingrich, north korea, nuclear weapons, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, pay their fair share, personal assistant, petty bickering, Pinocchio, Political Academy of Arts and Sciences’, President Bush, President Obama, presidential nominee, public opinion, real estate, Republican Party’s campaign slogan, Republican primaries, russia, salary or commissions, satellite band width, SEAL Team 6 mission, secretaries, Secretary Robert Gates, Seek truth from facts, shortage of drone pilots, stock market, surge in Afghanistan, tax rates, top 10 percent of income earners, U.S. Air Force, U.S. defense budget, video games, Warren Buffet’s secretary

January 22, 2012 • 12:28 PM 50

SUCCESSFUL PRESIDENTS AND EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIRS

There is an interesting correlation between the most successful presidents over the past 80 years and those that have had extramarital affairs. Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, and Bill Clinton all had extramarital affairs before or during their terms of office. Only Ronald Reagan appears to be the exception to the rule. Is it any wonder that voters may be willing to overlook Newt Gingrich’s affair? (More)

Filed under: Politics, The Presidency, ABC’s Brian Ross, adultery, assault, barack obama, Bill Clinton, bimbo eruptions, boldness, Callista Gingrich, character trait, CNN debate moderator John King, Democrat, Dwight Eisenhower, Ed Ross, Eleanor Roosevelt, ewross, extramarital affairs, Franklin Roosevelt, Gennifer Flowers, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Governor of Arkansas, harry truman, Hillary Clinton, Hollywood stars, House of Representatives, impeachment, Jackie Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, John Kennedy, Judith Campbell Exner, Kay Summersby, Lucy Page Mercer, Lyndon Johnson, Mafia boss San Giancana, mainstream media bias, Mamie Eisenhower, Marianne Gingrich, Marilyn Monroe, Monica Lewinski, Newt Gingrich, obstruction of justice, perjury, presidential candidates, presidential leadership, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, sex life, sexual harassment, South Carolina primary, successful presidents, Texas Governor Rick Perry, Vietnam War, Watergate, White House

January 15, 2012 • 12:00 PM 8

WHY SOME AMERICAN WARRIORS BEHAVE BADLY

In every American war there have been those few that will urinate on enemy corpses or degrade and abuse enemy detainees. War is hell and it can bring out the worst in people. But do those who behave badly do so because of the stresses of combat or because of a propensity for such behavior before they entered the military? As a Vietnam War combat veteran, I can testify that both are true; but instances of the latter, in my opinion, outnumber the former as American men and women in uniform bring with them their personal moral and ethical bearings. (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: Military, 9th Infantry Division, Abu Ghraib, Afghanistan, alcohol and drug abuse, American warriors, behave badly, cell-phone video, Conflicts and Wars, cut ears of corpses, desecration of corpses, digital photography, Ed Ross, ewross, firebombing, General William Westmorland, geopolitical environment, Germans, Germany, highly decorated combat veterans, History, Hollywood propaganda, Internet, Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans, Japan, Japanese, Japanese fishing boats, Japanese Navy, laws of war, Mai Lai Massacre, Marines, Medal of Honor recipients, mental stability, Military, moral and ethical choices of tomorrow, moral fabric of American society, moral relativism, mores of war, posttraumatic stress disorder, psychiatrists, psychology of war, PTSD, search-and-destroy strategy, sub-human, suicide, U.S. Armed Forces, U.S. government, U.S. submarines, Uniform Code of Military Justice, United States, urinating on Taliban corpses, VC, Veteran, vietcong, Vietcong villages, Vietnam War, Vietnam War combat veteran, war crimes, warriors, world war II

January 8, 2012 • 12:00 PM 10

WHAT THE 2012 ELECTION WILL TELL US ABOUT OURSELVES

Following the 2008 election Americans learned a great deal more about the man they elected president than they knew about him when they voted for him. The 2012 election will tell us more about ourselves than the man we elect as our president, no matter who he is. (More)

Filed under: Politics, The Presidency, 2000 election, 2012 election, 99 weeks of unemployment benefits, Afghanistan, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, American voters, Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country, barack obama, big government, Bill Ayers, Black American presidennt, black liberation theology, conservative Republicans, deficits, Democratic constituenccies, Democratic Party, Ed Ross, entitlement reform, entitlement spending, European model, ewross, food stamps, fundamentally transform America, government spending, Iraq, John F. Kennedy, liberal, liberal agenda, mainstream media, mainstream Republican politicians, Medicare, Mitt Romney, negative presidential campaign, Newt Gingrich, President of the United States, presidential election, progressive, Racism, recess appointments, Republican controlled House, restore America, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Rick Santorum, Senate, Social Security, superpower, Supreme Court justices, Tony Rezko, unions, vision for America

January 1, 2012 • 12:00 PM 11

THE NORTH KOREA CONUNDRUM: THE DINOSAUR THAT WON’T GO EXTINCT

How is it that Stalinist North Korea continues to survive into the 21st Century when its communist-sister nations evolved? North Korea, now under Supreme Leader number three, Kim Jong-un, is the dinosaur that won’t go extinct. The answer is that China nurtures and protects North Korea, preferring it the way it is; and until the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) becomes a greater liability to China than an asset, it will continue to exist as a throwback to another era. The goal of U.S. North Korea policy, therefore, should be to hasten that day. (More)

Filed under: National Security, 21st century, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, ballistic missile, Beijing, carrots and sticks, china, conundrum, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, dinosaur that won't go extinct, DPRK, Ed Ross, ewross, goose stepping, Japan, Joseph Stalin, Kim Jong-il, Korean Peninsula, Kurt Campbell, most militarized country, north korea, nuclear armed, Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, nuclear weapons, perfected police state, proliferator, Pyongyang, reset, Russsia, Six Party Talks, South Korean naval vessel, soviet union, Stalinist North Korea, strategic patience, supreme leader, technology, Tokyo, United States, vestige of communism, Washington, world power

December 18, 2011 • 11:46 AM 8

CHRISTMASES PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Each of us who celebrate Christmas in America, at one time or another as December 25 approaches, thinks about Christmases past, present, and future. We string Christmases past together in our minds as if they were bulbs on an old strand of Christmas lights. There are those that glow dimly or not at all because they hold unhappy memories; and there are those that glow brightly with happy ones. We wonder how brightly Christmas present will glow when it becomes a Christmas past and how many more bright bulbs we’ll add to the string. (More)

Filed under: Uncategorized, 1949, 9th Infantry Division, Afghanistan War, American Embassy, Beijing, china, Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas in America, Christmas lights, Christmases past present and future, December 1966, December 1983, December 25, Ed Ross, end stage renal disease, ewross, grandchildren, Happy New Year, holiday, Howdy Doody, Iraq, Lights, Merry Christmas, peace on earth good will to men, Pennsylvania, Philco, religious, Revolutionary War, Saigon, secular, son-in-law, Swissvale, test patern, traditionalists, TV set, U.S. Army Attache, Vietnam, Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington D.C.

December 11, 2011 • 12:00 PM 8

TO TRUMP OR NOT TO TRUMP, THAT IS (WAS) THE QUESTION

On December 27, 2011, if it isn’t cancelled for lack of participants, Donald Trump is scheduled to moderate the Newsmax ION Television Republican Presidential Debate in De Moines, Iowa. The jury is out on whether Trump’s P.T. Barnum approach to the 2012 presidential election ultimately will help or hurt Republicans. What’s clear is Trump and P.T. Barnum have a lot in common; and “The Donald’s” approach to the upcoming presidential election is right in tune with the three-ring circus Barnum invented and American presidential elections have become. (More)

Filed under: Politics, Abolitionist, American Enterprise Institute, American presidential elections, business tycoon, CNN, Connecticut legislature, De Moines, December 27th debate, Democrat, Donald Trump, Ed Ross, ewross, George Will, Heritage Foundation, ION Television, Iowa, Iowa caucuses, Jon Huntsman, Michele Bachmann, millionaire, Miss Universe Organization, Mitt Romney, mockery of the debate, multitasker, NBC Television, New York, Newsmax, Newt Gingrich, P.T. Barnum, philanthropist, pilgrimage, politician, President Barack Obama, profitable philanthropy, real estate mogul, reality show, republican, Republican presidential debate, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, show business, showman, that is the question, The Apprentice, The Donald, third-party candidate, three-ring circus, to Trump or not to Trump, toys with the idea, Trump Plaza, WrestleMania

November 27, 2011 • 1:25 PM 6

DEMOCRAT’S SUPPORT FOR OWS AND NOSTALGIA FOR THE ANTI-VIETNAM WAR MOVEMENT

Is it any wonder why many high-profile Democrats, including President Obama, have supported and defended the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement and continue to do so? It holds out the promise of a return to the heady and influential days of the anti-Vietnam War movement where Democrats, now in their 50s and 60s, cut their teeth. They see it as a tool to rally frustrated Americans to support them in the coming elections. Unfortunately, the OWS protesters are unguided missiles that haven’t lived up to Democrat’s expectations and expose the weakness of their fundamentally-transform-America argument. (More)

Filed under: Politics, 60s and 70s, anti capatalism, anti government, anti-Vietnam War Movement, assaults, awards and accolades, baby killers, Bernaardine Dohrn, big banks, Bill Aires, Bob Dylan, Bolshevik, cavalry riding to the rescue, Civil Rights movement, counter culture, Democrat's expectations, Democrat's support for OWS, drugs, Ed Ross, ewross, Frankenstein, free love, fundamentally transform America, Jane Fonda, man and women in uniform, media coverage, nostalgia, Occupy Wall Street, occupy whatever, one percent, Opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, President Obama, rapes, recreational activities, rock n roll, Southeast Asia, The Times They are a-Changin', transform America, U.S. Army, U.S. forces, unguided missiles, unsanitary conditions, useful idiots, Wall Street, Wall Street brokers, Weather Underground, Woodstock

November 20, 2011 • 11:47 AM 1

CUTTING DEFENSE AND AMERICA DOWN TO SIZE

Budget cuts already proposed by President Obama and those that could take effect if the “supercommittee” in Congress fails to agree on $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction could cut the defense budget more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years, devastating U.S. military capabilities. The Congress, as currently configured, is unlikely to allow such deep cuts in defense; but that doesn’t mean they eventually won’t happen. Despite our debt, America still has vast resources, but there’s growing disagreement on what we should spend them on, what threatens us, and the missions the U.S. armed forces should undertake, with one side of the argument wanting to cut America down to size. (More)

Filed under: National Security, across-the-board defense cuts, aircraft, America's self image, armored fighting vehicles, big government, blood and treasure, china, collectivism, Congress, counterinsurgencies, counterterrorism, cutting defense, democracy, Department of Defense, Ed Ross, education, entrepreneurship, European-style social democracy, ewross, F-15, F-16, F-22, F-35, freedom, gutting the defense budget, healthcare, individualism, Iran and Afghanistan, islamic world, John McCain, Leon Panetta, Military budget, military retirement, national debt, peace dividend, President Obama, Secretary of Defense, Senator, ships, social justice, social services, social-democratic state, supercommittee, threats, U.S. military, U.S. military capabilities, United States Congress, US Air Force, US Army, US Navy, utopianism, war weariness, weapon systems, withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, world war II

November 13, 2011 • 12:00 PM 93

MILITARY STRIKE ON IRAN RAPIDLY BECOMING ONLY OPTION

Recent media stories tell us of an internal Israeli government debate over attacking Iran’s nuclear weapons program as the International Atomic Energy Commission’s (IAEA) prepares to release its report that Iran could soon have its first nuclear weapon. Taking out Iran’s dispersed nuclear-weapons-related installations—many of which are deep underground—is a difficult task; and Iranian retaliation on Israel and U.S. forces in the region could set off a destructive and costly war. Nevertheless, military action by Israel and or the United States is rapidly becoming the only option left after sanctions and covert action have failed to do the job. (More)

Filed under: National Security, assassinated, china, CISADA, classified documents, Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and Divestment Act, Congress, covert military operation, cyber, Daily Telegraph, deception, diplomacy, double agents, Ed Ross, enrichment of uranium, ewross, front companies, Green Revolution, hitmen, IAEA, infiltration, intelligence committee, International Atomic Energy Commission, international community, Iran's nuclear weapons program, Iranian assassin, Iranian nuclear scientists, Iranian Revolutionary Guard, israel, Israeli government, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, military force, military strike on Iran, olive branch, President Obama, presidential finding, Quds Force, regime change, russia, sabotage, sanctions, Saudi Arabian Ambassador, Stuxnet virus, Tel Aviv, United States, US forces, Washington DC

November 6, 2011 • 12:00 PM 20

THEY’RE RIOTING IN GREECE, THEY’RE OCCUPYING AMERICA

To paraphrase an old Kingston Trio song:

They’re rioting in Greece, they’re occupying America.

There’s unrest in China, and Middle East hysteria.

The whole world is festering with unhappy contrarians

The Islamists hate everyone, everyone hates Americans

Palestinians hate Israelis, someone hates the Dutch.

And no one likes anybody very much.

Amidst all this chaos, Americans want a president and legislators that will restore order, prosperity, and national security. It’s difficult to imagine how we can elect the right people, however, when we spend more time focusing on form than substance. (More)

Filed under: Politics, The Presidency, 24/7 media coverage, 9-9-9 plan, ANWR, Asia, barack obama, china, Dutch, Ed Ross, energy independence, ewross, flat tax plan, foreign policy, form over substance, gaffe, government executive, Herman Cain, Islamists, Israelis, John McCain, Kingston Trio, leadership skills, Lincoln-Douglas style debate, middle east, Middle East hysteria, Mitt Romney, national security, Newt Gingrich, Occupying America, Palestinians, Palinizing, President Obama, President of the United States, private sector, referendum on President Barack Obama, republicans, Rick Perry, rioting in Greece, sexual haraassment allegations, unhappy souls, Warfare and Conflict

October 30, 2011 • 12:00 PM 10

KARL ROVE’S SECRET AGENDA

Karl Rove has many critics. Most are Democrats that were on the losing side of political campaigns Rove managed. More recently, his critics include Republicans like Sarah Palin, Rick Perry, and Herman Cain that believe Rove has unfairly criticized them for his own political purposes. So does Rove have a secret agenda—declared and potential Republican candidates he wants to help or hurt—or is he providing objective analysis that the Republicans he criticizes don’t want to hear? (More)

Filed under: Politics, architect, bias, brilliant political strategist, Candidate, conseervatives, Democratic Party (United States), democrats, Dick Morris, Ed Ross, enemies, ewross, forest for the trees, Fox News Channel, Herman Cain, inside information, Karl Rove, Karl Rove's secret agenda, Mitt Romney, over the top, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, presidential nomination, republican, Republican candidates, Rick Perry, Roger Ailes, Ronald Reagan Library, Rove, sarah palin, Tea Party conservatives, Texas gubernatorial victories, United States, Wall Street Journal

October 23, 2011 • 11:58 AM 14

KILLING QADDAFI

There’s an obvious difference between SEAL Team 6 putting a bullet in Osama Bin Laden’s head and Libyan rebels summarily executing Muammar Qaddafi after capturing him. Ample legal precedent supports killing illegal enemy combatants in time of war. There is no legal precedent, internationally or otherwise, for the summary execution of a captured Qaddafi, nor is it consistent with the “American values” we’ve heard so much about with regard to the George W. Bush administrations conduct of the war on terror. (More)

Filed under: Politics, Terrorism, American values, Anwar al-Awlaki, CIA Anwar al Awlaki, Colonel Qaddafi, drones, Ed Ross, EITs, enhanced interrogation techniques, ewross, George W. Bush, Hilllary Clinton, hypocrites, killing Qaddafi, Libya, Libyan, Libyan government, Libyan rebels, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Muammar Qaddafi, National Transitional Council, NATO, Osama Bin Laden, Pan Am Flight 103, precision guided munitions, President Obama, Qaddafi, Saddam Hussein, SEAL Team 6, Secretary of State, summary execution, UCMJ, Uniform Code of Military Justice, United Nations Human Rights Council, US Congress

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Ed's Blog

THE USS GABRIELLE GIFFORDS

DISSUADING IRAN FROM BUILDING A NUCLEAR WEAPON: THE LESSON OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

SUCCESSFUL PRESIDENTS AND EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIRS

WHY SOME AMERICAN WARRIORS BEHAVE BADLY

THE NORTH KOREA CONUNDRUM: THE DINOSAUR THAT WON’T GO EXTINCT

CHRISTMASES PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

TO TRUMP OR NOT TO TRUMP, THAT IS (WAS) THE QUESTION

DEMOCRAT’S SUPPORT FOR OWS AND NOSTALGIA FOR THE ANTI-VIETNAM WAR MOVEMENT

MILITARY STRIKE ON IRAN RAPIDLY BECOMING ONLY OPTION

THEY’RE RIOTING IN GREECE, THEY’RE OCCUPYING AMERICA

KARL ROVE’S SECRET AGENDA

KILLING QADDAFI

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