Before the Christmas Day terror attack on flight #253 into Detroit the new FY 2010 budget went into effect for Department of Homeland Security. While there was an increase in the overall budget, due to reallocation of funds within the Department some agencies actually experienced a budget cut in security measures.

One of the areas experiencing the biggest cut was in the Border Patrol. In Secretary Napolitano's FY 2010 Budget Request released May 7, 2009 she bragged about the Department's efforts in "preventing the smuggling of people, drugs, cash and weapons across our nation’s borders while facilitating international trade and travel."

The news release went on to say they had created a new initiative to disrupt the flow of drugs, cash and weapons that are fueling the drug cartels in Mexico. When it comes to our Southern borders it is clear Secretary Napolitano doesn't consider our Border Patrol Agents as an essential part of the effort to control attempts of would be terrorist from entering our country. In her list of priorities she recognizes the primary function of DHS is to protect the American people from terrorist attacks. Evidently when it comes to the Border Patrol she does not consider protecting the American public from terrorist and the threat of terrorist weapons entering the United States as part of their mission.

Since the attack on 9/11 the structure and mission of CBP and our Border Patrol Agents have taken a drastic turn. They are no longer simply looking for illegals or fruits and vegetables that could damage our well being. They are a large part of our first line of defense against terrorist looking for any opportunity to attack and kill Americans. While the public and media focuses most of their attention on the illegal immigration aspect of the agent's job, they fail to recognize the job agents are doing everyday and night along our Southern borders. Since their primary mission has been changed and they have been designated as the primary federal law enforcement agency designed to protect Americans from terrorist attacks they have been extremely successful. Until the Christmas 2009 attack on flight #253 no terrorist had been able to penetrate our border security and carry out a successful attack on the homefront. With the attack of 2009 and reallocation of funds this is about to change in 2010.

Secretary Napolitano believes the best way to fight terrorism is to add more desk jobs and technology by additional funds for resourcing the expansion of information-sharing partnerships with local and state law enforcement. What she doesn't say is she is taking funding away from the everyday operations of the Border Patrol to pay for this expansion. In her budget request she brags about the additional manpower she has planned for different agencies within DHS. Included in this number is a paltry 44 additional Border Patrol agents for FY 2010. This will not cover the loss of agents along our Southern borders due to natural attrition, transfers and increased violence coming from Mexico.

Agents in most of the sectors along our Southern borders have been experiencing long hours requiring overtime for the majority of 2009. It is not uncommon for agents in the field to work 12 or more hours a day, everyday, 5 days a week. Using a weird formula for determining overtime pay they are restricted from receiving overtime pay equal to their counterparts in the private sector. Agents normally earn from 10% to 25% extra pay for overtime based on the number of hours worked. The number of hours a agent can claim has always been limited but with the new FY 2010 budget the amount of overtime hours has been drastically reduced in certain sectors. Due to operational budget cuts, agents in these sectors have been told when their shift ends they must stop what they are doing and return to their official duty stations. What this means is some areas along the border will not be patrolled during certain hours of the day. This will undoubtedly create holes in our first line of defense against would be terrorist, smugglers, criminals, or illegals. Creating unmanned corridors along our borders that allows the free flow of illegal entry into the interior is a unintended consequence of decisions being made by this administration.

A lot is expected from agents in the field and we seldom hear anything in the media in support of what they do. For the most part they are either ridiculed by the open borders section of America or just forgotten by the national media. In less than 2 years 2 agents were murdered by illegals. One was killed by a smuggler and the other was executed supposedly by a lone teenager that confessed to doing it while trying to rob the agent. He struck a deal receiving a 20 year sentence. Very little for executing a father, husband and federal law enforcement agent performing his duty of protecting Americans from would be terrorist and criminals targeting our country.

It is clear this administration and for the most part the American people will continue to misunderstand or simply ignore the vital role these agents play in protecting our country. Maybe after the next successful terrorist attack, and it is determined that the terrorist crossed through our Southern border, this administration will wake up. Reallocating funds and manpower but still expecting a understaffed agency to fulfill their mission is naive and dangerous. It shows a distinct misunderstanding of the threats facing the United States and the American people. Agents along our borders are men and women no different than other American men and women serving in our military and other areas that have taken the oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We cannot expect people that risk their lives everyday and night to continue to perform their duties at the highest possible level without support from the people they are trying to protect.

President Obama earlier in 2009 announced he would reduce the number of agents deployed along our Southern borders and transfer hundreds to our Northern borders. Now with the reallocation of funding creating budget cuts in some of our Southern border sectors he is basically telling our agents we expect more for less. This is a recipe for disaster. After the 2009 Christmas Day attack I hope but don't expect that President Obama and Secretary Napolitano will rethink their strategy on the terror threat facing America.

If it wasn't clear to President Obama supporters in the past it is clear today, when it comes to terrorist attacks President Obama is a weak leader.

Unlike President Bush this president has decided to take a low key leadership role when America is under attack. Since the Christmas day attack President Obama has made zero public appearances. Rather than appearing on camera to reassure the public that everything is under control the president has decided to work out in the gym and play golf while vacationing in Hawaii.

This is to be expected of President Obama. After all, after the Fort Hood killings this administration refused to classify and prosecute the attack as a terrorist attack. In the most recent attack that was thwarted only by the fact that the explosive device failed to explode and the passengers taking swift action President Obama and some in the media have been reluctant to make the connection of the suspect to Al Qaeda. It is perfectly clear to most people that this was carried out by Al Qaeda out of Yemen.

The president may think his nonappearance will be more reassuring but it will most likely have the opposite effect. It also will send the message to other terrorist that President Obama is not President Bush and will not take these terrorist attempts seriously. This is reminiscent of the Clinton Administration of the 90s'. Attack after attack was treated as a criminal act and never given the full benefit of a terrorist threat or act of war. To most Americans this is the wrong direction for this president to be taking and is nothing less than a sign of weak leadership skills.

It is Sunday the second day since the Christmas terrorist failed attempt to bring down a U S plane and kill innocent civilians over a U S city. The president has decided to send his cabinet people to all of the talk show circuits instead of addressing the situation himself. Evidently resident Obama is worried that without his teleprompter he might say the wrong thing, thereby opening himself up to public ridicule. With his performance rating dropping like a large rock the president must be more concerned about his political standings than the security of the country.

If this sounds like a harsh critical review of the president's handling of the recent terrorist attack, then I have done my job. Since President Obama has taken office this is clearly the second terrorist attack whether the president believes it or not. We all know the president has worked really hard on his domestic agenda and needs to recharge before the next fight over health care but nothing including health care is more important than our country coming under attack by agents of Al Qaeda. It is bad enough we have murderers of Federal Agents and Marines sitting in Mexico while this Administration does nothing, it is absolutely intolerable and inexcusable for the country to come under attack and the president say nothing for two or three days.

After the Christmas day attack on board flight 253 some serious questions are beginning to surface about the United States President. Before the attack people praised Barack Obama as highly intelligent, articulate and a constitutional scholar. The biggest question his critics could muster was if he had Socialist intentions for the United States. With his actions and statements since Christmas more serious questions must be raised.

Does Barack Obama have a mental disorder that will not allow him to face reality?

Is he in a delusional state of mind that restricts his ability to separate facts from fantasies?

Is he mentally incompetent and unable to distinguish the difference between our friends and enemies?

These are questions I never thought I would ask about any President of the United States but these are desperate and scary times. If we look at the world the way it really is and look at the world the way Barack Obama sees it, something is clearly wrong. The United States economy is still on the edge of destruction and unemployment is still at a record high but Barack sees it coming back strong and the worst being behind us. With the high unemployment and consumer spending down, government tax revenue is dwindling. Normal people would stop borrowing and spending but Barack Obama believes we should borrow and spend more. He goes to China, our biggest debtor, with hat in hand asking for more loans. They scold him on excessive spending and the falling value of the dollar. He returns home speaking about reaching a mutual understanding and economic agreement between the two nations. In the meantime China publicly ridicules him and warns they may agree to drop the dollar as the world reserve currency. Obama refuses to hear the warnings and criticism and decides to force through a health care plan that may cripple the United States for generations to come.

He believes in Global Warming and sees the world being destroyed if the nations of the world do not follow his lead and advice. Scientist disagree on the cause and even if mankind can make a difference but he doesn't hear the opposition and refuses to listen to dissenters of the Global Warming theory. He goes to Copenhagen promising to come back with an agreement that will change the way mankind deals with the effects of global warming. Again China refuses to discuss the matter by sending a low level minister that has no authority to broker any agreements with anyone. Obama representing the United States at the highest level did not see this as an insult but returned home with a fantasy story about agreeing to have future talks to agree on something. It made no sense but some in the media bent over backwards to clean it up.

After taking office the first thing he did was order the closure of the Guantanamo Bay Military Prison. He had no plan but in his mind it was simple, if I say it will be done then it will be done. He told America and the world it would be closed within a year and then he walked away from it. In March he decided the War On Terror was over and using Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano started calling terrorist, extremist instead. Terrorist attacks became man made disasters. He went to South America and met Venezuela President Chavez during the Summit of the Americas where Chavez clapped him on the back and gave him a book. Obama never understood it to be an insult but rather an opportunity to settle past disagreements between the United States and Chavez. At the first opportunity Chavez blasted the United States and ridiculed Obama calling him another Bush.

After the Fort Hood terror attack by Maj Hasan, Obama went to a previously scheduled event hosted by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. After being introduced he jubilantly recognized the staffers and laughingly gave a "shout out" to "Dr Joe Medicine Crow, that Congressional Medal of Honor Winner." It took three minutes into his speech for him to say anything about the Fort Hood shootings. When he did he called it a "horrible incident". In the days and weeks that followed he still would not call it a terrorist act, even though the rest of the country recognized it as an act of terror.

After the terror attack on flight 253 it took over two hours for the President to be notified. Three days after the attack and only after Janet Napolitano made a fool out of herself on the weekend news shows, Obama finally broke his silence. In his speech he never recognized it as an Al Qaeda directed act of terror, instead he called it an "extremist act" and "incident of one lone extremist". It was perfectly clear to everyone including most of the media it was a terrorist attack directed by Al Qaeda in Yemen.

It was after Obama's speech that Al Qaeda in Yemen posted a statement claiming responsibility and warning of more attacks to follow. Obama gave a second speech partially defending Napolitano by saying after the attack the system worked to stop anymore potential attacks from occurring. He did say the system failed and ordered a review on his desk within two days. He still never referred to it as an act of terror and called the Al Qaeda connected terrorist an extremist. In both speeches it was clear from the expression on his face, President Obama didn't understand what was going on and didn't really believe what he was saying.

President Obama is still considering returning some of the GITMO prisoners to Yemen even though two of the previous detainees were returned to Yemen and now are leaders of Al Qaeda in Yemen. His determination to treat both acts of terror as criminal acts has most of the country bewildered.

Whether President Obama is suffering from some form of a delusional break down from reality or is just in a state of denial is something a qualified psychologist will have to determine. The question some Americans are beginning to ask:

Does President Obama have the mental stability or is he competent enough to remain as Commander In Chief during a time of war?

The great and wondrous leader Barack Obama called upon his followers to gather in front of their televisions and said unto them, "Follow me for we are on the brink of a great disaster the like of which we have not seen since the Great Depression. Open your wallets and your children' wallets and I will save you from walking off the precipice that is before you." His followers without question opened their wallets and bankrupt their children for decades to come because the magnificent one said, "Do not fear for I am in charge and I will lead you to the land of prosperity." This was the great disaster known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

As unemployment began to rise the all knowing leader Barack Obama called upon his followers and said unto them, "Follow me for I am the all knowing and wise leader that shall smite the wicked ways of the bankers and Wall Street Fat Cats that have destroyed our economy. I will force them to take your money and thereby gain control of all of the decisions they make, for only I am wise enough to make those decisions." Again his followers fell to their knees and praised the wise and all knowing Obama, feeling blessed that they finally had a leader worth following.

Next the glorious leader called upon his gathering of followers and said unto them, "Follow me for I am the glorious all knowing leader that must take over the automotive industry in America. I will use your money to buy up stock and bail out the failing companies and I will be able to control all of their future decisions for I am the all wise and glorious Barack Obama." Again the gathering bowed and praised the all knowing savior Barack Obama.

Again the glorious savior of the west called upon his followers to gather before him and said unto them, "I am the great all knowing wise man that you have chosen to lead you into the prosperous land of the future. Now I find doubters amongst my people. Now I tell you we are at a time of great crisis and something must be done. As I have led you out of the great recession our future is now threatened by the great Health Care debate. I am the wise one and I have the answer. I have given great bribes to and even committed extortion against my Democrat Disciples in Congress. They will pass a Health Care Bill giving me more power and taxing you more. This must be done now for we are standing on the edge of a great cliff but I shall lead us away and back into the land of prosperity."

As his followers looked up the great majority saw the all knowing and glorious leader looking more like the Emperor with no clothes. The words coming from the great one seemed hollow and similar to the failed promises they had heard before.

Sensing his followers had fallen in numbers the great one decided to take his message to the world, for they must surely still believe him to be the great savior from the west.

With arrogance and pride at his side he soared forth on the mighty wings of Air Force One. He landed with great expectations and promises of good tidings to all nations that would listen to his glorious words of wisdom.

As he stood upon his mound and looked down upon the Nations of the World that had gathered at the Mount Of Copenhagen, he said unto them, "Listen and follow me for I am the Savior From The West, the One and Only Barack Obama. All of you Nations of great wealth and prosperity give up your monies and treasures, bankrupt your countries so that you can give your wealth to the less fortunate countries in Africa and the Middle East. Follow my lead for I have already suckered my country into doing this very thing I ask of you. The earth is warming and the climate is changing and if you do not do as I ask we are all doomed. We must stop the carbon emissions and reverse global warming before the Poles melt and the Oceans rise. I am the great Obama, listen and follow or you all shall perish."

And the great multitudes of Nations arose and said unto the Great One, "Uh not so fast bub. This ain't America and you ain't so great."

"What's in this for us", said the smaller Nations?

"What's in it for me", said China?

And Obama said unto the smaller Nations, "I'll give you money."

The smaller Nations said, "Ok, how about $30 Billion."

Obama said unto China, "Please, pretty please I'll give you money."

And China said, "Don't be stupid. You're going to borrow money from us just to give it back to us with interest, boy is this guy stupid or what. Look Barack we own you and therefore we have to save you from yourself. No deal the meeting is over."

With this the great one returned to his bankrupt nation of fewer and fewer followers and said unto those few that would listen, "I have returned and bring you great promises from the rest of the world. I have achieved unprecedented promises from world leaders to think about cutting their carbon emissions and all it will cost you is another $30 Billion to begin with. We may give up some more jobs, but I have saved the world from global warming and climate change for I am the great all knowing Barack Obama. So it has been written, let it be done."

With Eric Holder's recent announcement that terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) would be tried in federal court in New York, the ACLU and KSM experienced a day of nationwide celebration and jubilation. The majority of the country disagrees with this decision but our President has shown he has very little regards for what the majority of Americans think. After all the majority of Americans are people that do one of the following (if not all) they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations. Not my words, these belong to President Obama during his run for president.

Through his policies and decision making process the president has made it clear he will bring change not only to the country but he will change American society into a more peaceful and conciliatory society. He will do this regardless of the Constitution or unpopularity from gun carrying, bible thumping, bitter tea party fanatics that just don't understand that he is doing what is best for the country and the world. If he could only get the people to understand that first you must destroy in order to rebuild, then his goal for a better country would be easier to achieve. Pelosi, Reid, Franks, Schumer, Walters, Boxer, Durbin and the rest of the Democrats understand the theory of rebuilding America like the mythological Egyptian Phoenix, its the majority that don't know the story or understand the Obama strategy or philosophy.

Maybe the American Civil Liberties Union and KSM understand this theory and are quietly thanking the president for granting their wishes. Since KSM was first captured they have been working to have his trial moved to New York. In their minds there could be no more of a fitting place than New York to give them access to the world stage. They believe it is the perfect venue to put George Bush and the United States on trial for all of the past atrocities committed during the illegal War On Terror. They better than anyone understand our American system and the American media. They know for the next five years they will be able to publicly humiliate the past Administration and the actions of America following the 9/11 attacks.

The President must know and understand how divisive the news coming from these court proceedings will be for the country. Instead of pulling the country together his decision has deepened the divide that already exist in the country. By continuing to make decisions like this he will eventually tear the country apart and hasten our self destruction very similar to the way the Phoenix consumed itself by fire and later returned from its ashes. Whether we return a better nation or not will be determined in the future, meanwhile it is only fitting that KSM and the ACLU publicly acknowledge and thank President Obama for his wise decisions.

From State_of_America

President Obama has made it clear. The way he has chosen to rebuild the country is force the population into a total state of depression and government dependence. This will allow the next great United States President to come to the aid of the country and lead the country, and the world, to a state of utopia with peace and prosperity to all mankind. This is the delusional mindset of President Obama and his secret Czar government.

It seems there is only one commentator on the cable networks that is coming close to admitting the true desires of President Obama. Glenn Beck has done a lot to bring light on this shadow government but he hasn't yet come around to admitting that Obama wants to follow in the Mao Tse-tung. He has shown all of the the close associations with members of the Czar government to Mao but he has not linked Obama to any direct quotes or statements of Obama supporting Mao. This in no way means Obama doesn't believe in the teachings of one of the greatest mass murderers of the twentieth century.

Americans are experiencing buyers' remorse as we watch the total destruction of the American way of life. This President and Congress are determined to rebuild America according to Obama and the Socialist way of thinking. It is no secret that the far left of the Democrat Party has always had a tie to Mao and the Marxist idea of communism. They may not understand the total concept of Marxist ideology but they like the fundamental idea of redistribution of wealth by giving the government complete control of the markets and business. They fail to see how repressive this form of government can be on the population they govern. They dismiss the torturous and genocidal acts committed by people like Mao Tse-tung, Stalin , Pol Pot, Lenin and other dictators that followed Marxist communism or Socialism. To a certain degree all of these murderers have something in common with some of the world's greatest con artist. They were all able to manipulate enough people into following them to overthrow their government and rebuild it under a complete communist or socialist doctrine.

President Obama has turned out to be the greatest con artist of the 20th and 21st centuries. He will also have the honor of being the President that destroyed America. Looking at Obama one can see the perfect confidence man by the way he manipulates people and is able to keep himself a safe distance away from anything that could be controversial. He is also great in cutting ties with any of his followers without encountering the wrath of the followers he has discarded along the way.

Throughout history we have always had confidence artist. Some common names for them are flim flam, grifter, shyster, hustler and sham artist. When it comes to manipulation and conning the media President Obama has far exceeded anyone in the past. He is a master at his game but like all great cons sooner or later the people being conned finally see reality.

One of the biggest misconception about the perfect con is that the con man is in it only for the money. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Money is only a means to the end for those that want to gain power and change the world. The biggest con games practiced in any society is practiced by unscrupulous politicians.

In America we believe in "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." We believe this means limited government intrusion into are personal lives. We know it means we have the right to decide how we live, where we live, and the path we will take in the pursuit of our individual idea of happiness. To Americans it means we tell the government how they should govern. We do not allow the government or the President alone dictate to us how much liberty we can enjoy. The con we are witnessing today is a President and a party preaching these concepts in public while they are ripping these ideas into shreds behind closed doors and in the darkness of their shadow government.

To perfect his con the President has fabricated one crisis after another and in his effort to solve these crisis he has spent America to the brink of bankruptcy. Since we are not quite there he must create another crisis that will shove us over the edge and then he can gain support for his grab for absolute power. FoxNews has been asking the tough questions like why and reporting on some of the things that are being done behind closed doors. For this President Obama has declared war on their network and is secretly working on a plan to bail out or take over failing newspapers in America. By doing this he can control the media and continue to consolidate power behind America's back. After he accomplishes taking over print media he will turn his attention to the internet. All of this is being done at breakneck speed. He must succeed in creating enough despair in America so the voter will turn to the government and President Obama to save them from financial ruin. Having the population completely dependent on government is key to his plan to fundamentally transform America into a Socialist state.

All is not hopeless and all is not doom and gloom. America has been through some very rough times in the past and has always come out the better for it. We still have our Constitution and our will to be free. When Americans come together and make their voices heard in Congress our Congressmen and Senators will listen just from the simple threat of being voted out of office. By calling, sending letters and emails to our representatives in Washington letting them know we are sick and tired of everything they are trying to do behind our backs we can make a difference. By voting the majority of Obama's supporters out of the House and Senate we can isolate him and stop his mad dash for power. With enough support a new Congress can force the President to rescind and repeal most of the laws that have been passed and that could possibly bring America to her knees.

Now is the time like no other for Americans to make their voices heard throughout the halls government. We cannot continue to buy into this con that is be perpetuated on us. We have the power and the government only has the power we relinquish them. It is time to stand up, unite and tell Washington we are not blind. We see what you are doing and we will stop you.

TennCare in Tennessee has been hitting the news more today than at anytime since its conception. Critics of the proposed Government Option for all Americans point to the failure of TennCare to provide a government run program that would insure everyone that did not or could not not be covered by a private insurance company in the state of Tennessee. As a resident of Tennessee I believe the nation as a whole should listen to what people with experience in these government run programs have to say before they accept the proposed government option at face value. Trust but verify should not only apply to your enemies it should apply to all politicians.

Everyone must understand what TennCare is in order to understand how it failed in the past and continues to fail today, yes I said fail today. Tennessee was looking for a way to cut the high cost of heath care and decided to get out from under the Medicaid program. TennCare is basically Tennessee’s version of Medicaid. Contrary to what some people around the country may think, TennCare is still alive in Tennessee. It’s biggest private insurance company that is propping it up is Blue Cross Blue Shield. With the influx of new money being provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act the American taxpayer and Federal Government is the biggest public entity that is keeping the program afloat.

According to Darin Gordon, Tennessee Deputy Commissioner the $1.1 billion in additional federal Medicaid matching aid will help TennCare avoid immediate budget reductions and allow the state to continue the program through December 2010. Another blessing for the state was the change in federal reimbursements. Before the act was passed for every dollar TennCare and ultimately the private insurers spent the federal government spent 65-cents and the state spent 35-cents. Now the federal government spends 75-cents and the state spends 25-cents. This has helped Tennessee since we are no longer facing a mandatory statewide agency reduction of 15% budget cuts for FY 2010. This does not mean TennCare can add any new services to its program, instead they must continue to cut cost by reducing the numbers of people currently covered that the state suspects or can prove are being fraudulently covered under the TennCare Program.

What all of this means is if the Federal Government and past actions of the Tennessee Democratic Governor and State Legislators had not come to the aid of TennCare, the program and the state would have been bankrupt back in 2005. Back then Governor Bredesen removed 170,000 Tennesseans from the TennCare program and reduced benefits and reimbursements to doctors and hospitals to save the program and keep the state from going into bankruptcy. While the efforts of Governor Bredesen, with help from the Federal Government, have succeeded in keeping the program alive fewer and fewer doctors and hospitals will accept TennCare patients. Under the Act, TennCare cannot expand the eligibility for coverage which means fewer Tennesseans can be covered by TennCare. As a result the governor has come up with another government insurance option called Cover Tennessee. This program relies on voluntary partnerships between the state, individuals and employers where each commit to pay one-third of the monthly premium of the low-cost product. With unemployment at 10.5% the program is running into trouble and the state may be facing another 2005 TennCare like crisis. Under both programs very few doctors will accept new patients so most people that are covered by these programs continue to use the emergency rooms for their primary care. By law the emergency rooms cannot turn people away but all they have to do is provide minimal care to stabilize the patient until other care can be found. This often means the patient is released immediately after they have been stabilized or transferred to a substandard medical facility like a nursing home, sometimes referred to as a rehab facility.

The bottom line is Tennessee’s government run experiment has been a dismal failure and if the President’s new Health Care Czar Nancy DeParle refuses to speak out against the public option she will be doing the President and her country a disservice. It is possible that due to the current outbreak of swine flu in Tennessee, both the TennCare and Cover Tennessee programs may go broke by the spring of 2010. It is also possible that if the unemployment rate continues to rise and the pandemic gets worse, Tennessee and other states may be facing another crisis similar to the 2005 budget crisis we faced in Tennessee.

It is unclear what will happen to TennCare if the federal government passes a national government option health care plan. It is clear that Nancy DeParle is going to have a large impact on what the government option looks like. DeParle served as Human Services Commissioner in Tennessee and should be well aware of the TennCare fiasco. Since the President has gone after the private insurance companies it is uncertain they will be part of a plan that is similar to TennCare. In all likelihood the federal government will have to design the program after Medicare. This in fact will be nothing more than a single payer plan. With Medicare already over 30 Trillion Dollars in debt I cannot see how the country can afford it, especially with the economy on the brink of disaster. DeParle knows that TennCare is nothing more than a huge albatross hanging around the necks of Tennesseans and it may get passed on to the rest of the country. If it does heaven help us all.

Talking to my neighbors and friends who are in the military and have served in Afghanistan and Iraq, some have served 2 and 3 deployments, one thing is very clear, moral for our military in Afghanistan is at an all time low. It is not the mission or the thought that they could lose this war and suffer defeat at the hands of the Taliban but rather they are starting to feel like the politicians will repeat their cut and run strategy of Vietnam. They are worried the President will continue to waiver back and forth. They worry this will give the Taliban time to consolidate their strength and numbers in all parts of Afghanistan. They know this will make the chance for a complete victory by our military more difficult and cost more lives.

The military cannot speak publicly on how they feel about President Obama's indecisive way of running the military or the preposterous idea that we can somehow live with the Taliban controlling parts of Afghanistan. If you talk to them one on one as a neighbor or friend you will find they do not believe this will work.

Upon John Kerry's recent return from Afghanistan he put forward the idea that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let the Taliban control some of the tribal areas around Afghanistan while we devote or time building up the Afghan military and police. Kerry evidently believes the Taliban will be content to run these areas separate from the rest of Afghanistan and allow us to stay in the major provinces building modern cities with schools and a more moderate Islamic ideology. This is absolutely insane and our military knows it best. Either Senator Kerry has no clue of how much hatred the Taliban has for the United States and our allies or he knows and just doesn't want to admit the real enemy in Afghanistan is the Taliban.

What Senator Kerry is saying is not new. President Obama has said something similar in the past, when he talked about "peeling away moderate Taliban." Number one there are no moderate Taliban, either you are Taliban or you are not. Taliban is not simply a political party like we have in the United States. It is a Islamic theocracy that follows the strictest form of Islam and Sharia Law. They will not tolerate any religion, government, or laws that are in conflict with their warped since of governance over the Afghan people. It seems Senator Kerry and President Obama have no compassion or humanitarian concerns for the people, especially the women and children, that they would allow the Taliban to govern. Under this plan they are willing to stand by and watch while the Taliban returns to its old repressive and brutal ways. They are willing to watch while women and young girls are raped and murdered simply because they are less important than the animals owned by everyday Afghans. The President and Senator have forgotten that the Taliban does not believe in or have any respect for Constitutions or Civil Rights, they only believe in Sharia Law and their extreme interpretation of it.

This whole idea of dealing with the Taliban and allowing them to control and thereby govern any part of Afghanistan is eerily reminiscent of the Biden plan in Iraq. If Senator Biden had his way back when similar discussions were going on over Iraq, that country would be partitioned today with the United States acting as the peacekeeper and arbitrator over each of the warring factions. Fortunately his idea never received any real consideration, not because it was simply stupid but because everyone knew it was not feasible. What Senator Kerry is proposing is not that much different from the Biden plan for Iraq. The plan would not work in Iraq and it will not work in Afghanistan.

Some will argue that Senator Kerry never said that his plan was to work with the Taliban or allow them to remain in power in some of the areas around Afghanistan. To some extent this is true, however he did say: "Amazingly, the Taliban actually have ombudsmen to hold their shadow government accountable to the people. The legitimate government of Afghanistan cannot be less accountable than the Taliban, or we cannot be successful." This sounds like praise and it is absolutely not true. To think the Taliban could be held "accountable to the people" is the most naive statement I have ever heard.

Senator Kerry acts like Afghanistan is a country built around cities with modern roads and easy access from the rural areas to the larger towns and cities. He equates it to the United States with local and state governments running their particular state and providing security for it. He forgets that this is a 19th century country with rural areas still living in the 18th century. On one hand he says we must defeat the Taliban but on the other hand he says Al Qaeda is the biggest threat to the United States. He says we must not allow a return of Al Qaeda into Afghanistan but we do not need to increase our military strength. He says we must continue training Afghan military and allow them to gain security for Afghanistan without increasing our military. He says we must concentrate on building up Afghanistan cities, roads, schools and infrastructure thereby winning over Afghan support for a Taliban free Afghanistan without expanding the war inside Afghanistan. He says we should carry out a smaller counter insurgency plan that is more "doable" and "is “good-enough” governance, basic sustainable economic development and Afghan security forces capable enough that we can draw down our forces." This sounds like we only have to halfway win the war. I have never heard of halfway winning a war and I'm certain none of our enemies have this type of mentality. Either you are in a war to win or you are not. If you are not then please don't ask our military to sacrifice their lives for a mission that has no end.

In the end all the lofty goals that Senator Kerry set out in his speech can never be achieved if there is not enough security for the Afghan people. If we continue to allow the Taliban and Al Qaeda to terrorize the population we can never win their hearts and minds. If we do not have enough forces in place to protect the people while we are training Afghan forces, then the Afghan forces will find very little left to protect. Senator Kerry, like most politicians, is talking out of both sides of his mouth and has lost all respect of the military that have served and are now serving in Afghanistan. Kerry, Biden and Obama were all three against the surge in Iraq and they were proven wrong. If President Obama follows the plan of Biden or Kerry they will be proven wrong again. The stakes are too high to play a game out of something as serious as war. If any Commander In Chief loses the respect and support from his military or military commanders then he will surely lose the war. War is war and must be left to the men and women fighting the war. Mixing politics with war only leads to another Vietnam.

General McChrystal, and more importantly my neighbors and friends that are fighting the war, has said we can win this war with more troops. It is past time to stop the politics and support our troops. Even our NATO allies have said they support General McChrystal's plan and some are sending more troops. I cannot understand how our President can have less faith in his own general than our allies have in him. It is no wonder our President and by default the United States is looking weak in the eyes of our enemies and allies.

Also posted on State_of_America