So today is Presidents Day. Well, it is as I am writing this. I can remember when I started to understand what a President does in the four years, or more, that he serves. I remember some Presidents that were older than me and yet had no idea of how to fight a war.
I mention that because I started to study what a President does while he is serving his four or sometimes eight years as Commander in Chief. Can you imagine the power that they possess? Most of the Presidents that served their term while I was younger were veterans of the Second World War. Of course, serving in a war does not make you a great commander, but at least they tried to serve with honor.
I won’t dwell on it, but you can see what happens when someone who has never served tries to be a good leader. We have a President serving today that has no idea what it is to command men and women. He has shown that over and over, but to be in charge of our sons and daughters when we were to extract all the Americans and loyal Afghanis from the hellhole they were serving within, he committed our troops to a losing withdrawal.
Perhaps you saw the poor folks that worked for our country during that poorly planned extraction from Afghanistan. Running and trying to actually grab hold of a piece of the plane only to be thrown off by the wind or lack of purchase. Since that time we have found out that all the promises that were made have blown away like a breeze and women are again made to be second-class citizens.
We have continued to fund wars that have no material gain for the USA. There was no effort made to get the men and women in our troops out of a country where you are beaten for wearing a dress. Now, we are funding a country’s war where we have no business. Are we to be in charge of a country that has no value to the USA short of sending our children to die in another country that has no respect or fear for us to gain?
If we are to agree that this President, for his own reasons, has chosen President’s Day to point out even more of his lack of experience. However bad he is, we must look back to a very dangerous period of time where we faced down Cuba for having missiles on their land.
President Kennedy had put all of the 82nd Airborne division on alert and had issued live rounds and whole blood to the battle groups. This was enough to sober up some of the jokers in the ranks. I knew of no one that thought we would never go to war, we were ready. I’ll never forget the day that Kennedy was shot. I heard about it while I was down at the motor pool of the 82nd Airborne Division.
President Kennedy was a great President. He was admired by Democrats and Republicans. That is not to say he could get any special bills or laws passed that he wanted to, but it is a way for those of us who had decided to become Special Forces. President Kennedy had come to Fort Bragg, N.C., to review his troops.
President Kennedy was a young man and had fought in the Second World War. He had seen, first hand, the bloodbath of men trying to dislodge the enemy. He listened to his advisors and thought he had a better idea. He would forever be known as the Father of Unconventional Warfare. His advisors did not share his philosophy, so he got some new advisors and committed the Army to a new role. Where war was conducted, he allowed his advisors to come up with a new strategy for fighting in a very small country in Southeast Asia.
He was a hero for Special Forces. He is even buried in a special plot in Arlington National Cemetery, very near to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a Forever honor with a perpetual flame. Don’t look for such an honor for this President. He knows nothing of commanding.
Kennedy was the last President to deserve the title “Commander in Chief” of all American Armed Forces. I wonder at the difference between him and the wretches we have elected since. If you are cold, we have one guy to blame. Our President stopped all drilling for oil the day he was sworn in. Our country used to be the greatest in oil sales with supplies that saw no end.
I love to be warm. However, my present economist says, “It’s too expensive to turn on the furnace.” I was concerned about how much we were paying for heat. When it gets too expensive to stay warm, I need someone to blame, and he is such an easy target. This may be just the lull before the storm.
You may not believe it, but I am pretty happy right now. From what I write, you may think I’m unhappy or cranky, but nothing could be further from the truth. My family is in good health and the love we share each day is what a person desires as they get older.
We have had a visitor this week. My oldest son has a little Boston Terrier that has captured his heart. We too are enamored by his choice of company. He called right after he had brought his dog home and asked if we would help him come up with a name. I was all for Butch or Spike or some name that indicated he was a good watch dog.
Ah, but I was over ruled. It seems that in addition to a very large price tag he needed more. You know shots and visits to the vet to dislodge a piece of paper from his throat. My son said he was more expensive than a girlfriend, so he named him “Cash.”
Most everyone that sees him likes that he is such a bundle of energy. He has not made the same impression on “DIRT,” the greatest dog ever made. That would be my dog Dirt. Dirt is a really cool dog. He doesn’t get excited at just anything, but he’s having a little problem with this little bundle of energy. Oh well, we all have our own problems.
God Bless.
