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Obama Campaign & Democrats sue to prevent soldiers from voting

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President Barack Obama, along with many Democrats, likes to say that, while they may disagree with the GOP on many issues related to national security, they absolutely share their admiration and dedication to members of our armed forces. Obama, in particular, enjoys being seen visiting troops and having photos taken with members of our military. So, why is his campaign and the Democrat party suing to restrict their ability to vote in the upcoming election?

On July 17th, the Obama for America Campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and the Ohio Democratic Party filed suit in OH to strike down part of that state’s law governing voting by members of the military. Their suit said that part of the law is “arbitrary” with “no discernible rational basis.”

Currently, Ohio allows the public to vote early in-person up until the Friday before the election. Members of the military are given three extra days to do so. While the Democrats may see this as “arbitrary” and having “no discernible rational basis,” I think it is entirely reasonable given the demands on servicemen and women’s time and their obligations to their sworn duty.

The National Defense Committee reports:

[f]or each of the last three years, the Department of Defense’s Federal Voting Assistance Program has reported to the President and the Congress that the number one reason for military voter disenfranchisement is inadequate time to successfully vote.

I think it’s unconscionable that we as a nation wouldn’t make it as easy as possible for members of the military to vote. They arguably have more right to vote than the rest of us, since it is their service and sacrifice that ensures we have the right to vote in the first place.

Read more from this story HERE.

Video: Lockheed Martin-plans swarms of miniaturized drones “we couldn’t even fathom 20 years ago”

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It’s real, it’s inspired by maple seeds, and the company behind it, Lockheed Martin, envisions a future in which swarms of the new drones can be deployed at a fraction of the cost and with greater capabilities than drones being used today by the military and other agencies.

Read more HERE.

Photo credit: hieu.ngo

New Research Finally Provides Answers to Soaring Suicide Rates in U.S. Military

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When researchers asked 72 soldiers at Fort Carson, Colo., why they tried to kill themselves, out of the 33 reasons they had to choose from, all of the soldiers included one in particular — a desire to end intense emotional distress.

“This really is the first study that provides scientific data saying that the top reason … these guys are trying to kill themselves is because they have this intense psychological suffering and pain,” said Craig Bryan, co-author of the study by the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah that will be published in the coming months.

Suicide within the military has soared since 2005 as the military has waged two wars at once, and this year may set a record with troops committing suicide at the rate of one per day, according to Pentagon figures.

But military scientists say that finally, after years of congressional funding and the launch of randomized studies of a subject rarely researched, a few validated results are beginning to surface.

The findings by the Pentagon-funded study offer perhaps some guidance on how to attack the problem, said Army Col. Carl Castro, who is coordinating $50 million in research into suicide prevention and treatment.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: Joe Miller, All Rights Reserved

Obama is “fundamentally transforming” the US military

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In “Lone Survivor,” a chilling firsthand account of the loss of 11 members of the Navy’s elite Sea, Air, Land (SEAL) Team and eight Army aviators, Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell describes the fateful decision that led to disaster for him and death for his comrades. It came down to a judgment call about whether to risk prosecution and jail time for doing whatever it took to complete their mission, or to allow three Afghan goatherds to rat out his unit to the Taliban.

Petty Officer Luttrell cast the deciding vote to turn loose the farmers who had stumbled upon him and three other SEALs shortly after they had been dropped behind enemy lines to take down a particularly dangerous Taliban leader. He describes the thought process:

“If we kill these guys, we have to be straight about it. Report what we did. We can’t sneak around this. … Their bodies will be found, the Taliban will use it to the max. They’ll get it in the papers, and the U.S. liberal media will attack us without mercy. We’ll almost certainly be charged with murder.”

Such concerns prompted Petty Officer Luttrell to make the call to release the goatherds, setting in motion calamity for his buddies and 16 others dispatched to rescue them from the massive Taliban assault that ensued. It turns out those concerns were well-founded, as was demonstrated most recently in a case before the U.S. Military Court of Appeals. By a 3-2 vote, the judges outrageously determined that an Army Ranger, 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, had no right to self-defense when he killed an Iraqi prisoner he was interrogating after the man threw a concrete block at him and tried to seize his firearm. Unless he is pardoned, Lt. Behenna will remain incarcerated for the next 12 years.

Unfortunately, under President Obama, service members’ rising fears of being prosecuted for acting to protect themselves and their missions are among many ways in which the military is being “fundamentally transformed,” to use Mr. Obama’s now-infamous turn of phrase.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: DVIDSHUB

U.S. military could be shut down by secret ‘back door’

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Sources have confirmed that the U.S. Department of Defense over recent months purchased 59,000 microchips to use in Navy equipment that control everything from missiles to transponders, according to report in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

But all of the chips turned out to be cheap knock-offs from China, and they ultimately were not installed, according to sources.

Besides being subject to failure, the chips also were designed with a “back door” which would have allowed the chip, and the device it controlled, to be shut down remotely at any time, sources report.

Had the flaw not been detected, the chips could have shut down U.S. warships, aircraft, advanced weapons systems and encoded transponders that distinguish friendly aircraft from hostile attackers.

The revelation is only the latest in a series of incidents that have sent off alarm bells in the Pentagon. China previously was found to have been actively pursuing placing back doors in computer equipment. Several cases have been uncovered in which Internet-capable devices have had Chinese chips in them which also provided a back door into the networks the devices were supposed to protect. The devices were attached not only to industrial and commercial networks but also to networks that were defined as part of the nation’s “critical infrastructure.”

Read More at WND WorldNetDaily

Memorial Day Reflections

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Dear Fellow Patriots,

All of us recognize that our nation faces grave challenges.  Whether it’s the crushing national debt, unemployment, an upside down housing market, or the extreme crisis of leadership in D.C., it’s easy to despair of these formidable problems.  No elected official or candidate has the apparent courage and ability to lead us back to our constitutional foundations of limited government.

But on this Memorial Day, I encourage you to think back to the other challenges our great nation has confronted.  Our extraordinary people have stood up to a world super power with a fledgling, ragtag army in the Revolutionary War.  Only several decades later, we faced down that same power again in the War of 1812.  In the next half a century, Americans fought a devastating Civil War that threatened to rip us apart.  Other exceptional challenges followed, including World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War.

At each challenge, our nation’s veterans answered the call.  From the patriots of Lexington-Concord to the Greatest Generation, it was our military that selflessly sacrificed their blood to protect the God-given freedoms that our sacred Constitution was designed to protect.

On this 2011 Memorial Day, please remember that this same Patriot spirit is alive and well, represented by the hundreds of thousands serving in the U.S. armed services.  Endless deployments, constant danger, and spilled blood mark their exceptional sacrifice.

Let us join together in seeking God’s Providence for their protection.  Let us be encouraged that this warrior spirit will see this nation through its current struggles.  And let us never forget that the United States is the bright Shining City on a Hill, exceptional amongst the nations.

Warmest Regards,

Joe Miller