The statistics speak for themselves. Only 62 percent of Americans pay federal income tax, meaning that 38 percent get a 100 percent refund of any taxes withheld. So Mr. Obama’s 95 percent that will receive money from the government includes roughly 33 percent of Americans who pay no income tax. One-third of Americans pay no income taxes yet would receive a government check of perhaps $1,000 or more.

It gets better.  Go read the whole thing.

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—–

- Websites and mass emails offering “free grants,” courtesy of the government and “Obama’s wealth redistribution.”  Actually, this one’s a freebie, because I have an email with a date and timestamp of literally 7 minutes after Obama was declared the winner, offering exactly that.

- Israel will understand this election was the end of any type of assistance, military or otherwise, from the U.S., and will stop holding back their defense at the request of the American administration.  Look for a first strike on Iran soon, as well as increased activity by the Israeli military in general.

- Look for Iranian retaliation–against American targets.  That goes doubly for other terrorist organizations.  We just elected a man with the full endorsement of every major terrorist group in the world as leader of the free world.  It’s the political equivalent of hiring a child molester to babysit your kids while you leave for the weekend.  Not only is HE going to have fun with your child, but he’ll probably sit and watch while his friends come over and do it too.

- Look for far-left justices appointed to the Supreme Court, effectively tying up the entire government in a trifecta of liberal humanism, the buzzwords of which remain empty platitudes like “hope and change.”

- Military cases of troops being tried and convicted for killing the enemy in combat will continue to rise–and the conviction/plea-bargain rate will stay at nearly 100%, as the government seeks to use the best men and women this country has to offer as sacrifical lambs on the altar of global appeasement.

- Look for the slow but steady erosion of rights you have enjoyed for your entire lives–all the while being told it’s “for your own good.”  Restrictions on gun ownership, home schooling, encouraged dependence on the ever-growing federal government.  More nanny-state provisions will be put into place to protect the “disadvantaged” and the “poor,” (read: lazy, uneducated, unwilling to better themselves) even while groups like the unborn, the mentally handicapped, elderly, and terminally ill are slowly pushed toward euthanasia.  Of course, this will be done with feel-good phrases like “death with dignity,” “not wanting to be a burden,” and “merciful release from suffering,” all of which ignore the basic fact that we are killing people without their consent for the “good of the people.”  Before you tell me I’m crazy, let’s just remember that Barack Obama was the ONLY senator in the Illinois state senate to vote against providing medical care for babies who were inconsiderate enough to survive an abortion.  Also, look for taxes to go up.  Yes, they’ll go up.

- You think the economy is bad now?  Just wait.  You’ll have the most expensive “free” health care ever.  Bread lines aren’t just for Russians anymore.

We have traded experience for color, freedom for slavery–and the irony is that the average American sheeple thinks their vote somehow righted an ancient wrong, somehow ENDED the spectre of slavery and ushered in some beautiful era of liberty.  In reality, we are about to be less free than you ever thought possible.

I watched the faces of those crowded into the mob (excuse the pun) in Chicago.  They stared at Obama like he was a god, an idol, a panacea to their every want and need.  We have truly failed as a nation if we are at the point where we feel we must look to one man to take care of us all, to be our father figure and our sugar daddy.

The eyes of Obama and McCain were also telling.  McCain acted with class and grace in his concession speech, offering the most honorable response I’ve seen yet.  I don’t agree with all of McCain’s positions, but it cannot be denied that the man has served his nation–at permanent and severe detriment to himself–for half a century.  His eyes were clear and sincere, honest.  His speech underlined the very reasons why, of the two men offered, he was hands down the best choice.

Conversely, Obama’s eyes were cold, calculating.  His manner was smug and still carried the arrogance he has always had.  His facial expression was one of barely disguised disdain for everything people like me believe in.  His body language was smooth, polished–too much so.  He is charismatic to those who don’t know what to look for, and he is inspiring to those who cannot or will not think for themselves.   However, too many who voted for him are guilty of the most dangerous kind of hypocrisy.  You see, we are told daily that we must not see color, just mankind.  (We are all family, you know–or so we’re told.)  And yet Barack Obama was handed the White House on a silver platter by a fawning media, a bevy of foreign donors (who, to this day and in violation of U.S. election laws, remain nameless and unaccounted for), and a populace who voted based on color instead of right and wrong–even in the face of the most damning evidence against a Presidential candidate in many years, perhaps ever.

It is said that the people receive the government they deserve.  Sadly, I fear that’s correct.  We have become complacent, unwilling to see the writing on the wall, content to frolic in the warm water without bothering to notice that it’s been getting hotter by the minute.

So enjoy your victory.  Jump around.  Have a party, and make fun of those of us who fought to make sure your “messiah” didn’t get access to the most powerful position in the world.  Just remember when it all comes crashing down: You own the White House, the Congress, and soon the Supreme Court.  You’ll have no one to blame but yourselves.

As for me, I’m buying my handguns this week.

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I apologize for the long wait–trust me, it wasn’t willing or intentional.  But it’s over now, and I will be bringing you more news.  There is a GREAT deal going on with the cases that I’ve been working on for so long, and I’m eager to bring you the updates.  In the meantime, we’ll wax poetic about the doom of socialism heading our way on 20 January, and we’ll bash liberals and have a great time.

Thanks for waiting ever so patiently.  I’m sorry I was gone so long.

–Kit

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Tonight (9/4/08) at 2100 EST/1800 PM PST, I’ll be talking to Colby Vokey, a former Marine officer and high-ranking JAG attorney about his recent retirement from the Marine Corps.  Tim Harrington will be on as well, and we’ll be discussing the following:

- Why the recent “not guilty” verdict for Nazario was so important, and what it means for the future of the military legal system.
- What ‘attainder’ is, and why it affects our fighting men in uniform.
- What goes on behind the scenes in the military legal system.
- Why the Marine Corps retired Vokey, a long-time servant of his country, against his wishes.
- MUCH MORE!

Don’t miss this show!  We’ll be taking your calls at 646-915-9926.

You can listen to the show live at http://blogtalkradio.com/frontline so make sure to tune in!  TONIGHT, 2100 EST, on The Front Line.

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Sarah Palin’s speech at the RNC last night. I have a girlcrush. If Sarah is the face of the new Republican Party, I don’t want to be Independent anymore.

BlueCollarMuse says “It matters what we do.” Amen.

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Note: The following is Part 1 of a series explaining why the military justice system needs to be abolished, and the Armed Forces judged based on Constitutional law instead of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Last week marked the “end” of a two-year ordeal for former SGT Jose Nazario and his family.  I use quotes there because in reality, the nightmare is not over.  Charged with executing prisoners during the Battle of Fallujah, Nazario was the first former service member to be tried under the 2000 Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act.  It’s a common misconception that once a “not guilty” verdict or plea agreement is reached, that everything suddenly “poofs!” back to normal, back to the way things were before all of the insanity tore it apart.  In reality, Jose Nazario is still without employment, as he was fired from his position as a police officer.   Whether he will get his job back remains to be seen.

It’s another common myth that the government screwed up by putting Nazario’s case before a civilian jury, that the idea of asking non-military personnel to judge the actions of Marines in combat is asinine.  However, if past track record of the last few years is any indication, a military court-martial would have sent Jose Nazario, a husband and father, to Fort Leavenworth for the next decade of his life.  I say this in all confidence, for there are currently quite a few soldiers and Marines,  just like Nazario, whose address is 1300 N. Warehouse Road, Ft. Leavenworth KS for the next nine years or more–simply for doing exactly what Nazario did: perform their jobs to the best of their ability.

While many Americans applauded the Nazario verdict, few understand just how important it was.  Few comprehend the gift those twelve jurors gave to not only Nazario, but to Lawrence Hutchins III, Ray Girouard, Corey Clagett, and WIlliam Hunsaker, to name a few.  The list of honorable soldiers and Marines thrown under the bus by overzealous investigative services and corrupt commands is growing longer by the month.  Some, like LCDR Walter Fitzpatrick III, have been waiting nearly twenty years for this moment.  By stopping the government’s ongoing wrongful prosecution of combat actions as murder and manslaughter, Nazario’s jurors opened a door that has been closed and locked for decades.

Why is Nazario’s verdict so historic?  Why is it anything more than a ripple in what has become a commonplace practice–that of American fighting men on trial for killing the enemy?  The answer is more shocking than you might think.

The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000 is a “little known law” that was intended to cover dependents and contractors who commit crimes overseas, outside of American jurisdiction.  MEJA gives the American government the right to hold Americans accountable for their actions no matter where in the world they live.  Unfortunately, it also has a very sinister ability as well.  Under MEJA, there is no statute of limitations.  This means that your 90-year-old grandfather, who fought the Japanese with his bare hands at Iwo Jima, can literally be charged tomorrow with war crimes and dragged into federal court.  Veterans of Normandy can be tried, as Jose Nazario was, for “use of a weapon to commit a felony,” even though the “felony” in question was killing of the enemy during established combat operations, and the “weapon” mentioned was his government-issued rifle.  In true government hindsight, MEJA’s authors never intended for the law to be used to punish those who fight our wars.

“I don’t think any of us who passed that legislation thought we were now going to have people discharged from the military being charged in federal court,” Senator Jeff Sessions told the AP. “There are all kinds of problems with witnesses and evidence and those kinds of things, in addition to the fact that military persons are operating in an environment quite different from the normal street crime we see.” [emphasis added]

Sessions is merely stating what those of us mired in these cases have been screaming for literally years: This is not how it’s supposed to be.

Gary Solis, the military law “expert” that all the media run to for comments on these cases, sounds as though he’s beside himself in condemning Nazario’s case being tried federally.

“[The not guilty verdict was] a very reasoned response from those jurors because they apparently recognized this was not something they were well-suited to determine,” he said.

Rear Admiral John Hutson, himself well-known to those of us who have studied these cases, disagrees with Solis, commenting that “How many jurors have been involved in a domestic dispute in which a person was killed. None. You don’t put those people on a jury.”  Jury Selection 101.

On its face and with no real thought involved, Solis’ argument makes sense.  However, let us consider the aforementioned track record.  Since 2003, when Army captain Roger Maynulet put a mercy bullet in a mortally wounded insurgent after the insurgent tried to run his checkpoint with an explosive-laden car and was shot by Maynulet’s men, there have been more of these cases than even the public knows about. Without exception, these men’s lives have been forever altered at best, and ruined at worst.

They are representative of the diversity that America’s fighting forces have to offer: an Italian from New York City, an Irish guy from the Boston area, a kid from the Kentucky backwoods, a quiet young man from rural eastern Washington State, a Tennessean who made his hometown proud.  All of them had raised their right hand and swore to defend the Constitution with their lives.  The Constitution–not the government, not the politicians, not the status quo.  A document that is the foundation of all that we have been given, and all that we believe in as Americans.  To those men, the rights in those worn pages are worth dying for–and killing for.  They would have done the first if they could not do enough of the second, but as Patton himself said, the point is to “make the other poor bastard die for his country,” not for you to die for yours.

All of them had their lives and careers interrupted, thrown into confinement so brutal that human rights groups would never allow our enemies to undergo it.  Food and medical care for combat injuries were withheld, families were threatened, and in the case of the Pendleton 8, their pay was even stopped–without a conviction.  When the men finally saw a courtroom–in some cases, after two years of solitary confinement–the prosecution’s case was almost always the same.  No dead bodies, no forensics, no positive ID of any “victims,” no other evidence that even proved anything had happened at all, let alone an episode of “Squad Leaders Gone Wild.”  In case after case, the only things the government had to offer were NCIS “work product,” statements drawn up by agents based on notes and their own memories after 18-hour interrogations that denied food, water, and even bathroom breaks.  The men were threatened with everything from losing their families and careers to the death penalty.

In the Pendleton 8 case, five of the men folded and pled guilty after it became apparent that the Marine Corps was willing to do anything to convict them.  Three went through a court-martial.  Their squad leader sits in Fort Leavenworth today, sentenced to 11 years for killing an insurgent, dropping the terrorist activity in his area, and leading his men home safely.  In the Haditha case, six out of the eight Marines charged are free, having their charges either dropped or having been acquitted.  Even in the face of this, however, the squad leader is still charged, and prosecutors intend to pursue charges against the commanding officer all over again.  In the Iron Triangle case, plea agreements went out across the board as well–to everyone but the squad leader, who also resides at Fort Leavenworth.  This is the fate that awaited Jose Nazario, leader of Marines.  It is no coincidence that the sole holdout on his jury was also the only one who had military service–a former Navy man who said he wanted to convict just to “show the military that they are not above the law.”  Why did he end up voting not guilty?  He couldn’t find any evidence saying the government had proved its case.  Such is the protection of the Constitution.

The pattern becomes apparent very quickly: There is an iron curtain that exists between the squad leader and his command.  In earlier years, officers were expected to stand by their men.  Indeed, General James Mattis himself a few years ago, when questioned by the press about an incident, simply said that he did not have to defend the actions of his Marines.   Oddly enough, Gen. Mattis later was responsible for the confinement of the Pendleton 8 in conditions some of them still have not fully emotionally recovered from.  The Army Rangers of the Iron Triangle case were set up by their commanding officer, LtCol Michael Steele (of Black Hawk Down fame), who successfully dodged any attempt by the defense to make him testify about the orders given before the team’s fateful mission.  [Video and audio of the speech he gave, exhorting his men to not take prisoners, somehow never made it into the record.]  Even Nazario got his orders from an individual higher up who managed to remain nameless even through a trial.  Either the military has suddenly become rife with enlisted men “gone wild,” or their commands are making quite sure the buck stops long before it reaches anyone with shoulder rank.

Until U.S. v. Nazario, the military was able to hide the way they actually investigated and prosecuted the cases.  The convictions were what mattered anyway, and the public readily gobbled it up when the press likened Article 32s to a grand jury proceeding, and a court-martial to a trial.  They’ve even taken to calling the panel a “jury.”  The only problem is that none of these is even remotely correct, and the errors have contributed to a very real misunderstanding of what our fighting men face in the military legal system.  In the cases I mentioned above, those errors resulted in ruined lives, careers, and the dishonoring of three generations of one Marine family.

In Part 2 we will examine how the military justice system actually works, what attainder is, and what the Constitution has to say about it.  Tune in to The Front Line on Thursday, Sept 4, 9 pm EST, when I talk to recently retired Marine JAG LtCol Colby Vokey and independent investigator Tim Harrington about the Nazario case and what was really at stake.

Note: I had accidentally misspoken in the article and stated that seven of the eight men in the Pendleton 8 took a plea deal.  That was incorrect and has been edited to reflect the actual numbers.  Thanks to Don Greenlaw and Terry Pennington for catching the error for me.

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RIVERSIDE, California (AFP) — A former US Marine was acquitted of manslaughter here Thursday in the shooting deaths of unarmed Iraqi prisoners during 2004 fighting in Fallujah.

Jose Luis Nazario, 28, was found not guilty of all charges after a landmark trial at the US District Court in California, southeast of Los Angeles.

The case was the first time a former serviceman had been tried in a civilian court for actions taken during combat.

What was the key here?

However the prosecution’s case was weakened after the two subordinates — Marines Jermaine Nelson and Ryan Weemer — refused to testify against Nazario last week and were declared in contempt of court.

My undying and total respect go to Nelson and Weemer for standing up for what they believe and hanging in there.  One victory in the neverending fight.

This nightmare isn’t over, however.  Now we move to the courts-martial for Nelson and Weemer.  First up are their contempt charges later in September.

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It’s all a waiting game now.

“If you find the defendant did not abide by the rules, no matter how he might have fought or how many days he spent in the military, if he violated the `law of war’ that day, you have a duty to find him guilty,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry Behnke said during his closing argument.

Nazario’s attorney, Kevin McDermott, told jurors they could not convict the former Marine sergeant of an alleged crime in which there were no bodies, no identities and no forensics.

“The government has fallen woefully short” with its case, McDermott said in his closing argument, hours after the defense rested without calling a single witness. [...]

The defense argued that a guilty verdict would only make service members second-guess their actions in combat.

“Don’t make the job harder on those young men,” McDermott said.

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The case of a former Marine NCO charged with murdering Iraqis during the Battle of Fallujah is getting crazier by the minute.

Sgt. Jose Nazario’s men, Ryan Weemer and Jermaine Nelson, still refuse to testify.  After being thrown in jail twice for contempt, the two men continue to invoke their 5th Amendment rights and refuse to take the stand.

Today Cory Carlisle, a fellow squad member, testified about the incredible amounts of enemy fire Nazario and his men were dealing with in Fallujah.

Meanwhile, a civilian jury gets to Monday-morning quarterback the fiercest battle involving U.S. forces in decades.  The L.A. Times reports that “Only one of the jurors has military experience, a stint in the Navy a decade ago.”  Isn’t that awesome?

Stay tuned.

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The "nurturing" baby-parents responsible for emasculating and pussifying our nation strike again and tell a 9-year-old pitcher he is disqualified because…get this…he’s too good, and he makes other kids feel bad.

Planned Parenthood targeting blacks?  The Washington Times says yes .  Never mind that Margaret Sanger really was trying to wipe out "black people."  I’m going to burn in hell for even saying that.  I’m such a racist.  /sarcasm

Man, this story is so crazy , I’d trade a fattening hog for it.

Still mad at the Silky Pony for not keeping his little pony in the stable?  You’re not alone .  His own supporters aren’t happy either.

The Chinese still think we’re stupid.  But our hackerz are teh best .  FOR TEH WIN!

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Until Don Ward came along and gave me some guilt-free pleasure with a little hippie bashing.  In an effort to help recruit some “good hippies” to the lagging anti-war movement, he offers this survey for would-be flagburners:

Do you think the Bush Administration purposefully brought down the Twin Towers in order to lead the United States into a war of aggression solely to enrich Halliburton and Exxon Mobil?

Have you ever committed to wearing orange to express solidarity with Gitmo Prisoners and enemy combatants held in Abu Ghraib; along with the Ukrainian Revolution, Ulster Protestants, Aquaman, Hollywood celebrities and the Orange Fanta Girl?

Do you like to put all kinds of weird, metal shit in your face in order to show how unique, original and eclectic you are?

Is “The Stranger” the first place you go to in order to obtain clear, reasoned articles about local and national news?

Do you have two to nine years of a liberal arts education from a state university or community college; preferably 15-20 credits short of graduation?

Is bathing a form of patriarchal oppression imposed by the bourgeois to keep the masses enslaved in a web of consumerism, capitalism and deceit?

Are there eight or more bumper stickers on the back of your Volvo?

Can you go completely limp while being shoved to the pavement, put into handcuffs and led away to the backseat of a police car?

Do you have the ability to – with a straight face – call soldiers murderers, morons and douche bags while at the same time claiming to “support the troops but not the war”?

Can you recite clever protest chants like “Not our war, not our choice”, “Bush Lied, People Died”, “Hey-hey, ho-ho, this illegal war has got to end” and “Fuck you, pigs! We’re fucking protesting peacefully. Fuck! Tear gas. FUCK!!! My eyes… Arrrghhh!!!”?

Simply priceless.

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Well, actually, I do have a great story. It’s not specifically about an American servicemember. It’s about a Iraqi — an Iraqi woman. And it’s actually a really good, you know, uplifting story. When people ask me my opinion on the war, I actually tell this story and kind of tell them, you know — you know, this is my opinion of — you can — from my story, you can kind of get your own opinion on how I feel about the war.

Me and two — it was during OIF-3, during the national elections — the very last national elections that they had in Iraq. We were doing security for one of the election sites and I heard a few of the infantry guys, you know, kind of yelling for a medic. So we ran up to the area, the line where the Iraqi folks were waiting in line to vote. There was a woman that was waiting in line to vote, and she — an Iraqi woman — she was very pregnant, nine months. She went into labor while she was in line to vote.

And so, you know, she was having a baby right there. So me and a couple of the infantry guys sat down, and she was in the labor for about 20 minutes. And she gave birth to a brand new Iraqi boy right there. We helped her deliver it. As soon as we cut the umbilical cord, got her cleaned up, got the baby cleaned up, she was so motivated that she was able to vote, because women had never been able to vote.

A lot of the people were never able to vote there. She actually left her brand-newborn baby with us and got back in line and voted.

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