Kivus

Some of the more disturbing aspects of the American Left are certain behaviors that appear almost anti-American, and if not Anti-American, than definitely opposed to American’s position as a the world’s dominate super power. Two recent examples seem to illustrate this point: (1) the reaction to the military’s actions regarding Pat Tilman’s death and (2) the full court press currently being executed over the issue of alleged man-made global warming.

Let’s start off with a closer look at the coverage of Pat Tilman’s Death. The following paragraph from the Seattle Post Intelligencer (as first reported on Bill O’Reilly’s radio program) give a glimpse into the American Left’s thoughts on military issues:

Whatever paper-thin shred of credibility the Bush administration had regarding the Iraq war is fast disappearing. It’s not just the mistakes and mishandling of vital matters (say, national security). It’s the lies it smears upon other lies, laying it on so thick it’s practically choking itself.

All this because the American military decided to continue to allowing a family to believe its child died in a more story-book style heroic act instead of due to friendly fire? In an incident that occurred in Afghanistan, not even Iraq? As Mr. O’Reilly pointed out, the Left seizes on these types of incidents to try and say “see, the military is not noble” and to say “see, America is not the beacon of freedom that people think it is.” (my words not Mr. O’Reilly’s).

Another example of the American Left and Anti-Americanism comes in the form of the environmentalist movement. As Rush Limbaugh has pointed out on numerous occasions, the environmentalist movement has become the repository for displaced socialists. A number of their key policies aim to greatly restrict the United States ability to continue to thrive in the global economy. Their demand for restriction of carbon output and their opposition to measures that would allow America to achieve energy independence (namely, (1) drilling for oil in areas like ANWAR or off the coast of California and (2) the building of more nuclear power facilities) have worked to create a situation where America is more dependent on other nations for the energy sources we need to fuel our economy. Though they claim they desire energy independence, they stand in the way of measures that would allow the United States to achieve it.

Though I used the above two examples as a way to illustrate a class of behavior from the American Left, they are clearly not a comprehensive enumeration of actions that the Left employs. Further examples such a moral relativism between America and terrorist elements, demanding withdrawal from Iraq (where America has a clear interest) while demanding action be taken in Darfur (where America has no clear interest (outside of preventing genocide, something which should not be dismissed)), and using America’s possession of nuclear weapons as justification for rogue nations like North Korea and Iran also having said weapons. All of these examples show a disturbing trend of anti-Americanism found within the American Left, and are prime examples of why the Left cannot be trusted with our foreign policy or our national security.

Some of the highlights of my time at my latest job was the speech I heard from the company president and the speech I heard from the company CEO. The president’s speech was especially interesting because it gave a number of tips for being successful in your business career, or even life in general. Though tips dealing with state of mind and proper attitude are useful, I thought the suggestion of written goals was the most useful.

The basic rundown was that every 3 months, you should write down 6 goals. Why write them down? Because it’s much easier to break the goals if you don’t have to stare at them written down on paper (or in this day and age, typed on a computer). The 3 month time frame was  done because he felt that if the time line was closer to 6 months, then you’d probably wait about 4 months before starting the goal. Also, another detail was that goals should be broken down 3 “professional” and 3 “personal”. Take the personal goals, write those down, tuck them away, don’t share them with anyone. Take the professional goals, however, share them with your co-workers, boss, etc…to see if they’ll align with company needs as well as your own professional needs.

One especially interesting part on the goals section of the speech was the company president’s belief that we tend to sell ourselves short. He felt that in order to gain the most from these goals, we should make sure that we’ll be challenged in trying to accomplish them.

Oh, and for all of you who are doubting whether or not this strategy will work for you…it’s something the company president learned from one of his golf buddies: Tiger Woods.

One of Jim Rome’s takes is a little monologue on “quitting when you’re behind.” One particularly solid part of this take is his listing off various phrases and changing them to fit the “quitting when you’re behind” theme, the best phrase being “when life gives you lemons…quit.” Well, though we’re not “behind” in the War on Terror, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has decided that the “lemons” we are getting are too much, and it’s time to quit. At least, that’s what his declaration that the Iraq War is “lost” seems to indicate.

I’ve led a number of teams: in the workplace, in the gym, on the field, etc… and at no point when I was trying to motivate people, did I tell them to pack it in, to go home, that we’d lost. How do you accomplish something, how do you win, if you’ve already decided that you’ve got no chance? Even if we were going to ignore all the positive reports coming out of Iraq as a result of General Petraeus’ counter-insurgency “strategery”, why would you ever admit to the opposition that you’ve given up? Or that that you plan on giving up in the near future?

On matters of the military, I normally turn to Victor Davis Hanson as my number one source of information. He addresses the reality of the situation on NRO’s _The Corner_:

Why does the enemy’s reaction to all this defeatism go unmentioned here at home? “Al Qaeda” in Iraq announces its demands to have its own terrorists in the government as it now names a “shadow cabinet”, even as it releases grisly tapes of mass executions, following recent
attempts to kill hundreds with chlorine gas. These are the evil forces that Gen. Petraeus is trying to protect millions of Iraqis from, and which will win if Sen. Reid’s defeatism spreads further.

I pray for the men and women stationed in Iraq, and fighting over the world to keep us save at home. I hope that they don’t look to people like Harry Reid for their motivation. These great men and women deserve better.