US Troops To Be Subject To The ICC

by Findalis

Hat tip to Crusader Rabbit

This is just another example of how far President Barack Hussein Obama will go to destroy the United States and turn us into a Third World Nation.

Barack Obama may subject US troops to International Criminal Court

They are feeling good just now at The Hague, as the judges and pen-pushers of the International Criminal Court (ICC) adjourn to smart restaurants to celebrate the latest gesture-politics flexing of their muscles by issuing an arrest warrant for Omar al Bashir, the President of Sudan. They are feeling less good in Darfur, from which 10 international aid agencies were expelled in retaliation within four hours of the ICC initiative, cutting food supplies and closing clinics. One man’s ego trip is another man’s starvation.

But the people who should be feeling really nervous about this development are the citizens of the United States and more especially their armed forces. The signs are that the grandstanding Barack Obama is preparing to subject the United States to the jurisdiction of the ICC. In May, 2002 President Bush withdrew the United States from the Rome Statute which established the ICC. With America heading into global conflict, he had no wish to see US troops arraigned for alleged war crimes before a kangaroo court.

That was a wise decision and probably required in terms of the US Constitution. Already, however, the Obama administration is sending out very different messages. America helped defeat a proposal that the warrant for Bashir should be suspended for 12 months – which would have been a welcome respite for the soup kitchens of Darfur. This is a policy change of considerable significance.

Nor is it the only straw in the wind. Last month US Ambassador Susan Rice, in a closed meeting of the Security Council, supported the ICC, saying it “looks to become an important and credible instrument for trying to hold accountable the senior leadership responsible for atrocities committed in the Congo, Uganda and Darfur”. A week later Ben Chang, spokesman for National Security Advisor General James Jones, took a similar line, telling the Washington Times: “We support the ICC in its pursuit of those who’ve perpetrated war crimes.”

The next logical step is for the United States to sign up to the ICC. That would flatter Obama’s ego as the conscience of the world. It would also put US servicemen at the mercy of any American-hating opportunists who might choose to arraign them on trumped-up charges before an alien court whose judges are likely to be ill-disposed towards America too.

In a joint analysis by David Scheffer (who helped set up the ICC) and John Hutson (former US Navy Judge Advocate General), the authors wrote: “If the United States were to join the ICC, one would have to accept at least the theoretical possibility that American citizens (particularly political and military leaders) could be prosecuted before the ICC on charges of committing atrocity crimes.”

So, vengeful Democrats could facilitate the indictment of President George W Bush and all his senior commanders in Iraq. American troops on active service have been shown in polls to have little confidence in Barack Obama. His overtures to the ICC will hardly reverse that tendency.

My feeling is that a decision to do this will result in a lower moral amongst members of the US military. Every 2-bit dictator in the world (Chevez and Ahmadinejad come to mind very fast) will be filing suits against the US and its military for every imagined hurt to them. Can one imagine the chaos that will insue when this happens? Will it even be Consitutional? Would that even matter to Obama? Or his Attorney General, Eric Holder? Will the ICC force the US to adopt strict gun control laws? They can. They can do anything including changing the US Constitution to suit their purposes.

This a bad idea from a man who is suppose to be an expert on the US Constitution and its laws. That what Obama claimed to be when he ran for election. A Constitutional Scholar. Yet when pushed on the actual issues in the Constitution, he cannot remember a single thing about that document.

On January 20, 2009 Barack Hussein Obama took the following oath:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Would giving sovereignty of US courts to the ICC not violate that oath? In Obama’s eyes the answer is NO. In the eyes of every member of the US Armed Forces the answer would be YES. And to the Supreme Court of the United States? Who knows. That will depend on whether he can stack the Court in his favor.

This is a bad idea, and if this is brought to the Senate as a treaty, it must never be ratified.

Postage Needed for Packages for our Troops

Cross-posted by Maggie at Maggie’s Notebook

Bob Williams
OurTroopsOnline

Bloggers, please feel free to cross-post

Bob Williams in Wesley Chapel, Florida sends 215 packages weekly to the military in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar and Kyrgyzstan – EVERY WEEK OF THE YEAR – 215 packages stuffed with necessities and comfort items for our men an women in uniform, fighting the War on Terror.

According to Stars and Stripes, Mr. Williams served in the Navy in the 1960’s. His sons now handle the family businesses, while he works for the troops, preparing the boxes destined for approximately 200 combat-zone bases.

The short story is that donations are needed to cover the postage. Mr. Williams and OurTroopsOnline.com spends approximately $8,000.00 a week in postage, from $20.00 to $45.00 per package, depending on the contents. He always has packages ready to mail, but often lacks the necessary postage.

Much of what Williams sends are donations: baseball bats and gloves, games of all kinds, grips to put on the soles of boot, unending supplies of popcorn, and items for children in hospitals and orphanages – which the troops use to help gain the trust of the locals. All the usual foods and toiletries are either donated or purchased

He receives thousands of email requests from troops and their families and friends, and much of those requests are paid for from his own pocket. Items like Q-tips, batteries, shampoo, feminine and personal hygiene items, and deodorant are constant requests. Williams will not say how much he personally spends but the website says it is significant.

Camouflage scarves are inscribed with messages to the troops by Florida school children and church groups. “The scarves are good for keeping dust and sand out of your nose and mouth,” says Williams.

There are no expenses for this volunteer group. No one gets paid, there’s no rent for a warehouse, no office space rent, and while I made two telephone calls to OurTroopsOnline to verify this information (a human actually answered both times – no option for a choice of language preference, and no need to leave a message), no one gets paid to answer the telephone – everyone is a volunteer.

OurTroopsOnline accepts cash or checks for postage. Make your check payable as follows:

Postmaster
P.O. Box 7560
Wesley Chapel, FL 33545

If you live in the area and want to donate items for the boxes, call 813-991-9400 for a delivery address or contact Mr. Williams by email at sift@aol.com. If you are a business and have items the troops need or will enjoy, and can contribute once or on an ongoing basis, please contact Mr. Williams.

This is a year-round operation – it doesn’t end in December. Put these people on your donation list throughout the year and know you are doing your part to make life a little more comfortable for our military in these combat zones.

Postage Needed for Packages for our Troops

Cross-posted by Maggie at Maggie’s Notebook

Bob Williams
OurTroopsOnline

Bloggers, please feel free to cross-post

Bob Williams in Wesley Chapel, Florida sends 215 packages weekly to the military in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar and Kyrgyzstan – EVERY WEEK OF THE YEAR – 215 packages stuffed with necessities and comfort items for our men an women in uniform, fighting the War on Terror.

According to Stars and Stripes, Mr. Williams served in the Navy in the 1960’s. His sons now handle the family businesses, while he works for the troops, preparing the boxes destined for approximately 200 combat-zone bases.

The short story is that donations are needed to cover the postage. Mr. Williams and OurTroopsOnline.com spends approximately $8,000.00 a week in postage, from $20.00 to $45.00 per package, depending on the contents. He always has packages ready to mail, but often lacks the necessary postage.

Much of what Williams sends are donations: baseball bats and gloves, games of all kinds, grips to put on the soles of boot, unending supplies of popcorn, and items for children in hospitals and orphanages – which the troops use to help gain the trust of the locals. All the usual foods and toiletries are either donated or purchased

He receives thousands of email requests from troops and their families and friends, and much of those requests are paid for from his own pocket. Items like Q-tips, batteries, shampoo, feminine and personal hygiene items, and deodorant are constant requests. Williams will not say how much he personally spends but the website says it is significant.

Camouflage scarves are inscribed with messages to the troops by Florida school children and church groups. “The scarves are good for keeping dust and sand out of your nose and mouth,” says Williams.

There are no expenses for this volunteer group. No one gets paid, there’s no rent for a warehouse, no office space rent, and while I made two telephone calls to OurTroopsOnline to verify this information (a human actually answered both times – no option for a choice of language preference, and no need to leave a message), no one gets paid to answer the telephone – everyone is a volunteer.

OurTroopsOnline accepts cash or checks for postage. Make your check payable as follows:

Postmaster
P.O. Box 7560
Wesley Chapel, FL 33545

If you live in the area and want to donate items for the boxes, call 813-991-9400 for a delivery address or contact Mr. Williams by email at sift@aol.com. If you are a business and have items the troops need or will enjoy, and can contribute once or on an ongoing basis, please contact Mr. Williams.

This is a year-round operation – it doesn’t end in December. Put these people on your donation list throughout the year and know you are doing your part to make life a little more comfortable for our military in these combat zones.

A Different Christmas Poem

Cross posted by Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

‘What are you doing?’ I asked without fear,
‘Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!’
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.

To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light
Then he sighed and he said ‘Its really all right,
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.’
‘It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘ Pearl on a day in December,’
Then he sighed, ‘That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.’
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘ Nam ‘,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.’

‘So go back inside,’ he said, ‘harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.’
‘But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
‘Give you money,’ I asked, ‘or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.’

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
‘Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.’

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

To all those who serve in far away lands, Thank You. We will not forget you or the service you give.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.

A Different Christmas Poem

Cross posted by Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

‘What are you doing?’ I asked without fear,
‘Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!’
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.

To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light
Then he sighed and he said ‘Its really all right,
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.’
‘It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘ Pearl on a day in December,’
Then he sighed, ‘That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.’
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘ Nam ‘,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.’

‘So go back inside,’ he said, ‘harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.’
‘But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
‘Give you money,’ I asked, ‘or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.’

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
‘Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.’

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

To all those who serve in far away lands, Thank You. We will not forget you or the service you give.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.

Shades of 2000?

Cross posted from Monkey in the Middle

In the year 2000, the State of Florida had a problem with their ballots as we all can remember very well. The term dangling chad entered the lexicon and the election was finally decided by the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore.

Now the same might happen in this election.

A federal judge has ordered election officials in Virginia to preserve late-arriving absentee ballots that Republican John McCain’s campaign claims should be counted.

The McCain campaign says in a lawsuit that absentee ballots weren’t mailed on time to many military members serving overseas. The complaint asks the court to order the state to count absentee ballots from overseas troops postmarked by Tuesday and received by Nov. 14.

The deadline for ballots to be received is 7 p.m. on Election Day.

U.S. District Judge Richard Williams said Tuesday that he will hear the lawsuit on Nov. 10. He ordered election officials to keep the late-arriving ballots until then.

It isn’t the fault of the military men and women of the State of Virginia that they didn’t receive their ballots in time. It is the fault of the Registar of Voters of Virginia. The ballots should be counted.

If the vote is close, then each of the Absentee Votes should and must be counted.

This could go on for weeks again. And who knows what the outcome could be.

Wednesday Hero: 1st. Lt. Thomas M. Martin

1st. Lt. Thomas M. Martin
27 years old from Ward, Arkansas
C Troop, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division
October 14, 2007

An Eagle Scout, Thomas M. Martin took on cleaning up an old red train caboose as a service project. “He remodeled it to make it where people could go inside. If you saw it before and looked in it after he was through – it was daylight and dark”, said his former principal, Robert Martin, who is no relation. “Tom was involved in Key Club, German Club and band, making All-Region Band his sophomore year”, said Robert Martin. “He was a wonderful young man. Those that knew him knew he was funny and outgoing.”

Lt. Martin died in Al Busayifi, Iraq of wounds sustained from small-arms fire when insurgents attacked his unit during combat operations. He enlisted in the Army in 1998 after graduating high school and served in Korea before accepting an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 2005.

“He was very polite and respectful. I can’t think of him ever overreacting; he had a wonderful, good-natured personality”, said Pat Hagge, a family friend. “It’s a terrible tragedy; he was a great young man.”

Lt. Thomas Martin is survived by his parents, Edmund and Candis.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

U.S. Military to Ditch the Red Cross for the Red Crystal

Today I had planned on writing about the ills of political correctness born of moral relativity and multiculturalism. I didn’t have to look far for material. It seems that International Law has prevailed and Israel has finally won acceptance into the International Red Cross. All Israel had to do was to ditch the Red Star of David as its protective symbol.

The red crystal is now official. The treaty which establishes the red crystal emblem became part of international law on Sunday, 14 January. Consequently the red crystal is now recognised in law as an additional protective emblem, with the same status as the red cross and red crescent.

You might note that the Red Cross (reversed Swiss flag based on the Christian crucifix), the Red Crescent (Islam), and the Red Lion of the Sun (Iran) may still be used. These emblems were prescribed in the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The next symbol to get the axe will be the Red Cross. Somehow I suspect that this won’t be the case with the Red Crescent or the Red Lion of the Sun. The problem with p.c./multiculturalism is the simple fact that the cultures that carry the biggest sticks, or that make the most threats, or that are known for world-wide terrorism, usually win these kind of battles. Ah but our utopianistic multiculturalists have no doubt about how to extinguish these problems!

It is hoped that the red crystal emblem, which is devoid of religious or other non-partisan connotations, will be universally accepted and its meaning understood. The red crystal, was adopted by a large majority of States at a diplomatic conference held in December 2005 in Geneva.

In the mean time it would appear that the US Military is planning to ditch the Red Cross in favor of the new Red Crystal. According to a military source, “This new symbol for the red cross was reported as being currently ready to be instated to our military medical facilities in the near future. I am confident that given the current climate of the war on terror, that it must have been designed as to “not offend” some members of the Islamic world.”

From my p.o.v. this doesn’t seem to be such a great idea while we are in the middle of a war in Iraq. Let’s see. . . . hmmmm . . . an ambulance sporting a Red Crystal symbol will tell all Muslims exactly what?

I’m cross-posting this interesting blog post from Chaplain Roland Dell.

January 14
The Red Cross, the Last Straw
I am outraged by the removal of the symbol of red cross from our medical facilities and ambulances. The Hospitalers, that gave us the term hospital are accredited with the use of the red cross as far back as the middle ages.

I am tired of apologizing to the world for our Western Heritage! Multiculturalism is supposed to celibate our differences in cultures, not remove anything that is found distasteful to others and call it accommodation. When I was trained by the Army, as an equal opportunity representative the premise was to create a greater harmony by celebrating and discussing our differences. Not by destroying any symbol of the Church or any other remotely similar symbols of western civilization. I have found that once a traditional symbol or expression is suppressed it seldom resurfaces, and is lost in posterity. This effectively erases any trace of our western civilization or culture, and our children have once again lost any cultural links to our past.

Strangely enough, one of the instructors that taught my course in the Army said that if we would not agree with her about the instatement of multiculturalism in “our” culture that we would merely be an “educated racist”. By who’s authority is this premise taught? I thought we were taught to discuss and celibate our cultures as Americans and Soldiers. The problem with pluralism is that there can be no bases of values, because no one can agree upon any particular code of conduct, or actions. The only thing that save the U.S. Army from this problem is it’s “ARMY VALUES”.

We are not even allowed to show the ten commandments in public anymore. The irony about such teaching are that they are intended to promote multiculturalism, but by the very nature that this course is taught, it denies the very principles it claims to endorse.

I did very well in this course of study, however I was disturbed by being taught that the “white man IS the oppressor”! I have never oppressed anyone! Furthermore, anything that I have ever learned about my family has always shown compassion for the oppressed or those in need.

How dare anyone inject race into the condition of the human heart! Any race has the potentencial to misuse there God given authority or power, and indeed this has always occurred. Yes, historically peoples have been oppressed by other peoples, but this will never justify the continuation of it. Can’t they see it? Teaching one thing and acting another?

The removal of the red cross from our military facilities, is no different than the removal from the ambulance in the 1960’s in this country. It was also the time that our children lost the right to pray, or even have a moment of silence in our schools, when will this organizational heresy cease?

Perhaps when western civilization is completely erased by another culture?

It is time for those who value the principles of western culture to say enough, of this hypocrisy!
Chaplain Dell
Lightship Ministries

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, Is It Just Me?, Mark My Words, Right Truth, Big Dog’s Weblog, Shadowscope, DragonLady’s World, Stuck On Stupid, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Pursuing Holiness, 123 Beta, Rightwing Guy, third world county, The HILL Chronicles, Woman Honor Thyself, Pirate’s Cove, Renaissance Blogger, Dumb Ox News, Right Voices, The Random Yak, Adam’s Blog, basil’s blog, Conservative Cat, Wake Up America, Faultline USA, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, High Desert Wanderer, Gone Hollywood, and OTB Sports, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.