BloggeRhythms

Yesterday, flipping channels during a short break, had the good fortune to view the brief retirement ceremony of Raymond T. Odierno, the general who served as the 38th Chief of Staff of the Army. 

 

What came through, even though observed on a TV screen, was a powerful, confident, military bearing delivered by one quite comfortable in his role. His commanding presence left no doubt that this was one who immediately gained the respect, and perhaps trepidation, of those he met, and certainly those he led.

 

According to Wikipedia, “As division commander in Iraq, Odierno’s 4th Infantry Division went door to door trying to find the Iraqi leader [Hussein] for eight months following the 2003 invasion before discovering him in an underground hole

 

“History will also remember him as a key architect of the surge, along with General David Petraeus.”

 

While Odierno “had a reputation for being an overly aggressive commander as his troops kicked down doors and rounded up Iraqi men in an attempt to stem a nascent insurgency,” when he left Iraq, he told reporters "sectarian violence is almost zero." That was September 2010.

 

“A year later, all U.S. troops were pulled out of Iraq. Less than three years later, ISIS was born.

 

“When he looks back on the last 12 years in Iraq, and the rise of ISIS, Odierno said he is frustrated by what he sees.

 

"When I think about it, a lot of hard work went into that. We thought we had it going exactly in the right direction, but now to watch it fall apart, it’s frustrating," he said in an exclusive interview with Fox News.”

 

Today, of course, the huge mistakes made by the current administration in abandoning Iraq are obvious. The rise of ISIS is a direct result. However, what also comes through when observing a proud, accomplished successful West Point graduate such as the general, is the comparison to incompetent, fearful, spineless, self-serving wimps like the POTUS and his Secretary of State who not only wasted the general’s accomplishments, but don’t care a whit about what they've done.       

 

In today’s update on Bill Clinton’s wife, Carol D. Leonnig, Karen Tumulty and Rosalind S. Helderman @.washingtonpost.com headlined their article,  “Clinton’s team went from nonchalant to nervous over e-mail controversy”

 

The story itself traces the development of the email issue from its start to the current involvement of the FBI, and the potential problems of the mishandling of highly classified information. What’s most interesting, though, are many of the reader comments following the text.

 

MNUSA wrote, “If Sec. Clinton weren't running for President, we'd never hear about email. If this is such a crucial issue, why aren't Republicans asking for Colin Powell's emails and hard drive as well as all the other cabinet secretaries who did not use the government email system?”

 

Now, obviously, the answer is the point the reader made at the outset, because she is running for president and Colin Powell and all the rest aren’t. However, if there are as many dolts in the nation as MNUSA, Bill’s wife may have absolutely nothing to worry about. They’ll all vote for her anyway. 

 

Which brings up the recurring question: Joe Biden, Mayor Bloomberg, Jerry Brown, and Starbuck’s chairman and CEO, Howard Schultz, are you reading this? 

 

That's it for today folks. 

 

Adios

 

PS: A friend posted this on FB this morning.

 

 

PARKING TICKET: My wife and I went into town and visited a shop. When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. We went up to him and I said, "...Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?" He just ignored us and continued writing the ticket.

 

I called him an "a**hole." He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn-out tires. 

 

So my wife called him a "s*ithead." He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing more tickets. 

 

This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote. He finally finished, sneered at us and walked away. Just then our bus arrived, and we got on it and went home. 

 

We always look for cars with Obama stickers. We try to have a little fun each day now that we're retired. It's so important at our age!!