Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense?

From an Associated Press article — Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel is a contrarian Republican moderate and decorated Vietnam combat veteran who is likely to support a more rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

As President Barack Obama's top candidate for defense secretary, Hagel has another credential important to the president: a personal relationship with Obama, forged when they were in the Senate and strengthened during overseas trips they took together.

Cowboys and Tea Parties comment:  On the surface, Hagel appears to be a moderate choice for Obama given Obama's very radical and extremely unqualified cabinent.  However, Carl Levin's support of Hagel is disconcerting as is Hagel's own comment's about Sarah Palin being unqualified for Vice-President when Obama became President within much, much less experience (or even common sense).  Hagel's non-supportive comments over Israel are very troubling as well.  A major point over Hagel's decision making may also come into question as Hagel's opinions on troop surges and strategy in Afghanistan were dead wrong.   

Hagel, 66, emerged several weeks ago as the front-runner for the Pentagon's top job, four years after leaving behind a Senate career in which he carved out a reputation as an independent thinker and blunt speaker.

Wounded during the Vietnam War, Hagel backed the Iraq war, but later became a fierce and credible critic of the Bush administration's war policies, making routine trips to Iraq and Afghanistan. He opposed President George W. Bush's plan to send an additional 30,000 troops into Iraq — a move that has been credited with stabilizing the chaotic country — as "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam, if it's carried out."

While Hagel supported the Afghanistan war resolution, over time he has become more critical of the decade-plus conflict, with its complex nation-building effort.

Often seeing the Afghan war through the lens of his service in Vietnam, Hagel has declared that militaries are "built to fight and win wars, not bind together failing nations." In a radio interview this year, he spoke broadly of the need for greater diplomacy as the appropriate path in Afghanistan, noting that "the American people want out" of the war.

If nominated — an announcement could come this week — and confirmed by the Senate, Hagel would succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Panetta has made it clear he intends to leave early next year, but has not publicly discussed the timing of his departure. He took the Pentagon job in July 2011.

At the same time, Obama is considering one of Hagel's former Senate colleagues, Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts, for the job of secretary of state.

To political and defense insiders, Obama's preference for Hagel makes sense.

The former senator shares many of the same ideals of Obama's first Pentagon leader, Republican Robert Gates. When Obama became president in 2009, he asked Gates to remain as defense secretary. Both Hagel and Gates talk of the need for global answers to regional conflicts and an emphasis on so-called soft power, including economic and political aid, to bolster weak nations.

"A Hagel nomination signals an interest in, and a commitment to continuing a bipartisan approach to national security," said David Berteau, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said that Hagel's two terms in the Senate, before he retired in 2009, spanned the latter years of the post-Cold War military drawdown and the post-Sept. 11 buildup. "From a budget point of view he has seen both ends of the spectrum and that gives him a good perspective to start from."

Hagel's possible selection has been met with initial praise from key members of the Senate, including the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who said Hagel would be "terrific."

The choice could trigger opposition from some Jewish groups and may worry Democrats concerned about Israel-related issues. Hagel has criticized discussion of a military strike by either the U.S. or Israel against Iran. He also has backed efforts to bring Iran to the table for talks on future peace in Afghanistan.

"The appointment of Chuck Hagel would be a slap in the face for every American who is concerned about the safety of Israel," said Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Hagel often straddled party lines and had some high-profile dustups with his Republican colleagues.

In 2008, he criticized GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, saying she lacked foreign policy credentials and that it would be "a stretch" to consider her qualified to become president. His wife, Lilibet Hagel, endorsed Obama in his first run for president. Hagel also was mentioned as a possible candidate for Pentagon chief when Obama was first elected.

As defense secretary, Hagel would preside over the withdrawal of combat troops from Afghanistan and the waning days of the war, and would direct some of the steepest cuts in Pentagon spending in years. His task would be to restructure a pared down military that can step away from the grinding wars of the past 11 years and refocus on a swath of regional challenges from Syria, Iran and North Korea to terrorism in Africa and the defense buildup in the Pacific.

A big benefit will be his experience and his allies on Capitol Hill.

"Certainly his name coming forward is one I'm very open to," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who served with Hagel on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "I had good relations with him while he was in the Senate. Certainly (he's) a veteran and someone who also spent a lot of time around the world understanding the relations other countries have with the U.S. and vice versa."

Defense analyst Loren Thompson, of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute think tank, said Hagel knows the political system and is known for thinking outside the box, which would help as budget cuts move forward.

"He's a veteran who understands how Congress works and has stayed plugged in to developments in defense policy," Thompson said. "He is not tied to the status quo and will think creatively about how to manage America's military forces."

Senator Diane Feinstein's Semi-Auto Ban bill

Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) has published what her firearms ban bill will contain. The link to her publication is down below. Her bill would require:


All currently owned semi-auto firearms, handguns and rifles, that can use a magazine that can hold more than ten rounds must be registered as National Firearms Act items. That registration will be with the federal government.

1. There will be 120 named firearms that will become NFA firearms.

2. Such NFA automatic firearms require a $200.00 per firearm federal tax.

3. Newly made semi-automatic firearm will not be able to accept a magazine that contains more than ten rounds.

4. The point system is much more than in the prior (1994-2204) ban.

So, if you currently own a Glock, Springfield Armory XD, S&W or any other semi-auto pistol that will accept a magazine that can hold more than ten rounds, you will have register as described.

Same with a Ruger Mini-14, M1 Carbine, AR-type, Springfield Armory M1A or any other semi-auto rifle that will accept a magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds.

When the 120 firearms are named, it will most likely have shotguns in the list, for there was with the 1994-2004 gun ban. There were semi-auto and pump actions shotguns in that ban.

If Senator Feinstein has her unconstitutional way:

You will be registered with federal law enforcement. Like a convicted sex offender.

You will have to be fingerprinted and photographed by law enforcement.

You will have to surrender any magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds.

Of course, will have to get the required approval document from local law enforcement, for federal registration, you will also be registered with Vermont law enforcement.

You will have to hope that a local police department will sign off on you being able to register your newly designated NFA firearm. The PD may not want to accept such liability.

Of course, if you opt not to register, you will be able to surrender your firearm as possession of an unregistered NFA firearm or magazines that hold more than 10 rounds will be a federal felony offense.

If you want to read the bill Senator Feinstein's has announced she will introduce next month, click on the link below and then on the link to pdf document.

Senator Frankenstein Feinstein's proposed firearms bill.

Faith in Obama at an All Time Low

Poll: Obama begins second term facing pessimistic public. As President Barack Obama heads into his second term, he faces a pessimistic and weary public, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll released late Tuesday.

The percentage of Americans satisfied with the direction of the country stands at a paltry 23 percent in a poll taken Dec. 14-17. By a margin of 50 to 47 percent, respondents said the country's best years are over.

Fifty percent of respondents said it is somewhat or very unlikely that today's youth will have a better life than their parents.

That pessimism and negativity extends to the president, according to the poll.

When respondents were asked to choose adjectives to describe their feelings about the president's re-election, the poll showed the excitement and pride many Americans felt about the president's first term has diminished.

Sixty-seven percent of respondents in November 2008 said they felt optimistic about the president's election and the same percentage said it made them feel proud. Last month those numbers fell to 52 percent for optimistic and 48 percent for proud. Forty-three percent of Americans surveyed also said they feel pessimistic about the president's re-election and 36 percent said it made them feel afraid—both increases from 2008.

The president's approval rating, however, hovered at the 50 percent threshold in the USA Today/Gallup survey. This is 1 percentage point above George W. Bush as he headed into his second term, but below the 58 percent rating held by Bill Clinton and 59 percent held by Ronald Reagan.

The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Cowboys and Tea Parties Comments: If only 23% approves of the direction Obama is leading us in, then why was he elected President again?

Obama received 70% of the vote in the demographic group of people who made around $40,000 or less. Did this group vote for continued deficit spending? No. Did this group vote for adding more debt to the incredible $16.4 trillion in debt we already have?  No.  Did this group vote for a continued failed foreign policy? No. Did this group vote for higher fuel prices? No.

No, they did not vote for the above or the status quo, but that's what they got with Obama.  What they did vote for was simply......stuff. Welfare and checks. We are at the time in the history of this country where those who live off of others now outnumbered those of us who foot the bill.