Connect the Dots

Something in the Gulf of Mexico "smells fishy". "Where there is smoke, there is fire." "If it walks like a Duck, quacks like a Duck, and pairs well with cranberry...." I am not one prone to believe in ALL conspiracy theories, replete with black helicopters, Tri-Laterial Commission, and Area 51 lore, but something about this oil well disaster "does not add up". Regardless of which idiom you choose, we need to look into this explosion.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig, Gulf Of Mexico

Shortly after the blowout on 10 APR 2010, a military friend passed on to me that he had heard scuttlebutt of something going on in the Gulf weeks before the blowout. A lot of special ops types—USN SEALs, USMC Force Recon, British Special Boat Service (SBS)—were running exercises gaining access to Deep Oil Rigs, and even leaving some behind for security. Then there was the North Korean submarine that was allowed to attack the well as part of the "compensation" for allowing the two reporters (Laura Ling and Euna Lee who work for Al Gore's media outlet "Current TV") to be held in North Korean prisons for wandering across the border, to return home with Bill Clinton. Okay, this one is way out there. However, read on and let me know what you think.

First, let’s examine, or start plotting "data dots", who helped BHO with the largest contributions to his war chest:

1. University of California
2. Goldman Sachs (this is not the first time you will see this company)
3. Harvard University
4. Microsoft
5. Alphabet, Inc. (Google)
6. Citigroup
7. JPMorgan Chase & Co.
8. Time Warner.

Amazing. Together these contributors provide unlimited Intelligence, Financial Resources, access to and distribution of information, and propaganda of his progressive and socialistic ideas.

Of the above group, Goldman Sachs is of specific importance. It was Goldman Sachs that was part of the Bush bailout in his last months in office. Henry Paulson, Bush’s Treasury Secretary, was the architect of the bailout. They also have the greatest investment in carbon credits and offsets trading, purchasing two carbon-offset companies. They have made Al “Sex Poodle” Gore a huge amount of money selling these offsets. This will have a major impact on the Cap and Trade Bill passed early last year. Three weeks before the Deepwater Horizon explosion they divested (sold) nearly 50% of their BP shares. They were not alone in divesting BP assets. BP CEO, Tony “I just want my life back” Hayward sold one-third of his stock in the company. In addition to these sellers, the American investment company Vanguard through two of their funds, Vanguard Windsor II Investor and Vanguard Windsor Investor, sold over 1.5 million shares of BP stock. According to BHO’s Public Financial Disclosure Report, he is required to complete each year, all of his wealth is split between two Vanguard funds: Vanguard 500 Index Fund (three accounts) and Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund (three accounts).

Each of these companies has now started investing in another energy company—Exxon Mobile—whom they believe will eventually purchase BP assets if not the entire company. BP has also hired Goldman Sachs to provide advice on how to proceed.

Another company that seemed to be in the right place at the right time is Halliburton. Two weeks prior to the explosion they purchased the world’s largest oil disaster company, Boots & Coots. The two principles of this company were trained and worked alongside great oil rig fighter Paul “Red” Adair.

If you are still with me, you obviously have questions—you should. How could this be? Why would anyone do something like this? Gordon Gekko provides us the answer “Greed is good.” To advance a liberal agenda, to pay back those that got BHO and his socialistic cronies to the White House, is it possible this administration could do such? Before we answer let’s look at one other person that stands to make a lot of money from this. George Soros is one of Moveon.org’s huge financial backers.

George Soros is the major stockholder in a Brazilian oil company

George Soros

—Petrobras. Last August, Barack H. Obama gave Brazil $10 Billion US Dollars for offshore drilling and exploration. Why would he support another country's drilling when he does not support it for our country? Incidentally, the initial $2 Billion was immediately funneled to Petrobras. After the explosion in the Gulf, BHO issued a six-month moratorium on all deepwater drilling. Within 48 hours of issuing the moratorium, Soros contacted Laborde Marine, a company that services the deep-water drilling market, attempting to lease all of its vessels and move them to Brazil. Some dates to help track this development.

Petrobras Logo

• 18 MAY 09 Soros Fund Mgmt, LLC sold 5 million common shares of Petrobras.
• 14 AUG 09 George Soros bought 5.8 million shares of Preferred stock in Petrobras.
• 19 AUG 09 BHO commits to $10 billion in loans to Petrobras with an initial payment of $2 billion.
• 20 APR 10 Explosion on BP Deepwater Horizon rig.
• 06 MAY 10 BHO declares a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.

The reason Soros bought preferred stock is because the common stock was 21 percent higher than preferred; he made money just on the sale/repurchase of stock. Not to mention the profit in future earnings from stock appreciation and the increase in oil sales as Brazil stands to fill the gap between supply and demand for the US.

Is the administration capable of such an underhanded, illegal conspiracy all in an attempt to push environmental controls on the US while at the same time repaying political cronies and making money for all involved? I do not have the answer to this. There are many Americans that believe George W. Bush (43), orchestrated the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center Towers and rigged them to blow with Thermite. I guess both “conspiracies” are possible, but are they probable? Make your own decision. Research this yourself. Evaluate the "data dots" and sources then "connect the dots". All of it is on the internet until BHO installs a “kill switch” to keep you from logging on.

Author's Note: As of the original posting date, 30 JUN 2010, the Deepwater Horizon is still gushing oil into the Gulf.

Sir, Yes Sir!

The recent comments attributed to General Stanley Allen McChrystal USA, who shares a birthday with me (seven years earlier), have
 blanketed the news cycle for the past 24 hours. Reading comments by others on Facebook and more importantly those of our leaders as reported on news programs, has prompted me to share my comments on this issue. 

GEN Stanley McChrystal. File Photo.

As a Marine--no longer in uniform--I believe that you have a chain of command and you must respect it; both up and down. It is true that once you take an oath to defend this country, you lose some of the very rights you prepare to defend; namely freedom of speech. You cannot allow open disrespect or insubordination from subordinates. This creates a situation that can quickly become out of control. If you do not like a commander and you hear others berating him/her, then perhaps you are slow to fulfill their orders, and finally do not obey them at all. Anyone in uniform who leads men/women must never under any circumstances speak or act with disdain towards superiors publicly. This is even more important as you gain rank—either on your sleeve or collar—because you have greater influence. If the comments that were reported in Rolling Stone magazine are both accurate and in the correct context, then GEN McChrystal sealed his own fate several months ago. 

I do not know the situation or the circumstances surrounding Michael Hastings camping out with McChrystal and his staff in Paris, or what the guidelines were for reporting. When you have a group of individuals who work closely together and are even separated in rank by a couple of grades, you become close and share things. Generals/Admirals especially 4-stars have a full staff that accompanies them everywhere; within that group is the inner circle with whom the General/Admiral becomes extremely close. These are people he/she has served with and respects and wants their talents and skills supporting his/her endeavors. Is it possible that the group of men while waiting for the sky to clear of volcanic ash and dust accepted Hastings and became “friendly” with him and therefore let their guard down? I think this is a possibility. Could the group have assumed unless they say “on the record” other comments were to be treated as “off the record”? That too is a possibility. I could see where something like that occurred and they did not think much about it. Only a few of the comments were attributed to GEN McChrystal, the others were unnamed staff. Even so, the General should have been more media savvy and exercised more self-control. 

It has been reported that GEN McChrystal voted for President Obama, and therefore shared some of the same political beliefs. It is obvious from all the reports last year regarding the troop increase request he, General David Howell Petraeus, USA (US Cent Com), and Admiral Michael Glenn Mullen, USN (CJCS) do not agree with the Obama plan for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. President Obama was determined not to let his generals run the war, but rather assert his authority as Commander-in-Chief (CIC) and make the decisions on how the war was to be fought. I have no problem with civilian leadership of the military—it is a good thing—however, the CIC must with the military input develop, design, and deploy a strategy for the war(s). If so, then he should give the military everything it asks for in its quest to complete the mission. This situation is the crux of the matter and it is not being discussed. The civilian leadership for these wars is not respected by the military men/women who are fighting the wars. There is a huge chasm between the current administration and the military. I believe some of what the General and his staff were attributed as saying is coming from the deep, nagging anger that the administration does not “get it”. They do not believe this administration cares for the military, and as the General stated in London several months ago, the solution offered by Vice-President Biden is “shortsighted”, aka stupid and unworkable. As a reminder, the VP wanted to fight Al Qaeda with drones and SF troops. GEN McChrystal has been in special operations since his commissioning. He was first assigned to the 82nd Airborne and three years later volunteered for Special Forces (SF). Since then he has served in special ops as a shooter/operator and worked/commanded S2/S3 and G2/G3 (Intelligence/Operations both at Unit and Division level). For the past 30 years, he ran most of the Black Ops our military has taken part in. So, as an “operator,” one would think he would embrace an all-SF war unless he believed it would fail. 

While there remains a disconnect between this Administration and the military men/women, and there are diverse views on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Obama did the right thing and accepted GEN McChrystal’s resignation. You cannot allow this public dissension among the ranks. I hope President Obama allows for frank disagreement behind closed doors and gives the appropriate respect to the men and women who wear a uniform, pick up a rucksack, and carry a rifle to start their day at work. A good commander will ask for input and suggestions from his subordinates and welcome opposing views and ideas. However, once a decision is made and you walk outside and an order is given, your only response is “Sir, Yes Sir!” To set a good example President Obama must not allow his office, his aides, and his administration to speak negatively of the commanders in the field if they do not agree with his decision. I urge you to read Jonathon Alter’s book The Promise which was recently released. Alter is a far-left writer for Newsweek and also a Chicagoan who had unfettered access to the President and his staff while researching for this book. As I said earlier, respect goes both up and down the chain of command. 

Golden Evenings of Summer

Earlier tonight I and my daughter mowed our yard. After completing the job, I sat for a moment in the waning moments of the day,

watching the sun slip beneath the horizon when something caught my attention—a firefly. In that instance I was no longer a 48 year old man in Madison, AL, but a young boy growing up in rural Milton, FL. I was dressed in a similar manner: shoes—no socks, and a pair of shorts. 

After push mowing 2.5 acres, I would relax and sit with my brothers. It was a time to forget about the troubles of today and the toils tomorrow would bring; a time to run with my two brothers—chasing fireflies. While we did not know it then, we were chasing more than a firefly in the yard. We were chasing our dreams and goals. Many a time we would close our hands over one and then dismiss the idea we had actually caught it, only to open our hand to see it fly away. It was on those evenings when the shadows became so long that they finally disappeared into another, and the last of the sun’s golden rays faded into a memory that we learned how to be men. 

To catch a firefly you needed a plan. You must determine which of the numerous fireflies you want to chase, focus on it, and then chase it with wild abandon until it is safely in your grasp. Do not let it go. Do not let it slip between your fingers. We must focus on a specific goal, follow it until it is obtained, and then after reaching your goal, set it aside and focus on another. 

Those Golden Evenings of Summer a lifetime ago, carefree—yet full of promise, are not much different than those of today. Are you where you thought you would be at this point in your life? Did you make something of yourself? Did you reach your goals? The Sun may be low in the sky, but it has yet to set. You can still go in your backyard, find a firefly and give chase until you catch it. 

After a few moments of paging through mental photographs, I was once again in my backyard. My pain ridden body is not as firm, not as fast, and not able to run as far but I was determined to catch a firefly. It took a moment, but I caught one and smiled as I opened my hand to let it go. Chase your dreams. Start today.