When it became known that General McChrystal and his staff had spoken poorly about President Obama earlier this week many people came out and slammed McChrystal for his actions. At the time I my position was that even though I don't respect Obama I do respect the office of the Presidency. With that being said I believe that Obama did not make the correct choice in removing McChrystal. I think the troops in the field would have been much better served if McChrystal had been sent back to complete the job he was tasked with. Either way that issue is water under the bridge at this point. McChrystal is out and Petreaus is in. What isn't water under the bridge though is the fact that it is clear that this administration has got some serious problems right now. Currently Obama is trying to manage five major issues at once and quite frankly he is doing a very poor job. Those issues in no particular order are as follows:
- Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak Crisis
- War in Afghanistan
- Border Security and Immigration
- Israeli Relations
- Failing Economy
Oil Leak...What I Would Have Done
Quite frankly I've lost track of how many days this crisis has been continuing. I know we are on day sixty something. At this point it doesn't really matter. Mass media and I have covered the failures of this administrations response to the oil spill extensively. So how would I have handled the situation? Here goes...
- Shortly after the explosion I would have contacted the Coast Guard leadership and Secretary of the Interior and ordered an extensive investigation to determine what happened.
- I would have mobilized any deep diving resources of the armed forces to independently investigate the sight of the leak to determine the extent of the damage and the leak. During the early days of the crisis we were all relying on BP's spill estimates which were grossly underestimated.
- I would have accepted any and all foreign assistance that was offered. Any skimmers, dispersant planes, dredge equipment, loaders, personnel, etc. would have been accepted and on the ground or moving in the Gulf within the first two weeks.
- I would make it clear that BP should be held responsible for the damage and cleanup but that the end result would be left up to the courts due to the fact that legally BP can only be held responsible for 75 million in damages.
- I would have ordered an immediate thorough inspection of all of the drilling platforms in the Gulf and as soon as those platforms passed inspection they would be brought back online.
- I would order a thorough review of the MMS to determine why any wrongdoing BP wasn't caught by inspection procedures.
- Anything that the Governors and local officials on the ground in the Gulf region wanted, they would get.
- I would have been on scene in the Gulf within the first week examining the situation first hand. Furthermore I wouldn't have been seen having concerts and playing golf over 7 times since the accident.
- I would have setup a website where American inventors across the country could meet online and share ideas on how to cap the well and efficiently clean up the mess.
Arizona and Border Security...What I Would Do
This situation is so simple and clear that Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder could see what to do here. Arizona is being OVERRUN by a FOREIGN INVADER. Governor Jan Brewer has been BEGGING the federal government for help. Illegal immigrants keep spilling over the border and now a drug war is starting to as well. Cops are being threatened and a defacto state of war has been declared on the State of Arizona. Instead of helping that state Obama and this administration has chosen to basically ignore their requests...If I was President this is what I would do about the Border Security and the illegal immigrants in this country.
- First and foremost I would send a large contingent of troops to the border. And when I say border I'm not just talking about Arizona. I would send them from Brownsville, Texas all the way to San Diego, California. These boys would be locked, cocked, and ready to rock. I'm talking about tanks, automatic weapons, air support via drones and manned combat air patrols, and armored personnel carriers. If needed I would send a carrier group to the Gulf of Mexico to boost air patrols on the border. In addition to this I would institute an aggressive state of the art technology campaign on the border including cameras with face recognition software that would include a database of thousands of the worlds terrorist.
- I would continue building the border fence across the entire border and it would be manned at regular checkpoints with a high level of armed security.
- If drug smugglers are caught coming across the border the orders would be shoot to kill. All illegal contraband coming across the border would be fair game for live fire from troops, tanks, and aircraft.
- Civillian illegal immigrants attempting to sneak across the border would be captured, detained, and promptly deported back to Mexico. If you get caught a second time then you would be subject to be incarcerated in an American detention facility for up to 5 years.
- Companies in America caught hiring illegal immigrants would be subject to a $25,000 fine for the first offense. The second offense would be subject to a $100,000 fine and/or prison time. Aiding the illegal actions of others will not be tolerated.
- All prisons in America would immediately begin to perform background checks on all inmates. If the inmate is found to be in the country illegally they would be deported immediately back to their home country. If an inmate that was deported is caught trying to come back in to our borders the crime would be a capital crime that is punishable by firing squad or hanging.
- I would institute a fast track service for expediting the process to citizenship for people who want to legally come to this country and contribute to our society. In order to come into the country you would be subject to a thorough background check and medical history. It would be understood that not everyone is going to qualify to become a citizen. A guest worker program would be instituted. For a fee you would be able to come across the border for a short period of time to work as a guest. In addition to the fee an added tax would come out of your pay.
So, can I count on you for your vote in 2012?
Until later...
Stay Educated, Stay Informed, Stay Alert, Stay Safe
Sonny "Bandit" Darlington
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