It’s 9/11. Remember who attacked us. And who let it happen. And who made money from the attacks.

Today is September 11th, and in order to truly honor the memory of those who died at the hands of those terrorist goat-f***ers in Al-Quaida, this writer will forego the usual platitudes, and instead point a big finger at the “Republicans” who sat back and let it happen; and then used those thousands of deaths to further their political ends whilst padding their offshore bank accounts. Think that is inappropriate, nasty, partisan, or lese-majeste? Gentle Reader, you ain’t heard nothing yet.

The 9/11 Commission report said that the Bushistas ignored the threat until after the attacks had occurred. And then, of course, they used the deaths of our fellow citizens to launch a phony war in Iraq and make themselves multi- millionaires. It’s all public record, click the links if you don’t believe it.

In stark contrast to the incompetence, malfeasance, and obfuscation of the “Republicans” stands President Obama. People told him about an imminent terrorist threat, and he quickly got started kicking their mass-murdering asses. And he told the country exactly what he was gonna do: bomb, shoot, and generally kill all of the Shaitan-worshipping thugs in ISIS. That, friends, is how you respond to an attack. Openly, firmly, and honestly.

There are still fools around the world who think the Prexy is weak, indecisive, or naive. To those idiots, we present four words:
Osama
Bin
Laden’s
Dead.
He died because Obama had the smarts and the testicular fortitude to pursue the mutt and kill his ass. The Bushies didn’t care enough to catch the motherf***er, which helped Al-Quaida grow stronger and prosper by showing the world that America would not punish those who attack us. But the Dems in the White House DID care, justice WAS rendered, and today Al-Quaida is a shattered remnant of the jihadi collossus it once was. Punishing criminals works a lot better than rewarding them.

We can best honor the victims of crimes by rendering justice on the criminals, and preventing future crimes. To the first point, not all of the criminals of 9/11 have been brought to justice yet, but Obama has made a good start. And to the second, he is doing things differently than his predecessor, thus helping to prevent a recurrence of 9/11.

Not to say that Obama’s actions are without risk. They carry enormous potential for blowback and unintended consequences. But doing nothing failed in 2001, and failed earlier this year as well. Terrorists will commit acts of terror whether men of good will do nothing, or do something. It’s what terrorists do. At least killing them, taking their money, and destroying their assets slows them down. (Again, see what has happened to Al-Quaida since PBO took office.)

The Bushies have the blood of innocents on their hands and in their wallets. Never forget, Gentle Reader. Because if we forget, it’ll happen again. Good luck to President Obama and all the brave people who fight for us every day. And bad cess to those who attack us, abandon us, and use tragedy to manipulate us.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Domestic Surveillance isn’t just Wrong: It is Useless and Unnecessary

Think  back to 9/11, when America got our collective nuts kicked so hard, we had lumps on our necks for years thereafter. According to the 9/11 Commission report ( http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf ), our intelligence agencies already knew the terrorists were here and in training for the attack – the problem was that the Bushies didn’t listen to the experts who were warning them about an impending al-Quaida attack. This means that the whole raft of domestic surveillance programs that have been developed since 9/11 would not have helped one bit.

One more time: We already knew about the terrorists among us. So we never needed more domestic surveillance. And we still don’t. What we actually needed (and still need) was for our leaders to pay attention to data and protect our nation from real threats, instead of ignoring facts and using their own mistakes as excuses to spy on us and rob us blind.

So, why was it put in place, back during the reign of Bush The Dumber? One may theorize as one wishes, because none of the responsible parties is going to admit that the Domestic Surveillance State was  a boondoggle coupled with a violation of our Constitutional rights. This writer submits that the whole program was nothing more or less than a  “Republican” transfer of tax dollars to their corporate cronies, with a bone thrown to the Fundagelicals and Birchers in their party.

Consider the enormous number of private companies that have made billions of dollars over the past decade  by providing “contractors” to replace NSA workers (at a higher cost, with lower quality and less security [e.g. Snowden]). Where did they come from? Like mushrooms on a manure pile, they sprang up when “watered” by the Bushistas’ off-the books torrential downpour of secret cash.

So here we are: our rights have been violated, our privacy have been infringed, and our pockets have been picked clean for over ten years by a load of  perverts and con artists, bent on snooping into our private lives and taking us for every cent we earn. And all in the name of solving a problem that never existed in the first place.

If you’re not foaming at the mouth right now, you’ve not been paying attention.

The solution, Cranky Nation, is obvious: dismantle the un-needed and illegal parts of the Surveillance State, kick the greedy f***s out of the process, and by so doing restore our rights while helping to balance the budget. And all of that as soon as possible.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

You Can’t Be Partly Pregnant

Mr. Blunt and Cranky was reminded of this old saying while listening to the latest Postal Service brouhaha. For those who have not heard the noise, here is a brief recap: the Posties are broke; indeed, they are as broke as the Ten Commandments. And every time they try something to fix their problem, all Hell breaks loose.

This is because the agency is required to be “partly pregnant”: a constitutionally-mandated government agency that is simultaneously expected to run itself like a private business. That is confusing enough as it is, but wait- there’s more.

The USPS is required by law to serve everyone, anywhere in the U.S., no matter how remote, at the same price, quality and speed. Oh, and Congress can veto many actions of the USPS, and add additional mandates as it sees fit, whenever Congress takes a fancy to.

The USPS tried to cut costs by closing and consolidating under-used post offices. They got smacked down. They tried other ways to save money, and got spanked again. Notice that private concerns like FedEx did similar things to become leaner and meaner, and no one turned a hair.

So we have a government agency, regulated to a ludicrous degree, that is expected to somehow compete with lightly-regulated private-sector businesses like FedEx and UPS. That’s like expecting a duck-billed platypus to outrun a thoroughbred at Churchill Downs.

You can’t be partly pregnant. You can’t be partly private or partly public either. Demanding that the Postal Service be held to two incompatible standards is like baking a Limburger-sour-cream-chocolate-and-onion birthday cake with ketchup icing: you can make it, but no one will be happy with the results.

Mr. B & C

The High Cost of Not Listening;

Today is 9/11, and lots of politicians will be pointing fingers at each other, patting themselves on backs, demonizing the other party, and taking credit for actions, deservedly and undeservedly. Mister Blunt and Cranky is blessed with (or perhaps “afflicted by” is a better way of saying it) an excellent memory, and he will say two things that we should all remember:

Number A: Bill Clinton tried but failed to kill Bin Laden and wipe out al-Qaeda;

Letter 2: Bush The Dumber ignored Bin Laden and al-Qaeda until 9/11; after which date HE tried but failed to kill Bin Laden and wipe out al-Qaeda.

Both administrations were warned about the threat, and showed varying degrees of willingness to accept input from national security experts.  Unlike the batshit-crazy “Truthers”, this writer will not say that Bush The Dumber was responsible for 9/11. He will, however, say that the evidence shows that experts were trying to get the attention of the Bushies, and the Bushies did not listen: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB147/index.htm is one of many sources.

It is a fruitless waste of time to speculate on what could have been changed had Condi, Dickie, and Co. shut their mouths long enough to open their ears. It is NOT, however, a waste of time to remember their unwillingness to listen to experts at a time of grave peril to our nation; and to remember the consequences of that failure to listen.

Too often, executives and others hide behind their preconceived notions and ignore any input that does not fit into those preconceptions. As we move into a future of a deteriorating global security environment, we need to learn from the mistakes of 2001 and pay attention when the intelligent individual we hired is trying to tell us something we may not want to hear.

These days, it can be a matter of life and death.

Mr. B & C

P.S. President Obama did listen to his smart people, and has wasted a whole load of terrorist mother***ers (including OBL) as a result. Listening works.