We have no standing in the world.

Why is President Obama looked upon as weak? Much of his troubles in the world have been self-made. He went around the world, apologizing, bowing, and just telling other countries how ashamed he was of the United States. Oh how we were going to reset relations, with Russia and everybody else. A new day dawning.

Of course intelligent people knew he must have blinders on. No sane person would ever think the rest of the world would just love to be friends, hold hands, and sing campfire songs.

Putin? You have got to be kidding. Reset? Yup. We sure reset Russian relations. Reset to the Cold War.

But Republicans, namely George Bush, bear some responsibility to this weakness.

America and the rest of the world have been soured on military action, especially from the United States. The Iraq War, with good intentions, morphed into a disaster. After victory, no less. We were in a quagmire with no way out, much less save face. Our military lost a lost of lives.

We just don't have the stomach for America to police the world. And our allies are not giving us any comfort either. They don't want in.

The world economy is still in bad shape.

So now we have the United States sitting on our hands. We look pretty silly drawing lines in the sand and saying "dare you." Only to have the line crossed, draw another line, and say, "I double dare you." The line keeps moving and there's nothing we can do about it.

Not at this point anyway.

George Bush did half right. He knew how to get our allies on his team. Obama knows no such thing. He can't get anyone to follow him. Why bother? He's not leading anywhere. And the rest of the world is just sitting on its hands as well.

Look at Egypt. Iran. Syria. Ukraine. Crimea. Even Venezuela. Nothing. The world stands by as hundreds of thousands of people are killed in Syria. Nobody has the stomach to stop dictators in 2014.

So if not the United States, who? Nobody. Perhaps the next president will know how to rally the rest of the free world around a cause for freedom.

We need people like Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II.

Isn't it amazing our biggest ally, Great Britain, remains eerily silent.

The United States has lost all standing in the world.

Sending Joe Biden to reassure Poland, is like a bad joke gone bad. I mean come on, Joe Biden? I guess Bill was too busy campaigning for Hillary...That's how serious Obama takes this....sends Biden.


>Read: How to raise a responsible family.

US Navy to back up Russia during Olympics?

So the US Navy is offering to have some backup ships near the Black Sea to help out Russia. Just in case it's needed. US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel made an offer of support to Sergei Shoigu on January 4th. This is the same Russia that has befriended Edward Snowden. Oddly, this is the same Russia that warned us about the Boston Marathon bombers. Something that we ignored, I might add. Speaking of those bombers, I guess the NSA wasn't up to the task either on that one. So what do they do with those cell phone records?

Of course we sincerely hope our Naval forces are not needed for The Olympics. It would be quite odd for us to evacuate people or bomb something during a so-called non-political event. The Olympics non-political? Yeah. Right.

Perhaps this is Obama's way of getting back at Putin. You know. We hype the threat to Russia. Making us look like the bigger guys. If there's any country that could crack down hard on terrorism, it's got to be Russia. But it's not the same Russia as it once was. The Mighty Bear is a shell of itself and has had it's share of dealing with domestic violence and terrorism.

The bottom line is that all countries at The Olympics have a stake in safety. Not just for the games, but for the world. Russia needs to pull out all the stops and accept any and all help to put on a safe (and sane) Olympics. But it does put Putin in weird way. Snowden on one hand, and fighting terror on the other. Maybe this is his just desserts. Let's just hope innocent people don't die.

If called upon, we know our military men and women will show off the best forces in the world!

>>How to be a teacher and get a teaching job, including Troops to Teachers.

Job search help for veterans

There have been some online job fairs for veterans recently. One was sponsored by http://www.veteranrecruiting.com. They will have a military spouse appreciation virtual job fair day on May 6, 2013.

Another site is http://www.vetfriendly.com/. They have numerous employors signed up to help veterans find jobs. If you are a business, and help hire veterans, you can get your company listed as being veteran-friendly. Here is a quote from the website:

" All employers in VetFriendly have been thoroughly screened to ensure there are only those employers who have good paying, full time employment, and who make a concerted effort to recruit, hire and retain our Nation's finest."

Any employer can list their company for free under the industry that best describes their business, and we encourage all employers to look to veterans first when making any new hire.

The White House is also "joining forces" to help veterans find jobs at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces/. There are resources for vets and military spouses as well.

http://veteranrecruiting.jobs/ is yet another site with job listings for veterans, as well as allowing businesses post job openings.

Anyway that Americans can get veterans jobs is a good thing. We hope that more businesses will look to hire veterans. It's very tough, for several reasons, for veterans to actually seek and get jobs. We need to honor their service and hire them.

>> Buy American!

______________________

Women to be cleared for combat duty

Today, a defense official has told the media that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is giving the okay for women to serve on active duty in several positions in combat.

On Thursday, Secretary Panetta will announce that the exclusion of women in ground combat will be eliminated. Previously, women below the level of brigade would be excluded from direct combat.

Keep in mind that will not take effect immediately and is only really opening up review and study of the situation. But, we are moving to the point of having women as boots on the ground soldiers in combat.

There are over 200,000 women currently in the armed forces who may be affected, with roughly 5,000 being Marines.

Because this is only a preliminary step toward female infantrymen, for lack of a better word, women will not be in direct combat forces until at least 2015.

In fact, this will even allow the branches of the armed forces to develop guidelines and even exceptions to this rule.

People are probably on both sides of this. It's not been an American ideal to see its women on the front lines being killed in combat. Is the United States ready for this?

Like it or not, there is something a little disconcerting at the thought of our daughters coming home in coffins. No, this is not making it seem that sons are different. Civilization seems to have always held women and girls in a different light.

It should also be noted that women have already been serving, if not at the front lines, certainly combat areas. There will just be more direct involvement of women in combat.

- Military scholarships.

- Military support groups.

Military members can get free National Parks Pass

Active duty military members can take advantage of a great benefit from the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service. If you are on active duty, you can get a free National Parks pass for 2013.

Overview of the Annual Pass for US Military and Their Dependents
-Free
-Available to US military members and their dependents in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard, as well as most members of the US Reserves and National Guard. Proper military ID is required (CAC Card or DoD Form 1173).
-Obtained in person at Federal recreation sites that charge entrance or standard amenity fees.
-Covers entrance to Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service sites that charge Entrance Fees, and Standard Amenity Fees at Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation sites.
-Admits the pass owners and any accompanying passengers in a private non-commercial vehicle at per vehicle fee areas, or the pass owner and up to additional 3 adults at sites that charge per person.
-Non-transferable
-Free admission at sites that charge entrance or standard amenity fees for one full year from the month obtained (through last day of that month).
-Allows pass owner and accompanying passengers in a single, private, non-commercial vehicle to enter federally operated recreation sites across the country.
-Covers the pass owner and three (3) accompanying adults age 16 and older at sites where per person entrance fees are charged. No entry fee charged for children 15 and under.
-The pass does not cover or provide a discount on expanded amenity fees such as camping, boat launch or interpretive fees.

>> Heated Electric Socks.

>> The Quebe Sisters.