Author: webuiltitblog

Moore, Oklahoma. By all accounts, a nice little suburb of OKC. Residents will tell you that it is a nice place to live, to raise a family. Except for one small problem: It lies in the middle of “tornado alley,” and it may have the dubious distinction of being the “tornado capital” of the US, if not the world. On what basis? According to Wikipedia, Moore has suffered through approximately 20 tornadoes since 1890, five of which were “significant,” and all five have occurred in the last 15 years.

The latest occurred on May 20, 2013. It was designated a Category EF5, which means it had winds in excess of 200 mph. It left an estimated 24 dead, including ten children, injured nearly 100, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses and caused approximately $2 billion in property damage. Many of those deaths resulted from mechanical asphyxia, which means the people (in some cases, kids) were trapped under heavy rubble and suffocated to death – a slow, painful, lonely and frightening way to die. Words cannot adequately describe the torment of a parent who loses a child in that manner. The children were in school. Schools are supposed to be safe. When you send your child to school, you expect him or her to return safely.

Furthermore, it turns out that despite the frequency and severity of tornadoes striking the area, many homes and buildings (even schools) lacked either a shelter or a “safe” room. (A “safe” room is merely a concrete structure, like a bunker, built above ground that is designed to withstand winds of over 250 mph. It costs approximately $5,000 to build.) This omission seems inexplicable and foolish, particularly in the case of schools, but supposedly many people could not afford the cost and decided to take a calculated risk, with tragic results. Unlike the Boston Marathon bombing, which some politicians falsely labeled a “tragedy” instead of a terrorist attack, this was truly a tragedy.

Unlike floods, blizzards and hurricanes, which the public generally is cognizant of in advance and can plan for, tornadoes strike with little or no warning. Tornado “watches” and “warnings” are so common and cover such a wide area as to be largely ignored. People hear about them on the news, file them away in the back of their minds, and continue to go about their daily lives. It is simply not practical to seek shelter in response to every “watch” or “warning.” Consequently, when the real thing occurs, people have just minutes to get to a shelter or “safe” room. This tornado was so large (estimates ranged up to a mile wide) and was moving so fast that many people did not reach shelter in time. In addition, it struck at 5 pm, the height of rush hour. Many parents were at work or on the road; their children were elsewhere. It dropped debris across two interstates. Picture yourself driving along on the LIE and seeing part of a house or an entire car flying at you from the other direction at 200 mph.

Through it all, the people of Moore exhibited a strong spirit and a positive attitude. Most of them have been through this before, and they know the drill. For example, the current mayor, who used to own a jewelry store, related to a reporter how he rode out the 1999 tornado in the company of employees and customers in his store’s vault. They know that the main thing is the safety of loved ones. Damaged property can be replaced; people cannot.

Also, it was heartening to see people who were not affected helping those who were. Acts of heroism by ordinary people abounded. One could see volunteers with shovels, rakes and trash bags helping others clean up damaged property with their bare hands. In addition, military personnel from Tinker Air Force base were on the scene, and “Good Samaritans” poured in from all over the country to lend a hand wherever they could.

CONCLUSION AND PREDICTION

People are resilient. Like people who live in other high-risk natural disaster areas, such as flood plains and coastal areas, the overwhelming percentage of people who live in and around Moore have vowed to rebuild and stay. I predict they will, although the State and Federal governments should require rebuilt property to have a shelter or safe room, and should subsidize older structures that were undamaged to add them.

Do you trust politicians? I think the overwhelming majority of us would answer that question with a resounding “NO.” One could argue quite persuasively that an honest politician would find it very difficult, if not impossible, even to get elected. Of course, the danger is that we have become so jaded that we expect our political leaders to lie, deceive and cheat, so that when instances come to light we discount them. (“What’s the big deal. Everybody does it.”)

Virtually every administration has had its share of lying, deception, broken promises and scandals. Years ago, before the internet, twitter and the 24- hour news cycle, the American people were either not cognizant of these events or found out about them years later. Now, nothing stays hidden; everything comes out, and quickly. So, Kennedy and Clinton were philanderers; Johnson had Viet Nam; Nixon had Watergate, Bush 41 said “read my lips, no new taxes,” and, once elected, raised taxes; Bush 43 deceived us about Iraq having WMD. The list goes on and on.

The problem with the current administration is that there have not been one or two of these, but several. I don’t have the space to name them all, but below is a list of the major ones:

1. Association with Reverend Wright
2. Black Panther intimidation of voters
3. Wasting money on green energy companies, which have gone bankrupt, such as Solyndra
4. Fast and Furious
5. Benghazi terrorist attack
6. IRS targeting the TEA Party and other conservative groups
7. The DOJ’s review of phone records of journalists who work for the Associated Press

Perhaps, one could defend one or two of these, but it is evident that the sheer volume of them indicates an unmistakable pattern of obfuscation, deception and incompetence. An objective person could not reach any other conclusion. In every case, when reporters, Congressmen or ordinary people have tried to ascertain who is responsible, the answer has been “no one is responsible. We don’t have the facts, but we are working diligently to determine them, and as soon as we do, we will tell you.” But, alas, they never report the facts. They never identify the responsible party. Then, eventually we are told, “well it’s old news.” So, the American public never gets the true story.

CONCLUSION AND PREDICTION

The mainstream press had aided and abetted this situation through its ardent desire to protect Mr. Obama. Nothing sticks to him. He is not personally responsible for anything. It’s always someone else, who is never identified. If you criticize him, you are labeled a “racist.” He is undoubtedly the “Teflon President.”

But, at some point, one has to say “enough.” Whatever happened to “the buck stops here?” The cumulative effect of these instances clearly demonstrates that Mr. Obama is either responsible for them or he is such an incompetent executive that he can’t control his subordinates and is incapable of running the country.

I expect that the voters will voice their displeasure in the 2014 mid-term elections. The Dems will lose several Congressional seats. As for, Mr. Obama, he will not be running for office, but he will be judged by history.

Why is the 9/11 terrorist attack on the US consulate at Benghazi significant, beyond the obvious, which is that four American diplomats were murdered? The answer is that the Administration and the State Department deceived the American people in order to cover up that it was a terrorist attack by elements of Al Quaeda and Ansar al-Sharia. Instead, they blamed a spontaneous protest over anti-Islamic video. Until the last few days, the liberal-biased “mainstream” media has aided and abetted this deception by its failure to pursue the story. In my opinion, the overriding purpose was to avoid damaging President Obama’s re-election campaign, which a terrorist attack on the eve of the election would likely do.

The salient points areas follows:

1. The attack on 9/11 should not have surprised any intelligent person, since 9/11 is the anniversary of you know what. Yet, precautions had not been taken. The State Department had ignored the diplomats’ repeated requests for additional security. Note that the British had had the foresight to recall many of its diplomats.

2. Military reinforcements were not deployed, even though evidence now available clearly shows that a prompt deployment would likely have saved two of the slain diplomats. There were two separate attacks hours apart, and the reinforcements could have arrived before the second one. Instead, they were specifically ordered to “stand down.” It is not yet clear who gave that order, but I find it hard to believe that Secretary Clinton was not at least aware of it during or after the fact. That would constitute gross mismanagement of her department. It also strains credulity that President Obama was not apprised of the terrorist connection soon afterwards, as he receives a CIA briefing daily.

3. In the aftermath, the administration and the State Department blamed an anti-Islamic video.

4. Susan Rice, former Ambassador to the UN, was designated to be the spokesperson for this cover-up. She made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows and repeated the above mantra. The talking points memo she used had been heavily modified to cast the alphabet agencies in the best light. Reportedly, it went through 12 revisions. Any references to Al-Quaeda, Ansar al-Sharia and terrorists were expunged. It is not yet clear whether this was at the direction of the White House or State Department, but the likelihood is both had a hand. Jay Carney insists that the White House only made a “stylistic” change (which places the blame squarely on Clinton). If you believe Carney, I have a bridge I can sell you.

5. President Obama repeated this absurd video claim duriing the third Presidential debate. Incredibly, Romney did not challenge him sufficiently. Had he done so, he might have won the election, but that is speculation and water under the bridge.

6. This week three whistle blowers came forward and testified before Congress. It is their testimony, including the existence of several emails back and forth among the various alphabet agencies, that has provided most of the verification of the deception and cover-up. When and if these emails come to light, they may prove as explosive as the oval office tapes did during the Watergate investigation.

7. Pat Smith, Sean Smith’s mother, has disclosed in various interviews that President Obama, Secretary Clinton and others lied to her face, telling her that the attacks were caused by a spontaneous response to the aforementioned video and were not the work of terrorists. This is a grieving mother who simply wants the truth about how and why her son died.

8. At this point, eight months later, the perpetrators have not been caught.

9. The “mainstream” media has now roused itself. Although Fox News has been following the story since September, ironically, it was an ABC reporter whose story on the talking points memo finally roused the media. The White House press corps has been grilling Carney the past few days on the matter. He has been engaging in his usual double-talk and obfuscation, but the information will come out eventually. It always does.

CONCLUSION AND PREDICTION

No one wants to be lied to. Yes, politicians do it all the time, Bush 43 about WMD, Clinton about Monica Lewinsky, John Edwards and Mark Sanford about extramarital affairs, Charles Rangel about taxes. The list is endless. It seems to be a prerequisite for holding public office. But, the Benghazi attack was and is a serious matter. Four Americans died. They were not soldiers; they were diplomats. They were supposed to be protected, and they were not. And then, to exacerbate the situation the Administration and the State Department lied to cover it up. Remember, the cover up is always worse than the crime. Richard Nixon was forced to resign over Watergate, which was a mere break-in. Nobody died, and Nixon would have won re-election handily anyway. In this case, whether you believe President Obama or Secretary Clinton were involved in the incident directly, indirectly or not all is beside the point. It is clear to all but blind, die-hard supporters that they were involved in the cover-up. The motive was clear: do nothing to damage Obama’s record on terrorism before the election. (Remember the slogan “GM is alive, Bin Laden is dead and al Quaeda is on the run?”). No objective, logical person could think otherwise.

Now, a new twist is to what extent, if any, this will affect Clinton’s Presidential campaign in 2016. Hard to say. As Secretary of State, she definitely has some culpability, directly or indirectly. When you’re in charge, the “buck” stops with you. Also, Obama may be forced to throw her under the bus at some point to deflect blame from himself. So far, throughout her career she has been made of teflon. My prediction is that if the media keeps doing its job this issue will influence the 2014 mid-term elections, but by 2016 the public will be focused on other matters, and the “mainstream” press will leap to her support.

Test your knowledge of the individual states with the below quiz.

1. Which state was the first to join the union?

a. Pennsylvania
b. Virginia
c. Delaware
d. Maryland

2. Which of the original 13 colonies was the last state to join the union?

a. New York
b. Rhode Island
c. South Carolina
d. Pennsylvania

3. Which was the first state of the Union that was not one of the original 13 colonies?

a. Maine
b. Florida
c. Ohio
d. Vermont

4. Which was the last of the “Lower 48” to join the union?

a. Arizona
b. Washington
c. Maine
d. New Mexico

5. Which state was admitted along with Missouri as part of the “Missouri Compromise?”

a. Kansas
b. Nebraska
c. Kentucky
d. Maine

6. What is the capital of New Mexico?

a. Santa Fe
b. Albuquerque
c. Tucson
d. Prescott

7. Which is the “Keystone State?”

a. Louisiana
b. Pennsylvania
c. Virginia
d. Maine

8. Which is the “Pelican State?”

a. Louisiana
b. South Carolina
c. North Carolina
d. Alabama

9. Which is the “Palmetto State?”

a. Kentucky
b. Virginia
c. Maine
d. South Carolina

10. Which state in the “Lower 48” has the coldest average temperature year-round?

a. Minnesota
b. Maine
c. North Dakota
d. Wisconsin

11. What location has the highest average temperature year-round?

a. Death Valley, CA
b. Marathon, FL
c. Key West, FL
d. Waikiki Beach, HA

12. George W. Bush was born in what state?

a. Texas
b. Connecticut
c. Massachusetts
d. Oklahoma

13. Which state has the largest area?

a. Montana
b. California
c. Wyoming
d. Alaska

14. Which state has the smallest area?

a. Vermont
b. New Hampshire
c. Rhode Island
d. Iowa

15. Which state is the least populated?

a. Alaska
b. Rhode Island
c. Montana
d. Wyoming

16. Which was the first state to secede from the Union during the Civil War?

a. Florida
b. South Carolina
c. Georgia
d. Alabama

17. Which of the four below choices has the most population?

a. New York
b. Florida
c. New Jersey
d. Texas

18. In which state were the most Presidents born?

a. New York
b. Virginia
c. Ohio
d. Pennsylvania

19. Territory of which state was not included in the Louisiana Purchase?

a. Minnesota
b. Arkansas
c. Illinois
d. Texas

20. Which state was not part of the Confederacy?

a. Maryland
b. Arkansas
c. Virginia
d. Texas

Extra Credit:

1. Each of the following states has one representative in the House of Representatives, except:

a. Rhode Island
b. Vermont
c. North Dakota
d. Montana

2. Each of the following presidents was born in New York, except:

a. Theodore Roosevelt
b. Franklyn Roosevelt
c. Millard Fillmore
d. Martin Van Buren

Answers: (1) c; (2) b; (3) d; (4) a; (5) d; (6) a; (7) b; (8) a; (9) d; (10) c; (11) b; (12) b; (13) d; (14) c; (15) d; (16) b; (17) d; (18) b; (19) c; (20) a; EC (1) a; (2) b

CONCLUSION

I am interested in everyone’s score. Let me know. Over 50% correct is pretty good. Less than five correct and you may not be smarter than a 5th grader. Be honest. No looking up answers.

Quickly now, what do you think is America’s longest and deadliest war? Is it WWI? WWII? The Viet Nam War? The American Revolution? Perhaps, the Civil War? Maybe the Gulf War or the war with Afghanistan? The answer is none of those! America’s longest and deadliest war is ….. THE WAR ON TERROR!

Many people mark 9/11/2001 as the beginning of this war. In my opinion, however, the War on Terror began on December 21, 1988 when terrorists blew up Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 on board as well as 11 people on the ground. That would make it 25 years long and counting, longer than many Americans have even been alive. Since then, numerous bombings and other terrorist acts have been perpetrated on us, including, but not limited to, the bombing of the WTC in 1993, the Murrah Office Building in OKC in 1995, TWA flight 800 over Long Island in 1996, the WTC and UAL flight 93 on 9/11/2001, and the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15. Most of these acts of terrorism were committed by Islamic Jihadists, who freely admit they hate us and want to destroy America and its way of life. Yes, the US is most certainly at war, possibly the most dangerous war in its history. We are fighting for our very existence, and the sooner we realize it, the better.

The only way to win a war, or even survive it, is to be just as tough, ruthless, resolute and resilient as the other guy. That means:

1. We should not coddle terrorists when we catch them. We should treat them as “enemy combatants,” especially those that are non-citizens. We should subject them to enhanced interrogation to extract as much information as possible. (I can understand the desire to handle citizens with more care. After all, they are entitled to the protections of the US constitution, which provides, among other things, the notion that one is innocent until proven guilty, but most terorists have not been citizens.)

2. I see no problem with imprisoning them in “Gitmo” regardless of the conditions there. After all, they are terrrorists. We don’t owe them comfort and conveniences.

3. Don’t be concerned with “why” they did it. Who cares? It’s not relevant. Besides, we already know why. They hate us and want to destroy us and our way of life. Be concerned with the “how,” the identity of their co-conspirators, and what else they might have planned.

4. Tighten up our security procedures. For example, we are far too liberal with student visas. We should limit them from countries that are known terrorist havens, and we should monitor recipients or at least require the universities to report when a student fails to show up or drops out.

5. Tighten our border security. Currently, it leaks like a sieve.

6. Don’t be overly concerned with “political correctness.” It has been well documented that almost all terrorist acts in the last 25 years have been committed by Islamic Jihadists, so our screening and surveillance procedures should reflect that. Remember the famous scene in the movie “Airplane” when the airport security people are strip searching nuns while terrorists go by carrying machine guns? That is a metaphor for the ridiculous heights to which we have taken PC. Tolerance and PC are appropriate in most circumstances, but not when it comes to preventing terrorism.

6. Our politicians and leaders should not be afraid to call these incidents “acts of terror.” They are not “tragedies.” Storm Sandy was a “tragedy.” These are way beyond “tragedies” and labeling them as such is a gross mischaracterization. Such denial of the obvious smacks of playing politics with people’s lives.

7. The various “alphabet agencies” have to put aside their petty jealousies and tighen up their coordination and cooperation with each other. Didn’t we learn anything from 9/11?

PREDICTION AND CONCLUSION

Do you feel safe? Many people don’t feel as safe today as they did before April 15. It reminded us how vulnerable we really are. We are at a huge disadvantage. The reality is we could prevent 100 potential terrorist plots, but the one we miss could be devastating both physically and emotionially. For the most part, acts of terror have been few and far between, but America has an infinite number of “soft” targets, such as schools, shopping malls, cruise ships, movie theatres and sporting events, to name a few. I strongly believe we need to live our lives and not cower in the corner, but at the same time we must be vigilant. See, hear and observe, and report anything suspicious to the authorities.

We have been fighting the war on terror with one hand behind our back. Many Americans are vastly underestimating the seriousness of the situation and need a wake-up call. I say to our leaders and politicians, we elected you to lead; so put on your “big-boy pants” and lead. The American people will take their que from you. Do it before it’s too late.

What do you think is more important – the rights of a terrorist, Dzohokhar Tsarnaev (“DZ”), who exploded two bombs at the Boston Marathon or the necessity to obtain vital information with respect to further possible terrorist attacks on innocent Americans? Is it more important to protect one terrorist or thousands of American lives? Most Americans would think it was a “no-brainer” that we needed to obtain all the information we could. Most legal commentators have opined that we had such a plethora of evidence to convict DZ that we didn’t even need to use any information he gave us in court.

Some of the information we needed to ascertain were:

1. Were the Boston bombings part of a larger terrorist plot?

2. Were there other targets? If so, what are they? We know about NY, but are there others?

3. What are the identities of any accomplices? What was the role of his friends, roommates, wife, mother?

4. What are the sources of funds?

Common sense (which, as we all know, is NOT common) would tell us that (1) There were and still are likely many other targets or potential targets; (2) The Tsarnaevs likely consulted/planned with others in the US and/or in Chechniya; and (3) they must have received funding from somewhere to travel overseas, purchase the explosives, etc.

Just today, Fox News broke a story that Boston police have taken three additional suspects into custody for obstruction of justice in relation to the bombing (attempting to dispose of computers and other equipment from DZ’s apartment). Two of them are DZ’s roommates (from Kazakhstan, no less); the third has not been identified yet. Kudos to the Boston Police!

In view of all of the above, most objective people would agree that it was vital that the FBI be permitted to continue to interrogate DZ unihibited by the constraints of Miranda. But, apparently the Justice Department, led by Eric Holder, did not agree. Apparently, Holder authorized, or at least concurred with, sending a DOJ representative and a judge to interrupt the interrogation and read DZ him his Miranda rights. It is hard to imagine that a decision that significant would have been authorized by anyone else. DZ had been talking (He had identified NY as another target.), but he abruptly stopped. It should be noted that most legal experts have stated that the FBI could have interrogated DZ for 48 hours without Mirandizing him. Therefore, the greater good was not served.

This is very disturbing, but, even more so is the fact that it is a continuation of a pattern of odd/incompetent DOJ actions that have occurred under Holder’s watch. There have been several, but I have listed a few of the more egregious ones below:

1. Ignoring what many people felt was intimidation by Black Panthers at some voting booths on Election Day.

2. The “Fast and Furious” gunrunning sting, which directly resulted in the death of a US Border Patrol agent.

3. Suing the State of Arizona over its immigration law, which gave police the authority to question anyone when they had a “reasonable suspicion” that particular person was an illegal alien. The DOJ claimed it was unconstitutional and gave police authority to “harass” innocent people. AZ was trying to deal with its illegal immigration problem after the Feds had failed to do so, and polls showed that most Americans supported the law.

4. Failure to investigate the Benghazi incident. Not only has he failed to investigate the Benghazi incident, but now there are reports that the DOJ is threatening State Department personnel who want to provide information about it.

Holder’s primary response to criticism has been either to ignore it or claim that he “wasn’t aware” of the matter in question, but I maintain that when you’re in charge, not being aware is no defense. In fact, it a weakness that exacerbates the original problem; you should have been aware, and the fact that you weren’t in and of itself is a problem. (Author’s note: When I was Chief Compliance Officer of securities broker-dealers, if I would have told the SEC or FINRA, or even my boss, that I was “unaware” of a problem, I would have been “strung up.”)

CONCLUSION AND PREDICTION

Holder has been one of the most ineffective Attorneys General in my lifetime. You can argue whether it is because of his blind loyalty to President Obama or that he is just in over his head, or a combination of the two. This stunt regarding DZ is particularly egregious, because it compromises the safety of all Americans.

So far, Holder has been made of teflon. Nothing sticks to him. Therefore, it appears that we are “stuck” with Holder at least until the 2016 Presidential election.

As many of you know, I have published two “Presidential Quiz” blogs. They were so well received that I have decided to publish another quiz, this one on famous quotes of US presidents. So, here goes. Some are easy; others are hard. A score of 50% would be passing. 80% or more, you’re a presidential scholar. If you get fewer than five right, you are probably not smarter than a 5th grader.

Please identify who said it:

1. “Victory has many fathers, while defeat is an orphan”

a. Nixon
b. JFK
c. FDR
d. Washington

2. “Blessed are the young for they will inherit the national debt.”

a. Obama
b. FDR
c. Hoover
d. Jefferson

3. “You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should be doing for themselves.”

a. Reagan
b. Bush 41
c. Polk
d. Lincoln

4. “Look, when I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point.”

a. Bush 43
b. Clinton
c. Carter
d. Obama

5. “I did not have sex with that woman.”

a. Clinton
b. Cleveland
c. FDR
d. JFK

6. “What counts is not the size of the dog in the fight. It’s the size of the fight in the dog.”

a. FDR
b. JFK
c. Washington
d. Eisenhower

7. “Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have.”

a. Washington
b. Jefferson
c. Reagan
d. Bush 43

8. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

a. JFK
b. Taft
c. FDR
d. Obama

9. “Beware the military-industrial complex.”

a. Eisenhower
b. Washington
c. Wilson
d. Carter

10. “A government is like fire, a handy servant but a dangerous master.”

a. Truman
d. Jefferson
c. Hoover
d. Washington

11. “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

a. Washington
b. Truman
c. Hayes
d. Lincoln

12. “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”

a. Eisenhower
b. Nixon
c. Ford
d. Truman

13. “Government isn’t the solution to our problems; government is the problem.”

a. Reagan
b. Nixon
c. Obama
d. Coolidge

14. Being president is like running a cemetary; you’ve got a lot of people under you, and nobody’s listening.”

a. Lincoln
b. Truman
c. Clinton
d. JFK

15. “I do not chhose to run.”

a. Truman
b. Harding
c. Coolidge
d. Ford

16. “Always be sincere, even if you don’t mean it.”

a. Wilson
b. Jefferson
c. Madison
d. Truman

17. “There is no dignity so impressive and no independence quite so important as living within your means.”

a. Obama
b. Coolidge
c. Hoover
d. Bush 43

18. “I am not a crook.”

a. Cleveland
b. Monroe
c. Jackson
d. Nixon

19. “And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

a. Washington
b. JFK
c. FDR
d. Tyler

20. “An optimist is presented with a problem and sees an opportunity. A pessimist is presented with an opportunity and sees a problem.”

a. Eisenhower
b. Jefferson
c. Truman
d. Pierce

Extra credit: “How many divisions does the Pope have?”

a. Hitler
b. Churchill
c. FDR
d. Stalin

Answers:

1.(b); 2. (c); 3. (d); 4. (d); 5. (a); 6. (d); 7. (b); 8. (c); 9. (a); 10. (d); 11. (d); 12. (d); 13. (a); 14. (c); 15. (c); 16. (d); 17. (b); 18. (d); 19. (b); 20. (c)
Extra Credit: (d)

CONCLUSION

Good luck. Please post your score, and no cheating on the internet!

Quickly now, name the top 10 presidents in US history. Chances are, you would cite George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and FDR in some order. Not many people would think of Harry S Truman, who I believe is one of the most underrated and underappreciated Presidents in history. Time after time, he demonstrated high levels of integrety and leadership. He did what he thought was right, regardless of the political fallout. Now, Truman is generally considered by a consensus of academic historians and political scientists to have been one of the top ten Presidents in history, ranking in a group just below the aforementioned Big 5. Ironically, upon leaving office in 1952 his job approval rating was only 22%, according to a Gallup Poll, which was the lowest in history for a departing President. To put that in perspective, Richard Nixon, who left office in disgrace, departed with a job approval rating of 24%. Underrated and underappreciated indeed.

So, who was Harry S Truman? What did he accomplish to merit such high praise from historians, and why the low rating initially?

Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri on May 8, 1884. The “S” does not stand for any middle name. He was raised on the family farm. He served in the army during WWI. Afterwards, he owned a haberdashery, which eventually went bankrupt. (As a measure of his character, he paid off all creditors, even though he was not required to do so legally. It took 13 years.). Then, he entered politics, holding various offices at the local level. In 1934 he was elected to the US Senate. His big break was being chosen to run for VP with FDR in 1944. Upon FDR’s death, he became the 33rd President of the US.

Truman served as President duirng a very critical and turbulent time in US history. Luckily for us, he was up to the task. He was a very strong and decisive leader. As I said, many times, he took unpopular actions because he thought they were right. He governed by the credo of the sign on his desk in the Oval Office: “The Buck Stops Here.” Among his accomplishments were:

1. He gave the final authorization to drop the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was a very controversal decision, especially when the world saw the massive devastatation caused by these weapons. Although there was moral outrage in some quarters, the general view now is that Truman made the right decision. Japan was prepared to fight to the death, and our military advisors estimated that its capture would have likely have taken a year and cost hundreds of thousands of American lives.

2. He led the fight to allocate funds to rebuild Europe after WWII under a program that became known as the Marshall Plan. This plan was unpopular at the time, because it was expensive, and there was little appetite to help Europe, especially our defeated enemies.

3. He aggressively and successfully fought to contain the spread of communism. This was the advent of the “Cold War.” The Soviet Union, which already controlled Eastern Europe, was looking to expand its influence into Greece, Turkey and elsewhere. Were it not for Truman’s actions the world would look a lot different today.

4. He strongly advocated for creating the UN and NATO.

5. When the Soviets initiated a blockade of supplies into West Berlin, he authorized the Berlin Airlift, which effectively broke the blockade and saved West Berlin as a free city.

6. When North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, he acted promptly and decisively to support the South, thus preventing the Korean peninsula from turning 100% communist. Later, he fired the popular Douglas MacArthur, who was commanding our troops there, for insubordination. MacArthur was a WWII war hero, and this decision was very unpopular, but Truman did what he thought was right regardless.

7. He recognized the State of Israel just 11 minutes after its creation. His advisors had cautioned him that this action would anger the Arab states in the region, which controlled much of our oil supply, however, Truman went ahead anyway, stating that he “would decide his policy on the basis of justice, not oil.”

8. He integrated the Armed Services by Executive Order.

Truman ran for re-election in 1948 against Thomas E. Dewey, the governor of NY. Truman’s approval rating was 38% in the Spring of 1948, and he was universally expected to lose. But, the polling of the day was flawed. Firstly, it was conducted by telephone. Since many more Dems did not have telephones, they were underrepresented in the polls. Also, Gallup stopped polling several days before Election day, so he missed a late surge for Truman. You may be aware that the Chicago Tribune famously published the inaccurate headline “Dewey Defeats Truman.”

Truman did not run again in 1952, retiring to Missouri to lead a quiet life. He turned down numerous offers for corporate positions and commercial endorsements, as he did not want to diminish the integrety of the Presidency. Unfortunately, he had no pension, so he was actually poor. His financial situation improved, however, when Congress passed a law granting former Presidents a pension. Truman died on December 26, 1972. As I mentioned, he was not appreciated when he was alive, but with the passage of time and the perspective of history he is now recognized as one of our truly great Presidents.

As everyone knows, the Boston Marathon terrorists, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaew, have been killed/apprehended. Kudos to the various law enforcement agencies involved for ending this quickly and efficiently. Additionally, kudos to the public for a considerable assist. As I predicted in my last blog, private citizens’ cameras and videos were instrumental in the identification and killing/apprehension of the terrorists. I expect Dzhokhar will be tried in Federal court, not Massachussets court, convicted and executed.

Now what? After we all take a deep breath, we have to conduct a thorough follow-up investigation. At a minimum, we have to ascertain:

1. Are they part of a larger terrorist plot? Who are their associates? Dzohokhar needs to be subjected to enhanced interrogation, so we can ascertain the answers to these and other questions.

2. Did the FBI drop the ball in 2010? Apparently, in 2010 Russia warned the FBI about Tamerlan. The FBI interviewed him and, concluding he was not a threat, let him go. On what basis? A little digging likely would have disclosed that he had spent time in Chechniya, which is known to be a hotbed of terrorism. Much of the Muslim population there is highly radicalized against not only the US, but also against Christians and Jews, in general. So, I repeat, on what basis was he deemed not to be a threat? We have to review those procedures.

3. How did the entire family come to be granted asylum as “political refugees?” The mother is a convicted criminal. Those procedures need to be reviewed as well.

PREDICTION AND CONCLUSION

The main conclusion is obvious. America is under constant attack from both internal and external sources. These people want to destroy us and our way of life. The “why” is not important. I don’t care that they are deranged, deluded, deprived, envious, want to meet Allah and 72 virgins in Paradise, or whatever. We don’t need to understand the “why.”

What we need to understand that we are at war, a war that is just as deadly as any other we have fought. In some ways it is worse, because it is on our own soil, and civilians, including children, are being targeted. We need to remain hyper-vigilant, and report anything suspicious to the authorities. For example, one of the bombing victims has disclosed that Tamerlan walked up to him, looked him in the eye, put down a satchel right in front of him, and walked away. Tragic. If you witness something like that, you must react.

Americans are tough and resilient. I believe we will rise to the challenge. After all, we always have. The cemetaries are full of people who have doubted us.

Yesterday, in Boston, started out as an All American celebration – a beautiful Spring day, Patriots Day, Marathon Day, a Red Sox game. What could be better? Then, suddenly, without warning, it was all shattered by a senseless, cowardly act of violence, the type with which we have become all too familiar. The Trade Center bombing in 1993, the OKC bombing of the Murrah Building in 1995, the “Unibomber” in the late ’90s, “9/11,” the “underwear bomber” in 2009 and various school shootings from Columbine to Va. Tech to Newtown. Yes, these acts of violence have become all too familiar.

Make no mistake about it. Yesterday’s bombings were an act of terror. Everybody knows it; everybody acknowledges it, except for President Obama, who, for whatever reason, political or otherwise, seems reluctant to use the word “terror.” In his speech to the Nation he called it a “tragedy.” Tragedy, my eye! Superstorm Sandy was a tragedy. The fact that there were multiple bombs, makes this an act of terror. Some people might defend President Obama’s reluctance to use the “terror” label as a desire not to “get ahead of the investigation.” In my opinion and a that of a majority of Americans there is no question that it was. To paraphrase the late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart “I may not be able to define it, but I know it when I see it. Other, less articulate people would say: “If it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.” The only question is were the terrorists domestic or foreign.

At last count, there were three fatalities, including an 8 year old boy, 150 injured, and countless traumatized. Many of the injured were in grave condition. Eyewitnesses have described the scene as akin to a war zone.

For the most part, our law enforcement agencies, local, state and federal, have done an excellent job protecting us from acts of terror. Police and other agencies have devoted countless hours training; governments have provided substantial funds to improve our internal security; and by and large, the public has been accepting of various inconveniences, such as heightened airport security, designed to keep us safe. Kudos to the police, medical and hospital personnel and various other first responders for acting swiftly and decisively yesterday. Undoubtedly, their actions saved many lives. Even “regular” people were quick to assist others in need. Many people ran TOWARD the blasts not knowing if there were other bombs about to go off. Once again, Americans demonstrated their mettle in a time of need.

PREDICTION AND CONCLUSION

Yesterday’s events remind us that despite all of the above, we are never 100% safe. There are numerous “soft” targets available to terrorists, such as sporting events, schools, or shopping malls, to name a few. These venues are easier to attack, and terrorists can inflict maximum civilian casualties and get maximum publicity for the deed. We can, and undoubtedly have, prevented many terrorist acts, but we can’t stop them all. The one in a hundred that we don’t prevent is the one we hear about. This is a fact we all have to live with.

Despite the complicated nature of this case, for example, a huge crime scene area that police have described as the largest they have ever seen, I predict that the perpetrators will be found and brought to justice. I say this because (1) there is a full court press on the part of local, state and federal law enforcement; (2) there is a high degree of public outrage; (3) and someone with a cell phone or video camera must have seen something and taken an incriminating photo. All these people should turn their pictures over to the authorities. They might not even realize they have useful information.

The best act of prevention is a vigilent and educated public. You all know the drill. Be observant. Be aware of your surroundings. Know the location of the nearest exit from a building or stadium. Report any suspicious persons or packages to the proper authorities. “If you see or hear something, say something.” Your actions could save many lives, including your own.

Above all, go on with your lives. Don’t cower in the corner. If you do, the terrorists win.