Perhaps the only things that will save Barack Obama and his presidency are (1) the near-total ineptitude of the Republican Party and “Neanderthals” like its Senate leader and ranking “buffoon,” Mitch McConnell; (2) Joe Biden as Vice President, who is a joke but a heartbeat away from the Oval Office; (3) a Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate, and the utter ruthlessness and proven diabolical political skills of that Party; (4) the failure of the GOP to remove Bill Clinton from the presidency after he was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives, which reinforces their spinelessness now; (5) the “inertia” of Americans who have been “shell-shocked” by tragedies, and yearn for lasting political and economic stability; and (6) Obama is America’s first half-black president, which means that the “race card” will be played again and again.

Certainly, the ingredients of “Watergate II” are present and growing: (1) “Sequestration,” which emanated from Obama and his minions and is devastating the United States in countless ways, which will produce long-term negative consequences for our national security, at the very least; (2) misuse of the IRS by Obama and his lieutenants to target their political enemies; (3) unilateral disarmament by the United States at a time when the list of our real enemies is growing, not diminishing; (4) the terrorist attacks on the American embassy in Benghazi, Libya, which were distorted by Obama and others right before the 2012 presidential election, to skew the results in favor of Obama; (5) an American economy that is being buoyed up by the Fed, but will come crashing down with a thud that is reminiscent of the Great Depression of the last century, or worse; (6) ObamaCare, which will devastate America’s health care system; and (7) . . . the list goes on and on, including unprecedented reckless abuses of governmental powers and perks.

See, e.g., http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/us/politics/irs-scandal-congressional-hearings.html?_r=0 (“Obama administration officials were aware of [and orchestrated the targeting of political enemies] during the presidential campaign year“) and http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-redacted-truth-subjunctive-outrage/2013/05/16/de28aee8-be64-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_story.html (Krauthammer: “[I]t might well be [bigger than Watergate and Iran-contra]“) and http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/05/irs-official-in-charge-during-tea-party-targeting-now-runs-health-care-office/ (“IRS Official in Charge During Tea Party Targeting Now Runs [IRS' ObamaCare] Office“) and http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323582904578487460479247792.html (Noonan: “We are in the midst of the worst Washington scandal since Watergate“) and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/the-economic-tsunami-continues-its-relentless-and-unforgiving-advance-globally/#comment-2555 (“The Great Depression II Is Here To Stay, And It Will Last At Least Through The End Of This Decade“); see also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton (“Impeachment of Bill Clinton”) and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/is-barack-obama-a-racist/ (“Is Barack Obama A Racist?”)

CABLE NEWS RACE
TUES., APRIL 30, 2013

FOXNEWS O’REILLY 2,713,000
FOXNEWS THE FIVE 2,027,000
CMDY DAILY SHOW 1,867,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 1,814,000
CMDY COLBERT 1,752,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 1,677,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 1,395,000
MSNBC MADDOW 673,000
MSNBC O’DONNELL 685,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 613,000
CNN BLITZER 551,000
MSNBC SHARPTON 549,000
CNNHN GRACE 510,000
CNN BURNETT 509,000
MSNBC HAYES 496,000
CNNHN DR DREW 482,000
CNN PIERS MORGAN 433,000

[As reported by the Drudge Report, May 1, 2013]

See also http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/abortions-and-autos-kill-more-in-america-than-guns/#comment-2453

CNN will continue to be boycotted until Morgan is long gone!

As the New York Times has reported:

Tiger Woods was three strokes off the lead in the Masters when he completed the second round at Augusta National Golf Club on Friday. But he began his third round five strokes behind the leader Jason Day after being assessed a two-stroke penalty on Saturday for an illegal drop on the 15th hole of the second round.

Woods, 37, was summoned to Augusta National hours before his tee time Saturday with his participation uncertain for the third round of a tournament he has won four times.

He could have been disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. But after reviewing the episode with Woods, the rules committee at Augusta National chose to add two strokes to Woods’s score and allow him to play the weekend. The committee invoked Rule 33-7, which allows a penalty of disqualification to be waived or modified in exceptional cases.

. . .

On the hole in question, a 530-yard par 5, Woods laid up. His approach shot clanked off the flagstick and caromed into the water. After taking a one-stroke penalty, Woods dropped his ball in the fairway, a few feet behind his original divot, and hit a wedge shot to within three feet and made the putt for a bogey 6. After the ruling, his score was changed to an 8.

When choosing to drop near one’s divot, a golfer should play his ball “as nearly as possible” at the spot from which the original ball was last played. After his round, Woods said he purposely dropped the ball two yards from his first divot.

He said: “Well, I went down to the drop area, that wasn’t going to be a good spot, because obviously it’s into the grain, it’s really grainy there. And it was a little bit wet. So it was muddy and not a good spot to drop.

. . .

The possible violation by Woods was brought to the tournament’s attention by a television viewer.The rules committee reviewed his drop while his round was in progress and had seen nothing wrong. Hearing Woods’s explanation brought the issue of intent into play, and so he was asked to explain his thought process while preparing for his fifth shot.

. . .

It was the second time this year that Woods had been penalized for an illegal drop. In the second round of his season opener in Abu Dhabi, he missed the cut after taking a two-stroke penalty for wrongly taking a free drop.

Some people said that Woods should disqualify himself from the Masters. On Golf Channel, Nick Faldo, a six-time major champion, called on Woods to “do the manly thing” and withdraw.

David Duval, a former world No. 1, wrote on Twitter: “I think he should withdraw. He took a drop to gain an advantage.”

See http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/sports/golf/woods-faces-disqualification-at-augusta.html (emphasis added); see also http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2013/04/13/television-viewer-prompts-rules-committee-to-issue-penalty-to-tiger/ (“Television Viewer Prompts Rules Committee To Issue Penalty To Tiger”) and http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/mastersaugusta/9992387/The-Masters-2013-under-fire-Tiger-Woods-facing-player-backlash-for-not-withdrawing-after-wrongly-signing-his-scorecard.html (“The Masters 2013: under-fire Tiger Woods facing player backlash for not withdrawing after wrongly signing his scorecard“)

This did not involve an “exceptional case,” nor was his violation “inadvertent” at all. It is one more shining example of where the rules of golf have been bent for Woods—by the PGA, its commissioner Tim Finchem, and others—and it is disgraceful.

. . .

In an article by national sports columnist for The Associated Press, Jim Litke, it was noted:

Strip away the hours that elapsed between the crime and punishment, the conflicts of interest, tortured logic and technicalities, and this much is clear: Tiger Woods behaved badly.

The green jackets in charge of the Masters behaved worse.

. . .

On Friday, Woods was tied for the lead at 5-under. He threw a lob wedge into the 15th green for his third shot. It hit the flagstick and ricocheted into the pond.

With three options from where to play his next shot, Woods elected to play from the original spot. Under Rule 26-1, he had to drop a ball “as nearly as possible at the (original) spot.” Intentionally or not – it doesn’t matter – Woods violated it by dropping the ball 2 yards behind the original spot, because that distance better fit his plans for the next shot. He hit that close enough for a tap-in bogey 6.

A viewer called into Augusta National to point out the violation.

. . .

Masters officials review the video of Woods’ shot sequence as he plays No. 18. They see no violation, don’t consult Woods, and he signs an incorrect scorecard for 71.

After his round, Woods says during an ESPN interview, “I went back to where I played it from, but went two yards further back and I tried to take two yards off the shot of what I felt I hit.”

CBS announcer Jim Nantz sees the interview Friday night and calls Masters officials.

They call Woods on Saturday morning and review video of the shot with him. He acknowledges dropping the ball two yards behind where he should have. . . .

But because of Rule 33-7, which states in part: “A penalty of disqualification may in exceptional individual cases be waived, modified or imposed if the committee considers such action warranted,” Masters officials fall on their sword. They waive the penalty of disqualification for signing an incorrect scorecard and instead assess a two-stroke penalty.

. . .

Woods tees off at 1:45 p.m., EDT, to polite applause and nary a boo.

Nantz opens the CBS broadcast at 3 p.m., essentially saying now that the controversy has been explained, all is right with Augusta and golf.

Except it’s not.

. . .

Anyone have the feeling that if the golfer under investigation was, say, Vijay Singh, the first official review of the drop would have gone differently? Just a day earlier, saying “rules are rules,” those same officials slapped 14-year-old Chinese sensation Guan Tianlang with a slow-play penalty, even though there was no evidence that his indecisiveness over which club to hit was actually slowing down play.

See http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GLF_JIM_LITKE_041513?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-04-13-21-17-15 (emphasis added)

. . .

Since golf is a sport of honor and integrity—with self-reporting undergirding it—at the very least Woods should withdraw from the 2013 Masters tournament and self-assess that penalty against himself . . . but alas, he has no honor or integrity. His doping merely underscores that fact, which is discussed in the article above and the other comments beneath it.

. . .

See also http://www.christianpost.com/news/marshals-tiger-lied-tiger-woods-under-fire-for-claims-made-in-sergio-garcia-dispute-video-95892/ (“Marshals: Tiger Lied – Tiger Woods Under Fire for Claims Made in Sergio Garcia Dispute (VIDEO)”)

Woods is a liar and a cheat. This has been true for many years. It is who he is. Just ask his former wife, Elin.

This is the title of a Wall Street Journal article, which is subtitled “Quarterly Shipments Drop 14% as Windows 8 Fails to Stem Advance of iPads,” and mirrors other similar reports:

The personal computer is in crisis, and getting little help from Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 8 software once seen as a possible savior.

Research firm IDC issued an alarming report Wednesday for PC makers such as Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., saying world-wide shipments of laptops and desktops fell 14% in the first quarter from a year earlier. That is the sharpest drop since IDC began tracking this data in 1994 and marks the fourth straight quarter of declines.

Gartner Inc., a rival research firm, estimated global shipments sank 11.2%, which it called the worst drop since the first quarter of 2001. Gartner blamed the rise of tablets and smartphones, which are sapping demand for personal computers.

Microsoft, whose software is on a majority of the world’s PCs, last fall introduced Windows 8, a completely overhauled operating system with touch-screen capabilities.

But there is little sign that buyers are responding. In a surprisingly harsh assessment, IDC said Windows 8 hasn’t only failed to spur more PC demand but has actually exacerbated the slowdown—confusing consumers with features that don’t excel in a tablet mode and compromise the traditional PC experience.

“The reaction to Windows 8 is real,” said Jay Chou, an IDC analyst, about the negative sentiment.

. . .

Mr. Chou said not only has Windows 8 failed to attract consumers, but businesses are keeping their distance as well.

. . .

H-P, the world’s largest PC maker, showed the steepest drop in global shipments in the quarter with a 24% decline, according to IDC. Dell, ranked fourth in world-wide shipments, posted a 11% drop as it makes headlines for grim financial troubles and efforts to take the company private.

. . .

The first quarter’s declines come after a particularly troubling run up to last year’s holiday quarter, during which industry researchers began sounding alarm bells that the PC market would post its first annual contraction in more than a decade. Meanwhile, tablets like Apple’s iPad flew off the shelves.

. . .

Roughly 350 million personal computers are sold each year, but combined sales of smartphones and tablets are dwarfing those PC figures.

People are expected to buy about 919 million smartphones this year, and IDC expects nearly 200 million tablets will be sold this year.

In another blow to Microsoft particularly, sales of tablets powered Windows 8 also haven’t been strong. Windows 8 accounted for only 1% of global tablet shipments in 2012, with its share expected to rise to 7.4% by 2017, IDC says.

Stephen Baker, an analyst at NPD Group, said the future for Windows-based machines is looking increasingly bleak. “In a PC form factor you won’t see Windows 8 with touch have any impact,” he said.

Meanwhile, few businesses are buying many more PCs, and when they are, they aren’t buying them with Windows 8—at least not yet.

Some corporate chief information officers say they don’t see a compelling reason to upgrade to Windows 8.

See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324695104578414973888155516.html

Some of us are long-time Apple users—more than 20 years in my case—and we were not surprised at all when Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system failed so completely. Now Windows 8 seems to be doing something similar, which will drive PC sales down even farther.

In libraries (especially law school libraries) where few Apple laptops were seen years ago, Apples are becoming the computer of choice.

Microsoft keeps adding “bells and whistles” to its software (e.g., MS Office), which most of us never use, much less understand. Google has been doing the same thing, with respect to “refinements” of its e-mail system, Gmail.

Because Google has no customer support, users are apt to abandon the company’s products, sooner rather than later. Indeed, it is arguable that Google is becoming Microsoft, or far far worse.

Companies like Google and Microsoft seem to forget what made them great. To the consumer, Google’s search engine has not changed; however, its techies seem to be bent on destroying everything else. Perhaps both companies are “run” by techies who have too much time on their hands, so they design most software for total geeks like themselves, and forget that there is a “real world” outside.

In an article entitled, “Mitch McConnell seeks FBI investigation,” POLITICO reported:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s reelection campaign asked the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office on Tuesday to investigate how Mother Jones magazine obtained a recording of a February strategy session.

“Senator McConnell’s campaign is working with the FBI and has notified the local U.S. Attorney in Louisville, per FBI request, about these recordings,” McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton said in a statement. “Obviously a recording device of some kind was placed in Senator McConnell’s campaign office without consent. By whom and how that was accomplished presumably will be the subject of a criminal investigation.”

Added a source close to the campaign: “We’re going on the assumption that a crime has been committed. No one at the meeting leaked this.”

. . .

On Tuesday morning, Mother Jones, a liberal magazine, published an audio recording of McConnell staffers discussing opposition research they could use against actress Ashley Judd, who was considering running against veteran senator in the 2014 Senate race. Judd announced last week that she would not make the race.

See http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/mitch-mcconnell-ashley-judd-recordings-fbi-89803.html?hp=r2; see also http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/top-senate-republican-asks-feds-investigate-possible-illegal-wiretap_716166.html

Indeed, you have summed up the issues that the United States and Americans face, very succinctly. In all of my articles at this blog, beginning with the very first one about Barack Obama, I have tried to describe these issues and comment about them.

See http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/

While not engaging in platitudes and excessive puffery, I believe the United States is the greatest country on earth, and that the American people are exceptional—all of them.

However, what is coming will test us like never before; and it will make 2008 seem like child’s play. It will rival the 1930s, or be even worse. The reason is that most Americans are not prepared for it, and may seriously consider giving up completely. This is when one’s faith in God—or a “higher power”—will be tested like never before.

Interestingly enough, other parts of the world and their peoples will be hurt much worse than we will. The UK and Europe come to mind; however, as my article above relates, the effects will be felt globally. Nations and peoples are interconnected like never before. For example, if the Internet went down—as an act of war—the effects would be unprecedented in history.

My parents were in their 20s when the Great Depression of the last century hit; and from what I was told, it did not affect them adversely at all. They had been schoolmates in Minneapolis, and had come west to California; and my father had a good job in Beverly Hills. He and my mother and their respective families rode out the depression and the war economically. However, things changed for our family when my mother became ill before I graduated from grade school.

She almost died; and my father spent a small fortune on medical care before the advent of medical insurance, involving doctors who had been trained at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. At my sixth grade graduation in the Brentwood suburb of Los Angeles, she came to it in a wheelchair, and I was so embarrassed. No other mothers were like that; and it happened years before attention was given to the disadvantaged. I was an only child, and I had no one to talk with about it; and I did not understand why it had hit our family.

Many years later—after she had survived and recovered, having had her right leg amputated to stem her illness—she went on to lead Red Cross volunteers who helped military service members and their loved ones cope with the family stresses of the Vietnam War. She had friends galore, who loved her for herself; and ultimately, she survived because of her faith in God. We as a family survived because of that too; and my parents remain my only heroes in life; and my faith continues to this day.

The United States will survive, and so will our fellow Americans; however, the challenges will be great.

Driving up the always-beautiful California Coast yesterday afternoon, I was changing car radio stations and I happened on a “public service announcement” about “gender neutral” bathrooms for transvestites, and having a Web site that lists the “safe ones” for such people.

On TV last night, there were shows about tattoos, which glorified the horrors of them; other celebrity “worship” shows; CNN’s British Piers Morgan trying to project his anti-American views on U.S. audiences, amidst falling viewer ratings; and of course predominantly non-white shows, when the vast majority of Americans are Caucasians.

This morning, Matt Drudge announced online that “4 gay NFL players could come out on [the] same day,” soon.

In a sense, the inmates have taken over the asylum, and they are reveling in Barack Obama’s reelection victory last November. After all, he is a “freak” too, and admittedly so. Aside from wanting to ban guns that may protect our lives in the years ahead, he has already acknowledged that he was an out-and-out druggie in college: “Junkie. Pothead. That’s where I’d been headed: the final, fatal role of the young would-be black man.”

Clearly, we do not live in an “I Love Lucy,” “Leave It To Beaver,” or “Mary Poppins” fantasy world, especially when North Korea is threatening to nuke us. However, letting the inmates run “the asylum” is pure madness too.

It is time to take back our great country. And no—as the only true “melting pot” on the face of this earth—America is not a racist nation!

Some critics keep raising the issue that I predicted Barack Obama’s electoral defeat last November, which did not happen. Like many others, I was mistaken.

See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/barack-obama-is-a-lame-duck-president-who-will-not-be-reelected/ (see also the comments beneath the article)

Indeed, with respect to the exact numbers in last November’s elections, 58.9 percent of Americans who were eligible to vote actually voted. Of them, 65,907,213 or 51.1 percent voted for Obama; and 60,931,767, or 47.2 percent voted for Mitt Romney. Obama carried 26 States plus the District of Columbia, while Romney carried 24 States.

See, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2012

It was not a landslide for Obama by any means; and those Americans who voted against him are tuning him out . . . or fighting against everything that he stands for.

As our economy continues to decline, this will become truer with each passing day.

See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/the-economic-tsunami-continues-its-relentless-and-unforgiving-advance-globally/#comment-2555 (see also the article itself, as well as the other comments beneath it)

In an article subtitled, “NORTH Korea led by tyrant Kim Jong-un has sensationally vowed to launch a NUCLEAR attack on the USA,” the UK’s Sun has reported:

The provocative statement comes weeks after the country conducted underground nuclear tests which caused a massive earthquake.

America’s west coast cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco are feared to be in Kim’s sights.

A foreign ministry spokesman said: “Since the United States is about to ignite a nuclear war, we will be exercising our right to pre-emptive nuclear attack against the headquarters of the aggressor in order to protect our supreme interest.”

. . .

On Tuesday North Korea threatend to scrap the armistice that ended the 1950-53 war with South Korea.

And it criticised military exercises between the US and South Korea. Pyongyang said it was shutting off a military hotline with the US and South Korea.

North Korea’s KCNA agency quoting a military source said: “We will completely nullify the Korean armistice”.

Last month the world was put on high alert when North Korea carried out its biggest nuclear blast yet.

The giant underground explosion caused an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9.

The banned blast—which took place in the remote, snowy, north-east of the country—drew global outrage, even from Pyongyang’s only major ally China.

The actual device was thought to be smaller than those in two earlier tests—raising fears that the crackpot Communist state is close to its aim of perfecting a missile capable of hitting its number one enemy the US.

. . .

In February North Korea poached Michael Jackson’s peace anthem We Are the World to soundtrack a chilling video showing a US city under missile attack.

The bizarre footage was uploaded on the secretive state’s official webpage.

The propaganda movie depicts a smiling lad dreaming of a regime rocket being launched into the air and travelling to America.

The three-and-a-half minute vid[eo] then showed a mystery city full of skyscrapers being attacked with multiple explosions, while the Stars and Stripes flag flutters in the background.

See http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4829035/north-korea-says-it-will-launch-nuclear-attack-on-america.html (emphasis added); see also http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2288445/Kim-Jong-Un-North-Korea-vows-end-ceasefire-South-Korea-revenge-nuclear-test-punishments.html (“North Korea threatens U.S. with ‘thermonuclear war’: Rogue nation vows to launch attacks ‘at any time’ in revenge for sanctions”) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2290052/North-Korea-cancels-peace-pact-South-revenge-tough-UN-sanctions-threatens-thermonuclear-war-US.html (“‘Prepare for all-out war’: Kim Jong Un vows to attack South Korea as he cancels peace pact in revenge for tough UN sanctions“) and http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323826704578353710011020122.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird (“North Korea Declares War Truce ‘Invalid’“) and http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/15/17327806-us-to-deploy-more-ground-based-missile-interceptors-as-north-korea-steps-up-threats?lite (“US to deploy more ground-based missiles as North Korea steps up threats“)

To some in this world, the destruction of San Francisco (e.g., the Gay capital of the United States) and LA (e.g., the global center of far-Left, immoral “entertainment”) would be the 21st Century equivalent of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah—which were completely consumed by fire and brimstone.

See also http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/earthquakes-the-big-one-is-coming-to-at-least-los-angeles/ (“Earthquakes: The Big One Is Coming To At Least Los Angeles”)

. . .

As reported by the UK’s Sun, North Korea has released a video that depicts 150,000 U.S. prisoners taken in a Blitzkrieg or lightning war that would overrun South Korea:

The bizarre mocked-up footage—released on the secretive state’s official website—imagines a full-scale war against the South and a quick victory inside three days.

US Navy ships in the region would be destroyed and thousands of troops and expats would be held prisoner according to the nightmare scenario.

The four-minute film, titled A Short, Three-Day War, starts with images of a massive rocket and artillery bombardment.

Tanks and infantry—carrying huge Communist banners—are then seen streaming across a snowy landscape towards Seoul amid dramatic Hollywood style explosions.

A male narrator describes different stages of the invasion, including the destruction of forces under the US Pacific Command with “powerful weapons of mass destruction.”

The video shows pictures of an American aircraft carrier, and images of the Seoul skyline superimposed with footage of paratroopers and North Korean military aircraft.

The narrator says: “The crack stormtroops will occupy Seoul and other cities and take 150,000 US citizens as hostages.”

The video was posted on the North’s official website, Uriminzokkiri, which distributes news and propaganda from the state media.

A video released early last month showed New York in flames after an apparent missile attack, and another two weeks later depicted US soldiers and President Barack Obama burning in the flames of a nuclear blast.

And earlier this week, another video showed the dome of the US Capitol building in Washington exploding in a fireball.

The latest offering from the Pyongyang propaganda department comes during escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Kim jong-un’s brutal regime has threatened strikes on US military bases in Japan and Guam, and is trying to build nuclear armed ballistic missiles that could hit Europe.

See http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4854885/nightmare-of-150000-us-prisoners-in-new-north-korean-propaganda-video.html; see also http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2297677/North-Korea-propaganda-video-shows-troops-taking-150-000-US-hostages-destroying-South-Korea.html and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2300964/North-Korea-revealed-Inside-Kim-Jong-Uns-war-room-signs-plan-attack-US-mainland.html (“Kim Jong Un reveals his ‘U.S. mainland strike plan’: Pictures inside North Korean leader’s war room show him plotting to attack America (with a map of target cities on the wall behind him)“) and http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2013/0329/North-Korea-What-happens-if-Kim-Jong-un-acts-on-his-threats (“In the event that the ‘bellicose rhetoric’ of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un turns into something more serious, the opening hours of conflict could be ‘pretty ugly,’ defense analysts warn“) and http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/31/17543980-us-navy-shifts-destroyer-in-wake-of-north-korea-missile-threats?lite (“South Korean President Park Geun-hye appeared to give her country’s military permission to strike back at any attack from the North without further word from Seoul”—”‘As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, I will trust the military’s judgment on abrupt and surprise provocations by North Korea,’ she said“)

. . .

ABC News has reported:

Gen. James Thurman, the top U.S. commander in South Korea, said that in his two years on the job he has never seen things as tense as they are right now, telling ABC News the situation on the Korean peninsula as “volatile” and “dangerous.”

Thurman said in his exclusive interview with ABC News that his ” job is to prevent war,” but that his greatest fear is a “miscalculation” that causes “a kinetic provocation.” In military parlance, kinetic refers to combat.

Thurman said North Korea’s recent rhetoric has made the situation on the Korean peninsula “a dangerous period,” but he added, “I think we’re managing it quite well because on this side of the line we’re very calm. And we’re confident.”

Thurman commands the 28,500 American military forces based in South Korea and also serves as the commander of United Nations Command.

. . .

While he described North Korea’s missiles as their largest threat, Thurman pointed across the DMZ and noted “there’s 14,000 tubes of artillery just across this line beyond that far mountain range over there.” That artillery poses a direct threat to Seoul, the South Korean capital which is located just 27 miles from the DMZ.

See http://abcnews.go.com/International/us-general-north-korea-situation-volatile-dangerous/story?id=18863864&singlePage=true#.UVtV27vLjZ- (emphasis added); see also http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-north-korea-danger-20130402,0,7973635.story (North Korea analyst: “[T]his is one of the most dangerous moments since 1953″“) and http://thehill.com/video/house/291579-rep-king-us-could-make-preemptive-strike-on-north-korea (“Rep. Peter King: US could make preemptive strike on North Korea“) and http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gpuimXzka5inwGnL0c9vZsbQ54fw?docId=CNG.4eb43e27607cb9d4be6b952b88ddefeb.01 (NORTH KOREA APPROVES ‘MERCILESS’ NUKE ATTACK ON US) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2303227/North-Korea-says-approval-use-cutting-edge-nuclear-weapons-United-States-merciless-attack-just-hours-Chuck-Hagel-calls-clear-present-danger.html (“North Korea says it has approval to use its ‘cutting edge’ nuclear weapons against the United States in a ‘merciless’ attack just hours after Chuck Hagel calls them a ‘clear and present danger’“) and http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4874435/north-korea-moves-second-missile-to-east-coast.html (“North Korea tells Brit diplomats to get out—then sets chilling April 10 deadline“) and http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/391376/North-Korea-states-nuclear-war-is-unavoidable-as-it-declares-first-target-will-be-Japan (“North Korea states ‘nuclear war is unavoidable’ as it declares first target will be Japan“)

. . .

It is only possible to deal with rash actors and actions if one’s opponent is rational if not sane.

We learned from Pearl Harbor and 9/11 that there are enemies in this world who want to destroy the United States, and are willing to defy conventional norms. One such actor is North Korea under Kim Jong-un.

He could launch an invasion of the south that would be tantamount to a Blitzkrieg, killing or taking American military personnel as prisoners, and overrunning our South Korean ally. He could launch missiles against Japan and American forces in the Pacific that would be devastating.

The U.S. would have to act quickly, and the only real deterrents are nuclear strikes against the command and control in North Korea, and against key military targets and forces massed against us and our ally.

No amount of talking would have prevented Pearl Harbor or 9/11, and the same may be true this time. Indeed, a massive strike against the North may prevent a “Pearl Harbor” that reaches American cities, including but not limited to a nation-ending EMP Attack.

See http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/emp-attack-only-30-million-americans-survive/ (“EMP Attack: Only 30 Million Americans Survive“)

. . .

North Korea has always eclipsed Iran as a nuclear-arms threat to the United States, except in the mind of Benjamin Netanyahu—who has been the greatest threat to peace in the Middle East, and has continuously sought to provoke America into a third war in the region.

As I have written:

The path on which Netanyahu is leading the Israelis is fraught with peril for their tiny Jewish nation . . . and potentially for Jews worldwide. He is determined to take the United States and the American people on the “joy ride” with him, which is utter madness.

See http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/the-madness-of-benjamin-netanyahu/ (see also the comments beneath the article)

Barack Obama should leave Israel to sink or swim, alone; and turn his attention to where it really counts for Americans, which is not Iran.

Also, as I have written:

I am an American nationalist, not a Jew or Israeli, or a Palestinian. . . . I do not have any allegiance to another country.

See also http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/israels-senseless-killings-and-war-with-iran/#comment-544