On July 4 and the days that followed, Kerr County folks came together to immediately begin the rescue, recovery and rebuilding process that was needed after the flood that so devastated our county.
We didn’t hesitate to work side by side with our neighbors. No one was concerned about identity labels; we all just recognized the importance of doing the “right thing” by helping our neighbors, the families of the campers and the weekend guests at various RV parks and camp grounds.
We all found a way to help, and we continue to do so. It was a community of kind and compassionate folks who answered the call to action and that continues to do so.
Several folks recently contacted me about remarks made on social media and in conversations immediately following the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Those remarks placed blame on the “liberal left.” And, quite frankly, they were disturbing.
You know us. We worship and sit side by side in our church pews; we serve on nonprofit boards; we are veterans who served in wars and conflicts to preserve our democracy and the right to free speech; we are teachers, police men and women, firefighters and rapid responders; we are caregivers; we are members of our medical community; we are election judges and clerks; we attend and support all the events found in our county; we are retirees who choose to live in Kerr County; we play on all the various sports teams in our county; we are parents and grandparents; we gather at the Dietert Center; we are your waiters, your yard men and women, service employees; we are artists and musicians; we are businessmen and women; we are students; and we are members of this community who did the “right thing” after July 4.
We are a collection of individuals dedicated to the principles of integrity, compassion, justice and service.
The Kerr County Democratic Party does not excuse political violence of any kind. We believe in the freedom of speech as protected by the First Amendment.
We do not excuse threats of violence directed at any elected official or politician, any child, all school children, any person of color, any person who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community, any immigrant documented or undocumented, and any person who holds a different opinion than ours.
The best books, their authors and the great people who inspire these stories / Les meilleurs livres, leurs auteurs et les grand.e.s de l’histoire qui les inspirent.Menu
I had the privilege of meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu years ago. During our discussion, he stressed the fact that it was crucial to support Israel because it is the first line of defense of the West and its values. As a commando soldier, diplomat and statesman, this man has accumulated a vast experience fighting extremism in its most brutal forms.
I was therefore not surprised to learn that he was the first world leader to make a congratulatory call to President Donald Trump, after the Americans liberated the world of the nefarious presence of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian warlord in charge of the Revolutionary Guards who was a combination of “James Bond, Erwin Rommel, and Lady Gaga rolled into one” for his supporters.
That information is revealed inKilling the Killers: The Secret War Against Terrorism(St. Martin’s Press) by veteran journalist Bill O’Reilly and acclaimed author Martin Dugard, whose books I reviewed on this blog.
I might incur criticism for writing what follows, but my perception of Donald Trump’s presidency – at the foreign policy level – has evolved after reading this insightful book. A few days ago, former CIA Director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote on X: “We told the Ayatollah and Soleimani: If you plot against or kill an American, we won’t stop by fighting the knucklehead proxies you fund and hide behind. We will hold the Islamic Republic of Iran’s leadership accountable. They did, and so we did.” Secretary Pompeo, mentioned several times in the book, refers here to the neutralization of Soleimani.
Truth be told, Donald Trump was determined to weaken the global terror network, not only by eliminating the Revolutionary Guards’ leader but also Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the first caliph of the Islamic State who notably had the blood of American humanitarian worker Kayla Mueller on his hands. Also, Qasim al-Rimi, the ruthless Yemeni terrorist emir of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, “responsible for an attempted bombing of a commercial airliner in the United States on Christmas Day 2009.”
There was a notable shift of policy and attitude between Donald Trump and his immediate predecessor. Probably because he appeared to trivialize the issue, “some see Barack as pursuing a less aggressive foreign policy”, write the authors. “But the truth is, he has ordered twice as many drone strikes as Bush. By the time Obama leaves office, he will have utilized drones to rain down death from the sky 1,878 times.” Both Presidents were nevertheless allergic to putting American boots on the ground.
“Weakness is dangerous,” wrote Secretary Pompeo on Twitter. He’s talking from experience because he was part of a relentless administration against the Tehran régime. From abandoning the Iran Nuclear Deal to moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, to the disappearance of Soleimani and the Abraham Accords – which saw many Arab countries normalize their relations with Israel – the Trump Administration stood firm against Iran. It wasn’t afraid to act unilaterally if need be, “something that rarely happened under President Obama,” explain the authors.
The Biden Administration, whose decision to leave Afghanistan in haste in 2021 has offered our enemies an opportunity to cheer and doubt our resolve, has taken a resolute approach since the barbarian aggression of Israel and the unspeakable butchery of its citizens and we can only applaud that.
Killing the Killers offers a highly informative, detailed, well-written and timely insider’s account of the War on Terror. You walk in Donald Trump’s footsteps and feel the tension enveloping the choppers carrying Special Forces soldiers to their mission. I tremendously enjoyed the authors’ attention to detail. Call me obsessive if you want, but I like to learn that the seven arches of the Westminster Bridge in London are “painted the same deep green as the padded benches in the House of Commons.” Or that the historical term Levant that accompanies the Middle East refers to the sun’s rising in the region. Their thoroughness enriches the content of their book.
The war on terrorists is a worldwide phenomenon. One week ago, hundreds of Israeli families were celebrating the festival of Sukkot, utterly unaware of the tragedy that was about to befall them in the murderous hands of the Hamas hordes. Kayla Mueller’s parents must know precisely how these grieving families feel. We are not immune from the evil blood lust fueled by intolerance.
I realize how prescient Prime Minister Netanyahu was during our conversation. No one can deny that Israel is on the first line combatting terror, but we are not far behind – whether we like it or not. “We must never permit murderers to define our time or warp our sense of normal,” said Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who is quoted in the book. We must never let Hamas, its benefactors and acolytes win in the consciences and on the battlefield.
Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, Killing the Killers: The Secret War Against Terrorism, New York, St. Martin’s Press, 2022, 288 pages.
I want to express my sincere gratitude towards Christina Morden of Raincoast Books for generously providing me with a copy of this book and to Joseph Rinaldi of St. Martin’s Press for his much appreciated collaboration with this blog.
It is a shame that this newspaper printed a paper; but, it doesn’t want to share with the world on what President Trump’s words were. Why not? I tried copying the article and they wouldn’t allow it.
The President’s words were appropriate for the occasion.
The world has to understand. Palestine could be a state; but, not under the rule of HAMAS. Hamas is a terrorist organization as they stand. Why would you put a terrorist organization in Israel’s backyard. They attached Israel and Israel responded and they still have Israel’s citizens as prisoners. Israel won that land in this attack war.
Time to move on. It is time for the Israel prisoners to be returned to their family.
The name of this paper is The Independent. I don’t find them so independent.
Yes, they shut down my main frame and now I have my new computer but they are still working over time trying to stop the blogs by throwing kinks in the system as I work.
They didn’t like the last article on Obama and did their best to stop the publication and also mentioning Soros. Why do people who are so full of money always trying to interfere with freedom? If they don’t like the country why don’t they take their picnic basket where they can be happy?
Obama has never been a happy camper – why is that? Is it because he “didn’t earn his money the hard way – earn it?” Sure wish he and his mammie would get a real life?
09/25/2025
It looks like my computer operations (Microsoft) did a number on my main frame and gave me a blue line after my Charlie Kirk Obit. I always unplug my computer after I finish since they did the same thing a few years ago and I had to buy a new computer. They ae giving me a hard time right now by blowing up the page. They waited until I plugged in Monday morning and whacked the computer with the blue line. My new computer will be on line in a few days. These people don’t like conservatives for sure.
09/22/2025
How much longer do I have to put up with this? Is it time to sue – this has been going on since 2013.
A LADY IN DISTRESS?
MICROSOFT has locked me out of my computer and GOOGLE/WORD PRESS is interfering with my blogging on my laptop.
kommonsentsjane 