Gender liability

To me it is evident that having female infantry officers in the U.S. Army will eventually backfire when we get into another war like Vietnam.

I served as an infantry captain senior military advisor for one year in Vietnam In July of 1965 our 7th Regiment got hit hard and the regimental senior advisor, a major, was wounded and evacuated. The Vietnamese Regimental CO, a lieutenant colonel, was wounded and refused medical evacuation because of the situation. The senior 5th ARVN Division Advisor was a colonel who gave me 10 minutes to board a helicopter that would take me in to replace the major. There were no other majors available.

On landing on the battlefield I reported to the Regimental Commander and I felt a bit awkward because of my lower rank. There were about 150 dead with all the remnants of a big battle. The situation was very tense.

Now I can just imagine a female infantry officer coming in to be the advisor

to this Regimental CO. I am positive that she would have been sent back or grossly ignored. You are not a leader until every soldier under your command will follow you into the depths of hell. Being a Ranger School graduate will not, by itself, get you there. Being a woman is a serious and permanent handicap.

Trump’s time

Although I do not agree with presidential candidate Donald Trump on some positions he has taken, I feel I echo the sentiments of millions of Democrats and Republicans who are truly disgusted with the “permanent politicians” who can’t seem to get anything done. I guess there are two things they are very good at: voting for unnecessary “pork” projects in their own states and running up the national debt. Can you imagine all the good that could be accomplished with the millions of dollars we are paying each month on this “federal credit card”?

That’s one of the reasons I will vote for Trump. It’s time to let a successful businessman have a chance to run the country. He certainly can’t do any worse than what we have unfortunately experienced the last few years.

As to Cruz: Can anyone point to any piece of legislation this first-term senator has gotten passed? It would seem the true character of an individual is reflected in how people who work with this individual daily think of him. Of course, it’s well publicized that other senators dislike him. Remember, he was the one who convinced certain members of the House of Representatives to vote against bills that resulted in the shutdown of the government. What the hell is a senator doing interfering in the legislative business of the House in the first place?

My support for Trump gets stronger when I see protesters carrying Mexican flags and signs that read “Make America Mexico Again” My advice to them: Move to Mexico.

Bernie math

I'm looking through Bernie Sanders' tax return. Several things stand out.

1. For a man who has said he doesn't believe in charities, he sure believes in the charitable donation deduction. He claims an $8,350 deduction for "Gifts to Charity."

2. The cash paid to him by the federal government (read -- taxpayers) through his salary and social security benefits: $202,654.

3. Zero for IRA distributions. Because he was over 70.5 years old in 2014, he would have had to take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from his IRAs if he had any.

4. Zero for capital gains (losses), $2 in dividends, and $11 in interest.

5. $37,789 deducted for real estate taxes and mortgage interest. That's a mortgage of $3,149/month before principal payments and homeowners insurance.

6. All told, he reduced his tax liability by $17,069 (or 38%) by taking deductions.

This man has not saved a dime for his own retirement (see number 3 above) and has saved so little elsewhere that he only gets a whopping $2 in dividends and $11 in interest (see number 4 above). Meanwhile, he feels he can financially afford a mortgage north of $3,149/month.

Is it any wonder why he is a socialist? He is the definition of dependent on the federal government and, clearly, has no understanding of financial responsibility at all.

God help us if this man gets elected.

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Gender liability."