We went to war when a nation kept messing with our ships. When was that? Oh yeah, I remember. World War I, with the Germans. We didn't let them mess with us back then...why are we letting these pirates mess with us now?

There's still money in taking the ships and selling their cargo. They're also taking the crew to Africa, where some of the more able crew members could likely be sold as slaves. There's still a lot of money to be made in the business, with or without the ransom.

And besides, my outrage doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the money. It has a lot to do, however, with the fact that the very first United States Marines fought this type of threat. Crushed it, actually. It also has a lot to do with the fact that when Germany started messing with our ships back in World War I, we struck back with a vengeance. The Puntland government has said that they have no way of stopping this threat, so let's stop it for them. Turn every pirate in Eyl into an example of how we will not be bullied. The Gulf of Aden is not their playground where they can shake down other kids for their lunch money.

"Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old self-proclaimed pirate, told the AP from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl, that: "From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages)."

"Now they became our number one enemy," Habeb said of U.S. forces." -From AP News, via Yahoo! News

What gives these insolent thieves the chutzpah to say that they will outright kill the hostages of ships they capture? These TERRORISTS need to taste the firm boot of a U.S. Marine Corps boot putting them in their place. What is it that the Gadsden Flag says? Oh yes, I remember, "DON'T TREAD ON ME." This kind of outright thievery and lawlessness can not be tolerated. For the good of the brave crews and captains like Cpt. Phillips, and that of the whole world, the pirate forces in Eyl and the rest of Somalia need to be wiped off the face of the Earth.

"I think it is God's function to forgive them. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting." -Stormin' Norman

All this talk about big government and the outrage over it is justified. But how did we get to this point? Unfortunately, I did nothing to stop it. What could I have done? I could've sent a letter to my local senator, the President, whichever seemed most prudent, but the fact is that there's a lot of talk and not a lot of motion. Blame, I see.

That's one of the things that outrages me the most about our government today. They're seemingly doing everything they can to gain more and more power, and while things are going wrong, they sit there and blame the "greedy businesses" for the financial crisis. I have NEVER ONCE heard a politician apologize. I've heard them flip-flop quite a bit, going to the opinion that is popular. But when the Senate committee jumped on the leaders of the big businesses at Capital Hill, I was fuming. Because it was members of THAT VERY SENATE that set up the laws for these subprime mortgages, including Senators Dodd, Kerry, and *gasp* our now President Obama! And when Senators like McCain tried to introduce bills to regulate some of these ridiculous mortgages, the very same Democratic Senators shot them down.

These Senators, Representatives, Congressmen, politicians were elected by the people. They took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, but now they're shredding it in the name of security. They should be accountable to US, but instead, they seem to be able to get projects for their own interest through the House and the Senate with ease. I want someone in Congress to admit that they were WRONG. I respect someone a lot more when they admit their wrongdoing, instead of covering it up in the name of stability. Who knows? It might start a trend. Until then, they will remain politicians in my mind, and they will get less respect than I give my doormat.