Communities and societies work because of shared values. Seldom, if ever, is moral relativism a part of that success. In fact, it is here in America the shared values of the Christian work ethic, respect and adherence to the law that our founding fathers codified into a form of government is what has made American society strong and prosperous. That was then.
During a time of economic trouble post WWI and leading up to WWII an almost perfect storm of anarchy, socialism and communism formed attempting to rend societies into an anger that fomented anti-society movements and revolution. It was never the people or for the people. It was for individual power of the players using "the good of the people" as their mantra to destroy societies and rebuild a structure that made people "equal."
I have never thought FDR was a strong man or leader, rather an opportunist reacting to forces foisted upon him as the leader of America. To placate destructive forces within our country he shaped policies he never intended to last, but didn't have the guts to say so, he allowed mouthpieces of anti-American movements to publicly spout their rot as cheerleaders for his policies, thus giving them credence and established a bureaucracy filled with neer-do-well know nothings that made government king and the citizenry vassals.
It was a movement of the fewer to force tragic and consequentially destructive ends onto the greater population that just wanted to live as American society had become accustomed to. Freedom was and is a powerful force, but at the time survival was acceptable. FDR was America's Trotsky who lost out to his bureaucracy of Lenins that promised bread and equality to the masses under the mantel of a socialized good government in return for the abandonment of their hopes, dreams, aspirations and America as they knew it.
Big government programs corrupted society at-large and little societies nesting within the whole all across America. Big government pushed and forced its "new" programs on communities not moving on their own, destroying inner-cities, farming communities and even our burgeoning arts movement. Harlem, as an example, went from a vibrant community to a ghetto, families held together by shared community values were torn apart by our new moral relativism, crime spiraled "out of control" and class rose to the forefront as the new American model of stagnation. The America where any person could be president started to disappear. The America where a poor, not very well educated, person could rise to be an industrial giant started to die, The America within which dreams were made of got lost in the darkly lit halls of bureaucrats shuffling papers that "guaranteed" what the new politicians promised.
We still live in the remnants of this movement and we still suffer from it. As bureaucrats tore down inner-cities, evidence of their failure, in the name of an urban renewal that was to bring us a new and better society, that society became ensconced in a Kafkaesque-like nightmare of broken families, crime, drugs and guaranteed poverty. But it was society at large that was at fault, white society. As bureaucrats then stepped in to help these new broken societies further we, as a nation, watched the poor produce no families, just babies born into a world of absent fathers, welfare and no responsibility.
Churches, such as the Unitarian Church, grew in numbers filled with the dispassionate and the disassociated, not worshiping a God, but the god of socialital changing movement and revolution, led by their messiah, big government. When this movement attacked communities with marches, legislation and ridicule, violence occurred, but it was not the movement's fault, but the redneck crackers who were too stupid to understand what was right and good for them.
The arts, including entertainment, disallowed the embodiment of vision and a lifting to a higher plane, instead replacing it with modern art, revolutionary imagery and propaganda such as King Vidor's pathetic paeans to socialistic values.
Centuries of learning was tossed from our schools and universities because they were bourgeois
and were replaced by new modality of societal action figures, base lessons of socialital behavior and teachings of mediocrity taught by mediocre intellects. The shared history of what worked in our society was replaced by a modality of new beliefs allowing for individual non responsibility for self exploration.
In short, the laws of man, the 10 commandments, the Torah and the other underpinnings of our society were reduced to one: The hell with it, do what you want because big government is here to save you. And save it has. Soccer moms, small business owners, large corporations, churches, associations, non-profits, single dads, children, workers, bums and neer-do-wells all get served a slice of the governmental pie.
We are now all slaves to the government. If you happen to live in a cohesive and still functioning society, our new system of living is looking for you.
If you are part of movements to tear down the past, burn inner-cities or make people adhere to principles they consider wrong and sinful, you aren't a bully, you are part of a community movement. If you function in a community that works and like it to stay that way, you live in a bubble, thus you are a bully and in the wrong.
Enter Lloyd Clarke into the world of Frankenmuth Michigan.
Atheist wants Frankenmuth to remove religious symbols
"The Constitution protects the minority -- that's me -- from the majority," he said. "People here live in a bubble, and like it that way."
The "new person", such as a Lloyd Clarke, wants the benefits and lifestyle of a Frankenmuth, but doesn't want to have to participate in and work for what makes those Frankenmuth work. His ideas, formed as part of groups, parties and societies that do not work, will not make Frankenmuth a better place, they will, in fact, destroy what makes Frankenmuth work, but Lloyd Clarke knows what is right and better and he will tear down Frankenmuth to make it a better and right place. He is a lonely drummer marching to a beat that nobody in Frankenmuth wants to march to.
Frankenmuth survived before Lloyd Clarke arrived and Frankenmuth will survive long after Lloyd Clarke is gone if only they continue to fight for their rights.
UPDATE: I forgot to thank King's Right Site where I found this story. My apology.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
AP: There Are Now 49 States
Tom Hanks loses Idaho , but another word would be more costly.
Good thing Obama has extras, but I couldn't find any AP reference to Barack's seven extra states.
Good thing Obama has extras, but I couldn't find any AP reference to Barack's seven extra states.
Democrat Urban Development For The Middle East
H/t Gateway PunditSince the Democrats have worked for over twenty years to make America subserviant to the Middle East and other oil producing countries, I thought I'd show you what your money has built there. Also, since Middle Eastern countries have a billion here or a trillion there to spend and there is only so much they can built at one time, they are busy buying up America.
Thanks Harry and Nancy and all those that came before you. Enjoy.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Color Paramount At Dem Convention
Popeye & The Colonel Not Welcome
From Organic Fanny Packs to 'Pure' Trash, Party Planners Face Logistical Nightmare
Among them: No fried food. And, on the theory that nutritious food is more vibrant, each
meal should include "at least three of the following colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white." (Garnishes don't count.) At least 70% of ingredients should be organic or grown locally, to minimize emissions from fuel burned during transportation. "One would think," says Mr. Burns, "that the Democrats in Denver have bigger fish to bake -- they have ruled out frying already -- than mandating color-coordinated pretzel platters."
What, no black?
From Organic Fanny Packs to 'Pure' Trash, Party Planners Face Logistical Nightmare
Among them: No fried food. And, on the theory that nutritious food is more vibrant, each
meal should include "at least three of the following colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white." (Garnishes don't count.) At least 70% of ingredients should be organic or grown locally, to minimize emissions from fuel burned during transportation. "One would think," says Mr. Burns, "that the Democrats in Denver have bigger fish to bake -- they have ruled out frying already -- than mandating color-coordinated pretzel platters."What, no black?
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Dear Left, Thanks, Now Screw Off. Love Barack
Obama tacks away from his left-wing base
More evidence of Obama’s ideological trajectory is a television advertisement emphasizing patriotism, personal accountability and tax cuts in Republican strongholds such as Alaska and Montana.
Obama’s campaign is fighting Republican efforts to portray him as an out-of-touch liberal.
Who didn't see this coming.
More evidence of Obama’s ideological trajectory is a television advertisement emphasizing patriotism, personal accountability and tax cuts in Republican strongholds such as Alaska and Montana.
Obama’s campaign is fighting Republican efforts to portray him as an out-of-touch liberal.
Who didn't see this coming.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Gas Relief For Congress Or More Belly Bile For Voters?
via Tony Phyrillas
Politicians should 'feel the pain'
One of the reasons our elected representatives aren't too concerned about high gas prices is that they don't pay for gas ... or in most cases for their vehicles to get to and from work. We pick up the cost of transportation, including gasoline, for politicians.
As the letter writer below suggest, these public servants don't have a good feel for how much pain working Americans are feeling. If we took away their free cars and free gas, they might get the point.
There are a whole lot of freebies that we, the voter, should strip from our vaunted elite "serving" us in Congress. Either that or we should cut to the quick and buy them togas and gilded laurel leaves and chariots.
Politicians should 'feel the pain'
One of the reasons our elected representatives aren't too concerned about high gas prices is that they don't pay for gas ... or in most cases for their vehicles to get to and from work. We pick up the cost of transportation, including gasoline, for politicians.
As the letter writer below suggest, these public servants don't have a good feel for how much pain working Americans are feeling. If we took away their free cars and free gas, they might get the point.
There are a whole lot of freebies that we, the voter, should strip from our vaunted elite "serving" us in Congress. Either that or we should cut to the quick and buy them togas and gilded laurel leaves and chariots.
GW, Don't Agree,Go To Jail You Heretic
Put oil firm chiefs on trial, says leading climate change scientist
James Hansen, one of the world's leading climate scientists, will today call for the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature, accusing them of actively spreading doubt about global warming in the same way that tobacco companies blurred the links between smoking and cancer.
...
"When you are in that kind of position, as the CEO of one the primary players who have been putting out misinformation even via organisations that affect what gets into school textbooks, then I think that's a crime."
Then we'll get the rest of all those right-wing nuts.
James Hansen, one of the world's leading climate scientists, will today call for the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature, accusing them of actively spreading doubt about global warming in the same way that tobacco companies blurred the links between smoking and cancer.
...
"When you are in that kind of position, as the CEO of one the primary players who have been putting out misinformation even via organisations that affect what gets into school textbooks, then I think that's a crime."
Then we'll get the rest of all those right-wing nuts.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
AP Doomsday Scenario Story
Is everything spinning out
Sorry, that's my 4 word limit as set by the genius of AP
Sorry, that's my 4 word limit as set by the genius of AP
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Obama Is Running His Mouth On Race
Obama says Republicans will use race to stoke fear...
The only people I hear talking about race, especially Obama's, are liberals and the media, but I repeat myself.
Republicans and conservatives are talking about his voting record and his liberalism, but I repeat myself again.
There is no wink-wink, nod-nod here. I think a lot of Americans want a black, a woman or a minority elected just so we can can that line of crap and get back to the issues.
Once his halo starts to fade people are repulsed by Obama on the issues, not because Obama is part black, part Muslim and partly from Chicago. On the issues, without the charm surge, he is scary.
The only people I hear talking about race, especially Obama's, are liberals and the media, but I repeat myself.
Republicans and conservatives are talking about his voting record and his liberalism, but I repeat myself again.
There is no wink-wink, nod-nod here. I think a lot of Americans want a black, a woman or a minority elected just so we can can that line of crap and get back to the issues.
Once his halo starts to fade people are repulsed by Obama on the issues, not because Obama is part black, part Muslim and partly from Chicago. On the issues, without the charm surge, he is scary.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Jefferson's 'Wall of Separation" Myth & the SCOTUS Lie
In 1802 President Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptists in response to their request for assistance. In his letter Jefferson wrote of a wall of separation. Jefferson relied on the Constitution and in this particular case relied on the First and Tenth Amendments, i.e., the Tenth Amendment supported powers reserved for the states prohibiting the federal government from religious establishment of religion, a government church like the Church of England. He stated this clearly in 1805:
In matters of religion, I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the constitution independent of the powers of the general [i.e., federal] government. I have therefore undertaken, on no occasion, to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it; but have left them, as the constitution found them, under the direction and discipline of State or Church authorities acknowledged by the several religious societies.
In 1947, Justice Hugo L. Black authored the opinion in Everson v. Board of Education using Jefferson's letter further stating that the wall of separation must be "high and impregnable." SCOTUS was wrong then to stretch Jefferson's metaphor while ignoring his actions and other writings because the decision was couched in terms to fit their desire.
I write about this because a number of pastors are challenging the government based on the First and Tenth Amendments as seen in the headline below.
Pastors Challenge Law, Endorse Candidates From Pulpit
What caught my eye in the article though, was another example of the media's ever growing use of "facts" to reinforce them subtly in the reader's mind.
The separation of church and state may be one of our democracy's most vaunted values, but its enforcement falls to one of our government's most derided institutions — the IRS.
Vaunted? Sorry, I have to call a BS here. I'll let go the fact that the moron who wrote this story doesn't know the difference between a republic and a democracy, but vaunted value of our country? Double BS. Jefferson never meant that there should be a complete separation and Justice Black knew this. Black and the court needed this interpretation so they could overturn or roll back state and local policies and programs with which they disagreed with.
I wonder if the SCOTUS will use the released correspondence of FDR to roll back the welfare state he built in the U.S.?
In matters of religion, I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the constitution independent of the powers of the general [i.e., federal] government. I have therefore undertaken, on no occasion, to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it; but have left them, as the constitution found them, under the direction and discipline of State or Church authorities acknowledged by the several religious societies.
In 1947, Justice Hugo L. Black authored the opinion in Everson v. Board of Education using Jefferson's letter further stating that the wall of separation must be "high and impregnable." SCOTUS was wrong then to stretch Jefferson's metaphor while ignoring his actions and other writings because the decision was couched in terms to fit their desire.
I write about this because a number of pastors are challenging the government based on the First and Tenth Amendments as seen in the headline below.
Pastors Challenge Law, Endorse Candidates From Pulpit
What caught my eye in the article though, was another example of the media's ever growing use of "facts" to reinforce them subtly in the reader's mind.
The separation of church and state may be one of our democracy's most vaunted values, but its enforcement falls to one of our government's most derided institutions — the IRS.
Vaunted? Sorry, I have to call a BS here. I'll let go the fact that the moron who wrote this story doesn't know the difference between a republic and a democracy, but vaunted value of our country? Double BS. Jefferson never meant that there should be a complete separation and Justice Black knew this. Black and the court needed this interpretation so they could overturn or roll back state and local policies and programs with which they disagreed with.
I wonder if the SCOTUS will use the released correspondence of FDR to roll back the welfare state he built in the U.S.?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Don't Do Business With Stupid crAP
In the town I grew up in there was a really cool toy store. For hours I would stare in its window at the trains, telescopes, models, rockets and all the things that without, I knew I would die.
.
I never went in because the owner was a mean man who scolded kids and was rude to parents. In short, he was a moron, really too stupid to understand how to work with those who supported him. Kinda like the government.
.
He never could understand why he went out of business.
.
All of my friends and I were given money by our parents to attend his 50% off going out of business sale.
.
I think of him every time I use the telescope I bought that day and I used that telescope to teach my kids about business and life and the stars.
As Dodd Helped Himself To A Sweetheart Mortgage He Screwed Small Business
This is so typical of Democrats
Broad, invasive provision touches nearly every aspect of American commerce.
Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd's 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill's managers without debate this week, would require the nation's payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.
FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey commented: "This is a provision with astonishing reach, and it was slipped into the bill just this week. Not only does it affect nearly every credit card transaction in America, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, but the bill specifically targets payment systems like eBay's PayPal, Amazon, and Google Checkout that are used by many small online businesses. The privacy implications for America's small businesses are breathtaking."
If Dodd wants to raise $9.802 billion over ten years he should tax politicians who cheat the system with "special" deals with a tax of 100% of said deals.
Broad, invasive provision touches nearly every aspect of American commerce.
Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd's 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill's managers without debate this week, would require the nation's payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.
FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey commented: "This is a provision with astonishing reach, and it was slipped into the bill just this week. Not only does it affect nearly every credit card transaction in America, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, but the bill specifically targets payment systems like eBay's PayPal, Amazon, and Google Checkout that are used by many small online businesses. The privacy implications for America's small businesses are breathtaking."
If Dodd wants to raise $9.802 billion over ten years he should tax politicians who cheat the system with "special" deals with a tax of 100% of said deals.
Obama And 'The New Party' Of Communists And Socialists
via Tony Phyrillas
'Obama's Red Roots'
The word is that Barack Obama is a mainstream politician who sometimes attracts fringe leftists. The record tells a different story — that he has sought out radicals. What does that say of his agenda?
My question is simple, where does Obango Obama, Barack Obama's Marxist half-brother from Kenya, who also happens to be a radical Islamist or an Islamofascist, fit into the picture?
'Obama's Red Roots'
The word is that Barack Obama is a mainstream politician who sometimes attracts fringe leftists. The record tells a different story — that he has sought out radicals. What does that say of his agenda?
My question is simple, where does Obango Obama, Barack Obama's Marxist half-brother from Kenya, who also happens to be a radical Islamist or an Islamofascist, fit into the picture?
Democrat Strategist Hugo Chavez Advises On Oil Policy - Nationalize!
Democratic Socialist Fascism Party Of America?
House Democrats call for nationalization of refineries
Maybe now they can make the trains run on time.
UPDATE:
A search on Google news for "House Democrats call for nationalization of refineries" came up:
House Democrats call for nationalization of refineries
Maybe now they can make the trains run on time.
UPDATE:
A search on Google news for "House Democrats call for nationalization of refineries" came up:
Your search - House Democrats call for nationalization of
refineries - did not match any documents.Suggestions:
Make sure all words are spelled correctly.Try different keywords.Try
more general keywords.Try fewer keywords.Try Google Blog
Search.Also, you can browse today's headlines on the Google News homepage.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
For The Seventh Time; Where is Jack Murtha's Apology To The Marines?
A military judge has dismissed charges against a Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis.
Col. Steven Folsom dismissed charges Tuesday against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani after defense attorneys raised concerns that a four-star general overseeing the prosecution was improperly influenced by an investigator probing the November 2005 shootings by a Marine squad in Haditha.
The charges were dismissed without prejudice…
It wasn't enough that Rep. Murtha callously accused these marines of cold blooded murder, without proof, the minute he could get on TV, now for thefirst, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth seventh time Murtha is hiding behind closed doors to avoid apologising to his "fellow" Marines.
If his constituents don't throw him out of office there is something wrong with the water in that district. Murtha is a bum.
Col. Steven Folsom dismissed charges Tuesday against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani after defense attorneys raised concerns that a four-star general overseeing the prosecution was improperly influenced by an investigator probing the November 2005 shootings by a Marine squad in Haditha.
The charges were dismissed without prejudice…
It wasn't enough that Rep. Murtha callously accused these marines of cold blooded murder, without proof, the minute he could get on TV, now for the
If his constituents don't throw him out of office there is something wrong with the water in that district. Murtha is a bum.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Guidelines? Hey, AP,Why Not Follow The Law?
Goliath heard that David had a slingshot, an obvious offensive weapon escalation, so he called in all the other bullies on the block to chat with the Media Bloggers Association to iron out their differences with David. Kinda like Hamas talking to Hamas-lite to help out Israel.
The Associated Press, following criticism from bloggers over an AP assertion of copyright, plans to meet this week with a bloggers' group to help form guidelines under which AP news stories could be quoted online.
Why do we need guidelines from AP? Why do we need a Media Bloggers Association that represents about 0% of blogs?
What we have here is failure to communicate. We're doing AP a favor by quoting them at all, even when they're so wrong and biased, and we spell their name right.
Check your bathwater AP. There's a baby in there somewhere. Or is it there's a pony in that pile of horsesh............?
The Associated Press, following criticism from bloggers over an AP assertion of copyright, plans to meet this week with a bloggers' group to help form guidelines under which AP news stories could be quoted online.
Why do we need guidelines from AP? Why do we need a Media Bloggers Association that represents about 0% of blogs?
What we have here is failure to communicate. We're doing AP a favor by quoting them at all, even when they're so wrong and biased, and we spell their name right.
Check your bathwater AP. There's a baby in there somewhere. Or is it there's a pony in that pile of horsesh............?
Monday, June 16, 2008
Truth, Justice & The American Way
Black is white. Left is right and wrong is right. No truth, no justice and no American way.
Top court eases rules for foreigners to try to stay in US
Will the bottom court ease rules for me when I want what is illegal? Uh-uh, I'm a poor dumb sap WASP who pays my bills on time. A five time loser.
Anyone know if Justice Kennedy is from Hyannis?
Top court eases rules for foreigners to try to stay in US
Will the bottom court ease rules for me when I want what is illegal? Uh-uh, I'm a poor dumb sap WASP who pays my bills on time. A five time loser.
Anyone know if Justice Kennedy is from Hyannis?
Buying Ink By The Thimble Or AP's Future
"Never argue with a man who buys his ink by the barrel …" - Ben Franklin
In the brave new world of AP's inner tubey type thing technology they have issued their view of the world and Al Gore's Internet:
“Cutting and pasting a lot of content into a blog is not what we want to see,” he said. “It is more consistent with the spirit of the Internet to link to content so people can read the whole thing in context.”
If anyone had any doubt that the MSM is living in the past still basking in the glory of deeds and fame, AP has shattered it. It's as if a first year law student, pledging to right perceived wrongs, has announced their world view to a class of admiring peers only to find that little Johnnie Gutenberg has gone and invented the printing press.
I hope that AP doesn't quote me and only provides a link. Otherwise I may have to sue the goobers.
In the brave new world of AP's inner tubey type thing technology they have issued their view of the world and Al Gore's Internet:
“Cutting and pasting a lot of content into a blog is not what we want to see,” he said. “It is more consistent with the spirit of the Internet to link to content so people can read the whole thing in context.”
If anyone had any doubt that the MSM is living in the past still basking in the glory of deeds and fame, AP has shattered it. It's as if a first year law student, pledging to right perceived wrongs, has announced their world view to a class of admiring peers only to find that little Johnnie Gutenberg has gone and invented the printing press.
I hope that AP doesn't quote me and only provides a link. Otherwise I may have to sue the goobers.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Eugene Luther Vidal, Jr. Embarrasses US and Himself
What do you get when a preening has-been, who never was, except for an exceptionally tart tongue, speaks to that which he has no knowledge?
'100 years to recover from Bush'
It will take the United States a century to recover from the damage wreaked by President George. W Bush, US writer Gore Vidal said in an interview published on Saturday.
"The president behaved like a virtual criminal but we didn't have the courage to sack him for fear of violating the American constitution," Vidal told the El Mundo newspaper.
The author, a trenchant critic of the US-led invasion of Iraq, said it would take the United States "100 years to repair the damage" caused by Bush.
"We live in a dictatorship. We have a fascist government ...which controls the media," he said.
Vidal also said presidential aspirant Barack Obama was "intelligent" adding that it would be a "novelty" to have an "intelligent" person in the White House.
It will probably take a thousand years to recover from the damage of strikingly empty yet pretentious novels written and foisted on students worldwide by agenda driven authors and their agent professors. In a world of vapid artistry and shallow intellectualism, Eugene Luther Vidal, Jr, aka, Gore Vidal, remade himself into a queen's court jester and a renowned author and bon vivant when he is actually a lonely little boy with no meaning or direction in his miserably cheap life. Or he's just po'd that Capote out smarms him alive or dead.
A short (very) novella of Vidal in his own words:
Chapter 1. I can understand companionship. I can understand bought sex in the afternoon. I cannot understand the love affair.
Chapter 2. Never miss a chance to have sex or appear on television.
Chapter 3. Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so.
Epilogue. I might be President by now if it weren't for this 'queer' thing.
And Europeans take this little, lonely, bitter old man seriously. Sad for both.
'100 years to recover from Bush'
It will take the United States a century to recover from the damage wreaked by President George. W Bush, US writer Gore Vidal said in an interview published on Saturday.
"The president behaved like a virtual criminal but we didn't have the courage to sack him for fear of violating the American constitution," Vidal told the El Mundo newspaper.
The author, a trenchant critic of the US-led invasion of Iraq, said it would take the United States "100 years to repair the damage" caused by Bush.
"We live in a dictatorship. We have a fascist government ...which controls the media," he said.
Vidal also said presidential aspirant Barack Obama was "intelligent" adding that it would be a "novelty" to have an "intelligent" person in the White House.
It will probably take a thousand years to recover from the damage of strikingly empty yet pretentious novels written and foisted on students worldwide by agenda driven authors and their agent professors. In a world of vapid artistry and shallow intellectualism, Eugene Luther Vidal, Jr, aka, Gore Vidal, remade himself into a queen's court jester and a renowned author and bon vivant when he is actually a lonely little boy with no meaning or direction in his miserably cheap life. Or he's just po'd that Capote out smarms him alive or dead.
A short (very) novella of Vidal in his own words:
Chapter 1. I can understand companionship. I can understand bought sex in the afternoon. I cannot understand the love affair.
Chapter 2. Never miss a chance to have sex or appear on television.
Chapter 3. Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so.
Epilogue. I might be President by now if it weren't for this 'queer' thing.
And Europeans take this little, lonely, bitter old man seriously. Sad for both.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Give Me Liberty Still Works Today
I had to chuckle when my son suggested replacing 'throne' with 'congress'.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Congressmen Too Stupid To Be Republicans?
New Gang of 14 won’t back McCain
Republican members who have not endorsed or publicly backed McCain include Sens. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and Reps. Jones, Peterson, John Doolittle (Calif.), Randy Forbes (Va.), Wayne Gilchrest (Md.), Virgil Goode (Va.), Tim Murphy (Pa.), Ron Paul (Texas), Ted Poe (Texas), Todd Tiahrt (Kan.), Dave Weldon (Fla.) and Frank Wolf (Va.).
A short list of what is at stake:
1. The Supreme Court
2. 50+ million Afghani's & Iraqi's freedom at stake
3. Government and its bureaucracy out of control
4. The American family under attack
5. Syria, Iran, China, North Korea and the newUSSR Russia
6. An education system that isn't educating
7. The War on Terror
And the 14 listed above want to help Democrats and Liberals. The encroachment of liberalism in America has been sometimes slow, but persistent in its growth in our nation and government. People such as these have assisted it every step of the way. They are not obstinate, they are obtuse. They're just better dressed Kucinichs.
Republican members who have not endorsed or publicly backed McCain include Sens. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and Reps. Jones, Peterson, John Doolittle (Calif.), Randy Forbes (Va.), Wayne Gilchrest (Md.), Virgil Goode (Va.), Tim Murphy (Pa.), Ron Paul (Texas), Ted Poe (Texas), Todd Tiahrt (Kan.), Dave Weldon (Fla.) and Frank Wolf (Va.).
A short list of what is at stake:
1. The Supreme Court
2. 50+ million Afghani's & Iraqi's freedom at stake
3. Government and its bureaucracy out of control
4. The American family under attack
5. Syria, Iran, China, North Korea and the new
6. An education system that isn't educating
7. The War on Terror
And the 14 listed above want to help Democrats and Liberals. The encroachment of liberalism in America has been sometimes slow, but persistent in its growth in our nation and government. People such as these have assisted it every step of the way. They are not obstinate, they are obtuse. They're just better dressed Kucinichs.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
MSM & Christian Conservative Loss of Faith
I work with and support a great many Christian conservatives. As a group, Christian conservatives are reliably honest and full of conviction and passion. As I have said before, a political axiom is if a group promises 100 volunteers, plan for 100, but expect 10 or 20. With Christian conservatives it is exactly the opposite. If they promise 100 volunteers, expect 100, but plan for 120.
The media is busy planting seeds of discord by saying that Christian conservatives want McCain to lose so America will get what it deserves, thus waking America up. Articles such as the one below point this out:
“One experienced, credible activist in Christian politics who would not let his name be used told me that Huckabee, in personal conversation with him, had embraced the concept that an Obama presidency might be what the American people deserve,” wrote Washington Post columnist Robert Novak.
Novak is called "The Prince of Darkness" for good reason. He is just another reporter painting the darkness just before the dawn a deeper shade of dark. I do not believe Christian conservatives, as a group, are jumping for joy over McCain, but I know they are aware of family issues, economic issues, and the possible Supreme Court vacancies. I also know they are not whiners. Christian conservatives will work their tails off within the Party system to make substantive and positive changes.
I hope their leaders have not obtained "stuck on stupid" lessons. It is too critical and their ceding the White House to ultra liberals would be critically, nee criminally, stupid.
The media is busy planting seeds of discord by saying that Christian conservatives want McCain to lose so America will get what it deserves, thus waking America up. Articles such as the one below point this out:
“One experienced, credible activist in Christian politics who would not let his name be used told me that Huckabee, in personal conversation with him, had embraced the concept that an Obama presidency might be what the American people deserve,” wrote Washington Post columnist Robert Novak.
Novak is called "The Prince of Darkness" for good reason. He is just another reporter painting the darkness just before the dawn a deeper shade of dark. I do not believe Christian conservatives, as a group, are jumping for joy over McCain, but I know they are aware of family issues, economic issues, and the possible Supreme Court vacancies. I also know they are not whiners. Christian conservatives will work their tails off within the Party system to make substantive and positive changes.
I hope their leaders have not obtained "stuck on stupid" lessons. It is too critical and their ceding the White House to ultra liberals would be critically, nee criminally, stupid.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Obama Does Bush
Who will be Obama's veep? I'm not thinking Hillary. Nor little Johnnie Edwards. Please sweet Lord, no talk of Gore or Kerry again.
Barack needs depth. Hell, he needs width, height and everything else. Outside of a great impersonation of MLK and others, Barack needs a ton of help starting with basic math and history.
He' have the MSM wing of the Democrat Party helping him. That's a plus, even in today's world of MSM jokes. He'll have the unions bagging money and effort for him. They've got no other place to go since the Socialist Party thing didn't pan out.
Barack will also have the entire education union establishment working every class, every lecture and every coffee klatch to lecture on his behalf. They'll belittle Republicans on campus, naming them as Nazis, but only in the name of free speech and truth to justice which requires a liberal victory.
About Michelle, well one man's wife is another's ......
Well, there will always be pluses and minuses for the Obamaman, but why worry. He's got the lock on the nomination and the election which wipes out any problems.
He pulls a Bush and names one of his nominating committee members as veep.
Hidden millions. Weeping babies. Swooning couples. The MSM in perpetual orgasm running similarities, photos and outright lies 24/7.
Enter Caroline Kennedy. Instant Camelot. Instant success, but it won't be Wright. That's something. I guess.
Barack needs depth. Hell, he needs width, height and everything else. Outside of a great impersonation of MLK and others, Barack needs a ton of help starting with basic math and history.
He' have the MSM wing of the Democrat Party helping him. That's a plus, even in today's world of MSM jokes. He'll have the unions bagging money and effort for him. They've got no other place to go since the Socialist Party thing didn't pan out.
Barack will also have the entire education union establishment working every class, every lecture and every coffee klatch to lecture on his behalf. They'll belittle Republicans on campus, naming them as Nazis, but only in the name of free speech and truth to justice which requires a liberal victory.
About Michelle, well one man's wife is another's ......
Well, there will always be pluses and minuses for the Obamaman, but why worry. He's got the lock on the nomination and the election which wipes out any problems.
He pulls a Bush and names one of his nominating committee members as veep.
Hidden millions. Weeping babies. Swooning couples. The MSM in perpetual orgasm running similarities, photos and outright lies 24/7.
Enter Caroline Kennedy. Instant Camelot. Instant success, but it won't be Wright. That's something. I guess.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Japanese Hillbillies In Space
Okay, the new part is 30 some feet long and narrow, but has a porch under construction, but not finished and a shed.
It now appears that along with hurricanes and divorce, there is another reason somebody's gonna lose a trailer, that being if NASA needs one.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Lebanon, Ohio
This house is now a museum and is quite interesting. More interesting is there is a house next door built by the sister of the owner the home in the photograph. It is a duplicate except it is painted white to appear bigger which it is because in a game of one-upmanship the sister's home (the same floor plan) has slightly larger rooms making the house slightly larger.
................................................................... This other house is just cool.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Walter Reed troops’ Amazon wish list
Shamelessly taken from This Ain't Hell for a great cause.
From Ace of Spades, we get the Amazon wish list of troops recovering at Walter Reed.
It’s cheap and easy so do it.
From Ace of Spades, we get the Amazon wish list of troops recovering at Walter Reed.
The movies and games are part of a larger effort by CAUSE, a group founded in
2003 by 4 West Point grads who had served together in Vietnam. The idea behind
CAUSE is that morale among active and recovering soldiers and Marines can be
dramatically improved through R&R activities. At Walter Reed, CAUSE has
facilities at the Mologne House, which is an outpatient dormitory for personnel
and their families. The CAUSE library carries DVDs, as well as video games and
equipment and is open to anyone at Walter Reed, free of charge.My goal this summer is to try and fulfill the wish list…
And please feel free to pass this link on for others to contribute and for those of you with blogs (you know who you are), please consider publicizing this effort.
It’s cheap and easy so do it.
Rebels Can't Attend Own Graduation
"We are very clear that the Confederate flag is a symbol of hatred, bigotry and racism," said Rick Kaufman, the Executive Director of Community Relations at Bloomington Kennedy High School.
Huh? It is?
First of all, it is NOT the Confederate flag. It IS the Confederate battle flag. It is the flag of an army and its soldiers, not the flag of a government.
Second, it is ignorance that keeps hatred, bigotry and racism not only alive, but institutionalized in our schools and our governance.
So, Rick, looks like the ball's in your court.
Huh? It is?
First of all, it is NOT the Confederate flag. It IS the Confederate battle flag. It is the flag of an army and its soldiers, not the flag of a government.
Second, it is ignorance that keeps hatred, bigotry and racism not only alive, but institutionalized in our schools and our governance.
So, Rick, looks like the ball's in your court.
For The Sixth Time; Where is Jack Murtha's Apology To The Marines?
"There was no firefight. There was no IED that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood"(Murtha, May 19, 2006)
A court martial on Wednesday acquitted a US Marine for his role in the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha in Iraq in 2005, the sixth man to be exonerated in the affair, a military official said. (June 5, 2008)
Murtha didn't just lie, he killed Marines in cold calculated politics.
A court martial on Wednesday acquitted a US Marine for his role in the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha in Iraq in 2005, the sixth man to be exonerated in the affair, a military official said. (June 5, 2008)
Murtha didn't just lie, he killed Marines in cold calculated politics.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Hillary Out? For Sure?
Unless Obama gets the deadly Little Rock Flu the Democrats have their chosen one.
Idle Rich To Arrest Bush, etal
Good news/Bad news here. These people live in a dream world where they are still running against George W. Bush and they valiantly slay dragons to save maidens donned in tie-dye and are adorned with flowers in their hair.On the other hand, their mommy is gonna be pissed when she finds out they are sneaking computer time without her there to chaperone.
Serious time outs will be had all around. And no snacks after nap time.
via Gateway Pundit
Richard C. Reid - Still A Moron, But A Imprisoned Moron
In my email this morning a rememberance...
Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it?
Did you know his trial is over?
Did you know he was sentenced?
Did you see/hear any of the judges comments on TV/Radio?
Didn't think so.
Everyone should hear what the judge had to say....
Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court:
Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say.
His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his "Allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah," defiantly stated "I think I will not apologize for my actions," and told the court "I am at war with your country."
Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:
January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid. Judge Young: "Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive with the other.
That's 80 years. On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines. The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.
The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further. This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.
Let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.
You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or if you think you are a soldier. You are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.
So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were, and he said: "You're no big deal."
You are no big deal.
What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?
I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing. And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.
It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom... Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose... Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.
We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.
See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.
Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.
So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets?We need more judges like Judge Young, but that's another subject. Pass this around. Everyone should and needs to hear, this fine judge, powerful words that strike home.
Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it?
Did you know his trial is over?
Did you know he was sentenced?
Did you see/hear any of the judges comments on TV/Radio?
Didn't think so.
Everyone should hear what the judge had to say....
Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court:
Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say.
His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his "Allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah," defiantly stated "I think I will not apologize for my actions," and told the court "I am at war with your country."
Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:
January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid. Judge Young: "Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive with the other.
That's 80 years. On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines. The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.
The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further. This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.
Let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.
You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or if you think you are a soldier. You are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.
So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were, and he said: "You're no big deal."
You are no big deal.
What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?
I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing. And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.
It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom... Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose... Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.
We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.
See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.
Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.
So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets?We need more judges like Judge Young, but that's another subject. Pass this around. Everyone should and needs to hear, this fine judge, powerful words that strike home.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Boxer Bill Will Kill What's Left Of America's Energy Independence
Read this doc on Scribd: Boxer Amendment Chart FINAL
All of the Black circles are the titles of the bill.
All of the red circles are the mandates; some are studies, reports and some of these may turn into future regulations.
In total there are over 300 mandates and regulations in the bill. Moreover, each of the regulations when finalized is subject to being litigated under the Administrative Procedure Act. The actual size of the chart is 4 feet by 5 feet with 12 and 8 point font.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Al Qaeda, Nukes & US
Al-Qaeda's terrifying vision of a devastated America in the wake of a nuclear attack Washington is laid to waste. The Capitol is a blackened, smoking ruin. The White House has been razed. Countless thousands are dead.
This is the apocalyptic scene terrorists hope to create if they ever get their hands on a nuclear bomb.
Al Sahab puts out more than 80 'officially sanctioned' videos a year to keep up the propaganda on the West. And the Internet shows how easy it is to stir up militancy. One message with the Washington picture said: 'The next strike's in the heart of America. When? When? When? And How?'
Last night FBI sources said Al Qaeda was desperate to get its hands on a weapon of mass destruction, be it nuclear, chemical, or biological.
So far that is only a dream... or, as this picture suggests, a nightmare.
But remember, al Qaeda is made up of patriots only wanting America out of the Middle East and Asia so that they can bring peace and honey to the regions.
Scott Soros McClellan
The Company Scott Keeps
"Grandma" Carole Keeton Strayhorn, "Carole Keeton McClellan", "Carole Keeton Rylander", Republican, Democrat and Independent, depending on the campaign.
"Grandma" Carole Keeton Strayhorn, "Carole Keeton McClellan", "Carole Keeton Rylander", Republican, Democrat and Independent, depending on the campaign.Spring, 1981: Mayor McClellan celebrates election to her third term, with her mother Madge Keeton and three sons – Scott (left), Mark (right center) and Brad McClellan (nearly hidden between Carole and Mark).
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Last American To Leave Miami Should Grab The Flag & Turn Off The Lights
In Miami, Spanish is becoming the primary language
Melissa Green's mother spoke Spanish, but she never learned - her father forbid it. Today, that's a frequent problem in this city where the English-speaking population is outnumbered.
The 49-year-old flower shop owner and Miami native said her inability to speak "espanol" makes it difficult to conduct business, seek help at stores and even ask directions. She finds it "frustrating."
"It makes it hard for some people to find a job because they don't speak Spanish, and I don't think that it is right," said Green, who sometimes calls a Spanish-speaking friend to translate for customers who don't speak English.
"Sometimes I think they should learn it," she said.
"The Anglo population is leaving," said Juan Clark, a sociology professor at Miami Dade College. "One of the reactions is to emigrate toward the north. They resent the fact that (an American) has to learn Spanish in order to have advantages to work. If one doesn't speak Spanish, it's a disadvantage."
Melissa Green's mother spoke Spanish, but she never learned - her father forbid it. Today, that's a frequent problem in this city where the English-speaking population is outnumbered.
The 49-year-old flower shop owner and Miami native said her inability to speak "espanol" makes it difficult to conduct business, seek help at stores and even ask directions. She finds it "frustrating."
"It makes it hard for some people to find a job because they don't speak Spanish, and I don't think that it is right," said Green, who sometimes calls a Spanish-speaking friend to translate for customers who don't speak English.
"Sometimes I think they should learn it," she said.
"The Anglo population is leaving," said Juan Clark, a sociology professor at Miami Dade College. "One of the reactions is to emigrate toward the north. They resent the fact that (an American) has to learn Spanish in order to have advantages to work. If one doesn't speak Spanish, it's a disadvantage."
La Scala Loves Theater
La Scala to stage Gore's 'Inconvenient Truth'
And Inconvenient Truth is nothing, but theater. Bad science. bad theater.
And Inconvenient Truth is nothing, but theater. Bad science. bad theater.
Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less
via Tony Phyrillas
Click HERE to force Congress to stop aLgorasming at our expense and lower the cost of gas and our dependence on foreign interests.
Let's start a petion for new refineries as well. Maybe build a wind farm in the halls of Congress. That alone should be good for continuous mega watts. It's a start.
Click HERE to force Congress to stop aLgorasming at our expense and lower the cost of gas and our dependence on foreign interests.
Let's start a petion for new refineries as well. Maybe build a wind farm in the halls of Congress. That alone should be good for continuous mega watts. It's a start.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Media's Iraq: Cognitive Dissonance & Groupthink
UPDATE: Gateway Pundit has more on the subject pointing out that success in Iraq has caused the media to drop coverage by 92%. Of course let if they can get a really good picture of an American soldier doing something bad or getting horridly dismembered, well, then we're talking huge coverage.
If Iraq Bleeds It Leads. Since It Ain't, The Surge Must Be Working
Over the Memorial Day weekend we went to the graves of my parents. Both of my wife's parents are alive (and kicking up a storm) and she is kind enough to want to share in my desire to honor and attempt to continue to involve my parents in our life.
Each veteran's grave displayed a flag. Most monuments for veterans entombed there have some denotation of their service. For my family in this cemetery this meant their service in the War of 1812, Mexican American War, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Other ancestral veterans are buried in their ancestral homes in Massachusetts, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia while some are buried in lost graves in foreign lands.
My father's monument simply has a MD after his name. As a veteran of two wars and as a civilian he was first and foremost a surgeon and a healer, a physician. As usual, we took a flag to display on his grave, but there was already one in place. I am awed and humbled that the different veteran's groups took the time to make sure that each veteran would be so honored.
The cemetery was a sea of flags. And families. And flowers, new plantings of trees and bushes and groups of people cleaning, looking and interacting with each other. Some were silent, some sharing, some smiling and many celebrating. Celebrating life and lives. Celebrating freedom, celebrating their loved ones and what their loved ones loved.
As Americans they understood. There was no moral relativism. As a good parent unequivocally loves their child, a good citizen loves their country so. If there are warts, fix them, but still love. If they are sometimes wrong, teach them, but still love. I was taught that a good man can be beaten down, but he can't be kept down. It seems so as well for America.
Vietnam veterans were offered no parades. Most Americans do not know it, but neither were Korean veterans given the respect they deserved by a war weary nation. A brother-in-law was spit on in San Diego in 1970, my sister was knocked to the ground and after my brother-in-law protected her, he was arrested. It was in California and he had been discharged only hours before. In court there were protesters and street theater as the judge called him a militaristic bully and found him guilty.
"Historians" say events such as this never happened. It does not equate to their narrative. Most of these "historians" are wannabe reporters reporting history as they see it just as many reporters are wannabe "historians" wanting to write their own history.
As I sat with my wife observing history and the present played out in this cemetery I thought to our current situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places in the War on Terror and wondered where our national voice had gone off track. Whoa, so many thoughts, so many trails of worry, so I focused on why all of these people in this cemetery didn't seem defeated and tired as they remembered family and honored veterans. I knew why I didn't, but not them, so I asked them.
There were many answers that seemed to boil down to a disdain or weariness with the nay-sayers in position of power and in the press. Some still yell at their televisions during the news while others have given up all together reading, hearing or watching the news. I asked then how do they know that things have changed or did they know that things have changed. They knew. Some use the Internet, some hear from friends and many learn from family members and members of family friends. A high school classmate wearing a Recon cap asked that I forgive him, "but the press are all alike. They are shit who spit on the dead to assuage their own shame."
Assuage their own shame, a phrase that sat me back. I have learned of fifth columnists, traitors and useful dupes, but "assuaging their own shame" implied that the press knows. If the press knows, then why? Why would they not report that which they know to be true. My wife offered the Stockholm theory which works to a point, but being a hostage to an academic system and then an editorial hierarchy implies that the editors know. Chicken/egg and all that, but still where does one go to get instruction on what to write or, more importantly, what not to write. It is not just the media, so what or where does this anti-military and anti-American victory come from?
Cognitive dissonance is a psychological state that describes the uncomfortable feeling when a person begins to understand that something the person believes to be true is, in fact, not true. Similar to ambivalence, the term cognitive dissonance describes conflicting thoughts or beliefs (cognitions) that occur at the same time, or when engaged in behaviors that conflict with one's beliefs. In academic literature, the term refers to attempts to reduce the discomfort of conflicting thoughts, by performing actions that are opposite to one's beliefs.
This leads some people who feel dissonance to seek information that will reduce dissonance and avoid information that will increase dissonance. People who are involuntarily exposed to information that increases dissonance are likely to discount that information, either by ignoring it, misinterpreting it, or denying it.
Symptoms of group think
In order to make groupthink testable, Irving Janis devised eight symptoms that are indicative of groupthink (1977).
1. Illusions of invulnerability creating excessive optimism and encouraging risk taking.
2. Rationalising warnings that might challenge the group's assumptions.
3. Unquestioned belief in the morality of the group, causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions.
4. Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, disfigured, impotent, or stupid.
5. Direct pressure to conform placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of "disloyalty".
6. Self censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus.
7. Illusions of unanimity among group members, silence is viewed as agreement.
8. Mindguards — self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information.
Leaving that cemetery I remembered that in remembering the past, one finds the path to the future. The truth shall set you free, but apparently it isn't helping our free press with the truth.
If Iraq Bleeds It Leads. Since It Ain't, The Surge Must Be Working
Over the Memorial Day weekend we went to the graves of my parents. Both of my wife's parents are alive (and kicking up a storm) and she is kind enough to want to share in my desire to honor and attempt to continue to involve my parents in our life.
Each veteran's grave displayed a flag. Most monuments for veterans entombed there have some denotation of their service. For my family in this cemetery this meant their service in the War of 1812, Mexican American War, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Other ancestral veterans are buried in their ancestral homes in Massachusetts, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia while some are buried in lost graves in foreign lands.
My father's monument simply has a MD after his name. As a veteran of two wars and as a civilian he was first and foremost a surgeon and a healer, a physician. As usual, we took a flag to display on his grave, but there was already one in place. I am awed and humbled that the different veteran's groups took the time to make sure that each veteran would be so honored.
The cemetery was a sea of flags. And families. And flowers, new plantings of trees and bushes and groups of people cleaning, looking and interacting with each other. Some were silent, some sharing, some smiling and many celebrating. Celebrating life and lives. Celebrating freedom, celebrating their loved ones and what their loved ones loved.
As Americans they understood. There was no moral relativism. As a good parent unequivocally loves their child, a good citizen loves their country so. If there are warts, fix them, but still love. If they are sometimes wrong, teach them, but still love. I was taught that a good man can be beaten down, but he can't be kept down. It seems so as well for America.
Vietnam veterans were offered no parades. Most Americans do not know it, but neither were Korean veterans given the respect they deserved by a war weary nation. A brother-in-law was spit on in San Diego in 1970, my sister was knocked to the ground and after my brother-in-law protected her, he was arrested. It was in California and he had been discharged only hours before. In court there were protesters and street theater as the judge called him a militaristic bully and found him guilty.
"Historians" say events such as this never happened. It does not equate to their narrative. Most of these "historians" are wannabe reporters reporting history as they see it just as many reporters are wannabe "historians" wanting to write their own history.
As I sat with my wife observing history and the present played out in this cemetery I thought to our current situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places in the War on Terror and wondered where our national voice had gone off track. Whoa, so many thoughts, so many trails of worry, so I focused on why all of these people in this cemetery didn't seem defeated and tired as they remembered family and honored veterans. I knew why I didn't, but not them, so I asked them.
There were many answers that seemed to boil down to a disdain or weariness with the nay-sayers in position of power and in the press. Some still yell at their televisions during the news while others have given up all together reading, hearing or watching the news. I asked then how do they know that things have changed or did they know that things have changed. They knew. Some use the Internet, some hear from friends and many learn from family members and members of family friends. A high school classmate wearing a Recon cap asked that I forgive him, "but the press are all alike. They are shit who spit on the dead to assuage their own shame."
Assuage their own shame, a phrase that sat me back. I have learned of fifth columnists, traitors and useful dupes, but "assuaging their own shame" implied that the press knows. If the press knows, then why? Why would they not report that which they know to be true. My wife offered the Stockholm theory which works to a point, but being a hostage to an academic system and then an editorial hierarchy implies that the editors know. Chicken/egg and all that, but still where does one go to get instruction on what to write or, more importantly, what not to write. It is not just the media, so what or where does this anti-military and anti-American victory come from?
Cognitive dissonance is a psychological state that describes the uncomfortable feeling when a person begins to understand that something the person believes to be true is, in fact, not true. Similar to ambivalence, the term cognitive dissonance describes conflicting thoughts or beliefs (cognitions) that occur at the same time, or when engaged in behaviors that conflict with one's beliefs. In academic literature, the term refers to attempts to reduce the discomfort of conflicting thoughts, by performing actions that are opposite to one's beliefs.
This leads some people who feel dissonance to seek information that will reduce dissonance and avoid information that will increase dissonance. People who are involuntarily exposed to information that increases dissonance are likely to discount that information, either by ignoring it, misinterpreting it, or denying it.
Symptoms of group think
In order to make groupthink testable, Irving Janis devised eight symptoms that are indicative of groupthink (1977).
1. Illusions of invulnerability creating excessive optimism and encouraging risk taking.
2. Rationalising warnings that might challenge the group's assumptions.
3. Unquestioned belief in the morality of the group, causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions.
4. Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, disfigured, impotent, or stupid.
5. Direct pressure to conform placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of "disloyalty".
6. Self censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus.
7. Illusions of unanimity among group members, silence is viewed as agreement.
8. Mindguards — self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information.
Leaving that cemetery I remembered that in remembering the past, one finds the path to the future. The truth shall set you free, but apparently it isn't helping our free press with the truth.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Obama Doesn't Remember Hate, Corruption & Billionaires, But He Remembers Childhood In Indonesia
Speaking today in Florida to the Cuban American National Foundation concerning his desire to ease relations with communist Cuba, Obama remembers his childhood and how men came in the night to take people away. Normally his memory isn’t quite that good.
Website says Obama attended anti-white Wright sermon; campaign ...
Mar 16, 2008 ... My friends, remember it's Mr. Obama spiritual advisor who gave the ... You denial that you never knew of Wright's sermons doesn't pass the ...
The Swamp: Obama doesn't recall '04 Rezko party
If Barack Obama becomes President, there is something seriously ...
Mar 16, 2008 ... Obama spokesman Bill Burton told The Times that Obama doesn’t remember ever meeting Auchi. [and Dick Cheney doesn’t remember sitting down ...
Is Barack NObama clearly lying to our face on his records? - Yahoo ...
Mr Obama doesn't remember his voting records.He has been lying since the beginning that he has been Mr.Consistent.He is much clean at heart , God knows. ...
But, as a six to ten year old, Obama remembers that a knock on the door in the night in Indonesia by uniformed men caused fear.
I grew up for a time in Indonesia. It was a society struggling to achieve meaningful democracy. Power could be undisguised and indiscriminate. Too often, power wore a uniform, and was unaccountable to the people. Some still had good reason to fear a knock on the door.
Of course, Obama also doesn’t remember how we got to this point in our relationship with Cuba. Real facts seem to always get a tad hazy for Obama.
UPDATE:
Gateway Pundit has a few other things Obama forgets, like his close relationship with terrorists.
Website says Obama attended anti-white Wright sermon; campaign ...
Mar 16, 2008 ... My friends, remember it's Mr. Obama spiritual advisor who gave the ... You denial that you never knew of Wright's sermons doesn't pass the ...
The Swamp: Obama doesn't recall '04 Rezko party
If Barack Obama becomes President, there is something seriously ...
Mar 16, 2008 ... Obama spokesman Bill Burton told The Times that Obama doesn’t remember ever meeting Auchi. [and Dick Cheney doesn’t remember sitting down ...
Is Barack NObama clearly lying to our face on his records? - Yahoo ...
Mr Obama doesn't remember his voting records.He has been lying since the beginning that he has been Mr.Consistent.He is much clean at heart , God knows. ...
But, as a six to ten year old, Obama remembers that a knock on the door in the night in Indonesia by uniformed men caused fear.
I grew up for a time in Indonesia. It was a society struggling to achieve meaningful democracy. Power could be undisguised and indiscriminate. Too often, power wore a uniform, and was unaccountable to the people. Some still had good reason to fear a knock on the door.
Of course, Obama also doesn’t remember how we got to this point in our relationship with Cuba. Real facts seem to always get a tad hazy for Obama.
UPDATE:
Gateway Pundit has a few other things Obama forgets, like his close relationship with terrorists.
Rove Will Steal Obama's Election Win
This Ain't Hell has up a piece so troofer as to appear to be satire.
Andrea Mitchell uses the media's truth that the 2000 and 2004 elections were stolen by Rovian forces embedded in governments large and small that targeted key parts of the electorate spanning the North American continent. Just as there is "proof" that the hole in the side of the Pentagon was not large enough to have been made by an airliner, the valiant forces of truth and liberalism has "proof" that these Rovian forces, so well trained as to operate on auto pilot, will deny the Obammessiah the election in 2008. The godhead will have her will undone by false God fearing right wing messianic posers.
Read it here:
The Election Will Be Stolen, Again!
What will the electorate be denied by such a false and manipulated election that will deny the citizenry the hope of an Obama ascendancy?
Just how has that “Sweeping Change” in 2006 worked out so far?
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon
3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%
Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:
1) Consumer confidence plummet
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase)
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses)
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars
America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!
Epiphany! Bush lied and the truth died for our sins to allow the Obamessiah to shepherd truth to his people for sweeping change through his disciples Reid and Pelosi.
Personally, I am so thankful that Hillary is continuing her windmill tour AND that Ron Paul is burrowing his way into the nomination to tear the masks off all the false prophets leaving him alone to bask in the divine light of the anointed.
Witness the Divine Comedy.
UPDATE: IT HAS BEGUN! The evil empire that resides in the bowels of our government stands at the prescipice of truth and looks down into its undoing!
House panel subpoenas Rove
Andrea Mitchell uses the media's truth that the 2000 and 2004 elections were stolen by Rovian forces embedded in governments large and small that targeted key parts of the electorate spanning the North American continent. Just as there is "proof" that the hole in the side of the Pentagon was not large enough to have been made by an airliner, the valiant forces of truth and liberalism has "proof" that these Rovian forces, so well trained as to operate on auto pilot, will deny the Obammessiah the election in 2008. The godhead will have her will undone by false God fearing right wing messianic posers.
Read it here:
The Election Will Be Stolen, Again!
What will the electorate be denied by such a false and manipulated election that will deny the citizenry the hope of an Obama ascendancy?
Just how has that “Sweeping Change” in 2006 worked out so far?
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon
3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%
Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:
1) Consumer confidence plummet
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase)
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses)
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars
America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!
Epiphany! Bush lied and the truth died for our sins to allow the Obamessiah to shepherd truth to his people for sweeping change through his disciples Reid and Pelosi.
Personally, I am so thankful that Hillary is continuing her windmill tour AND that Ron Paul is burrowing his way into the nomination to tear the masks off all the false prophets leaving him alone to bask in the divine light of the anointed.
Witness the Divine Comedy.
UPDATE: IT HAS BEGUN! The evil empire that resides in the bowels of our government stands at the prescipice of truth and looks down into its undoing!
House panel subpoenas Rove
Reason 666 Not To Vote For Obama
Next Stop, Supreme Court?
It's likely that the next president will face at least one Supreme Court vacancy. Obama should promise Hillary Clinton, now, that if he wins in November, the vacancy will be hers, making her first on a list of one.
Obama and Clinton have wound up agreeing on nearly every major issue during the campaign; at the end of the day, they share many orthodoxies. Unless the Supreme Court were to get mired in minuscule details of what constitutes universal health care, Obama could assume that he'd be pleased with most Clinton votes, certainly on major issues such as abortion.
It's likely that the next president will face at least one Supreme Court vacancy. Obama should promise Hillary Clinton, now, that if he wins in November, the vacancy will be hers, making her first on a list of one.
Obama and Clinton have wound up agreeing on nearly every major issue during the campaign; at the end of the day, they share many orthodoxies. Unless the Supreme Court were to get mired in minuscule details of what constitutes universal health care, Obama could assume that he'd be pleased with most Clinton votes, certainly on major issues such as abortion.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Congress Screw Public And Blames Oil Execs
Let's see. Did the oil companies prevent themselves from drilling on and around the North American continent? When did the oil companies decide to make it unprofitable and impossible to build new refineries? I can't remember when the oil companies created the regulatory nightmare that they work under, but maybe Leahy and Kohl can slip me a note on this. I hope they add a paragraph in their note that explains when the oil companies elected a bunch of pandering liberal numbnuts to Congress so they could have their business regulated and taxed almost out of existence. Maybe include a P.S. on boutique gas mixtures for hypocritical left coast progressives deluding themselves into believing their doing something for Mother Earth.
Congress grill oil execs over perceived injustices to the working class
Political leaders in Washington gave big oil executives an earful Wednesday. Oil industry executives can expect another rough reception when they go before a House panel this morning.
They want to know what's caused the recent spike in oil and gas prices.
"You speak of this current upcycle. What a nice nice term, and I suppose we can tell our constituents when they find they cannot afford to go to work because of the price of gas, 'don't worry, you are in a current upcycle,'" Sen. Patrick Leahy said.
"Your industry has no problem in doubling your profits, tripling your profits. Even when prices at the pump go crazy, you have no problem in keeping up with your increasing profit," Sen. Herb Kohl said. "It doesn't seem fair, guys. It just doesn't seem fair."
No, it doesn't seem fair. Congress hamstrings business in general and the energy industry specifically and places the blame on them while screwing us. I believe that it is tradition, even when crude and oil are involved, that there should be some kissing first. Oh, and a desire to participate.
I'll be waiting by my mailbox for that note Pat and Herb. Might as well, I can't afford to drive anywhere because you people wouldn't know the working class from the politburo nor which one works and which one does not.
UPDATE: This ain't hell has some good stuff on this
Congress grill oil execs over perceived injustices to the working class
Political leaders in Washington gave big oil executives an earful Wednesday. Oil industry executives can expect another rough reception when they go before a House panel this morning.
They want to know what's caused the recent spike in oil and gas prices.
"You speak of this current upcycle. What a nice nice term, and I suppose we can tell our constituents when they find they cannot afford to go to work because of the price of gas, 'don't worry, you are in a current upcycle,'" Sen. Patrick Leahy said.
"Your industry has no problem in doubling your profits, tripling your profits. Even when prices at the pump go crazy, you have no problem in keeping up with your increasing profit," Sen. Herb Kohl said. "It doesn't seem fair, guys. It just doesn't seem fair."
No, it doesn't seem fair. Congress hamstrings business in general and the energy industry specifically and places the blame on them while screwing us. I believe that it is tradition, even when crude and oil are involved, that there should be some kissing first. Oh, and a desire to participate.
I'll be waiting by my mailbox for that note Pat and Herb. Might as well, I can't afford to drive anywhere because you people wouldn't know the working class from the politburo nor which one works and which one does not.
UPDATE: This ain't hell has some good stuff on this
Monday, May 19, 2008
"Lay Off My Hitman Wife"
Obama Warns GOP "Lay Off My Wife"
Sen. Barack Obama ripped into a Republican ad today that targets comments made by his wife, Michelle, and called the GOP tactic "low class" and "detestable."
The Illinois senator told "Good Morning America" that he expects hardball tactics from the Republicans if he becomes the Democratic presidential nominee.
"But I also think these folks should lay off my wife," he told "GMA" as his wife chuckled beside him.
So, Obama puts his wife out there to speak, as a strong independent woman, for the campaign to impress women and she says some really stupid thing which makes the Obama angry that people are taking what she say seriously so he says to lay off his wife because she, as an independent woman, is his wife and not part of the real campaign.
That should make women comfortable. At least it made Michelle chuckle. We'll always have that.
Sen. Barack Obama ripped into a Republican ad today that targets comments made by his wife, Michelle, and called the GOP tactic "low class" and "detestable."
The Illinois senator told "Good Morning America" that he expects hardball tactics from the Republicans if he becomes the Democratic presidential nominee.
"But I also think these folks should lay off my wife," he told "GMA" as his wife chuckled beside him.
So, Obama puts his wife out there to speak, as a strong independent woman, for the campaign to impress women and she says some really stupid thing which makes the Obama angry that people are taking what she say seriously so he says to lay off his wife because she, as an independent woman, is his wife and not part of the real campaign.
That should make women comfortable. At least it made Michelle chuckle. We'll always have that.
Dear World, May I Drive My Jeep Today?
Pitching his message to Oregon's environmentally-conscious voters, Obama called on the United States to "lead by example" on global warming, and develop new technologies at home which could be exported to developing countries.
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.
Obama wants to lead by following those he perceives as our betters throughout the world.
That's change I can't live with.
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.
Obama wants to lead by following those he perceives as our betters throughout the world.
That's change I can't live with.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The Messiah Mounts The Mound To Massage The Masses
Record Obama Crowd, the Size of a City 
Sen. Barack Obama has seen his share of large crowds over the last 15 months, but his campaign said they have not approached the numbers gathered along the waterfront here right now.
The campaign, citing figures from Duane Bray, battalion chief of Portland Fire & Rescue, estimated that 75,000 people are watching him speak.
How many young girls had orgasms at concerts over "I want to hold your hand"? Though somewhat shallow, at least the Beatles had a long term sellable product and allure. Granted, it was with a crowd that could be fully entertained in an empty closet, but still...
Sen. Barack Obama has seen his share of large crowds over the last 15 months, but his campaign said they have not approached the numbers gathered along the waterfront here right now.
The campaign, citing figures from Duane Bray, battalion chief of Portland Fire & Rescue, estimated that 75,000 people are watching him speak.
How many young girls had orgasms at concerts over "I want to hold your hand"? Though somewhat shallow, at least the Beatles had a long term sellable product and allure. Granted, it was with a crowd that could be fully entertained in an empty closet, but still...
Seattle Times Defends Hitler To Defend Obama Then Changes Editorial To Try And Defend Itself
via LGF
Bush, and His Use of "Appeasement"
Democrats are rebuking President Bush for saying in his speech to the Knesset, here, that to “negotiate with terrorists and radicals” is “appeasement.” The Democrats took it as a slap at Barack Obama. What bothers me is the continual reference to Hitler and his National Socialists, particularly the British and French accommodation at the Munich Conference of 1938.
What Hitler was demanding was not unreasonable. He wanted the German-speaking areas of Europe under German authority. He had just annexed Austria, which was German-speaking, without bloodshed. There were two more small pieces of Germanic territory: the free city of Danzig and the Sudetenland, a border area of what is now the Czech Republic.
We live in an era when you do not change national borders for these sorts of reasons. But in 1938 it was different. Germany’s eastern and western borders had been redrawn 19 years before—and not to its benefit. In the democracies there was some sense of guilt with how Germany had been treated after World War I. Certainly there was a memory of the “Great War.” In 2008, we have entirely forgotten World War I, and how utterly unlike any conception of “The Good War” it was. When the British let Hitler have a slice of Czechoslovakia, they were following their historical wisdom: avoid war. War produces results far more horrible than you expected. War is a bad investment. It is not glorious. Don’t give anyone an excuse to start one.
BUT the Seattle Times editor realized he was defending Nazism to defend Obama so he changed what he said to include not just one of the worst butchers of all time, but really a German national claim of inclusion of all German speaking people as a basis for taking land that was not their's. Kind of like La Raza thinks the Southwestern portion of America plus Claifornia should revert to Mexico.
Bush, and His Use of "Appeasement"
Posted by Bruce Ramsey
Democrats are rebuking President Bush for saying in his speech to the Knesset, here, that to “negotiate with terrorists and radicals” is “appeasement.” The Democrats took it as a slap at Barack Obama. What bothers me is the continual reference to Hitler and his National Socialists, particularly the British and French accommodation at the Munich Conference of 1938.
The narrative we're given about Munich is entirely in hindsight. We know what kind of man Hitler was, and that he started World War II in Europe. But in 1938 people knew a lot less. What Hitler was demanding at Munich was not unreasonable as a national claim (though he was making it in a last-minute, unreasonable way.) Germany's claim was that the areas of Europe that spoke German and thought of themselves as German be under German authority. In September 1938 the principal remaining area was the Sudetenland.
So the British and French let him have it. Their thought was: "Now you have your Greater Germany." They didn't want a war. They were not superpowers like the United States is now. They remembered the 1914-1918 war and how they almost lost it.
In a few months, in early 1939, Hitler ordered the invasion of what is now the Czech Republic—that is, territory that was not German. Then it was obvious that a deal with him was worthless--and the British and French did not appease Hitler any more. Thus the lesson of Munich: don't appease Hitlers.
But who else is a Hitler? If you paste that label on somebody it means they are cast out. You can't talk to them any more. And it has gotten pasted on quite a few national leaders over the years: Milosevic, Hussein, Ahmadinejad, et. al. In particular, to apply that label to the elected leaders of the Palestinians is to say that you aren't going to listen to their claims to a homeland. I think they do have a claim. So do the Israelis. In order to get anywhere, each side has to listen to the other. To continually bring up Hitler, the Nazis, the Munich Conference and “appeasement,” is to try to prolong the stalemate.
It is scary that Obama knows less about history than Bruce Ramsey which makes both of them unqualified to be president.
Bush, and His Use of "Appeasement"
Democrats are rebuking President Bush for saying in his speech to the Knesset, here, that to “negotiate with terrorists and radicals” is “appeasement.” The Democrats took it as a slap at Barack Obama. What bothers me is the continual reference to Hitler and his National Socialists, particularly the British and French accommodation at the Munich Conference of 1938.
What Hitler was demanding was not unreasonable. He wanted the German-speaking areas of Europe under German authority. He had just annexed Austria, which was German-speaking, without bloodshed. There were two more small pieces of Germanic territory: the free city of Danzig and the Sudetenland, a border area of what is now the Czech Republic.
We live in an era when you do not change national borders for these sorts of reasons. But in 1938 it was different. Germany’s eastern and western borders had been redrawn 19 years before—and not to its benefit. In the democracies there was some sense of guilt with how Germany had been treated after World War I. Certainly there was a memory of the “Great War.” In 2008, we have entirely forgotten World War I, and how utterly unlike any conception of “The Good War” it was. When the British let Hitler have a slice of Czechoslovakia, they were following their historical wisdom: avoid war. War produces results far more horrible than you expected. War is a bad investment. It is not glorious. Don’t give anyone an excuse to start one.
BUT the Seattle Times editor realized he was defending Nazism to defend Obama so he changed what he said to include not just one of the worst butchers of all time, but really a German national claim of inclusion of all German speaking people as a basis for taking land that was not their's. Kind of like La Raza thinks the Southwestern portion of America plus Claifornia should revert to Mexico.
Bush, and His Use of "Appeasement"
Posted by Bruce Ramsey
Democrats are rebuking President Bush for saying in his speech to the Knesset, here, that to “negotiate with terrorists and radicals” is “appeasement.” The Democrats took it as a slap at Barack Obama. What bothers me is the continual reference to Hitler and his National Socialists, particularly the British and French accommodation at the Munich Conference of 1938.
The narrative we're given about Munich is entirely in hindsight. We know what kind of man Hitler was, and that he started World War II in Europe. But in 1938 people knew a lot less. What Hitler was demanding at Munich was not unreasonable as a national claim (though he was making it in a last-minute, unreasonable way.) Germany's claim was that the areas of Europe that spoke German and thought of themselves as German be under German authority. In September 1938 the principal remaining area was the Sudetenland.
So the British and French let him have it. Their thought was: "Now you have your Greater Germany." They didn't want a war. They were not superpowers like the United States is now. They remembered the 1914-1918 war and how they almost lost it.
In a few months, in early 1939, Hitler ordered the invasion of what is now the Czech Republic—that is, territory that was not German. Then it was obvious that a deal with him was worthless--and the British and French did not appease Hitler any more. Thus the lesson of Munich: don't appease Hitlers.
But who else is a Hitler? If you paste that label on somebody it means they are cast out. You can't talk to them any more. And it has gotten pasted on quite a few national leaders over the years: Milosevic, Hussein, Ahmadinejad, et. al. In particular, to apply that label to the elected leaders of the Palestinians is to say that you aren't going to listen to their claims to a homeland. I think they do have a claim. So do the Israelis. In order to get anywhere, each side has to listen to the other. To continually bring up Hitler, the Nazis, the Munich Conference and “appeasement,” is to try to prolong the stalemate.
It is scary that Obama knows less about history than Bruce Ramsey which makes both of them unqualified to be president.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Who's To Blame For High Gas Prices?
Saudi oil output hike would not solve US problems: Bush
US President George W. Bush said on Saturday that a hike in oil output by Saudi Arabia would not solve American energy problems.
"It's not enough, it's something but it doesn't solve our problem," Bush told reporters in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Bush said he was "pleased" with a Saudi decision taken on May 10 to increase its oil production by 300,000 barrels per day in response to customers, but said that he was "also realistic" about what the Americans should do.
"Our problem in America gets solved when we aggressively go for domestic exploration. Our problem in America gets solved if we expand our refining capacity, promote nuclear energy and continue our strategy for the advancing of alternative energies as well as conservation," he said. "One interesting thing about American politics these days is those who are screaming the loudest for increased production from Saudi Arabia are the very same people who are fighting the fiercest against domestic exploration, against the development of nuclear power and against expanding refining capacity."
Even if Saudi Arabia, Iraq, China and Russia starting pumping like mad our gas prices would remain high and going higher. It's called price competition worldwide. It is also called stupid liberal policies that have griped our country like a virus for over 30 years of energy legislation.
Our fuel problems are a direct result of modern American liberalism as seen through the eyes of an out-of-touch Congress, radical environmentalists squealing "wolf", the main stream media and a populous whose biggest mistake was believing all this crap. That belief was and is costing jobs, homes and money and will take 6 - 10 years to repair.
If, as it is being reported, the Democrats make major gains in the upcoming elections, the 6 - 10 year guesstimate is out the window which means America will be financially subservient to other countries for decades to come.
Be careful what you wish for.
US President George W. Bush said on Saturday that a hike in oil output by Saudi Arabia would not solve American energy problems.
"It's not enough, it's something but it doesn't solve our problem," Bush told reporters in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Bush said he was "pleased" with a Saudi decision taken on May 10 to increase its oil production by 300,000 barrels per day in response to customers, but said that he was "also realistic" about what the Americans should do.
"Our problem in America gets solved when we aggressively go for domestic exploration. Our problem in America gets solved if we expand our refining capacity, promote nuclear energy and continue our strategy for the advancing of alternative energies as well as conservation," he said. "One interesting thing about American politics these days is those who are screaming the loudest for increased production from Saudi Arabia are the very same people who are fighting the fiercest against domestic exploration, against the development of nuclear power and against expanding refining capacity."
Even if Saudi Arabia, Iraq, China and Russia starting pumping like mad our gas prices would remain high and going higher. It's called price competition worldwide. It is also called stupid liberal policies that have griped our country like a virus for over 30 years of energy legislation.
Our fuel problems are a direct result of modern American liberalism as seen through the eyes of an out-of-touch Congress, radical environmentalists squealing "wolf", the main stream media and a populous whose biggest mistake was believing all this crap. That belief was and is costing jobs, homes and money and will take 6 - 10 years to repair.
If, as it is being reported, the Democrats make major gains in the upcoming elections, the 6 - 10 year guesstimate is out the window which means America will be financially subservient to other countries for decades to come.
Be careful what you wish for.
Mickey Mouse Policing The Toons
U.N. racism investigator to visit U.S. from Monday
The United Nations said Doudou Diene would meet federal and local officials, as well as lawmakers and judicial authorities during the May 19-June 6 visit.
"The special rapporteur will...gather first-hand information on issues related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," a U.N. statement said on Friday.
His three-week visit, at U.S. government invitation, will cover eight cities -- Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Race has become a central issue in the U.S. election cycle because Sen. Barack Obama, the frontrunner in the battle for the Democratic nomination battle, stands to become the country's first African American president.
SENEGAL: Heavy handed response to food protesters
Protesters clash with riot police in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, during a march over the high cost of living in Nov 2007DAKAR, 31 March 2008 (IRIN) - A crackdown by police against Senegalese citizens who gathered in the capital Dakar on 30 March to protest the high cost of living was “brutal”, say human rights groups.
"The interior ministry or at least the police force believe that maintaining order means stepping up repression," Leonard Vincent, Africa director of the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders, told IRIN. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse a demonstration organised by the national consumers' union to protest recent hikes in the prices of rice, oil and soap.
Authorities in Dakar said the demonstration had not been authorised. At least 24 people were arrested and many are still being detained, according to the Agence France Press. The Dakar-based African human rights coalition RADDHO (Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme) said in a statement on 30 March that it firmly condemns "unspeakable" acts by security forces which "violate" people's rights.
It likened alleged beatings with electric prods to "torture" and called for an investigation into "all acts of violence and poor treatment suffered by demonstrators".
Darfur force tainted by war crimes allegations
· Claims that deputy ordered Hutu killings· West reluctant to join peacekeeping mission
The deployment of an international peacekeeping force in Darfur was thrown into confusion yesterday by war crimes allegations against its proposed deputy commander.
The United Democratic Force-Inkingi, A Rwandan opposition group, accused Major General Karenzi Karake of responsibility for carrying out political assassinations and ordering reprisal killings against Hutus in Rwanda and Zaire in the years after the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when he was the country's chief of military intelligence.
I guess that is really unfair to the Toons.
The United Nations said Doudou Diene would meet federal and local officials, as well as lawmakers and judicial authorities during the May 19-June 6 visit.
"The special rapporteur will...gather first-hand information on issues related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," a U.N. statement said on Friday.
His three-week visit, at U.S. government invitation, will cover eight cities -- Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Race has become a central issue in the U.S. election cycle because Sen. Barack Obama, the frontrunner in the battle for the Democratic nomination battle, stands to become the country's first African American president.
SENEGAL: Heavy handed response to food protesters
Protesters clash with riot police in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, during a march over the high cost of living in Nov 2007DAKAR, 31 March 2008 (IRIN) - A crackdown by police against Senegalese citizens who gathered in the capital Dakar on 30 March to protest the high cost of living was “brutal”, say human rights groups.
"The interior ministry or at least the police force believe that maintaining order means stepping up repression," Leonard Vincent, Africa director of the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders, told IRIN. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse a demonstration organised by the national consumers' union to protest recent hikes in the prices of rice, oil and soap.
Authorities in Dakar said the demonstration had not been authorised. At least 24 people were arrested and many are still being detained, according to the Agence France Press. The Dakar-based African human rights coalition RADDHO (Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme) said in a statement on 30 March that it firmly condemns "unspeakable" acts by security forces which "violate" people's rights.
It likened alleged beatings with electric prods to "torture" and called for an investigation into "all acts of violence and poor treatment suffered by demonstrators".
Darfur force tainted by war crimes allegations
· Claims that deputy ordered Hutu killings· West reluctant to join peacekeeping mission
The deployment of an international peacekeeping force in Darfur was thrown into confusion yesterday by war crimes allegations against its proposed deputy commander.
The United Democratic Force-Inkingi, A Rwandan opposition group, accused Major General Karenzi Karake of responsibility for carrying out political assassinations and ordering reprisal killings against Hutus in Rwanda and Zaire in the years after the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when he was the country's chief of military intelligence.
I guess that is really unfair to the Toons.
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