The stories out of Russia have been worrisome of late, and today's story on The Drudge Report quotes Putin warning that "imperialism" will be fought, and the test of their latest multiple-warhead missile is the start of a new arms race. When you take into consideration the number of opposition journalists who have been killed recently, and the first ever cyber-attack by one country on another, you have to be wary of the bear again.
Although there is no definitive proof as yet, the cyber-attack on Estonia is of concern, regardless of the perpetrator. The United Nations and NATO are both conducting investigations, but there's little doubt that the dispute over a WWII statue was what prompted the Russians to react. Murder with a very exotic, radioactive element kills off one critic, and another is murdered in the streets. No arrests on the in-country killing, and a refusal to cooperate with the investigators in Great Britain.
Mr. Putin, like Fidel and Fidel Jr., was elected by the people. Fidel never stepped down; Mr. Putin has said he will, and Fidel Jr. will probably go out feet first.
I have to wonder if the bickering and deep divisions within this country are not making it seem like a great time for every two-bit Saddam-want-to-be to come crawling from under the stones? Putin is obviously running up tensions in an effort to distract the world from the murders that he ordered, and the assualt on Russian democracy. "Please be sure to watch my left hand so you can't see what my right is doing, and then .... voila .... dictatorships arise in Russia and Venezuela, continue in Cuba, and the Islamic terrorists sit back and just laugh.
Why are they laughing? Simple - their ultimate goal is to eliminate anyone who is not a Muslim. Democracy or dictatorship makes no difference to them; they simply enjoy watching the infidels kill each other off.
It would behoove Russia to stop being so damned paranoid about us, and start worrying about their own Muslim fanatics.
One other thing - do you notice what all of these jerks have in common? Oil, and the money it generates. Russia has huge reserves of oil and especially gas, Venezuela's petro-dollars bought Hugo his fame, and unless I'm mistaken, there aren't a hell of a lot of democracies anywhere in the Middle East, other than Israel, and now Iraq.
If that isn't a wake-up call for energy independence I don't know what is.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Sometimes I Just Can't Help Myself
Sometimes blogging just isn't enough, and I find myself concerned to the point that I open my big mouth, so to speak, and send off a letter to the editor, or whoever it was at that particular moment who roused my ire.
You know from previous posts that Hugo Chavez may be a favorite of Harry Belafonte, Cindy Sheehan and Danny Glover, but he's not someone I'd care to sit and have dinner with. My latest letter to the editor:
A week or so ago I saw a State Police vehicle filling up at Mullin's Citgo here in Lowville. It's one thing for most Americans to ignore what Hugo Chavez is doing in Venezuela as they continue to fill up their tanks at Citgo stations, but when I see my tax dollars going to support a man who has now closed down all opposition television stations, I get rather perturbed. What in the world does it take to get people to wake up and start boycotting all Citgo stations everywhere?
The petro-dollars we supply him are his main asset, and we blithely go on about our business without giving thought to the fact that we're helping Fidel Jr. create another socialist Utopia.
Why not pay a few more pennies per gallon? Taking a few more pennies out of your pockets will keep dollars out of his!
What do you think?
Paste this address in your web browser and let me know:
http://watsonintheadirondacks.blogspot.com/
Whether you're here on a return visit, or here because of the letter to the editor, please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions - that's what the comment sections are for.
And sign the guest book while you're at it - your mother would tell you it's only good manners.
You know from previous posts that Hugo Chavez may be a favorite of Harry Belafonte, Cindy Sheehan and Danny Glover, but he's not someone I'd care to sit and have dinner with. My latest letter to the editor:
A week or so ago I saw a State Police vehicle filling up at Mullin's Citgo here in Lowville. It's one thing for most Americans to ignore what Hugo Chavez is doing in Venezuela as they continue to fill up their tanks at Citgo stations, but when I see my tax dollars going to support a man who has now closed down all opposition television stations, I get rather perturbed. What in the world does it take to get people to wake up and start boycotting all Citgo stations everywhere?
The petro-dollars we supply him are his main asset, and we blithely go on about our business without giving thought to the fact that we're helping Fidel Jr. create another socialist Utopia.
Why not pay a few more pennies per gallon? Taking a few more pennies out of your pockets will keep dollars out of his!
What do you think?
Paste this address in your web browser and let me know:
http://watsonintheadirondacks.blogspot.com/
Whether you're here on a return visit, or here because of the letter to the editor, please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions - that's what the comment sections are for.
And sign the guest book while you're at it - your mother would tell you it's only good manners.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
The Tombstone
There's something unearthly about seeing your child's tombstone for the first time. Everyone knows it's not supposed to happen, but it does. It doesn't impart any sense of closure; certainly not if you believe the circle will remain unbroken; it just leaves you feeling like a Rod Serling character.
Planting flowers makes you feel like you're still being a parent. You try and select just the right flowers; the right colors; attention to detail gives you back just a little of the sense of control you lost the moment she died.
The gravesite lacks grass - she hasn't been there long enough for the grass to come in yet. You know that the greening will come, but for now the tanned, dry earth is like the scab on your heart.
I won't let myself visit as often as I might. When the hurt comes unbidden, there's no need in looking for it. I know that will all change in time.
Another member of this club that no one wants to belong to helped me to understand what I had to look forward to. I share this thought with you to apply as you will:
It doesn't get better - it just gets different.
Planting flowers makes you feel like you're still being a parent. You try and select just the right flowers; the right colors; attention to detail gives you back just a little of the sense of control you lost the moment she died.
The gravesite lacks grass - she hasn't been there long enough for the grass to come in yet. You know that the greening will come, but for now the tanned, dry earth is like the scab on your heart.
I won't let myself visit as often as I might. When the hurt comes unbidden, there's no need in looking for it. I know that will all change in time.
Another member of this club that no one wants to belong to helped me to understand what I had to look forward to. I share this thought with you to apply as you will:
It doesn't get better - it just gets different.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Memorial Day - Then and Now
As protests erupt in Venezuela, and as we meet with the Iranians for the first time in thirty years, I find myself distracted on Memorial Day. The usual movies are available; picnics and parades abound, and the President's remarks for those who gave their all were covered, but the truth is, not many people heard him, or cared. A sad commentary not only on many Americans, but on the President as well.
As I reflect on those uncounted lives given for this country since our founding, I have come to the conclusion that George Bush has failed us. I still firmly believe that going into Iraq, eliminating Saddam, and offering the people of Iraq their first opportunity to participate in an election are, and should always be remembered, as valid, noble endeavors. Knowing that millions of purple fingers were held aloft because of the sacrifices of our Armed Forces should give every American a sense of accomplishment.
Therein lies the problem - most Americans don't feel that we've accomplished anything.
The President's failure is in leadership; his inability to articulate the nature of our enemy; his failure to unify and demand sacrifice from everyone, but most of all, he's just not Hollywood enough.
As callous as that may seem, it is a facet of the presidency that cannot be ignored.
Lincoln was disparaged in his own time, but history has been kind to him because there was no CNN to nitpick every action and parse every word. He also had the benefit of a well defined enemy, especially geographically. Without a standing army, without a government to negotiate with or topple, the President has failed to define too many whys and wherefores - at least to the satisfaction of the vast majority of the population.
He may well be remembered by history for taking the right course of action, but failing to arouse the nation to arms. In the history books of 2107, when we are in the midst of the ongoing "Terror Wars of Islam", George Bush may not fare as well as Lincoln did in time, but he will certainly be better remembered than those who claim there is no "War on Terror".
The sad fact of the matter is, without the sales skills of a P.T. Barnum, and the media power of a Horace Greely, a President isn't going to accomplish much these days.
I wonder if Lincoln felt that way too?
As I reflect on those uncounted lives given for this country since our founding, I have come to the conclusion that George Bush has failed us. I still firmly believe that going into Iraq, eliminating Saddam, and offering the people of Iraq their first opportunity to participate in an election are, and should always be remembered, as valid, noble endeavors. Knowing that millions of purple fingers were held aloft because of the sacrifices of our Armed Forces should give every American a sense of accomplishment.
Therein lies the problem - most Americans don't feel that we've accomplished anything.
The President's failure is in leadership; his inability to articulate the nature of our enemy; his failure to unify and demand sacrifice from everyone, but most of all, he's just not Hollywood enough.
As callous as that may seem, it is a facet of the presidency that cannot be ignored.
Lincoln was disparaged in his own time, but history has been kind to him because there was no CNN to nitpick every action and parse every word. He also had the benefit of a well defined enemy, especially geographically. Without a standing army, without a government to negotiate with or topple, the President has failed to define too many whys and wherefores - at least to the satisfaction of the vast majority of the population.
He may well be remembered by history for taking the right course of action, but failing to arouse the nation to arms. In the history books of 2107, when we are in the midst of the ongoing "Terror Wars of Islam", George Bush may not fare as well as Lincoln did in time, but he will certainly be better remembered than those who claim there is no "War on Terror".
The sad fact of the matter is, without the sales skills of a P.T. Barnum, and the media power of a Horace Greely, a President isn't going to accomplish much these days.
I wonder if Lincoln felt that way too?
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Who's Patriotic?
It will be forgotten, on the one hand, that jealousy is the usual concomitant of love, and that the noble enthusiasm of liberty is apt to be infected with a spirit of narrow and illiberal distrust. On the other hand, it will be equally forgotten that the vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty; that, in the contemplation of a sound and well-informed judgment, their interest can never be separated; and that a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government. History will teach us that the former has been found a much more certain road to the introduction of despotism than the latter, and that of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.
Alexander Hamilton - The Federalist Papers
You've got to hand it to our 18th Century forefathers - they could sure turn a phrase. The language of the three sentences quoted is English - really - but what does it all mean?
The following is an Adirondack Redneck's interpretation:
Jealousy, while usually affiliated with love, has always been an underlying current in politics. The "noble enthusiasm of liberty" is what we pay our elected officials for - on both sides of the aisle. The "spirit of narrow and illiberal mistrust" is as innate to a politician as jealousy is to a teenage lover. That's why we have a preponderance of politicians and a dearth of statesmen.
When the pressing questions of our time begged to be answered, we have to remember that jealousy and the pursuit of each individual's definition of government's role in our lives will affect all decisions. "The vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty." The "vigor" of a liberal is no less than that of a conservative, and is just as important in securing our liberty. Peaks & valleys, yin & yang - you get the idea.
Now to the essence of the quote. "...a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government..."
Therein lies the real danger of the left. From Fidel Castro to Hugo Chavez, to Putin in Russia, they have become leaders because they appealed to the "people". The trust we place in those who say they speak for "the people", as opposed to those who proffer a "firmness and efficiency of government", is the "much more certain road to the introduction of despotism."
"...of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants." Historically, the greatest number of tyrants come from the ranks of those who say they speak for the people, and more often than not, they arrive after taking a left turn. Once in power, they proceed from demagoguery to dictatorship, and the people pay the price for their need to believe. If you need a definition of a demagogue, just think: "Al Sharpton". Jesse Jackson works too.
In our current situation, we must continually bear in mind that liberals are no less dedicated to their beliefs than those of us from the conservative spectrum, and they consider their actions to be patriotic. There are many on the left who simply hate this country, hate capitalism, and are dedicated to it's elimination and replacement with socialism. So although it is incumbent upon us to grant an assumption of patriotism, it is also necessary to identify those who would seek the destruction of our current form of government. They do not deserve the same sort of respect granted to an honorable opponent - they deserve a one way ticket to worker's paradise of their choice.
As we enter Memorial Day Weekend 2007, it should be a time when the brash rattle of partisanship is subdued, and a deep sigh of gratitude offered across the generations for all who have served their country to the fullest.
A simple idea that John Edwards will not see fit to embrace.
Alexander Hamilton - The Federalist Papers
You've got to hand it to our 18th Century forefathers - they could sure turn a phrase. The language of the three sentences quoted is English - really - but what does it all mean?
The following is an Adirondack Redneck's interpretation:
Jealousy, while usually affiliated with love, has always been an underlying current in politics. The "noble enthusiasm of liberty" is what we pay our elected officials for - on both sides of the aisle. The "spirit of narrow and illiberal mistrust" is as innate to a politician as jealousy is to a teenage lover. That's why we have a preponderance of politicians and a dearth of statesmen.
When the pressing questions of our time begged to be answered, we have to remember that jealousy and the pursuit of each individual's definition of government's role in our lives will affect all decisions. "The vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty." The "vigor" of a liberal is no less than that of a conservative, and is just as important in securing our liberty. Peaks & valleys, yin & yang - you get the idea.
Now to the essence of the quote. "...a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government..."
Therein lies the real danger of the left. From Fidel Castro to Hugo Chavez, to Putin in Russia, they have become leaders because they appealed to the "people". The trust we place in those who say they speak for "the people", as opposed to those who proffer a "firmness and efficiency of government", is the "much more certain road to the introduction of despotism."
"...of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants." Historically, the greatest number of tyrants come from the ranks of those who say they speak for the people, and more often than not, they arrive after taking a left turn. Once in power, they proceed from demagoguery to dictatorship, and the people pay the price for their need to believe. If you need a definition of a demagogue, just think: "Al Sharpton". Jesse Jackson works too.
In our current situation, we must continually bear in mind that liberals are no less dedicated to their beliefs than those of us from the conservative spectrum, and they consider their actions to be patriotic. There are many on the left who simply hate this country, hate capitalism, and are dedicated to it's elimination and replacement with socialism. So although it is incumbent upon us to grant an assumption of patriotism, it is also necessary to identify those who would seek the destruction of our current form of government. They do not deserve the same sort of respect granted to an honorable opponent - they deserve a one way ticket to worker's paradise of their choice.
As we enter Memorial Day Weekend 2007, it should be a time when the brash rattle of partisanship is subdued, and a deep sigh of gratitude offered across the generations for all who have served their country to the fullest.
A simple idea that John Edwards will not see fit to embrace.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Monday Blues
Yesterday was Dominic Jacob Blair's 2nd birthday. All of the postitive and negative attributes of an accomplished Tazmanian Devil are his. Dominic's mother is Dominican, so even at this early age he can swear in two languages - Spanish & English. He hasn't realized it yet, but as he grows older and Christmas's come and go, he has an Aunt that will make him want to hunt down and kill whoever wrote "Dominic The Donkey".
Press 1 for English.
MUSINGS
I saw a State Police vehicle filling up at Mullin's Citgo the other day, and all I could think was: "There go my tax dollars to Cindy Sheehan's favorite socialist." I felt like stopping the car and asking the trooper why he didn't fill up elsewhere, but my guess is he wouldn't have had the foggiest idea why I was asking the question.
Our tax dollars are going to a man who wants to see this country destroyed - how bright is that?
RCTV is akin to "Must See TV" in Venezuala, but only until May 27, 2007. That's the day their license expires. According to that paragon of democracy, Hugo Chavez, their license will not be renewed because he is concerned about the morality of the soap operas they broadcast. As the country's oldest independent broadcaster, RCTV didn't earn Hugo's affection by showing cartoons and movies during the failed coup attempt against him in 2002 - that might have a little something to do with losing their license too.
Re-elected in a landslide, Herr Chavez will replace RCTV with a state-run station that will promote Venezuela's transformation into Cuba Jr. Can you guess who gets to play the part of Castro? Do you think he'll really step down when it's time for the next election?
As an OPEC nation, Venezuela is afloat in petro-dollars, which the soon-to-be-dictator distributes freely - that's how you get re-elected with 60% of the vote. With all of that money, he's also buying the support of others in South America and developing closer ties with Iran.
What in the hell does it take for Americans to wakeup and realize they're sending their tax dollars to a lunatic?
Speaking of lunatics, the pot has been callng the kettle black recently. Although we must give a tip of the hat to Warren Harding in recognition for his lack of concern regarding the corruption in his administration, Jimmy Carter still gets my vote for worst President in the history of the country.
Unless you lived through 18% inflation, gas lines, foreign policy successes that didn't stand up to the test of time, and Americans with rags tied around their eyes as they were being led from our embassy by - who else - Muslim fanatics, you really can't appreciate the ineptitude of PeanutMan. Even as a card carrying liberal at that time, I couldn't stomach the man - he was DEPRESSING!
And last but not least, because I have to go coach my grandson's Farm League team, how depressed are you after McCain & Kennedy get together for an illegal immigration bill. Okay, so they may not use the word illegal, and therein lies the problem.
Having been told that brevity is not my strong suit, I will stop at this point and save immigration for a future post. Suffice it to say that this bill should, and never will, see the light of day.
When it comes to immigration, President Bush has not been a leader in any sense of the word, and he has not listened to us.
Press 1 for English.
MUSINGS
I saw a State Police vehicle filling up at Mullin's Citgo the other day, and all I could think was: "There go my tax dollars to Cindy Sheehan's favorite socialist." I felt like stopping the car and asking the trooper why he didn't fill up elsewhere, but my guess is he wouldn't have had the foggiest idea why I was asking the question.
Our tax dollars are going to a man who wants to see this country destroyed - how bright is that?
RCTV is akin to "Must See TV" in Venezuala, but only until May 27, 2007. That's the day their license expires. According to that paragon of democracy, Hugo Chavez, their license will not be renewed because he is concerned about the morality of the soap operas they broadcast. As the country's oldest independent broadcaster, RCTV didn't earn Hugo's affection by showing cartoons and movies during the failed coup attempt against him in 2002 - that might have a little something to do with losing their license too.
Re-elected in a landslide, Herr Chavez will replace RCTV with a state-run station that will promote Venezuela's transformation into Cuba Jr. Can you guess who gets to play the part of Castro? Do you think he'll really step down when it's time for the next election?
As an OPEC nation, Venezuela is afloat in petro-dollars, which the soon-to-be-dictator distributes freely - that's how you get re-elected with 60% of the vote. With all of that money, he's also buying the support of others in South America and developing closer ties with Iran.
What in the hell does it take for Americans to wakeup and realize they're sending their tax dollars to a lunatic?
Speaking of lunatics, the pot has been callng the kettle black recently. Although we must give a tip of the hat to Warren Harding in recognition for his lack of concern regarding the corruption in his administration, Jimmy Carter still gets my vote for worst President in the history of the country.
Unless you lived through 18% inflation, gas lines, foreign policy successes that didn't stand up to the test of time, and Americans with rags tied around their eyes as they were being led from our embassy by - who else - Muslim fanatics, you really can't appreciate the ineptitude of PeanutMan. Even as a card carrying liberal at that time, I couldn't stomach the man - he was DEPRESSING!
And last but not least, because I have to go coach my grandson's Farm League team, how depressed are you after McCain & Kennedy get together for an illegal immigration bill. Okay, so they may not use the word illegal, and therein lies the problem.
Having been told that brevity is not my strong suit, I will stop at this point and save immigration for a future post. Suffice it to say that this bill should, and never will, see the light of day.
When it comes to immigration, President Bush has not been a leader in any sense of the word, and he has not listened to us.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
My Tie To "The Greatest Generation"
On May 16, 1945, my father joined the United States Marine Corp. 62 years to the day, I had the good fortune to go along with him as he visited the VA Hospital in Syracuse. This was the first time he'd had anything to do with the VA since he'd been discharged for the second time in September of 1951.
When Dad had been called back for Korea, it turned out he should not have been called back up - for a couple of reasons.
First, as part of the "inactive" reserves, he should not have been called back, the "active" reserves should have been. Eventually, President Truman figured that out and told the brass at the Pentagon to send Dad and his fellow "inactives" home.
Dad had not been totally inactive, as I was born at Camp Lejune in August of 1951.
The second reason he should not have been called back up was due, in a somewhat convoluted fashion, to the fact that he had violated one of the precepts of military conduct that probably began thousands of years before the Romans:
Never volunteer for anything!
At the age of 17, Dad had first landed on Guam after the island had been secured, but did participate in mop-up operations against the more recalcitrant Japanese. He then became part of the Occupation Force in Japan. Anyone familiar with being 17 and away from home knows about a homesickness that even Marines don't always cope well with. Anyone trying to get home from overseas at the end of WWII only got to go home after they'd accumulated enough "points". Knowing that it would be well over a year before he got to see the USA again, Dad did the unthinkable and volunteered.
The way he tells it, duty was tough as part of the Marine contingent on the U.S.S. Iowa - one of those big old battlewagons that lost their title as Queen of the Seas to the aircraft carrier. As a result of offering his services, Dad was assigned as an orderly/driver for the Captain - I can only imagine how tough it was being told: "Sergeant, take the car and do what you want until it's time to pick me up."
It was not all fun and frivolity, as Dad also had his gun post when the ship was at battle stations. To hear Dad tell it, there were guns to his left, and guns to his right, and the damn Navy didn't have any earplugs for Marines. Thus, the perforated eardrums, duly noted upon his first discharge, and duly ignored upon being recalled for Korea. The second reason he should not have been called back.
The hearing out of his left ear is the worst, so if you enjoy watching an 80 year old man get flustered, stand on his left side and mumble - works every time.
I can hear some folks now: "What a terrible thing to do to your father."
Upon entering the appointed room with the nurse practitioner yesterday, Dad noted a chair in the corner and informed that young lady that I would sit there, even though I had left my dunce cap home. Although we usually try to bring it along to cover my pointy head, we had forgotten it in the early morning hours.
You no longer need to ask me where I get it from.
As the years fly by, the men and women of that generation leave us more rapidly everyday. I have been blessed to have had the wisdom and counsel of my father for many years, and I'm praying for many more. Even at the tender age of 55, it is still comforting to know your Dad is always there for you.
There were no pearls of wisdom passed from father to son yesterday, no accidents or incidents to make the day more notable, but it is a day I will remember for the rest of my life simply because it was a day with Dad.
When you finally come to the realization that time, albeit relative, is always in short supply, it behooves us to remember those special days when nothing happened, other than a father and a son sharing love and making memories.
When Dad had been called back for Korea, it turned out he should not have been called back up - for a couple of reasons.
First, as part of the "inactive" reserves, he should not have been called back, the "active" reserves should have been. Eventually, President Truman figured that out and told the brass at the Pentagon to send Dad and his fellow "inactives" home.
Dad had not been totally inactive, as I was born at Camp Lejune in August of 1951.
The second reason he should not have been called back up was due, in a somewhat convoluted fashion, to the fact that he had violated one of the precepts of military conduct that probably began thousands of years before the Romans:
Never volunteer for anything!
At the age of 17, Dad had first landed on Guam after the island had been secured, but did participate in mop-up operations against the more recalcitrant Japanese. He then became part of the Occupation Force in Japan. Anyone familiar with being 17 and away from home knows about a homesickness that even Marines don't always cope well with. Anyone trying to get home from overseas at the end of WWII only got to go home after they'd accumulated enough "points". Knowing that it would be well over a year before he got to see the USA again, Dad did the unthinkable and volunteered.
The way he tells it, duty was tough as part of the Marine contingent on the U.S.S. Iowa - one of those big old battlewagons that lost their title as Queen of the Seas to the aircraft carrier. As a result of offering his services, Dad was assigned as an orderly/driver for the Captain - I can only imagine how tough it was being told: "Sergeant, take the car and do what you want until it's time to pick me up."
It was not all fun and frivolity, as Dad also had his gun post when the ship was at battle stations. To hear Dad tell it, there were guns to his left, and guns to his right, and the damn Navy didn't have any earplugs for Marines. Thus, the perforated eardrums, duly noted upon his first discharge, and duly ignored upon being recalled for Korea. The second reason he should not have been called back.
The hearing out of his left ear is the worst, so if you enjoy watching an 80 year old man get flustered, stand on his left side and mumble - works every time.
I can hear some folks now: "What a terrible thing to do to your father."
Upon entering the appointed room with the nurse practitioner yesterday, Dad noted a chair in the corner and informed that young lady that I would sit there, even though I had left my dunce cap home. Although we usually try to bring it along to cover my pointy head, we had forgotten it in the early morning hours.
You no longer need to ask me where I get it from.
As the years fly by, the men and women of that generation leave us more rapidly everyday. I have been blessed to have had the wisdom and counsel of my father for many years, and I'm praying for many more. Even at the tender age of 55, it is still comforting to know your Dad is always there for you.
There were no pearls of wisdom passed from father to son yesterday, no accidents or incidents to make the day more notable, but it is a day I will remember for the rest of my life simply because it was a day with Dad.
When you finally come to the realization that time, albeit relative, is always in short supply, it behooves us to remember those special days when nothing happened, other than a father and a son sharing love and making memories.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
A Reply To A Friend
It seems my desire to put my thoughts on the Internet has aroused different reactions in different people. One liberal friend, a man I've known for over 30 years, has not returned phone calls or emails, and the gist of our last phone conversation was - "we'll talk soon, but not about politics". That was 3 weeks ago and I'm getting the impression that my letter to the editor regarding Sen. Reid may have been too much for his liberal heart to bear. A few years back, when I asked him why he was a liberal, his answer was "Because I like to help people".
In that simple, six word sentence, you can learn a lot about how liberals operate.
The implication is that if you're not a liberal, you don't want to help people, you only want to start wars, ruin the environment and stop women from practicing their God-given right to infanticide. It sounds more like an answer to a question in a Miss Universe pageant than an intellectually honest answer for promoting socialism.
On the other hand, I have another liberal friend who would probably consider me the Anti-Christ, if he believed in God that is. I received a rather lengthy missive from him the other day and promised a response as time permitted. The lack of punctuation, capitalization and the language are all his, not mine, and his quotes are in italics:
"for your information, i don't drink coo-aid....nor do i believe most of what you right wing, conservative, george w bush loving, neo-nazi, dopes spew out on a daily basis...i am not as liberal as you think...you brain washed mother ******...you want to know what i think we should do with the terrorists!!! then i'll tell you, first...we get out of iraq and stop getting our young men and women killed...and stop killing thousands of innocent iraqis...then we hunt down the terrorists, where ever they may be...and kill them...and i mean, where ever they are...i think we should take a page from isreal's book and send elite teams out to hunt and kill terrorists."
I did take time for a quick reply the other day, the results of which were that he agrees that Al Quaeda is now in Iraq, but they weren't there before we went in. So here's our first juncture and question to any liberals who care to reply: Even if we are naive enough to assume that not one, single member of Al Quaeda was ever in Iraq prior to our entrance, if they are there now, shouldn't we be fighting them there? You hear the Democrat politicians' mantra - get out of Iraq, redeploy the troops (where they're redeployed to depends on who's doing the running away) and fight Al Quaeda in Afghanistan.
If there were any intellectual honesty with anyone other than Sen. Joe Liberman amongst the Democrat Party, they would simply come out and tell you this:
"We are against the war in Iraq because George Bush is President - if Bill Clinton were President, we'd support it." Any Democrat who tells you otherwise is being quite disingenuous, or like Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, they truly believe there is never a reason to go to war. For those of you who hated social studies, she was the only US Senator to vote AGAINST going to war with Japan after their attack on Pearl Harbor.
Other than that, I am in full agreement as to emulating Israel and their approach to terrorism.
"do you hear me now....while we deplete our young men and women in iraq, terrorists roam fairly freely all over the world...what a recruiting effort we have launched for the terrorists...we kill thousands of innocent iraqi citizens in the name of god, freedom and the american way...and we wonder why muslims find it kinda hard to love us...besides, we don't have the resourses to deal with the real terroists while we have our troops, who are mostly national guard divisions who should be home guarding us, tied up in an unwinable war...yes, unwinable...maybe we should stop sending our young to die and start sending old f****, like you and me...i will say it one more time...staying in iraq will accomplish nothing more than more american and iraqis dieing, and in the end...that part of the world will be right back where it was when all the bloodshed started....we have had a history of supporting dictators who used any means necessary to stay in power and down the road, we always seem to have to backtrack and pretend we didn't know....bulls***..."
It's kind of hard to know where to begin on that ramble, but let's give it a shot
Terrorists roaming all over the world...a recruiting effort we have launched ...killing thousands of Iraqi's in the name of god (his lower case, not mine)etc...
Terrorists are all around the world and they are Muslims. We did not create their fanaticism, their religion has done that. Anyone other than a hermit in a cave knows that this war began a long time ago, not on 9-11, and the thousands of Iraqi's that have been killed have been killed mostly by terrorists, not by us. If you're like Rep. John Murtha, you convict our soldiers of crimes before any evidence is presented because it serves your political agenda. However, if you're really interested in how our soldiers try and conduct themselves, go to this link and read Gen. Petraeus' letter to the troops about how they are to conduct themselves in combat:
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/values-message.htm
Unwinable war ... it's only unwinable if you quit. We are treated daily to the same old "sectarian warfare", "it's a civil war", "it hasn't changed in 2000 years". It sounds kind of like a 9 year old who doesn't want to go to bed and is coming up with every excuse they can dream of.
If you are Al Quaeda, you are performing exactly to plan. Stir up the hatred between Sunnis and Shiite, blow up as many soldiers and innocent civilians as you can, and then sit back and wait for the whining, spineless Americans to leave. Regardless of the fact that terrorism will flourish and grow once we get out, let's go because that's how we stick it to George.
Don't worry about Iran and the 3000 centrifuges that are now pumping out the materials with which they will try to construct their nuclear arsenal - we'll just let negotiations and diplomacy take care of that - it's worked out so well with North Korea you know.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend - apparently this little pearl of geopolitical wisdom has escaped my friends attention as regards who we support in the world. Is the President of Pakistan a real tree hugging liberal who stands firmly in support of human rights? Not by a long shot, but since he's willing to help us, albeit not as forcefully as we might like, we will continue to support him.
Personally, I prefer to look at history as a means to understand current situations, not an opportunity to bash America, white men, Judeo-Christian principles, or whatever other American institution George Soros has decided would not fit well in his socialist America.
"let's see...canada, france, germany??? what policy changes have you seen since harper, sarkozy and your buddy merkel have taken office...they have all been in office for over a year now and i don't see any more troops in afghanistan or iraq...i don't see any changes in the populists opinions of america or americans...no trade changes...mostly, they seem to want to pass laws so that companys can fire people and make them work more hours in a week...i'll grant you that french and german workers can't be made to work more than 35 hours a week, but...."
I had made an observation that Canada, Germany, and most recently France, have elected conservative leaders. Howard in Australia and most of the Eastern European countries have conservative leaders and troops in Afghanistan. Although my friend can see no changes (kind of soon for France don't you think?), the changes will come because people around the world are starting to understand that this is a World War. It is struggle between the forces of freedom and democracy against the kind of intolerance conservatives are so often accused of. Muslim fanaticism knows no boundaries and has no central location - a fact that makes this war so difficult for many people to understand.
I am in total agreement with the Democrat Party on one aspect of this effort - President Bush has done a totally inept job of explaining why it is so important for us to be there.
"and as far as my 'christian' comments...i stand by them...how you can justifiy this many people dieing is more than i can comprehend...defense of country...maybe if we stayed out of a few peoples affiairs, we might not have to do this...and don't even go there...i understand that we will defend ourselves, but should it be at the expense of others?...and, if i read you right, and please correct me if i am wrong...you do not believe in the right of a woman to choose, under any circustances...and this is because life begins at conception??? i happen to have a different opinion...do you believe in evolution??? now you have me querious...it's too bad that, as your song goes, we won't know because i'm right....or something like that...religion is man made...man made...organized religion changes it's rules when it suits them...well, i don't really want to get into religion that much, because i understand that some people do need a crutch to live their lives...i don't...unless you consider genessee a crutch...some do...i am not against your right to bear arms, i am not against your right to stay poor so the rich can get richer...i thought you right wingers were against government interfering in our lives, but at every turn, you guys want to jump in and tell me what i can and can't do with my life...don't get me wrong, i do believe in the religious foundation...it's "commandments"...i have never killed anyone...doesn't that one imply that you don't kill even in self defense...maybe i'm wrong...i have never f***** anyones wife...i have never f***** anyones girlfriend...might have wanted to a couple of times, but didn't...i do swear a lot...big deal...i try hard not to envy...not always easy...i do not lie...sometimes i don't tell the whole truth...sometimes that is neccessary...i have been known to embellish a story or two to make it funnier...well, i stand corrected then...i guess those are forms of lieing...big deal...i do treat people as i would like to be treated, even though i am not always treated the way i would like to be...i do not worhip false gods...and then again, i don't worship any...that's one thing that has always confused me...you are not supposed to worhip false gods, but why does every church have such ornate decorations in the forms of statues, etc....just wondering...i can't think of a time that i was a false witness against anyone...doesn't mean it hasn't happened...i just can't think of any...and ya know what...i am nice to people and no god has to tell me to do that...my two children are two of the nicest individuals you will ever meet and neither one of them has ever been to church...i guess i should tell you that i think my wife has some belief in a higher being, but i don't think it's too big a deal...she has the right to her beliefs...she does say that i will plead to god for my life on my deathbed...won't happen...never been afraid to die...although, i will admit that i don't really want to..."
Well, if you made it through that last diatribe, God bless you, even if my friend thinks He is made up. The previous exchange had included his belief that all of this killing was being done in the name of God - which I suppose in his book makes us just the same as the Muslim terrorists. You'll note that he does try to live by the 10 Commandments, just a long as they are not visible anywhere on public property I'm sure.
It was his intention to lecture me on the morality of killing. As I noted to him, killing in the defense of one's self, family or country is morally justifiable according to most standards of morality defined in this world. His accusation was that all of us who believe in God are the murderers; religion is the cause of all evil.
In answer to his question regarding abortion: yes, I do believe life begins at conception - it seems to me quite logical (oh, I forgot, logic is not important to liberals, only emotion) that it begins there, not at some mythological point in time determined by a group of those middle-aged white attorneys we call our legislators. No, I don't believe abortion is wrong when it is performed to save the life of the mother - what a terrible decision for anyone to have to make. Other than that, no, I don't think abortion is moral - it is simply a matter of convenience.
Here's a suggestion, an honest attempt to find middle ground. I would agree to never try to seek prohibiting an abortion as long as every woman who wanted one had to look at the fetus with GE's color imagery that's now available. There are millions out there who support the "right to choose", their euphemism for the slaughtering of innocents, because they've never seen a fetus go through the developmental stages. Many of the people who are "pro-choice" would never have an abortion, they just feel the woman's right is more important than the life of the fetus. In order to give that fetus a fighting chance, why not take a look at who, or for the sake of you who are kidding yourselves, what you are about to kill.
I'm sorry, but by any definition, the forced interruption of life is killing. So, my friend, when you're ready to defend the lives of the unborn, lecture me again on morality and the taking of life, but until then, your arguments hold no meaning to me whatsoever.
As to your inquiry regarding statues or other ornamentation in churches, there is no worship of false gods involved. Muslims don't believe in them at all - thus the recent outrage over the Mohammed cartoons. Catholics and other Judeo-Christian religions differ - some have no statues because they believe it to be idolatry, while others, like the Roman Catholic Church, of which I am a member, simple regard them as reminders and objects to help us recall various aspects of our beliefs. For us, there is only one God worthy of worship, no statues need apply.
"by now, you have probably stopped reading because i don't believe that you ever really think about what i say...i have an opion...a very well thought out opinion...just because you disaree with my opinions does not make them wrong...really...believe it or not...i am a patriot...you tell me to stop hiding my head...i don't hide my head...i am very well informed...i just disagree with many of your thoughts on certain subjects...i read the paper every day...i watch the news every day...yes, including fox...o'reily, et al...i listen and i think...and i do resent, at times, being told that i am wrong only because you believe something else...i am not wrong...these are my opinions...yes, they differ from yours in many ways...that doesn't make you a bad person...you just don't understand...that's all...maybe someday, you'll see the light...i highly doubt it...but that's part of what makes the world go round...isn't it....love you...ramblin' me...no, i never owned a fringed jacket....black sneakers...but no jacket"
What can I say. It's kind of like trying to read the Unabomber's Manifesto. My friend, I never stop reading and I always think about what you say. I disregard some of it because you're only regurgitating tired slogans from a liberal handbook that has been out of date since 9-11. When I challenge you to think and get your head out of the sand, I suppose it serves no real purpose unless you're willing to think outside of your paradigm.
Quite simply, I think you see the threat, you know the extent to which they can hurt us, but your all encompassing hatred of George Bush prohibits you from honestly assessing the impact of cutting and running in Iraq.
My apologies to all for this lengthy retort, but because I do honor ALL AMERICANS, regardless of their political persuasion, I felt it was necessary. As far as my seeing the light, my biggest fear is that if this nation again falls asleep, if we fail to perform our role as the leader of the free world, the only light we'll be seeing will be the incredible brilliance of a nuclear explosion.
Who knows, we may not be able to prevent it, but we surely will experience it if we decide to run away and expect our shores to protect us. The world doesn't work like that anymore.
In that simple, six word sentence, you can learn a lot about how liberals operate.
The implication is that if you're not a liberal, you don't want to help people, you only want to start wars, ruin the environment and stop women from practicing their God-given right to infanticide. It sounds more like an answer to a question in a Miss Universe pageant than an intellectually honest answer for promoting socialism.
On the other hand, I have another liberal friend who would probably consider me the Anti-Christ, if he believed in God that is. I received a rather lengthy missive from him the other day and promised a response as time permitted. The lack of punctuation, capitalization and the language are all his, not mine, and his quotes are in italics:
"for your information, i don't drink coo-aid....nor do i believe most of what you right wing, conservative, george w bush loving, neo-nazi, dopes spew out on a daily basis...i am not as liberal as you think...you brain washed mother ******...you want to know what i think we should do with the terrorists!!! then i'll tell you, first...we get out of iraq and stop getting our young men and women killed...and stop killing thousands of innocent iraqis...then we hunt down the terrorists, where ever they may be...and kill them...and i mean, where ever they are...i think we should take a page from isreal's book and send elite teams out to hunt and kill terrorists."
I did take time for a quick reply the other day, the results of which were that he agrees that Al Quaeda is now in Iraq, but they weren't there before we went in. So here's our first juncture and question to any liberals who care to reply: Even if we are naive enough to assume that not one, single member of Al Quaeda was ever in Iraq prior to our entrance, if they are there now, shouldn't we be fighting them there? You hear the Democrat politicians' mantra - get out of Iraq, redeploy the troops (where they're redeployed to depends on who's doing the running away) and fight Al Quaeda in Afghanistan.
If there were any intellectual honesty with anyone other than Sen. Joe Liberman amongst the Democrat Party, they would simply come out and tell you this:
"We are against the war in Iraq because George Bush is President - if Bill Clinton were President, we'd support it." Any Democrat who tells you otherwise is being quite disingenuous, or like Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, they truly believe there is never a reason to go to war. For those of you who hated social studies, she was the only US Senator to vote AGAINST going to war with Japan after their attack on Pearl Harbor.
Other than that, I am in full agreement as to emulating Israel and their approach to terrorism.
"do you hear me now....while we deplete our young men and women in iraq, terrorists roam fairly freely all over the world...what a recruiting effort we have launched for the terrorists...we kill thousands of innocent iraqi citizens in the name of god, freedom and the american way...and we wonder why muslims find it kinda hard to love us...besides, we don't have the resourses to deal with the real terroists while we have our troops, who are mostly national guard divisions who should be home guarding us, tied up in an unwinable war...yes, unwinable...maybe we should stop sending our young to die and start sending old f****, like you and me...i will say it one more time...staying in iraq will accomplish nothing more than more american and iraqis dieing, and in the end...that part of the world will be right back where it was when all the bloodshed started....we have had a history of supporting dictators who used any means necessary to stay in power and down the road, we always seem to have to backtrack and pretend we didn't know....bulls***..."
It's kind of hard to know where to begin on that ramble, but let's give it a shot
Terrorists roaming all over the world...a recruiting effort we have launched ...killing thousands of Iraqi's in the name of god (his lower case, not mine)etc...
Terrorists are all around the world and they are Muslims. We did not create their fanaticism, their religion has done that. Anyone other than a hermit in a cave knows that this war began a long time ago, not on 9-11, and the thousands of Iraqi's that have been killed have been killed mostly by terrorists, not by us. If you're like Rep. John Murtha, you convict our soldiers of crimes before any evidence is presented because it serves your political agenda. However, if you're really interested in how our soldiers try and conduct themselves, go to this link and read Gen. Petraeus' letter to the troops about how they are to conduct themselves in combat:
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/values-message.htm
Unwinable war ... it's only unwinable if you quit. We are treated daily to the same old "sectarian warfare", "it's a civil war", "it hasn't changed in 2000 years". It sounds kind of like a 9 year old who doesn't want to go to bed and is coming up with every excuse they can dream of.
If you are Al Quaeda, you are performing exactly to plan. Stir up the hatred between Sunnis and Shiite, blow up as many soldiers and innocent civilians as you can, and then sit back and wait for the whining, spineless Americans to leave. Regardless of the fact that terrorism will flourish and grow once we get out, let's go because that's how we stick it to George.
Don't worry about Iran and the 3000 centrifuges that are now pumping out the materials with which they will try to construct their nuclear arsenal - we'll just let negotiations and diplomacy take care of that - it's worked out so well with North Korea you know.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend - apparently this little pearl of geopolitical wisdom has escaped my friends attention as regards who we support in the world. Is the President of Pakistan a real tree hugging liberal who stands firmly in support of human rights? Not by a long shot, but since he's willing to help us, albeit not as forcefully as we might like, we will continue to support him.
Personally, I prefer to look at history as a means to understand current situations, not an opportunity to bash America, white men, Judeo-Christian principles, or whatever other American institution George Soros has decided would not fit well in his socialist America.
"let's see...canada, france, germany??? what policy changes have you seen since harper, sarkozy and your buddy merkel have taken office...they have all been in office for over a year now and i don't see any more troops in afghanistan or iraq...i don't see any changes in the populists opinions of america or americans...no trade changes...mostly, they seem to want to pass laws so that companys can fire people and make them work more hours in a week...i'll grant you that french and german workers can't be made to work more than 35 hours a week, but...."
I had made an observation that Canada, Germany, and most recently France, have elected conservative leaders. Howard in Australia and most of the Eastern European countries have conservative leaders and troops in Afghanistan. Although my friend can see no changes (kind of soon for France don't you think?), the changes will come because people around the world are starting to understand that this is a World War. It is struggle between the forces of freedom and democracy against the kind of intolerance conservatives are so often accused of. Muslim fanaticism knows no boundaries and has no central location - a fact that makes this war so difficult for many people to understand.
I am in total agreement with the Democrat Party on one aspect of this effort - President Bush has done a totally inept job of explaining why it is so important for us to be there.
"and as far as my 'christian' comments...i stand by them...how you can justifiy this many people dieing is more than i can comprehend...defense of country...maybe if we stayed out of a few peoples affiairs, we might not have to do this...and don't even go there...i understand that we will defend ourselves, but should it be at the expense of others?...and, if i read you right, and please correct me if i am wrong...you do not believe in the right of a woman to choose, under any circustances...and this is because life begins at conception??? i happen to have a different opinion...do you believe in evolution??? now you have me querious...it's too bad that, as your song goes, we won't know because i'm right....or something like that...religion is man made...man made...organized religion changes it's rules when it suits them...well, i don't really want to get into religion that much, because i understand that some people do need a crutch to live their lives...i don't...unless you consider genessee a crutch...some do...i am not against your right to bear arms, i am not against your right to stay poor so the rich can get richer...i thought you right wingers were against government interfering in our lives, but at every turn, you guys want to jump in and tell me what i can and can't do with my life...don't get me wrong, i do believe in the religious foundation...it's "commandments"...i have never killed anyone...doesn't that one imply that you don't kill even in self defense...maybe i'm wrong...i have never f***** anyones wife...i have never f***** anyones girlfriend...might have wanted to a couple of times, but didn't...i do swear a lot...big deal...i try hard not to envy...not always easy...i do not lie...sometimes i don't tell the whole truth...sometimes that is neccessary...i have been known to embellish a story or two to make it funnier...well, i stand corrected then...i guess those are forms of lieing...big deal...i do treat people as i would like to be treated, even though i am not always treated the way i would like to be...i do not worhip false gods...and then again, i don't worship any...that's one thing that has always confused me...you are not supposed to worhip false gods, but why does every church have such ornate decorations in the forms of statues, etc....just wondering...i can't think of a time that i was a false witness against anyone...doesn't mean it hasn't happened...i just can't think of any...and ya know what...i am nice to people and no god has to tell me to do that...my two children are two of the nicest individuals you will ever meet and neither one of them has ever been to church...i guess i should tell you that i think my wife has some belief in a higher being, but i don't think it's too big a deal...she has the right to her beliefs...she does say that i will plead to god for my life on my deathbed...won't happen...never been afraid to die...although, i will admit that i don't really want to..."
Well, if you made it through that last diatribe, God bless you, even if my friend thinks He is made up. The previous exchange had included his belief that all of this killing was being done in the name of God - which I suppose in his book makes us just the same as the Muslim terrorists. You'll note that he does try to live by the 10 Commandments, just a long as they are not visible anywhere on public property I'm sure.
It was his intention to lecture me on the morality of killing. As I noted to him, killing in the defense of one's self, family or country is morally justifiable according to most standards of morality defined in this world. His accusation was that all of us who believe in God are the murderers; religion is the cause of all evil.
In answer to his question regarding abortion: yes, I do believe life begins at conception - it seems to me quite logical (oh, I forgot, logic is not important to liberals, only emotion) that it begins there, not at some mythological point in time determined by a group of those middle-aged white attorneys we call our legislators. No, I don't believe abortion is wrong when it is performed to save the life of the mother - what a terrible decision for anyone to have to make. Other than that, no, I don't think abortion is moral - it is simply a matter of convenience.
Here's a suggestion, an honest attempt to find middle ground. I would agree to never try to seek prohibiting an abortion as long as every woman who wanted one had to look at the fetus with GE's color imagery that's now available. There are millions out there who support the "right to choose", their euphemism for the slaughtering of innocents, because they've never seen a fetus go through the developmental stages. Many of the people who are "pro-choice" would never have an abortion, they just feel the woman's right is more important than the life of the fetus. In order to give that fetus a fighting chance, why not take a look at who, or for the sake of you who are kidding yourselves, what you are about to kill.
I'm sorry, but by any definition, the forced interruption of life is killing. So, my friend, when you're ready to defend the lives of the unborn, lecture me again on morality and the taking of life, but until then, your arguments hold no meaning to me whatsoever.
As to your inquiry regarding statues or other ornamentation in churches, there is no worship of false gods involved. Muslims don't believe in them at all - thus the recent outrage over the Mohammed cartoons. Catholics and other Judeo-Christian religions differ - some have no statues because they believe it to be idolatry, while others, like the Roman Catholic Church, of which I am a member, simple regard them as reminders and objects to help us recall various aspects of our beliefs. For us, there is only one God worthy of worship, no statues need apply.
"by now, you have probably stopped reading because i don't believe that you ever really think about what i say...i have an opion...a very well thought out opinion...just because you disaree with my opinions does not make them wrong...really...believe it or not...i am a patriot...you tell me to stop hiding my head...i don't hide my head...i am very well informed...i just disagree with many of your thoughts on certain subjects...i read the paper every day...i watch the news every day...yes, including fox...o'reily, et al...i listen and i think...and i do resent, at times, being told that i am wrong only because you believe something else...i am not wrong...these are my opinions...yes, they differ from yours in many ways...that doesn't make you a bad person...you just don't understand...that's all...maybe someday, you'll see the light...i highly doubt it...but that's part of what makes the world go round...isn't it....love you...ramblin' me...no, i never owned a fringed jacket....black sneakers...but no jacket"
What can I say. It's kind of like trying to read the Unabomber's Manifesto. My friend, I never stop reading and I always think about what you say. I disregard some of it because you're only regurgitating tired slogans from a liberal handbook that has been out of date since 9-11. When I challenge you to think and get your head out of the sand, I suppose it serves no real purpose unless you're willing to think outside of your paradigm.
Quite simply, I think you see the threat, you know the extent to which they can hurt us, but your all encompassing hatred of George Bush prohibits you from honestly assessing the impact of cutting and running in Iraq.
My apologies to all for this lengthy retort, but because I do honor ALL AMERICANS, regardless of their political persuasion, I felt it was necessary. As far as my seeing the light, my biggest fear is that if this nation again falls asleep, if we fail to perform our role as the leader of the free world, the only light we'll be seeing will be the incredible brilliance of a nuclear explosion.
Who knows, we may not be able to prevent it, but we surely will experience it if we decide to run away and expect our shores to protect us. The world doesn't work like that anymore.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Did St. Paul Ever Meet A Socialist?
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (NRSV)
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
It would be difficult for anyone to say so much in 276 words, but St. Paul does quite a job when writing to the folks in Corinth. When I find that my frustration with socialists and liberals reaches migraine proportions, I have to try and remember to read these words.
Just look at the first paragraph. When I listen to those whose separation fixation leads them to ban the Ten Commandments from a courthouse lobby, or anyone from the ACLU on any topic, I have to try and remember that without love, even if I believe I am right, then how can I be anything other than a "noisy gong". So that means for the sake of my eternal soul, I have to love the whack-jobs in the freakin' ACLU!
This being a Christian stuff just keeps getting harder.
As long as I keep love in my heart, I can even stomach the French. I've decided to capitalize the "F" again since Sarkozy was elected. Conservative leaders now in Canada, Australia, Germany, France - soon in Britain after my Uncle Tony steps down ... damn that George Bush for setting such a poor example and making our allies hate us. I wonder who it was that Mr. Heinz-Kerry was speaking to about how they didn't want George elected? Probably good old Jack Sherack, the back-stabbin', no good, ... I'm sorry Jacques, I forgive you. Why, in a purely Christian sense, I love you old bean.
Now the second paragraph, I'm having a real difficult time seeing Al Franken in their anywhere, or Bill Mahr. They would not aspire to this concept because to them, religion is the "opiate of the masses". So now I have to be patient, kind, never boastful, arrogant or rude.
You can stop laughing now.
Let's just get to paragraph three. "Love never ends." I'm certainly okay with that one. With those that you truly love: mother, father, husband, wife, child, sibling, the love can be tested, even broken, but it never ends.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.
I'm sorry, some things are just too easy and too obvious, so I'll let that one pass without further comment.
"And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."
I have faith that the American people will make the right choices when presented with the truth; I have hope that we can find a way to work more closely together towards common goals, and I love this country and what it stands for.
Those sentiments are, of course, secondary to God and Family.
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
It would be difficult for anyone to say so much in 276 words, but St. Paul does quite a job when writing to the folks in Corinth. When I find that my frustration with socialists and liberals reaches migraine proportions, I have to try and remember to read these words.
Just look at the first paragraph. When I listen to those whose separation fixation leads them to ban the Ten Commandments from a courthouse lobby, or anyone from the ACLU on any topic, I have to try and remember that without love, even if I believe I am right, then how can I be anything other than a "noisy gong". So that means for the sake of my eternal soul, I have to love the whack-jobs in the freakin' ACLU!
This being a Christian stuff just keeps getting harder.
As long as I keep love in my heart, I can even stomach the French. I've decided to capitalize the "F" again since Sarkozy was elected. Conservative leaders now in Canada, Australia, Germany, France - soon in Britain after my Uncle Tony steps down ... damn that George Bush for setting such a poor example and making our allies hate us. I wonder who it was that Mr. Heinz-Kerry was speaking to about how they didn't want George elected? Probably good old Jack Sherack, the back-stabbin', no good, ... I'm sorry Jacques, I forgive you. Why, in a purely Christian sense, I love you old bean.
Now the second paragraph, I'm having a real difficult time seeing Al Franken in their anywhere, or Bill Mahr. They would not aspire to this concept because to them, religion is the "opiate of the masses". So now I have to be patient, kind, never boastful, arrogant or rude.
You can stop laughing now.
Let's just get to paragraph three. "Love never ends." I'm certainly okay with that one. With those that you truly love: mother, father, husband, wife, child, sibling, the love can be tested, even broken, but it never ends.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.
I'm sorry, some things are just too easy and too obvious, so I'll let that one pass without further comment.
"And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."
I have faith that the American people will make the right choices when presented with the truth; I have hope that we can find a way to work more closely together towards common goals, and I love this country and what it stands for.
Those sentiments are, of course, secondary to God and Family.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
White Tie & Tails - The Speech He Should Have Given
If for no other reason, I like George Bush because the white-tie affair for the Queen of England the other night was the first such event of his Presidency. But even better than that, I loved his little jab at the Queen and the reference to her touring the country since the 1776.
My liberal friends who still think George Bush is an idiot considered it another faux pas, while I, on the other hand, believe that he did it on purpose. If he didn't, that little wink to the Queen and her icy stare in return were unrehearsed moments that pretty much summarize our relationship with Great Britain: We may get a little testy with each other now and then, but our friendship is one that will withstand the test of time.
The pretentiousness that is normally associated with any politician is noticeably missing in President Bush - maybe that's why so many people think he's "dumb". That, and the fact that he often has a difficult time with the English language. Even with other's writing their speeches, there are just some folks who will never be great orators, while other's can speak off the top of their heads and sound like Einstein on a good day.
What follows below is an email that I received the other day from Ranger Bob. It is a speech that many feel the President should give:
The Speech George W. Bush Should Give:
Normally, I start these things out by saying "My Fellow Americans." Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don't know who more than half of you are any longer. I do know something terrible has happened, and that you're really not "fellow Americans" any longer.
I'll cut right to the chase here: I quit!!!
Now before anyone gets all in a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution or something, let me assure you: there's been no breaking of laws or impeachable offenses in this office.
The reason I'm quitting is simple: I'm fed up with you people.
I'm fed up because you have no understanding of what's really going on in the world. Or of what's going on in this once-great nation of ours. And the majority of you are too damned lazy to do your homework and figure it out.
Let's start local. You've been sold a bill of goods by politicians and the news media. Polls show that the majority of you think the economy is in the tank. And that's despite there being a record number of homeowners including a record number of MINORITY homeowners. And, while we're mentioning minorities, I'll point out that minority business ownership is at an all-time high.
Our unemployment rate is as low as it ever was during the Clinton Administration. I've mentioned all those things before, but it doesn't seem to have sunk in.
Despite the shock of 9/11 to our economy, the stock market has rebounded to record levels and more Americans than ever are participating in these markets.
Meanwhile, all you can do is whine about gas prices, and most of you are too stupid to realize that gas prices are high because there's increased demand in other parts of the world, and because a small handful of noisy idiots are more worried about polar bears and beachfront property than economic security.
We face real threats in the world. Don't give me this "blood for oil" crap. If I was trading blood for oil, I would've already seized Iraq's oil fields and let the rest of the country go to hell. And don't give me this "Bush Lied, People Died" crap either.
If I was the liar you morons take me for, I could've easily had chemical weapons planted in Iraq so they could be "discovered." Instead, I owned up to the fact that the intelligence was faulty. Let me remind you that the rest of the world thought Saddam had the goods, same as me. Let me also remind you that regime change in Iraq was official US policy before I came into office. Some guy named "Clinton" established that policy. Bet you didn't know that, did you?
You idiots need to understand that we face a unique enemy. Back during the cold war, there were two major competing political and economic models squaring off. We won that war, but we did so because, fundamentally, the Communists wanted to survive, just as we do. We were simply able to outspend and out-tech them.
That's not the case this time. The soldiers of our new enemy don't care if they survive. In fact, they want to die. That'd be fine, as long as they weren't also committed to taking as many of you with them as they can. But they are. They want to kill you. And the bastards are all over the globe.
You should be grateful that they haven't gotten any more of us here in the United States since September 11. But you're not. That's because you've got no idea how hard a small number of intelligence, military, law enforcement and homeland security people have worked to make sure of that.
When this whole mess started, I warned you that this would be a long and difficult fight. I'm disappointed in how many of you people believe that "a long and difficult fight" amounts to a single season of "Survivor."
Instead, you've grown impatient. You're incapable of seeing things through the long lens of history, the way our enemies do. You think that wars should last a few months, a few years, tops.
Making matters worse, you actively support those who help the enemy. Every time you buy the New York Times, every time you send a donation to a cut-and-run Democrat's political campaign, well you might just as well Fedex a grenade launcher to a Jihadist. It amounts to the same thing.
In this day and age, it's easy enough to find the truth. It's all over the Internet. It just isn't on the pages of the New York Times or on NBC News. But even if it were, I doubt you'd be any smarter. Most of you would rather watch American Idol.
I could say more about your expectations that the government will always be there to bail you out, even if you're too stupid to leave a city that's below sea level as a monster hurricane is approaching. I could say more about your insane belief that government, not your own wallet, is where the money comes from. But I've come to the conclusion that were I to do so, it would sail right over your heads.
So I quit. I'm going back to Crawford. I've got an energy-efficient house down there (Al Gore could only dream of one like it) and the capability to be fully self-sufficient. No one ever heard of Crawford before I got elected, and as soon as I'm done here pretty much no one will ever hear of it again, I hope.
Maybe I'll be lucky enough to die of old age before the last pillars of America fall.
Oh, and by the way, Cheney's quitting too. That means Pelosi is your new President. You asked for it. Watch what she does carefully, because I still have a glimmer of hope that there's just enough of you remaining who are smart enough to turn this thing around in 2008.
So, that's it. God bless what's left of America. Some of you know what I mean.
The rest of you: Buzz off.
Unfortunately, we know all too well what that means. If we could only get the liberals to move to Canada, they could have their socialist Nirvana, spend nothing on defense and let us protect them. Kind of like what we're doing now, only without having to listen to them whine. CBS/NBC/ABC/CNN/NY Times/PMSNBC - they could join the CBC as another media outlet only the lemmings watch.
We will have to keep a token liberal or two for comedic relief, but other than that, can you imagine anything better than Pelosi, Murtha, Kennedy, Bubba & Sow all going north and becoming Canucks?
Who said heaven on earth is impossible?
My liberal friends who still think George Bush is an idiot considered it another faux pas, while I, on the other hand, believe that he did it on purpose. If he didn't, that little wink to the Queen and her icy stare in return were unrehearsed moments that pretty much summarize our relationship with Great Britain: We may get a little testy with each other now and then, but our friendship is one that will withstand the test of time.
The pretentiousness that is normally associated with any politician is noticeably missing in President Bush - maybe that's why so many people think he's "dumb". That, and the fact that he often has a difficult time with the English language. Even with other's writing their speeches, there are just some folks who will never be great orators, while other's can speak off the top of their heads and sound like Einstein on a good day.
What follows below is an email that I received the other day from Ranger Bob. It is a speech that many feel the President should give:
The Speech George W. Bush Should Give:
Normally, I start these things out by saying "My Fellow Americans." Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don't know who more than half of you are any longer. I do know something terrible has happened, and that you're really not "fellow Americans" any longer.
I'll cut right to the chase here: I quit!!!
Now before anyone gets all in a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution or something, let me assure you: there's been no breaking of laws or impeachable offenses in this office.
The reason I'm quitting is simple: I'm fed up with you people.
I'm fed up because you have no understanding of what's really going on in the world. Or of what's going on in this once-great nation of ours. And the majority of you are too damned lazy to do your homework and figure it out.
Let's start local. You've been sold a bill of goods by politicians and the news media. Polls show that the majority of you think the economy is in the tank. And that's despite there being a record number of homeowners including a record number of MINORITY homeowners. And, while we're mentioning minorities, I'll point out that minority business ownership is at an all-time high.
Our unemployment rate is as low as it ever was during the Clinton Administration. I've mentioned all those things before, but it doesn't seem to have sunk in.
Despite the shock of 9/11 to our economy, the stock market has rebounded to record levels and more Americans than ever are participating in these markets.
Meanwhile, all you can do is whine about gas prices, and most of you are too stupid to realize that gas prices are high because there's increased demand in other parts of the world, and because a small handful of noisy idiots are more worried about polar bears and beachfront property than economic security.
We face real threats in the world. Don't give me this "blood for oil" crap. If I was trading blood for oil, I would've already seized Iraq's oil fields and let the rest of the country go to hell. And don't give me this "Bush Lied, People Died" crap either.
If I was the liar you morons take me for, I could've easily had chemical weapons planted in Iraq so they could be "discovered." Instead, I owned up to the fact that the intelligence was faulty. Let me remind you that the rest of the world thought Saddam had the goods, same as me. Let me also remind you that regime change in Iraq was official US policy before I came into office. Some guy named "Clinton" established that policy. Bet you didn't know that, did you?
You idiots need to understand that we face a unique enemy. Back during the cold war, there were two major competing political and economic models squaring off. We won that war, but we did so because, fundamentally, the Communists wanted to survive, just as we do. We were simply able to outspend and out-tech them.
That's not the case this time. The soldiers of our new enemy don't care if they survive. In fact, they want to die. That'd be fine, as long as they weren't also committed to taking as many of you with them as they can. But they are. They want to kill you. And the bastards are all over the globe.
You should be grateful that they haven't gotten any more of us here in the United States since September 11. But you're not. That's because you've got no idea how hard a small number of intelligence, military, law enforcement and homeland security people have worked to make sure of that.
When this whole mess started, I warned you that this would be a long and difficult fight. I'm disappointed in how many of you people believe that "a long and difficult fight" amounts to a single season of "Survivor."
Instead, you've grown impatient. You're incapable of seeing things through the long lens of history, the way our enemies do. You think that wars should last a few months, a few years, tops.
Making matters worse, you actively support those who help the enemy. Every time you buy the New York Times, every time you send a donation to a cut-and-run Democrat's political campaign, well you might just as well Fedex a grenade launcher to a Jihadist. It amounts to the same thing.
In this day and age, it's easy enough to find the truth. It's all over the Internet. It just isn't on the pages of the New York Times or on NBC News. But even if it were, I doubt you'd be any smarter. Most of you would rather watch American Idol.
I could say more about your expectations that the government will always be there to bail you out, even if you're too stupid to leave a city that's below sea level as a monster hurricane is approaching. I could say more about your insane belief that government, not your own wallet, is where the money comes from. But I've come to the conclusion that were I to do so, it would sail right over your heads.
So I quit. I'm going back to Crawford. I've got an energy-efficient house down there (Al Gore could only dream of one like it) and the capability to be fully self-sufficient. No one ever heard of Crawford before I got elected, and as soon as I'm done here pretty much no one will ever hear of it again, I hope.
Maybe I'll be lucky enough to die of old age before the last pillars of America fall.
Oh, and by the way, Cheney's quitting too. That means Pelosi is your new President. You asked for it. Watch what she does carefully, because I still have a glimmer of hope that there's just enough of you remaining who are smart enough to turn this thing around in 2008.
So, that's it. God bless what's left of America. Some of you know what I mean.
The rest of you: Buzz off.
Unfortunately, we know all too well what that means. If we could only get the liberals to move to Canada, they could have their socialist Nirvana, spend nothing on defense and let us protect them. Kind of like what we're doing now, only without having to listen to them whine. CBS/NBC/ABC/CNN/NY Times/PMSNBC - they could join the CBC as another media outlet only the lemmings watch.
We will have to keep a token liberal or two for comedic relief, but other than that, can you imagine anything better than Pelosi, Murtha, Kennedy, Bubba & Sow all going north and becoming Canucks?
Who said heaven on earth is impossible?
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
The Farfur Club
To all of the geopolitical geniuses who suggest that negotiation and diplomacy are the means by which we will end the War on Terror, might I suggest you take a trip down memory lane with me.
Even as a senior at Lowville Academy in the year of our Lord 1969, at the age of 17, I could be found on the front steps of the school singing "The Mickey Mouse Club" theme song. No, I was not on any special medication, it was just a gathering of young people who liked to sit on the front steps of the school and sing. This would be on a Friday night - it wasn't like we were trying to impress anyone, we were just having fun.
The lyrics, in case you've forgotten, are:
Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You're as welcome as can be
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse!
Mickey Mouse!
Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!
Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse club
We'll have fun
We'll be new faces
High! High! High! High!
We'll do things and
We'll go places
All around the world
We'll go marching
Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You're as welcome as can be
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse!
Mickey Mouse!
Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!
Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Then, at the very end, you'd hear:
M-I-C See you real soon
K-E-Y Why, because we like you
M-O-U-S-E
What does this have to do with geopolitics?
Farfur is the name of the Mickey Mouse rip off that now sings and dances on Palestinian TV. Sponsored by Hamas, teaching and preaching hatred for Israel and the United States is slipped right in along with all the good stuff you'd normally try to teach kids with a TV show, so the kids don't even realize the insanity they're being committed to.
If you do a Google search, you can already find Palestinian-apologists who say this is a totally made up story because someone took the time to alter a photo and make it look like Farfur is holding an AK-47. However, when the BBC, CNN and other liberal mouthpieces pick up the story, I'm inclined to believe it.
As members of this planet, it is every parents job to raise their children to become contributing citizens. When you strap explosives on a child and teach them from an early age that martyrdom is to be embraced, just exactly where do you begin the negotiations.
You may recall the snit that PBS got into a few weeks back because they didn't want to air a documentary on moderate Muslims and why they are afraid to speak out. Far be it from PBS, the voice of liberal America that all taxpayers subsidize, to provide Americans with an explanation to a question that has reverberated since 9-11: If there are so many Muslims who reject jihad, who reject terrorism, who reject the slaughter of innocent civilians, just where in the hell are they? Why are their voices silent?
It's not like you need a PBS special to answer that question, but it would have been nice to see them doing something other than the usual liberal claptrap they assault us with. When I want an entertaining hour or two of Americans pissing and moaning about how bad we are and what an evil we are in the world, I'll be sure to tune in and listen to Bill Moyers and Uncle Waltie Cronkite take a dump on America. Even Austin City Limits doesn't make up for the liberal indoctrination we are normally subjected to.
The "moderate" Muslims are silent for two reasons:
1.) They are scared witless because they know that if they open their mouths, they and their families will be treated to the 13th Century justice of Sharia Law
2.) There aren't that many of them to begin with - most of them want us dead and they rejoice anytime an American or Israeli is killed
If you think I'm the only one worried about this, just take a look at recent elections in Europe. Merkel in Germany, Sarkozy in France - what do you know, "Old Europe" is starting to wake up to the fact that the War on Terror involves them, whether they like it or not. It poses an even greater threat to Europe because they've never tried to integrate their minorities. Socialism and political correctness are the allies of terrorism, and Europe has more than enough of each to go around.
I am encouraged and relieved on one point however: At least this hate filled show did not have anyone trying to imitate Annette Funicello. Had they done so, a liberation army of males over the age of 55 who were once in love with her would have attacked Farfur and everyone associated with the hate-filled mouse.
Where's the D-Con when you need it?
Even as a senior at Lowville Academy in the year of our Lord 1969, at the age of 17, I could be found on the front steps of the school singing "The Mickey Mouse Club" theme song. No, I was not on any special medication, it was just a gathering of young people who liked to sit on the front steps of the school and sing. This would be on a Friday night - it wasn't like we were trying to impress anyone, we were just having fun.
The lyrics, in case you've forgotten, are:
Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You're as welcome as can be
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse!
Mickey Mouse!
Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!
Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse club
We'll have fun
We'll be new faces
High! High! High! High!
We'll do things and
We'll go places
All around the world
We'll go marching
Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You're as welcome as can be
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse!
Mickey Mouse!
Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!
Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Then, at the very end, you'd hear:
M-I-C See you real soon
K-E-Y Why, because we like you
M-O-U-S-E
What does this have to do with geopolitics?
Farfur is the name of the Mickey Mouse rip off that now sings and dances on Palestinian TV. Sponsored by Hamas, teaching and preaching hatred for Israel and the United States is slipped right in along with all the good stuff you'd normally try to teach kids with a TV show, so the kids don't even realize the insanity they're being committed to.
If you do a Google search, you can already find Palestinian-apologists who say this is a totally made up story because someone took the time to alter a photo and make it look like Farfur is holding an AK-47. However, when the BBC, CNN and other liberal mouthpieces pick up the story, I'm inclined to believe it.
As members of this planet, it is every parents job to raise their children to become contributing citizens. When you strap explosives on a child and teach them from an early age that martyrdom is to be embraced, just exactly where do you begin the negotiations.
You may recall the snit that PBS got into a few weeks back because they didn't want to air a documentary on moderate Muslims and why they are afraid to speak out. Far be it from PBS, the voice of liberal America that all taxpayers subsidize, to provide Americans with an explanation to a question that has reverberated since 9-11: If there are so many Muslims who reject jihad, who reject terrorism, who reject the slaughter of innocent civilians, just where in the hell are they? Why are their voices silent?
It's not like you need a PBS special to answer that question, but it would have been nice to see them doing something other than the usual liberal claptrap they assault us with. When I want an entertaining hour or two of Americans pissing and moaning about how bad we are and what an evil we are in the world, I'll be sure to tune in and listen to Bill Moyers and Uncle Waltie Cronkite take a dump on America. Even Austin City Limits doesn't make up for the liberal indoctrination we are normally subjected to.
The "moderate" Muslims are silent for two reasons:
1.) They are scared witless because they know that if they open their mouths, they and their families will be treated to the 13th Century justice of Sharia Law
2.) There aren't that many of them to begin with - most of them want us dead and they rejoice anytime an American or Israeli is killed
If you think I'm the only one worried about this, just take a look at recent elections in Europe. Merkel in Germany, Sarkozy in France - what do you know, "Old Europe" is starting to wake up to the fact that the War on Terror involves them, whether they like it or not. It poses an even greater threat to Europe because they've never tried to integrate their minorities. Socialism and political correctness are the allies of terrorism, and Europe has more than enough of each to go around.
I am encouraged and relieved on one point however: At least this hate filled show did not have anyone trying to imitate Annette Funicello. Had they done so, a liberation army of males over the age of 55 who were once in love with her would have attacked Farfur and everyone associated with the hate-filled mouse.
Where's the D-Con when you need it?
Monday, May 7, 2007
Tokyo Nancy - Senator Rodham & Friends
I received the following in an e-mail from a friend of mine in Florida:
Anyone who remembers anything about World War II, or has studied anything about World War II, will understand and remember that during World War II, the Japanese developed a way to demoralize the American forces. The Japanese psychological warfare experts developed a message they felt would work.
They gave their psychological warfare script to their famous broadcaster "Tokyo Rose" and every day she would broadcast this same message packaged in different ways, hoping it would have a negative impact on American GI's morale. What was that demoralizing message?
It had three main points:
1. Your President is lying to you.
2. This war is illegal.
3. You cannot win the war
Does this sound familiar?
Is it because---
Tokyo Hillary,
Tokyo Harry,
Tokyo Teddy,
Tokyo Nancy,
Tokyo Durbin,
Tokyo Kerry,
Tokyo Murtha,
Tokyo Barack Hussein Obama Jr,
etc. have all learned from the former enemies of our country and have picked up the same message and are broadcasting it on:
Tokyo CNN, Wolf Blitzer
Tokyo ABC, Charles Gibson
Tokyo CBS, Katie Couric
Tokyo NBC, Brian Williams / Tim Russert
etc., to our troops
The only difference is that they claim to support our troops before they try to demoralize them.
Come to think of it... Tokyo Rose told the American troops she was on their side, also.
Over the top? It sure is, but once you get past the bombast, you'll find an element of truth that is undeniable: If you want to assure that your efforts to undermine your country succeed, just follow the simple formula:
1. Your President is lying to you.
2. This war is illegal.
3. You cannot win the war
Sound familiar? If not, do a little research on the Democratic Congress that abandoned the Vietnamese and led to that famous photo of the chopper leaving the top of our embassy in Saigon. If there is one thing that all politicians have learned, it is this: Even if you're telling a lie, if you repeat it often enough, it becomes the truth in the minds of the uniformed masses (UM's).
Speaking of the UM's, I found it interesting that when addressing the burning issue of our time (Harry Reid - Iraq War, etc.), in the Journal & Republican and the Watertown Times, my letter regarding Harry Reid generated a total of 2 responses. One, from the parents of a soldier killed in Iraq, calling the war there immoral, and a responder from Carthage, who stated I had my facts wrong, and suggested that diplomacy and negotiation were the means by which we could resolve the Islamo-facist-terrorist (IFT's) situation.
Other than to thank them for the service of their son to our nation, I will not argue with the parents of someone who's child has died in Iraq. Having just lost a child myself, I understand all too well the pain they feel, and if they think the war is immoral, they are certainly entitled to their opinion - just like Cindy Sheehan is.
I will, however, take issue with the respondent from Carthage. You must be incredibly naive or incredibly stupid to think you can negotiate with IFT's. What don't you understand about their desire to convert or kill us? Point out the nation that we're supposed to negotiate with to disarm Al Quaida - what government do we ply our diplomacy on? If you'd like to wait until the United Nations does something about it, you might just as well put in your order for a turban right now.
One of the most popular concepts on the left, albeit idiotic, is that it is a civil war in Iraq, pure and simple, and we should leave.
Let's see - if I'm Al Quaida and I want to create a situation where all the whiny Americans have something to whine about, what do I do? I don't know, maybe blow up cars loaded with explosives, maybe even have a couple of children in the back to divert suspicion. Our intelligence reports indicate that the vast majority of these suicide bombers are from OUTSIDE of Iraq - not Iraqis! Even if the reverse were true, does that mean we should abandon a country struggling to find a democratic formula that works for them?
The blatant stupidity of the left is matched only by their innate duplicity. If it were Slick Willie sending the troops into Iraq, the Dem's would be 100% behind the effort. Here's the difference - most of the Republicans would be behind it as well. We didn't have UN approval to start bombing in the Baltics (immoral?), but for once in his life, President Bubba did something right and took action. Yes, I just praised Bill Clinton - don't get too used to it.
Now we have our beloved Senator Rodham proposing to rescind the congressional approval for the effort in Iraq. Is there nothing that this woman won't do to get elected? Every decision that woman has ever made, has been made with only one thought in mind: Will this help me to become President? From the moment she started screwing up a National Health Care Plan, anyone with eyes could see what her ultimate goal was. She may not be a "Stand By Your Man" kind of woman, but if it meant she would be elected President, she'd let Bubba wrestle naked, on live TV, in a bowl of steaming hot goulash with the Hungarian women's volleyball team.
The bottom line is quite simple - if you're a Rodham-ista, a Murtha-ite, or a Hemor-Reid (supposed to be a play on "hemorrhoid", but if you have to explain them, ...) you are a member of a group of people who, while claiming patriotism, are doing exactly what our enemy would like you to do - quit.
I'm sure there are those, like Margaret Chase Smith (the only vote against war with Japan after the Pearl Harbor attack), who will never think anything is worth going to war for - and that's fine - as long as you don't mind being a slave.
Anyone who remembers anything about World War II, or has studied anything about World War II, will understand and remember that during World War II, the Japanese developed a way to demoralize the American forces. The Japanese psychological warfare experts developed a message they felt would work.
They gave their psychological warfare script to their famous broadcaster "Tokyo Rose" and every day she would broadcast this same message packaged in different ways, hoping it would have a negative impact on American GI's morale. What was that demoralizing message?
It had three main points:
1. Your President is lying to you.
2. This war is illegal.
3. You cannot win the war
Does this sound familiar?
Is it because---
Tokyo Hillary,
Tokyo Harry,
Tokyo Teddy,
Tokyo Nancy,
Tokyo Durbin,
Tokyo Kerry,
Tokyo Murtha,
Tokyo Barack Hussein Obama Jr,
etc. have all learned from the former enemies of our country and have picked up the same message and are broadcasting it on:
Tokyo CNN, Wolf Blitzer
Tokyo ABC, Charles Gibson
Tokyo CBS, Katie Couric
Tokyo NBC, Brian Williams / Tim Russert
etc., to our troops
The only difference is that they claim to support our troops before they try to demoralize them.
Come to think of it... Tokyo Rose told the American troops she was on their side, also.
Over the top? It sure is, but once you get past the bombast, you'll find an element of truth that is undeniable: If you want to assure that your efforts to undermine your country succeed, just follow the simple formula:
1. Your President is lying to you.
2. This war is illegal.
3. You cannot win the war
Sound familiar? If not, do a little research on the Democratic Congress that abandoned the Vietnamese and led to that famous photo of the chopper leaving the top of our embassy in Saigon. If there is one thing that all politicians have learned, it is this: Even if you're telling a lie, if you repeat it often enough, it becomes the truth in the minds of the uniformed masses (UM's).
Speaking of the UM's, I found it interesting that when addressing the burning issue of our time (Harry Reid - Iraq War, etc.), in the Journal & Republican and the Watertown Times, my letter regarding Harry Reid generated a total of 2 responses. One, from the parents of a soldier killed in Iraq, calling the war there immoral, and a responder from Carthage, who stated I had my facts wrong, and suggested that diplomacy and negotiation were the means by which we could resolve the Islamo-facist-terrorist (IFT's) situation.
Other than to thank them for the service of their son to our nation, I will not argue with the parents of someone who's child has died in Iraq. Having just lost a child myself, I understand all too well the pain they feel, and if they think the war is immoral, they are certainly entitled to their opinion - just like Cindy Sheehan is.
I will, however, take issue with the respondent from Carthage. You must be incredibly naive or incredibly stupid to think you can negotiate with IFT's. What don't you understand about their desire to convert or kill us? Point out the nation that we're supposed to negotiate with to disarm Al Quaida - what government do we ply our diplomacy on? If you'd like to wait until the United Nations does something about it, you might just as well put in your order for a turban right now.
One of the most popular concepts on the left, albeit idiotic, is that it is a civil war in Iraq, pure and simple, and we should leave.
Let's see - if I'm Al Quaida and I want to create a situation where all the whiny Americans have something to whine about, what do I do? I don't know, maybe blow up cars loaded with explosives, maybe even have a couple of children in the back to divert suspicion. Our intelligence reports indicate that the vast majority of these suicide bombers are from OUTSIDE of Iraq - not Iraqis! Even if the reverse were true, does that mean we should abandon a country struggling to find a democratic formula that works for them?
The blatant stupidity of the left is matched only by their innate duplicity. If it were Slick Willie sending the troops into Iraq, the Dem's would be 100% behind the effort. Here's the difference - most of the Republicans would be behind it as well. We didn't have UN approval to start bombing in the Baltics (immoral?), but for once in his life, President Bubba did something right and took action. Yes, I just praised Bill Clinton - don't get too used to it.
Now we have our beloved Senator Rodham proposing to rescind the congressional approval for the effort in Iraq. Is there nothing that this woman won't do to get elected? Every decision that woman has ever made, has been made with only one thought in mind: Will this help me to become President? From the moment she started screwing up a National Health Care Plan, anyone with eyes could see what her ultimate goal was. She may not be a "Stand By Your Man" kind of woman, but if it meant she would be elected President, she'd let Bubba wrestle naked, on live TV, in a bowl of steaming hot goulash with the Hungarian women's volleyball team.
The bottom line is quite simple - if you're a Rodham-ista, a Murtha-ite, or a Hemor-Reid (supposed to be a play on "hemorrhoid", but if you have to explain them, ...) you are a member of a group of people who, while claiming patriotism, are doing exactly what our enemy would like you to do - quit.
I'm sure there are those, like Margaret Chase Smith (the only vote against war with Japan after the Pearl Harbor attack), who will never think anything is worth going to war for - and that's fine - as long as you don't mind being a slave.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Michael Yon & Uninformed Americans
"There is a side to this war that cannot be captured in any kind of statistics. The importance of personal relationships among the soldiers and their Iraqi counterparts cannot be captured in quick stories or numbers. A huge part of this war comes down to personal relationships and respect. It’s not about killing. That’s only a small part of it. It’s about building: building bonds that build societies. Giving Iraqi civilians a real alternative to those who create and then flee from civil havoc. Terrorists don’t pick up the trash on the way back from blowing up the electrical stations."
Quote from www.michaelyon-online.com
If you've never had the chance to check out any of Mike's postings, you've missed some of the best inside information that you'll ever get about what's going on in Iraq. An ex-soldier, Michael Yon has been in and out of Iraq since the start of the war and he offers a unique perspective that you won't get anywhere else. Unvarnished and forthright, his primary focus is our men and women in uniform, and he does a great job.
On the other end of the spectrum are millions of Americans. Those of us who really pay attention to what's going on in the world sometimes make the fallacious assumption that just about everyone else is like us - and we couldn't be more wrong.
I was having breakfast with my Dad at Lloyd's of Lowville yesterday. For those of you not familiar with Lowville, New York, Lloyd's has been a Lowville landmark for over 70 years, and they've been feeding folks and keeping them regular all that time. The quintessential "greasy spoon", breakfast at Lloyd's is an experience that should not be missed.
As we sipped our coffee, my father mentioned that he had seen my letter to the editor that was posted in last weeks' Journal & Republican, which you can read by going to "Harry Reid - A Man for All Treasons" - my first posting on this blog. Although the Journal did not keep my title, they did publish the letter as written. My father happened to mention the letter to a fellow county employee, who's reply was: "Who's Harry Reid?".
At that point, incredulity under control, my father explained that Mr. Reid was the Senate Majority Leader, and then the conversation continued. As a member of the US Marine contingent aboard the U.S.S. Iowa during WWII, Dad apparently did not believe in ear plugs, and apparently had his right ear towards those 16" guns when they fired. This is quite evident, because he can hear next to nothing out of his right ear. After years of encouraging him to contact the Veteran's Administration, he finally did so and will be going to Syracuse in the next few weeks to see what benefits are available to him.
This was the topic to which the conversation had turned, and my Dad made the point that since all of the uproar concerning "Walter Reed", he'd probably get speedy action on his claim. At this point, his co-worker replied, "Walter Reed - is he Harry Reid's brother?"
You can't make this stuff up.
When a society no longer cares about it's offspring (800,000+ abortions every year), when it ignores time-tested traditions that provide the foundation for the civilization (Gov. Spitzer & his gay-marriage bill), when elements in that society fail to remember the basis upon which they were founded (Judeo-Christian principles), when it's citizenry pays no attention to the issues facing them, that civilization will soon begin, or has already begun, its decline.
I truly believe that if we abandon the people of Iraq, the decline of America will be a fait accompli, and the leadership of the free world, if it still exists, will fall on the shoulders of another people. We will no longer deserve that mantel, as we will have proven to the world that America can not be trusted to stay the course and defend freedom. We will pass from pariah of radical Islam to a nation of little consequence, subject to the unending assault against our society, until we crumble and pass into history as a great concept that could not, or would not, sustain itself.
If I've accomplished nothing else in this life, I have raised children who are politically aware. They have been taught that reading is not only essential - it's fun! They know that voting is not only a right, it's a duty that must be performed with the power of knowledge. They have been taught to question and not take as gospel everything I tell them (not that they needed that instruction), and they know that goes double for politicians and triple for the media. They have a healthy disregard for authority; a disregard not for the law, but for those who would corrupt the essence of law for their own agendas(Specifically, the ACLU, perhaps a greater threat to America than radical Islam - more on that on a later date).
If you're reading this, chances are you are not one of the great, unwashed blivets that make up the ignorant portion of our society - Congratulations! (Blivet - as I'm sure most of you know, is defined as something annoying, ridiculous or useless - I define it as 5 pounds of bulls*** in a 3 pound bag).
Keep up the good work, stay informed and make sure you pass it on to your children, unless you relish the idea of becoming a third-rate-has-been nation.
Quote from www.michaelyon-online.com
If you've never had the chance to check out any of Mike's postings, you've missed some of the best inside information that you'll ever get about what's going on in Iraq. An ex-soldier, Michael Yon has been in and out of Iraq since the start of the war and he offers a unique perspective that you won't get anywhere else. Unvarnished and forthright, his primary focus is our men and women in uniform, and he does a great job.
On the other end of the spectrum are millions of Americans. Those of us who really pay attention to what's going on in the world sometimes make the fallacious assumption that just about everyone else is like us - and we couldn't be more wrong.
I was having breakfast with my Dad at Lloyd's of Lowville yesterday. For those of you not familiar with Lowville, New York, Lloyd's has been a Lowville landmark for over 70 years, and they've been feeding folks and keeping them regular all that time. The quintessential "greasy spoon", breakfast at Lloyd's is an experience that should not be missed.
As we sipped our coffee, my father mentioned that he had seen my letter to the editor that was posted in last weeks' Journal & Republican, which you can read by going to "Harry Reid - A Man for All Treasons" - my first posting on this blog. Although the Journal did not keep my title, they did publish the letter as written. My father happened to mention the letter to a fellow county employee, who's reply was: "Who's Harry Reid?".
At that point, incredulity under control, my father explained that Mr. Reid was the Senate Majority Leader, and then the conversation continued. As a member of the US Marine contingent aboard the U.S.S. Iowa during WWII, Dad apparently did not believe in ear plugs, and apparently had his right ear towards those 16" guns when they fired. This is quite evident, because he can hear next to nothing out of his right ear. After years of encouraging him to contact the Veteran's Administration, he finally did so and will be going to Syracuse in the next few weeks to see what benefits are available to him.
This was the topic to which the conversation had turned, and my Dad made the point that since all of the uproar concerning "Walter Reed", he'd probably get speedy action on his claim. At this point, his co-worker replied, "Walter Reed - is he Harry Reid's brother?"
You can't make this stuff up.
When a society no longer cares about it's offspring (800,000+ abortions every year), when it ignores time-tested traditions that provide the foundation for the civilization (Gov. Spitzer & his gay-marriage bill), when elements in that society fail to remember the basis upon which they were founded (Judeo-Christian principles), when it's citizenry pays no attention to the issues facing them, that civilization will soon begin, or has already begun, its decline.
I truly believe that if we abandon the people of Iraq, the decline of America will be a fait accompli, and the leadership of the free world, if it still exists, will fall on the shoulders of another people. We will no longer deserve that mantel, as we will have proven to the world that America can not be trusted to stay the course and defend freedom. We will pass from pariah of radical Islam to a nation of little consequence, subject to the unending assault against our society, until we crumble and pass into history as a great concept that could not, or would not, sustain itself.
If I've accomplished nothing else in this life, I have raised children who are politically aware. They have been taught that reading is not only essential - it's fun! They know that voting is not only a right, it's a duty that must be performed with the power of knowledge. They have been taught to question and not take as gospel everything I tell them (not that they needed that instruction), and they know that goes double for politicians and triple for the media. They have a healthy disregard for authority; a disregard not for the law, but for those who would corrupt the essence of law for their own agendas(Specifically, the ACLU, perhaps a greater threat to America than radical Islam - more on that on a later date).
If you're reading this, chances are you are not one of the great, unwashed blivets that make up the ignorant portion of our society - Congratulations! (Blivet - as I'm sure most of you know, is defined as something annoying, ridiculous or useless - I define it as 5 pounds of bulls*** in a 3 pound bag).
Keep up the good work, stay informed and make sure you pass it on to your children, unless you relish the idea of becoming a third-rate-has-been nation.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
White Privilege?
In case you missed the story last week, a Seattle high school sent 20 kids to a conference at the University of Colorado: "White Privilege Conference 8". It seems the $20,000 they planned to spend sending the kids was to come from a "No Child Left Behind" grant - not exactly what the money was intended for. A government spokesman indicated they would be speaking with school representatives, but no date has been set as yet.
As far as the $20,000 is concerned, I'm sure the government has spent that much for a toilet seat or a screw driver before, so that's no big deal.
The big deal is the ongoing, never-ending effort of the left to create divisions in the country that are politically advantageous to them. Class warfare, race warfare, religious vs. secular warfare - there is no issue too trivial, no issue too detrimental to our national welfare that they will not raise to heights of ridiculousness for their advantage.
I'd like to bring all of the privileged professors at the University of Colorado to upstate New York and ask them to run about pointing out all of the advantages of being white here in upstate New York.
To be fair, there is no denying the place that racism has occupied in our country since it's birth. Yes, perhaps some of our great grandparents owned slaves, but did you know that there were thousands of white people taken as slaves as well? Google it.
Does racism exist today? Of course - all you have to do is listen to the Rev. Sharpton for a few minutes and you'll see that racism knows no color - it is as innate in every human being as the desire to breath. Racism might better be described as a fear of the unknown that relates specifically to the skin color, origin of birth, religious affiliation, or any other characteristic upon which you wish to base your racism. It is the "unknown" that causes all the grief, and there are always those ready to exploit it at every opportunity.
As is the case with the War on Terrorism, there is no effort on the part of our liberal brethren to provide a solution, their only contribution is their usual Chicken Little approach: run around screaming that everything is going to hell on an express train and the only way to handle the situation is to jump off the train.
So, in Iraq we run up the white flag and run away, because there are no members of Al Qaeda in Iraq, it's only a sectarian war, so we need to tuck our tails between our legs and run back into our hidey-hole. Race - no problem - the white man has kept you down for so long that there's no way you can ever improve your life by yourself - you need big government and big labor to protect you against the evil capitalists. That, of course, leads us to class warfare, the keystone of the Democratic Party since the days of the Great Depression.
My father-in-law, like many people of his era, thinks that F.D.R. was the greatest President to ever live. You just need to overlook the fact that he was the closest thing this country has ever had to a dictator, and just concentrate on the fact that he brought us out of the depression by creating a welfare state that will eventually bankrupt this country. (It doesn't have to, it's just that our elected officials don't have the testicular fortitude to tackle the problem. Like kids doing homework on a Sunday evening, they'll wait until the last minute to come up with a half-assed solution.)
As long as we have people that continue to emphasize our differences, and the biased media that helps them promote their agenda, the split in America will only continue to widen.
Is there a solution? Sure - quite simple really.
1.) Lighten Up - as Sen. McCain suggested to Mortimer Murtha, get a life and lighten up. There are plenty of s*** sandwiches in this world, we all have to take a bite every now and then, so stop looking for bogeymen everywhere and try a tuna fish sandwich.
2.) Smarten Up - It is a phenomenon that takes place all around the world - people tend to hang out with the folks that most closely represent their views and experiences. It is the unknown that can cause fear and unjustified action, so take the time to learn more about who and what you don't know.
3.) Stand Up - Don't let the liberal gloom-and-doomers define the debate. Stand up, challenge, educate, debate, get involved! Inside of every liberal their is a mature adult trying to shake the adolescent defiance they've carried since they started growing body hair, so don't give up on them. Even if they are wrong, they're still Americans, even if they are handicapped by their adolescent paradigm.
There is another approach we might take, as was suggested at the end of the Civil War, that might make the Rev.'s Sharpton & Jackson go away. We can take funding out of education to make sure that every person of color gets 40 acres of government land and a mule. They can then sell the land back to the government at twice it's value, and sell all the mules to the Democrats so that they never run out of party symbols, and they never run out of mule s*** - you know, the stuff that they use to construct their party platform.
White privilege? I don't know about that, but I do know one thing - we are ALL privileged to be Americans - every thing else is secondary.
As far as the $20,000 is concerned, I'm sure the government has spent that much for a toilet seat or a screw driver before, so that's no big deal.
The big deal is the ongoing, never-ending effort of the left to create divisions in the country that are politically advantageous to them. Class warfare, race warfare, religious vs. secular warfare - there is no issue too trivial, no issue too detrimental to our national welfare that they will not raise to heights of ridiculousness for their advantage.
I'd like to bring all of the privileged professors at the University of Colorado to upstate New York and ask them to run about pointing out all of the advantages of being white here in upstate New York.
To be fair, there is no denying the place that racism has occupied in our country since it's birth. Yes, perhaps some of our great grandparents owned slaves, but did you know that there were thousands of white people taken as slaves as well? Google it.
Does racism exist today? Of course - all you have to do is listen to the Rev. Sharpton for a few minutes and you'll see that racism knows no color - it is as innate in every human being as the desire to breath. Racism might better be described as a fear of the unknown that relates specifically to the skin color, origin of birth, religious affiliation, or any other characteristic upon which you wish to base your racism. It is the "unknown" that causes all the grief, and there are always those ready to exploit it at every opportunity.
As is the case with the War on Terrorism, there is no effort on the part of our liberal brethren to provide a solution, their only contribution is their usual Chicken Little approach: run around screaming that everything is going to hell on an express train and the only way to handle the situation is to jump off the train.
So, in Iraq we run up the white flag and run away, because there are no members of Al Qaeda in Iraq, it's only a sectarian war, so we need to tuck our tails between our legs and run back into our hidey-hole. Race - no problem - the white man has kept you down for so long that there's no way you can ever improve your life by yourself - you need big government and big labor to protect you against the evil capitalists. That, of course, leads us to class warfare, the keystone of the Democratic Party since the days of the Great Depression.
My father-in-law, like many people of his era, thinks that F.D.R. was the greatest President to ever live. You just need to overlook the fact that he was the closest thing this country has ever had to a dictator, and just concentrate on the fact that he brought us out of the depression by creating a welfare state that will eventually bankrupt this country. (It doesn't have to, it's just that our elected officials don't have the testicular fortitude to tackle the problem. Like kids doing homework on a Sunday evening, they'll wait until the last minute to come up with a half-assed solution.)
As long as we have people that continue to emphasize our differences, and the biased media that helps them promote their agenda, the split in America will only continue to widen.
Is there a solution? Sure - quite simple really.
1.) Lighten Up - as Sen. McCain suggested to Mortimer Murtha, get a life and lighten up. There are plenty of s*** sandwiches in this world, we all have to take a bite every now and then, so stop looking for bogeymen everywhere and try a tuna fish sandwich.
2.) Smarten Up - It is a phenomenon that takes place all around the world - people tend to hang out with the folks that most closely represent their views and experiences. It is the unknown that can cause fear and unjustified action, so take the time to learn more about who and what you don't know.
3.) Stand Up - Don't let the liberal gloom-and-doomers define the debate. Stand up, challenge, educate, debate, get involved! Inside of every liberal their is a mature adult trying to shake the adolescent defiance they've carried since they started growing body hair, so don't give up on them. Even if they are wrong, they're still Americans, even if they are handicapped by their adolescent paradigm.
There is another approach we might take, as was suggested at the end of the Civil War, that might make the Rev.'s Sharpton & Jackson go away. We can take funding out of education to make sure that every person of color gets 40 acres of government land and a mule. They can then sell the land back to the government at twice it's value, and sell all the mules to the Democrats so that they never run out of party symbols, and they never run out of mule s*** - you know, the stuff that they use to construct their party platform.
White privilege? I don't know about that, but I do know one thing - we are ALL privileged to be Americans - every thing else is secondary.
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