Why Another Blog?

I've decided to set up another blog, (my other one is called Writer's Musings), because there are some topics just too weighty for that blog.

So here it is. In this space I'll explore more serious issues in more detail. I do not expect visitors to agree with me in all cases.
In this forum feel free to take off the gloves, grab a handful of mud and fight for what you believe in.

Simple rules, rather like cage-fighting in the blogosphere:
No direct name calling. No excessive profanity. No whining when smacked in the face with mud.
Sling inuendo. Feel free to ask leading questions even if in a snide tone.

Friday, October 30, 2009

The Problem With Illegal Aliens...

HERE'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...

You have two families: "Joe Legal" and "Jose Illegal". Both families have two parents, two children, and live in California.

Joe Legal works in construction, has a Social Security Number and makes $25.00 per hour with taxes deducted.

Jose Illegal also works in construction, has NO Social Security Number, and gets paid $15.00 cash "under the table".

Ready? Now pay attention...

Joe Legal: $25.00 per hour x 40 hours = $1000.00 per week, or $52,000.00 per year. Now take 30% away for state and federal tax; Joe Legal now has $31,231.00.

Jose Illegal: $15.00 per hour x 40 hours = $600.00 per week, or $31,200.00 per year. Jose Illegal pays no taxes. Jose Illegal now has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays medical and dental insurance with limited coverage for his family at $600.00 per month, or $7,200.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $24,031.00.

Jose Illegal has full medical and dental coverage through the state and local clinics at a cost of $0.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal makes too much money and is not eligible for food stamps or welfare. Joe Legal pays $500.00 per month for food, or $6,000.00 per year.

Joe Legal now has $18,031.00.

Jose Illegal has no documented income and is eligible for food stamps and welfare. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays rent of $1,200.00 per month, or $14,400.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $9,631.00.

Jose Illegal receives a $500.00 per month federal rent subsidy. Jose Illegal pays $500.00 per month, or $6,000.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has $ 31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays $200.00 per month, or $2,400.00 for insurance. Joe Legal now has $7,231.00.

Jose Illegal says, "We don't need no stinkin' insurance!" and still has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal has to make his $7,231.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, etc.

Jose Illegal has to make his $31,200.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, and what he sends out of the country every month.

Joe Legal now works overtime on Saturdays or gets a part time job after work.

Jose Illegal has nights and weekends off to enjoy with his family.

Joe Legal's and Jose Illegal's children both attend the same school. Joe Legal pays for his children's lunches while Jose Illegal's children get a government sponsored lunch. Jose Illegal's children have an after school ESL program. Joe Legal's children go home.

Joe Legal and Jose Illegal both enjoy the same police and fire services, but Joe paid for them and Jose did not pay.

Do you get it, now?

If you vote for or support any politician who supports illegal aliens...

You are part of the problem!

I'm all for legal immigration. I'm all for those who come to the US seeking opportunity and who want to embrace the ideals upon which our country was founded. But I'm not for subsidizing them on the backs of American citizens and those legal immigrants who waited years to enter the country legally and who pay taxes.

A friend sent me this in an email. I don't know the origin, but I think it captures what many Americans are frustrated about. The last paragraph is mine.

Friday, October 9, 2009

The World is Upside Down...It's Official.

With the decision of the Nobel committee to give the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to the TOTUS, we can say that the world is officially upside down. With all the other nominees on the list who've actually accomplished something, the Nobel committee felt compelled to grant the prize based upon some "feel good speeches."

What substantive act of promoting peace has Obama actually accomplished? Nothing! He's given some speeches. Big friggin' deal! So this guy who sells at least three allies down the river (Poland, Czech Republic and Israel) and who appears to be positioning himself to sell the Afghan people down the river is somehow worthy of the Peace Prize?

It's not that the Norwegian half of the Nobel Prize has exactly covered itself in glory over the years. Some notable insane selections for the Peace Prize include: a terrorist (Yasser Arafat, 1994) a charlatan, snake oil salesman, shyster, failed Divinity student, failed journalist, failed US Presidential candidate and science fraudster (Al Gore, 2007), and an organization out to destroy the Western economies (UN IPCC, 2007).

There were 205 nominees this year for the Nobel Peace Prize. There may have been one or two other potentially insane nominees, but I'll wager the vast majority of those other 204 nominees had far more impressive resumes than the empty suit, sock puppet, TOTUS whose list of actual accomplishments fits conveniently on the back of a postage stamp.

Norway should be ashamed.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Afghan War Worth It? You Bet!

I had one of those OMG/WTF moments the other day. I agreed with something that the Usurper-in-Chief said. In trying to sell what has become “Obama’s War,” the TOTUS said the war in Afghanistan was worth fighting. In that, I’m in complete agreement. It’s also a war which I believe the Bush Administration royally screwed up.

Having put the Taliban on their heels in 2001, we did some high-visibility projects (the road between Kandahar and Kabul for example) and then for the most part, walked away. We neglected the villages and people in the countryside. We left them open to reinfiltration by the Taliban. We took the easy road of installing in government positions some of the very warlords whose corrupt and venal actions helped fuel the rise of the Taliban in first place. The war was won. All we had to do was make sure we didn’t lose the peace and in that, we failed miserably.

So now we have a war again, but contrary to media spin and the “expert” opinion of certain analysts, this war is winnable and it is worth it, as yesterday’s election demonstrated. For weeks we’ve been told of how the Taliban would wreak havoc and render the election meaningless. Some media have even referred to a “guerilla army” advancing on the cities. One analyst at “Foreign Policy” even grossly distorted General Stanley McCrystal’s words in an article saying that the Taliban were winning the war.

Election Day has come and gone and 40% – 50% of the voters seem to have voted. We won’t know the actual percentage for at least another day. Gee, that’s a pretty normal election cycle in the US. Reporters on the ground in Helmand and Kandahar provinces were surprised at the turnout, these being the worst provinces in terms of violence. Afghans literally voted under fire! The fact that millions did vote, even in the troublesome provinces, is a very encouraging sign.

There were about 130 “security incidents” in 15 provinces out of 34. Keep in mind that “security incident” does not necessarily mean Taliban or anti-government forces directed at the election process. We still have the usual kidnappings, robberies, vendettas and such going on and some of those often look like insurgent activity. It seems that the Taliban basically shot their wad and came up short, even with the media playing propaganda machine for them. By late in the day almost nothing was happening even in the troublesome south.

Yesterday’s events demonstrated that Afghans are interested in the democratic process, even under threat of death and dismemberment. Events demonstrated that the Taliban are not nearly as strong as the media has portrayed them. I often wonder just whose side the Western media are on. The Afghan security forces were primarily responsible for security with Coalition Forces keeping a low profile. The Afghans handled things pretty much on their own.

If we can avoid more stupid policy decisions, this war is both winnable and worth it. We mostly need to just back up the Afghans and encourage them. Afghans are tough determined people and they are willing to carry most of the fight. All they ask is that we don’t abandon them…again.

Friday, July 3, 2009

56 Men...

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four signers of the Declaration of Independence were lawyers and jurists, eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown , Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: Freedom is never Free!

It's time we get the word out. Patriotism is NOT a sin! We needn't be ashamed of our country.

The Fourth of July is about more than beer, picnics, and baseball games. It's about those 56 patriots, their sacrifices and the sacrifices of thousands of others who made our great nation possible.

I'm proud of my service as a soldier to the United States of America and to its legitimate citizens.

I'm proud to continue serving with great patriots of all religions, races, men and women, who value more than personal wealth and glory - who value service to the United States of America. I'm proud of their current efforts serving the United States and helping the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Borrowed from an email I received from a fellow patriot and soldier: Tim Reutter

Friday, June 26, 2009

Bend Over, Here it Comes Again (BOHICA)!

Congratulations America! Having voted to turn over the chicken house to the foxes, you are about to be raped again.

Remember that Stimulus Bill? You know, the one that spends about a trillion dollars on absolutely nothing, most of which won’t be available until next year or later, but which we absolutely had to get passed without virtually anyone actually reading until after the socialist sock puppet POTUS signed it? And that on top of his “Era of Responsibility” budget that produced a larger deficit that all his predecessors combined?

Well, get ready for HR 2454, aka “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009,” or the Waxman-Markey Bill, or most accurately “The National Economic Suicide Act of 2009.” Queen Pelosi and her leftist cohorts are getting ready to vote on it Friday, June 26, 2009.

The version available on THOMAS (Library of Congress) is incomplete, but numbers 1091 pages. Yes, incomplete as of 26 June 2009. How exactly is that admittedly small part of the public that isn’t too lazy to actually look into these things to get a chance to look at the Bill and make comments to their Representatives if the available document isn’t complete? Supposedly over 200 pages of amendments have been added to the bill in the last week, but none of those are available in the final bill that’s available online.

Let’s look at the chronology:

5/15/2009 Introduced in House
6/5/2009 Committee on Education and Labor discharged.
6/5/2009 Committee on Foreign Affairs discharged.
6/5/2009 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 111-137, Part I.
6/19/2009 Committee on Financial Services discharged.
6/19/2009 Committee on Science and Technology discharged.
6/19/2009 Committee on Transportation discharged.
6/19/2009 Committee on Natural Resources discharged.
6/19/2009 Committee on Agriculture discharged.
6/19/2009 Committee on Ways and Means discharged.
6/19/2009 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 90.
6/26/2009 Full House Vote.

Do we really believe the idiots in the House have actually bothered to read HR 2454? Hell, they didn’t read the Stimulus Bill, why should they start now? Note how it zipped through every committee with no notice of any amendments? Sorta unusual for a major piece of legislation – that is to say, prior to this Congress it would be considered unusual.

So, having worked on this for about 41 days, with virtually no public debate or transparency, the Democrats in Congress are about to vote to destroy our economy in one fell swoop.

Congratulations America! It wouldn’t be quite as bad if you hadn’t also handed over the Senate and White House to these socialists. If it fails in the House, we can still hope enough Democrats wake up to what they will be doing to their constituents, the sock puppet POTUS has his EPA and unelected czars prepared to do by executive order what they might not accomplish via proper legislation, through their ruling that CO2 (a trace atmospheric gas essential to life on earth) is a pollutant. Let’s disregard the fact that every time the socialist sock puppet POTUS or socialist Democrat-controlled Congress speaks/breathes, they spew the stuff too.

The one perverse joy I get in all this is that all the morons who voted for this cast of clowns will get screwed right along with me. Enjoy your higher gas prices, higher electric bills, higher food prices, more jobs going overseas (where other nations aren’t so stupid as to commit economic suicide), and higher taxes.

Brother you asked for it!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Memorial Day Ceremony in Aghanistan



On Monday, Memorial Day at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan, there was a memorial service for the two Americans who were killed on 20 May by an IED. The AP article can be found here:

Associated Press

There is casual mention of Coalition partners and civilian contractors being in attendance, but even that reference is far from complete. What the AP didn’t mention at all was the fact that there were also Afghans in attendance. In fact nowhere in the US media did this story get the kind of attention it deserves. This story is important not for what the AP reported, but for the most significant parts they did not report.

The two Americans killed last week, Lieutenant Roslyn Schulte and Mr. Shawn Pine, were Jewish. They were mentors for the Afghan National Army General Staff. The Afghans they mentored were in attendance and they presented wreaths to honor the fallen. Additionally, two Ministers and other high-ranking officers of the Afghan National Army General Staff were in present along with numerous Afghan Police and Afghan civilians.

Afghan and American Officers greet each other with the "Kiss of Peace"

Most significant was that a high-ranking Afghan officer gave a eulogy for the two Americans. Understand this: a Muslim gave a eulogy for two Jewish Americans. Why does this not make the news? Doesn’t anyone recognize the significance of this?

Afghan Officer giving eulogy for Roslyn Schulte and Shawn Pine

On the day that Lieutenant Schulte and Mr. Pine were killed, there were Christians, Muslims and Jews in the convoy. The other two people in the vehicle that was hit were Muslim and they were wounded. Some of the first people on the scene to assist were Afghan civilians and Afghan police. As the bodies were taken from the scene, Afghans and Americans wept together. Why is this story not told?

During the ceremony it was mentioned that one of the Afghans who worked with Mr. Pine remarking on his death said, “It is as if I’ve lost my brother.”

Jewish Chaplain

Don’t the media recognize the significance of a Muslim calling a Jew his brother and weeping over his death? Throughout the ceremony, several of the Afghan officers cried. When the Jewish Chaplain sang a Hebrew prayer, many Afghans bowed their heads. Afghan officers embraced the Jewish Chaplain before and after the ceremony.

Afghan and American Officers sharing condolences.
Note the Afghan Officer low in the picture with bowed head.
He was crying.

It seems to me the mainstream media want to keep portraying this war as American against the Afghans, but nothing can be further from the truth. A more honest report would have at least included some acknowledgment of the Afghan’s presence at our ceremony. Their presence at the ceremony is symbolic of the larger picture.

Afghan Officer after signing condolence books that would be sent to the families of the fallen.

This is the story that should be told: that people from many nations, Christians, Jews and Muslims are working together in common cause against the true enemy. There is no reason that Christians, Muslims and Jews cannot live together in peace and respect. During our ceremony we showed that it is indeed possible and it is a beautiful thing to see. The differences that truly divide us are no wider than a line in the sand. Yet somehow, the mainstream media do not seem to think this is worth reporting on.

Afghan Sergeants present the wreaths


The wreaths presented by the Afghans flank comrades-in-arms as they pay last respects.

It should also be noted that soldiers from the following allies were in attendance: The United Kingdom, Poland, Germany, France, Turkey, Norway, Hungary, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Spain and Italy. My apologies to any that I may have missed.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Twenty-two Reasons...

My thoughts this Memorial Day weekend turn to the sacrifices of fellow comrades-in-arms who have given their lives and who continue to give their lives for our country. I got the idea for this particular post from an email one of my relatives sent me. I expanded upon the original theme.

On his recent “World Apology Tour” the President of the United States felt compelled to apologize for “American arrogance” when the only arrogance on display was his own in assuming that we needed to apologize for anything. The only thing on display in greater abundance than his arrogance was his ignorance of American history.

Without further ado, I give you twenty-two reasons why we needn’t apologize to Europe or the world for our “arrogance.”



1. Aisne-Marne Cemetery and Memorial in France, the last resting place of 2,289 Americans who fought and died liberating France during the summer of 1918 in the Marne Campaign in WWI. There are an additional 1,060 names of those missing in action within the chapel. Belleau Wood is nearby and US Marines captured much of this ground during the summer fighting here.



2. Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium, where 5,329 Americans are laid to rest. Most died during the “Battle of the Bulge.” There are an additional 462 names of those missing in action inscribed in the chapel.



3. The Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial in France, contains the remains of 4,410 Americans who died liberating Normandy and Brittany in 1944. There are an additional 498 names of those missing in action inscribed in the chapel.



4. Brookwood American Cemetery and Memorial in England, contains the graves of 468 Americans and the names of 563 missing in action are inscribed in the chapel.



5. Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial site in England contains the graves of 3,812 Americans. Within the chapel are an additional 5,127 names of the missing in action.



6. The Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in France contains the remains of 5,255 Americans who died during the fighting in the Heasbourg Gap during the bitter winter of 1944-45. An additional 424 names of the missing in action are inscribed in the chapel.



7. Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium where 368 Americans who gave their lives liberating Belgium in WWI are buried. An additional 43 names of those missing in action are inscribed in the chapel.



8. Florence American Cemetery and Memorial site in Italy contains the graves of 4,402 who died liberating Italy during WWII. An additional 1,409 names of the missing in action are inscribed on the memorial.



9. Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium where 7,992 Americans who died liberating Belgium in WWII are buried. An additional 450 names of those missing in action are inscribed on the memorial.



10. Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in France contains the largest number of American WWII dead in Europe. The 10,489 Americans buried here died liberating France during WWII. There are an additional 444 names of the missing in action inscribed on the memorial.



11. Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial where 5,076 Americans, most of whom died liberating Luxembourg are buried. General George S. Patton is also buried here. An additional 371 names of the missing in action are inscribed on the memorial columns.



12. Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines is the largest overseas cemetery for American war dead. It contains the remains of 17,202 Americans who died defending and liberating the Philippines and New Guinea during WWII. There are an additional 36,285 names of the missing in action inscribed in the memorial.



13. Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in France contains the largest number of American war dead in Europe. Most of the 14,246 American Soldiers buried here died liberating France during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in 1918. There are an additional 954 names of the missing in action inscribed on the memorial.



14. North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial in Tunisia where 2,841 Americans who liberated Muslim Tunisia are laid to rest. An additional 3,724 are remembered on the Wall of the Missing.



15. The World War II Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is the only American cemetery in the Netherlands. It contains the graves of 8,301 Americans who died liberating the Netherlands during WWII. Stretching along the sides of the court are Tablets of the Missing on which are recorded 1,722 names.



16. Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France is located on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 and the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. Buried here are 9,387 Americans, most of whom died on D-Day and in operations immediately following the landings. An additional 1,557 names are inscribed on the Walls of the Missing at the Memorial.



17. Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial in France contains the remains of 6,012 American war dead, most of whom lost their lives while fighting to liberate France in this vicinity in 1918 during WWI. An additional 241 names are inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing.



18. Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial in France contains the remains of 861 Americans who died liberating southern France in August, 1944. The memorial an additional 294 names of the missing are inscribed.



19. The World War II Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial site in Italy contains the graves of 7,861 Americans who died liberating Sicily from July through August 1944 and who died at Anzio from January to May 1944. An additional 3,095 names of the missing are inscribed in the chapel.



20. The World War I Somme American Cemetery and Memorial in France contains the graves of 1,844 Americans who died liberating France in WWI. The chapel contains and additional 333 names of the missing.



21. The World War I St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial in France where 4,153 Americans who died liberating France during WWI are buried. An additional 284 names of the missing are inscribed in the chapel.



22. Originally a World War I cemetery, the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial just outside Paris, France now shelters the remains of U.S. dead of both wars. contains the remains of 1,541 Americans who died in World War I and 24 Unknown dead of World War II. Bronze tablets on the walls of the chapel record the names of 974 World War I missing.


Americans do need to apologize to the world for something else. We need to apologize to the world for electing someone so ignorant of past American sacrifice, so ignorant of American history and so filled with hatred for America that he is willing to destroy your security along with our own. This man who has accomplished nothing in this life beyond self-aggrandizement and playing to the intellectual laziness of American citizens, who was spawned from a family of “Hate America Firsters” and learned to loathe America on the knees of communist mentors, whose closest friends are all about hating everything America once stood for has been foisted upon the world by our laziness, not our arrogance.

The lowliest private buried in these cemeteries accomplished more in his lifetime than our anti-American President of the United States. And this man, who bears the title of Commander-in-Chief, is so filled with hubris that he thinks to mock their sacrifice with an apology.

For those who have not been keeping count, the twenty-two reasons above include a total of 184,453 Americans who did not return home from wars to liberate other people. That’s 124,139 who have marked graves in foreign soil and an additional 60,314 who do not. These twenty-two reasons are just for WWI and WWII. Keep in mind that a total of 116,516 American soldiers died in WWI and 405,399 died in WWII. Most of these Soldiers died rescuing Europeans in wars started by European arrogance.

On this Memorial Day weekend, remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice liberating those who, without our blood, would not have been free.

America need apologize to no one!

And remember, you have a President who apologized for the sacrifice of over half a million American Soldiers from two world wars!

To learn more about the last resting places of Americans who actually did something for our country and who paid the ultimate sacrifice, visit American Battle Monuments.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Rage

The article below, in its entirety from The Washington Post, fills me with rage.

This story fills me with rage at those on the left who believe there is no such thing as true evil in the world and who think that the problems of the world can be solved by group hugs and singing “Kumbaya.”

It fills me with rage at those on the religious right in America and elsewhere in the West who believe that all Muslims are out to destroy the West and our way of life.

This story should contain some cautionary insights for both groups.

For those on the left, including our “Hate America first – apologizing for American greatness - bowing to foreign heads of state - appeasement-minded sock puppet President,” it shows the dangers of appeasement. It certainly hasn’t worked for Pakistan. This Administration wants to expand the concept of appeasement to stateless thugs. It’s one thing to try appeasement with a government, even though that path has never worked in the history of mankind. This administration thinks that providing “economic opportunity” will make the Taliban a less attractive option for people. What sort of alternate reality and universe are these clowns living in?

Well guess what? The Taliban are already unattractive to anyone who has real experience with them. They are not about “economic opportunity.” The Taliban are not loved anywhere they go. Sometimes they are viewed as the lesser of two immediate evils by people who are otherwise let down by their government (in both Afghanistan and Pakistan), but no one really likes their policies, ideology, or methods. They take control and rule by fear and intimidation wherever they are allowed to take root. Period.

For those on the right, read carefully about the fear of ordinary human beings:
“We all said to each other, what sort of people have come here? And what kind of sharia is this? Cutting off people's heads has nothing to do with Islam," recounted Karim, 55, a bus driver. "The people were filled with great rage, and great fear.”

“People in Swat are angry and confused, because the government is reaching out to the Taliban and fighting them at the same time,” said Mohammed Riatullah, a relief agency official.

“They are not Muslims, they are criminals who are defaming our religion, and the people of Buner are not their friends.”

I’m not a Muslim, but for most of the last seven years I’ve lived and worked with Muslims in two war zones. Westerner fear of Islam is born of ignorance and misinterpretation every bit as egregious as the Muslim fanatics causing the mayhem. The so-called “Warriors for Islam” have killed far more Muslims than Christians or Jews, so why are we clinging to insane fears about all Muslims?

I’m also not a fuzzy-thinking liberal idiot who believes in the power of group hugs. I’m all for ruthless extermination of these zealots who seek to destroy both the lives of their fellow Muslims and the lives of everyone else. A bullet, not talk is the proper response for these murderers.

Look at the pictures. Read the article below, and then answer these questions:

Do you honestly believe that any of these people want to destroy your life?

Are you so blinded by ignorance and bigotry that you fear these people?

Or do you see what I see – ordinary people trying to go about their lives to make a better future without the fear of some madman blowing up in their midst?










'Great rage, and great fear' in Pakistan

Refugees fleeing Swat Valley tell of Taliban crimes, abuses
By Pamela Constable and Haq Nawaz Khan

The Washington Post
updated 3:21 a.m. ET May 7, 2009

GOLRA, Pakistan - Hajji Karim and his extended family of 70 were camped in a dirt-floor stable 10 miles outside Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. It was as far as they could get from the Swat Valley, where thousands of people are fleeing from the ravages of the Taliban and the imminent prospect of war with government forces.

When Taliban fighters first entered Karim's village last month, he recounted, they said they had come to bring peace and Islamic law, or sharia, to Swat. But the next day, two of the fighters dragged a policeman out of his truck and tried to slit his throat. Horrified, a crowd rushed over, shouting and trying to shield the officer. The fighters let him go, but the incident confirmed the villagers' worst suspicions.

"We all said to each other, what sort of people have come here? And what kind of sharia is this? Cutting off people's heads has nothing to do with Islam," recounted Karim, 55, a bus driver. "The people were filled with great rage, and great fear."

Authorities in North-West Frontier Province said that with the conflict intensifying, they expect half a million people to flee the once-bucolic Swat region near the Afghan border, much of which is now occupied by heavily armed militants. Officials announced Tuesday that they plan to open six refugee camps in the safer nearby districts of Swabi and Mardan, but until then, many who leave home to escape the violence are facing the arduous task of finding their own shelter.

Refugees confused and trapped
As the refugees begin streaming out of Swat and the neighboring Buner district in northwest Pakistan, they carry with them memories of the indignities and horrors inflicted by occupying Taliban forces -- locking women inside their homes, setting donkeys on fire -- as they tried to force residents to accept a radical version of Islam.

The government has not helped, refugees said, with its erratic, seesawing efforts to appease and fight the militants. Some said they felt confused and trapped, unsure whether to trust the peace deal forged by the government and Taliban leaders last month, or to flee in anticipation of the fighting that has begun as the peace accord collapses.

Sher Mohammed, a property dealer from Mingora, the main town in Swat, was one of the first people to reach a new refugee camp in the Mardan district with his wife and children Tuesday night. On Wednesday, he kicked the dirt outside their tent despondently, saying that after enduring two years of fighting and Taliban abuses, he had had enough.

"I feel like I have lost my mind," he said. "I work hard to make a respectable life and educate my children. Now we are living in a camp, and my sons are talking of guns."

Mohammed said he did not understand why the country's powerful army had not been able to defeat the militants before they took over the valley. Even now, after a week of sporadic fighting, military officials have not announced an offensive against the militants who occupy much of Swat and Buner. The Taliban has repeatedly rejected government overtures to salvage the peace deal, in which the militants agreed to disarm if sharia courts were made the exclusive form of justice in Swat.

Army officials said 35 militants and three soldiers were killed Wednesday in Swat in sporadic fighting, including a shootout near several emerald mines that Taliban forces are using as hideouts. They said militants looted three banks and occupied police and civil administration buildings in Mingora. The military reported that an additional 50 militants had been killed in Buner.

Not enough help
The United Nations humanitarian office in Islamabad said it has already registered more than 2,200 families in new camps, "many of them arriving with little more than the clothes they are wearing." In a statement, the office said it would also increase assistance to help about 6,000 additional families in existing camps for Afghan refugees.

One private relief agency based in Swat said that it has been relocating hundreds of families at scattered sites in the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi but that no local government or international agency had offered to help. Its officials said they were concerned that Taliban fighters would try to recruit displaced people relocated in large camps.

"People in Swat are angry and confused, because the government is reaching out to the Taliban and fighting them at the same time," said Mohammed Riatullah, a relief agency official. "There are huge numbers of people with nowhere to go. We are trying to provide them with decent shelter and support, but we need more help so they won't fall into Taliban hands."

Fears of camp infiltration
Pakistan has hosted millions of refugees from conflicts in Afghanistan during the past two decades, with networks of camps in the northwest and in the southwestern province of Baluchistan. There have been frequent accusations that militant groups infiltrate the camps to use them as sanctuaries and recruiting pools. Military analysts say they suspect that the Taliban leadership of Afghanistan uses refugee camps in Baluchistan for these purposes.

Since militants began staging attacks and occupying territory inside Pakistan several years ago, thousands of inhabitants of the northwest tribal region have been displaced by fighting and have relocated to camps around Peshawar.

In Buner, army forces have been battling Taliban fighters for the past week, and the army said Wednesday that the operations were going smoothly. But several people who have fled from Buner to the provincial capital of Peshawar, or who were reached in Buner by cellphone, said that the situation was dire and that Taliban forces were still occupying many homes.

They said Buneris were especially vulnerable to Taliban attacks for several reasons. The district is famous for its Sufi shrines, where people practice a mystical form of Islam that is anathema to the fundamentalist Sunni Taliban. In addition, residents formed militias to resist the Taliban last year, and one village paid dearly for its defiance when voting stations were bombed in December, killing 42 people.

"When the militants entered our area, the people held a jirga to discuss what to do. They said they would never accept them and vowed to fight to the death," said Sirmir Khan, director of an educational charity in Buner who fled to Peshawar last week after Taliban forces occupied his offices. "They are not Muslims, they are criminals who are defaming our religion, and the people of Buner are not their friends."

Afsar Khan, the mayor of a town in Buner who had also fled to Peshawar recently, said that the militants had burned many houses and fields in his area and that last year he had joined an armed posse that attempted to drive them out. "We only had about 100 men, and the militants were coming down from the mountains," Khan recounted. "They fired on us from 5 p.m. to midnight and we were running out of ammunition. We called for help, and the officials kept telling us helicopter gunships were coming, but they never did. Finally we told all the farmworkers to run away, because we could not protect them, and we had to give up."

'Everyone was very afraid'
In a relief agency office in Islamabad on Wednesday, two teenage sisters from Buner huddled on a flour sack next to a few cooking pots, covering their faces with veils. They said they had fled their village four days ago after their father, a farm laborer, was warned by his landlord that the Taliban was coming.
"I don't know what the Taliban are, but everyone was very afraid," said one of the girls, who gave her name as Abzanan. "I am very worried because my father went back to get my brothers, and we don't know what happened to him."
Khan reported from Mardan.

© 2009 The Washington Post Company

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Open Letter to Mother Nature

While this is a climate skeptic topic which some might think belongs on my climate blog, the fact that it includes political commentary, satire, heavy doses of sarcasm and punditry is why I’m posting it here. I'm trying to keep the climate blog more science-based.

Dear Mother Nature,

It seems you missed or otherwise misunderstood our earlier memo.

According to our complex and sophisticated computer models, CO2, though only .038% of the atmosphere, is the dominant factor in climate change. As we spew out CO2, temperatures are supposed to skyrocket, ice caps melt, cities flood and polar bears drown, but we are observing that you are failing to perform to the standards our models demand.

Additionally, you have failed to safeguard key information. This information, in the wrong hands, has the potential for confusing the ignorant masses (especially those who cling to guns, religion and the US Constitution) and making them think that you, not our complex and sophisticated computer models, are in charge of climate.

This must not happen. Terrorists working for the fossil fuel companies and other right-wing extremists have acquired some of this information and are already using it to sabotage our excellent work. The ignorant gun/religion-clinging Constitutionalist masses are getting more and more confused.

The purpose of this memo then is to point out some of your specific deficiencies in this regard and the corrective actions you must take forthwith. Your failure to comply may result in our reporting your failure to perform to your higher authority, the Obamasiah. We certainly would not want bring you such embarrassment as he has ultimate power in all things. We know this to be true because he told us so in not one, but two autobiographies written before he even ascended his throne or had otherwise accomplished anything of substance.

Temperatures. While we understand that the attending special effects such as hurricanes, melting polar caps and drowning polar bears may take time to organize, temperature should have been simple.

Let us reiterate. According to our complex and sophisticated computer models as CO2 goes up, so does temperature – by a bunch! This is a very simple concept that even you should be able to grasp. What do you not understand?

A group of us got together and voted on it. We formed a consensus. You are obligated to adhere to that consensus. You may have heard of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)? This is a powerful political organization consisting of fifty-two individuals who have faith in our complex and sophisticated computer models. They are capable of getting ignorant scientifically illiterate politicians to move large sums of money around in directions we desire. Don’t cross them or you won’t ever get published again or ever see meaningful funding for any research!

We even had them draw you several nice pictures that simplify the complex workings of our highly sophisticated models so that there would be no misunderstandings. We had them liberally sprinkle these pictures throughout their reports. Being tolerant of those like you who have no formal schooling or understanding of such complex things like computer models, we will assume (we’re experts at that) you did not see the pictures. Here again is one of those pictures, so that there is no confusion.



Information Security. This is closely tied to temperature. According to our sources, you left past code unsecured, namely the Vostok Ice Cores. According to this code, CO2 increases after temperatures increase. While this may have been how you did things in the past, our complex and sophisticated computer models mandate a new paradigm.

It is easy to see how such careless security can cause confusion in the minds of the ignorant gun/religion-clinging Constitutionalist masses who are not computer modelers. Armed with the information of how you used to do things, the fossil fuel terrorists and right-wing extremists are telling people that that is how things are.

While it is painfully obvious that our complex and sophisticated models are correct and your old code is wrong, we must spend inordinate time, resources and energy countering the misconception. Al, James and Rajenda are burning up a lot of jet fuel putting out the “fires”, so to speak, that your carelessness caused.

Special Effects. The ice caps. Why aren’t they melting? The obvious answer is your failure to perform on the first item, temperature.

According to our complex and sophisticated computer models, the Arctic is supposed to be gone last year, but we were willing to accept somewhere around 2012.

The Goracle put his immense reputation on the line with this promise. He won a Nobel Prize! Have you? He made an award winning science fiction movie! Have you? How dare you contradict this immense man!

You will have a difficult time meeting the approved timeline given your current performance as the graph below demonstrates. Note that this year’s Arctic sea ice is rapidly approaching intersect with the 1979-2000 average. It was supposed to be well below the 2007 average. This is a public relations disaster of the highest order and totally unacceptable.



You’ve also failed at the other end of the planet. According to our models, Antarctica should be melting. Creating minor ice shelf collapses in regions where there are other plausible explanations cannot mask your serious failure to warm the Antarctic in accordance with our precise instructions.

In fact, not only have you not raised temperatures over Antarctica, there is evidence that you have actually been lowering temperatures over all but an insignificant peninsula on the western side of the continent!

The Polar Bears. They deserve special mention. They are cute, cuddly, and like to drink Coke and party with penguins while watching the Aurora Borealis. They are supposed to be drowning and going extinct! I know it is difficult to do in one of your precious critters, but they were specifically chosen as the poster children of our project because of the above factors.

They can’t drown if the ice doesn’t melt and the ice won’t melt if you don’t raise the temperatures.

Worse yet, it appears that during the selection process for our global warming poster child, you failed to inform us of the following facts about how you engineered polar bears:

      1. Polar bears can swim – a LONG way. Like about a hundred miles. Have you any idea how many islands exist in the Arctic? At the rate you are melting the ice up there the bears will have no problem migrating to these islands or Siberia for that matter.

      2. Polar bears don’t only eat seals. We were led to believe that the only way the bears could get food was to ambush seals as they surfaced through holes in the ice that shouldn’t be there because the ice should be gone.

It turns out polar bears are very adaptable and eat other things too. They not only forage in human garbage for very rich food, but they also hunt humans! Now the latter part isn’t all bad since humans are the cause of all problems (according to our complex and sophisticated computer models). However, this adaptability means the bears don’t go extinct. In fact, there is evidence that their population is actually going up, not down.

This is totally unacceptable. Tossing three or four bears ashore after a storm was a good press release, but the numbers are insufficient to cause world-wide panic for the cuddly lovable bears.

The eating people part also diminishes their cuteness factor even though in doing so they do the planet a great service. To make matters worse, Knut’s buddies at the zoo in Germany tried to eat a woman who wanted to hug them and the whole affair was caught on film! People-eating poster children are bad for the program.



You’ve even embarrassed a team of crack publicity hounds sent forth on Arctic ice, sponsored by Royalty mind you, to demonstrate that Arctic ice is nearly gone and the polar bears have all drowned. First you nearly froze them to death with below normal temperatures which broke all of their complex and sophisticated ice-measuring equipment.

Then your polar bears started stalking them. This poor team has spent 53 days on thick, thick first-year ice in appalling freezing conditions trying to prove that the ice is melting and your bears, who are supposed to be drowning, are stalking them! Why, they’ve been dragging their little inflatable boat thingies and carrying immersion suits around for nothing. They expected to paddle the last 500km to the North Pole!

It has become clear that you are taking independent steps to direct climate in accordance with your own antiquated plan instead of following our modern plan based upon complex and sophisticated computer models. You’ve deliberately flipped the switches on virtually every major oceanic cycle to negative. This has had an almost immediate impact on local weather (lowering temperatures) which in turn confuses the ignorant gun/religion-clinging Constitutionalist masses and encourages right-wing extremists.

Most egregious of all, you’ve fiddled with the dimmer switch on the sun! What were you thinking? How can we continue to scare everyone into thinking that temperatures will forever rise, if you are messing with the sun's dimmer switch! Crank it back up! We need an active sun and sunspots! The sun creates solar winds that blow away nasty galactic cosmic rays that may influence cloud formations. Our complex and sophisticated computer models do not take clouds into account (because we don’t understand clouds) and as a result your actions are making us look wrong!

You are costing us a lot of other peoples’ money. We’ve already spent billions of dollars of other people’s money in research and marketing to convince them that a trace gas controls climate. We want to continue spending this money as long as we can squeeze it out of them, but your actions are shortening our horizons for accomplishing this.

We had them believing that, even though this trace atmospheric gas occurs naturally in quantities far greater than humans have produced throughout the Industrial Age, they are to blame. We had them believing that nothing except CO2 can cause temperatures to go up or down, as indicated by our complex and sophisticated computer models.

All is not lost and you can regain your credibility with us. We still have some people convinced that CO2 is a pollutant, even though it is essential to life as we know it. We got some of their most scientifically illiterate judges to vote on it and got their equally scientifically illiterate EPA administrators to take it from there. We have some of them convinced that they need to commit economic and national suicide so that we can control everything.

However, time could be running out. This disaster may be wasted if you don’t immediately get temperatures going up again in accordance with our complex and sophisticated computer models. Otherwise, their legislators may ignore our models and decide to wait us out. There are signs that the ignorant gun/religion-clinging Constitutionalist masses are stirring and threatening to throw the bums out under the massive disinformation campaign being waged in the main stream media by the right-wing extremists.

Some of us have a lot riding on this whole global warming project. We own/participate in companies that will make us personally much richer if we can sell carbon credits and your poor performance is cutting into the profit margin. Others of us who are geeky computer types, mostly just want to keep playing with our complex and sophisticated computer models, but that takes LOTS of money because we need new super-super-computers. The old ones just aren’t cutting it.

Our allies in the IPCC hate the West (especially the USA) and want us to commit economic and national suicide, but if having them on our team gets the rest of us what we want, they’re OK with us. But their help, as powerful as they may be in the funding process, won’t be enough if actual observations continue the current downward trend. The right-wing extremists are watching your performance!

Oh, and jet fuel costs a lot too. Having to fly all over the world explaining to everyone why you are not cooperating is getting expensive. You could help us reduce our carbon footprint for this crusade by simply following our script.

Mother Nature, get with the program or we will be forced to report your intransigence to the Obamasiah. If he waves his hands, things will happen and it won’t be pretty!

Sincerely,

Failed Divinity-Journalism Student/Failed Presidential Candidate, The Team, A Rich politically motivated financier who hates America, UN politician Pseudo-Scientist and other nitwits who simply want to control other people’s lives.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Why Are We in Afghanistan?

I must confess complete incredulity when I hear that question, especially when uttered by an American. Nothing demonstrates our short attention span as a nation more than that question. Will we ever learn? So for all those who ask the question, "Why are we in Afghanistan?"


THIS IS WHY!










They won't just go quietly into the night, even though the Obamasiah has "Hussein" as his middle name. Electing this bumbling fool did nothing to improve our situation on the world stage. His recent idiotic idea about talking to "moderate Taliban" was met with derision by the Taliban. Their official spokesman called it a "lunatic idea" and observed that there is no such thing as a "moderate Taliban." Uh duh!

One of the Afghans I work with asked, "Who are these moderate Taliban? I've never heard of such a thing. Is this something like a moderate murderer? This is insane!"

The Obamasiah's talk about an "exit strategy" is defeatist. In typical leftist fashion it is cover for moving the goal post. Change the definition of victory so that expectations are lowered. When we meet the more easily attained "exit strategy" goals, pull the plug and run.

The Taliban are NOT winning here, but we could be maneuvering ourselves into snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The Taliban are NOT resurgent, but they are reslient. There is a difference. If we cut and run, if we cede this country to these animals, these scenes will be repeated again.




Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) Photo.
Beatings of women in the streets were an everyday occurrence under the Taliban.


RAWA Photo. The execution of Zarmeena.
After enduring years of brutal abuse, Zarmeena killed her husband while he slept.
She was sentenced to death.
Under Islamic Law, the victim's family may forgive the murderer.
Her husband's family forgave her.
However, since they had already announced the execution
and invited thousands of guests to attend, the Taliban refused to spare her
in violation of the very Islamic Law they pretend to follow.
Zarmeena's seven children were forced to watch the execution.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Shared Sacrifice



US, Afghan, French, Turkish and UK flags at half-mast.
Sometimes we have a bad week, but we have a saying here:
"One Team, One Fight!"
Implicit in that is shared sacrifice.
Note to the defeatist media and others of that ilk:
Our soldiers have the guts and patience to do what is necessary.
Do you?

Friday, March 13, 2009

The Government We Deserve...Part II

The article below lays out a good reminder about who works for whom under our system of government. While our elected officials are responsible for creating much of today's governmental mess, we the people are responsible for electing these clowns in the first place. Our greed at looking for what our Senators and Representatives can bring home to us and our indifference about qualifications for the highest office in the land have led us to where we are today.

545 PEOPLE vs. 300,000,000 PEOPLE

By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations, the House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred Senators, 435 Congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court Justices…545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country. I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a Senator, a Congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the Speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto, if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red. If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ. If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people and they alone, are responsible. They and they alone, have the power. They and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees. We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist for the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

The Government We Deserve

During the recent US elections, I made no secret of my disdain for Barrack Obama. There were a number of reasons for this including the fact that the man has absolutely no record that we can look to in order to discern his intentions. He has no body of work to balance against his “spread the wealth” comments that might allay fears that he is really a Communist intent upon destroying the US. I still don’t trust the man and so far, he’s proving to be every bit as dangerous as some on the far right postulated.

So where are we now? One month into his Presidency we have a $787 billion “Porkulus” Bill that targets very little money into anything that will actually stimulate the economy and which virtually no member of Congress, or the President bothered to read. To top it off, only about 15% of that monstrosity will even be spent in the coming year…too late to have any impact on saving the economy in 2009. Given that last bit, what was the bloody hurry?

That same bill is also one of his broken campaign promises. During the campaign, Obama talked about the wonderful “transparency” we could expect from his Administration. All spending bills would be posted on the White House website for five days before he’d sign them. Well, the bill was not posted on the White House website and he signed it within three days. He would have signed it even sooner but this bill, without which the entire free world economies would collapse, had to await the Obamesiah’s leisure due to his vacation plans. You can get a copy of this theft by Congress here. Read it and weep.

Other goodies coming out of this Administration and the Pelosi and Reid cabal in Congress include an additional $410 billion that the House passed on 25 February, an Obama proposal for and additional $634 billion for nationalizing healthcare as part of his over $3 TRILLION budget, and an additional $2.5 TRILLION to nationalize the nations banks, as proposed by his Treasury Secretary. Can you say, “DRUNKEN SAILORS?” I would have posted a link to the actual budget, but in this new age of complete transparency in government of The One, the budget is not available to the public yet. The Budget is now available on the White House web site.

Allies in the MSM say all this is to pull the economy out of the “deep” recession. Except that it’s not a deep recession and most analysts were already predicting that the upswing indicators started at the end of December and the country would begin pulling out of the recession as early as the second half of 2009. This is hardly the catastrophic scenario sold by Obama to justify all this profligate spending of other people's money.

Obama is also not very good with history. Let’s leave out the possibility that his misrepresentation that this is the worst recession since the Great Depression was deliberate. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt of simply not being all that bright on history, since he’s demonstrated that on numerous occasions already. Then again…

Point being, the recession in 1991 had unemployment at 7.8% (higher than today) and during Jimmy Carter’s recession unemployment hit 10.2%. The current recession is nowhere near the levels of economic misery of the Great Depression, but Congress and this Administration are doing their best to make it so.

Then there is the ongoing foreign policy train wreck. Sending John Kerry to talk to Hamas? Lifting high tech restrictions on Syria? Ceding nuclear power to Iran? Sending Nancy Pelosi…Pelosi…to Afghanistan? Closing Guantanamo with no alternatives to house the prisoners there? And wrapped in this, let’s return to the recently released budget where the military and intelligence services are gutted. And you feel safer with this man as Commander-in-Chief?

In the middle of all this are his continued efforts to destroy the nation’s economy through all his carbon reduction schemes based upon a rapidly disintegrating “consensus” about whether human emissions cause global warming. To this add efforts to restrict free speech by reimposing the “Fairness Doctrine,” find ways around the recent Supreme Court ruling on gun ownership, subject US troops to International Tribunal (where they would never get a fair trial), offer the UN over $65 billion in additional US taxpayer money, force US soldiers to serve in a proposed UN army, and provide billions in assistance to illegal aliens. Now to be fair, not all these are specifically Obama proposals. However, his allies in Congress are feeling emboldened by what they perceive as his “left-leaning” tendencies.

During the campaign, Obama promised “change,” but nothing more specific. He gave us sweeping hand waves of how he would accomplish things. The true believers in the socialist agenda were locked votes, but the sad thing is, the idiots in the middle fell for the smooth talk. He promised “ice cream” and no one bothered to ask how he was going to pay for it. 52% of the American electorate acted like nine-year olds drooling over promises of getting “stuff” from The One.

As you watch your rights get taken one-by-one by this cabal of Fascio-Communists who think they know better how to spend your money and run your life, remember that you got the government you deserve…the government you elected. You might have a chance to fix this come 2010, if they haven’t by then rigged things so that you can’t vote them out.


Feeling Changed Yet?