Since taking office, Barack Obama has tried, and is succeeding with the help of the Democrats, in moving the United Stated of America onto the express lane to Socialism. Not only has he nationalized the banking system, but he has fired the head of General Motors and taken control of the operations of Chrysler Corporation. Can you tell me when, in the history of our Republic, that a sitting president has insinuated himself so directly in the affairs of supposedly free enterprise? Under the guise of a “bailout” the president is accomplishing what over 75 years of leftist dogma and liberalism has failed to do; turn our once free society into another “nanny” welfare state, a la Europe. Further, with the Blair-Holt bill being rammed through the Senate, he has declared war on the second amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. His ‘end-run’ around the provisions of that amendment are not only transparent, but patently illegal and fully contrary to the intent of the founding fathers, legal precedent and the supreme court's most recent decision.
The thing is, folks, no one is calling him on any of it. Where is the media? If any of this, or any number of other new and proposed government power grabs, had even been hinted at under the Bush administration, it would be blaring from the fronts pages of the New York Times, The Washington Post and every television outlet, internet news site and information source known to man. Protesters would be hurling rocks and Molatov cocktails in the streets.
Are you surprised at the silence? I am. I cannot believe that the press has become such a lapdog of the liberal elite that they have abandoned fully half of the American people in their headlong love affair with the new president. I refuse to believe that they don’t see it. I refuse to believe that they are unaware of the dire consequences of the actions now being contemplated and promulgated by the White House and its congressional lackeys. If you accept that they are aware of what's happening, then why aren't they doing anything about it? Perhaps a little history lesson might enlighten us?
You know that the press is referred to as the fourth estate but do you know where that term originated? According to Wikipedia, the earliest use of the term ‘fourth estate’ to mean the press is found in Thomas Carlyle's book On Heroes and Hero Worship written in 1841, in which he wrote: “British politician [Edmund] Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters' Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.”
“If, indeed, Burke did make the statement Carlyle attributes to him, his remark may have been in the back of Carlyle's mind when he wrote in his French Revolution (1837), "A Fourth Estate, of Able Editors, springs up.” In this context, the other three estates are those of the French States-General: the church, the nobility and the commoners.
Basically, the news media has always held a powerful sway in the halls of government by reflecting the voice of the people. Reflecting is good, but media also has the ability to manipulate public opinion, elevate the menial and bring down the mighty.
There is another force in politics, one brought forth in the twentieth century, almost as potent as the press; the fifth column. Have you heard the term before? If not, let me enlighten you. A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group, such as a nation, from within, to the aid of an external enemy.
The term was coined in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War by Emilio Mola, an insurgent general. When his army was approaching Madrid, he broadcast a radio message saying that four columns of his army outside the city would be supported by a fifth column of sympathetic supporters inside the city who were intent on undermining the Republic from within.
Thanks for staying with me on this, because I have a very important question to ask:
When did the fourth estate become the fifth column in America?
This man would like an answer to that question.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
A Letter of Outrage
Following on my blog of the 17th, I received the letter below from a friend. When I find something, or read something, that says what I think better than I can say it, I'll add it to my blog page. Such is the case with cartoon above and the letter below which was sent to the Wall Street Journal last August 8 by Allison Wilson, Ph.D. of Beverly Hills, California. The letter was written in response to a WSJ article entitled "Where's the Outrage?" that appeared in the July 31, 2008 edition.
My thanks to Dr. Wilson for her eloquence:
Editor,
Really. I can tell you where the outrage is. The outrage is here, in this middle-aged, well-educated, upper-middle class woman. The outrage is here, but I have no representation, no voice. The outrage is here, but no one is listening for who am I?
I am not a billionaire like George Soros that can fund an entire political movement.
I am not a celebrity like Barbra Streisand that can garner the attention of the press to promote political candidates.
I am not a film maker like Michael Moore or Al Gore that can deliver misleading movies to the public.
The outrage is here, but unlike those with money or power, I don't know how to reach those who feel similarly in order to effect change.
Why am I outraged? I am outraged that my country, the United States of America, is in a state of moral and ethical decline. There is no right or wrong anymore, just what's fair.
Is it fair that millions of Americans who overreached and borrowed more than they could afford are now being bailed out by the government and lending institutions to stave off foreclosure? Why shouldn't these people be made to pay the consequences for their poor judgment?
When my husband and I purchased our home, we were careful to purchase only what we could afford. Believe me, there are much larger, much nicer homes that I would have loved to have purchased. But, taking responsibility for my behavior and my life, I went with the house that we could afford, not the house that we could not afford. The notion of personal responsibility has all but died in our country.
I am outraged, that the country that welcomed my mother as an immigrant from Hitler's Nazi Germany and required that she and her family learn English now allows itself to be overrun with illegal immigrants and worse, caters to those illegal immigrants.
I am outraged that my hard-earned taxes help support those here illegally. That the Los Angeles Public School District is in such disarray that I felt it incumbent to send my child to private school, that every time I go to the ATM, I see "do you want to continue in English or Spanish?", that every time I call the bank, the phone company , or similar business, I hear "press 1 for English or press 2 for Spanish". WHY? This is America, our common language is English and attempts to promote a bi-or multi-lingual society are sure to fail and to marginalize those who cannot communicate in English.
I am outraged at our country's weakness in the face of new threats on American traditions from Muslims. Just this week, Tyson's Food negotiated with its union to permit Muslims to have Eid-al-Fitr as a holiday instead of Labor Day. What am I missing? Yes, there is a large Somali Muslim population working at the Tyson's plant in Tennessee. Tennessee, last I checked, is still part of the United States. If Muslims want to live and work here they should be required to live and work by our American Laws and not impose their will on our long history.
In the same week, Random House announced that they had indefinitely delayed the publication of The Jewel of Medina, by Sherry Jones, a book about the life of Mohammed's wife, Aisha due to fear of retribution and violence by Muslims. When did we become a nation ruled by fear of what other immigrant groups want? It makes me so sad to see large corporations cave rather than stand proudly on the principles that built this country.
I am outraged because appeasement has never worked as a political policy, yet appeasing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is exactly what we are trying to do.. An excellent article, also published recently in the Wall Street Journal, went through over 20 years of history and why talking with Iran has been and will continue to be ineffective. Yet talk, with a madman no less, we continue to do. Have we so lost our moral compass and its ability to detect evil that we will not go in and destroy Iran's nuclear program? Would we rather wait for another Holocaust for the Jews - one which they would be unlikely to survive? When does it end?
As if the battle for good and evil isn't enough, now come the Environmentalists who are so afraid of global warming that they want to put a Bag tax on grocery bags in California; to eliminate Mylar balloons; to establish something as insidious as the recycle police in San Francisco. I do my share for the environment: I recycle, I use water wisely, I installed an energy efficient air conditioning unit. But when and where does the lunacy stop? Ahmadinejad wants to wipe Israel off the map, the California economy is being overrun by illegal immigrants, and the United States of America no longer knows right from wrong, good from evil. So what does California do? Tax grocery bags.
So, America, although I can tell you where the outrage is, this one middle-aged, well-educated, upper middle class woman is powerless to do anything about it. I don't even feel like my vote counts because I am so outnumbered by those who disagree with me.
Alisa Wilson, Ph.D. Beverly Hills , California
Really. I can tell you where the outrage is. The outrage is here, in this middle-aged, well-educated, upper-middle class woman. The outrage is here, but I have no representation, no voice. The outrage is here, but no one is listening for who am I?
I am not a billionaire like George Soros that can fund an entire political movement.
I am not a celebrity like Barbra Streisand that can garner the attention of the press to promote political candidates.
I am not a film maker like Michael Moore or Al Gore that can deliver misleading movies to the public.
The outrage is here, but unlike those with money or power, I don't know how to reach those who feel similarly in order to effect change.
Why am I outraged? I am outraged that my country, the United States of America, is in a state of moral and ethical decline. There is no right or wrong anymore, just what's fair.
Is it fair that millions of Americans who overreached and borrowed more than they could afford are now being bailed out by the government and lending institutions to stave off foreclosure? Why shouldn't these people be made to pay the consequences for their poor judgment?
When my husband and I purchased our home, we were careful to purchase only what we could afford. Believe me, there are much larger, much nicer homes that I would have loved to have purchased. But, taking responsibility for my behavior and my life, I went with the house that we could afford, not the house that we could not afford. The notion of personal responsibility has all but died in our country.
I am outraged, that the country that welcomed my mother as an immigrant from Hitler's Nazi Germany and required that she and her family learn English now allows itself to be overrun with illegal immigrants and worse, caters to those illegal immigrants.
I am outraged that my hard-earned taxes help support those here illegally. That the Los Angeles Public School District is in such disarray that I felt it incumbent to send my child to private school, that every time I go to the ATM, I see "do you want to continue in English or Spanish?", that every time I call the bank, the phone company , or similar business, I hear "press 1 for English or press 2 for Spanish". WHY? This is America, our common language is English and attempts to promote a bi-or multi-lingual society are sure to fail and to marginalize those who cannot communicate in English.
I am outraged at our country's weakness in the face of new threats on American traditions from Muslims. Just this week, Tyson's Food negotiated with its union to permit Muslims to have Eid-al-Fitr as a holiday instead of Labor Day. What am I missing? Yes, there is a large Somali Muslim population working at the Tyson's plant in Tennessee. Tennessee, last I checked, is still part of the United States. If Muslims want to live and work here they should be required to live and work by our American Laws and not impose their will on our long history.
In the same week, Random House announced that they had indefinitely delayed the publication of The Jewel of Medina, by Sherry Jones, a book about the life of Mohammed's wife, Aisha due to fear of retribution and violence by Muslims. When did we become a nation ruled by fear of what other immigrant groups want? It makes me so sad to see large corporations cave rather than stand proudly on the principles that built this country.
I am outraged because appeasement has never worked as a political policy, yet appeasing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is exactly what we are trying to do.. An excellent article, also published recently in the Wall Street Journal, went through over 20 years of history and why talking with Iran has been and will continue to be ineffective. Yet talk, with a madman no less, we continue to do. Have we so lost our moral compass and its ability to detect evil that we will not go in and destroy Iran's nuclear program? Would we rather wait for another Holocaust for the Jews - one which they would be unlikely to survive? When does it end?
As if the battle for good and evil isn't enough, now come the Environmentalists who are so afraid of global warming that they want to put a Bag tax on grocery bags in California; to eliminate Mylar balloons; to establish something as insidious as the recycle police in San Francisco. I do my share for the environment: I recycle, I use water wisely, I installed an energy efficient air conditioning unit. But when and where does the lunacy stop? Ahmadinejad wants to wipe Israel off the map, the California economy is being overrun by illegal immigrants, and the United States of America no longer knows right from wrong, good from evil. So what does California do? Tax grocery bags.
So, America, although I can tell you where the outrage is, this one middle-aged, well-educated, upper middle class woman is powerless to do anything about it. I don't even feel like my vote counts because I am so outnumbered by those who disagree with me.
Alisa Wilson, Ph.D. Beverly Hills , California
After attending a Patriot's Day celebration in Prescott, Arizona last Sunday, April 18th, commemorating "the shot heard 'round the world" at Lexington and Corcord, Massachusetts in 1775, I was struck by the fervor and eloquence of the various speakers. To a person, they all said what I and many others have been saying for a awhile now; we must stand together to confront the insidious forces of left wing ideology that have taken over our beloved country and threaten to destroy it from within. We cannot shrink from this task, for to do so will surely invite our own end as a great nation. We must confront, debate, demand and defeat those whose ideals are not only anti-American, but anti-freedom.
To be sure, we will be villified by the media. To be sure we will be called everything from "right-wing extremists" to "knuckle-dragging Neanthals" and worse, but so what. We know what right and wrong are, and we must recapture the power to shout it from the rooftops. People like Anderson Cooper, Bill Maher, Michael Moore and their ilk have taken the high ground now. They didn't take it by being right. They took it by playing to our own innate sense of fair play, and now they are stuffing their snide asides and elitist innuendo down our throats. Well, this is one American who is choking on it. So now we must storm the high ground with logic, reason and righteous anger for the way our beloved country has been sullied in the name of' 'diversity,' 'multi-culturalism' and 'fairness.'
I'm here to tell you folks, we are the United States of America, not the "Divided States of Wherever The Hell you Came From!" Take back your country by whatever means necessary. Our enemies are trying to take it away by the same means. WE MUST NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!!
My next blog will shine a light on the Department of Homeland Security and their attempts to control Americans' access to leave and return to our own country. Can you say "Where are your papers?"
If you agree with me, pass this blog on. Start your own blog, tell your friends to start their own blogs. Support the media outlets that support us. Lend your voice to the growing chorus. Don't let the apologists of Socialism and America haters gain any more ground!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Of T.E.A. Parties and Right-Wing Extremists
Here it is, the day after tax day and the results are in; everyone who attended a T.E.A. (Taxed Enough Already) party in protest of profligate government spending and unfettered bailouts of irresponsible financial institutions, not to mention the impending "socialization" of America, is a 'right-wing extremist.' That's what Janet Napolitano, our head of the Department of Homeland Security and her superiors at the White House say anyway. Not to be outdone, the left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center has branded the venerable American Legion as a "hate-group" because it advocates secure borders and immigration law enforcement!
On April 7th, the DHS sent out a memo to all law enforcement offices titled: "Right-Wing Extremisim: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment." Within that report is a broad definition of the people they are talking about;
"Right-wing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements and adherents that are primarily "hate-oriented" (based upon hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups) and those that are mainly anti-government, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups or individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration."
Are you in there? I am. Oh, not the hate group part, even though I belong to the American Legion (who, by the way, are some of the most pariotic, charitable and compassionate people you will ever meet, anywhere...ever). People who hate others because they are different from them are usually, but not always, ignorant bigots like the Aryan Brotherhood, Neo Nazi's, Ku Klux Klan, some of the "O" man's advisors like our current attorney general, the reverend Wright, Louis Farrakhan, Maxine Waters, Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson and their ilk. No, I'm a member of the other category. I'm a member of the class of American citizens who has read the Constitution of the United States of America. Especially the part about what powers are delegated to the Federal government BY the states! There are only a few areas of politcal power that the federal government is granted by the consenting states, most notably;
On April 7th, the DHS sent out a memo to all law enforcement offices titled: "Right-Wing Extremisim: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment." Within that report is a broad definition of the people they are talking about;
"Right-wing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements and adherents that are primarily "hate-oriented" (based upon hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups) and those that are mainly anti-government, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups or individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration."
Are you in there? I am. Oh, not the hate group part, even though I belong to the American Legion (who, by the way, are some of the most pariotic, charitable and compassionate people you will ever meet, anywhere...ever). People who hate others because they are different from them are usually, but not always, ignorant bigots like the Aryan Brotherhood, Neo Nazi's, Ku Klux Klan, some of the "O" man's advisors like our current attorney general, the reverend Wright, Louis Farrakhan, Maxine Waters, Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson and their ilk. No, I'm a member of the other category. I'm a member of the class of American citizens who has read the Constitution of the United States of America. Especially the part about what powers are delegated to the Federal government BY the states! There are only a few areas of politcal power that the federal government is granted by the consenting states, most notably;
- Provide for the common defense
- Regulate Interstate Commerce (this includes currency counterfeiting, banking, etc.)
- Foreign affairs
All other rights and remedies are retained by the STATES! So if you, like me, believe that the federal government has overstepped it's charter in meddling with everything from tobacco to the salt content of your Big Mac, congratulations! You are a "Right-Wing Extremist!" Believe in the second amendment? You're a "Right-Wing Extremist!" Believe in the right to peaceful assembly to air grievances against the government? You're a "Right-Wing Extremist!" Disagree with turning a capitalist society into a socialist welfare state? You guessed it, you're a "Right-Wing Extremist!" In fact, if you do not whole-heartedly embrace the "O" man's CHANGE mantra...you might be a "Right-Wing Extremist!" (apologies to Jeff Foxworthy)
What is particularly troubling about the new 'doublespeak' coming out of Washington these days is the left-leaning media's rabid parroting of it. Somewhere in their ranks, there must be at least one thinking journalist who recognizes the danger of this type of broad stroke condenmnation of 50% of the nation's citizenry, but then again, I've been wrong before. If the government inside the beltway continues along this path for the next four years, what do you think the landscape of the nation will look like? Hell, it will make Tim McVeigh, Ruby Ridge and the Branch Davidian debacles look like cordial disagreements at a cocktail party.
As much as the present administration and congress doesn't give a rap about half the country, the half that pays for the government by the way, they are ignoring an even larger issue; the disgruntled and disenfranchised bulk of the American tax paying citizenry do not believe in their socialist programs. We object, vehemently, to the usurpation of our sovereignty as U.S. citizens. It's bad enough that our elected officials want to give our hard-earned capital to folks who not only didn't work for it, but who demand it as their due without any intention of paying it back or doing anything other than asking for more, but when we protest their rape of our resources they brand us as "right-wing extremists," criminals or worse. This situation cannot last for four years. I think the line from "Network" says it all "I'm mad as hell...and I'm not going to take it anymore."
Maybe that ought to be our rallying cry. Maybe if enough people say it loud enough and long enough even the left-wing extremists will hear us!
But that's just one man's opinion.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
The Financial Mess and The Cult of Victimization
George Orwell's vision in "1984" is upon us. I know you've heard it said before. Every time some new government outrage against our liberties is pooh-poohed by the liberal press as the hysterical rantings of the far right, conservative pundits proclaim the end of society as we know it. The problem, like the boy who cried 'wolf', is that it masks the real threats we face from the government and our fellow sheep...er, citizens in trying to keep America America and not Amerika.
The current economic mess is a perfect example. It is a culumnation of too much political interference in the financial and free captilalistic markets, not the greed of such men as Bernie Madoff. Madoff pleaded guilty to massive investment fraud and was immediately whisked off to the pokey. Not to minimize his crimes, which were heinous, but Madoff was bush league compared to the ripoffs our own government perpetrates upon us every single day. It continues as I write this. His theft was in the hundreds of millions of dollars. If you count from one to one million it will take you about twelve hours, maybe a day if you stutter. If you count to a billion from one it will take you thirty-two years! How's that for perspective? The government is now talking trillions of dollars in deficit spending. I don't even know of an analogy for a trillion dollars and if I did, it still would be an incomprehensible amount.
In its headlong attempt at creating wealth out of promises and pie-in-the-sky, the government, along with organizations like the NAACP, mandated that lending institutions ingore the sound practices upon which the financial world was based, and make home loans available to people who would not qualify under the normal aspects of credit worthiness. In plain english, the government forced the banking industry to give mortgages to people who were not likely to be able to repay them. This was called the "Community Reinvestment Act" and by now it is clear that this one act was the beginning of the end of our financial stability as a nation. Add in the creation of Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac and you have the triumverate of socialist meddling in the free market so blatant that it defies logic that we allowed it to happen. So it can be argued that, under the name of 'diversity' and 'social consciousness,' the government knocked over the first domino which since has cascaded into the meltdown we are dealing with today.
Not content with its role in perpetrating the destruction of capital markets worldwide, the NAACP (the National Association of Crazy People) has now filed suit against HSBC Corporation and Wells-Fargo Bank, among others, for being racist. Why are they racist? Well, they are racist beacuse, the NAACP says, that these financial insitutions were "supposedly steering black borrowers unfairly into costly subprime loans." (Los Angles Times Story). Huh?
NAACP: "We want more loans to low income black people!"
Banks: "But they don't qualify for the laons!"
Government: "You'll do it, or else!"
Banks: "Okay."
MELTDOWN!!!!!
Banks: "We've lost all our capital!"
Goverment: "You stupid, greedy bastards! Now we have to bail you out!"
NAACP: "You stupid, greedy, racist bastards! How dare you give mortgages to people who obviously can't repay them?"
The fact that this same organization had, for years, said that these same institutions were racist because many black and minority people could not meet the criteria for loans under the sound financial principles (upon which the country and the world based their economies) is now claiming that their constituents are being unfairly targeted by being given a chance to actually get these mortgages. It turns out that the financial institutions were right to keep credit and lending practices resonably tight, because exactly what they feared would happen did. Now it is unfair.
It's offical, folks, the inmates are now in charge of the asylum. When will the American people rise up and say ENOUGH!!? I don't know, but I'm guessing that, like all good sheep, they'll keep on grazing away, oblivious to the cowboys wearing hip-boots sneaking up behind them.
The current economic mess is a perfect example. It is a culumnation of too much political interference in the financial and free captilalistic markets, not the greed of such men as Bernie Madoff. Madoff pleaded guilty to massive investment fraud and was immediately whisked off to the pokey. Not to minimize his crimes, which were heinous, but Madoff was bush league compared to the ripoffs our own government perpetrates upon us every single day. It continues as I write this. His theft was in the hundreds of millions of dollars. If you count from one to one million it will take you about twelve hours, maybe a day if you stutter. If you count to a billion from one it will take you thirty-two years! How's that for perspective? The government is now talking trillions of dollars in deficit spending. I don't even know of an analogy for a trillion dollars and if I did, it still would be an incomprehensible amount.
In its headlong attempt at creating wealth out of promises and pie-in-the-sky, the government, along with organizations like the NAACP, mandated that lending institutions ingore the sound practices upon which the financial world was based, and make home loans available to people who would not qualify under the normal aspects of credit worthiness. In plain english, the government forced the banking industry to give mortgages to people who were not likely to be able to repay them. This was called the "Community Reinvestment Act" and by now it is clear that this one act was the beginning of the end of our financial stability as a nation. Add in the creation of Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac and you have the triumverate of socialist meddling in the free market so blatant that it defies logic that we allowed it to happen. So it can be argued that, under the name of 'diversity' and 'social consciousness,' the government knocked over the first domino which since has cascaded into the meltdown we are dealing with today.
Not content with its role in perpetrating the destruction of capital markets worldwide, the NAACP (the National Association of Crazy People) has now filed suit against HSBC Corporation and Wells-Fargo Bank, among others, for being racist. Why are they racist? Well, they are racist beacuse, the NAACP says, that these financial insitutions were "supposedly steering black borrowers unfairly into costly subprime loans." (Los Angles Times Story). Huh?
NAACP: "We want more loans to low income black people!"
Banks: "But they don't qualify for the laons!"
Government: "You'll do it, or else!"
Banks: "Okay."
MELTDOWN!!!!!
Banks: "We've lost all our capital!"
Goverment: "You stupid, greedy bastards! Now we have to bail you out!"
NAACP: "You stupid, greedy, racist bastards! How dare you give mortgages to people who obviously can't repay them?"
The fact that this same organization had, for years, said that these same institutions were racist because many black and minority people could not meet the criteria for loans under the sound financial principles (upon which the country and the world based their economies) is now claiming that their constituents are being unfairly targeted by being given a chance to actually get these mortgages. It turns out that the financial institutions were right to keep credit and lending practices resonably tight, because exactly what they feared would happen did. Now it is unfair.
It's offical, folks, the inmates are now in charge of the asylum. When will the American people rise up and say ENOUGH!!? I don't know, but I'm guessing that, like all good sheep, they'll keep on grazing away, oblivious to the cowboys wearing hip-boots sneaking up behind them.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Stimulate This!!!
Sorry its been so long since my last post. Lots has been happening, both in my life and with the country. A new president has been elected and is solidifying his cabinet and power base. We've dived into a full blown recession, and some say we are heading for a depression. Whew! And its only February!
I watched the president's press conference/stump speech the other evening and came away with a clearer understanding of the issues and what they mean to me as an American citizen. First let me say that I did not vote for the president. The color of his skin didn't, and doesn't, matter to me but the color and content of his ideas does. Our president's philosphy and politcal track is RED; as in communist/socialist. It was clear from his opening remarks, and the answers to the questions that the reporters threw at him that the leader of our country is firmly in the camp of the neo-socialist/communist ideologues.
Not to get off on a tangent here, but I was wholly unimpressed with the president's manner and style of speech. He was hesitant, fumbled for words and appeared unsure of himself. My take is that when he has a prepared script, he kills, but extemporaneous speaking reveals his true ignorance of not only the issues but of the English language as well. He danced around the questions and rarely gave a straight answer. Is this the transparency and change we've been promised? I don't think so. Much of the criticism that got through the stone wall which the media threw up around him during the campain was that he was an empty suit. It is becoming quite clear that this is the case.
Back on point. From the speech the president gave, as well as the answers he gave to the reporters, it is obvious that he feels the pain of his constituents; the unemployed, unemeployable, the disadvantaged and disenfranchised. You know, the ones who got him elected, say HALLELUJAH! Can I get an AMEN? It is equally obvious how he plans to solve their problems; Big Daddy GOVERNMENT is going to to provide the Balm of Gilead to their poor, unwashed brows.
The president decried the lack of spending, the lack of credit availability and the generally poor performance of the those who still had jobs. You see, if those of us who still have a buck or two would only spend it, he could give that to those who don't, or won't, do for themselves. It's simple, really. Businesses need to give more. The people who still have jobs need to give more so that the 'rest' of the country can be saved (another hallelujah if you please).
The problem with his thinking is this; He is losing America. That's right, campers, the president cannot see the forest for the trees. He has shit on, marginalized, demonized and generally denigrated the very constituency that he needs to make his plan work. Without Joe Average Working American; the guy who takes care of his family, pays his bills, volunteers at the fire house, maybe goes to church once a week and maybe to the sports bar too, the president has no one that can actually help him help the 'rest' of the country.
The sad thing is that, as a member of the middle class who still has a few assets (which, by the way, I have worked my whole life to acquire), he's lost me. I'm hunkering down. I'm hanging on to what little I have left. I don't NEED to buy a new car; the one I own works just fine, and if it doesn't, I'll fix it or find a friend who can, for cash (no taxes, you know). I don't NEED a new TV, DVD player WII or any of the other 'extras' that I might have bought a year or two ago. I have enough to feed my family, keep a roof over their heads and pay for the necessities of life, and I don't NEED the GOVERNMENT to do ANY of that, thank you very much. Medical insurance is expensive, but if I shop around, I can find a plan that works for me, and I actually can get in to see a doctor when I need to! What a concept!
You see, the president is so wrapped up in providing for people who won't provide for themselves, and who have spent most of their lives on the 'dole' that their entire mindset prevents them from doing anything but staring blankly into space while the GOVERNMENT takes care of them, that he can't see or even fathom that those people are not who America is. We are! He and his advisors are about to find out that the real America isn't going to come riding to his rescue. Wall Street, Banks, Big Business, Corporate America; they are all going to find out that America can and will take care of itself. The landscape is going to change drastically in the next five years and what emerges will, hopefully, be a stronger, smarter, less dependent on big government America. An America where hard work is rewarded with security, where you pay your own way. If you want or need something, you work for it. If your neighbor is in need, you and the rest of the neighbors pitch in and help them, and where community revolves around people not the local welfare office.
I watched the president's press conference/stump speech the other evening and came away with a clearer understanding of the issues and what they mean to me as an American citizen. First let me say that I did not vote for the president. The color of his skin didn't, and doesn't, matter to me but the color and content of his ideas does. Our president's philosphy and politcal track is RED; as in communist/socialist. It was clear from his opening remarks, and the answers to the questions that the reporters threw at him that the leader of our country is firmly in the camp of the neo-socialist/communist ideologues.
Not to get off on a tangent here, but I was wholly unimpressed with the president's manner and style of speech. He was hesitant, fumbled for words and appeared unsure of himself. My take is that when he has a prepared script, he kills, but extemporaneous speaking reveals his true ignorance of not only the issues but of the English language as well. He danced around the questions and rarely gave a straight answer. Is this the transparency and change we've been promised? I don't think so. Much of the criticism that got through the stone wall which the media threw up around him during the campain was that he was an empty suit. It is becoming quite clear that this is the case.
Back on point. From the speech the president gave, as well as the answers he gave to the reporters, it is obvious that he feels the pain of his constituents; the unemployed, unemeployable, the disadvantaged and disenfranchised. You know, the ones who got him elected, say HALLELUJAH! Can I get an AMEN? It is equally obvious how he plans to solve their problems; Big Daddy GOVERNMENT is going to to provide the Balm of Gilead to their poor, unwashed brows.
The president decried the lack of spending, the lack of credit availability and the generally poor performance of the those who still had jobs. You see, if those of us who still have a buck or two would only spend it, he could give that to those who don't, or won't, do for themselves. It's simple, really. Businesses need to give more. The people who still have jobs need to give more so that the 'rest' of the country can be saved (another hallelujah if you please).
The problem with his thinking is this; He is losing America. That's right, campers, the president cannot see the forest for the trees. He has shit on, marginalized, demonized and generally denigrated the very constituency that he needs to make his plan work. Without Joe Average Working American; the guy who takes care of his family, pays his bills, volunteers at the fire house, maybe goes to church once a week and maybe to the sports bar too, the president has no one that can actually help him help the 'rest' of the country.
The sad thing is that, as a member of the middle class who still has a few assets (which, by the way, I have worked my whole life to acquire), he's lost me. I'm hunkering down. I'm hanging on to what little I have left. I don't NEED to buy a new car; the one I own works just fine, and if it doesn't, I'll fix it or find a friend who can, for cash (no taxes, you know). I don't NEED a new TV, DVD player WII or any of the other 'extras' that I might have bought a year or two ago. I have enough to feed my family, keep a roof over their heads and pay for the necessities of life, and I don't NEED the GOVERNMENT to do ANY of that, thank you very much. Medical insurance is expensive, but if I shop around, I can find a plan that works for me, and I actually can get in to see a doctor when I need to! What a concept!
You see, the president is so wrapped up in providing for people who won't provide for themselves, and who have spent most of their lives on the 'dole' that their entire mindset prevents them from doing anything but staring blankly into space while the GOVERNMENT takes care of them, that he can't see or even fathom that those people are not who America is. We are! He and his advisors are about to find out that the real America isn't going to come riding to his rescue. Wall Street, Banks, Big Business, Corporate America; they are all going to find out that America can and will take care of itself. The landscape is going to change drastically in the next five years and what emerges will, hopefully, be a stronger, smarter, less dependent on big government America. An America where hard work is rewarded with security, where you pay your own way. If you want or need something, you work for it. If your neighbor is in need, you and the rest of the neighbors pitch in and help them, and where community revolves around people not the local welfare office.
Monday, December 15, 2008
The American Economy, Bailouts and Freedom
Those of us who are watching the soap opera emanating from Capitol Hill these days regarding the bailout of the auto industry are at loggerheads as to what should be done. On the one hand I believe that the damage done to our already wrecked economy by allowing the auto makers to fail would be nothing less than catastrophic. The flip side is not any less unattractive...business as usual.
With the benefit of hindsight, those who want to learn from the mistakes of the past should be able to divine a proper strategy that will allow a modicum of recovery for the industry while simultaneously transforming it into a Twenty First Century juggernaut that will move America ahead of the world once more in the innovation and technology theater of transportation vehicles for the emerging new world. This should be a 'hand up' not a 'hand out' and should come with severe restrictions on the use of any funds loaned to automakers. This goes against my personal philosphy about 'the government that governs best, governs least' but these are extra-ordinary times.
Whether or not the pedantic ideologues and politicians have the guts to make such a leap is in serious question. I have the sense that America is walking in concrete shoes and until it breaks out of them we are doomed to secondary status world wide. Failed social engineering, along with ineptitude across the political spectrum, has ruined this nation and will continue to do so as long as the electorate sees more advantage in having the "nanny state" government that they seem so enamored with, than with a true capitalist economic system. You know, the one in which personal initiative and self determination makes its citizens self sufficient, as opposed to simply putting your hand out and having "U.ncle S.ugar" fill it with increasingly worthless greenbacks. The more government regulates and meddles in the economy, the worse things will get regardless of the good intentions of such meddling.
Free the American entreprenuer and watch what happens. We rose to greatness on the backs of the innovators. The men and women who had a germ of an idea, or who saw a need to be filled and turned it into industry. Those hardy, self motivated people like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, the Wright Borthers and before them John Jacob Astor and Cornelious Vanderbilt, et. al. Only by unleashing those of us who have the will, ambition and drive to innovate will we be able to rise from our current ash heap. Only by allowing free market innovations and industrial development from those who are driven by the profit motive, and scrapping useless and utterly ridiculous regulations that stifle free enterprise, America can once more become the beacon it once was.
Our competitors in the global economy know this, and they are content to let us self-destruct. All Europe needs to do is 'tsk, tsk' at our politicians and liberal thinkers and the whole thing comes crashing down. Look at nuclear power if you want an example. France has almost 50% of its power generated from nuclear plants, yet the 'earth first' crowd and their liberal supporters have stifled that technology here in the states for what are clearly spurious and unsupportable arguments, and made us even more dependent of fossil fuels. Who are they helping here? By trying to be all all things to all people instead of being the biggest bull in the pasture and doing what needs to be done for ourselves, we have successfully neutered America
Much has been made of Reagan's "trickle down" economics policy, but contrary to all the media bullshit, it works. When people in the mold of say, a Bill Gates, are free to think up, develop and market their ideas without onerous government intervention and regulation, creating not only new industries but jobs and the manufacturing capabilities that those industries bring, the economy will once more go into overdrive. That is true 'trickle down economics.' FREE THE AMERICAN SPIRIT and watch what happens!
But that's just one man's opinion.
With the benefit of hindsight, those who want to learn from the mistakes of the past should be able to divine a proper strategy that will allow a modicum of recovery for the industry while simultaneously transforming it into a Twenty First Century juggernaut that will move America ahead of the world once more in the innovation and technology theater of transportation vehicles for the emerging new world. This should be a 'hand up' not a 'hand out' and should come with severe restrictions on the use of any funds loaned to automakers. This goes against my personal philosphy about 'the government that governs best, governs least' but these are extra-ordinary times.
Whether or not the pedantic ideologues and politicians have the guts to make such a leap is in serious question. I have the sense that America is walking in concrete shoes and until it breaks out of them we are doomed to secondary status world wide. Failed social engineering, along with ineptitude across the political spectrum, has ruined this nation and will continue to do so as long as the electorate sees more advantage in having the "nanny state" government that they seem so enamored with, than with a true capitalist economic system. You know, the one in which personal initiative and self determination makes its citizens self sufficient, as opposed to simply putting your hand out and having "U.ncle S.ugar" fill it with increasingly worthless greenbacks. The more government regulates and meddles in the economy, the worse things will get regardless of the good intentions of such meddling.
Free the American entreprenuer and watch what happens. We rose to greatness on the backs of the innovators. The men and women who had a germ of an idea, or who saw a need to be filled and turned it into industry. Those hardy, self motivated people like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, the Wright Borthers and before them John Jacob Astor and Cornelious Vanderbilt, et. al. Only by unleashing those of us who have the will, ambition and drive to innovate will we be able to rise from our current ash heap. Only by allowing free market innovations and industrial development from those who are driven by the profit motive, and scrapping useless and utterly ridiculous regulations that stifle free enterprise, America can once more become the beacon it once was.
Our competitors in the global economy know this, and they are content to let us self-destruct. All Europe needs to do is 'tsk, tsk' at our politicians and liberal thinkers and the whole thing comes crashing down. Look at nuclear power if you want an example. France has almost 50% of its power generated from nuclear plants, yet the 'earth first' crowd and their liberal supporters have stifled that technology here in the states for what are clearly spurious and unsupportable arguments, and made us even more dependent of fossil fuels. Who are they helping here? By trying to be all all things to all people instead of being the biggest bull in the pasture and doing what needs to be done for ourselves, we have successfully neutered America
Much has been made of Reagan's "trickle down" economics policy, but contrary to all the media bullshit, it works. When people in the mold of say, a Bill Gates, are free to think up, develop and market their ideas without onerous government intervention and regulation, creating not only new industries but jobs and the manufacturing capabilities that those industries bring, the economy will once more go into overdrive. That is true 'trickle down economics.' FREE THE AMERICAN SPIRIT and watch what happens!
But that's just one man's opinion.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Maybe I'm Wrong...
A friend forwarded the attached translation to me. It is an article written by a French trooper, serving with our men and women in Afghanistan. I've provided a link at the end to the original story. After reading the piece, I guess I need to reevaluate my position in the previous post. Maybe we aren't losing our traditions of honor, loyalty and fealty after all.
American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French OMLT infantryman...This is absolutely great, interesting and moving. There is also a link to the original French article. Go to web site listed for interesting take on things in English. Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 2:46 AM -
Subject: American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French OMLT infantryman
21 Sep 2008 at 13:56 by Jean-Marc Liotier
The US often hears echoes of worldwide hostility against the application of its foreign policy, but seldom are they reached by the voices of those who experience first hand how close we are to the USA . In spite of contextual political differences and conflicting interests that generate friction, we do share the same fundamental values - and when push comes to shove that is what really counts. Through the eyes of that French OMLT (Operational Mentoring Liaison Teams) infantryman you can see how strong the bond is on the ground. In contrast with the Americans, the French soldiers don't seem to write much online - or maybe the proportion is the same but we just have less people deployed. Whatever the reason, this is a rare and moving testimony which is why I decided to translate it into English, so that American people can catch a glimpse of the way European soldiers see them. Not much high philosophy here, just the first hand impressions of a soldier in contact - but that only makes it more authentic. Here is the original French article, and here is my translation :"We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while - they are the first and fourth companies of aprestigious infantry battalion whose name I will withhold for the sake of military secrecy. To the common man it is a unit just like any other. But we live with them and got to know them, and we henceforth know that we have the honor to live with one of the most renowned units of the US Army - one that the movies brought to the public as series showing "ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary events".
Who are they, those soldiers from abroad, how is their daily life, and what support do they bring to the men of our OMLT every day ? Few of them belong to the Easy Company, the one the TV series focuses on. This one nowadays is named Echo Company, and it has become the support company. They have a terribly strong American accent - from our point of view the language they speak is not even English. How many times did I have to write down what I wanted to say rather than waste precious minutes trying various pronunciations of a seemingly common word? Whatever state they are from, no two accents are alike and they even admit that in some crisis situations they have difficulties understanding each other.
Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins and creatine - they are all heads and shoulderstaller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo. Our frames are amusingly skinny to them - we are wimps, even the strongest of us - and because of that they often mistake us for Afghans. Here we discover America as it is often depicted: their values are taken to their paroxysm, often amplified by promiscuity and the loneliness of this outpost in the middle of that Afghan valley. Honor, motherland - everything here reminds of that: the American flag floating in the wind above the outpost, just like the one on the post parcels. Even if recruits often originate from the heart of American cities and gang territory, no one here has any goal other than to hold high and proud the star spangled banner. Each man knows he can count on the support of a whole people whoprovides them through the mail all that an American could miss in such a remote front-line location : books, chewing gums, razorblades, Gatorade, toothpaste etc. in such way that every man is aware of how much the American people backs him in his difficult mission.
And that is a first shock to our preconceptions: the American soldier is no individualist. The team, the group, the combat team are the focus of all his attention. And they are impressive warriors! We have not come across bad ones, as strange at it may seem to you when you know how critical French people can be. Even if some of them are a bit on the heavy side, all of them provide us everyday with lessons in infantry know-how. Beyond the wearing of a combat kit that never seem to discomfort them (helmet strap, helmet, combat goggles, rifles etc.) the long hours of watch at the outpost never seem to annoy them in the slightest. On the one square meter wooden tower above the perimeter wall they stand the five consecutive hours in full battle rattle and night vision goggles on top, their sight unmoving in the directions of likely danger. No distractions, no pauses, they are like statues nights and days. At night, all movements are performed in the dark - only a handful of subdued red lights indicate the occasional presence of a soldier on the move. Same with the vehicles whose lights are covered - everything happens in pitch dark even filling the fuel tanks with the Japy pump.
And combat ? If you have seen Rambo you have seen it all - always coming to the rescue when one of our teams gets in trouble, and always in the shortest delay. That is one of their tricks : they switch from T-shirt and sandals to combat ready in three minutes. Arriving in contact with the ennemy, the way they fight is simple and disconcerting; they just charge ! They disembark and assault in stride, they bomb first and ask questions later - which cuts any pussyfooting short. We seldom hear any harsh word, and from 5 AM onwards the camp chores are performed in beautiful order and always with excellent spirit. A passing American helicopter stops near a stranded vehicle just to check that everything is alright; an American combat team will rush to support ours before even knowing how dangerous the mission is - from what we have been given to witness, the American soldier is a beautiful and worthy heir to those who liberated France and Europe.
To those who bestow us with the honor of sharing their combat outposts and who everyday give proof of theirmilitary excellence, to those who pay the daily tribute of America's army's deployment on Afghan soil, to those we owned this article, ourselves hoping that we will always remain worthy of them and to always continue hearing them say that we are all the same band of brothers".
http://serendipity.ruwenzori.net/index.php/2008/09/21/american-troops-in-afghanistan-through-the-eyes-of-a-french-omlt-infantryman
American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French OMLT infantryman...This is absolutely great, interesting and moving. There is also a link to the original French article. Go to web site listed for interesting take on things in English. Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 2:46 AM -
Subject: American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French OMLT infantryman
21 Sep 2008 at 13:56 by Jean-Marc Liotier
The US often hears echoes of worldwide hostility against the application of its foreign policy, but seldom are they reached by the voices of those who experience first hand how close we are to the USA . In spite of contextual political differences and conflicting interests that generate friction, we do share the same fundamental values - and when push comes to shove that is what really counts. Through the eyes of that French OMLT (Operational Mentoring Liaison Teams) infantryman you can see how strong the bond is on the ground. In contrast with the Americans, the French soldiers don't seem to write much online - or maybe the proportion is the same but we just have less people deployed. Whatever the reason, this is a rare and moving testimony which is why I decided to translate it into English, so that American people can catch a glimpse of the way European soldiers see them. Not much high philosophy here, just the first hand impressions of a soldier in contact - but that only makes it more authentic. Here is the original French article, and here is my translation :"We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while - they are the first and fourth companies of aprestigious infantry battalion whose name I will withhold for the sake of military secrecy. To the common man it is a unit just like any other. But we live with them and got to know them, and we henceforth know that we have the honor to live with one of the most renowned units of the US Army - one that the movies brought to the public as series showing "ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary events".
Who are they, those soldiers from abroad, how is their daily life, and what support do they bring to the men of our OMLT every day ? Few of them belong to the Easy Company, the one the TV series focuses on. This one nowadays is named Echo Company, and it has become the support company. They have a terribly strong American accent - from our point of view the language they speak is not even English. How many times did I have to write down what I wanted to say rather than waste precious minutes trying various pronunciations of a seemingly common word? Whatever state they are from, no two accents are alike and they even admit that in some crisis situations they have difficulties understanding each other.
Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins and creatine - they are all heads and shoulderstaller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo. Our frames are amusingly skinny to them - we are wimps, even the strongest of us - and because of that they often mistake us for Afghans. Here we discover America as it is often depicted: their values are taken to their paroxysm, often amplified by promiscuity and the loneliness of this outpost in the middle of that Afghan valley. Honor, motherland - everything here reminds of that: the American flag floating in the wind above the outpost, just like the one on the post parcels. Even if recruits often originate from the heart of American cities and gang territory, no one here has any goal other than to hold high and proud the star spangled banner. Each man knows he can count on the support of a whole people whoprovides them through the mail all that an American could miss in such a remote front-line location : books, chewing gums, razorblades, Gatorade, toothpaste etc. in such way that every man is aware of how much the American people backs him in his difficult mission.
And that is a first shock to our preconceptions: the American soldier is no individualist. The team, the group, the combat team are the focus of all his attention. And they are impressive warriors! We have not come across bad ones, as strange at it may seem to you when you know how critical French people can be. Even if some of them are a bit on the heavy side, all of them provide us everyday with lessons in infantry know-how. Beyond the wearing of a combat kit that never seem to discomfort them (helmet strap, helmet, combat goggles, rifles etc.) the long hours of watch at the outpost never seem to annoy them in the slightest. On the one square meter wooden tower above the perimeter wall they stand the five consecutive hours in full battle rattle and night vision goggles on top, their sight unmoving in the directions of likely danger. No distractions, no pauses, they are like statues nights and days. At night, all movements are performed in the dark - only a handful of subdued red lights indicate the occasional presence of a soldier on the move. Same with the vehicles whose lights are covered - everything happens in pitch dark even filling the fuel tanks with the Japy pump.
And combat ? If you have seen Rambo you have seen it all - always coming to the rescue when one of our teams gets in trouble, and always in the shortest delay. That is one of their tricks : they switch from T-shirt and sandals to combat ready in three minutes. Arriving in contact with the ennemy, the way they fight is simple and disconcerting; they just charge ! They disembark and assault in stride, they bomb first and ask questions later - which cuts any pussyfooting short. We seldom hear any harsh word, and from 5 AM onwards the camp chores are performed in beautiful order and always with excellent spirit. A passing American helicopter stops near a stranded vehicle just to check that everything is alright; an American combat team will rush to support ours before even knowing how dangerous the mission is - from what we have been given to witness, the American soldier is a beautiful and worthy heir to those who liberated France and Europe.
To those who bestow us with the honor of sharing their combat outposts and who everyday give proof of theirmilitary excellence, to those who pay the daily tribute of America's army's deployment on Afghan soil, to those we owned this article, ourselves hoping that we will always remain worthy of them and to always continue hearing them say that we are all the same band of brothers".
http://serendipity.ruwenzori.net/index.php/2008/09/21/american-troops-in-afghanistan-through-the-eyes-of-a-french-omlt-infantryman
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