LinknZona

Saving Our Planet: Arizona's Controversial Solution to Global Warming

2011-01-02T10:44:00.004-07:00

(From frontpagemag.com 2Feb2010)

Many of Arizona's good citizens know a con when we see one, and for anthropogenic global warming, we caught on to the problem long ago. Man causes global warming by the horrible practice of daylight savings time.

You see, the extra hour of sunshine and daylight half the year heats up the planet. It is established science; there is no room for disagreement. More daylight means more heat. That is why the enlightened leadership in Arizona did away with daylight savings years ago. It is working! December of 2010 saw snowfall in Phoenix.

But, all is not well. Word is spreading fast in Arizona that the sinister forces of Soros, Gore, Pelosi, and Obama (Harry Reid is off somewhere gambling online) are pouring money into community organizations in Arizona to pass an initiative in 2012 to mandate Daylight Savings Time in Arizona. These evil forces need to extend and expand the Global Warming Crisis to continue the march of big government in America. How crass, how selfish, how shortsighted they are that they would destroy the planet for their own profits and personal gain.

Save the planet! Support Arizona with tourism, conventions, and new industry. Help lead the fight against Global Warming!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-20T09:57:00.001-07:00

Luke 2:7-14
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,
and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone
round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ
the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Water and Energy: Transportation by Automobile

2010-09-03T11:14:00.011-07:00

I am still on "vacation" from blogging, but I felt compelled to post the following.

Water and energy are strongly linked. Energy production takes water, a great deal of water. Transportation fuels are to water as food is to water. Water is the basic requirement for life and water is a basic requirement for fuel production for transportation. Water and energy are linked and this fact is inescapable.

But, how much water is required for various forms of fuel for transportation?

First, we define some nomenclature and units used in the calculation. One way is to determine how many gallons of water are required to produce a gallon of transportation fuel (fuel hereafter). Because the use of fuel varies by the type of vehicles being used and fuel efficiency in miles per gallon of fuel varies widely, we will use a term to relate water and fuel efficiency directly. This term is gallons of water required per vehicle mile travelled. This term, gallons of water per mile travelled (abbreviated as gal H2O/mile) then spans the various fuels and the various vehicle fuel efficiency if we use an average fuel efficiency in miles/gal. Much of this material is from a paper by King and Webber (2008). "Water Intensity of Transportation", Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 42, No. 21, pp. 7866-7872. source.

Let's Consider Some Numbers

If we assume an average fuel efficiency of a mix of cars, light trucks, and SUV's with an average efficiency of 20.5 miles/gallon, then we can compare the water use per mile (gal H2O/mile) of various fuels. The following are averages from the paper cited above.
1. Petroleum based gasoline and diesel fuels: 0.105 gal H2O/mile for gasoline and 0.08 gal H2O/mile for diesel.
2. Plug-in electric cars using the power grid: 0.37 gal H2O/mile (about 3.5 times as much as using gasoline).
3. Ethanol E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) from irrigated crops: 28 gal H2O/mile (about 267 times as much as gasoline).
4. Diesel fuel derived from irrigated soybeans: 8 gal H2O/mile (about 100 times as much as from petroleum based diesel).

These statistics mean that plug-in electric vehicles use about 3.5 times as much water per mile driven as conventional gasoline fueled vehicles. In addition, remember, electric power from the grid is highly dependent on electricity generated by coal power plants and nuclear power plants. Biofuels (ethanol (E85) and diesel) use about 100 to 300 times as much water per mile driven, as do conventionally powered gasoline vehicles.

Significance of Higher Water Use with Alternative Transportation Energy Sources

Supplies of traditional gasoline and diesel fuel can be obtained by expanded domestic exploration and drilling. Obtaining huge increases in available water (to use alternative transportation fuels) is much more difficult (or impossible) and it is expensive.

Quite simply, we can get more energy (oil, coal, nuclear power) for transportation, we know how, we know where, and it is economically viable. Water is another matter. Fresh water is a finite, and tightly limited resource. Water conservation will help, but we cannot conserve more that we use. It is not a matter of just pumping more groundwater (supplies are generally over used and groundwater levels are declining) or building more dams. Surface waters are already over allocated (more people have claims to the water than the amount that exists) and some dams are being removed based on questionable environmental reasoning. Desalination requires huge amounts of energy and where will we get the additional energy? Reclaimed sewer water can be used but most of it is already seen as a resource and supplies are limited. All potential sources of additional water are limited, infeasible, or impossible when we are considering increased water demand for transportation of approximately 3 to 300 fold.

Is it Right?

Every acre of cropland converted from food crops to biofuel production results in a reduction of food for people. While you as an individual may not be hungry, there are millions of Americans who are and billions more around the world.

Is shifting agriculture from food production to biofuel production wise? Is using food for transportation just? Is this a waste of food? In addition, is it a sin to waste food?

My Dear Friends, it is Time for a Break

2010-08-23T21:21:00.002-07:00

After about 5 years, I am tired. This blog has been a good outlet for me and I believe it let me accomplished a few things. I certainly made some great online friends and kept in touch with good friends and family. You have brought me happiness, thank you.

I have found myself busy with other things, all of which bring good feelings, love and happiness. My work remains a pleasure and something to look forward to every day.

Therefore, I have decided to take a break for a few months. I might be back with an occasional post, but plan to do little here until my annual Christmas story. In the meantime, please come back near the holidays and look for a Christmas story.

Until then, may God bless you and keep you. I hope you find comfort in your faith and your families. They are what count the most in life.

Loma Alta
Aug. 23, 2010

Did Harvard Get its Marching Orders?

2010-08-16T11:44:00.005-07:00

This received no State Press notice in the U.S. Then,the Drudge Report linked to it Aug 16.

You thought it was terrible about U.S. actions in the UN and the president's support for the mega-mosque at ground zero. Well, it just keeps getting worse. Seems the radical leftists and radical Islamists are lining up behind our radical-leftist, Muslim president to formulate even more anti-Semitic policies. Of course, the State Press completes this unholy triumvirate.

It was reported in Israel's Globe on August, 15, 2010 source.

Harvard University fund sells all Israel holdings

No reason for the sale was mentioned in the report to the SEC.
15 August 10 17:15, Hillel Koren

In another blow to Israeli shares, the Harvard Management Company notified the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday that it had sold all its holdings in Israeli companies during the second quarter of 2010. No reason for the sale was mentioned. The Harvard Management Company manages Harvard University's endowment.

How Low Will The Leftists & Islamists in America Go?

God only knows the depths of their prejudice, hatred, and evil. However, I think we will see more and more of it, especially during the Nov. 2010 - Jan 2011 lame duck Congress period and Obama's lame duck period from now through Jan 2013.

The only solace we have as people of faith and good will is that we know. Yes, we know of the inevitable judgment and we know what will happen to the evil forces opposing and oppressing Israel. Let's pray that America can become decent and tolerant again, and soon.

Some Myths & Realities about Illegal Immigration

2010-08-10T08:58:00.008-07:00

You have all heard the myths of illegal immigration, open borders, and amnesty.

Here are some quick examples:

1) "They are only taking jobs Americans won' do." -- Proven false when immigration raided business such as the meat packing plant in Greely, CO. Tens of thousands of Americans sought work there after the raids. This pattern has been repeated across the land whenever illegal aliens are arrested and jobs become available.

2) "They are good people and have the right to enter our country." It is a crime to enter America illegally. It is a crime to work here illegally, it is a crime to be involved in identity theft, it is a crime to falsify job applications, ...

3) "If I were poor and starving, I would do the same thing." Well, unemployment has skyrocketed to over 10% and as high as nearly 50% in some job applicant classes; youth, unskilled, etc. I wonder why people saying this nonsense do not go to Mexico or any country in the world illegally and find work? The simple answer is they face arrest and imprisonment if they enter another country illegally.

One could write a book about the thousands of myths and lies used by the enemies of America to justify illegal immigration.

Here is the truth about illegal immigration. It is from the recent protests against Arizona's SB1070. (SB1070 would have brought equal justice under law in Arizona).

You will not see it in the state media.

Like Other Leftist Projects, the Volt is a Scam, at the Taxpayers' Expense

2010-08-07T11:05:00.005-07:00

Like other loony leftist ideas the Government Motors Volt is illogical, indefensible, much more harmful to the environment than helpful, and all done with taxpayers money for a very few of the leftist elite.

Here is some of what Jonah Goldberg had to say.

Because the Volt’s sticker price might be too high for even that crowd, the government is offering a federal subsidy of up to $7,500 (Californians have a state subsidy, too), which means that working-class people will be helping to pay for playthings for upper-income people.

“Like the EV1 that GM tried to peddle in the California market,” Kenneth Green, an environmental scientist at the American Enterprise Institute, says, “the Volt is a vanity car for the well-off that will be subsidized by less well-off taxpayers at all stages, from R&D to sales and to the construction of charging stations.”

Indeed, the Volt’s price is $41,000, but the cost is much higher. “Government Motors” is already selling the car at a loss. According to the blogger Doctor Zero, if you apply the subsidies that have gone directly into the car to just the first 10,000 vehicles, the cost is more like $81,000 per car.

Of course, electric-car boosters say this sort of thing is necessary to get the industry up and running. (Green responds: “Supporters claim that electric cars need subsidies because they’re still in their infancy. Electric cars have been around for over 100 years. That’s some infancy.”)

But would it be a good thing if we all switched to electric cars? The point is to reduce CO2 emissions, right? But in some regions, we get our electricity from CO2-spewing coal. The more electricity pulled from the grid, the more coal is burned, essentially replacing dirty oil with dirtier coal (which is why some coal backers see much promise in electric cars). Studies confirm that China — which is allegedly “beating us” in the race to a green economy — would produce vastly more greenhouse emissions if it switched to electric vehicles. source.

There you have it. Another "green swindle" at the taxpayers' expense.

What is Your Share of State Debts?

2010-08-04T08:27:00.006-07:00

The following link is to a map showing per capita debts to state government. This does not include the trillons of dollars of the federal debt, but it is still massive in leftist states. Values range from $15 per capita in Nebraska to nearly $4000 to $5000 in the leftist states on both coasts and Hawaii.

Your share of the state debt
States are taking on more debt. Here’s your state’s burden per capita. source.

Amazing for Leftist California

2010-08-03T21:52:00.006-07:00

This is an amazing story to come from California, the home of leftist, judicial activist judges.

THE JUDGES SAVE THE PEOPLE:
THE CALIFORNIA STATE SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

THE CALIFORNIA STATE SUPREME COURT RULED AGAINST THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO AND SAID THAT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION MUST END IN CALIFORNIA. source.

The Bagpiper

2010-07-30T21:45:00.001-07:00

A friend sent me this one.

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Kentucky back country.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late.

I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play. The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man. And as I played 'Amazing Grace,' the workers began to weep. They wept,I wept, we all wept together.

When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full. As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."

Apparently I'm still lost....

Prince of Fools and Vast Confederacy of Fools

2010-07-26T09:40:00.001-07:00

This came via email.

QUOTE OF THE CENTURY, MAYBE EVEN THE MILLENNIUM

Some people have the vocabulary to sum up things in a way you can understand them. This quote came from the Czech Republic . Someone over there has it figured out. We have a lot of work to do.

"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."

Oil and Red Ink Spills

2010-07-23T08:59:00.007-07:00

I received these via email. Had to pass them on. Have to love John Wayne.

Vacation and Deadlines

2010-07-12T10:08:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone.

High pressure business deadlines to meet before a scheduled vacation.

Will see you in a week or two.

Take care my friends and May God Bless You.

Radical Left Discovers What Decent People Have Known for Centuries

2010-07-05T09:39:00.006-07:00

First, I Wish You a belated Happy Independence Day. Thank God for his divine inspiration of our Founding Fathers and the freedoms we have enjoyed and hope to enjoy in the future.

It seems that a very few of the radical leftists running many of our state governments and many counties and cities within other states have discovered a cause and effect relationship between crime and punishment. Would that all politicians and bureaucrats discover this, the criminals surely know it.

In short, if criminals are held accountable for their crimes and punished accordingly, they will commit fewer crimes. Likewise, if criminals released on probation are forced to obey the rules of their probation, their recidivism is drastically reduced.

Here are some excerpts from a recent trial period of enforcing probation rules and the dramatic results. And this is from far left Hawaii!

HOPE (Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement), a new program that has been implemented in Honolulu, successfully links the criminal justice system to substance abuse treatment when needed. This program has the potential to command strong bipartisan support and substantially extend the reach of drug courts. HOPE holds the promise of significantly reducing the demand for illegal drugs, crime, and prison populations across the US. This innovative program can be branded and promoted as a high-visibility, high impact upgrading of the nation’s efforts to reduce illegal drug use and crime at the same time that it will reduce the nation’s prison population.

The drug abusers who use the most drugs and create the highest social costs frequently are also criminally active as drug dealers themselves and as property and violent offenders. They are also the most reliable customers of other drug dealers. It is their money that keeps the illegal drug markets in business, thereby damaging the neighborhoods where open dealing takes place. Their recidivism contributes greatly both to the crime rate and to the unconscionably large prison population.

Most of the drug using offenders are on probation, parole, or out on bail. Drug courts harness the leverage of the criminal justice system and the nation’s treatment system to reduce drug use and recidivism in this group, but drug courts are expensive and limited in scope. For example, most drug courts will not accept offenders with a history of violent crime. HOPE, however, extends the best features of drug courts to far larger populations at much lower costs.

Four years ago Project HOPE was started by Judge Steven S. Alm, a dedicated and creative judge in Honolulu, Hawaii. Alm’s vision was related to that of the founders of the drug court movement, but used a different approach, one with the promise of eventually encompassing every active drug user under criminal justice supervision in the community.
SNIP
The current system for handling drug use by criminal offenders under community supervision is akin to ignoring a child’s misbehavior for years and then, at some unpredictable moment, disowning or kicking the child out of the house. That strategy does not work for children and works even less well for criminal offenders released under supervision into the community. In contrast, the HOPE model includes quick, predicable, but relatively mild punishments for continued drug use. HOPE’s results, both in reduced drug use and less time behind bars, are striking.
SNIP
Compared to routine probation, HOPE has been shown in a careful, independent evaluation to reduce drug use by more than 90%1 and new crimes by more than 50% while shrinking the average number of days a probationer spends behind bars. In contrast, violation rates for non-HOPE probationers grew steadily worse over time, with 37% eventually having their probation revoked, compared with fewer than 5% for participants in HOPE. source.

In other words, uniformly enforcing existing probation rules works. Not enforcing them does not. If everyone in the criminal system knows that all violations will be punished, repeat drug use and crime are dramatically reduced. All this resulted from one judge in a very liberal state.

Arizona Is Going to Try Enforcing Probation as they did in Hawaii

Ever since the abominable Gov. Janet Napolitano and her radical leftist veto and obstructionist policies left Arizona to neuter Homeland Security, Arizona has been passing a series of laws expanding citizens' freedom, cracking down on illegal aliens and their crimes, and reversing some of the insane liberal burden Arizonans suffered under.

If conservative legislators work with a conservative governor, then much can be accomplished toward equal justice under law and a civil society.

Now, Arizona is trying a probation reform based on Hawaii's HOPE. Here are some excerpts from a recent story in the local paper.

Kim Smith Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Sunday, July 4, 2010 12:00 am

In one way, at least, it's good to be a drug addict on probation in Arizona.

Probationers are typically allowed to test positive for drugs multiple times before they are finally hauled into court.

If they own up to violating this rule or that rule, and ask the court for a second or a third chance, they have every reason to expect those prayers will be answered.

Not anymore. Starting this fall, punishment will be swift and certain for those selected to participate in Project SAFE, or Swift Accountable Fair Enforcement. Use drugs on probation, and go straight to jail.

Six years ago, officials in Hawaii grew tired of people on probation missing drug-testing appointments, using drugs or absconding, so they developed HOPE, or Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement. source.

There is Hope for Arizona

Unlike California where the radical leftists have pushed the state so far left that it may never recover, there is hope for good government in Arizona. However, we must temper the optimism with the obvious warning. Hope will remain only so long as Arizona voters continue to support the good and the decent among our politicians, the patriotic conservatives.

Red Flag Warning--Mexico may Elect a Communist President

2010-07-01T21:10:00.006-07:00

Here is one assessment of the top two candidates for President of Mexico in 2012.

MEXICO CITY — They appear on the covers of society magazines flanked by their partners, soap-opera bombshells. They use street parties, cheerleaders and slick televised productions to tout their state-level accomplishments to a national audience.

Neither the mayor of Mexico’s biggest city nor the governor of its most populous state have confirmed their 2012 presidential ambitions, but already they are seen as the ones to beat. And while there are stylistic similarities between Marcelo Ebrard and Enrique Pena Nieto, the very different directions they propose could set Mexico’s path for years to come.

While similar in age, the 50-year-old Ebrard and 43-year-old Pena Nieto bear little resemblance to the stiff, bespectacled President Felipe Calderon, 47, a no-nonsense technocrat whose term has been dominated by a brutal drug war that has killed more than 15,000 people since he took office in 2006. So far, no one from Calderon’s conservative National Action Party has emerged as a top candidate to succeed him.

“Definitely, this is a new generation,” said Lorena Carreno, president of the Mexican Association of Public Relations Agencies. “They are closing the circle to create an integrated marketing strategy, a prefabricated brand.”

Pena Nieto, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party that ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century, is known as “Gel Boy” for the seemingly immovable wave in his hair and his sexy good looks. He appears regularly on the national Televisa network with celebrities who fawn over public works in his impoverished state that rings Mexico City.

Ebrard, of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, is a charismatic politician recognized internationally for greening one of the world’s smoggiest cities, and has created so many subsidies for single mothers, students, retirees and others that some working-class parents jokingly refer to their kids as “the children of Marcelo.”
Both are flamboyant in their pursuit of attention. source.

Here is a brief description of the leftist candidate. This sounds very familiar. We heard how much Hugo Chavez was going to do for Venezuela. He is becoming a dictator and has forged political and military ties with Russia, China, Cuba, and Iran. Chavez has been seeking military alliances against the United States, military hardware, and probably nuclear weapons from Iran. We had our own dose of a stealth leftist in 2008, we seem helpless as Obama, and his handlers, shred the Constitution and march the United States toward socialism and bankruptcy.

Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón (born on October 10, 1959 in Mexico City) is the current Head of Government of the Federal District since December 5, 2006. He is a Mexican politician affiliated to the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) who served as Secretary-General of the former Mexican Federal District Department, minister of public security and minister of social development of the Mexican capital. He was the successful candidate of the PRD-led electoral alliance to serve as Head of Government of the Federal District in the 2006 Federal District election. source.

We see the dangers of leftist tyrants in Venezuela Cuba, China, North Korea, Iran, etc. Come 2012 we could have another Castro or Hugo Chaves on our border. With no oceans to protect us, no fence, and nothing but an open border policy and a push for amnesty, we are sitting ducks. Imagine a communist takeover in Mexico. We now have a few thousand jihadists and other terrorists crossing our southern border, a flood of drugs and violence, and millions of illegal invaders. Imagine the problems we would have if Mexico's 110 million people fell to communism and its radical government invited our enemies to their country (as Venezuela has done) and we had a possible nuclear threat on our border.

Also, imagine a communist bloodbath of their political enemies in Mexico causing mass illegal immigration of 20 or 30 million fleeing from the violence. Could America protect itself? Would our radical leftists even try? Hard, sad, disastrous days may be coming. Watch the elections south of the border and pray for deliverance from our enemies.

Israel Holds Firm, Iran Decides Not to Run Blockade

2010-06-26T21:51:00.004-07:00

This is an example of what Carter should have done to Iran, what Reagan did, and what G. H. W. Bush, Clinton, G .W. Bush, and Obama did not. Only one out of six U. S. presidents stood up to Iran and called their bluff.

Tiny Israel, faced with genocide and extinction by Iran and its allies, bullied by Europe, the United Nations, Hillary, and Obama was alone and threatened. The Israelis took the only stand they could and survive. America should cheer Israel, thank them for standing for freedom and justice, and learn from them. However, with socialist leaders and an Islamic, socialist president, we will not.

Obama and the radical leftists will give further aid and comfort to our enemies. Make no mistake about it; Israel's enemies are our enemies. In addition, we are wrong to appease those enemies. Appeasement never works with bullies and tyrants. It was wrong for Europe to appease Hitler, it is wrong for the civilized world to appease North Korea, Iran, and the terrorists in Gaza.

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran will not be sending a blockade-busting ship to Gaza in defiance of Israeli warnings, an Iranian lawmaker said Saturday, citing Israeli "restrictions."

Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash told the semiofficial ISNA news agency that instead of sending a ship, an Iranian delegation of lawmakers would travel to Lebanon and sail on one of the aid ships expected to head to Gaza from there.

The Iranian ship called "Infants of Gaza" had been expected to sail Sunday for Gaza carrying 1,100 tons of relief supplies and 10 pro-Palestinian activists but plans were canceled "due to restrictions imposed by the occupying Zionist regime," Bighash said. source.

If we know anything, we know this is not the end of Iran's treachery. They will continue to threaten Israel, the Middle East, Europe and the United States. We know how to stop these tyrants, but we have chosen the wrong side, the side of evil and tyranny, not the side of right, peace, and democratic solutions. More trouble, terrorism, and wars are sure to follow because of the decisions the West has taken to support terrorism and tyrants.

The NRA Has Sold Out to Congressional Democrats

2010-06-19T10:37:00.005-07:00

***** UPDATE *****
You can reach some of these leaders at the NRA directly:

Ronald L. Schmeits, NRA President:
18 Private Road #2001ST
Raton NM 87740
575-445-5836, 575-445-2080 fax

Charles L. Cunningham, Director, NRA-ILA Federal Affairs:
4864 Oakcrest Drive
Fairfax VA 22030
703-352-3245, 202-651-2570 fax

David A. Keene, NRA 1st Vice President:
5602 Dawes Avenue
Alexandria VA 22311-1102
703-671-5602

James W. Porter II, NRA 2nd Vice President:
215 21st Street N #1000
Birmingham AL 35203-3710
205-322-1744
***** END UPDATE *****

What a shame. NRA has abandoned its members and the rest of America to cut a deal with the radical leftists to grant NRA, and unspecified other organizations, "exemptions" from the free speech limitations contained in the DISCLOSE Act.

I have been in a battle with NRA for the past few days. They keep saying that they will oppose the DISCLOSE Act if it applies to them, but not if they get an exemption. Does this remind you of AARP and other organizations that sought and received special treatment in Obama's health care nationalization?

I resigned my NRA membership and sent a letter to the president of NRA (no email available, sent it by US Mail). Incidentally, NRA will only accept your resignation if you send them a letter in hard copy with an original signature, via US mail. This alone should make one suspicious of their motives. They do this to keep their members list big even if you resign or quit paying dues.

Here is a copy of my latest email to ccox@nrhhq.org the director of NRA's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA). I did not include a copy of their letter to me because my response summarized what they said and I would only publish their letter if I had their permission. After finding out how difficult it was to resign from NRA, I did not believe I could get their permission to publish their letter in a timely manner, if ever.

Anyway, here is a copy of my email to NRA-ILA.

Thank you for your prompt response. It is well crafted, but does not answer the question. From the email I received from NRA and from the statement on you web site I got the following:

"On June 14, 2010, Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives pledged that H.R. 5175 would be amended to exempt groups like the NRA, that meet certain criteria, from its onerous restrictions on political speech. As a result, and as long as that remains the case, the NRA will not be involved in final consideration of the House bill."

And this from your web site today:

"We didn't "sell out" to Nancy Pelosi or anyone else. We told Congress we opposed the bill. As a result, congressional leaders announced they would exempt us from its draconian restrictions on free speech. If that happens, we will not be involved in the final House debate. If it doesn't, we will continue to strongly oppose the bill."

From both statements we have this critical phrase:

... congressional leaders announced they would exempt us from its draconian restrictions on free speech. If that happens, we will not be involved in the final House debate.

I read both statements as clearly stating that you have collaborated with Congressional leaders to get an exception for NRA, and if that happens you will not be involved in the final House debate. So, if you get your exemption from the "onerous restrictions on political speech" then you will cease opposition to the onerous restrictions being applied to everyone else.

Your reply to me was disingenuous. NRA if not fighting the onerous restrictions if you get your exemption. And everyone at NRA knows as well as I do that you cannot defend the Second Amendment if you collaborate with would-be tyrants restricting First Amendment rights. You understand that you cannot, you can never, stand by and watch the First Amendment fall and have any chance whatsoever of subsequently defending the Second Amendment.

You are putting your trust in radical left wing politicians to keep their word to an organization they hate and have vowed to eliminate--NRA.

Because you do these things knowing they are wrong and then wrap yourself in the statements that your sole purpose is to defend the Second Amendment, is disingenuous and a betrayal of your members and of America. The Second Amendment cannot, will not, stand if the First Amendment falls. You know this.

You cannot be so ignorant nor so naive to believe that if you cut a deal to protect your First Amendment rights, while watching others lose their rights, that your stand in retreating behind the single purpose organization claim is at all credible.

When it comes to politics and treachery you cannot match the radical leftists in their abilities to promise one thing to you today and then attack you again tomorrow.

The cover up always hurts an organization more than the original crime or mistake. NRA made a bad mistake in carving out an exemption for themselves and abandoning all others' First Amendment rights. You have no right to put yourself above your members or anyone else by collaborating with those opposed to the Second Amendment as well as the First Amendment.

The sooner you admit your mistake, apologize, ask forgiveness, and vow not to act that way again, the sooner NRA can regain its high ground.

Until then, Americans who value all of our freedoms will see you as crass opportunists protecting you jobs and income at the expense of your members and your country.

Correct your mistake now before more and more members justly leave you and your enemies see your weakness. Then, sadly, it will be too late.

How many people and organizations think they can outsmart the crooked,leftist politicians in congress? They cannot for a variety of reasons including 1) the leftist politicians are corrupt to the core and never will keep their word,2) most of them are tricky lawyers and have years and years of practice in lying and cheating and bribing their opponents, and 3) appeasement of tyrants or would-be tyrants never works. History is full of millions of people who were cheated, imprisoned, or murdered trying to appease tyrants.

Health Care Propaganda Campaign Well Underway in the State Media

2010-06-14T08:45:00.009-07:00

Confidence men know a good con requires an element of truth to make the bigger lie believable.

The government campaign for rationing health care is well underway. The AP is delivering a series of articles to your local newspaper (and expect a barrage of similar propaganda in other forms of the state media).

The first major release in the series said women should wait a decade longer to begin having mammograms.
The second said that elderly men should usually receive little or no treatment for prostate cancer.
And the third in the series, out today, blames medical radiation for increasing our rates of cancer.

The Con Preparing for the Big Lie

The con goes like this. Americans are receiving too much medical treatment and it is making them sick or sicker than there were. Therefore, you need less medical care.

Here is the element of truth. Some people have illnesses very hard to diagnose and a battery of tests is needed to determine the proper diagnosis and treatment. Thus, it may appear they are getting unnecessary tests. And, no doubt, some patients are hypochondriacs.

Since tort lawyers in America lined up as an appendage of the Democrat party, all doctors are practicing some sort of defensive medicine to avoid devastating lawsuits and to reduce their insurance premiums. No doubt, some physicians may order too many tests out of a fear of missing something and failing their patients or out of fear of the lawyers lurking and advertizing everywhere.

All ionizing radiation can be harmful if we receive too much of it. But good doctors and their patients balance the risks of using medical radiation diagnostic tools against letting symptoms of serious illness go undiagnosed. In other cases, for example, for some broken bones, there is simply no other non-invasive way to direct the treatment.

Here is the propaganda buildup to the "Big Lie" needed to ration Americans' health care. It starts as a media campaign to condition the public to the belief that their doctors are their enemies, that they are greedy and order too many tests and procedures just to make money, and that more government intervention is better than decisions made by people and their doctors.

The Big Lie

Medical doctors are evil, greedy, and are not taking good care of you. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to decide which patient needs what treatment and which patient cannot have the treatments their doctors recommend. Government, as part of our nationalized health care, is preparing to insert politicians and bureaucrats between you and your doctor because that is what is best for you.

The Truth

Big government does very few things well. Big government run by radical leftists cannot do anything well. Examples? Consider Amtrak to mortgages to reforms of any kind.

Nothing can replace free enterprise and the freedom it brings. Nothing can replace the well tested doctor-patient relationship that, prior to government interference and takeover, brought Americans the miracles of modern medicine and the best health care possible.

Brief Sketch of Origins & Evils of Socialism and Communism--What is America's Future?

2010-06-05T10:12:00.008-07:00

Socialism and Communism

The first modern socialists were early 19th century Western European social critics. In this period, socialism emerged from a diverse array of doctrines and social experiments associated primarily with British and French thinkers—especially Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Louis Blanc, and Saint-Simon. These social critics criticised the excesses of poverty and inequality of the Industrial Revolution, and advocated reforms such as the egalitarian distribution of wealth and the transformation of society into small communities in which private property was to be abolished. Outlining principles for the reorganization of society along collectivist lines, Saint-Simon and Owen sought to build socialism on the foundations of planned, utopian communities.

According to some accounts, the use of the words "socialism" or "communism" was related to the perceived attitude toward religion in a given culture. In Europe, "communism" was considered to be the more atheistic of the two. In England, however, that sounded too close to communion with Catholic overtones; hence atheists preferred to call themselves socialists. source.

More on Communism

"Pure communism" in the Marxian sense refers to a classless, stateless and oppression-free society where decisions on what to produce and what policies to pursue are made democratically, allowing every member of society to participate in the decision-making process in both the political and economic spheres of life. In modern usage, communism is often used to refer to the policies of the various communist states, which were authoritarian governments that had centrally planned economies and ownership of all the means of production. Most communist governments based their ideology on Marxism-Leninism.
SNIP
Like other socialists, Marx and Engels sought an end to capitalism and the systems which they perceived to be responsible for the exploitation of workers. But whereas earlier socialists often favored longer-term social reform, Marx and Engels believed that popular revolution was all but inevitable, and the only path to socialism and communism. source.

How do They Work in Real Life?

In short, they don't. All socialist states have failed, bringing misery and tyranny of ever growing and intrusive government and ultimate power to a tyrannical elite. The final stages are often unemployment, starvation, breakdown of the society and civility, and brutal government repression.

Communist states are even worse. They are usually born in brutal revolutions followed by installation of a corrupt dictatorship. Power is maintained by propaganda, censorship, repression, and murder of millions. Like socialist states, the economy and society break down, but government repression and mass murders prolong the peoples' agony.

Why Do Communists Kill So Many Millions of their Own People?

One answer is absolute power corrupts absolutely. But this misses the mark. It is a big factor, but no other ideology or dictatorships even come close to communism. The answer is that killing the bourgeois, the middle class property owners, is a basic tenet of communism and that dictatorial power corrupts. Communist goals always including eliminating freedom and religion and I believe that the lack of freedom and religion release the beast in man.

Much of this is explained in a brilliant essay by Dr. Fred Schwarz as follows. Please read the entire article here.

Why Communism Kills

The Record of Communist Killing

Communism kills! This is not debatable. The record is crystal clear. The U.S. Senate Internal Security Subcommittee conducted investigations into the number killed in the Soviet Union and China. Their report stated that 35 million to 45 million had been killed in the Soviet Union and 34 million to 62.5 million in Communist China.

Even these figures are considered inadequate by authorities on the Soviet Union such as Solzhenitsyn and Antonov Ovesyenko. The latter, whose father led the Bolshevik storming of the Winter Palace in 1917, has recently published the book entitled The Time of Stalin-Portrait of a Tyranny. He calculates those killed as a result of the Communist conquest of Russia at 100 million.

Some apologists for Communism acknowledge that Communism has killed in the past, but they blame this on incidental factors such as the traditions of cruelty and violence which existed in the countries conquered by the Communists, and they do not believe that killing is an essential ingredient of communism itself. They believe that the triumph of Communism in the United States, England, or Western Europe would not lead to mass slaughter. Are they right or are they suffering from a dangerous delusion? To answer this question, it is necessary to know why Communism kills.

Why

A simple, direct answer to the question, "Why does communism kill?" is-because the founder of Communism, Karl Marx, told them it was necessary to kill a large segment of the population in order to attain the basic objective of Communism.

Marx states in the Manifesto of the Communist Party:

You must, therefore, confess that by "individual" you mean no other person than the bourgeois, than the middle-class owner of property. This person must indeed, be swept out of the way, and made impossible. (Published by Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1973 edition, page 66)

The Two Worst Examples

Communist Russia and Communist China together account for about 165,000,000 murders of their own people. This is more than all the wars of the 20th Century and all other tyrants combined. The magnitude of this number of murders is mind boggling. This is half the current U. S. population.

Where are Obama and the Radical Leftists Taking America?

Guess. The federal government has nationalized health care, 2 of the 3 major U. S. auto makers, and much of our insurance, mortgage, and banking industries. It is now trying to nationalize education and energy. We are well down the road to socialism. Redistribution of wealth is designed to rob the working middle class and give it to those in the lower classes, many of whom do not work. "Tax the rich philosophy" is intended to, and does, cripple private industry and entrepreneurship. Defeatist and anti-American foreign policies and defense policies are rapidly decreasing America's ability to defend itself and remain a reliable ally.

Where are they taking us? It looks like socialism, but I believe Obama and his radical leftists supporters (most Democrats, labor leaders, activist judges, print and broadcast media, academia, and racist ideologues; note--all of these groups overlap) are communist at heart.

The transformation from socialism to communism will require a one party system and tyranny. What's needed for them is to get another 10 to 20 million voters to irreversibly capture the federal government. I also believe that this is the purpose of community organizers and amnesty for illegal aliens.

Am I close in my thinking? If the Republic is in grave danger, can we rescue it?

Redistribution of Wealth

2010-06-02T21:19:00.004-07:00

Redistribution of Wealth Long Recognized as Wrong

Redistribution of wealth in current day America is the forced taking of income, and thus any or all property that can be purchased with one's income depending upon how much income is seized, by government, but particularly by the federal government. This means that one citizen who works for money to support himself and family can have a portion, entirely at the government's discretion, forcefully taken from him to support other citizens who do not work.*

This has been recognized as wrong throughout recorded history of the civilized world and in the faiths of those people it has always been a sin. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Genesis:3-19

This was also specified in the Ten Commandments:
“Thou shalt not steal” ( Exodus 20:15).
“Thou shalt not covet” ( Exodus 20:17).
Redistribution of wealth is coveting and stealing.

Property rights are also well recognized in our Constitution

The 5th Amendment
"...nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

The 14th Amendment
"...No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."...

Practical Meaning in Today's Situation

Socialists and communists who believe neither in the Bible nor the Constitution believe that a government, run by themselves, can and should take the rewards of one man's work and give to another man who has not worked for it based on such things as race, political affiliation, and self preservation of the elite running the government.

The greatest negative impact of redistribution is the economic, physical, and spiritual decline of those who receive rewards stolen from their fellow citizens. First, this receipt of money and goods without earning them makes the recipients dependent upon the government. Second, personal initiative and the blessings of work are lost to these dependents. Third, through the loss of personal initiative. responsibility, and not learning to save and resist the temptations of "something for nothing" the family structure of dependents is destroyed. Once the family unit is destroyed, then children are not raised with the love, discipline, faith, and moral guidance required for their proper growth and development morally, mentally, physically, or spiritually.

Thus, dependency causes breakdown in the families and individuals receiving unearned rewards. Civility, patriotism, education, and health and well being are lost.

Next to outright murder and torture, redistribution of wealth is the greatest evil government can foist onto those dependent on it. Look across our country from the smallest towns to the largest cities and the ills and evils of those dependent on government redistribution of wealth are inescapable. No other form of government, and no single action of government, has led to such widespread misery, destruction, and wasting of human lives, as has redistribution of wealth. Any who deny it, should go and live like, and among, the desperate governments dependents.

In The Long Run

A country who lets its dependency class approach 50% of the population is teetering on the brink of destruction. The elections in 2010 and 2012 provide us with the opportunity to roll back socialism and restore the blessings of freedom to America.

-------------
* There has always been and there always will be the poor among us. Those mentally and physically unable to work and support themselves, and uncared for children, must be supported by the working citizens of our country. This is best done through genuine private charity and through minimal government charity programs without the appearance or actuality of entitlements. Government dependency must be avoided and unavailable to any who can work for their own support.

A free and market-based society has proven to be the only kind that can secure liberty and work opportunities for all of its people.

Memorial Day 2010

2010-05-28T09:10:00.006-07:00

On this special day let us pray that God Bless and Keep all of our fallen heroes. Our government is honoring them less this year than ever before. Let's not let this go unnoted; we should not let it stand. Please fly our flag on Memorial Day, and bow our heads in prayer for them.

They have given their lives for our freedom, our safety, our American way of life. Jesus said: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13). This is a great way to know how our fallen heroes loved each other, their country, and even us.

As we remember them on Memorial Day, it is good to start by hearing about our living troops and what they mean to us. Let's hear about the living first from Lt. Col. Oliver North during his recent speech to the NRA Convention.

Now that we know a little more about the faith, honor, decency, and love of our troops, let's now turn our attention to those who gave their lives in defense of America and everything good it has stood for since our Founding Fathers gave us the blessings of a Republic, the United States of America.

We visit Arlington National Cemetery; where every president from A. Lincoln onward went to on Memorial Day. We will not have our president at Arlington National Cemetery this year of 2010.

Therefore, I hope you will take time to view this video on Arlington and take time to pray for our fallen heroes. Please pray with love for them. May God Bless them. Amen.

Justice and Injustice: Some Real Answers

2010-05-25T20:51:00.007-07:00

Two of my favorite columnists are Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell. I have yet to see a column by either one of them that is not well worth reading and studying. The words "excellent, brilliant, courageous, and good common sense" come to mind.

Today it is time to excerpt some of Thomas Sowell's remarks. If I could, I would have everyone in America read and understand this column. Understanding and acting upon Thomas Sowell's words could change America and show that almost all of the raucous and malicious cries of "Racism!" from the left are the result of malicious politics and self interest, denial of facts, and substituting mushy and self-serving thoughts and actions for what is right and just.

Please read the entire article.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Classic Sowell: Justice and Injustice
by Thomas Sowell

A heartbreaking social statistic is that children on welfare have only about half as many words per day directed at them as the children of working-class families-- and less than one-third as many words as children whose parents are professionals. This is especially painful in view of the fact that scientists have found that the actual physical development of the brain is affected by how much interaction young children receive.
SNIP
Even if every child entered the world with equal innate ability, by the time they were grown they would nevertheless have very different mental capabilities.
SNIP
The mother's diet and her intake of alcohol or drugs affects the unborn child. Differences in the amount of nutrition received in the womb create differences even between identical twins.
SNIP
While it is heartbreaking to think of the large differences in ability and behavior that can be created by the way different parents raise their children, it is no less heartbreaking to think of other social differences that go back to the way kids are brought up. For example, anyone who watches the television program "Cops" will see an endless succession of real losers who wreck their lives and the lives of others through sheer irresponsibility and lack of self-control.
SNIP
In terms of broader social policy, we need to make a sharp distinction between saying that some people are victims of a tragic fate and saying that they are victims of discrimination by employers, bias in the courts or the sins of other individuals they encounter. Scapegoating other people is not likely to help-- and it can distract attention from the real problems, which are too serious to misdiagnose. Source.

There You Have It

If we would put prejudice behind us (including scapegoating what we don't like) and stop making excuses and accusations, then giant leaps in social and humane justice could be made.

Again, if everyone in America could read this column by Thomas Sowell, pray and ponder over its truth and power, and act accordingly, America would make rapid strides towards justice and equal justice under the law. What a great day that would be.

Here is why Obama and the Democrats Betrayed Us when Mexican President Calderon Lectured Us

2010-05-22T21:01:00.002-07:00

A dumb senator from Mexico let the cat out of the bag about what's up with open borders, illegal immigration, and amnesty for illegals.

El Universal (Mexico City) 5/20/10
Mexican senator calls for US to vote Democratic
Speaking from the US while part of President Calderon’s entourage, the president of the Mexican senate, Carlos Navarrete Ruiz, called on the Hispanic community to deliver a triumphant victory to the Democratic party in order to assist the White House in negotiating an immigration reform. The senator of the left-leaning PRD party said, “I have no problem expressing that, as I see the circumstances in the US Congress, it would be useful and would serve Mexico if the migrants give a victory to the Democrats to increase the majority in congress and this will permit the reform that is needed to protect migrants.” [Only five readers' comments followed this story. All accused their own politicians of meddling in US politics.] source

It is time the GOP quit selling us out for cheap labor and stood up for America.

Equal Justice Under Law Bothers Leftist Radicals

2010-05-21T10:11:00.009-07:00

From Obama to the President of Mexico to the Cuban Legislature and to the racists of La Raza (the Race), and the state media, everyone on the radical left is upset about Arizona's new immigration law. The law is intended to institute equal justice under law in Arizona so that the criminal illegal aliens will be subject to the laws of Arizona just as criminals among its citizens are. That's called equal justice under law, and it is more than fair to illegal aliens.

The racial profiling argument is racist, knowingly false, pernicious, and leftist propaganda. The boycotts of Arizona violate the interstate commerce clause, are unconstitutional, and are mean-spirited hate crimes.

Racial profiling is a standard practice throughout the world and especially in the U.S. The FBI has a criminal profiling unit that is so biased it is batting near zero percent in its profiling of criminals. Every time they release a profile of a serial killer or terrorist it reads something like this: ...single white male, 25-44 years old, alienated from society, angry with himself, quiet, anti-social, and filled with hate..." Of course they are usually wrong. Remember the Atlanta pedophile and serial killer of young black boys? Well, he turned to be some of the above except a black man not a white man. Remember the DC snipers? Same racial profile : "..single white male..." and it turned out to be a two black, homosexual, Muslims. And on and on; many of you will remember similar racial profiling cases that turned out to be wrong. The point is, when the law is broken the FBI uses racial profiling. Remember Mayor Blumenthal's recent remarks about the "Times Square" bomber? Something like "... white male angry over the health care bill...". It turned out to be a Muslim terrorist. Like Obama in the MIT arrest case, he rushed to justice and used his hate to lash out at people based on their race. That is what racists do.

Radicals leftists love to use racial profiling when it is to their political advantage; they abhor it when it is not.

Secondly, we are all racially profiled, in the U.S. Census, our passports, credit card applications, driver's license applications, hunting and fishing licenses, credit cards with pictures, credit cards when they ask for ID, and most significantly, every time we are stopped by a traffic cop or highway patrol. First thing they ask for is your driver's license (racial information) and registration. When they run these through their computer system (a standard practice) it also pulls up your racial profile, as well as wants and warrants.

Third, most states have a seat belt law with the restriction that the officers need to have another lawful reason to stop you or check you in a roadblock (violating traffic laws, tail light or turn signal out, car license expired, sobriety check points, etc.). The police may cite you for seat belt violations when they stop you, but they are not allowed to stop you to check if you are wearing your seat belt. The radical left seems to forget about probable cause.

The Arizona immigration law has even more stringent restrictions than the seat belt law, and all police officers have to go through a training program to prevent racial profiling and to ensure that the need for probable cause is obeyed. So, the issue of racial profiling in the Arizona immigration law is not a valid criticism. It is, however, a lie based on racial hatred and hatred for equal justice under law.

Finally, the radical leftists racists and hate mongers are out of touch with the vast majority of Americans (including Hispanic Americans which are the majority in Phoenix and Tucson). Over 70% of Arizonans support Arizona's immigration law and about 2/3 of all Americans also support it. A recent poll also shows that about 2/3 of all Americans are opposed to boycotting Arizona source.

Conservative Patriots are in Denial

2010-05-17T10:36:00.021-07:00

Mao Zedong -
Ultimate Leftist Tyrant

George Wasnington - America's Best

Introduction

First, conservative patriots is redundant; I am not aware of anyone on the left who remains patriotic. One cannot simultaneously hate America and remain patriotic.

Second, I am a conservative and have been in denial for years. This post is for all conservatives.

We Have Been in Denial for Years

The argument goes something like this. "If Americans only knew what their governments at all levels were doing, they would rise up and vote most of our incumbent politicians out, elect true conservatives, and repeal most of the left's socialist legislation over the last decade or so." " We just need to have America wake up to what is happening; to understand the danger, and they will make it right."

It's Not Going to Happen Without Fundamental Changes in Conservatives' Understanding and Approach

Consider these facts. About one half of American households pay no income tax at all. About a quarter receive unearned income tax refunds back as government welfare. The top few percent of the American taxpayers pay the majority of all income tax.

Americans know what's going on more than we think they do. This half of Americans who receive huge government benefits cannot be awakened, educated, or reformed without drastic changes. Why should they? They receive income and benefits they have neither worked to obtain nor deserve. So long as they can live off the work of their neighbors, they will vote for the radical left and for more taxes and big government. Why not, the more taxes, the more government, the bigger government, the more they benefit from the redistribution of the wealth of others. They do not value liberty and individual freedom as much as they value the stolen wealth of their hard working neighbors. They are the dependency classes who support socialist and communist governments with the idea that something for nothing is possible.

Some conservatives who support industries and individuals hiring illegal aliens are also in denial. Conservatives must obey the law and they must support and enforce equal justice under law. How can we roll back the unconstitutional laws of the leftists if we are not law abiding and honest?

What Conservatives Need to Do Now

It is possible to write a book on this, but a short list will suffice for today.

1) Get out of denial and recognize that about half of Americans benefit (in the short term) from the socialism that is destroying our country.

2) Those that live off their neighbors will not be convinced by logic--they are dependents of the government and will always want more because they view it as free.

3) Fundamental changes must include a significant flat tax (perhaps 10% ?) that is applied without exception. All citizens of America must pay so that they fully participate in citizenship. All income taxes increases should include an increase in the flat tax. This way everyone will know that tax increases take from everyone and that big government is not free; it costs them money.

4) Conservatives must work hard to get elected and roll back Obamacare, SCHIP, Medicare prescription drug benefits, earned income tax credits, all government payments and benefits to citizens with incomes above the poverty level, and other redistribution of wealth programs. They must act quickly before the dependency classes becomes a majority.

5) Government at all levels must be drastically reduced in size (by 1/4, 1/2?) and it has to happen quickly so that the dependency class shrinks to the truly needy. Private charities should take a larger role in providing temporary help to the truly needy designed to, as much as possible, lift them out of poverty and off the public dole. Extensions in unemployment should be severely limited and unemployment benefits should be for weeks not months. Too many do not seriously seek work until their unemployment runs out, and we keep extending the duration of unemployment benefits.

6) It is time to build an effective fence to stop infiltration of illegal immigrants, drugs smugglers, and terrorists. We must end the draw that brings illegal aliens to America: it must be illegal for them to work and it must be illegal to hire them, all welfare benefits, anchor babies, chain migration, schooling, etc. must be ended. This will make most illegal aliens self-deport. Our immigration system must be toughened to permanently bar entry to the U.S. of anyone who have previously entered illegally, and re-entry must be a felony with serious consequences. The federal government must enforce all existing and new laws designed to prevent illegal immigration. This includes interior enforcement and enforced departure at the end of a foreigner's visa. Amnesty only rewards criminals, it should be outlawed by statute. Dual citizenship must end.

7) Finally, the U.S. should immediately enforce parity in immigration laws. Our legal immigration and illegal immigration laws, costs, conditions, restrictions, and penalties should be as strict, or stricter, than the nation from which the legal and illegal immigrants arrive.

8) Term limits.

9) Elimination of federal agencies with the power to write regulations, and enforce them with fees, fines and penalties. These agencies are in violation of the separation of powers doctrine and only the legislative branch may write laws.

Summary

It is time for conservatives to get out of denial on the subjects of the size and objectives of the dependency classes and the illogic of allowing businesses to hire illegal aliens or to give illegal aliens amnesty. Conservatives must be honest, decent, and respect equal justice under law. They must work for smaller government and fairness in taxation. They cannot look the other way on illegal immigration, violate the laws of our land and equal justice, and then expect the leftists to honor and obey the law.

Conservatives must adhere strictly to the Constitution, be honest, upright, patriotic, and decent men and women. We must obey the law to its letter and intent, we must value our families, freedom, and must have faith in God and obey His commandments. Any less, and we might as well walk across the street and register as Democrats and get in line for the handouts.

What Will Happen in Greece?

2010-05-06T15:10:00.008-07:00

*****NOTICE: Some Comments have been lost in Blogger. If you don't see your *****comment, please try again. I want to hear from you.

Picture source

Greece is at a crossroads. The public-union dominated welfare state has collapsed. They have two choices. One is to accept the cutbacks in salaries, retirement, and other public benefits and the huge tax increases, both more or less across the board, and try and rebuild a non-socialist economy. The other choice is to put their personal wants and needs ahead of reform and continue to demand the welfare state benefits and resulting unsustainable national debt. They may take this second course as a result of pressure by the unions and the rioters.

A second consideration is that if Greece goes under will the other weak countries (e.g. Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and maybe the UK) face similar circumstances and will crises and defaults spread first to Europe, then to the world's major trading nations. No one, not even the U.S., has sufficient funds (ours are being squandered in our own flirtation with socialism and we face unprecedented debts since Obama's election) to bail out a series of defaulting nations.

Here are two analysts' opinions

"There is simply a growing recognition that Greece has got to default," banking analyst Dick Bove told CNBC.com. "The riots in the streets showed the decision to repay the debt was not going to be made by the people in Germany, France and Switzerland—it's going to be made by people in Greece and they're not going to repay it."

There also is a growing sense that any collapse of Greece could trigger a wave of defaults across Europe and even the world.

"We've seen a crisis start in a country—Greece—become regional, impact the whole of the Euro zone and is on the verge of truly going global," El-Erian, CEO of the world's biggest bond fund, told CNBC shortly before the selloff began. source

Here is my opinion

If Greece defaults, their future ability to attract capital for investments and recovery might vanish. They appear to face a very uncertain future. Civil order and freedom might be the first to go if anarchy and chaos result.

If all this happens, the question is what form of tyranny will result and might it also spread to other defaulting nations? Will it be the tyranny of a brutal communist dictator restoring order or the seemingly more benevolent (seemingly because any tyranny ultimately comes to violence and suppression to maintain order) socialist tyranny promising much while manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure, and everything that makes a productive and civil society crumbles? That is, will it be a quick and brutal takeover then continuing decline or will it be a slower takeover followed by continuing decline? In either case the endpoint will be the same--a brutal tyranny without economic, physical, or spiritual well being for its people.

It is genuinely frightening and depressing to see America marching down the same road taken by Greece. Obama, the Democrats, and the state media seem hell bent to take the same path and we all know where it leads. Why do they seek destruction, suffering, and sorrow for our great nation? Does their racism, their irrational hatred for white Americans, outweigh their instincts for survival?

The 5th of May: A Good Day to Love America

2010-05-03T22:16:00.008-07:00

The Batttle of San Jacinto, Texas

Given the marches, riots, crimes, and shameful conduct of illegal criminal invaders in America, I thought it was appropriate to remember a great day in Texas and American history. Remember the Alamo!

Summary of the Battle of San Jacinto source

The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texas Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen minutes. Hundreds of Mexican soldiers were killed or captured, while there were only nine Texan casualties.

Santa Anna, the President of Mexico, was captured the following day and held as a prisoner of war. Not long afterwards, he signed the peace treaties that dictated that the Mexican army leave the region, paving the way for the Republic of Texas to become an independent country. These treaties did not specifically recognize Texas as a sovereign nation but stipulated that Santa Anna was to lobby for such recognition in Mexico City. Sam Houston became a national celebrity, and the Texans' rallying cry, "Remember Goliad!" and "Remember the Alamo!," became etched into the American history and legend

Here is an account after the battle, what true words of joy source

".........waving his hat and shouting "San Jacinto! San Jacinto! The Mexicans are whipped and Santa Anna a prisoner." The scene that followed beggars description. People embraced, laughed and wept and prayed, all in one breath. As the moon rose over the vast flower-decked prairie, the soft southern wind carried peace to tired hearts and grateful slumber. As battles go, San Jacinto was but a skirmish; but with what mighty consequences! The lives and the liberty of a few hundred pioneers at stake and an empire won! Look to it, you Texans of today, with happy homes, mid fields of smiling plenty, that the blood of the Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto sealed forever . Texas, one and indivisible!--Ms. Kate Scurry Terrell describing the scene among refugee families on the Sabine River.

Be of good cheer on this day, hold these criminal invaders and those who betray us in their name to task, and remember the greatness of America. Solidarity for equal justice under law in America!

God Bless America!

Come and Rejoice on May Day! Love America and Pray for Her

2010-04-29T01:15:00.000-07:00

I thought this song and video would be especially appropriate for the America we love on May 1.

This is the day the dark forces of socialism and communism around the world celebrate and those who would destroy America will be screaming in the streets.

So let's all be proud to be Americans and pray for deliverance from those who would harm us. May God Bless America.

Gangster Government, Government Motors, and Other Things

2010-04-22T15:41:00.013-07:00

First, the gangster government so well described by Michael Barone. Following are some excerpts showing that the Obama Administration is indeed operating as a bunch of gangsters would.

Almost a year ago, in a Washington Examiner column on the Chrysler bailout, I reflected on the Obama administration's decision to force bondholders to accept 33 cents on the dollar on secured debts while giving United Auto Worker retirees 50 cents on the dollar on unsecured debts.

This was a clear violation of the ordinary bankruptcy rule that secured creditors are fully paid off before unsecured creditors get anything. The politically connected UAW folk got preference over politically unconnected bondholders. "We have just seen an episode of Gangster Government," I wrote. "It is likely to be a continuing series."
SNIP
Politically connected creditors would have every reason to assume they'd get favorable treatment. The Dodd bill specifically authorizes the FDIC to treat "creditors similarly situated" differently.
SNIP
Republicans have been accurately attacking the Dodd bill for authorizing bailouts of big Wall Street firms and giving them unfair advantages over small competitors. They might want to add that it authorizes Gangster Government -- the channeling of vast sums from the politically unprotected to the politically connected.

That can boomerang even against the latter. Goldman Sachs employees gave nearly $1 million to the Obama campaign and $4.5 million to Democrats in 2008. That didn't prevent Goldman from being shoved under the SEC bus.

Gangster Government may look good to those currently in favor, but as some of Al Capone's confederates found out, that status is not permanent, and there is always more room under the bus. Source.

The General Motors Lie, It's Still Government Motors

Yesterday GM started a new series of commercials bragging that they had paid off their government bailout debt and implying that they were a private company again. They did pay back a $8 billion dollar loan. But, they are still Government Motors as the federal government now owns about 60% of GM. Our socialists in government and their bureaucrats still own nearly 2/3 of GM and they and their union thugs are calling the shots. If you buy a GM vehicle you are buying from Government Motors, not the old General Motors.

The non-debt portion of help for GM was converted into equity during its bankruptcy and represents the 60 percent stake in the company owned by the government.

The potential loss on paper to taxpayers on GM alone was once thought to be as high as $30 billion, according to the White House budget office. The projected shortfall is now under $8 billion, according to market calculations.

Updated projections mainly revolve around an analysis of old GM bonds, which have a claim on new equity and today would be worth about $33 billion to the government, figures show.

Other gains include the $6.8 billion value of the loan repayment and roughly $2.2 billion in preferred stock held by the Treasury. See more here.

Government Conflict of Interest that Would Land a Private Company's Leaders in Jail

The federal government regulates the auto industry in a massive way. The federal government owns nearly 2/3 of GM. Recently it has taken the long knives to Toyota. Toyota may or may not have violated the rules or delayed taking action on safety rules. The important point is the conflict of interest.

Is it fair for the federal government to own the majority of GM and call the shots on its operation while simultaneously regulating GM's competitors? It is not. Who is next under the long knives? Ford? Honda? Any auto company than doesn't knuckle under to the unions and give millions of dollars of "campaign" contributions to Obama and the Democrats?

The federal government is grossly unfair to own the majority of GM and simultaneously regulate any automobile company, especially if they happen to be non-union and sell more cars than GM!

Obama's Unfair Double Standard is Harming Israel

Obama continues his bowing and scraping to Muslim countries and their leaders around the world. At the same time his is wickedly stern with Israel in trying to force them to take actions while looking the other way for the terrorists and radical Islamic nations threatening and attacking Israel.

It has been widely reported in the world press that Syria has given Hezbollah scud missiles and the Hezbollah terrorists are now under control of the Syrian Army.

Israel has threatened to hold Syria responsible and to attack them directly if Hezbollah uses those ballistic missiles against Israel. Here is what the Bible says about Damascus: Isaiah 17:1 "The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap."

Obama is a Muslim and is bringing war in the Middle East closer with his unfair and dangerous favoring of radical Islam and the Hezbollah terrorists.

What the Rank & File Border Patrol Agents Think of McCain

2010-04-21T10:31:00.010-07:00

These are pictures of the real John McCain. He has supported amnesty and open borders (called "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" in 2001, 2006, and 2007) and he still supports it to this day. So does his lackey Sen. Jon Kyl.

Now it is an election year and McCain is in a close race with conservative Republican J.D. Hayworth. So, like all liberal politicians, McCain has come out with a plan to "control the border". It is a bunch of nonsense and as phony as his previous promises to "give them the damn fence".

McCain is unfit for public office and I hope all Arizonans vote to retire him for good.

The local rank and file Border Patrol agents don't buy McCain's sudden reversal of policy. Please read their very powerful statements on their web site.
Here is an excerpt from their web site

02-20-10 Senator McCain has been a vocal supporter of amnesty for illegal aliens for years. He has sponsored and supported disgraceful legislation that would reward illegal aliens for breaking the law. He has incessantly trivialized the crime of illegal immigration, to the point of sarcasm. He has never been a friend to Border Patrol agents in this state and has sold us down the river at every opportunity.

Senator McCain recently appeared on the Doug and Wolf radio show at KTAR Sports 620 in Phoenix. He was asked about the "steroid era" in baseball and whether baseball players who used steroids should be allowed in the Hall of Fame. McCain stated that baseball players who used steroids should not be rewarded for their accomplishments because it's "not fair" to those who didn't cheat. We have been saying for years that any form of amnesty for illegal aliens is not fair to those immigrants who did things the right way, stayed in line, and waited their turn. It's too bad that Senator McCain can see how "cheating" is wrong in the professional baseball world, but he fails to meaningfully acknowledge that cheating is wrong when it comes to immigration.

So there you have it from the Border Patrol agents who put their lives on the line for us every day.

Weight Loss the Royal Way

2010-04-19T12:22:00.005-07:00

Introduction

Weight loss is hard to accomplish. Sometimes it seems all things are against your success. But there is a simple way, all it entails is common sense and the usual diet elimination of between mean snacks, most breads, and high calorie deserts. One must substitute fruits and vegetables for high calorie items. And, you must develop a sensible exercise plan. With one exception, you know what to do, probably better than I.

Always check with your doctor before starting a diet, any diet, you body is a complex system and we all need professional health guidance from a physician. Don't go against your doctor's advice or your common sense.

Two Diets to Consider

1) My Way. This is probably your way too. "I promise to cut down and eat a sensible diet and I will lose weight". That's the My Way diet. " Of course I am bored right now, so I will have a snack." "I was good all day yesterday, one bowl of ice cream before bed won't hurt me." "I never eat breakfast so that should help." Just rationalize away to your heart's content and you are more likely to gain weight than lose it. The "My Way" diet does not work and it probably does more harm than good.

2) The Royal Diet. I got this second or third hand from a relative's doctor through his family, to me. I offer it for your consideration.

Here are the rules: 1) Eat breakfast like royalty; 2) Eat lunch like a poor man; 3) Eat dinner like a pauper; 4) High protein and low carbohydrates (almost all fresh fruits and vegetables are ok; for example, I eat 1/2 to 1 lb of fresh grapes and a couple apples a day); 5) Adopt all of the common sense items listed in the Introduction (i.e. no snacks, no big deserts, avoid high carbohydrate breads and other foods, adopt an exercise plan, check with your doctor, and stick to the diet- no cheating or quitting). After you have been successful for a couple months an occasional sensible dinner at a restaurant or a one inch piece of cake and a teaspoon or two of ice cream on a birthday, etc. won't hurt you. But again, that is occasionally not every day or every week.

Notes:
1) Breakfast is critical, it should be your main meal of the day, always. Here is why I believe this. At breakfast time your body is hungry and in the conservation mode where it tries to story energy (fat) rather than use energy. If you skip breakfast, your body wants to conserve even more, so when you do eat, even more is stored as fat than used for energy to support your activities than would have been the case if you had eaten breakfast. A vicious cycle ensues if you continue to skip breakfast: stronger conservation mode, more fat storage, and less energy for activities. You are tired from lack of food energy even as you are gaining weight. Your exercise is not as effective because your body is really holding onto its reserves, after all, every morning you starve it. These are common attributes of the My Way diet.

However, a royal breakfast stops the conservation mode, releases more energy for your activities, and when you exercise your body pours out the food energy you need. The result? You lose weight, gain energy, and feel better physically and mentally. The light lunch and stingy dinner are just enough to prevent the conservation mode (storing fat) until next morning. Then, your royal breakfast breaks the conservation mode, you feel better, and continue to lose weight by using food energy for activities rather than storing it as fat for later.

Following is a six month record of my weight loss using the "My Way" and the "Royal Way" diets.

One of my doctors said he would be happy if I reached 220 lbs and the other said I should be closer to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Body Mass Index (BMI) weight for my height (6'4") of 204 lbs. I am shooting for the BMI value of 204 lbs. Most doctors I have met say the BMI is a little conservative and a healthy weight may be a little above the BMI value.

If you try the Royal Diet, please do me a favor. Save the link to this post and come back to its comment section and let me know how it worked for you. Hope to hear from a lot of you in a couple of months.

Does Al Qaeda Have Nuclear Weapons? What Has Obama Done?

2010-04-14T22:52:00.004-07:00

Have foreign intelligence services secretly warned the US that Al Qaeda has somehow obtained nuclear weapons? Did he get this information first from Israel and decide not to acknowledge their help to keep from upsetting the Islamic and Communist powers he loves?

Is this what's behind Obama's big push for nuclear disarmament? Is he hoping he can buy off some of Al Qaeda's indirect state sponsors? Is he trying to appease these sponsors and thereby get them to reign in Al Qaeda? Is he trying to abandon Israel in the hope that the madmen in Al Qaeda, North Korea, and Iran will focus on Israel and leave the US alone?

Is Israel to lose their nuclear umbrella from the U.S. because of Obama's foreign and domestic policy blunders. In the past anyone who disagreed or threatened Obama's plans has been sacrificed, is it Israel's turn?

Has Obama's deep cuts in America's military and his ill-informed decisions not to modernize our nuclear deterrent, even as countries such as Russia, China, Great Britain, and France are modernizing their nuclear arsenals, emboldened our enemies enough that they have given Al Qaeda the go ahead? Or did Al Qaeda reach this conclusion on their own and give Obama an ultimatum? Did the enemies of America and Israel tell Obama to let them destroy Israel or they would attack us both?

Something is going on behind the scenes in international threats, threat potentials, betrayals, shared hatred, espionage, and back channel signaling that has rapidly changed the balance of nuclear power and the will to use it in the world. We are pledging not to use nuclear weapons. Are they hinting or threatening that they will use theirs soon?

I do not believe that it is possible that dozens of Obama's moves and mistakes culminating in his scripted and pre-reported (yes, the Obama Administration had written the summary reports and press releases even before his nuclear summit was held) nuclear conference and abandonment of Israel are all the result of coincidence or of trying to further US interests.

It is far more likely that that Obama has permanently thrown in with the Islamic Tyrants and their protectors and suppliers in his continuing campaign to end the United States' role as the only superpower. Israel may have to be destroyed as his gesture of good faith to the Islamists and communists. No one can seriously believe that giving up Israel will satisfy the lust of the Beast, can they? Or would it matter to Obama?

Bravo Performance

2010-04-13T21:54:00.002-07:00

This came through the email from a cousin, I don't know how people find such things, but I am glad they do.

The song is good 40's music (1944) by the Ross Sisters followed by unbelievable, contortions, strength, and a seemingly impossible performance.

Watch the split and then the backwards bend like a snake and the forward rise like Superwoman. What strength and talent!

One of those things you have to see to believe. Enjoy.

The Desert Blooms in Arizona

2010-04-09T20:38:00.013-07:00

About once every 5 to 20 years the fall and winter rains soak the desert and bring forth spectacular blooms in this hot and dry land. Normally dry streams flow with water to keep the riparian corridor and its habitat healthy.*

These pictures were taken by a family member about a week ago. The pictures do not do the landscape full of blooms justice. Also, the bloom is the early stages as many trees, shrubs, and cacti bloom later in the season.

Close up of Golden Poppies

Golden Poppies on Hillslope

Flow in Normally Dry Stream

-------------
* Following is a brief discussion of deserts of the world and their hydrology for those who would like a description of these arid and semiarid areas we call deserts.

The term arid is used in many ways. In each usage it carries the connotation of words such as dry, desert, barren, and empty. Of these, only the first, dry, is generally true of arid zones. Arid areas receive too little rainfall to support dryland agricultural or domestic livestock grazing. In contrast, in semiarid areas adequate moisture is usually available at some time during the year to produce forage for livestock, and there are some years when dryland crop production may be successful. However, both climates are characterized by extreme variability with commonly occurring droughts and infrequent periods of flooding.

A first order classification of arid zones can be made using long term, mean annual precipitation as the criterion. More than a third of the world's land surface is either arid, generally receiving less than 250 mm of annual precipitation, or semiarid with between 250 mm and 500 mm of annual precipitation. More precise definitions of arid and semiarid areas are based on climatology and are given in climatic classifications based on precipitation, temperature and their seasonal distributions. In the remainder of this discussion, we use arid zones to mean those areas of the world, excluding the polar deserts, which are arid and semiarid by the above first order classification.

Most arid zones of the world are found along two wide belts at approximately 30 degrees latitude north and south of the equator. In these subtropical belts, the air is generally descending (high pressure) and dry much of the time. At this latitude in the northern hemisphere we find the major deserts of north Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan and India in Asia and northern Mexico and the American southwest in North America. In the southern hemisphere at about this latitude south of the equator we find the deserts of southern Africa, Australia, and South America. On a more localized scale, a combination of terrain and prevailing wind direction can cause rain shadow effects, resulting in arid zones downwind of major mountain features.

Geology, describing the form, properties, and dimensions of the earth's rocks greatly influences development of landscapes. The landscapes currently seen are also the result of interactions between the atmosphere and the earth's surface as soil erosion and sedimentation processes dissect the earth's surface with stream channels, alluvial fans, and sometimes, sand dunes.

The term watershed (or catchment) means an area above a specified point on a stream channel enclosed by a perimeter of higher ground. The watershed perimeter defines an area where surface runoff will move into the stream or tributaries above the specified point. In arid zones, sparse vegetation and normally clear, dry air make these features obvious.

Arid zone hydrology, literally the study of water in these areas, is conveniently split into surface water hydrology dealing with the atmosphere, the land surface, and their interactions and ground water hydrology dealing with waters below the surface of the earth. Surface water and ground water are linked in nature as infiltrated water seeping through the soil can recharge ground water and ground water can return to the surface as springs, seeps, and streamflow.

A convenient way to visualize arid zone hydrology is through the concept of an annual water balance on watersheds. Precipitation that falls on the land surface can take several paths on its way through the hydrologic cycle back to the streams, lakes, rivers, oceans and atmosphere. An annual water balance is a way of accounting for all the precipitation that falls on a watershed in a year.

If the rate of rainfall is sufficiently high and for a sufficient duration, surface runoff can occur resulting in overland flow, streamflow, and in the extreme, flooding. Rainfall that stays on the surface of rocks, soil, vegetation, litter, etc. can be evaporated directly back into the atmosphere. Rainfall that infiltrates beneath the surface of the soil recharges soil moisture and can then move deeper and recharge ground water, or can move back into the atmosphere by two routes. Soil moisture can be directly evaporated into the atmosphere. Soil moisture can also enter plant roots and through biological processes be released back into the atmosphere as transpiration. Movement of rainfall back into the atmosphere by these two processes is termed evapotranspiration and simply means the combined processes of evaporation and transpiration. On an annual basis, one accounts for all of the precipitation falling on a watershed by stating that the annual change in soil moisture storage in the watershed is equal to the precipitation minus the surface runoff, minus the evapotranspiration, and minus the recharge to groundwater. Precipitation falling as snow complicates the above water balance, but the principles are the same.

Arid zone hydrology is thus defined as the study and quantification of components of the water balance. Time scales can be longer (from decades to centuries) or shorter (from seconds to seasons) than a year but the basic principles remain the same. Important features of arid zone hydrology that differ from hydrology in more humid zones include the key fact that on an annual time scale, the maximum possible, or potential evapotranspiration, far exceeds the mean annual precipitation resulting in the dryness associated with arid zones. This dryness in turn results in ephemeral stream channels and rivers that are dry most of the time. Locally, these dry streams are called by a variety of names, for example, wadis (Middle East), washes and arroyos (North America).

Because of the dryness, one might consider hydrology to be less important in arid zones than in more humid areas. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because water is so scarce, its occurrence and abundance is of primary concern in arid zones, because here, the links between water and life are most evident.

You Picked a Fine time - Barack

2010-04-06T15:30:00.002-07:00

Many of you may have seen this. Go ahead and play it again, it is worth watching as often as you wish.

It is an excellent parody and the guys are quite good. Notice that parts about bowling and brotherly love. (Note: It is helpful to read the short description below the YouTube window on the YouTube site.)

Enjoy!

Many Ways to Communicate

2010-04-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

One of my cousins sent this. Listen up!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T12:33:00.002-07:00

"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said." Matthew 28:6.

Things I Didn't Know

2010-03-28T22:28:00.007-07:00

My dad worked outdoors or underground all his life. After he and my mother were married they had a small farm and things went well until the Great Depression. After that he worked on the railroad and as a underground copper miner. I remember Dad told me stories of their farm and farm life, and rarely about mining and what it was like. But those times were before I was born.

I remember him as a contractor who built houses and sold them. He, with help from my older brothers and at times a hired helper, did everything from clearing the land to the final painting. The only exception was the electrical wiring, he always hired someone to do that. After that he owned and ran heavy equipment such as bulldozers, scrapers, and the trucks, etc. that went with heavy equipment contracting.

It was about this time when he owned and operated the heavy equipment that I came to spend many summer evenings with him. After working in the Arizona sun all day, he liked to come home, clean up, and then, after supper, spend the cool of the evening sitting on the front porch and drinking ice water. It was then that we talked the most.

Dad was a self taught and self educated man who loved to read long into the night. He loved science, nature, adventure books. I recall sitting there with him and starting to talk about science. Before too long, it would often be just the two of us and I enjoyed having him to myself and for his answers to a myriad of questions I would ask. Not always a patient man, at these times he would answer my questions and tell me things until what was late at night for a boy.

He told me such things as the distance to the sun (93 million miles), how to fish for catfish (its messy), and what the moon was like. When the moon was full, we would often look at it with what he called the binocks (binoculars). Aside: He had a lot of sayings and names for things that I later learned were unique to our family. But that's another story.

He also told me that he could tell when a change in the weather was coming because it made his rheumatism flare up (reference.) Well I had read about arthritis and knew just about everything so I thought this rheumatism and weather business was his imagination. Dad was not the kind of person whom I dared call silly or imagining things, but I often thought about saying them. Anyway, I remember the long talks on summer nights and talk of science, nature, and adventure. I also recall that when I got a little older there were other things to do at night besides sit and listen to your dad tell you about anything and everything. Especially when I was getting nearly old enough to get a learner's permit to drive and had older brothers and friends with cars.

A decade or more after my father passed away, I was hunting in the mountains with a good friend. As we came back to camp just before dark in his pickup, there was my pickup on a flat tire. It was cold, windy, spitting rain, and miserable. The campsite was in a flat full of ponderosa pine with rocky soil.

My buddy told me to go ahead and change the tire while he had a drink and fixed dinner. The front of the truck was so low that I needed to dig a trench under the axle to place the jack. As I was stomping on the shovel head as hard as I could with my boots, and making slow progress, I hit the back of the shovel too far up on my foot and broke the bone housing the joint of my big toe. I finished changing the tire and sat down to eat with my toe and foot throbbing. I said "Tom, I have to get back to town and see a doctor." He laughed and said, "They will just X-ray your foot, wrap it up in tape, say there is nothing to do but take time to let it heal, and charge you 300 bucks." Well, he was wrong. They X-rayed my foot, wrapped it up, told me to take care of it and it would heal, and charged me about $500.

Eventually my foot got better and I could walk and work and do things again. My wife and I raised two boys, and I loved sitting outside at night talking with them, answering their questions, and telling them that the sun was 93 million miles from earth. History repeats and they discovered girls and cars and no longer had time to sit with dad and talk of science, the stars, and adventures. I miss talking with those boys of ours and the times we had enjoying the moon and stars at night.

During my life I had a few fractures. That big toe, a couple of fingers, and my little toe (twice). A funny thing happens to the broken and mended bones as you get a little older. They seem to calcify and become places for arthritis. Even funnier, when the weather is changing, I often wake up with aches and pains, the worst of which is that darn big toe.

Now I know about rheumatism and how one's bones can ache and tell you when the weather is changing. I often think of my dad, his rheumatism, his vast store of experience and sell-taught knowledge. I often think of him and the many things he could tell me even today. But, that was then and I didn't know.

Black Sunday-Socialized Medicine: America's "Great Leap Forward"

2010-03-22T10:24:00.019-07:00

Here is an example of what a nation's Great Leap Forward can cause. Untold suffering, famine, disease, and millions of deaths.

Please don't fall into the trap of thinking it cannot happen here. Socialism always leads to tyranny and tyranny can destroy any nation. Let history be your guide.

The Great Leap Forward (simplified Chinese: 大跃进; traditional Chinese: 大躍進; pinyin: Dàyuèjìn) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social plan used from 1958 to 1961 which ostensibly aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform China from an agrarian economy into a modern communist society through the process of agriculturalization,[citation needed] industrialization, and collectivization. Mao Zedong led the campaign based on the Theory of Productive Forces, and intensified it after being informed of the impending disaster from grain shortages. Chief changes in the lives of rural Chinese included the introduction of a mandatory process of agricultural collectivisation, which was introduced incrementally. Private farming was prohibited, and those engaged in it were labelled as counter revolutionaries and and persecuted. Restrictions on rural people were enforced through public struggle sessions, social pressure, and violence. Food rationing was introduced, in some cases leaving rural Chinese with less than 250g (half a jin) of grain per day. The Great Leap ended in catastrophe, triggering a widespread famine that resulted in up to thirty million deaths. source (Emphasis mine).

A Political Backlash is Already Building

Find a Tea Party and/or some other patriotic organization you can join to roll back this horrible Obamacare.

Lawsuits by some states and other organizations have been promised.

Here is an example of one organization trying to make a start.

REPEAL of Health Care bill just hours after vote‏

Just hours after the House vote in favor of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid government-run healthcare plan, opponents of the measure have rallied on line to fight for the bill's repeal.

A petition drive launched by the Tea Party Express has received thousands of signatures during the overnight hours. And the rate of new signatures is exploding now that many of them are waking up to the news of the House vote.

The petition signature count can be viewed - be sure to hit "Refresh" to see the count grow ever-higher - here Petition

"As Americans wake up to the news that Congress has once again defied the will of the people, and the Constitution, we here in the tea party movement are fighting back. We're going to Kill The Bill one way or the other," said Mark Williams, Chairman of the Tea Party Express.

Please Do What you Can to Help

In a single way we are fortunate. The socialized medicine tax and administrative confiscation of health care starts as soon as the Obamacare becomes law. But, the actual payouts designed to build an unstoppable group of millions of new government dependents does not start until 2013. This gives us a short window of 2010-2012 to roll back this socialism and enact new laws to prevent it taking effect.

This is a great opportunity, but it will exist for a short time, because once the dependency of government healthcare is established it will be too late to stop or reverse it. We know this from our past experience with existing entitlement programs--- Congress will not eliminate them. We must stop socialism and throw it back before 2013 or we never will.

America is in greater peril than any time in its entire history. Please do what you can to help. Your country needs your time, votes, money, and all efforts you can take to save it. Make that pledge to yourself today to help your country in her greatest hour of need.

Finally, please pray to God for deliverance of America from this evil.

Predicted Mexican Drug Cartel Invasion and Corruption of US Officials Accelerating

2010-03-13T01:13:00.008-07:00

*****UPDATE*****
US citizens shot dead by Mexican drug gangs
By Adam Thomson in Mexico City

Published: March 14 2010 22:53 | Last updated: March 14 2010 22:53

Three people with links to the US consulate in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez were gunned down at the weekend by “drug cartel hit teams”, according to a US official. Via the DrudgeReport to this source.

*****END UPDATE*****

Background

For some time now there have been warnings about the Border War and its impact on America. A variety of recent news reports show that the problems are rapidly worsening. All are a threat to our national security and the general welfare of all Americans.

For a quick overview of previous warnings posted here please see the following links: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Example: Border Agents Being Corrupted by Drug Cartel

Border agents are being recruited by the Mexican drug cartels as they infiltrate federal law enforcement agencies. And, as usual Homeland Security says they don't have the resources to weed out the double agents. Of course with only 50 more full time examiners they could. This seems a pittance and an excuse from an Agency with untold thousands of employees and billions and billions of dollars in their budget. More proof that the Department of Homeland Security is so hell bent on keeping an open border that it will even hire agents working for the drug cartels.

McALLEN, Texas - Mexican drug cartels are infiltrating federal law enforcement agencies along the Southwest border and those charged with weeding them out say they don't have the money to catch all the corrupt agents, homeland security officials told a U.S. Senate panel Thursday.

James Tomsheck, assistant commissioner with U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Internal Affairs, told a Senate homeland security subcommittee in Washington that only about one in 10 of the new hires for agency jobs are given polygraph tests, and of those, 60 percent are deemed unsuitable for employment.
SNIP
"We have found the tactics used by the drug trafficking organizations in their corruption activities are similar to the processes or tactics used by foreign intelligence services as they attempt to recruit or otherwise compromise our officers and agents," Frost said.

The corruption activities "encompass almost every layer of the DHS border security strategy," including employees stationed away from the border, but with access to sensitive information.

They have used that access to "to vet drug trafficking organization members, track investigative activity, and identify individuals cooperating with the government," Frost said.

Kevin Perkins, the FBI's assistant director for its criminal investigative division, mentioned the case of former Customs officer Margarita Crispin who was arrested in El Paso in 2007 and sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of conspiracy to import more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.

Even though CBP has increased its internal affairs investigators to 214 in 2010 from five in 2006, its number of polygraph examiners falls short of the demand, Tomsheck said.

To be able to give polygraphs to all new hires, Tomsheck estimated he would need another 50 full-time examiners. source

Example: Mexican Navy Helicopter Penetrates Texas on Unknown Mission

And here is another example of Mexican military missions in the US ignored by our federal government and the US military.

BROWNSVILLE — The Zapata County sheriff Thursday was questioning why a Mexican military helicopter was hovering over homes on the Texas side of the Rio Grande.

It was one of the more jarring incidents of the fourth week of border tensions sparked by drug killings, and rumors of such killings, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez said he'd reviewed photos of the chopper flown by armed personnel Tuesday over a residential area known as Falcon Heights-Falcon Village near the binational Falcon Lake, just south of the Starr-Zapata county line. He said the helicopter appeared to have the insignia of the Mexican navy.

“It's always been said that the Mexican military does in fact ... that there have been incursions,” Gonzalez said. “But this is not New Mexico or Arizona. Here we've got a river; there's a boundary line. And then of course having Falcon Lake, Falcon Dam, it's a lot wider. It's not just a trickle of a river, it's an actual dam. You know where the boundary's at.”

The sighting came amid ongoing fighting between the Gulf Cartel and its former enforcers, Los Zetas. The mounting death toll and crisis of fear in cities across from the Texas border have drawn global attention, as has a news blackout in affected cities due to the kidnappings of eight Mexican journalists, at least one of whom was killed.

As violence continued Thursday with a highway shootout in Tamaulipas, a Senate subcommittee in Washington heard testimony that drug cartels are trying to infiltrate U.S. agencies along the border, with corruption cases among Homeland Security personnel on the rise. source Note: Also flagged in red on the invaluable Drudge Report.

The Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) is Dysfunctional

These incidents and the failures documented in the long of list of links above provide proof that DHS is led by incompetents and is dysfunctional. We cannot afford to let the Mexican drug cartels, or any foreigners, corrupt US law enforcement agencies in charge of our national security. As shown above, this is happening and at an ever faster rate. Our nation is at risk. It is time for new leadership at the Dept. of Homeland Security.

More Affirmations of States Rights Coming; Gun Rights Leading Broader Issues

2010-03-11T09:54:00.019-07:00

The federal government has grown beyond anything the Founding Fathers, our parents, or most Americans as of 2008 ever expected. The reach and power of the federal government is way, way beyond what anyone in the past ever wanted or expected. Our Republic is in grave danger.

This type of growth in federal power is prohibited by the US Constitution; specifically in the 10th Amendment of our Bill of Rights.

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

The majority of the States in the United States are moving to re-affirm their rights and to limit the federal government (Unites States). Following are some excerpts from a recent article on this topic.

HOMELAND REBELLION
Another state to feds: Take your gun regs and stuff 'em

Local governments in massive revolt against rules ordered by Washington

Posted: March 10, 2010
9:24 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Utah has become the third state to adopt a law exempting guns and ammunition made, sold and used in the state from massive federal regulations under the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and supporters say about 30 more states have some sort of plan for their own exemptions in the works source.

(Map from WND article cited)

What This Means

Clearly the States are within their Constitutional power to take these actions for gun regulations and a myriad of other areas where the federal government has exceeded its lawful powers. Of course, such States' Rights issues will have to pass through an incredible wall of liberal judges most of whom do not follow the Constitution.

But it is a start, and a good one. Americans supporting rule of law, equal justice under law, and the Constitution should rally in support of our brave and patriotic State Legislatures.

Sean Penn and Rectal Cancer

2010-03-06T09:42:00.006-07:00

The Evil of the American Left

Look on the face of evil and ponder on what kind of person would wish such things on his fellow human beings. This is an example of the radical left and Democrat/Obama supporters in America. It's shocking, disgusting, and an example of what decent Americans face as they try to live honest, productive lives in America.

Is having their political opponents die of rectal cancer what the radical leftists mean by bipartisanship?

May God Bless America and deliver us from this kind of evil. Please join me in praying for the millions of people who suffer from the ravages of cancer.

Here is what Sean Penn said about people who question him

LARA LOGAN: Does it make you angry when people talk about, you know, 'Sean Penn, the Hollywood star, the movie star, coming in and trying to do something,' and they're kind of cynical about it?

SEAN PENN: No.

LOGAN: Do you hate that question?

PENN: No. I guess I've been so away from it all, [in] our tent camp in Haiti, that I haven't had an awful lot of time to pay attention to them. You know, do I hope that those people die screaming of rectal cancer? Yeah, you know, but I'm not going to spend a lot of energy on it. source.
(Emphasis mine)

There you have it

So much for peace, good will, cooperation, and bipartisanship in America today.

Do you think Penn is evil enough to qualify as Obama's 40th Czar?

Obama Fiddles While the US Falters

2010-03-02T01:21:00.000-07:00

China Threatens the US

Sensing weakness, inexperience, and a move away from capitalism, the Chinese may be planning, in their words, to "topple" the United States. They see our inward looking, and destructive domestic policies coupled with inexperienced and shrinking defense budgets as a sign of decline in the United States and an opportunity for China to take over as the world's military and economic leader. And, because of our misguided globalist economic policies, deficit spending, the strength of our unions weakening our economy, and our shrinking manufacturing base; China is expanding using US Dollars.

Here is the way a colonel in the People's Liberation Army sees it. Rest assured, a Chinese PLA colonel could not write the book expressing these things without the approval and encouragement of his superiors. Take this as Chinese military policy which means Chinese national policy.

Here are some excerpts

BEIJING (Reuters) - China should build the world's strongest military and move swiftly to topple the United States as the global "champion," a senior Chinese PLA officer says in a new book reflecting swelling nationalist ambitions.

The call for China to abandon modesty about its global goals and "sprint to become world number one" comes from a People's Liberation Army (PLA) Senior Colonel, Liu Mingfu, who warns that his nation's ascent will alarm Washington, risking war despite Beijing's hopes for a "peaceful rise."

"China's big goal in the 21st century is to become world number one, the top power," Liu writes in his newly published Chinese-language book, "The China Dream."

"If China in the 21st century cannot become world number one, cannot become the top power, then inevitably it will become a straggler that is cast aside," writes Liu, a professor at the elite National Defense University, which trains rising officers.

His 303-page book stands out for its boldness even in a recent chorus of strident Chinese voices demanding a hard shove back against Washington over trade, Tibet, human rights, and arms sales to Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own.

"As long as China seeks to rise to become world number one ... then even if China is even more capitalist than the U.S., the U.S. will still be determined to contain it," writes Liu.
SNIP
The next marker of how China's leaders are handling these swelling expectations may come later this week, when the government is likely to announce its defense budget for 2010, after a 14.9 percent rise last year on the one in 2008.
SNIP
I'm very pessimistic about the future," writes another PLA officer, Colonel Dai Xu, in another recently published book that claims China is largely surrounded by hostile or wary countries beholden to the United States.

"I believe that China cannot escape the calamity of war, and this calamity may come in the not-too-distant future, at most in 10 to 20 years," writes Dai.

"If the United States can light a fire in China's backyard, we can also light a fire in their backyard," warns Dai. source

What This Means

Although Obama's huge deficits (greater than the sum of his predecessors), his archaic socialist policies, and his international bumbling, are the major factor, he is not alone in weakening America. Presidents Clinton and Bush and their zeal for globalism must also take significant responsibility for our increasing trade imbalances, our open borders, and neglect of our strategic nuclear forces.

Conservatives elected in 2010 and in 2012 must do their utmost to unravel and repeal the myriad socialistic policies and legislation of the Obama Administration and focus more of our national treasure into national defense and economic security for America. We need a strong and patriotic replacement for the misguided globalist policies of the last 2 decades and for the socialist policies of the Obama Administration.

Will there be a Reichstag Fire in America?

2010-02-26T22:25:00.006-07:00

Background

The Reichstag fire (German: Der Reichstagsbrand) was an arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. The event is seen as pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany
SNIP
The day after the fire Hitler asked for and received from President Hindenburg the Reichstag Fire Decree, signed into law by Hindenburg using Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution. The Reichstag Fire Decree suspended most civil liberties in Germany and was used by the Nazis to ban publications not considered "friendly" to the Nazi cause. source

The results were that the Nazi's took over the government in the next election based on the "national emergency" caused by the Reichstag fire. The horrors of Nazi tyranny soon followed.

Ever since then, the "Reichstag Fire" has been a symbol for using a political emergency as an excuse for seizing totalitarian power.

Recent Developments Heighten my Fear of our Government

For some time I have been thinking about writing this post. However, I didn't want to sound like an alarmist or someone scared by everything that happens. However, some of my fears have become the same fears of the American people.

A recent poll shows that the majority of the Americans feel that the federal government is a threat to their rights. More and more the government is being seen as a threat, as the enemy, as a danger. How very sad and what a legacy of incompetence and evil the leftists, radical Democrats are leaving for history.

Following are the poll results and some interpretations. Notice that this is a CNN poll, so it was no doubt highly biased in how they asked the questions or slanted the types of questions to favor the radical leftists. Nonetheless, they still found a majority of Americans living in fear of their government. If the poll had been taken by a centrist and patriotic organization, the results would have probably showed a much larger percentage of Americans living in fear of their government.

CNN Poll: Majority says government a threat to citizens' rights
Posted: February 26th, 2010 09:00 AM ET
Washington (CNN) – A majority of Americans think the federal government poses a threat to rights of Americans, according to a new national poll.
Fifty-six percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday say they think the federal government's become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. Forty-four percent of those polled disagree. source

This is the Most Discouraging Poll I Have Ever Seen

The people of the greatest nation ever to exist are now fearful of their own government. The birthplace of liberty, the shining city on the hill, the hope of mankind has been captured and debased by evil, hateful, people--our radical, leftists Democrats. May God Bless America and grant us the wisdom, courage and strength to take back our Republic; for us and for the world.

Now the Question

Will Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and the other radicals create a " Reichstag Fire" in America? Will these radical leftists feel threatened and be so committed to the destruction of America and the formation of a socialist tyranny that they will manufacture a crisis, an emergency, to appear as a serious enough threat to America that martial law and legislation granting suspension of our freedoms and emergency powers to President Obama appear necessary? Will they manufacture a threat so big that enough Americans will go along with a "temporary suspension of liberty" and usurpation of our constitutional system through emergency government powers?

I don't know the answers to these questions. I too fear my government. But, I feel that there is a movement in the land to restore freedom and a government that serves the people, not the other way around. This movement is entirely peaceful and is trying to take back our country at the ballot box. But, will those in power fear the loss of that power and the defeat of socialist tyranny so much that they create an American Reichstag Fire?

Here Is How Socialized Medicine Does Not Work, Never Will

2010-02-23T12:56:00.005-07:00

Thousands of Canadians travel to the Unites States to get health care denied to them in Canada. This proves that having insurance and getting health care are two different things. You can have 100% of the population covered by government insurance (socialized medicine) and have huge segments of the population denied health care.

The Canadian invasion of the U.S. to get good health care is not reported by our government press unless it is an unusual case. The one below slipped through the conspiracy of silence of our government and its mouth-organ press (the group-think American MSM).

A high level Canadian government official (roughly equivalent to a state governor here) wanted to get heart surgery without having his sternum and ribs broken to open his chest cavity. There are more advanced and better methods of operating to repair his heart that do not require breaking his bones to open his chest. But apparently they are not available under Canada's socialized medicine. So he came to America for the advanced surgery while it is still available here.

Here are excerpts from the article reporting on this case.

'My heart, my choice,' Williams says, defending decision for U.S. heart surgery
By Tara Brautigam (CP) – 17 hours ago

An unapologetic Danny Williams says he was aware his trip to the United States for heart surgery earlier this month would spark outcry, but he concluded his personal health trumped any public fallout over the controversial decision.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Williams said he went to Miami to have a "minimally invasive" surgery for an ailment first detected nearly a year ago, based on the advice of his doctors.

"This was my heart, my choice and my health," Williams said late Monday from his condominium in Sarasota, Fla.

"I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics."

The 60-year-old Williams said doctors detected a heart murmur last spring and told him that one of his heart valves wasn't closing properly, creating a leakage.
He said he was told at the time that the problem was "moderate" and that he should come back for a checkup in six months.

Eight months later, in December, his doctors told him the problem had become severe and urged him to get his valve repaired immediately or risk heart failure, he said.
His doctors in Canada presented him with two options - a full or partial sternotomy, both of which would've required breaking bones, he said.

He said he spoke with and provided his medical information to a leading cardiac surgeon in New Jersey who is also from Newfoundland and Labrador. He advised him to seek treatment at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami.

That's where he was treated by Dr. Joseph Lamelas, a cardiac surgeon who has performed more than 8,000 open-heart surgeries.

Williams said Lamelas made an incision under his arm that didn't require any bone breakage.
"I wanted to get in, get out fast, get back to work in a short period of time," the premier said. source

Where Will Americans Go for Advanced Medical Care if Socialism Ruins our System?

Socialism and everything about it (share the wealth, government owned industry, tyranny, etc.) is a horrible abuse of people by their own government. Deliberately letting people suffer and die to protect a bunch of elite politicians and their power is a crime as well as a sin.

If Obamacare, or any watered down version of it, becomes law it will ruin health care in America. It will stop the engine of private enterprise bringing us new medicines, medical schools and improved teaching, new surgical and other medical procedures, and it will leave millions of Americans who now have the world's best health care without health care. Everyone will have insurance but a growing number will not have health care. No more guaranteed 911 pickup and transport to a hospital emergency room which must accept you and treat you (which provides health care to anyone in America with or without insurance).

Nope this will have to stop to. Treatment type, place, and time will be determined by the government, not by a patient and his physician.

Let Canada be a lesson.

Boston's Great Molasses Explosion and Flood in 1919

2010-02-20T20:34:00.007-07:00

What a mess!

A huge cast iron (important because cast iron, although heat tolerant, shatters somewhat more easily than steel) was full of molasses. Now think of this. The 50 ft tall, 90 ft in diameter tank full of molasses explodes in January 1919 in downtown Boston.

All hell broke loose: a blast, flying chunks of cast iron, then a wave of molasses 15 ft high and 160 ft wide travelling at over 30 mph. Sadly, 21 people lost their lives and many more were injured. Property destruction was extensive and it was one hell of a sticky, stinky mess. Below are some excerpts of descriptions and the picture is from the Boston Library.

Here is one short account.

...in 1919, people in Boston's North End were startled by a loud rumbling noise. They watched in horror as a five-story tank broke apart, unleashing a wave of molasses 15 feet high and 160 feet wide. Moving at 35 miles per hour, it traveled over two blocks and engulfed everything in its path. The disaster killed 21 people, injured 150, and caused property damage of more than 100,000,000 in today's dollars. The tank's owners claimed that anarchists had dynamited it as a protest against the American government. In fact, the tank had been hastily constructed and overloaded. Years later, the tank's owner was found liable and ordered to pay compensation to the victims. source

Here is an excerpt from another account.

The United States Alcohol Company owned the largest molasses storage tank in Boston. The steel structure was ninety feet in diameter, fifty-two feet in height and was filled to the top with 2.3 million gallons of molasses. Then, shortly before noon on January 15, the vat exploded with a tremendous roar.

Chunks of metal flew everywhere, piercing into people and buildings for hundreds of feet around. One huge chunk of steel smashed through a massive stone pillar supporting an elevated railroad. A piece of the railway sagged and fell. An alert train driver had his locomotive come to a screeching halt just moments before it would have plunged over.

The disappearance of that huge tank sent out a blast of air that pushed people away. But seconds later a counterblast rushed in to fill the vacuum and pulled them back in.

But most of the damage was caused by the molasses itself. It splashed onto city streets in all directions, speeding as fast as a man could run. The molasses smashed freight cars, plowed over homes and warehouses and drowned both people and animals. A three story house was seen soaring through the air as well as a huge chunk of the shattered vat that landed in a park 200 feet away.

Rescuers were bogged down in the stuff and were scarcely able to move as the molasses sucked the boots right off their feet. Trapped horses coudn't be removed so they had to be shot to death. The black sticky stuff filled cellars for blocks around and it took months for the hydraulic syphons to pump it out. Salt water had to be sprayed on cobblestone streets, homes, and other buildings because fresh water would just wash off the stuff. For months afterwards, wherever people walked, their shoes stuck to the goo. Some people even claimed that on a hot day one could still smell molasses even after thirty years. source

Although it was a tragedy, there were some humorous aspects. It took great effort and innovation to clean up the mess--can you imagine the stink and the sticky mess on everything? As the source above stated, 30 years later, on a hot day you could still smell molasses. And for those who like rum, it resulted in a loss of millions of quarts of rum. Finally, the molasses flood happened just before prohibition was enacted. So, maybe you tipplers didn't lose that rum after all.

Obama Continues His Onslaught Against American Military Power

2010-02-16T01:27:00.000-07:00

Earlier, I wrote about the Administration cutting back on the US Air Force air superiority fighter, the F-22. The F-22 is the only US fighter with the ability to penetrate the new Russian air defense system being sold around the world, including to Iran. On Feb. 14, I reported on Obama's efforts to kill our manned space program.

Now it is the global projection capabilities of our Navy. These cutbacks may force us to cede the eastern Pacific to the Chinese and prevent us from keeping our vital sea lanes open. Obama and his socialist lackeys must be voted out of office or impeached at the earliest possible time to prevent the destruction of our military power. America cannot protect us if Obama's efforts to gut the space program, our Air Force, and Navy are successful.

Here are some excerpts from a recent report.

FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN
Declining U.S. Navy facing Chinese challenge
Fleet's status creates door of vulnerability to other powers, terrorists
Posted: February 13, 2010
10:30 pm Eastern
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

A growing Chinese fleet could keep the declining U.S. Navy out of the Western Pacific, according to an expert cited in a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

The U.S. also could be faced with new military challenges around the globe because of the projection of power a growing Chinese navy would present.

Yet, the U.S. Navy has cut back the number and type of ships to the level it was prior to the Reagan administration. Indeed, the Navy hasn't been as small since the administration of William Howard Taft, according to naval expert Seth Cropsey.
SNIP
"The size, shape and strategy of the U.S. Navy are a critical element of America's position as the world's great power," Cropsey said. "Our ability to protect or rend asunder the globe's ocean-going lines of communication is inseparable from our position as the world's great power.

"But very few outside a small community of naval officers and selected military and foreign policy analysts appreciate the strategic results of American sea power's slow but steady diminution," he added. source.

America's Space Program is Dying

2010-02-14T01:21:00.000-07:00

Obama is redistributing the wealth again, and our space program, national security, and manned space science are sacrificed for the Democrat dependency classes living off taxpayer funds. Obama is obsessive in his rush to weaken and destroy America.

Here are some excerpts explaining this devious and evil plan.

Closing the New Frontier
by Charles Krauthammer
By the end of this year, there will be no shuttle, no U.S. manned space program, no way for us to get into space. We're not talking about Mars or the moon here. We're talking about low-Earth orbit, which the U.S. has dominated for nearly half a century and from which it is now retiring with nary a whimper.

Our absence from low-Earth orbit was meant to last a few years, the interval between the retirement of the fatally fragile space shuttle and its replacement with the Constellation program (Ares booster, Orion capsule, Altair lunar lander) to take astronauts more cheaply and safely back to space.

But the Obama 2011 budget kills Constellation. Instead, we shall have nothing. For the first time since John Glenn flew in 1962, the U.S. will have no access of its own for humans into space -- and no prospect of getting there in the foreseeable future.

Of course, the administration presents the abdication as a great leap forward: Launching humans will now be turned over to the private sector, while NASA's efforts will be directed toward landing on Mars.

This is nonsense. It would be swell for private companies to take over launching astronauts. But they cannot do it. It's too expensive. It's too experimental. And the safety standards for actually getting people up and down reliably are just unreachably high.

Sure, decades from now there will be a robust private space-travel industry. But that is a long time. In the interim, space will be owned by Russia and then China. The president waxes seriously nationalist at the thought of China or India surpassing us in speculative "clean energy." Yet he is quite prepared to gratuitously give up our spectacular lead in human space exploration.

As for Mars, more nonsense. Mars is just too far away. And how do you get there without the stepping stones of Ares and Orion? If we can't afford an Ares rocket to get us into orbit and to the moon, how long will it take to develop a revolutionary new propulsion system that will take us not a quarter-million miles but 35 million miles?
SNIP
At the peak of the Apollo program, NASA was consuming almost 4 percent of the federal budget, which in terms of the 2011 budget is about $150 billion. Today the manned space program will die for want of $3 billion a year -- 1/300th of last year's stimulus package with its endless make-work projects that will leave not a trace on the national consciousness.
SNIP
Fifty years ago, Kennedy opened the New Frontier. Obama has just shut it. source.

Obama Seeks to Weaken and Destroy America

Obama does not want the US supreme in any area that's worthwhile or of scientific and military significance. The 2011 budget contains $4billion for the thugs, crooks, and vote-rigging in Acorn. But we cannot to continue our space program even at a tiny level. Instead, Obama redistributes the wealth from the space program to the thugs and crooks and welfare bums. Once the funds are in handouts to these Democrat dependency classes, will they ever return to science and space exploration? Not at all likely.

Earlier Obama and his lap dog Sec. Defense Gates killed US supremacy in air superiority fighters. We are also the only major nuclear power failing to upgrade and improve our nuclear deterrent. Even France, the UK, Russia, and China see the need for a viable nuclear deterrent. Obama winks and nods as the Islamic Republic of Iran races to get one, but the US cannot. Again, our national security is de-funded to satisfy the growing dependency classes, the something for nothing Democrat Plantation.

National security is the president's main constitutional responsibility. How can we stand by and let him abrogate the responsibility?

Illegal Alien, Undocumented Entrant, Undocumented White House Guest

2010-02-12T13:16:00.002-07:00

When is an illegal alien not an illegal alien? Never.

When are White House Guests Undocumented? When they sneak in.

This video shows the hypocrisy of Obama. The White House can be guarded to protect his Precious. But we mere citizens cannot have our border guarded to protect us. Heavens no, that wouldn't be politically correct.

Enjoy the video.

America's First Line Air Force Capability Being Lost?

2010-02-09T01:18:00.000-07:00

I Suspected this all along. Obama and his sycophant, Defense Sec. Gates, cancelled the first line, air superiority, stealth fighter, the F-22 in favor of a cheaper airplane, the F-35. You guessed it, another bad decision that will hurt America and prevent us from penetrating Iran's air space should we be forced to in the future.

The F-35, a one size fits all "money saver", is behind schedule and over budget. Meanwhile the F22 production will end due to "budget cuts and savings". I found some good links to Investor's Business Daily at Common Cents. I advise you to stop by Common Cents and check out this informative blog.

Here is the Information on the F-35

Defense: The administration decision to scrap a proven aircraft in favor of a supposedly cheaper, more flexible replacement is proving to be an expensive mistake. We may wind up defenseless and broke.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that was supposed to be America's frontline fighter for the foreseeable future is in big trouble. Defense Secretary Robert Gates fired the general in charge of the program this week amid concerns of spiraling costs and program delays.
Gates also announced he is withholding $614 million in fees from the prime contractor, Lockheed Martin. Daniel J. Crowley, one of Lockheed Martin's project managers, has acknowledged that the program is running at least six months behind schedule.
Gates was questioned about the program at a Senate hearing on Tuesday. He said he was unaware of a report by a special Pentagon assessment team in late 2008 that found development of the plane could be delayed by 2 1/2 years with $16.6 billion in cost overruns. Judging by his decisions, he is not unaware that the F-35 program, designed to fill the needs of all three services, is in trouble.
SNIP
The Raptor is perhaps the only plane that could evade the sophisticated S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system Russia has contracted to sell Iran. "Only the F-22 can survive in airspace defended by increasingly capable surface-to-air missiles," declares Air Force Association President Mike Dunn. source

Some Say Incompetence and Some Say Deliberate

The Obama reverse Midas touch continues. Everything he tries to do fails, and it fails at the expense of the American people, our taxpayers, and our national security.

Is it incompetence or deliberate weakening of America as part of redistributing the wealth and paving the way for socialism in America?

The Value of a Free Press (more or less)

2010-02-06T01:23:00.002-07:00

Mexico is a failed state. The governments of Mexico and America might deny it, but unlike in America, there is a free press in Mexico, and they report the barbarism. While our government press paints rosy pictures and writes tear-jerker stories about illegal aliens, the press in Mexico reports the facts and statistics. I wonder how long Obama, Pelosi, and Reid would last if our country had a free press?

Here is an example of the level of barbarism, murder, and crime destroying Mexico, and flowing across our borders. No patriotic American could support amnesty and illegal immigration and help bring more of the vicious killers, kidnappers, and beheading monsters here to America. Watch for Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and McCain to put on a full court press for amnesty and keeping our borders open before the end of this year.

How long do you think it is between execution murders in Mexico? A week, a few days, a day, or every 48 minutes? If you guessed every 48 minutes you would be correct.

El Universal (Mexico City) 2/4/10
An execution-style homicide every 48 minutes
The war carried out by organized crime in Mexico has already resulted in the death of 1,000 persons this year, an average of one death every 48 minutes. Statistics kept by this paper show that, in 2005, it took until September 11 to reach the same number of victims; by 2006, the date had moved up to June 30; in 2007 it happened earlier yet, on May 14; in 2008, on April 22, and in 2009, on February 20. The rest of the article goes on to report the number and locations of the very latest assassinations around the country, including eleven in Tijuana within the last 48 hours. source, 5Feb2010

Scary Stories for Friday

2010-02-05T01:35:00.000-07:00

Scary facts.

Soon there may be so many government workers and programs that they will become more of the economy than the private sector. Only 54% of the economy is in the private sector now. I hope you find this downright scary. Why? When it tips over and the government part of the economy is larger than the than private sector's part, who will support the government?

The government makes nothing, produces nothing, and thus, lives off the private sector. What happens to America when there is more of the economy in government than in the private sector? Shortages? Hyper-inflation, war? I guess many things could happen, none of them good.

The United States had 2.3 state and local government employees per 100 citizens in 1946 and has 6.5 state and local government employees per 100 citizens now. In 1947, Hodges writes, 78 percent of the national income went to the private sector, 16 percent to the federal sector, and 6 percent to the state and local government sector. Now 54 percent of the economy is private, 28 percent goes to the feds, and 18 percent goes to state and local governments. The trend lines are ominous. Source

The Top 10 Songs of the 1950s: Nos. 7-10

2010-02-02T01:31:00.000-07:00

The Top 10 songs (plus one) of the 1950s as rated by LomaAlta from the Desert Highlands, Baxter Dogg from Along the Great Divide, and Cash Box.

This post contains top hits numbers 7 –10 of the best Rock n Roll songs of the 1950’s. Subsequent posts will start with the 1960’s.

Video performances of these songs are in the links at the end of the descriptive paragraphs.

Somewhere during the 60’s Rock n Roll became just “Rock”. But remember the 1950’s is when it all started, a significant cultural development that was new and unique. Rock n Roll spread American culture around the world and along the way became Rock.

Who Wrote The Book Of Love
The Monotones 1958, Rank: 7
It wouldn’t be the fifties without some doo-wop. This song was the only one by the Monotones to make the charts so they are considered a one-hit wonder. Groups like the Monotones were characterized by multi-part harmony with the back-up singers carrying the melody with nonsense syllables. Shoobie-du-wa-doo-wop.
Here

Jailhouse Rock
Elvis Presley 1957, Rank: 8
OK, here’s another song by Elvis, but after all, he did dominate the decade. This is another song that the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame lists among the “500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll”. While most of his contemporaries were building their careers by touring the frozen heartland for live performances at high school gymnasiums and National Guard armories, Elvis took a much different route. He introduced many of his new songs in movie musicals. This song has also been covered by a long and diverse list of performers – Mötley Crűe to ZZ Top.
Here

Rock Around The Clock
Bill Haley & His Comets 1954, Rank: 9
Rock-n-Roll is a blend of Rhythm and Blues with Country and Western. Bill Haley is from the Country side of the marriage. On his 1951 cover of “Rocket 88” his backup group was The Saddlemen. But “Rock Around The Clock” was another important song in establishing Rock-n-Roll as a unique music style, and it came at the dawn of the era.
Here

That’ll Be The Day
Buddy Holly & The Crickets 1957, Rank: 10
A line John Wayne used often in “The Searchers” inspired this song. Buddy Holly is another of the pioneers who established Rock-n-Roll. Paul McCartney readily acknowledges the influence Buddy Holly had on the Beatles. “That’ll Be The Day” is the first song the Beatles recorded as a group. Holly also influenced many other major stars from the sixties and seventies. And as John Milner said in “American Graffiti”, “Rock-n-roll has been going downhill ever since Buddy Holly died”.
Here

Rescue America 2: Start Restoring the Language

2010-01-31T17:29:00.007-07:00

It is Time to Take Action

We need to rescue America and bring conservative, constitutional, and patriotic leadership back to Congress in 2010 and regain the White House in 2012. Government of the people, by the people, and for the people must be restored.

One of America’s problems is that it has let the leftist radicals define what words mean and thus change the language to support radical causes and movements such as: abortion; socialism; communism; homosexual radicals advocating pedophilia; supporting illegal immigration; radical Islam & jihadists; big government; political correctness; and tyranny.

Where to Start

We should start in the radical political arena and political correctness first as these are basic to all radical leftists’ efforts. After that we should move on to the social and cultural areas. But please recognize they are not independent, it is one large problem affecting every aspect of our lives.

Socialism and Communism

Before the onslaught of America by the communist Soviet Union and their fellow travelers in America some words were universally seen as evil by patriotic Americans. America fought back on this front until the 1960’s and finally gave in entirely after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the communist Soviet Union at the beginning of the 1990’s. Our words and language have been corrupted and changed, respectively, for a reason. This reason is to weaken and destroy the United States. Therefore, it is time to fight back and restore our language by eliminating radical imposed new meanings to words and the resulting change to our common language of English.

Socialism is defined as a political and economic system, or form of government, where the state owns industry and capital. That is, there is no private ownership of industry or financial institutions such as banks in a socialist state. If the state, or government, owns all the means of production and all the means of financing production, distribution, and control of wealth, then a people’s right to self determination is entirely controlled by the government. Obviously this violates the Constitutional right to freedom of the people. Thus, socialism is always evil, wrong, and unconstitutional. Anyone advocating socialism is advocating the destruction of the Constitution, and thus, all of America. Socialism should therefore be seen as unconstitutional and advocating it or its practice as punishable offenses against the America people.

Communism takes socialism even further and demands abolishment of private property. Not just industry and capital, but private property. Thus, communism is a system of total control of its people and all aspects of their lives. Anything you can define as property; your home, land, money, food, etc. is owned by the government. Loss of freedom is nearly total. And, in both socialist and communists governments those striving for private ownership are enemies of the state and must be controlled. To maintain this control, eventually all freedoms are lost. The government becomes paramount and the individual is unimportant. Thus, communism is the cruelest from of tyranny. Obviously it is worse than socialism and is unconstitutional, against the American people, and advocating it or its practice should be seen as punishable offenses against the America people.

Therefore, every patriotic American should oppose socialism and communism and all their components, derivatives, and advocates. One of the foremost methods of furthering socialism and communism is by breaking down the decency, individual liberty, individual independence, education, social, and political systems in America. The chief tool has been propaganda to demean all the good in America and to elevate the base, intolerable, indecent, and profane among us. The most effective method for initiating this process has been political correctness and its derivatives, dominating the media and shifting its orientation and loyalty to the government, and debasing religion and all it means to America.

Redistribution of wealth is a primary tool in establishing a socialist or communist tyranny. It is outrageous that our president and the majority of his appointees in our government have it as a goal and use it as a tool. Redistribution of wealth means to forcibly take wealth (money, property, etc.) from one class of people (those who worked to earn it) and give it to another class of people who did nothing to earn it. If individuals did it, it would be called armed robbery, aggravated robbery, forcible entry and theft or some other felony crime. It is also criminal for the government to propose or practice it. And anyone in, or out of the government, should be charged with these crimes and impeached/prosecuted as appropriate. As mentioned in the previous post progressive income tax in a means of wealth redistribution and should be eliminated.

What to Do?

Rep. Joe Wilson and Supreme Courte Justice Alito took correct and courageous steps to fight the big lies threatening our language and freedom. We can follow their examples. It is our freedom at risk.

All of you can think of words common in our language that should not be overlooked. Don't use them, except in attempts to correct their usage and eliminate those that are intended to reduce or eliminate freedom. Fight to keep our language clear and free of the loaded words of tyranny.

Demagogues, Taxes, Lies, and Unintended Consequences

2010-01-26T16:16:00.007-07:00

This post will demolish the leftists' ideas of progressive and regressive taxes. It will also demolish the idea that government spending can stimulate the economy. The large majority of you reading this already know as much or more about these topics as I do. But don't stop reading! Refresh your memory and garner some facts and arguments to use against that annoying neighbor or worthless brother-in-law who voted for Obama and the Democrats.

Point 1. There is no such thing as progressive taxes based on taxing corporations and the rich more. But, when corporations and the rich are taxed at a higher rate than those who make less money, this is called progressive taxing. Often you hear, "make corporations and the rich pay their fair share!" from the ignorant and the left. Oops, that's redundant. From now on I will just say left, or leftists, or Democrats, or socialist since they all mean the same thing. By definition, taxes which are a higher portion of income of the poor are called regressive.

Example. Higher taxes on corporations are regressive not progressive. Suppose lower middle class family A makes about $50,000 per year and pays no direct income taxes and upper middle class family B makes about $200,000 per year and pays about 50% income taxes. Now let's raise taxes on all corporations by 20%. Suppose, too, that almost all of Family A's income goes for "necessities" made by corporations and for Family B about half of their income ($100,000) goes for their "necessities" and the other half for taxes.

If the government raises corporate taxes by 20%, and the corporations pass along the taxes in the form of increased prices (which they must to stay in business and keep employing workers), then let's examine the consequences. Family A must cut back by 20% or $10,000 per year because they need all the necessities they were buying before the tax hike on corporations. This is equivalent to 20% new taxes for Family A and a cut in disposable income from$50,000 per year to $40,000 per year. Obviously the "poor" just got poorer by 20%.

Now, Family B must cut back some of their $100,00 per year necessities. But if you are upper middle class you have a bit of flexibility in your necessities and may only have to cut back $15,000 (less to savings, less to college expenses for educating their children, less to charity, etc.) . Now, based on necessities of $100,000 reduced to $85,000 the "rich" got poorer by 15% of necessities or 7.5% of total income. Even if Family B cut back the full $20,000, it would be 20% of their "necessities" or 10% of their total income.

Who suffered the most from upping corporate taxes? Family A, the "poor" family. Thus, a tax on corporations is a regressive tax because the poor suffer relatively more than the "rich". No tax at all on corporations would help the "poor" more than any other corporate tax scheme; it would lower the rate of increases in prices of necessities--a hidden regressive tax ignored by the socialists.

The final blows to the "poor" from raising corporate taxes come in two ways. First, raising corporate taxes eventually leads to layoff of workers. All other things equal, more "poor" workers get laid off than "rich" workers. Second, when American products become more expensive due to higher taxes, then in a free global market (which we have), cheaper foreign products will pour in and drive more and more American corporations out of business. Then the vicious cycle of higher prices and fewer jobs spirals down the economic health of the entire nation, especially the "poor". Again, higher corporate taxes hurt the "poor" most--they are regressive.

Point 2. Taxing the "rich" is regressive in the short term, in the mid- to long term, it is highly regressive. During the last 50 years it has been demonstrated over and over that government revenues FALL when taxes are raised and RISE when taxes are lowered. Presidents Kennedy, Reagan, and G.W. Bush lowered taxes and government revenues increased and the economy grew. Other Democrat and RINO presidents raised taxes and government revenues fell and the economy shrunk.

Why does this happen? For a variety of reasons. First, every $ spent in the private sector generates about $3 of economic activity by what is called the multiplier effect. For example, every dollar spent in establishing a new business generates about $3 in the economy because that business must hire people and buy new products and services. This new hiring and new buying generates more money in the economy (even more hiring and buying) and thus more taxes for federal revenue.

Second, the more money the "rich" are allowed to keep the more they spend on everything from luxury items (growing more jobs) to investments in new businesses (meaning innovation and,again, many more jobs). Think of how miserable our economy would be today if there were not any "rich" people or companies to invest in development of the transistor, computers, new energy resources, and on and on.

On the other hand, for every dollar taken out of the private sector by taxes, there is a loss of that dollar plus the 3 others it would have generated in the private sector, or an initial loss of $4. Now the government has a huge, nonproductive overhead and tens of millions of dependents so before that dollar is returned to the private sector it may have shrunk to $0.50 or less. With the same multiplier of 3 the benefit to the economy from a tax dollar may be $0.50 + $1.50 = $2 or less. So let's look at the balance: a $ spent in the private sector generates $3 more for a total of $4 in the private economy; a dollar in taxes removes $4 and may return $2 or less to the economy. In other words, a $ left in the private sector generates 3 more for a total of $4. A $ removed by taxes only returns about $2 to the economy--a net loss of $2. Obviously taxing the "rich" and replacing their $4 contribution to the private sector with a $2 government contribution is a bad deal all the way around. Losing a net of $2 from the economy again hurts the "poor" through fewer jobs and higher prices and fewer taxes paid to the government.

Some would argue that increasing government taxing and spending has a positive effect on the economy. But, tax raises and tax cuts over the last 50 years has shown that is not true. Tax cuts grow the economy and jobs. Tax increases and more government spending shrink the economy and jobs.

Therefore, increasing taxes on corporations and/or the rich doesn't help the "poor", it hurts them, and is thus regressive. Only demagogues and their sycophants talk seriously of raising taxes on corporations and the "rich". Everyone else knows that higher taxes and bigger government hurt everyone but the crooked politicians and a few of their collaborators.

So, What's the Solution?

The disingenuous and crooked claim that raising taxes on corporations and the "rich" is progressive, and thus fair. It is regressive taxation and thus very unfair. It is also possible to show that property taxes, and all other taxes not tied to consumption are regressive.

The only progressive tax would be one on consumption, such as a national sales tax on everything applied to everyone. This would be progressive, because the more you earned and spent the more you would be taxed.

The solution is to abolish all taxes except universal and uniform rate national sales taxes. Everyone would pay the same rate, everyone would have "ownership" and thus a stake in preserving our nation, and those who spent more money would pay more taxes.

This will never happen because it would remove the power to tax and to reward rich, crooked politicians and their rich collaborators with regressive taxes.

But abolishing all taxes but a universal, one rate national sales tax is a goal. Each step closer to this goal will result in increased measures of freedom, prosperity, and fairness in our individual lives and in our government. Improving the lives of all Americans is a worthy goal.

Obama Uses Teleprompter for Canned Answers to Students' Questions

2010-01-25T09:54:00.005-07:00

This taken from here via the Drudge Report.
How lazy, incompetent, and insecure must Obama be to use prepared answers on Teleprompters when talking with elementary school children and his media entourage. His incompetence and arrogance is amazing. I wonder what the kids thought. Here is the picture from the above link.

This proves what I have long thought. That Obama is controlled by handlers and aids (overseers?) to make sure he spouts the socialist party line and never expresses his incoherent and fuzzy thinking. Wow, a clear illustration of the Peter Principle.

Let's rescue the nation and send this incompetent back to Chicago's crooked politics where he belongs.

Hitler Finds out About Republican Winning in Massachusetts

2010-01-23T13:31:00.008-07:00

I stole this video from Brooke.
It is so good I just had to swipe it.

Listen for the comment about Obama's school record. Be prepared, don't be drinking or eating anything, heh heh.

Ronald Reagan Warning on the Dangers of Socialized Medicine and its Effects

2010-01-18T01:50:00.001-07:00

**** Big News From Mass.****
**** Hey Obama! Leave Them Trucks Alone!****
**** We Don't Need No Socialism!****

The leftist Democrats call it “the Public Option” or health care for everyone. But it is socialized medicine no matter what you call it. And, it is the first step on a long, downhill path to socialist tyranny.

Please notice the last few seconds of this video and see how much it resembles the situation in North Korea and our situation of teachers indoctrinating our children by singing Obama songs in our schools.

We must stop ObamaCare, as it is pure socialism.

Rescue America: Support Conservative Republicans

2010-01-13T01:01:00.000-07:00

Obama to Release Big Lies to Promote Amnesty

2010-01-11T01:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a heads up

Obama and his dirty sidekicks, Pelosi, Reid, and Napolitano are planning to release a flurry of big lies about how our illegal immigration problems can all be solved by granting the 30 million or so illegal aliens here amnesty. To support their arguments the MSM will flood the news with happy face and tear jerker studies and articles about illegal aliens and our border war. Of course they won’t use those words, they will be “undocumented entrants” and “those living in the shadows” as well as dozens of other Orwellian Newspeak terms for an illegal invasion and occupation of our country.

To help you get ready for the onslaught, here are a few facts and figures about the criminal invaders and the horrible crimes they commit in America. We deport them and then they come back and do it again, again, and again throughout their lives. Mexico is a failed state and the crime and chaos there are moving north at a faster and faster rate.

In the United States

The Tucson Sector (Border Patrol administrative district covering some 8% of the 4000 mile border with Mexico) accounts for approximately half of the drug and people smuggling into the United States, according to recent data.

A recent Border Patrol news release dealing with 2008 operations has some interesting results.

Tucson Sector agents continue to lead the nation in marijuana seizures accounting for more than 50 percent of all the marijuana seized nationwide. Tucson Sector agents seized a staggering 816,402 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $649 million, an 8 percent decrease compared with FY 2007. Agents also seized 265 pounds of cocaine, 61 ounces of heroin and 23 pounds of methamphetamine. Border Patrol checkpoints had a significant impact on the narcotic smuggling infrastructure. Seizures at the checkpoints increased by 63 percent with 29,813 pounds of marijuana seized. This is a dramatic increase from the FY 2007 total of 18,979 pounds. The majority of the seizures occurred at the Interstate 19 checkpoint with over 18,000 pounds, proving yet again that checkpoints are a vital piece in the multi-layered defense-in-depth national strategy that is used by the Border Patrol. source

In addition to this, the Tucson Sector agents also arrested almost 318,000 illegal aliens. An estimated 1 out of 3 to 1 out of 9 illegal invaders are caught; the remainder make it into the US undetected. So under the most optimistic estimate, some 1 million illegal aliens entered Arizona in 2009. You can also multiply the drugs mentioned above by about 3 to get an estimate of how much the drug and people smugglers brought into the Unites States in 2008 through the Tucson Sector.

Now let’s look at the kind of people who are illegally invading America. From the data given in the Border Patrol, you know that about 3 pounds of marijuana are smuggled in for each illegal alien. What you probably didn’t know is that many of the illegal aliens are taken back to Mexico and released. (Others are released within the US but that is for a different posting). Many of those arrested, are convicted of felonies and sent to Mexico soon return to the United States. In another Border Patrol news release in 2009, it is stated that about 20% of the illegal aliens have been convicted of crimes, most notably rape, child molestation, and murder.

Roughly 20 percent of illegal immigrants caught by the Border Patrol during the 2009 fiscal year had convictions for crimes such as rape, child molestation or murder, according to a news release. source

These 2009 statistics of 20% arrested with criminal convictions means that about 20% of 1 million illegal immigrants entering the US in 2009 (that is about 200,000) probably were convicted criminals. This is supported strongly by previous data showing the majority of felonies in Arizona are committed by illegal aliens crossing the Mexican Border.

Summary of 2005-2007 illegal alien crime in Arizona at the federal level:

Felony convictions in US federal courts in Arizona, FY 2005-2007
Total: 13,425 (100%)
Illegal Aliens: 9,804 (73%)
All Other: 3,621 (27%)
source

Along the Border States

Norte (Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua) , El Universal (Mexico City) 1/7/10
Juarez & Tijuana starting a new year
Eight more men were assassinated in Juarez yesterday; there have already been 51 homicide victims there during the first six days of the year. The number of homicide victims in Tijuana has reached 25 since the end of the year; the latest one is an unknown man found dumped on a street, minus his head. source

Barbarism Widespread in Mexico

El Debate (Culiacan Sinaloa) 1/7/10
Not a ball for a game
Around 2 a.m. on Thursday, police in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, received a report that some men had left something inside a black plastic bag out on the street. What the police first thought to be a human head turned out to be a soccer ball with the actual face of a man sewn onto it. Another call to the police led to the finding of ice chests inside of which were the rest of the man’s head as well as his thorax and other body parts along with a “narco-message.” source

Beheadings and other barbarisms are coming our way: Fight amnesty

As you can see from some of these newspaper accounts in Mexican papers, the violence and crime in Mexico are incredible. Defeat Obama’s amnesty or millions of these crimes will move to America.
And, the illegal invaders will block-vote Democrat. Hello one party rule in America.

TSA More Trouble than Help in Stopping Terrrorists

2010-01-08T09:19:00.018-07:00

(Janet and A Full Body Scan. Pictures from drudgereport.com)

We All Knew What Would Happen to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

When President Bush compromised with the Democrats and let them require that TSA employees be government employees, we all knew it would become a bloated, self-serving, ineffective, and dysfunctional agency.

It was proven when we started to fly again after 9/11. We saw idiotic procedures, lazy, shuffling, TSA Agents wondering around doing nothing. And when we spoke to them, most were either surly and disrespectful or dumb as a post like one of Red Skelton’s characters. Flyers insulted, abused, embarrassed, and made to wait while TSA agents gossipped and ate and ate. The incompetent, unqualified, and untrained TSA Agents became as nasty as the worst of the Motor Vehicle Department employees. Public service and courtesy were not part of their training.

No young, bearded men from the Middle East were pulled out of line searched, patted down, and made to undress, nope. But they gave grandmas and harried working men a hard time, delays, and useless searches. TSA spent so much time being politically correct and inspecting Americans that they knew weren’t terrorists and wouldn’t complain, that they continually missed shoe bombers, panty bombers, and who knows how many sleeper jihad agents hiding in America right now. It is politically correct to detain, pat down, and search a 70 year old grandma from Peoria. It is not politically correct to detain and search surly, young, bearded men from the Middle East. Oh no, that would be profiling. Better to let untold thousands of Americans die unimaginable cruel and horrible deaths than to offend an Islamic jihadist or his silent supporters who routinely contribute money and cover to the cause of killing Americans.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) now wants to use scanners on Americans. Look at the picture above and imagine what the TSA agents will be seeing in a year or so when better and better technology comes along. I say TSA should use these scanners on foreigners seeking to enter the US and traveling within the US. They should not be used on ordinary American citizens without probable cause.

A Modest Proposal- TSA Puts America First

All TSA agents take rigid physical and mental qualifications tests and the unfit removed from government employment. Those that passed the test should undergo boot camp-like training at Quantico to get them if physical shape and train them how to take down a suspect. The existing FBI Profiling Unit at Quantico should be expanded to include terrorist profiling and all TSA agents should have periodic terrorist identification refresher courses. All TSA agents would then profile all flyers for potential terrorists.

How about TSA cooperates with foreign governments to do our own screening on the asphalt after the regular airport screening but just before boarding Flights to the US? Here we could form two lines, one for US citizens who would undergo routine screenings and one for foreigners who would undergo extensive search, including all luggage and full body scans. Fingerprints and high resolution photographs, and DNS samples would be collected from all foreigners. Anyone, foreign or American on a no fly list would be escorted back to the local authorities.

A similar setup of two lines could be set up in the US; one for citizens with normal screening and one for foreigners with more intensive searches and full body scans. Again, fingerprints and high resolution photographs, and DNS samples would be collected from all foreigners.

A large and well trained K-9 division of TSA should screen all passengers with special, intensive screening of foreigners seeking to fly to the US and traveling within the US. All travelers profiled as likely terrorists should receive intensive inspection by the K-9 agents before and after whole body screening and regular physical searches. All luggage should be screened by K-9 agents as well.

But, sadly authority for the TSA runs downhill from Obama & Congress, and DHS head Janet Neapolitan. As long as the joker is running things, sensible protection of Americans will not happen.

Janet Neapolitan Must Go

2010-01-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Janet Napolitano is head of the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) which is a dysfunctional agency doing far, far more harm to America than good.

I hear and read Janet called a variety of names, all appropriate. Here are some of them:
Janet Clownitano; Janet Incompetento; Janet Nitwititano; Big Sis; and my favorite, Janet Neapolitan.

That kind of ice cream comes in 1 and 2 gallon tubs from discount stores. Just imagine how fast she could tear through a 2 gallon tub of Neapolitan ice cream while writing press releases saying “there is no indication that this incident was terrorism or that anyone but the individual arrested was involved.” This happens every time there is a conspiracy producing an Islamic jihad attack on America.

Even scarier than her constant apologies and cover-ups for terrorists is the fact that she is in charge of US border security. That means that a million or 2 illegal aliens, drug smugglers, felons, repeat invaders, and an unknown number of Islamic jihadists cross the border every year.

To steal a turn of phrase from Churchill, she can best be described as follows. “Never in history has one person done so much to destroy the security of so many.”

The Dept. of Homeland Security should be abolished and its pro-US functions transferred to other, more capable Departments and agencies. Its anti-American functions should be retired along with Janet Neapolitan.

The Next Crisis from Obama in the Destruction of America is via Amnesty for 30 Million Criminal Invaders

2010-01-04T01:00:00.005-07:00

Warning: 2010 is the Year of Amnesty

As the leftists return from their secular holidays (I bet they wanted lots of presents though!), they will take up Phase 4 in the destruction of America. Phase 1 was the huge budget deficits and targeted money to the worst among us. Phase 2 was socialized medicine, Phase 3 is Cap and Trade global warming alarmism and taxing, but it has been put on the back burner because of the extreme cold. Phase 4 is amnesty for 30 million illegal aliens and the instant creation of 30 million new welfare dependents and perhaps 10-20 million new block-voters for the Democrats.

We may survive Phases 1-3 of the takeover plan, but we cannot survive Phase 4 if it is successful. Why? The resulting 10-20 million new block-votes are enough to cement Democrat rule forever. This is the must win battle for America’s future. It is more important than the combined harm of Phases 1-3 combined. It is the biggest challenge this nation has ever faced; greater than all our wars combined. If we lose the battle over amnesty for illegal aliens we lose America forever.

Some Irresponsible Daydreams

First, is that this issue is not near as important as increased taxes, the Islamic war on America, or socialized medicine. We can recover from these things; they are reversible with conservative majorities in Congress and a conservative White House and Supreme Court. Difficult? Yes. Possible? Yes. If patriotic Americans come together and act we can win these battles against the leftist forces of socialism and tyranny.

Second, Illegal immigration is a regional issue and not a national crisis or a threat to our nation. This kind of thinking arose from years of propaganda by the open border crowd and those wanting cheap labor and block-voters. Imagine this scenario. Both houses of Congress controlled by 70-80% majorities of leftist radicals, Obama in the White House for the foreseeable future, and a Supreme Court packed with 7 or 8 leftists. If this happens, America will have permanent one party rule and tyranny forever. Ten to twenty million new Democrat voters could make this happen.

Third, that an armed citizenry will have the power to stop tyranny. The US military is the most powerful in history. Recent events in Afghanistan (top commanders bending to Obama’s will; we need civilian control, but they could have resigned) and Ft. Hood (a politically correct general joining in the cover-up) demonstrate that the military forces may be succumbing to the disease of political correctness. No rag-tag group of patriots could stand up to the might of the US military obeying Obama’s orders. And remember, as commander in chief he can order the military to stand down and let his personal Brown Shirts (union thugs, Acorn thugs, and the civilian forces he proposed in the campaign) crush the patriots.

How Do Patriots Fight Tyranny?

We need a constitutionally guaranteed protest of united patriots up to ten times larger than the Tea Party patriots. We need to put 10-20 million peaceful protesters in Washington, DC and then millions in other major cities. And, we need to use our combined politically power to defeat amnesty, illegal immigration, and open borders as the first step in rescuing out Republic.

Happy New Year and Good Bye to 2009

2009-12-31T10:08:00.005-07:00

A Look Back

What a year! The evil forces of tyranny, socialism, communism, abortion, racism, domestic supporters of Islamic terrorism, open borders, deficit spending, corruption, bribery, and socialized medicine all made great strides. All of these evils were due to the dominance of a one party system in Washington, DC led by radical leftist Democrats Obama, Pelosi, and Reid (the dirty triplets, O,P,&R). They made great strides in the destruction of America.

The evil anti-Americans were helped and aided and abetted by the “Country-Club Republicans” also called RINO’s and many sheeple carrying the flag of ignorance. Perhaps the second biggest source of evil after O,P,& R, the Main Stream Media, remained in lockstep as the mouth organ of the dirty triplets. Meanwhile Political Correctness gained new heights of idiocy and evil under the dirty triplets and their willing servants the MSN.

Beware! The triple headed monster of illegal immigration, amnesty, and open borders will be the next push of the dirty triplets.

A Brighter Future

Strong patriots don’t lose heart and keep faith in God and country. Tea Party Patriots and their many allies are on an uphill road of resurgence of freedom. Sarah Palin and other good patriots are bringing forth strength and integrity needed to travel this uphill road.

If you wish a brighter future of freedom again in America, join the rescue of our country. Seek out good and true conservatives at all level of government and support them. Make them pledge to undo all the legislation and executive orders and bad appointments of the dirty triplets and to restore our Republic. Work, donate, and pledge to support those who will lead us back to freedom.

Let the power of prayer, faith, and freedom guide you and bless you in the New Year.

Thank the Taxpayers

2009-12-30T06:48:00.007-07:00

If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you're reading this in English, thank a veteran.
But, first and always, thank the taxpayers,
for without them there is nothing;
no teachers, no veterans, and no freedom.

Sen. Bacchus Adds Drunkenness to Corruption and Produces a Socialist Health Care Bill

2009-12-27T20:13:00.010-07:00

Sen Bacchus?

What Used to Be

Guess what used to be called the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body? The United States Senate. But then, those were in the days of great men, powerful orators speaking about important matters. Not drunks and incompetents wheeling and dealing us down the inebriated road to socialism.

How Far We Have Fallen

How far the Democrats have taken this “World’s Greatest Deliberative Body” and debased and sullied it with drunkenness, lies, incoherent, repetitive rambling and crooked incompetence. Democrat Senator Max Baucus (or should it be Bacchus?) from Montana shames himself, the Senate, his state, and the United States. This is the man who nominated his girlfriend to be a US Attorney. Of course, she didn’t make it. But this drunken lout tried to use his influence to appoint his girlfriend to high office. Bacchus has no sense of shame accompanied by no sense of duty, honor, or responsibility.

Democrat Sen. Bacchus was the stumblebum the Democrats chose to lead writing and sneaking through their bogus health care reform. It’s not reform, it is base socialism brought forth by base and indecent people. Reform would be a breathalyzer test before entering the Senate and when leaving it. That would be reform we could all understand.

Is This the Future of America?

Once again the leftist radicals have rules for them and rules for us. You or I would have a field sobriety test and be charged with “drunk and disorderly conduct”. Sen. Bacchus is free to bribe wheedle, and booze his way through Senate legislation. Where for art though Caligula? “I Am here”,hiccup, says Bacchus, “Where’s my sweet little ole , hiccup, US Attorney? “Here baby, here baby, burp”.

The Christmas it Snowed In the Desert And a Lesson in Snowball Fights

2009-12-22T15:05:00.010-07:00

(hubpages.com)

Mom came in and woke us up early. “Come look outside, it’s beautiful.” “What?” we muttered. “It snowed last night and we are going to have a white Christmas!”

Levis, heavy socks, long sleeve shirts, heavy jackets and gloves and we were ready to go. Everything was covered in about 6 inches of snow and it was Dec 24th, so we would have a white Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we always had a big dinner and opened presents as soon as it was dark.

My youngest older brother (I had 3 brothers and 2 sisters, all older) let fly with a snowball that whapped against my ear and stung. Yelling and jumping around, he was so excited that he also let mom have one. Her enthusiasm for the snow and her joy at showing us a near miracle vanished as she ran inside, while taking us to task. So much for education and understanding, we were full of pee and vinegar and had no time for anything but play and mischief. We played all morning and attacked each other and anyone else we saw outside. We continued to stockpile snowballs. In our haste we often scraped too deep and gathered grass, leaves, and dirt along with the snow.

Our older brother Wes was newly married and still had the exuberance of youth and playfulness inside him. He lived within a few blocks of us and made his living as a bricklayer. Of course, we thought he was an old man who knew nothing about snowball fights. When our two older sisters came out to marvel at the snow we were ready. We had stockpiled a dozen snowballs or so each and were waiting. We let them get all the way outside and far from the door—then sprang out trap. At first they made a feeble attempt to fight back, but girls don’t know much about snowballs and, well, they threw like girls. We hammered them with snowballs packet tight and hard, we slaughtered them, we mudererated ‘em; screaming and begging us to stop, they stumbled and ran to the front door. Their Christmas sweaters were wet and soggy, hair mussed and wet; they were whining and complaining. Total victory!

Mom stuck her head out the front door, and amid a volley of snowballs she told us to come in and get ready for dinner. “Wes and Mary will be here soon and dinner will be ready shortly” she hollered just before a snowball hit the door and showered her with ice and grass, and mud. Two remarkable things happened. After years of scolding us and even washing our mouths out with soap for cursing and yelling at us not to slam the door; mom let fly a curdling scream of “dammit!” and slammed the door so hard it sounded like an explosion. I was stunned, but my older brother Larry just laughed and took the opportunity to smack me in the ear again with a huge snowball. I started to cry but he said “Shut up sissy, I see Wes and Mary coming.” We ran to our snow forts to ambush them.

Wes was carrying a huge box of presents and Mary was dressed in her finest. They strode right across the lawn headed for the front door. My brother jumped up screaming “Let ‘em have it!” We ran towards them throwing snowballs and screaming threats.

The strangest thing happened. Mary squealed and ran to the front door. But Wes sat the big box down, grabbed some snow, started making snowballs, and as he dodged our snowballs laughed and said “So you wanna fight, huh?”

That 6’4” bricklayer had huge, strong hands and packed hard snowballs the size of grapefruit. He also threw like Bob Feller. After being hit hard with one or two of those huge, hard, snowballs we tried to run, but those long legs caught one of us and then the other and pounded us. We were screaming “We give up, we give up.” Wes laughed and came over to us and said “Had enough huh?” “Yes”, we whimpered as we tried to rub our faces and ears where those giant snowballs had smashed into us. I was trying to hold back tears but was snuffling. He good naturedly rubbed my head and said “It’s ok. But don’t challenge ole Wes to a snowball fight until you are big enough not to cry.” He picked up his box of presents and went walking into the house.

I had enough. But my brother called me a sissy and convinced we could get even with Wes. Foolish and 3 years younger than him, I was soon back in the fight. We climbed up on the carport roof and stockpiled more snowballs. We also rolled some in the snow until we had an assortment from golf ball-sized up to two, medicine balled-sized ones we called atomic bombs. The plan was to lure Wes back outside and hit him with atomic bombs first and then plaster him good from the safety of the rooftop. We had hidden the ladder out of sight in back of the house and were ready.

Larry snuck down and around to the front door, went in, snuck up behind where Wes was sitting and poured a big handful of snow right down his shirt collar. Back through the front door, slamming it and running around to the ladder, he joined me in front just as Wes came out. We didn’t know that our sisters had been crying and told him about all we did to them. He must have seen it as his duty to take care of boys that would bully their sisters and make them cry. This time he was mad. He looked up and said “Damn it you little bastards, I’m gonna teach you a lesson this time.”

That’s when we dropped the A bombs. We were stunned at how easily he dodged our ultimate weapons and even more shocked when he did a pull up on the carport roof and swung his leg up on the roof. We ran and kicked snow in his face and tried to push him back down.

It didn’t work. He was up on the roof in a second and grabbed me and said “Now you’re gonna get a snow shampoo.” A snow shampoo is much worse than it sounds. It’s like a noogie where big knuckles rub your head until its on fire and then continue forever. A snow shampoo is cold, wet, is all over your head and ears, and it smarts and burns like fire and freezing cold. It also went on until I was crying and screaming “I give up! I give up!” After that, it was time to shampoo my face; using rough hands and cold snow. Neither “I give ups”, nor screaming, crying, snot, and tears could stop it. Larry saw what was happening and down the ladder he went to hide somewhere.

Finally, Wes stopped, looked around for Larry, and jumped off the carport roof. After I stopped crying, blew my nose, and tried to comb my hair with my fingers, I climbed down the ladder and went inside. My mother saw I had been crying and was instantly angry, she marched me into the living room and right to my dad and said “Look at this, look at Wes has done to him!” “Do something about it.” She said and turned and went back in the kitchen.

My dad asked me to stand in front of him and started asking questions. The facts came out. Yes, I did attack my sisters and make them cry; yes, I did hit my mother’s face with snow and mud; yes, I did have a fair snowball fight with Wes and gave up and promised not to throw any more snowballs; yes, I broke my word and had another snowball fight with Wes. I finished by saying “But dad, he gave me a snow shampoo!” Snickers and then laughter filled the room. Trying not to laugh, my dad said through a big grin “Well son, now you know how it feels to be punished by someone bigger and stronger than you. You also know how your sisters and mom felt. No one likes a bully, son. But thanks for telling the truth.”

About that time, Larry came sneaking in with a big grin. Dad shook his finger and said to him. “Son, I know you were in on it, and probably even made your little brother do what he did. I was not happy to hear you ran away when your brother was getting what he deserved. In fact, I am disappointed in you. Now both of you go and get cleaned up for dinner.”

It was a great Christmas. We all talked and thanked each other for the presents. Mom said to Wes and Mary. “You did way too much, and you spoiled the boys something awful with all those presents.” Then, everyone went back to talking and the adults had eggnog. We played with our new toys and when it was time for bed, Wes called me over, picked me up, and let me sit in his lap. He asked me if I wanted some eggnog. Mom said, “Now Wes, you know that’s spiked.” Dad said softly, “Let him have some eggnog and visit with his brother a bit before he has to go to bed too.” I looked around the room and Larry was gone. Everyone started talking again. Wes gave me a sip of eggnog, hugged me to him, and told me he had fun with the snowball fights.

It wasn’t until some years later that someone mentioned I was Wes’s favorite, and it hit me like only the truth can. I thought to myself, gee, I wish it would snow at Christmas again.

Best Rock n Roll of the 1950s: Nos. 3-6

2009-12-20T17:31:00.022-07:00

The Top 10 songs (plus one) of the 1950s as rated by LomaAlta from the Desert Highlands, Baxter Dogg from Along the Great Divide, and Cash Box. Description.

This post contains top hits numbers 3 – 6 of the best Rock n Roll songs of the 1950’s. Subsequent posts will include numbers 7-10 of the 1950’s and then we will start with the 1960’s.

Video performances of these songs are in the links at the end of the descriptive paragraphs.

Somewhere during the 60’s Rock n Roll became just “Rock”. But remember the 1950’s is when it all started, a significant cultural development that was new and unique. Rock n Roll spread American culture around the world and along the way became Rock.

All I Have To Do Is Dream
The Everly Brothers--1953, Rank: 3
The Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame lists this song among the “500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll”. Like Bill Haley, the Everly Brothers were influenced by their Country and Bluegrass background. But this song and others by the Everly Brothers helped lay the foundation for the broad appeal of Rock-n-Roll.
Here

There Goes My Baby
The Drifters--1959, Rank: 4
Another important element of Rock-n-Roll is the contribution of groups like The Drifters whose background was in Rhythm and Blues. In the case of The Drifters there was a gospel influence as well. “There Goes My Baby” is the first song recorded by The Drifters after Ben E. King replaced Clyde McPhatter as lead singer. Here

Wake Up Little Susie
The Everly Brothers--1957, Rank: 5
This song reflects the norms of a far more innocent time. A teenage couple falls asleep at a movie and busts curfew. Their friends will think it is scandalous, and their parents will be furious. They’re in trouble—deep! Groups as diverse as The Grateful Dead and Simon and Garfunkel have covered this song. Simon and Garfunkel have cited the Everly Brothers as strong influences on their own music. Here

Heartbreak Hotel
Elvis Presley-- 1956, Rank: 6
This is the song that “introduced” Elvis to a television audience and was his first #1 hit. This song influenced future generations of performers and has been covered by another long list of acts. This diverse list ranges from Homer & Jethro to Paul McCartney and includes The Animals and Merle Haggard. Paul McCartney once described “Heartbreak Hotel” as the perfect Rock-n-Roll song. Here

Alcoholics, Drug Addicts, and Long-Term Poverty: I Alcoholics and Drug Addicts

2009-12-18T12:17:00.015-07:00

This first essay deals with alcoholism and briefly touches on drug addiction. The second essay will discuss commonalities and similar roots of these afflictions and long-term poverty and suggest possible solutions for some of the people trapped in long-term poverty.

Brief History of Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was the result of a long association of two alcoholics Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. In the AA tradition they were called Bill W. and Dr. Bob. Dr. Bob had his last drink on June 10, 1935 and it is considered by AA members as the founding date. Wilson wrote Alcoholics Anonymous (known as the Big Book by members). It contained the famous 12 Step Program for alcoholics to follow in recovering and the 12 Traditions used to govern AA. Please read a history of AA here.

Following are the 12 Steps of AA and the 12 AA Traditions. Please read these, as they are very powerful and will have a permanent influence on the serious reader.

Alcoholics Anonymous 12 step program

THE TWELVE STEPS OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Copyright _ A.A. World Services, Inc.
Rev.5/9/02 source.

THE TWELVE TRADITIONS OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
(SHORT FORM)
1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.
2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
6. An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

Copyright _ A.A. World Services, Inc. Rev.5/9/02 source

Principles of the AA 12 Step Program in Other Areas

Twelve-step methods have been adopted to address a wide range of substance abuse and dependency problems. Over 200 self-help organizations–often known as fellowships–with a worldwide membership of millions, now employ twelve-step principles for recovery. Narcotics Anonymous was formed by addicts who did not relate to the specifics of alcohol dependency.[3] Similar demographic preferences related to the addicts' drug of choice has led to the creation of Cocaine Anonymous, Crystal Meth Anonymous and Marijuana Anonymous. Behavioral issues such as compulsion for, and/or addiction to, gambling, food, sex, hoarding, debting and work are addressed in fellowships such as Gamblers Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Sexual Compulsives Anonymous, Clutterers Anonymous, Debtors Anonymous and Workaholics Anonymous. Auxiliary groups such as Al-Anon and Nar-Anon, for friends and family members of alcoholics and addicts, respectively, are part of a response to treating addiction as a disease that is enabled by family systems. source.

Arguments for and Against Legalizing Illegal Drug Use

Many people argue that by legalizing illegal drug use, more addicts would have safe drugs, the government could control the supply and quality of drugs, and the government could tax the drugs to raise additional revenue. They also argue that by legalizing illegal drugs the dealers and pusher criminals’ profits would disappear and thus crime would be reduced. Furthermore, drug addicts wouldn’t engage in as much burglary, theft, robbery, prostitution, and murder, so there would be additional reductions in crime. Most people would favor safer drugs and less crime. Fewer might support additional taxes to pay for the drugs and the drug addicts. Other than alcohol, there are few quantitative studies on the legalization of drugs in America.

Others argue that illegal drugs are dangerous, harmful, and it is morally wrong for society to legalize drugs and profit from the misery and wasted lives of millions. They also argue that the government shouldn’t establish or raise any more taxes. Furthermore, whether the legalized drugs were distributed by the government or tax free organizations living off government subsidies and grants, the taxpayer would still be stuck for almost all of the costs. The most powerful argument the anti-legalization side uses is the example of legalizing alcohol. They point to the millions of deaths, wasted lives, accidents, children born with birth defects from legal alcohol, and other human tragedies and tax payer supported costs. source.

Commonalities of Addictions

As discussed above there are a great number of commonalities between alcoholics and drug addicts. Therefore, we should support and encourage similar organizations and treatment methods that have been shown to work. As will be shown in the second post, this means abandoning the model of government run entitlements and shifting to private charity-driven organizations and solutions. Key to success will be the acceptance of long-term welfare by able bodied people to be a sin, parasitism, and that sin can be overcome just as other addictions are.

Personal disclosure by the author

I have recovered, via the method of “going cold turkey” from alcohol and tobacco addictions. This method works for some, but is far less successful than methods such as those of AA. I have also brought my way out of poverty through recognition of personal responsibility and shame, via hard work and continuing education through the post graduate level. This is not bragging. These words here are the first time I have publically acknowledged my background of addictions and poverty. I have always been ashamed of these things and always will be.

However, there are some things in which I take great pride. First is the personal recognition that I alone was responsible for overcoming my poverty, although I couldn’t have succeeded without an understanding and steadfastly loyal and helpful wife. We did it together. Second was the recognition of the harm of alcohol and tobacco and the evil of my indulgence in them. The recognition and my ability to overcome these sins renewed my faith in God. Third is the fact that in spite of hard times, I never accepted charity or welfare. No unemployment, food stamps, or any other welfare.

These admissions are not meant to be confessions (those happened in private) but as a demonstration of experiences in these areas; experiences that enable me to offer some possible solutions in the next essay.

A Funny Christmas Song You May Enjoy

2009-12-11T11:16:00.004-07:00

Keep your eye on the little boy to Ernie's left and the little boy in the next row down, in front of Ernie. This should bring a grin or a laugh.

Best Rock n Roll of the 1950's: Top 2 Plus 1

2009-12-08T20:34:00.027-07:00

Introduction

The Top 10 songs (plus one) of the 1950s as rated by LomaAlta from the Desert Highlands, Baxter Dogg from Along the Great Divide, and Cash Box. Description. This allowed us to include our favorites plus a measure of public opinion via Cash Box.

This post contains the first Rock n Roll song and the number 1 and 2 top hits of the 1950’s. Subsequent posts will include numbers 3-10 of the 1950’s and then we will start with the 1960’s.

In presenting these songs as videos, we tried to give you an option of a more recent version showing some of the artists’ development (where possible) and a version as close as possible to the original performances in the link at the end of the descriptive paragraphs.

Somewhere during the 60’s Rock n Roll became just “Rock”. But remember the 1950’s is when it all started, a significant cultural development that was new and unique. Rock n Roll spread American culture around the world and along the way became Rock.

This is the 50’s where it all started, so turn the volume up, make some room to dance, and enjoy!

The Top 2 Plus 1

Rocket 88 Jackie Brenston 1951 Rank: 0
This song is considered by many to be the first Rock-n-Roll song. The song is credited to Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats, but there was no such group. Brenston was the saxophone player in Ike Turner’s band, the Kings of Rhythm. The song was produced at Sam Phillips studio in Memphis. The song pays homage to Oldsmobile’s new V-8 and the Rocket 88 line of cars. This song reached Number 1 on the Rhythm & Blues charts. Although it didn’t score in our Top 10 ranking scheme, it is included because it established the genre. Listen to original.

Don’t Be Cruel Elvis Presley 1956 Rank: 1
Although not the first Rock-n-Roll song, and in fact, not even Elvis’s first, this song probably did the most to establish Rock-n-Roll as the most important music style of the 1950s. It certainly helped to establish Elvis as the King. Everyone from Merle Haggard to Devo, Deborah Harry, Ringo Starr and Keith Richards has covered this song. Listen to original.

Johnny B Goode Chuck Berry 1958 Rank: 2
Another of the “founding fathers” of Rock-n-Roll is Chuck Berry. His influence on other artists is widespread. According to Wikipedia, the opening guitar riff on "Johnny B. Goode" may be the most famous single riff in rock and roll history. Johnny B. Goode is among the most widely covered rock and roll songs in history. Wikipedia lists nearly 70 performers, everyone from AC/DC to Stray Cats. This is the song that will get you “back to the future”. Listen to original.

We love these Rock n Roll songs and would appreciate any comments you might have.
Thanks,

LomaAlta and Baxter Dogg

No Bows and Apologies by Americans at Surrender of Japan

2009-12-07T10:09:00.007-07:00

In the days when America celebrated its freedom, its liberation of much of the world from socialist and royal tyrants, and the marvelous defeat of evil empires, there was no bowing and no apologizing by great American leaders.

The Japanese imperial forces unconditionally surrendered to General McArthur, other military commanders, and dignitaries representing the Unites States on Sept. 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. In a time of expanding freedom and well being for the entire world, bowing to foreign dignitaries, especially our enemies, was unthinkable. Nor were any Americans apologizing for bringing peace and freedom to major portions of the world. We were Americans then, we were proud of our victories, pious, solemn, and just. America was a Christian nation, acknowledged our Judeo-Christian heritage, and the debts we owed Great Britain for laying the philosophical and political foundations for our ultimate development of America as a free nation.

GOPUSA has an outstanding article pointing how the war in the Pacific might have gone had Obama been president in 1945 rather than Harry S. Truman. As you read excerpts from it below and the entire article, think how much Obama’s “Hope and Change” has degraded, humiliated, and damaged America. Pray for a restoration of freedom.

Unfortunately, when we declared war on Japan, the decision also was made to wage a second war, in Europe, against Nazi Germany. For three years, the war in Europe drew the dominant share of our troops, our resources, our diplomacy, and our national attention -- and that decision to go into Europe, against a force that never attacked us, caused substantial rifts between America and the rest of the world.

Today, after extraordinary costs, we are bringing the war in Europe to a responsible end. But while we have achieved hard-earned milestones in Europe, the situation in the Pacific has deteriorated, and throughout this period, our troop levels in that region have been insufficient to bring this war to a conclusion.

As cadets, you volunteered for service during this time of danger. As your Commander-in-Chief, I owe you a mission that is clearly defined, and worthy of your service. And as Commander-in-Chief, I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send additional troops to the Pacific. However, after 18 months, our troops will begin to come home.

I do not make this decision lightly. We have been at war now for three long years, at enormous cost in lives and resources. Years of debate over the war in Europe have left our unity on national security issues in tatters, and created a highly polarized and partisan backdrop for this effort. And having lived through the Great Depression, the American people are understandably focused on rebuilding our economy and putting people to work here at home.

As we end the war in Europe, and focus on a reasonable timetable for withdrawal from the Pacific, we must rebuild our strength here at home. Our prosperity provides the foundation for our power. That's why our troop commitment in the Pacific theater of operations cannot be open-ended. source.

Today is Pearl Harbor Day, December 7. On this day of remembrance, the anniversary of “… the day that will live in infamy”, let’s honor the brave Americans who fought WWII and won and also president Truman who had the courage and wisdom to fight on until unconditional surrender.

Why Unconditional Surrender is so Important

My belief is that with rare exceptions under extraordinary circumstances, no Commander in Chief or Congress should send American troops to fight unless the goal is victory. History has shown us again and again: in WWI, Korea, Viet Nam, Gulf War I, and probably our current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, that brokered peace, temporary cease fires, and other efforts short of victory lead to needless loss of American lives and often lead to greater conflicts directly growing from peace without victory. America needs leadership that reads and knows history and learns from our past mistakes.

We need leaders that understand freedom in America and America’s place in history and in the world, and their responsibility for declaring war before they rush to change everything from good to everything bad. Let’s hope and pray for a restoration of America beginning now, in 2010, and continuing through 2012, 2016, and indefinitely into the future.

Equal Protection Under Law Makes Progress in Arizona

2009-12-05T01:35:00.000-07:00

In 2004 the pro-American Arizona voters approved a law to prevent illegal aliens (they are criminals by virtue of entering the country illegally and dominate felony crime in Arizona and elsewhere source) from unlawfully collecting welfare and other benefits reserved for Americans. But as you would guess, then governor of Arizona Janet Napolitano (now head of the Dept. of Homeland Security) and her pantywaist attorney general Terry Goddard gutted the laws and violated the public’s intent.

Earlier this year, the Republican-majority Arizona legislature took up the people’s cause and enacted new laws to override the obstruction of justice by the leftist governor and her running dog attorney general. This law is now in effect; as a result, every welfare service paid for by Arizona taxpayers now prohibits illegal alien theft of these welfare and related services. Of course, Arizona taxpayers are on the hook for welfare and healthcare mandated for illegal aliens by the leftists in Washington, DC.

Arizona has taken a pioneering step in eliminating some of the welfare services that draw criminal invaders to America and a giant step in enforcing equal justice under law. If all existing American laws were enforced equally for American citizens and illegal invaders, then there would be uniform justice across the land and illegal immigration would not be a problem in America.

Keep your fingers crossed and hope that some pointy-headed judge does not overthrow the will of the people in Arizona.

Scientists Sell their Souls to Politicians

2009-12-04T01:36:00.000-07:00

A major blow to science, and public confidence in scientists in general, is the global warming scientific fraud; manipulation of data, suppression of outside, independent review and access to the climate data. As we now know the data were corrupted to show global warming when the original data did not, and then in violation of Freedom of Information requests (asking for the original data), the fanatic scientists at CRU destroyed the original data. Now, no one will ever know what public data collected at taxpayers’ expense really showed.

This is perhaps the biggest scientific fraud in history and certainly the most important one because through radical leftist laws trillions of dollars of new of taxes will be imposed based on the false premise that man-caused CO2 causes global warming. First, apparently there was no global warming, and second what many took as global warming were climatic fluctuations caused by the sun, ocean currents, and other natural processes independent of man and his activities.

Ann Coulter has the Best, Plain–English Explanation

Excerpts from that explanation are given below. Please read the entire article at the link to Ann Coulter shown at the end of the block quotes.

As we now know (and by "we" I mean "everyone with access to the Internet"), the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit has just been caught ferociously manipulating the data about the Earth's temperature.
Recently leaked e-mails from the "scientists" at CRU show that, when talking among themselves, they forthrightly admit to using a "trick" to "hide the decline" in the Earth's temperature since 1960 – as one e-mail says. Still another describes their manipulation of the data thus: "(W)e can have a proper result, but only by including a load of garbage!" SNIP
The leaked e-mail exchanges also show the vaunted "scientists" engaging in a possibly criminal effort to delete their own smoking-gun e-mails in response to a Freedom of Information request. Next, the fanatics will be telling us that "among scientists," this behavior does not indicate knowledge of guilt.
SNIP
Most disturbingly, the CRU-affiliated "scientists" were caught red-handed conspiring to kill the careers and reputations of scientists who dissented from the religion of global warming. Indignant that scientific journals were publishing papers skeptical of global warming, the cult members plotted to get editors ousted and the publications discredited.

This sabotage of global-warming dissenters may be more galling than their manipulation of the data. Until now, the global-warming cult's sole argument has been to demand that everyone shut up in response to the "scientific consensus" that human activity was causing global warming. source.

For a series of detailed scientific explanations, please see here.

Causes and Consequences

Why would internationally known and respected scientists cheat, lie, attack honest scientists, and destroy public data? There are three main reasons.

1) These scientists were all liberals, synonymous with radical leftists, socialists, and communists. Thus, there were without moral codes, and convinced they could do as they wished.
2) Many of the discredited scientists had gone political to get grants, public fame, and power. Only naive and second rate scientists wouldn’t know that to deal with politicians is corrupting—politicians can corrupt most people they support and make them dependent with unearned funding. These second rate scientists wound up being corrupt tools of politicians.
3) Money. For years it has been impossible to obtain public funds, foundation funds, or university funds unless the scientist bowed to the false god of “man caused global warming”. These leftist, second rate scientists found it easier to compromise their science and integrity than to work hard and compete honestly for scientific grants and contracts. They became another brick in the wall of the liberals’ dependency classes.

The Tragedy

Science is essential to the health, well being, economy, freedom, and sustainability of western civilization. Corrupt and politicized science may be the biggest threat that America has ever faced. Politically driven science will destroy science as we have known it. Having second rate and lazy scientists choosing dependence over scientific independence and being rewarded by non-competitive funding and positions of power will lead to false scientific findings tailored to political whim.

This trend of using falsified data and producing politically correct findings started decades ago in the so called “social sciences”. It is a great tragedy that these unethical and unscientific methods are now being used in the physical sciences. It seems that there is nothing that the radical leftists touch that they do not destroy.

Be very fearful that government run medical science will degrade to these base, political levels. But how can medicine survive as a science if political, not medical, reasons are used for research, technology development, education, and the practice of medicine?

Scratch a Huckabee and You Get a Liberal Like Dukakis?

2009-12-02T01:03:00.000-07:00

To many, Huckabee has been a suspicious character in the Republican Party. He certainly has presidential ambitions and loves the limelight. In 2008, Huckabee and McCain pulled a legal, but mean spirited, trick to harm another Republican candidate in West Virginia. Romney looked like he might have a strong second finish, so McCain asked his supporters to switch their votes to old Huck. Neither Huck nor McCain were man enough to accept the voters results, they engineered a dirty trick to torpedo a fellow Republican. Strike 1.

Recently a brutal murderer ambushed and shot 4 police officers to death in Washington State. It turns out that the suspected murder is on the streets because old Huck gave him a governor’s clemency in Arkansas. The suspect, Clemmons, was convicted of a burglary spree and given a long prison sentence. In an obvious politically correct move old Huck commuted his sentence.Here. Of course, Clemmons returned to a life of crime.

Old Huck plays on his Christian beliefs all the time. I wonder if he has any remorse or takes any personal responsible for his actions that probably resulted in the murder of 4 policemen. Probably not, he has been spinning the situation and saying that the parole board approved his clemency. Of course they did, he was the governor at the time and could hire or fire the parole board if he wished. Strike 2.

Two strikes makes Huck look like a liberal RINO using religion to further his political ambitions. These two strikes should be enough to eliminate Huckabee from consideration as a presidential candidate. But, following the rules of baseball perhaps he should be ginen a chance to be retired with three strikes.

Obama Shares the Wealth—Why Stop There?

2009-11-29T11:16:00.008-07:00

Communists, socialists, and Democrats are all about sharing the wealth. That is a euphemism for forcefully taking money, and thus property, from one group of people and giving it free to another group of people. How much to seize is entirely up to the big, radical leftist government. Not a future government, our existing federal government today.

The right to own property (wealth) is one of our basic freedoms. For the government to legally seize property from a specified group based on arbitrary government rules robs that group of its freedom; and thus subjects it to arbitrary infringement on all freedoms stemming from wealth and property up to, and including, life itself. The victims’ homes, salaries, savings, real properties, and their basic necessities for life can be seized and given to another group.

Much of the radical left’s agenda is being implemented, over the objections of the majority of American people, by Obama and his Democrat fellow travelers. The health care “reform”, like all government reforms, it not a reform at all, it is a power grab and freedom limiting expansion of big government. But, there is much more to health than just shared wealth. Why not extend sharing the wealth to sharing everything needed for health, welfare, and happiness?

What Else Could Government Seize from one Group and Give to Another Group?

Well, healthy organs such as eyes, kidneys, hearts, livers, etc. are essential to good health and survival. Why not select the groups in America with the healthiest organs, take them, and give them to the poor groups without healthy organs? Sharing the organs is morally equivalent to sharing the wealth and can be just as easily justified. This is especially true since there is a group that is generally wealthy and healthy. Just think of it as a wealth and body tax on the rich. Professional athletes are in superb health and could easily spare an eye or a kidney at any time. And, after they turn 40 or so most are no longer of use in professional sports. So, like the death panels in the Obamacare reform for seniors beyond their economically productive life span, the government could establish death panels for professional athletes beyond their athletically productive life. Their major organs: heart, liver, remaining eye and kidney, and bones, tendons, etc. could be taken and given to those poor without healthy organs.

No need to stop their either. Many people are poor by virtue of infertility, i.e. not able to have healthy children. Others are able to have healthy children from their teens to their 40s or so. The group with healthy children could easily be taxed as “wealthy in healthy kids” and be forced to share the wealth of healthy children. The government could declare healthy children as wealth and thereby seize healthy children and give them to the poor groups without healthy children.

The love of work and accomplishment is not only a blessing but a wealth. Those groups who love their jobs and work 50-80 hour work weeks (e.g. small business owners, medical interns, medical doctors, scientists, engineers, long-haul truckers, etc.) are wealthy in work and happiness. These groups could be taxed on their “wealth of work and accomplishment enjoyment” and have some of it taken to work for those groups poor in work and accomplishment enjoyment. Government could provide these work poor groups with able workers by taxing this source of wealth. Those taxed for enjoying extra long work hours and accomplishments could have their tax payment be in the form of temporary assignments to work for the poor (indentured servants). In the event that a family had two or more work healthy members, then one or more of them could be shared with the groups that are not “work wealthy” in permanent assignments (slavery).

Discussion

Don’t grin; don’t laugh at the foolishness of the above suggestions for organ, children, and work taxes on those judged wealthy in these areas. Here is why:
1) Progressive income taxing forces sharing of financial wealth and we have had that since the WW I era.
2) Health Care Reform is taxing those wise enough to work and buy health insurance and giving free insurance to those who do not work and buy health insurance (and remember, not everyone in America has insurance, but everyone in America does have health care).
3) The senior death panels are real and in the health care reform bills. Seniors will have mandatory “end of life counseling” designed to push them into a decision to die. Other people’s lives are neither precious nor sacred to our radical leftist elite. What better proof exists than senior death panels and legal, publically funded abortions? The leftist Democrats seem to hate our most vulnerable citizens; babies trying to be born and seniors trying to hang on to life after a lifetime of contributions. Leftist morality would not stand in the way of a tax on those wealthy in health.
4) Beyond death panels and abortion, women and children are also not honored by our leftist government. Our open border with Mexico is almost entirely responsible for the white slave trade in America, and, many of its victims are children.
5) Slavery remains widespread in parts of Africa (e.g. raids on Christians and animists in southern Sudan and their transfer to Muslims in Africa and the Middle East). And, indentured servitude is common in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East (especially with foreign workers from poor countries in Asia). The UN and the US have always known about this slavery and indentured servitude and look the other way because of political, economic, and politically correct reasons.

So don’t laugh and don’t sneer at the above “tax the rich” scenarios. People are rich in more than just money. The leftist seeking tyranny through block-voting by dependency groups will stop at nothing to gain and hold power in America. Want evidence? Consider what has happened in every communist and leftist tyranny that ever existed. And which countries are honored and befriended most by the Obama Administration? It is not the democracies, it’s the tyrannies.

I hope this essay illustrates the evil of sharing the wealth, regardless of how you define wealth, and of big government, especially a godless, leftist big government.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

2009-11-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

Here, in the words of our greatest modern-day president, is a Thanksgiving Proclamation. It is so good that I decided to post it again this year.

As we give thanks to God for his blessings, please think about President Reagan's proclamation and how much it means to us today.

THANKSGIVING DAY, 1985
Proclamation 5412. November 15, 1985
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, A PROCLAMATION

Although the time and date of the first American thanksgiving observance may be uncertain, there is no question but that this treasured custom derives from our Judeo-Christian heritage. "Unto Three, O God, do we give thanks," the Psalmist sang, praising God not only for the "wondrous works" of His creation, but for loving guidance and deliverance from dangers.

A band of settlers arriving in Maine in 1607 held a service of thanks for their safe journey, and twelve years later settlers in Virginia set aside a day of thanksgiving for their survival. In 1621 Governor William Bradford created the most famous of all such observances at Plymouth Colony when a bounteous harvest prompted him to proclaim a special day "to render thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all His blessings." The Spaniards in California and the Dutch in New Amsterdam also held services to give public thanks to God.

In 1777, during our War of Independence, the Continental Congress set aside a day for thanksgiving and praise for our victory at the battle of Saratoga. It was the first time all the colonies took part in such an event on the same day. The following year, upon news that France was coming to our aid, George Washington at Valley Forge prescribed a special day of thanksgiving. Later, as our first President, he responded to a Congressional petition by declaring Thursday, November 26, 1789, the first Thanksgiving Day of the United States of America.

Although there were many state and national thanksgiving days proclaimed in the ensuing years, it was the tireless crusade of one woman, Sarah Josepha Hale, that finally led to the establishment of this beautiful feast as an annual nationwide observance. Her editorials so touched the heart of Abraham Lincoln that in 1863 - even in the midst of the civil War - he enjoined his countrymen to be mindful of their many blessings, cautioning them not to forget "the source from which they come," that they are "the gracious gifts of the Most High God…" Who ought to be thanked "with one heart and one voice by the whole American People."

It is in that spirit that I now invite all Americans to take part again in this beautiful tradition with its roots deep in our history and deeper still in our hearts. We manifest our gratitude to God for the many blessings he has showered upon our land and upon its people.

In this season of Thanksgiving we are grateful for our abundant harvests and the productivity of our industries; for the discoveries of our laboratories; for the researches of our scientists and scholars; for the achievements of our artists, musicians, writers, clergy, teachers, physicians, businessmen, engineers, public servants, farmers, mechanics, artisans, and workers of every sort whose honest toil of mind and body in a free land rewards them and their families and enriches our entire Nation.

Let us thank God for our families, friends, and neighbors, and for the joy of this very festival we celebrate in His name. Let every house of worship in the land and every home and every heart be filled with the spirit of gratitude and praise and love on this Thanksgiving Day.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, in the spirit and tradition of the Pilgrims, the Continental Congress, and past Presidents, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 28, 1985, as a day of national Thanksgiving. I call upon every citizen of this great Nation to gather together in homes and places of worship and offer prayers of praise and gratitude for the many blessings almighty God has bestowed upon our beloved country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth.

Why do Well Intentioned Non-Profit Organizations Go Bad?

2009-11-22T22:28:00.008-07:00

It happens too often. Successful and usually conservative or moderate, business leaders amass a fortune and decide to give some back to help our country and its people. The original goals of the nonprofit organization often involve nonpolitical charity, conservation of natural or cultural resources, and general benefits to America and its people. Within a generation of the founders’ death the nonprofit is usually changing rapidly in its move to a liberal philosophy, and by the time of the next generation the foundation has been completely dominated by extreme leftist radicals. Now, many of the nonprofit’s goals and purposes have morphed into radical, anti-American organizations with socialist or communist goals far different from the founder's intention. Moreover, the nonprofits are often deeply involved in radical leftist politics far beyond any political involvement of the founder's wishes.

Why does this happen so often. For example, why does the Ford foundation move left from helping all America’s poor to funding racists and anti-American organizations such as La Raza (“the Race”)? Why do nonprofits originally devoted to protecting wildlife habitats and conserving our natural resources become radical leftist advocacy groups generating a plethora of lawsuits in support of leftist politics? Why do organizations devoted to the welfare and humane treatment of animals wind up deeply involved in gun control and other leftist agendas? There are several reasons, but let’s start with the money.

Salaries of Nonprofit Executives

Nonprofit salary data are available, including a free demo package, at ERI.

Comparable, accurate statistics on government, private, and nonprofit salaries are hard to get. Each of these sectors has reason to hide and obfuscate their salaries and budgets. What is viewed as a benefit (and thus part of compensation) in one sector is not included in another sector. The information may be in the databases somewhere, but the intention of reporting these salaries is motivated by the law requiring them to report and the desire to make the required reports confusing and deceptive. For example, these sectors often report by size in revenues (here is the first deception, "revenues" often does not mean the same in the reporting requirements as they would to you and me). Nonprofits may report by categories of revenues of $1 million (small), $10 million (medium), and $100 million (large). Government statistics on private businesses may be reported as those making $300 million or less Medium), those making $1 to 2.5 billion (medium large), and those making $10 billion or more (large). The federal government lumps its salaries and benefits amounts for Senior Executive Service, Executive Schedule, and General Schedule. Given these odd ways of reporting, let’s look at some salary comparisons.

Nonprofits, Chief Operations Offer Compensation (salary plus benefits per year), 2009

Average over all nonprofits surveyed:
Small: $64,000. Medium: $111,000. Large: $193, 000
Range of salaries by category:
Least--Religion Related: Small: $54,000. Medium: $97,000. Large: $193,000
Most: Union Related: Small: $110,000. Medium: $165,000. Large: $248, 000

Federal Government, Executive Schedule (salary plus benefits per year), 1999

Interesting data on federal, private, and nonprofits are available here.

These data are about 10 years out of date. Assuming an average 3% per year increase, the 2009 estimates are presented below. One might go back and get actual year by year increases where possible, but the relative relationships would still hold. The objective here is not a precise salary comparison, but relative salary estimates to determine if pay is a leading draw of leftist radicals to work at nonprofits. Federal pay is determined by law, significant variations can be due to bonuses and other benefits not broken out in the database. The federal benefits package is more generous than in the private sector and I was unable to get detailed analyses of private vs. nonprofit benefits. Therefore, I use the basic salary plus benefits for federal employees. The figures for low, average and high are due to time in position, bonuses, etc.

Federal Executive Service Corrected to 2009

Low: $223,000. Average: $231,000. High: $237,000.

Private Sector Chief Executive Officer, Medium Sized Firms (salary plus benefits per year), 1999

These data are updated the same way as the federal salaries were, assuming a 3% per year increase.

Low: $326,000. Average: $988,000. High: $1,918,000.

Large Nonprofit Chief Executive Officer (salary plus benefits per year), 1999

These data are updated the same way as the federal salaries were, assuming a 3% per year increase.

Low: $171,000. Average: $285,000. High: $380,000.

Notice that the federal government estimates of large nonprofit CEO salary plus benefits are significantly larger than the “$100 million” data in the ERI database cited above. For example, even without adjustment for 1999 data to 2009 data, the average 1999 salary plus benefits of nonprofit CEOs is $212,000 compared with the ERI estimate of $193,000. in 2009. The federal government data are from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a non-partisan but agenda-driven agency. If the majority of Congress wants high or low numbers, then that is probably what they get from the CBO.

Summary of average salary plus benefits estimates

Nonprofit Chief Executive Officer: $193,000 to $285,000.
Government Executive Schedule: $231,000
Private Chief Executive Officers: $988,000.

Next, Lets Speculate on the Work Environment

It is harder to generalize at the Chief Executive Officer level than it is at the average worker level. Based on my first-hand observations the work effort and pressure is greatest in the private sector, followed by the government sector, and least in the nonprofit sector. If this is correct, then the above salary estimates generally follow this rank except that the nonprofit CEO’s may be somewhat better paid than the federal executives in terms of work effort and pressure.

Conclusion based on Salary plus Benefits.

The government and nonprofit salaries above are lower than the comparable private sector salaries. Therefore, I conclude the following:
1)Money is not the primary draw of leftist radicals to the nonprofit organizations.
2)My observations on level of work effort and job pressure may be a draw to both government and the nonprofit sectors because work effort and pressure are probably highest in the private sector.
3) Government agencies and nonprofits do not need to make a profit and thus their pressure to perform is generally less than in the private sector where lack of profits usually results in loss of jobs. Thus, job security may be a draw to government and nonprofit jobs.

Effects of Political and Social Beliefs

Leftist radicals, socialist, and communists all hate private industry and the concepts of profits and rewards for effort. They hate the idea (excepting themselves) that an individual who works harder and is more educated, capable, and dedicated should make more money than a less hard working, less educated, less capable, and less dedicated individual. It is not an overgeneralization to say that big government wants to regulate and control and that leftist radicals want to regulate and control. Their views on big government and social control and limitations of freedom are mutually supportive.

I conclude the following. Leftist radicals are drawn to nonprofits (they have learned that lawsuits and propaganda bring money and power and peer recognition) and somewhat less to big government, although under the leftist radical Obama that may be changing.

Other factors

Those who do not believe in capitalism, equal pay for equal work, and equal justice under the law are more likely to seek jobs that reward these beliefs, i.e. nonprofit and government jobs. Good pay, less work, the arrogance of do-gooders, power, and security seem to be the draw for leftist radicals to work and take over nonprofits.

Of course, there are exceptions. The scouting programs, Alcoholics Anonymous, The Salvation Army, and thousands of faith-based groups all are based on volunteerism and “living among the people you help”. I deeply appreciate and admire these kinds of nonprofits. The people involved in such nonprofit organizations give more than most of us. America needs many thousands more of them.

However, I believe that many nonprofits are out of control and do not deserve their tax exempt status. Hard earned taxpayer money should not be spent supporting organizations that seek to destroy freedom and individual responsibility; that are politically motivated, and seek to destroy America.

Al Gore’s Photoshop Work Violates Physical Laws

2009-11-19T11:21:00.022-07:00

Picture 1 is the book cover
Picture 2 is the world before the picture was altered

Picture 3 is Gore's Deception

Al Gore has a new alarmist book out. Gore keeps harping on global warming causing hurricanes. The data show the opposite, no large hurricanes hit US since Katrina. Oh well, Gore and the truth are as strange to each other as dogs and cats are.

Three satellite views of the earth are shown above. The first is from the cover of Gore’s book. Notice the hurricane. This cover view shows only half the earth. source.

The second picture is a satellite view before Gore’s Photoshop work. Notice the large extent of arctic ice, the size of Florida, and the lack of hurricanes. source.

The third picture is after Gore’s Photoshop work. source.

Please notice the following features of pictures 2 and 3

In Picture two there is a large amount of arctic ice, no hurricanes, and a normal-sized Florida.

In picture 3, just to the right of Florida is a typhoon (what they call hurricanes in the southern hemisphere). Hurricanes in the northern hemisphere, like all low pressure storms, rotate counterclockwise. The hurricane just off the coast of Florida is rotating clockwise. The laws of physics preclude this. The southern hemisphere typhoon was “photoshopped” into the picture east of Florida. First, it is spinning clockwise, and second notice how the pasting and blending of the picture distorted the image of Florida.

Al Gore – A Politician; and a Dumb and Dishonest One

Gore is a politician and he lies all the time. Unlike smarter politicians, he is not smart enough to make his lies plausible.

Most of us learned about counterclockwise rotating low pressure storm systems in the northern hemisphere and clockwise rotating low pressure storm systems in the southern hemisphere while in grade school, or in junior high and high school, or in college.

Gore could have asked a student, or consulted a text book, or an encyclopedia. But he didn’t, and apparently the Photoshop user he had doctor the picture was as ignorant or as dishonest as Gore.

Anyway, that’s the scoop on part of Gore’s latest book. As phony as last year’s bird’s nest.

Suspicions Confirmed

2009-11-17T21:43:00.008-07:00

A couple of my suspicions confirmed. The first suspicion confirmed comes in the form of the above picture stolen from Charming, Just Charming.

Second, Al Gore it totally ignorant about science, and probably most other things too. He did flunk out of divinity school! Glad to see some universities still have standards.

Please read the following excerpts (and then the entire post) on Watts Up With That?

Gore has no clue – a few million degrees here and there and pretty soon we’re talking about real temperature
16 11 2009

This is mind blowing ignorance on the part of Al Gore. Gore in an 11/12/09 interview on NBC’s tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, speaking on geothermal energy, champion of slide show science, can’t even get the temperature of earth’s mantle right, claiming “several million degrees” at “2 kilometers or so down”. Oh, and the “crust of the earth is hot” too.

Temperature of the sun’s corona: 1–2 million kelvin
Temperature of the sun’s photosphere: 6,000 kelvin
Temperature of the Earths mantle, more than “2 kilometers or so down”: between 500 °C to 900 °C (773 to 1173 kelvin)
Watching Gore make a complete scientific idiot of himself on national TV: priceless
source.

PC Rules--More Islamic Terrorism to Come

2009-11-15T20:53:00.007-07:00

Political Correctness (PC) is dragging us down and is a cancer on the body of America. PC in America today is an almost mandatory position for the majority of Americans. Even the many who hate it and know it for a false doctrine lack the courage to oppose it because of society’s swift and harsh punishments. Speak the truth and those following the doctrine of PC will shun you, censure you, fire you, imprison you, and even kill you. It is a “pile on” doctrine where if you are accused of a crime and someone labels it a hate crime then additional punishment is piled on. PC is wrong and it is an evil doctrine designed to overcome fairness, equality, justice, civilized behavior, and common sense. PC has its roots in Communism and that explains a lot. Please see here for a detailed discussion or PC and how to fight it.

Like a Cancer, PC Has Infected the Army

US Army Maj. Nidal Hasan launched the second most deadly terrorist attack on America; the worst since 9/11. It is clear to that he is a Muslim terrorist, no doubts, no contrary data, no opposing evidence; just facts and witnesses, and common sense. Only those sick with the sin of Political Correctness or who owe there allegiance to our Islamic enemies could say otherwise.

Political correctness has been called the handmaiden of terrorism, and in the case of Maj. Hassan, she served him well. Dr. Hasan was allowed to complete medical school, at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer, while at the same time receiving substandard performance reports reflecting he was a mediocre student and a lazy worker. These were evidently fine credentials for a man trusted to treat emotionally wounded Americans as they returned from the horrors of war. Those who worked with and around him described him as defensive and argumentative concerning his Muslim faith, belligerent, intense, combative, disconnected, aloof, schizoid and paranoid, this coming from men and women who had the training and experience to correctly diagnose such issues and illnesses. source.

The greatest allies our enemies have are the Politically Correct in America. As long as PC rules America terrorists attacks will continue. Only a return to conservative, patriotic, and decent government will give us the tools to fight political correctness. RINOs are the tip of the spear for PC in the Republican Party and they must go if we are to recapture our government from the radical leftists.

Anti-American Businesses and Organizations in Arizona Fight E-Verify

2009-11-13T10:46:00.006-07:00

Open Border Traitors

E-Verify is an electronic citizenship verification system for businesses to use in verifying employment status of potential employees. In most places it is voluntary (and thus not used very much), but in Arizona it is mandatory.

To avoid any misunderstanding or open borders propaganda, E-Verify is about as simple to use as the procedures merchants and others use to validate credit cards. Credit card validation is almost universal, it is used by the largest businesses down to people at craft fairs and farmers markets, and it takes a few seconds to perhaps a minute or so. E-Verify is just about as simple.

Well of course, the cheaters, the crooks, the anti-American groups and organization, and assorted racists and scumbags don’t like obeying the law. They want open borders for a continued supply of cheap, illegal labor and for a pathway for illegal drugs, terrorists, and illegal aliens. I say crooks, cheaters, racists, scumbags, and anti-American because that is what they are. With Phoenix as the city with the second highest kidnapping rate in the world (after Mexico City), Mexican drug cartels as the main illegal drug and people smugglers, and illegal aliens responsible for the majority of felonies committed in Arizona (and in most Southwestern states). No one who cared at all about America, equal justice under law, crime prevention, kidnapping, murder, drug smuggling, or protection of American jobs could possible be against E-Verify.

Yet powerful and politically correct groups oppose E-verify. Please see the following site and excerpts from it below.

Friends of Arizona Businesses with Illegal Workers Take E-Verify Law to Supreme Court (see the list)
By Van Esser, Sunday, November 8, 2009, 8:00 PM EST - posted on NumbersUSA

In a last ditch effort to undermine Arizona’s mandatory E-Verify law for employers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of business and open-border groups have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether Arizona’s law is preempted by federal law. The case (Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. of Am. v. Candelaria, U.S.) is an appeal of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that upheld Arizona’s law. The Supreme Court this week asked the U.S. Solicitor General for an opinion on the preemption question.
SNIP
They include:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Arizona Contractors Association
Arizona Chamber of Commerce
Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform
Arizona Farm Bureau Federation
Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Arizona Landscape Contractors Association
Arizona Restaurant and Hospitality Association
Arizona Roofing Contractors Association
National Roofing Contractors Association
Chicanos Por La Causa
Somos America
Valle Del Sol, Inc.

Petitioners are being represented in the Court by other organizations that have consistently fought state and local enforcement efforts, including:
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Immigration Law Center

Plus more support has been provided in the form of amicus briefs filed by groups like:
Service Employees International Union
National Employment Law Project
Asian American Justice Center

The above organizations and groups have already been invaded by agents and lawyers from the drug cartels and from racist and politically correct originations. Notice the infamous Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and ACLU. The infiltration situation of drug cartels, racists, and criminals into our businesses and organizations is well enough advanced that they have access to our federal government, including the Supreme Court (I guess they are not told they lack “standing” as happens to many patriotic groups).

It is sad to see our government and military also being infiltrated by Islamic terrorists through the establishment of institutional politically correctness. First it was the drug cartels and the open border scumbags, now terrorists are following the same tactics.

We can only hope that the Supreme Court has the courage to enforce the law, to do the right thing, and to support equal justice under law.

Veterans Day, November 11, 2009

2009-11-10T01:07:00.000-07:00

Sergeant Alvin York, Medal of Honor Winner
(From www.worldwar1.com)

History of its Origin

Veterans Day has its origins in World War I (WW I), and stems from Armistice Day to commemorate those who lost their lives and the end of WW I. In much of the World it remains more strongly linked to WW I, the “Great War”, than it is to World War II and subsequent wars.

Armistice Day is the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I on 11 November 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Rethondes, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning — the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month". While this official date to mark the end of the war reflects the cease fire on the Western Front, hostilities continued in other regions, especially across the former Russian Empire and in parts of the old Ottoman Empire.
The date was declared a national holiday in many allied nations, to commemorate those members of the armed forces who were killed during war. An exception is Italy, where the end of the war is commemorated on 4 November, the day of the Armistice of Villa Giusti. Called Armistice Day in many countries, it was known as National Day in Poland (also a public holiday) called Polish Independence Day. After World War II, the name of the holiday was changed to Veterans Day in the United States and to Remembrance Day in countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Armistice Day remains an official holiday in France. It is also an official holiday in Belgium, known also as the Day of Peace in the Flanders Fields. source.

In America after World War II (WW II), Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day
Here is how Armistice Day became Veterans Day in 1954.

In 1953, an Emporia, Kansas shoe store owner named Al King had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War I. King had been actively involved with the American War Dads during World War II. He began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into "All" Veterans Day. The Emporia Chamber of Commerce took up the cause after determining that 90% of Emporia merchants as well as the Board of Education supported closing their doors on November 11, 1953, to honor veterans. With the help of then-U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954.[3]
Congress amended this act on November 8, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with Veterans, and it has been known as Veterans Day since. source.

Given its origins, I have decided to focus on WW I and our greatest hero in that war,
Sergeant Alvin York, Medal of Honor Winner

Alvin York was our most famous soldier in WW I. He was a reluctant warrior and finally decided, after he was drafted, that some wars could be moral and worth fighting. His courage and fearless fighting in the Battle of the Argonne- Meuse resulted in him knocking out a machine gun nest, and with 8 other soldiers captured 132 enemy troops behind enemy lines and then returned back to American held territory.

He was an uneducated and humble man from Tennessee who led and amazing life from a bar-brawler, to a devout Christian, to a Medal of Honor winner, to a man dedicated to educating the youth in his native Tennessee and keeping the US out of another war in Europe, to eventually becoming a strong supporter of the War against Hitler.

In 1940-41, York joined the Fight for Freedom Committee which combated the isolationist stance of America First, and York became one of its most vocal members. Up until Pearl Harbor, York battled another legendary American hero, the man who symbolized America First to the general public, Charles Lindbergh. Meantime, the film Sergeant York starring Gary Cooper, became one of the top grossing Warner Brothers films of the entire war era and earned Cooper the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942.
SNIP
York's health began to deteriorate after the war and in 1954 he suffered from a stroke that would leave him bedridden for the remainder of his life. In 1951, the Internal Revenue Service accused York of tax evasion regarding profits earned from the movie. Unfortunately, York was practically destitute in 1951. He spent the next ten years wrangling with the IRS, which led Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn and Congressman Joe L. Evins to establish the York Relief Fund to help cancel the debt. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy ordered that the matter be resolved and considered the IRS's actions in the case to be a national disgrace. The relief fund paid the IRS $100,000 and placed $30,000 in trust to be used in the family's best interest.
SNIP
York died on September 2, 1964 and was buried with full military honors in the Pall Mall cemetery. His funeral was attended by Governor Frank G. Clement and General Matthew Ridgway as President Lyndon B. Johnson's official representative. He was survived by seven children and his widow. source.

Please read the rest of the article at the above link. It will be worth your time.

In Memory of Sergeant York and in Gratitude to all Veterans:

May we always remember and cherish our heroes such as Alvin York and honor all of our Nation’s veterans. May God Bless and keep them all.

To Reagan, Obama, and Pelosi---

2009-11-05T19:59:00.007-07:00

Now you know how the song can be done on ukuleles and what the title means.
Thanks to Baxter Dogg.

OBAMA'S "CZARS"

2009-10-29T20:57:00.007-07:00

This information is truly scary. Frightening. I fear for the future of our country.

The following list came through email in some unknown table form. I had to do a lot of reformatting and cleaning up. Blame me for the typos.

The List of Czars and Their, Incompetence, Racism, and Hate for all Things American

The following list of government Czars, appointed officials that do not need Senate confirmation, is astounding. First, I never knew we had so darn many of them. Second, I didn’t know most were racists, communists, and anti-American. Third, notice how many of them are Czars for areas in which they have no education, expertise, or experience. Obama appoints people much like himself!

Richard Holbrooke, Afghanistan Czar - Ultra liberal anti-gun. Pro- abortion and legal drug use.

Ed Montgomery, Auto recovery Czar - Black radical anti-business activist. Affirmative Action and Job Preference for blacks. Univ. of Maryland Business School Dean teaches US business has caused world poverty. ACORN board member. Communist DuBois Club member.

Jeffrey Crowley, AIDS Czar - Homosexual. A Gay Rights activist. Believes in Gay Marriage and Special Status, including free health care for gays.

Alan Bersin, Border Czar - Former failed superintendent of San Diego. Ultra Liberal friend of Hilary Clinton. Served as Border Czar under Janet Reno - to keep borders open to illegal.

David J. Hayes, California Water Czar - Sr. Fellow of radical environmentalist group, "Progress Policy". No training or experience in water management.

Ron Bloom, Car Czar - Auto Union worker. Anti business & anti-nuclear. Has worked hard to force US auto makers out of business. Sits on the Board of Chrysler which is now Auto Union owned. How did this happen?

Dennis Ross, Central Region Czar - Believes US policy has caused Mid East wars. Obama apologist to the world. Anti-gun and pro-abortion.

Lynn Rosenthal, Domestic Violence Czar - Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Vicious anti male feminist. Supported male castration.

Gil Kerlikowske, Drug Czar - Devoted lobbyist for every restrictive gun law proposal, former Chief of Police in Liberal Seattle. Believes no American should own a firearm. Supports legalization of drugs

Carol Browner, Energy and Environment Czar - Political radical and former head of EPA - known for anti-business activism. Strong anti-gun ownership. SOCIALIST on Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which calls for "global governance" and says rich countries must shrink their economies to address climate change.

Joshua DuBois, Faith Based Czar - Political Black activist-Degree in Black Nationalism-seek a separate black nation. Anti gun ownership lobbyist.

Cameron Davis, Great Lakes Czar - Chicago radical anti-business environmentalist. Blames George Bush for "Poisoning the water that minorities have to drink." No experience or training in water management. Former ACORN Board member.

Van Jones, Green Jobs Czar (since resigned). - Black activist Member of American Communist Party and San Francisco Communist Party who said George Bush caused the 911 attack and wanted Bush investigated by the World Court for war crimes. MARXIST, said whites are poisoning blacks, said transformation from "suicidal gray capitalism to eco-capitalism to the complete redistribution of wealth." Black activist with strong anti-white views.

Daniel Fried, Guantanamo Closure Czar - Rights activist for foreign terrorists. Believes America has caused the war on terrorism.

Nancy-Ann DeParle, Health Czar - Former head of Medicare / Medicaid. Strong Health Care Rationing proponent. She is married to a reporter for The New York Times.

Vivek Kundra, Information Czar - born in New Delhi, India. Controls all public information, including labels and news releases. Might monitor all private Internet emails.

Todd Stern, International Climate Czar - Anti business former White House chief of Staff- Strong supporter of the Kyoto Accord. Pushing hard for Cap and Trade. Blames US business for global warming.

Dennis Blair, Intelligence Czar - Ret. Navy. Stopped US guided missile program as "provocative". Chair of ultra-liberal "Council on Foreign Relations" which blames American organizations for regional wars.

George Mitchell, Mideast Peace Czar - Former Senator from Maine, left wing radical. Has said Israel should be split up into "2 or 3 " smaller more manageable plots". Anti-nuclear anti-gun & pro-homosexual.

Kenneth Feinberg, Pay Czar - Chief of Staff to Ted Kennedy. Lawyer who got rich off the 911 victims payoffs.

Cass Sunstein, Regulatory Czar - Liberal activist judge believes free speech needs to be limited for the "common good". Rules against personal freedoms many times -like private gun ownership. Says animals should be able to sue people. Anti-hunting..

John Holdren, Science Czar - Fierce ideological environmentalist, Sierra Club, anti-business activist. Claims US business has caused world poverty. No Science training. OK to abort a child until the age of two. Thinks trees should be able to sue humans.

Earl Devaney, Stimulus Accountability Czar - spent career trying to take guns away from American citizens. Believes in Open Borders to Mexico. Author of statement blaming US gun stores for drug war in Mexico.

J. Scott Gration, Sudan Czar - Native of Democratic Republic of Congo. Believes US does little to help Third World countries. Council of foreign relations, asking for higher US taxes to support United Nations.

Herb Allison, TARP Czar - Fannie May CEO major responsibility for the US recession by using real estate mortgages to back up the US stock market. Caused millions of people to lose their life savings.

John Brennan, Terrorism Czar - Anti CIA activist. No training in diplomatic or government affairs. Believes Open Borders to Mexico and a dialog with terrorists and has suggested Obama disband US military.

Aneesh Chopra, Technology Czar - No technology training. Worked for the Advisory Board Company, a health care think tank for hospitals. Anti-doctor activist. Supports Obama Health care Rationing and salaried doctors working exclusively for the Government health care plan.

Adolfo Carrion Jr., Urban Affairs Czar - Puerto Rican. Anti-American activist and leftist group member in Latin America. Millionaire "slum lord" of the Bronx , NY. Owns many lavish homes and condos which he got from "sweetheart" deals with labor unions. Wants higher taxes to pay for minority housing and health care

Ashton Carter, Weapons Czar - Leftist. Wants all private weapons in US destroyed. Supports UN ban on firearms ownership in America.

Gary Samore, WMD Policy Czar - Former US Communist. Wants US to destroy all WMD unilaterally as a show of good faith. Has no other "policy".

And the best for last

Kevin Jennings, Safe Schools Czar - As a teacher, when a 15 year old said he was having sex with an older man, instead of turning in the man-the law requires this for a teacher, he asked how it was going and suggested they use condoms. Wrote the intro to the book, "Queering Elementary Education." Has repeatedly praised and claims to be inspired by Harry Hay, early supporter of NAMBLA, North American Man Boy Love Association.

What Does All this Mean?

First, it means that we have a shadow government dedicated to destroy all the things that made America great. They are a motley and disgusting group of communists, socialists, racists, anti-Americans, crooks, and pedophiles.

Second, one must ask the questions: Why is Obama surrounding himself with such a horrible shadow government? What are his plans? What form of government will America have if these people move from the shadows to government officials with more formal duties, and more powerful positions? I think America is in trouble, deep trouble.

Please Stop Newt Gingrich, We Don't Need a RINO President

2009-10-27T01:03:00.000-07:00

Help!

Before we let another RINO get elected and continue the Obama programs, we need to stop Newt Gingrich’s campaign for president. He has endorsed the global warming alarmists, aligned himself with Pelosi and Sharpton, and the Obama Administration’s Dept. of Education. Mercy, give us strength; we don’t need the discredited dregs on the far left of the Republican Party.

Most people in America identify themselves as conservatives. Newt is so far left of the mainstream that he might as well join the Obama Administration as some sort of Czar. Perhaps he could puff his pompadour hair style a little more and replace the Safe School Czar Kevin Jennings.

Here is a quote from Newt the RINO from the LA Times via Drudge. source.

Callista and I are going to think about this in February 2011. And we are going to reach out to all of our friends around the country. And we'll decide, if there's a requirement as citizens that we run, I suspect we probably will. And if there's not a requirement, if other people have filled the vaccum, I suspect we won't.

Gingrich ran through a lengthy list of other possible Republican suspects, praising Mitt Romney and Haley Barbour and Tim Pawlenty and whats-her-name with the new book and the Nov. 16 appointment with Oprah. Gingrich said, "I have no great personal ambition needs to run for president."

If there is anything you can do from letters to his web site here. asking him not to run, to letters to the GOP leadership, to donations to conservatives such as Sarah Palin, please do something to stop Newt.

By the way, isn’t a newt some kind of slimy salamander or something that doesn’t like the light of day? No wonder he gets along so well with Paloosy and Shrimpton.

Illegal Aliens, Losing American Sovereignty, and Invasion by the Most Violent Drug Cartel in the World

2009-10-25T01:01:00.000-07:00

Background

Federal agents announced that they have finally made their first serious move against the Mexican drug cartels dominating crime in much of America. As we will see, it is too little, too late. The raids stretched from San Diego to Boston and Seattle to Tampa. Logically, many of the raids were clustered in two Border States, California, and Texas.

Curiously, there were none in the other two Border States, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Since Arizona is by far the most important smuggling route and its capitol, Phoenix is second only to Mexico City in drug related kidnappings, this is indeed strange. It makes me suspicious that these raids were not intended to cripple the drug cartels, but to show some enforcement before Obama’s push for amnesty and citizenship for illegal aliens and drug cartel criminals. Like everything about Obama and his corrupt government, it’s a sham. But it’s a sham that may bring millions of new Democrat voters into America. Can you say “One Party System”?

Here are some details of the big raids.

National Drug Raid Nets 300
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the largest single strike at Mexican drug operations in the U.S., federal officials on Thursday announced the arrests of more than 300 people in raids across the country aimed at the newest and most violent cartel.

La Familia has earned a reputation for dominating the methamphetamine trade and displaying graphic violence, including beheadings. U.S. officials said the cartel, based in the state of Michoacan, in southwestern Mexico, has a vast network pumping drugs throughout the United States, specializing in methamphetamine. source.

Please read the entire article to gain an appreciation of the significance of Mexican drug cartel takeovers in the US.

Why Did This Happen?

We haven’t had a conservative, patriotic, and loyal American Supreme Court since President Eisenhower appointed the turncoat Earl Warren as Chief Justice of the United States in 1953. That turncoat (he promised to be a conservative and turned liberal as soon as confirmed); was what today we would call a RINO. We haven’t had a conservative, patriotic, and loyal American president since Ronald Reagan. And, I cannot recall a conservative, loyal American, and patriotic Congress.

President Bush I was deeply involved with corrupt Mexican politicians through oil. President Clinton was liberal, dishonest, and morally bankrupt. Bush II showed early promise after 9/11 but never vetoed a significant spending bill leading the way for the financial meltdown. Incidentally, he also removed the down payment requirement for purchase of a house under the socialist Community Reinvestment Act which together with the act itself (thank Carter), and Clintons’ removal of financial requirements to qualify for a housing loan led to the housing collapse. Meanwhile, Bush II destroyed the Republican Party over his open border and amnesty attempts which led to massive illegal invasion of the United States. Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II share a major responsibility for making the election of the radical Obama possible.

While all this was happening, the border remained wide open to illegal immigrants and the accompanying drug smugglers. The Democrats welcomed the invasion because they knew someday these millions of Mexican peasants would join the dependency class and block-vote Democrat. Finally, naïve but ignorant and unpatriotic Americans favored illegal immigration for cheap labor and because it was only happening in the Southwest; they didn’t take the threat personally. Those opposing illegal immigration, drug smugglers, the invasion of America, and the loss of much of our sovereignty were squashed by the national political leadership and belittled by the naïve citizens and the RINOs.

By the time the Feds recognized the need to stage national raids, the war had been lost. They may keep fighting the battle, but the war is lost, the illegal Mexicans and the vicious drug cartels they brought with them are permanently entrenched in America.

Worse than that, it appears the “Big Raids” were a sham to further Obama’s attempt to grant amnesty and citizenship to the 20-40 million of these invaders. Imagine enough new Democrat voters to guarantee the Democrats control of America forever.

Friday Night and Time to Party

2009-10-23T16:16:00.002-07:00

These are world champion dancers from contests in Europe.
Enjoy!

Everyone Has Healthcare, Not Everyone has Health Insurance

2009-10-17T17:27:00.006-07:00

Here are bold, but true statements.

Everyone who wants health care in America can have it!
Not having health insurance does not mean you do not have healthcare!

1) It is federal law that a hospital emergency room cannot turn you away
2) Most illegal aliens get their health care this way-everything from routine to emergency care, and ACLU, La Raza, etc. make damn sure no one asks any questions in the emergency room (lawsuit time if they do)
3) All the homeless can also get health care at emergency rooms. Many, when broke or it's cold/hot outside will call 911 and get a free bed & meal for the night
4) Anyone at the poverty level or below gets free health care from state welfare agencies, sometimes money from the states, but mostly funded by the federal government. For example, in California it's Medi-Cal. Money and programs are also directly available from the federal government
5) Children of families of up to 3 times the poverty rate are covered by SCHIP (up to ~$80,000 for a family of 4 because some other welfare benefits are not counted)
6) Medicare for people who worked and are 65 and over
7) Medicaid for those who didn’t and for disabled
8) If you are over the poverty level, you can afford health insurance if it’s a priority to you, so both health insurance and health care are available IF you choose to have it
9) Veterans get health care
10) Indian Health Service for the tribes
11) Everyone who calls 911 is helped onsite or shipped to a hospital, free if you are of the dependency class, insurance otherwise; no one can be refused
12) Colleges and universities usually have some sort of student health service partly paid by tuition, the rest by taxpayers

In addition to the above list, I am sure most people can think of other direct health care or health care related services. There are private charities (some get public funds directly, all get tax breaks so taxpayers are paying a part in addition to the donors) which also help with health care.

Now as to uninsured statistics, they are very deceiving. The “uninsured” include many people from the above list. If you change jobs and are without health insurance for even one day, you are included for the entire year. And, many who can afford health insurance, especially the young and healthy, take the risk that they won’t need it and spend their money on other things. There is also the liberals’ trick of equating health insurance and “affordable” health insurance. Again, affordability for health care is all about priorities just as are restaurant meals, movies, cars, vacations, tobacco, alcohol, fancy clothes, recreational drugs, “bling-bling”, wide screen TV’s, etc., etc. Depending upon your preferences and wants, some or all of these things are affordable or not.

Who Pays

As with every other social program in America, taxpayers carry most of the load for health care. That one fourth of you out there paying income taxes are paying for your health care and that of up to 3 other people. I say up to 3 other people because some health care is paid for by government borrowing, so it will be your income tax paying children and grandchildren who will pay for any of the 3 other people you don’t pay for already.

The income taxpayers in America are already way, way overburdened and there are limits before things collapse. Socialized health care will bust the backs of taxpayers and bring the entire health care system crashing down. Then, many will learn the true meaning of “affordable”.

We need much less government involvement in healthcare and our long term goals ought to be gradual reductions with an eventual end to federal government involvement.

Why Socialized Health Care Always Fails

On a personal note, I have traveled in many countries with nationalized health care and all are dismal failures with far inferior health services to what we already enjoy. I have personally witnessed the failure of nationalized health care in the Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK. I lived in Australia for a while and here is how it “worked” there. Everyone who paid taxes paid dearly for nationalized health care and it was horrible: rationed, long waits, outdated technology, poor doctors, and poor facilities. Those that worked and had to pay taxes for nationalized health care could pay extra for private health insurance. The bright side in all these countries but the UK is that private health insurance and private doctors, nurses, etc. were allowed. In the UK national health care is compulsory and (called public payer in our debates) one cannot have private health insurance or private health care.

Why does government run health care always fail? Like all government services those receiving it somehow think federal money is free. Witness all the pork your local congressional elite bring home. Free federal money for their home state. (Aside: As Chrysler, GM, and many banks found out, federal money is not free).

With “free” federal health care the demand always out paces the supply. People will go get care for free service for things that they would never get if they had to pay for all or part of it. So demand grows. And, now with the government running health care, the bureaucracy, and number of union employees, explode and consume vast amounts of the health care budget. As always in huge government programs, efficiency is much less than provided by the private sector. So exploding demand, exploding overhead, and inefficiency make the taxpayers’ cost skyrocket. Health care continues to gobble up more and more of the federal budget so that other services such as national defense shrink. Still costs rise until a limit is approached. Then, health care rationing kicks in with unbelievable cruel, inexplicable, and horrible schemes. Old people are restricted in what expensive procedures they can receive; people diagnosed with deadly diseases which have high cure rates if treated early may wait months or years until it is too late. Or, the latest life saving technology may be unavailable because of its costs. And of course, medical education, research on new procedures, equipment, and drugs is drastically cut so the long-term prognoses for improving health care are not good. All this results in a “brain drain” of the smartest and most highly qualified doctors to other countries (up until now it was mainly the USA).

We Don’t Need Socialized Health Care-It is a Scam

America has the best health care in the world, it is universally available, and we do not need more government in our health care system—we need much less government in our health care. We need much less government involvement in healthcare and our long term goals ought to be gradual reductions with an eventual end to federal government involvement.

Improvements We Do Need to Slash HealthCare Costs

One of the largest costs in American medicine is called “defensive medicine” or “lawsuit risk management”. This means doctors, hospitals, drug companies, medical equipment companies, and others must set aside huge amounts of money to guard against frivolous and excessive lawsuit awards. These set asides for the bottom feeding lawyers add $billions to $trillions to your health and health insurance costs.

We need tort reforms with limits on attorney’s share from medical related lawsuits. Perhaps 10% or less of the actual damage award and none of the punitive damages would be more than fair and prevent the bottom feeders from seeking such huge jury awards. This should include all class action suits as well.

We need to eliminate overlapping payments and programs and election year handouts. These include the SCHIP program (already covered by Medicaid, Social Security, etc.) and the “Seniors Prescription Drug Plan”.

Finally, Social Security should be means tested so that payments are not made to those above 3 times the poverty level and Medicare should be voluntary—if retired persons can get cheaper and better private insurance they should be allowed to do it.

No One’s Getting Fat Except Government

2009-10-12T21:18:00.017-07:00

"The way academic life should be" source.

National unemployment is now at about 10% and there are over 9 million people “involuntarily” working part time. source.

But not everyone is suffering. The 2008-2009 budget of the University of Arizona was $1,737,100,000. or about $1.7 billion. About 50% of this comes from state and federal taxpayers, about 20% from student tuition, and the other 30% from all other sources. source.

We shouldn't just talk about the University of Arizona receiving $50% of their funds directly from state and federal taxpayers that is comparable to its tax exemption subsidy. Suppose this institution was taxed like a working taxpayer or a tax paying corporation. The U of A’s land, buildings, and sophisticated machinery, equipment, and facilities are worth $billions. Supposed they paid state and federal income tax, state, and county property taxes, capital gains taxes, etc. etc. The taxes could easily run up to half its annual income or some $870 million per year, and this goes on forever. The tax exemptions plus the direct taxpayer funding of about $870 million is some $1.7 billion per year.

So given this incredible pubic largess and its huge burden how does the University spend its money. The answer is, not well. They have gone too far.

There are taxpayer funded academic junkets every year to luxury hotels in places such as Hawaii, California, and Arizona. Here is a link to the site advertising one of its annual conferences. source.

Notice the nude woman and the caption "The way academic life should be". Then, scroll down and read about their past junkets, wine tasting parties, and conferences bacchanalian enough to make even our Congress jealous.

It is time for real and significant tax cuts and significant shrinkage of government at all levels. These people living on the backs of taxpayers have gone too far.

Finally, remember that there are thousands of colleges and universities in the US and they all live off public funding, even the private ones. Many are like the University of Arizona and they have a duty to be frugal and careful in the way they spend the public’s money. They are putting selfishness and bacchanalianism before duty.

Next Year’s Nobel Peace Prize Nominees Favored to Win

2009-10-09T09:18:00.011-07:00

Journalists in Norway and the NYT have leaked information on the leading Nobel Peace Prize nominees for 2011. There is broad support throughout the Left in America, the major tyrannies in the Mideast, and at the UN for these candidates.

Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer
Citation: For showing humanity the way to a new high protein diet, introducing immigrant boys to a new and exciting alternative life style, and thereby helping to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and global warming through reducing the need for high- flatulence livestock.

Brief Biography

Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender. Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys – most of whom were of African or Asian descent – between 1978 and 1991, with the majority of the murders occurring between 1987 and 1991. His murders were particularly gruesome, involving rape, torture, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism. On November 28, 1994, he was beaten to death by fellow Columbia Correctional Institution inmate Christopher Scarver with a bar from a weight machine while on work detail in the prison gym. source.

Osama bin Laden
Citation: For bridging the gap between the magnificent Muslim culture and the western economic leaders in New York, London, and Spain, and thereby forever forming a permanent bond of understanding and trust between East and West.

Brief Biography

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (with numerous variations; Arabic: أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن‎, Usāmah bin Muḥammad bin ʾAwaḍ bin Lādin) (born 10 March 1957) is a member of the prominent Saudi bin Laden family and one of the founders of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, best known for the September 11 attacks on the United States and its associations with numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian targets. Bin Laden is on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. source.

Charles Manson
Citation: As one of the earliest community organizers for his contributions to peace and harmony between the races.

Brief Biography

Charles Milles Manson (born November 12, 1934) is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi -commune that arose in California in the late 1960s.[1][2][3] He was convicted of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders, carried out by members of the group at his instruction. He was found guilty of the murders themselves through the joint-responsibility rule, which makes each member of a conspiracy guilty of crimes his fellow conspirators commit in furtherance of the conspiracy's object.[4][5]
Manson is associated with "Helter Skelter," the term he took from the Beatles song of that name and construed as an apocalyptic race war the murders were putatively intended to precipitate. This connection with rock music linked him, from the beginning of his notoriety, with pop culture, in which he became an emblem of insanity, violence, and the macabre. Ultimately, the term was used as the title of the book prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi wrote about the Manson murders. source.

The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize and the resulting celebrations are predicted to be among the most popular in history, perhaps as popular as the celebrations for the 2010 recipient.

Is Obama a Beta Male and Ruled by His Alpha Male Handlers and Advisors?

2009-10-08T12:06:00.007-07:00

The concepts of Alpha Male and weaker and less courageous Beta Males are familiar to most of us. The evidence that Obama is a Beta male and always has been is very strong.

Here is an interesting article raising the issue.

October 05, 2009
Did We Elect a Beta Male As President?
By Greg Lewis

We're all somewhat familiar with the body language dogs display when they greet each other. The dominant alpha male approaches directly, asserting his authority, while the beta male genuflects, crouches, tucks his tail, and may even end up on his back, exposing his neck in acquiescence, making sure the alpha male knows he has no intention of challenging him. With his "we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist" opening to the world's dictators, the President is exhibiting classic beta male behavior, in essence rolling over on his back and exposing his throat to them to make sure they know he has no intention of challenging their authority.

Of course, the problem is that he's not simply exposing his throat, he's exposing America's collective throat, sending the message that he's a typical beta male intent on submitting to all the alpha male leaders around the world, and damn the consequences. His response to the discovery of Iran's newest, and heretofore "secret," nuclear facility was, as Daniel Henninger (Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2009) points out, to have our State Department offer to start a direct dialogue with the tyrannical Burmese regime.

The Obama administration has also offered conciliatory gestures to the genocidal Sudanese leader Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and it has dispatched none other than John Kerry to meet with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. This, of course, is not to mention his somewhat more visible overtures to the world's alpha male thugs: Obama has consorted jovially with Hugo Chavez and his counterpart Daniel Ortega, he's bowed down to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, he's agreed to halt plans to install a missile defense system in eastern Europe to placate Vladimir Putin, and he's offered the aforementioned hand to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, despite the latter's expressed unwillingness to even agree to acknowledge the truly important issue of Iran's nuclear weapons in our talks, all quintessential beta male behaviors. source.

Lack of Strong father Figures and Influence of a Child Molester in Obama’s Background

Obama and the disturbing influence of Frank Marshall Davis
Much has been written about the fact that Frank Marshall Davis was a mentor to the young Barack Obama. But Davis was an unusual role model for a boy; not only may he have been a sometime pedophile, according to a book he wrote under a pseudonym, but he was also a Communist. Some have even speculated that Davis was Obama’s biological father, a fantasy for which I can find no evidence whatsoever and have dismissed as unlikely in the extreme. source.

Evidence and Possible Causes are Strong Indicators

Mentored, and who knows what else, by an admitted child molester and Communist has left Obama without strong, moral, and decent male guidance from his birth to the present. How grows a boy to a man when his role models are pedophiles, Communists, and Muslims who abandon their families? Not well, not normal, not confident, and not strong.

Rolling over to our enemies and abandoning our weaker allies also fits the pattern. What an embarrassment to have a president of the US bow to a Saudi Arabian king. A Beta Male will roll over to an Alpha Male and then turn around and persecute a weaker ally. We have seen too much of this in Obama already. Example: the Cambridge, MA policeman. How un-presidential to stoop to attacking a private citizen and how unwise and racist to do it before he had any facts.

Extreme lack of Self Confidence and Inarticulate Speech Indicate poor Education and Lack of Self Confidence

Many have examined Obama’ written works and found them poorly written and far from scholarly. But you don’t have to work through such difficult searches (it is hard to find original Obama writings before he became president) you merely need to watch his televised speeches. Other politicians and speakers study and memorize most of their speech and maybe us a few notes or 3” by 5” cue cards. They look straight at the audience or straight at a TV camera so it seems they are looking straight at you. Occasionally they may glance down at some notes, but usually they do not. Obama swings his head left and right as he reads the Teleprompters. He does not look directly at his audience.

Obama is crippled without the teleprompter or the wide screen television, both of which allow him to read a speech he has never seen before. On the times when he tried to speak contemporaneously, it has been an embarrassing mish mash of ahs and uhs and street talk such as “screwed up” or “wee weed off”. Dignity left the White House hand in hand with decency.

How Can Our Nation Recover?

Decent, patriotic, conservative, alpha males (and alpha females) must re-capture our stolen government. The bills written since the first bailout up to whatever the socialists pass before the elections in 2010 and 2012 must literally be read line by line and repealed or replaced by legislation and executive orders to shrink government, lower taxes, and restore freedom, and close the border. Then, we should develop and implement ways of preventing future socialist/communist attempts to seize power in America.

Obama, Bad Michelle, and Oprah May Have Learned a Lesson

2009-10-05T09:21:00.005-07:00

As you know by now, the US bid to have the 2016 Olympics in Chicago was defeated in a humiliating manner, and not even the heavyweights in Chicago’s dirty politics, race based-spoils system, and intimidation could save the day. In a stroke of brilliant irony, the Drudge Report had a headline “The Ego Has Landed…”

Sometimes you just cannot buy, extort, or steal something you want. This works in a single party tyranny where the tyrants have an economic stranglehold or life and death control over their subjects. But once in a while, the thugs step out of their domain and try the dirty Chicago politics on the wrong people. The International Olympics decision makers were not cowed and the US was eliminated in the first round of voting.

I bet the half of Chicago’s people who opposed the Olympics in their city is breathing a sigh of relief. Hundreds of millions or perhaps a few billion dollars that would have gone to the crooks in Chicago, at the expense of local, state, and federal taxpayers have been saved.

It is funny, sad, and highly predictable that all of Obama’s pandering to the third world despots and Muslims has made him and America weaker. The international rabble of America haters were emboldened by Obama’s weakness, inexperience, and ignorance. Of course the leftists will blame Bush, but this was entirely Obama’s show and he failed miserably.

I hope Obama and his handlers and advisors did not learn a lesson. I hope they carry on to defeats on socialized medicine, cap and trade, amnesty, and their other plans to change America to a one party tyranny.

(By the way, Good Michelle refers to Michelle Malkin).

Arguments For and Against Legalizing Drugs

2009-10-01T11:19:00.005-07:00

Background

Many people argue that by legalizing illegal drug use, more addicts would have safe drugs, the government could control the supply and quality of drugs, and the government could tax the drugs to raise additional revenue. They also argue that by legalizing illegal drugs the dealers and pusher criminals’ profits would disappear and thus crime would be reduced. Furthermore, drug addicts wouldn’t engage in as much burglary, theft, robbery, prostitution, and murder, so there would be additional reductions in crime. Most people would favor safer drugs and less crime. Fewer might support additional taxes to pay for the drugs and the drug addicts. Other than alcohol, there are few quantitative studies on the legalization of drugs in America.

Others argue that illegal drugs are dangerous, harmful, and it is morally wrong for society to legalize drugs and profit from the misery and wasted lives of millions. They also argue that the government shouldn’t establish or raise any more taxes. Furthermore, whether the legalized drugs were distributed by the government or tax free organizations living off government subsidies and grants, the taxpayer would still be stuck for almost all of the costs. The most powerful argument the anti-legalization side uses is the example of legalizing alcohol. They point to the millions of deaths, wasted lives, accidents, children born with birth defects from legal alcohol, and other human tragedies and tax payer supported costs.

Let’s Look at Some Results of Legalizing Alcohol

First up is the problem of drunk driving.

Drunk Driving Statistics for the United States (source.)
• Alcohol-related car crashes kill someone every 30 minutes and injure someone every two minutes.
• In the United States, drunk driving is the leading criminal cause of death.
• More than 17,000 people are the victims of drunk driving accidents every year.
• Approximately 40% of all motor-vehicle fatalities are alcohol-related.
• Frequent drunk drivers are responsible for almost 60% of alcohol-related fatalities.
• In 2007, drivers between the ages of 16-20 were involved in 1,719 drunk driving accidents.

Some other facts on drunk driving (source)

• Alcohol-related crashes in the United States cost the public an estimated $114.3 billion in 2000, including $51.1 billion in monetary costs and an estimated $63.2 billion in quality of life losses. People other than the drinking driver paid $71.6 billion of the alcohol-related crash bill, which is 63 percent of the total cost of these crashes.
• A 2008 AAA poll measuring the traffic safety culture of Americans, found that 80% supported requiring drivers who have been convicted of DWI to use equipment that tests them for alcohol, i.e. an ignition interlock device. Also, 88% of the respondents in the poll felt that drunk driving is a serious traffic safety concern.
• Since 1980 (the year Mothers Against Drunk Driving was founded), alcohol-related traffic fatalities have decreased nearly 50 percent, from over 30,000 to under 15,500 and MADD has helped save over 383,000 lives.

Next, Let’s Look at Some Other Results of Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a serious disease and even more tragic because it is 100% preventable. Here are some facts and statistics (source).

The consumption of alcohol during pregnancy is one of the leading preventable causes of birth defects and childhood disabilities in the United States.1 The adverse effects associated with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) range from growth deficiency, brain structure and function anomalies, and abnormalities of the head and face.2 It is estimated that in 1992 the cost of treating FAS-affected infants, children, and adults was over $1.9 billion.3 The lifetime cost per child affected with FAS is estimated to be $1.4 million.4

FAS Statistics
• In 1995, four times as many pregnant women frequently consumed alcohol as in 1991.5 Researchers speculate that the increase in alcohol consumption by pregnant women may be attributed to widespread reports on the health benefits of moderate drinking.6
• 51% of women of child-bearing age between 18-25 and 53% between 26-34, report the use of alcohol within the past month.7
• 17% of women of child-bearing age between 18-25 and 13% between 26-34, report binge drinking (five or more drinks on one occasion) within the past month.8
• A national survey found that more than half of women age 15-44 drank while pregnant.9
• Of the women who reported drinking during their pregnancy, 66% reported drinking in their first trimester; 54% reported drinking in their third trimester.10
• FAS is estimated to occur in 1 to 2 live births per every 1,000 in the United States each year.11
• Fetal Alcohol Effects (a less severe set of alcohol-related abnormalities) is estimated to occur in 3-5 live births per every 1,000 in the United States each year.2, 11
• According to the birth defects monitoring program, FAS rates among American Indians are 3.0 per 1000 live births compared to a rate of 0.6 per 1000 live births among Blacks and 0.1 per 1000 live births among Whites.12
• FAS is not just a childhood disorder;13 exposure to alcohol as a fetus can cause a wide range of lifelong physical and mental disabilities.14
• Fetal alcohol exposure may increase the risk for later alcohol, tobacco, and drug dependence in adults.15

Now, Let’s Look at Some Facts about Alcoholism’s Impacts on Family and Friends (I hope none of you see yourselves or loved ones or friends, but you almost certainly will)

Alcohol Use (source).

Prevalence
• Percent of adults who drank alcohol in the past year: 61% (2007)
• Percent of current drinkers who had five or more drinks on at least one day in the past year: 21% (2007)

Mortality
• Number of alcohol-induced deaths, excluding accidents and homicides: 22,073
• Number of alcoholic liver disease deaths: 13,050

The stages of Alcoholism and some Impacts (source).

1. In the first stage of alcoholism, drinking is no longer social but becomes a means of psychological escape from stress, inhibitions, and problems.

More to the point, early in the disease the person with a drinking problem starts to depend on the "mood altering" aspects of alcohol.

Another characteristic of the first stage of alcoholism is that a gradual increase in tolerance develops, meaning that increasing amounts of alcohol are required in order to feel a "buzz" or a "high."

2. In the second stage of alcoholism, the need to drink becomes more intense. Typically in this stage, the person with the drinking problem starts to drink earlier in the day. As tolerance increases, furthermore, the problem drinker drinks because of his or her dependence on alcohol, rather than because of psychological stress relief. Also during this stage, the "loss of control" does not yet manifest itself on a regular basis; it is, nonetheless, gradually observed by others such as friends and family members.

3. In the third stage of alcoholism, the loss of control becomes more predominant, meaning that the person with the drinking problem is unable to drink according to his or her intentions. For instance, once the problem drinker has had the first drink, he or she can no longer control what will happen, even though the intention might have been to have only two or three drinks.

During this stage of the disease, the individual usually starts to experience serious financial, relationship, and work-related problems. In addition, the problem drinker starts to avoid family and friends and experiences a loss of interest in things that used to be important. Also typical during this stage are "eye-openers," that is, drinks that are taken whenever the person awakens.

Eye-openers are typically taken to lessen a hangover, calm the nerves, or to quiet the feelings of remorse the drinker suffers after a period of time without a drink.

4. The fourth and final stage of alcoholism is typified by a chronic loss of control. In the earlier stages of the disease, the problem drinker may have been successful in maintaining a job. Now, however, drinking starts earlier in the day and typically continues throughout the day. Not surprisingly, few, if any, full-time jobs can be sustained once a person reaches this state of mind.

In the earlier stages of the disease, moreover, the alcoholic had a choice whether he or she would take the first drink. After taking the first drink, the alcoholic usually lost all control and would then continue drinking. In the last stage of alcoholism, conversely, alcoholics no longer have a choice: they must drink in order to function.

The Social Effects of Alcoholism

Alcoholism not only affects the alcoholic, but it also affects those who are closest the alcoholic, his family, friends, relatives, and work associates. The following list is a sample of the "social effects" of alcohol addiction:
• Traffic fatalities on the highways
• Work-related injuries and accidents
• Broken homes
• Wife battering
• Traffic injuries
• Birth defects such as fetal alcohol syndrome
• Destroyed relationships
• Child abuse
• Destroyed lives
• Dysfunctional homes
• Codependent behavior in others

Now Let’s Look at Some Illegal and Legal Drug Problems

Key findings
Data from the National Vital Statistics System Mortality File (source).

• From 1999 through 2006, the number of fatal poisonings involving opioid analgesics more than tripled from 4,000 to 13,800 deaths.
• Opioid analgesics were involved in almost 40% of all poisoning deaths in 2006.
• In 2006, the rate of poisoning deaths involving opioid analgesics was higher for males, persons aged 35-54 years, and non-Hispanic white persons than for females and those in other age and racial/ethnic groups.
• In about one-half of the deaths involving opioid analgesics, more than one type of drug was specified as contributing to the death, with benzodiazepines specified with opioid analgesics most frequently.
• The age-adjusted death rate for poisoning involving opioid analgesics varied more than eightfold among the states in 2006.
Poisoning is the second leading cause of injury death overall, and the leading cause of injury death for people aged 35-54 years, surpassing both firearm-related and motor vehicle-related deaths in this age group (1,2).

During the Healthy People 2010 midcourse review, reduction of poisoning mortality was one of the injury objectives identified as moving away from its target. One of the challenges discussed during the review is a lack of recognition of the extent of the problem.

The CDC data also show that drugs kill more people than automobile crashes in 16 states: MA, NH, RI, CT, NY, NJ, MD, PA, OH, MI, IL, CO, UT, NV, OR, and WA.

And, as cited above, drug abuse deaths are the second leading cause of injury death overall and the leading cause for people aged 35-54; greater than both firearms and motor vehicle deaths.

Making Some Sense of All this Information

Only two dangerous drugs have been legalized, alcohol and tobacco. This essay does not deal with tobacco, perhaps in a future post.

The legalization of alcohol has not been the solution to alcohol problems observed before its legalization. The statistics cited above show that alcohol is a major health, safety, social, and public cost burden.

I urge all of you who have an interest in the discussion of legalizing currently illegal drugs to go see some of the alcohol problems for yourself. Take the time to talk to someone in Alcoholics Anonymous, The Salvation Army, or a recovering alcoholic. You should also talk to some families and friends of alcoholics. Finally, go to your local police department and ask to speak to one of their officers experienced in the tragedies of alcoholism.

You should also visit your local public schools, particularly those with significant numbers of disabled children and see the horrible effects of FAS.

Please consider the above CDC statistics and facts on current drug deaths and consider what the impact of legalizing illegal drugs might be on the number of drug addicts, their families and friends, and the social cost. Consider the moral and ethical issues of a government program to distribute dangerous drugs that already are responsible for so much suffering and deaths in America. Finally, ask yourself about another big government program to tax drug use. Once the government becomes addicted to the tax revenues from legalized drugs will they seek to reduce or increase drug use?