Thursday, December 21, 2006

The World As We See -> Please Help and Find my Killer!

I just found this on the Internet.
Sorry I can't take credit for it..

Please take the time and read it...........

Please Help and Find my Killer!

I would have been 65 years of age this year.

Read about me and my killer below.

When Sen. Ted Kennedy was merely just another Democrat bloating on Capitol Hill on behalf of liberal causes, it was perhaps excusable to ignore his deplorable past.

But now that he's become a leading Republican attack dog, positioning himself as Washington's leading arbiter of truth and integrity, the days for such indulgence are now over.

It's time for the GOP to stand up and remind America why this chief spokesman had to abandon his own presidential bid in 1980 - time to say the words Mary Jo Kopechne out loud.

As is often the case, Republicans have deluded themselves into thinking that most Americans already know the story of how this "Conscience of the Democratic Party" left Miss Kopechne behind to die in the waters underneath the Edgartown Bridge in July 1969, after a night of drinking and partying with the young blonde campaign worker. But most Americans under 40 have never
heard that story, or details of how Kennedy swam to safety, then tried to get his cousin Joe Garghan to say he was behind the wheel.

Those young voters don't know how Miss Kopechne, trapped inside Kennedy's Oldsmobile, gasped for air until she finally died, while the Democrats' leading Iraq war critic rushed back to his compound to formulate the best alibi he could think of.

Neither does Generation X know how Kennedy was thrown out of Harvard on his ear 15 years earlier -- for paying a fellow student to take his Spanish final. Or why the US Army denied him a commission because he cheated on tests.

As they listen to the Democrats' "Liberal Lion" accuse President Bush of "telling lie after lie after lie" to get America to go to war in Iraq, young voters don't know about that notorious 1991 Easter weekend in Palm Beach, when Uncle Teddy rounded up his nephews for a night on the town, an evening that ended with one of them credibly accused of rape.

It's time for Republicans to state unabashedly that they will no longer"go along with the gag" when it comes to Uncle Ted's rants about deception and moral turpitude inside the Bush White House.

And if the Republicans don't, let's do it ourselves by passing this forgotten disgrace around the Internet to wake up memories of what a fraud and fake Teddy really is.

The Democratic Party should be ashamed to have the national disgrace from Massachusetts as their spokesman.

Please pray for our Troops fighting for us. God Bless you.

- End of Ramble

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

How to Destroy America

The following came to me via e-mail. I am not sure the source and am researching now, however I think the content is right on. We need to celebrate "UNITY", not "Diversity"...

Since I am unsure of the source I will put it in quotes:

We know Dick Lamm as the former Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington, DC, filled to capacity by many of America's finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked about his latest book, "Mexifornia," explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal was destroying the entire state of California. He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.

Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America. The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States He said, "If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy America. It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that 'An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.'"

"Here is how they do it," Lamm said: "First, to destroy America, turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country." History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: "The histories of bilingual and bi-cultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy." Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, and Corsicans. ".

Lamm went on: Second, to destroy America, "Invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal. That there are no cultural differences. Make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds.

Third, "We could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: "The apparent success of our own multiethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentricity and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together."

Lamm said, "I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities."

"Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school."

"My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology.' I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population."

"My sixth plan for America's downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide a re mostly engaged in hating each other - that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common Language and literature; and they worshiped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia, threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. "E. Pluribus Unum" --From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'pluribus' instead of the 'Unum,' we will balkanize America as surely as Kosovo."

"Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits; make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bicultural country, having established multiculturism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of 'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration has been good for America, it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them."

In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed. Finally he said,. "Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis's book "Mexifornia." His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America . If you feel America. deserves to be destroyed, don't read that book."

There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate 'diversity.' American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America - take note of California and other states - to date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast It is reminiscent of George Orwell's book "1984." In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is strength."

Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path especially The American Dream.

"The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the greatest liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth." -- H.L. Mencken

Monday, December 04, 2006

WorldNetDaily: Students reject honor to 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' hero

I have read about this in the past, and have blogged on it at Email I need to share which I recently bumped back to the top. WorldNet Daily has coverage on it here:

WorldNetDaily: Students reject honor to 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' hero

How do we get through to some of these people? What is it going to take?

You have a part Souix Indian who died poor, spent 20 months in a Japanese POW camp, and fought to protect the rights of these kids to have free speach ... being accused of a Rich white man and a killer?

Amazing. Simply amazing.

Where have we gone wrong with this generation? How can this be happening?

-End of Ramble

EDIT:
Another Article on Pappy Boyington can be found here.

P.S. Don't forget to send a Christmas card to the ACLU! They love to hear from you!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Don't Forget the ACLU

This holiday season, don't forget to wish the ACLU A Very Merry Christmas by sending them a nice card.

ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Post Election and Immigration

Now that all the hubbub around the Elections is starting to fade I though I would 'come out of the woodwork' and get back on the Immigration horse. In my travels I have come across a web site called "NumbersUSA" in which I found some fairly compelling information around immigration and what to do in the long run.

It's very interesting. It seems to be a very non-partisan view at the issue, and how to solve the problem. The Director, Roy Beck, has produced a video on the issue and a good portion of it can be seen here.

I really recommend that you check it out.

Beyond that I'm still absorbing the effects of the recent elections. I am very concerned that we now have a leader of the secular progressive or liberal movement now looking at becoming the Speaker of the House. I am very concerned that the change in our government has been widely reported as positive by socialists around the world. Stay tuned... I'm still trying to absorb and watching what happens.

For another good read I recommend you check out this article.

-End of Ramble

Thursday, November 02, 2006

E-Mail I need to share

*bump* so we can remember why our military is out there for us...

I recieved this in an e-mail. I have not validated the story, however the gist of the message is moving and real. My comment before you read... By the end, remember to thank your sheepdog!

Jill Edwards is a junior math major at the University of Washington. In brief, Edwards, a member of the UW student senate, opposed a memorial to UW grad "Pappy" Boyington.

Boyington was a U.S. Marine aviator who earned the Medal of Honor in World War II. Edwards said that she didn't think it was appropriate to honor a person who killed other people. She also said that a member of the Marine Corps was NOT an example of the sort of person the University of Washington wanted to produce.

Entered below is Gen. Dula's letter to the University of Washington student senate leader.

To: Edwards, Jill (student, UW)

Re: Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs

Miss Edwards, I read of your 'student activity' regarding the proposed memorial to Col Greg Boyington, USMC and a Medal of Honor winner. I suspect you will receive a bellyful of angry e-mails from conservative folks like me. You may be too young to appreciate fully the sacrifices of generations of servicemen and servicewomen on whose shoulders you and your fellow students stand. I forgive you for the untutored ways of youth and your naiveté.

It may be that you are, simply, a sheep. There's no dishonor in being a sheep - - as long as you know and accept what you are. Please take a couple of minutes to read the following. And be grateful for the thousands - - millions - - of American sheepdogs who permit you the freedom to express even bad ideas.

Brett Dula Sheepdog, retired
----------------------------------------------------------
ON SHEEP, WOLVES, AND SHEEPDOGS By LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, RANGER, Ph.D., author of "On Killing."

Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always, even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? -William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997.

One Vietnam Veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.

Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me, it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell.

Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there whom will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf.

But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial; that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports, in camouflage fatigues, holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa." Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed, right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.

There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.

There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: Slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers; athletes, business people and parents transformed from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

"There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men." - Edmund Burke.

Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.

If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

For example, many officers carry their weapons in church. They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs. Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.

I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"

Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.

Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones were attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.

Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear, helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.


Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling."

Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level. And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes.

If you are a warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself .......... ........"Baa."

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other.

Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.

"If It Weren't For The United States Military and the Local Police, there Would Be No United States of America"


-End of Ramble

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Oh Mr. Kerry...

John Kerry has stuck his foot in his mouth again... Isn't it funny?

Personally I don't understand why everyone is trying to defend him. Tony Snow was great today in the White House Press briefing.

Check out what the soldiers think:



John... This is why you were not elected in 2004 and why you will not be elected to the Presidency ever.

-End of Ramble

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Where does the Catholic Church Stand?

With the recent admission from Rev. Anthony Mercieca concerning his behavior with Mark Foley (R-Fla), I have to wonder where exactly does the Catholic Church stand on pedophilia? Granted, Mark Foley's behavior with young male Congressional pages is unacceptable and not excused by what may have happened to him when he was young. That is a separate matter and should be investigated and pursued. So, what is the position of the Church on the relationship of Church officials and their young parishioners? Rev. Mercieca has admitted to multiple acts with the young Foley that should be considered inappropriate for a priest to have with a 13 year old parishioner.

Mercieca tells CBS news, "Let's say it was 40 years ago, almost 40 years ago, so why bring this up at this late stage?" Mercieca asked during the WPTV interview. "Anyway, he will overcome it, with a psychiatrist you know. Mark is a very intelligent man." Mercieca also submits, "I wish him well. Let bygones be bygones."

I believe that if Mercieca can be this up front and casual with his recounting of interactions with Foley, then he must have had more than one parishioner that he loved like a "brother". Does the Church not see anything wrong with this type of behavior? If the Catholic Church can not take a strong stand to protect children from its own priests, then any good work that the Church can do will be reduced in its ability to help anyone.

##That's my opinion##

Thursday, October 12, 2006

What's that in your pants?

I would still like to know why Sandy Berger needed a document from the National Archive so badly that he stuffed it in his pants. I had almost forgotten that had happend until former Attorney General John Ashcroft, recently on TV, mentioned that it was the "after action report" from the millennium bombing that Sandy had with him. Now, why would Sandy need that report? According to a 2004 National Review article that I missed, Sandy did not just take one copy of the report, but that he took several copies on more than one occassion. Now that's taking a big risk to sneak out material that surely is copied in several other government agencies.

In his recent TV appearance, Ashcroft also made reference to Clinton's Chris Wallance interview, where Clinton stated a plan had been left for President Bush to follow in the fight against terrorism. Ashcroft implied that the "plan" Clinton left was based on the tactics outlined in the after action report. Richard Clarke was the author of the after action report and within the report itself, Richard stated that the tactics used should not be a model for the government moving forward.

So, was Sandy attempting to get rid of the after action report in order to increase credibility of the terroism plan left by Clinton? Was Sandy afraid that Clinton would also have to share some of the blame for not doing more to stop 9/11?

Has our government (both parties) become so corrupt that stealing documents is common place? Has blaming the other party become more important than protecting the American people? Are the perks of being a Congressman or part of an administration so luxurious that people will do anything to get them and to keep them? My answers are Yes, Yes, and Yes.

Maybe it's time we had average citizens in Congress rather than lawyers and professional lobbyists.

##That's my opinion##

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Monday, October 09, 2006

Ways and Means Hearing Submission: Tax Issues

In support of The Fair Tax, I submitted the following to the the Committee on Ways and Means Hearing on Member Proposals on Tax Issues Introduced in the 109th Congress.

Honorable Committee Members,

I support passing of HR 25, The Fair Tax, and the fundamental reform of the current tax system. A model of tax collection based upon a national retail sales tax will greatly improve the nation's economy by providing a more equitable taxing system that encourages investment in the United States rather than in various tax havens around the world.

Tax havens are “a place where certain taxes are levied at a low rate or not at all. This encourages wealthy individuals and/or firms to establish themselves in areas that would otherwise be overlooked” (Tax Haven, Wikipedia). This exodus of capital to more forgiving tax environments drains our economy of investment capital and facilitates an enormous opportunity cost felt by all Americans. Tax havens such as the Cayman Islands and The Isle of Man contain about 1 percent of the world’s population, but they hold approximately 30 percent of the world’s assets (David R. Francis, Christian Science Monitor, April 2005). “[T]hese overseas tax havens undermine confidence and trust in our federal government” (Senator John Kerry, 26 April 2002).

The tax haven situation causes the United States to lose an estimated $60 billion a year and worst of all; it shifts the majority of the tax burden from those who can afford it to those who cannot. According to John Christensen of London’s Tax Justice Network, “the tax burden has been shifted from those who can afford it to middle- and low-income households and from businesses to working people and consumers." As international pressure causes some tax haven countries to crack down on tax haven abuses, the door simply opens on new players. New players, such as Singapore, have recently entered the tax haven market and threaten to cost the United States an estimated $5 billion over the next decade (Taylor and Prystay, Wall Street Journal, February 2006).

Investment capital is not all that we are loosing to the war on taxes. Some wealthy Americans are actually opting to give up their U.S. citizenship for more favorable tax treatment.
“Who in his right mind would give up his U.S. citizenship? Lots of people. You could practically fill a Boeing 747 with well-heeled U.S. citizens who have taken on foreign citizenship rather than submit to what Learned Hand called ‘enforced exactions’ at a level that amounts to virtual confiscation.” (Forbes, Nov 21, 1994 v154 n12 p131).
We are faced with a challenge to fund our government through a method that is fair and equitable to all citizens. Those of lesser financial means should not be burdened with government taxation that the wealthy are enabled to avoid. A system of taxation based on consumption will target those most capable of paying. Passing HR 25 will lessen the burden on the less fortunate, increase the fair share of the most fortunate, and also spread the burden to non-citizens who enjoy the greatest nation on earth through tourism and business expansion. This is not a partisan issue, it is an American challenge. Enable the United States to become the world’s new tax haven by passing HR 25 and bring our expatriates and their money home.


##That's my opinion## ... supported by fact

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Breeding terror in our prisons

Michele Malkin has a great new / old post on the spread of jihad in US prisons. She wrote an article on this 2 years ago!

There's a new study saying the same old thing about our failure to stop the spread of jihad in the US prison system

-End of Ramble

read more | digg story

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Remember Robert Dean Stethem

In 1985, Robert Dean Stethem was beaten and shot to death for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was guilty of being an American and a member of the United States Navy.

Mohammed Ali Hamadi, a true coward hiding behind a hijacked religion, beat Robert and shot him to death simply because he was found to be a member of the U.S. military and unfortunate enough to be on the plane that Hamadi and his 3 Isalmic militant friends decided to hijack.

I didn't know Robert, but I do know that he is an American citizen that deserves to not be forgotten and deserves the courtesy of having his murderer brought back to justice. Oh, didn't you know that Hamadi was serving a life sentence in Germany for the killing of Stethem and for carrying explosives in a German airport. Germany let him go.

I think we to hunt down Hamadi and introduce him to the business end of a lethal injection.

##That's my opinion##

Monday, September 11, 2006

Never before seen 30 minute video of WTC attack

A video blogger has uploaded an unedited 30 minute video of the WTC attacks to Revver. It was filmed from their home 500 yards from the north tower. This is the first time this video has been publicly released.

read more | digg story

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Path to 9/11

It't been called a 'Controversy' at ABC. There is a planned attack that is being worked on at Democratic Underground. Michele Malkin has blogged on this as well.

One article can be found here:

What do you think? Has ABC gone "Conservative?" Has Disney? Unlikely but one can only hope...

More likely is that this 'docu-drama' has taken some creative license with and it DOES hit too close to home for some major players in the Clinton Administration and other Democrats.

Make your own call... Support ABC in airing it.

-End of Ramble

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

The Plame Game

So, where exactly does the line form for all those wishing to apologize to President Bush, Dick Cheney, the incarcerated Scotter Libby, and other falsely accused "leakers" - oh, there is no line forming - what a shocker.

The Valerie Plame leak story did provide several years worth of Republican bashing in general and Bush bashing in specific - so it's not a complete loss of the tax payers money. However, it does appear that special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald knew for quite some time that the leaker was not Scooter Libby (who now knows honesty is the best policy) and that the real source was Richard Armitage.

So the political game of "throw everything against the wall and see what sticks" continues - at the expense of the American taxpayer.

The American people should bring a class action against Fitzgerald for repayment of the tax money wasted on a wild goose chase and the President should pardon Scooter Libby.

##That's my opinion##

Who is America's "Most Obnoxious" Hollywood star?

I love this!

Go vote!

NewsMax.com: TWho is America's "Most Obnoxious" Hollywood star?

-End of Ramble

BBC NEWS | Africa | Kidnapped Sudan editor beheaded

I continue to marvel at those who believe that Islam is a religion of peace... That the Islamo-fascists are not trying to place their will upon everyone...

BBC NEWS | Africa | Kidnapped Sudan editor beheaded

-End of Ramble

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Fun with the ACLU...

Yes, Christmas cards. This is coming early (really early) so that you can get ready to include an important address to your list.

Send the ACLU a CHRISTMAS CARD this year.

As they are working so very hard to get rid of the CHRISTMAS part of this holiday, we should all send them a nice, CHRISTIAN, card to brighten up their dark, sad, little world. Make sure it says "Merry Christmas" on it

Here's the Address, just don't be rude or crude. (It's Not the Christian Way, you know!)

ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004

Make sure to tell them that there is no such thing as a "Holiday Tree". . . . It's a
Christmas Tree even in the fields!!

-End of Ramble

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Are we motivated yet?

What is it going to take to motivate us, the United States, to move away from oil as a source of energy? Fidel's best friend, Hugo Chavez, is laughing at us and making sure that the world believes anything bad that happens to Venezuela is the United States fault. There would be such a beneficial, global domino effect if the United States was not dependent on oil for energy. Most of the financial sources for terrorism would dry up and dictators like Chavez and Ahmadinejad would no longer have a voice on the world stage. By the way, do you buy gas at 7-Eleven? Did you know that Citgo is owned by Venezuela?

I know that alternative sources of energy are not as energy rich as oil. I know that alternative energy sources are not as convenient or as portable as oil. I also know that we are an intelligent, resourceful people - when properly motivated. So, when are we going to get properly motivated? The time is now!

I will repeat a statement that I have made before on this blog. If you want to run for president of the United States and win, simply run on a platform consisting of 3 urgent planks. 1) Secure the southern border and then deal with existing illegals within the U.S. 2) Push The Fair Tax into law 3) Agressively pursue alternative energy with a mandate to move away from fossil fuels within ten years. I'll vote for any reputable candidate running on that platform.

##That's my opinion##

Sunday, August 13, 2006

MSNBC... Can't just be happy we stopped some terrorists!

I saw this on the front page at Digg and had to blog on it...
Source: U.S., U.K. at odds over timing of arrests

Some Bloggers have decided that this is a timed political statement by the Bush camp. MSNBC even seems to 'hint' in that general direction. Personally, I am happy to see more terrorists (or even potential terrorists) get stopped before they get a chance to do more damage. I don't know if more surveillance would have been helpful or not, what I do know is a message was sent...

We're watching you.

And were getting help from your friends.

-End of Ramble

P.S. SHAME ON YOU MSNBC! Are you trying to support the terrorists? Would it have been better news if people had actually died? Are you still pissed off that John "I voted for the 87 Billion before I voted against it" didn't get elected? Or is it Gore you are still pissed off about? Is it more important to make a political statement than to just say "Good Job guys!"?

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Ex-Muslim Lady SLAMS Islam (Awesome!)

An ex-Muslim criticises the practices of modern Muslim's. She says so much in such little time. I wanted to stand up and clap in front of my computer.

read more | digg story

Monday, July 31, 2006

The Fair Tax - Orlando Style

It was hot in Orlando this past Saturday, but The Fair Tax rally on the steps of City Hall was smokin hot. Neal Boortz and John Lender spoke to a crowd of thousands of Fair Tax supporters and continued the momentum for sweeping tax change across our nation.

Not all in Orlando looked upon The Fair Tax fairly. April Hunt, of the Orlando Sentinel, decided to believe opponents of the plan and use her newspapers platform to misrepresent the true tax rate of the plan and of our current tax system.

So, I emailed April Hunt a question:
"April, I attended the Fair Tax rally on Saturday in order to gain more information about the proposal. I also read your articles online about the event and have a question about the tax rate. Neal Boortz has posted a question to you on his website, and I wondered if he is correct about the inclusive tax rate. Does your information shed any light on the true tax rate? Does his statement about the inclusive nature of the current tax system (25% = 33%) hold any water?".

April said, "Mr. Darley: Thank you for taking the time to write. I understand your point. The 23 percent tax refers to an inclusive tax, such as an income tax. Because it is a sales tax, which is an exclusive tax, the rate is 30 percent. Best, April Hunt "

So, just like Neal Boortz has claimed, opponents of The Fair Tax must first change the plan to find fault with it.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but please get informed about the subject before you start flappin your yap. www.fairtax.org

##That's my "educated" opinion##

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Israel Finding a Difficult Foe in Hezbollah - New York Times

The title for this article made me take a look at it:

Israel Finding a Difficult Foe in Hezbollah - New York Times

Why is the New York Times looking bolster Hezbollah? They act as if they are reporting the news, however if you read the article they are Pro-Hezbollah through and through.

This one quote caught my eye:

"“Never before in history has a terrorist organization had such state-ofthe-art military equipment,” from medium-range rockets and laser-guided antitank missiles to well-designed explosive mines that can cripple an advanced tank, General Amidror said."

Ask yourself this question: Why does Hezbollah have "... such state-ofthe-art military equipment,"? Answer that question.

Why is Iran and Syria all up in arms that they are not part of the talks?

When are the American People going to wake up and realize that we are at war with Islamic Fascism? When are we going to wake up and stop paying for it by purchasing oil from the middle east?

-End of Ramble

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Where is the nation of Hezbol?

So, Syria stated that it would back and defend Hezbollah if necessary. Isn't Hezbollah just a rogue militia backed by Iran and sucking the life out of southern Lebanon? Where is the nation of Hezbol? This is not the Lebanese army and most probably does not contain many Lebanese. So why is the global community and the U.N. not pointing out that Syria has openly supported a group of armed thugs shooting rockets at another nation from land which is not their own? Since when does the world allow for an army to just drop into another nation and start shooting? Isn't this Hezbollah problem more simple than the world is treating it?

The Middle-East has plenty of problems, but Hezbollah in Lebanon should not be one of them. Hezbollah has no right in Lebanon (they were formed to get Israel out - Israel was gone) and they should be expelled by the rest of the world so that we can get on with the world's business.

##That's my opinion##

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Why are Hamas and Hezbollah attacking now?

Ask yourself that question? Why start an escalating conflict right now?

Could it be to draw attention away from the Iran Nuclear program during the G8?

Notice that ALL news outlets are now covering this story, and Iran and it's nuclear ambitions has dropped to the wayside. It is not that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is above this... far from it. Iran and Syria both support the puppets in Hezbollah and Hamas... This is well documented by various sources who I am not going to quote now.

Isn't the timing a bit suspicious? We need to be vigilant with Iran and it's Nuclear program... Now more than ever.

Update: Great Article on "The American Thinker".

-End of Ramble.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Where and What is Palestine?

Recent news events have prompted me become more familiar with the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. I thought that I knew enough to participate in discussions about Israel and the Palestinian Authority / PLO, but what I found in my research enlightened me.

I knew that an attempt had been made in 1947 to settle the land war once and for all, but I did not know that the United Nations plan in 1947 was not the first try.

Read for yourself and see if the information supports your current thinking, or if you are pursuaded to consider other scenarios based upon the facts.

http://www.mideastweb.org/briefhistory.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine

http://www.masada2000.org/historical.html

##This is not my opinion...This is fact##

Thursday, July 13, 2006

More Money Down the Rabbit Hole

So now Valarie Plame has sued the VP and several other government officials. More of our good tax money being thrown down a never ending political rabbit hole.

Enough already! The only person that did anything wrong in this whole affair was Libby when he tried to cover up something up that didn't exist in the first place. You should have just told the truth Scooter.

If Joe Wilson had not twisted his own findings, just as he claimed Bush twisted his facts, we would not be wasting more time and money. Directly from the CIA report discussing Wilson's visit to Niger, "...the Iraqi delegation had traveled there in 1999, and that the Nigerian Prime Minister believed the Iraqis were interested in purchasing uranium...".

Can we please get back to running the government?

##That's my opinion##

The American Thinker

A wonderful article on our Marines can be found here:

The American Thinker

Take a read.

-End of Ramble

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Government silliness knows no bounds

Okay, On the record, I am not anti-gay. I am, however, against the gay agenda pushing community.

Yesterday the Orange County, Florida, government approved that you cannot discriminate against anyone for housing who is Homosexual. If you look at this site (gayorlando.com) you will see that there was a coordinated effort by the homosexual community to push this agenda. Now, was this REALLY a problem? Was there a large amount of discrimination against this group that it now becomes a crime?

Also, why do we insist on telling a landlord WHO they can rent to or not? Why is this the governments business? What really bothers me is that this particular group will profess (as I do) that what happens in my home is my business, not anyone else's, yet they go and get the government involved in everything to push their own agenda. How two faced is that?

I find this decision disturbing in two ways:

1) A complete and total waste of government time, and
2) Continuing to restrict the freedoms our the people.

-End of Ramble

Monday, July 10, 2006

Hold Your Tongue - Please

There was a time, not long ago, when a U.S. President left office he exhibited professional courtesy and did not engage in partisan rhetoric or harshly criticize the sitting President. It seems today that in the interest of party loyalty and keeping one's name in the headlines, the sense of courtesy has changed and taking shots at the sitting President has become somewhat of a hobby. The most recent example, a mild one in the greater context, can be found in former President Clinton's backhanded immigration comment to President Bush. The article states;

Instead of equal opportunity, they support a "financial elite" because they favor "concentrated wealth and power," Clinton said.

Well it's a good thing that former administrations did not attempt to concentrate wealth and power.

And by the way, it doesn't matter how many years or how many fees you place between illegal entry and becoming a citizen, it's still Amnesty and it's still wrong.

##That's my opinion##

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Fun T-Shirts

http://www.thoseshirts.com/99.html

Michelle Malkin: STONED FOR PREACHING AGAINST ISLAM

Religion of Peace?

Michelle Malkin: STONED FOR PREACHING AGAINST ISLAM

Judge for yourself.

-End of Ramble

lgf: Palestinians Support Kidnappings, Rocket Fire

Little Green Footballs has a great comment on how badly governed and miss-guided in their quest for "Peace".
lgf: Palestinians Support Kidnappings, Rocket Fire
I can only pray that the Palestinian people are feeling this way simply because they are getting bad information from their government. Do I think the Israelis are innocent? No. But taking a soldier hostage and expecting outlandish demands to be met to facilitate his release is not rational.

For the people of Palestine to sanction this act also shows how bad it has gotten.

-End of Ramble

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

The Tax Shell Game

Wake up people! It's past time for us to pass HR 25 - The Fair Tax.

Congress continues to play shell games with our money and neither Reps or Dems show any sign of being able to reduce earmarks. Remember the proposed $100 gas rebate? One of the ways suggested to offset or pay for the rebate was to repeal the LIFO (last in first out) method of accounting (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,202232,00.html). Now I'm not an accountant, but I know enough about accounting principles to know that changing an accounting method doesn't "pay" for anything. It only shifts the fiscal reporting from one time period to another. I'm tired of Congress having the power to play these kinds of games while they are sitting in Washington fat, rich, and happy.

Get mad about it! Tell a friend about it! Tell your Congressman about it!

If you don't have your copy of The Fair Tax book, it's less than 9 bucks on Amazon. Buy several and spread them around.

##That's my opinion##

Monday, July 03, 2006

Is the Globe Warming?

Why yes, the globe is warming. There is tons of evidence indicating that over the last 400 years the average temperature of the earth has gone up. That same evidence seems to also indicate that the warming trend is unusual and is most likely having more of an impact due to the actions of humans on the planet. The most notable activity being the burning of fossil fuels. This information can be found in a report from the National Research Council, which was requested by Congress. http://darwin.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11676&page=R1

There are many people today using the above information to take an alarmist stand and to create fear. However, if you read the report in it's entirety and not cherry pick the parts you want to support a presupposed point of view, the report presents other facts. Beyond the 400 year warming period there are some facts available about the last 900 years. Beyond 900 years, according to the report, the available data and methods for analyzing global temperatures are just not that certain. There are indications that the Earth moves through warming and cooling cycles every 100,000 years or so (Climate Change p. 5 Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate) .

There are also pundits that suggest we just don't know that much about climate change and we should study it more before we leap to any conclusions http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110008597.

In any case, I believe that it is important for us to separate the Global Warming debate from good environmental stewardship. Whether or not you believe Global Warming exists or not, and whether or not you believe human behavior is having an impact, we should all strive to conserve resources and to be kind to mother Earth. For the foreseeable future, this is the only habitable rock we have to live on, so we better start taking better care of her.

##That's my opinion##

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Old Glory


This is the symbol of our country and our freedom. It, by itself, is not our country or our freedom, but it symbolizes both. I take great offense to anyone who would burn the symbol of our country. However, I believe that they should, no matter how poor in judgment they are, have the freedom to express their opinion in that way. We should not limit our first amendment rights by making laws against flag burning.

That being said, I reserve my right as an American citizen to express my freedom of speech by inflicting as much emotional harm on flag burners as possible. You should have the right to burn a flag if you want to express yourself in that manner, but be warned, you do so at your own peril.

##That's my opinion##

Dishing Out Real Power - Popular Science

With all the talk of Oil and Energy Conservation why are we not looking at real technologies like this more seriously? Why not build something like this to start producing energy RIGHT NOW? They are working on one in CA, and it will be up and running fairly soon.

Dishing Out Real Power - Popular Science

-End of Ramble

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Minimum Wage & Congressional Pay Raise

I think it is great that Congress should not get a pay raise, but to threaten it so someone else can push thier agenda?

Democrats push hard for increase in minimum wage - Yahoo! News

Want to have a minimum wage increase? Get rid of the IRS, the oppressive progressive tax, and put the Fair Tax in place.

-End of Ramble

Monday, June 26, 2006

Want to find out what your representatives and senators are doing?

Check this out:

Thomas

-End of Ramble

Mr. Kucinich... there is quite a bit wrong with Congress, unfortunatly, you are part of the problem

After reading this the other author of this blog said:

I have a whole new LACK of appreciation for our form of government

I responded:

Nothing wrong with our FORM of government... Something wrong with the governors and, more to the point, the governed who let this crap occur.

Now... What do you think?

Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress)

-- End of Ramble

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

On the Lighter Side

A poem I have loved for many years, but do not know it's Author...

"Oh, the joy, the inexpressible joy of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together...knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping and then, with the breath of kindness, simply blow the rest away".

Anyone know? Searches on the net have come up blank...

-End of Ramble.

Monday, June 19, 2006

Soldiers Abducted

I support our goals in Iraq, but I simply do not understand why our soldiers are exposed to the such high levels of risk. Why do we have 3 guys by themselves guarding a check point? If the check point is worth guarding, shouldn't we have more resources available to guard it? If we don't have more resources, maybe that particular check point should not be manned. We can not continue to expose our soliders to unrealistic levels of risk. I don't pretend to understand the logistics of war, but I do understand that 3 guys by themselves in a war zone is not a good idea.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200034,00.html

##That's my opinon##

Open Season on the DC Capitol Police

According to the recent grand jury's findings, you may come to the conclusion that it's OK to assault a DC Capitol police officer. Seems to be OK for members of Congress to hit and run. This sends a really bad message to those serving in the Capitol Police force.

## That's my opinion##

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Comments from Ben Stein

If they know of him at all, many folks think Ben Stein is just a quirky actor/comedian who talks in a monotone. He's also a very intelligent attorney who knows how to put ideas and words together in such a way as to sway juries and make people think clearly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary, Sunday, 12/18/05.

Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart: I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important?

I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are.

If this is what it means to be no longer young, it's not so bad.

Next confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred ya rds away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution, and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?

I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.

But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.


-End of Ramble

Scientists respond to Gore's warnings of climate catastrophe

"Scientists have an independent obligation to respect and present the truth as they see it," Al Gore sensibly asserts in his film "An Inconvenient Truth." With that outlook in mind, what do world climate experts actually think about the science of his movie? Is the movie full of "junk science"?

read more | digg story

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Lots of Political News today...

Check this out... President Bush decides that a Video Conference is not good enough, so he heads over to Bagdad to meet with the Iraqi government directly. Awesome...

Link

Oh, and Karl Rove is not going to be charged for any crimes in the CIA case around Valerie Plame... I'm so sorry this did not work out for you Michael Moore and George Soros... NOT!

Link

-End of Ramble.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Secure the border - Conservatives only?



Why is border security a Conservative or Liberal issue? Don't we all want to secure our country and obey our laws? I guess not. If enough of us don't like a particular law, should we just ignore it? Well hey, I don't like paying taxes, I think I'll stop. You think that's silly? That's exactly what is happening with our immigration laws. Charles Krauthammer says it well.

##That's my opinion##

Voting machine 'hacker' runs for congress

The bloke who claimed that he was asked by a US elected official to build a program which would hack into electronic voting machines is standing for election.Against Congressman who sought to hire him

read more | digg story

A good idea gone bad -- Clint Curtis for Congress

I saw this on Digg and had to check him out. I agree with his points on corruption, but the rest of his platform is Democratic talking points. You can check out his web site here:

Clint Curtis for Congress: 24th District Florida

I left the following comment to him:

Mr. Curtis,

Although I applaude your wishes to unseat Mr. Feeney (my current representative) I have to say that you will not have my vote. Quite simply your uneducated stance on the Iraq war is one based to insite the Democratic base (Liberals) to vote for you and is not one based on ideals and principles. It is hard to believe that with the rest of your conservative stances you would stoop so low as to cow tow to the Liberal constituancy of the Democratic party.

I am a registered Republican, however that is not how I vote. The issues that are motivating me, and most of my contacts, are the Fair Tax, reduction of government, and morality. You have one out of three as I see nothing that would champion the reduction of government or promotion of a free tax.

Thank you for your time.


We need to take back our government from the Democratic and Republican parties. This gentleman is a classic example of someone who has compromised his own values already for the sake of getting the money to run for congress. What does that say?

-End of Ramble

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

The worst bill you've never heard of...

Check this out:

IPac - Blog

Let's kill this thing!

-End of Ramble.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

A database to search on how Federal Dollars are spent

Captain's Quarters has a great post on a database that is being proposed to allow taxpayers to search and see how our money is spent. It can be found here

Now, the question is...

WILL YOU USE IT?

Is the average American just too apathetic to pay attention? Is that why 'pork hawks' like McCain, Coburn, and freshman Senator Obama are supporting it? Are they just betting that 'we the people' won't use it?

Check it out.

-End of Ramble

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Article in Wired 14.06: Don't Try This at Home

Here is a classic example of "too much government"...

Wired 14.06: Don't Try This at Home

At what point do we occlude our freedom to the point where we are, in fact, living in Orwell's 1984?

-End of Ramble.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Memorial Day and other Ramblings...

Thank you to all of our Vets. Do I need to say any more than that? Is there any more I can say?

Thank you for the freedom you have given me to post this blog. Thank you to all of those who have laid down their lives for all Americans.

Last night CBS was showing "We Were Soldiers...". I have had the profiled and honor to meet General Hal Moore (Ret.) his wife Julie, and Joe Galloway. I have read the book (We Were Soldiers Once... And Young) and have seen the movie a couple of times. The most moving section of the book and the movie (which you cannot get a true feel for in the movie, only a taste) is the very end, when Mel Gibson is standing in front of the wall... and at the end of the book with stories of / from several of the family members who survive Gen. Moore's fallen Troopers.

When Gen. Moore states that "he can never forgive himself... Because he did not die and his troopers did." I truly, honestly believe that is the way he feels. This is a man of incredible courage, impeccable honor, and in every way a true hero (although he, in his modesty, will tell you it his men who are the true hero's.) Gen. Moore is a man who inspires men. A leader who does not ask to be followed, but men follow because he is who he is... True blue, real, modest.

If the world had more men like Gen. Moore and Joe Galloway there would be less war, not more, for they know the true cost of war, one of which I can only speculate.

Please remember that no matter what you believe in your heart about the reasons for war or politics... These BRAVE men and women, who have served and continue to serve in our armed forces... they are standing watch for our freedoms. They deserve your thanks whenever you see them.

Thank you again from one rambling ordinary guy.

-End of Ramble.

Friday, May 26, 2006

News of the day -- 26 May 2006

Okay... Several things to comment on...

First: The Senate wants to give Amenesty to Illegals... Great! Yea! WRONG! What is going on with our politicians? Why do they feel the need to bypass our laws at every turn? From hitting cops to letting illegals in the country free and clear. We are on a spiral of decline that only WE THE PEOPLE (where have I heard those words before?) can fix. Time to change up the Government.

Second: I heard today that Florida just approved thier new budget... addtional 1.8 Billion (Yes Billion) dollars for Education. That comes out to a total of $7,000 PER STUDENT that is now being spent for public education. Simple math... Class size of 30, that $210,000 per classrom. Assume that the teacher gets $80k after benefits, taxes, and overhead (Principle, etc.) ... that leaves $130,000 for what? Supplies? Books? Does anyone else see something wrong here?

-End of Ramble.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Article in the WSJ - Opinion

Granted, this is written by one of the Presidents people, but it is about laying out the facts, not just present a thought because you think it will get people enraged...

OpinionJournal - Featured Article

A good article. Many who carry the drum beat (unfortunately as we march toward the mid-term elections it is getting louder) that the President mislead the country into war negate the facts that President Clinton, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton all claimed the same thing prior to going to war with Iraq. If this shows nothing else... Let it show you how two faced our politicians are. Agree with Bush or not is not the question... The question is... How much longer are we going to let these career politicians continue to manipulate us?

-End of Ramble

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Mr. President - I disagree

Amnesty is amnesty. No matter how many years or conditions separate the act of breaking the law and the condition of being "legal" or absolved of the crime, that's amnesty and I oppose it. Mr. President, you say you oppose amnesty, but your plan to deal with the illegals currently in our country says something different. The law is the law. Enforce it or change it, but don't pander to political presure. You have less than 1,000 days remaining in your last political office, so if nothing else, do the right thing.

##That's my opinion##

Monday, May 15, 2006

Michael Yon : Online Magazine » Blog Archive » Gates of Fire

Michael Yon : Online Magazine » Blog Archive » Gates of Fire: "“That’s the difference between the terrorists and us,” Chaplain Wilson kept saying. “Don’t you understand? That’s the difference.”"

Read this article. Then read the rest of the Blog. Then come back and comment.

-End of Ramble

"Until Then"... Remember our troops

A Friend of mine sent this to me. I am not sure how long it will be operational so check it out. So often we get caught up in the rhetoric and forget that we are the "Home of the free", protected by "the Brave". Today, and every day, I urge you to say a prayer for our Troops. They are doing a job for which we can never repay them... At the least they deserve your respect... Which starts with remembering what they do for you.

Until Then

Dear Lord we ask that you would be with and protect our troops. Keep them safe from harm. Be with their families during there separation and bring them home safely and quickly.

-End of Ramble

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Senator Hagel said what?

"...And what in the world are we talking about here, sending a National Guard that we may not have any capacity to send up to or down to protect borders? That's not their role."

That's not their role? That is EXACTLY their role. In fact, the National Guard is the only branch of the armed services that is called for in the Constitution. Senator, maybe you should read the Constitution - specifically Article I Section 8. And just a hint, militia means National Guard.

##That's my opinion##

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Where do you stand politically?

Take a short quiz to find out. It takes about one minute to take.

World's Smallest Political Quiz

Thursday, May 11, 2006

A great post on the Fair Tax

In one of the many online forums that I look at I recently joined "fairtaxgroups" (been lurking there for some time) and ran across this post "Reasons I continue to support the Fair Tax".

Not only did I find this post interesting and well written, but I felt I needed to share it with everyone here. I asked the author and he agreed, so here it is:

It's been an interesting week, and I'd like to tell you about two items I've learned. It could make a difference to your support of the Fair Tax also.

Most importantly, there are some larger, privately owned companies involved in making this change to the federal revenue collection method. (Recall, we are advocating replacement of all income, payroll, estate, and death taxes and replacing them with one, National Retail Sales Tax).

My research this week lead to me learning about a man who is the second generation in his construction company. His company was started in 1941 by his dad, and this man continues to produce jobs and fuel the economy in his city through his company's contracts. He has put his professional reputation on the line to support HR 25 and S 25 (House and Senate bills in Congress that describe the requirements the government will have to follow when passed into law.)

The man's name is Leo Linbeck, and his company is Linbeck Construction, Houston Texas. His company's average annual gross business volume is $150 million, or as stated in the information I read, $1.5 billion over the last ten years. That's a lot to put on the line to support a change in the way we tell our government to do business.

Another proponent of the Fair Tax? Look at the website for the Houston Texans, the NFL football team. Look at the name of the owner, and you'll be looking at another proponent of the Fair Tax bills.

If you would like to check out more names and business support for the Fair Tax, write me. I now have a whole list of them to share.

My point here is that this is not an academic idea, its not just a political proposal. This is an idea started by business people, for all of us to have some advantage in. Those are the best kinds of ideas to build our country on, or to make changes to how our government does business.

The second idea I want to ask you to consider is this; the IRS released information this last week stating that 32% of all people required to file for income tax end up paying none. That's fully 1/3rd of our citizen population that does not help pay the way for the goods and services provided by our government (no, don't anyone point at 'the rich' because they don't make up a third of the required filings). Add to this number, the number of people in our country who still can take advantage of our social services without paying tax, and you'll get a pretty good idea of why we need the Fair Tax to become law.

Here's the key, though. This is not a 'rich vs. poor' issue (though it has been portrayed that way since income taxes were initiated). It is not an 'us vs. them' issue (which we must prevent anyone from co-opting it in this way).

The Fair Tax is about an equitable way for every person in our country to help support and pay the bills for our country, according to their own abilities to do so as well as their own choice as to how much to do so.


I hope you'll take some time this week to look more closely at www.FairTax.org. If you'd like more detailed information, I have a couple more sites you can check out. Drop me a note.

Dad/John/Z
mzoll@cfl.rr.com

"Let the word go forth from this time and place,... ...that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans,..." JFK
IT's OUR TURN!


BTW... A plug for the "fairtaxgroups"... Go become part of the debate!

-End of Ramble

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Checking my gmail

This morning I was checking my gmail (Google Mail) and this was the advertisement tag line across the top:



Well now... Seeing as most of my e-mail, this blog, and other 'google' related entities that I frequent I tend to be very Pro-Republican, Pro-Conservative, and even (at times) Pro-Bush I find it intersting that Google's engine would make such a "mistake". Hmmm... I wonder who coded that search algorithm?

P.S. Never have I seen a "Support President Bush" tag line... Go figure.

-End of Ramble

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Would I be arrested?

So, I'm driving my car in Washington D.C. and just happen to crash into a security baricade. What happens next? I bet I don't get a ride home. I bet that I at least get a sobriety test administered at the scene. What the heck is going on here? My take away from this event is that if you just don't remember doing it, then it's OK.

The Crash of a Kennedy

##That's my Opinion##

Conan scolds White House

Arnold blames the White House and Congress for not securring the border. He's right, but I guess he forgot that as the governor of California he could put the National Guard on the Cal / Mex border with the stroke of a pen. All talk and no action Mr. Governor. Check it out

##That's my Opinion##

Friday, May 05, 2006

Thomas Joscelyn Blog -- Check it out!

Thomas Joscelyn

Terrorism Researcher and writer. Great insite.

-End of Ramble

Monday, May 01, 2006

FOXNews.com - The Immigrant in All of Us

Susan Estrich makes the point but misses the juicy part. Check out her article here:

FOXNews.com - The Immigrant in All of Us

Susan, we are not talking about Immigration as a bad thing. We are talking about the fact that people come into the country illegally and then want all the rights. What does that do to the people wo do come in through the process? It cheapens it for them. You have missed the whole point.

BTW... Keep track of what's going on courtesy of Michelle Malkin here:

May Day: El Gran Boicot

-End of Ramble

Marine Corps Times - SpecOps unit nearly nabs Zarqawi

If you have time to read only one thing today check out this:

Marine Corps Times - SpecOps unit nearly nabs Zarqawi

Some good news on the front. This is our special forces at work, doing the job that needs to be done. Keep them in your prayers.

-End of Ramble

Sunday, April 30, 2006

So you want to be President in 2008

As predicted by the authors of this blog, a 2008 Presidential candidate who embraces Immigration as a central plank to his platform, will, according to recent polls, grab at least 30% of the vote. Adding support of The Fair Tax would certainly increase appeal for such a candidate. Now attracting 30 plus percent of the vote 2 years away from the election is a very interesting position. With numbers like that, even an Independent or Libertarian candidate, with some public name recognition, could take the election from both Democrats and Republicans. Sounds like a win/win to me. Deliverying satisfactory results around Immigration and Taxes would domino through our country and ripple benefits throughout our economy and national security positions. Check it out for yourself.

##That's my opinion##

UPDATE by Ordinary Guy:

As Lucid Guy points out here and we have said over and over again on this blog, this country is fed up with our 'leaders' not being 'leaders'. We need some people in office that can shun the spend spend spend politics of the day and stand up for something. Case in point is this article... Stand up for true Immigration reform and the American People will back you. Remember, we are a Republic and we are the only ones to blame for letting the politicians ruin our country. Remember that when you vote this year.

-End of Ramble

Friday, April 28, 2006

Mohammed Image Archive

While poking around several sights I found this one:

Mohammed Image Archive

Now how can they get upset about some cartoons when the pictures of Mohammad have been around for ages?

-End of Ramble.

Hosting Matters down.

Hosting Matters seems to be under a DOS attack from an outside entity. This affect Captains Quarters and Powerline (both on our Blog Roll here). The guestimate is that it is cyberjihadists. Check out Michelle Malkin's posting here.

-End of Ramble

Sick and tired of stupidity...

... On capital hill.

The Republicans have proposed a $100 rebate to help offset the cost of gas + drilling in ANWR.

The Democrats expect to propose some type of rebate + a temporary removal of federal gas taxes.

Then, there is talk of Windfall profit taxes on Big Oil.
Now the President wants to force the car manufacturers to up their EPA averages.

So, looking at each one...
  1. Federal Gas taxes are on average 50 cents per gallon. Removal of those taxes would help your average American quite a bit. But if you are going to remove them, remove them, don't do it temporarily!
  2. A rebate would be interesting, but $100 bucks is what it costs will affect you for 2 weeks max. Interesting, but not much help.
  3. A tax on windfall profits for Big Oil. OH MAN! Who does that help? The Government. Who does that hurt? The Consumer (Do you REALLY think that corporations pay taxes? Really? No, You do. It's just passed on.)
  4. Drilling in ANWR... Good. Go for it. We still need more refineries.
  5. EPA average increases... Okay, so this is a good idea, but 'forcing' them? What does that do? The market will drive this. Look around you at the cars on the road right now. People are downsizing. Look at the number of gas guzzlers at your average car lot...
  • What do we really need? How about getting government out of it all together? How about no taxes? How about the Fair Tax? That's a good start.
  • Drilling in ANWR, getting the Environmental Terrorists out of the way... Another great idea.
  • Better Gas Mileage cars? Already happening.

Our Government does not get it. They can't because they are so drunk on power and so corrupt that they only react to polls. They don't care about us, the American People. Perhaps it is time for our own revolution. Perhaps we need to vote some people in this November that have NO political background. Now there is a thought... Restructure the government in one swoop. Get people in who care about what happens to Americans, not what polls say.

When are WE... THE AMERICAN PEOPLE... Going to WAKE UP!?!?!?

-End of Ramble (Mad as hell and yelling to wake everyone up)

UPDATE: President Push says "No" to taxing Oil Windfall Profits. Good!

Monday, April 24, 2006

A Few Good Liberals...

Read what Liberals and Progressives from across the pond have to say...
The founding supporters of this statement took different views on the military intervention in Iraq, both for and against. . . . We are, however, united in our view about the reactionary, semi-fascist and murderous character of the Baathist regime in Iraq, and we recognize its overthrow as a liberation of the Iraqi people. We are also united in the view that, since the day on which this occurred, the proper concern of genuine liberals and members of the Left should have been the battle to put in place in Iraq a democratic political order and to rebuild the country's infrastructure, to create after decades of the most brutal oppression a life for Iraqis which those living in democratic countries take for granted--rather than picking through the rubble of the arguments over intervention. . . . This opposes us not only to those on the Left who have actively spoken in support of the gangs of jihadist and Baathist thugs of the Iraqi so-called resistance, but also to others who manage to find a way of situating themselves between such forces and those trying to bring a new democratic life to the country.
From William Kristol of The Weekly Standard

The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag

Over the weekend I was with a large sports group and we recited "The Pledge of Allegiance". I keyed on several words in the pledge, but I wonder if anyone else around me was aware of what they were saying. I did a little looking around on the internet and found this web site. Near the bottom I found this:
I Pledge AllegianceI Promise to be faithful and true (Promise my loyalty)
to the flagto the emblem that stands for and represents
of the United Statesall 50 states, each of them individual, and individually represented on the flag
of Americayet formed into a UNION of one Nation.
and to the RepublicAnd I also pledge my loyalty to the Government that is itself a Republic, a form of government where the PEOPLE are sovereign,
for which it stands,this government also being represented by the Flag to which I promise loyalty.
one Nation under God,These 50 individual states are united as a single Republic under the Divine providence of God, "our most powerful resource" (according to the words of President Eisenhower)
Indivisible,and can not be separated. (This part of the original version of the pledge was written just 50 years after the beginning of the Civil War and demonstrates the unity sought in the years after that divisive period in our history)
with LibertyThe people of this Nation being afforded the freedom to pursue "life, liberty, and Happiness",
and JusticeAnd each person entitled to be treated justly, fairly, and according to proper law and principle,
for All.And these principles afforded to EVERY AMERICAN, regardless of race, religion, color, creed, or any other criteria. Just as the flag represents 50 individual states that can not be divided or separated, this Nation represents millions of people who can not be separated or divided.

... and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands.

-End of Ramble

The intolerance of ... Tolerance!

I saw an excerpt of this story over the weekend and spent some time looking it up. This is just one of the many things that are wrong with our republic today. When the "PC" groups and the "Tolerance" groups have become so powerful that we cannot engage in intelligent discussion without retribution we have seriously lost our way. I applaud what Ms. Malhotra and Mr. Sklar are doing here. Keep up the good fight!

Georgia Tech Student Files Suit Targeting School's Speech Policy - National Constitution Center

Another article in the same vein can be found at WorldNetDaily.

This just goes to show how far we have come when people co-opt our society for their own purposes. I find this last article particulary entertaining when the professors wish to ban "Marketing of Evil", but would be the first to complain if other books were even suggested as being inappropriate.

Double standards amok.

-End of Ramble

Monday, April 17, 2006

Immigration debate or debunk?

Maybe the immigration debate is getting some additional energy from hypocritical law makers who think their lives of priviledge would be negatively impacted by removing immigrant labor. Evidently some people in Congress are viewing immigrants as their own source of slave labor.

##That's my opinion##

A retrospect on immigration

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people." Theodore Roosevelt 1919

President Roosevelt wrote these words after he left office, but he continued to be a strong advocate of Americanism - going as far to insist that English be the only language taught in public schools.

Very powerful words almost 100 years ago.

##That's my opinion##

Sunday, April 16, 2006

So that's why I like Ted Kennedy so much

Finally, the facts that I needed to justify why I like Ted Kennedy...as a Democrat.

"America has a seller's market in immigration, but thanks to Teddy Kennedy's 1965 immigration law, we no longer favor skilled workers from developed nations, but instead favor unskilled immigrants from the Third World. Kennedy's bill promptly cut the number of European immigrants in half and increased Third World immigrants to 85 percent of the total. " Read the article.

We need immigrants to continue to desire to achieve the American Dream, but they need to be able to add some sort of value once they arrive. Therefore, if we do not get a handle on who is coming over our borders and what their intentions are, we might as well look for another country ourselves.

##That's my opinion##

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Want tax reform? Get rid of Witholding

The quickest way to tax reform is to break people out of the tax-zombie state that they are in today. How many people know what they paid in taxes last year? Many of the tax paying zombies in this country would say "Oh! I got money Back!" Geesh!

Did you know that as of April 26th, 2006 you will FINALLY be putting money in your pocket and not in the governments? That's right, it takes nearly FOUR (4) months to fulfill your obligation to the government. If you were to take all the money you made for the past four months and just give it to the government then you would not have to give them anymore.

How's that for putting things in perspective. Four months of your hard work to pay the government tax bill. For what? For waste, inefficiency, and corruption. The Federal Governments primary job is to provide for our national defense. Everything else has been added after World War I.

For those of you that don't know, we have a progressive tax system. What does that mean? The more money you make, the higher your percentage of tax that you pay. Let me show you something:

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5. Centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.

6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

8. Equal obligation of all to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country.

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc.


Please note #2 "2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax."

Do you recoginize this? It is from "The Communist Manifesto" If you are not afraid, you should be.

-End of Ramble