Bellator Pro Libertas (Warrior For Liberty)

400 Civilians Slaughtered in Syria

2011-04-26T08:43:00.003-04:00

The Muslim world seems to be waking up to the reality of tyranny and oppression. The results are startling, if not a surprise. When civilians are slaughtered with no regard to global opposition, does this mean that no one cares? Is there a certain level of apathy when there are no strategic interests? Rwanda, perhaps? If I were THE MAN, I would say let them sort it out on their own. We don't need the resources they offer. We have our own, and can protect our own.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/least-400-civilians-killed-syria-revolt-group-114128293.html

History Ignored

2011-04-21T15:42:00.005-04:00

Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, Oman, Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Bahrain, Ivory Coast……

This is not a geography primer in Middle Eastern and North African nations, it’s a sampling of those countries involved in political and/or social upheaval or full out civil war. The United Nations and NATO cling to the belief that diplomatic, or more importantly, military intervention will cure all of the ills these nations are experiencing.

Being possessed of seemingly infinite wisdom, these global or regional organizations seem to overlook one small item: history.

These nations are typically governed(?) with an iron fist through quasi-dictators or self proclaimed despots that have no interest the one human characteristic we are all born with. That one trait is personal freedom. Inherently imbedded by virtue of birth is the love of liberty.

After decades and centuries and millennia of clannish and tribal warfare, the U.N. and NATO think they know better. The Late, Great United States of America, the Liberators of the world, can’t seem to stay away. With our own porous borders and a bankrupt nation, we can’t seem to help our self by allowing the conflicts to proceed without intervention, as well as the French, the Brits, etc.

I’m guessing the body bags will continue to come home, and the families of the slain will continue to shed the tears of grief, and more than likely end up scratching their collective heads trying to justify the deaths of their loved ones. I feel deeply for all of them, but my guess is they can’t come up with any answers either.

The link below was the inspiration for my commentary. It's worth the time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13143988

Charles Manson thinks Barack Obama is "a slave of Wall Street"

2011-04-21T12:37:00.005-04:00

Good to see Charlie weighing in on this one.......

Bashir and Big Sis are idiots

2011-04-21T09:34:00.004-04:00

Andrew Breibart is right on the money. This is worth the time to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB406RZoQFI

Doesn't she make you feel safe?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB406RZoQFI

"Our lives, Our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor"

2010-07-10T14:30:00.007-04:00

“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another………..they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.“

The first shots during the American Revolution were most certainly fired at Lexington, but the initial salvo was in verbal form as depicted above from the opening line of the Declaration of Independence. From this point on, the founders were at a point of no return. Not only was King George put on notice, but the entire world would begin to experience a seismic shift in government and the true birth of a new world order.

Contemporary conspiracy buffs think of “the new world order” as a global cooperative with the end result being one government for one world. Whatever. The American Revolution put in motion a combination of political theories pondered and written about for centuries. The oppressive nature of the young and quasi-brutal King George forced the hands of the founding fathers to take all of these radical philosophies, edit, cut and paste, and express to the world their collective desire to put it to the test; that is to see if it would really work.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their safety and happiness.”

“…..from the consent of the governed.” I emphasize this passage to accentuate and amplify the basic and fundamental foundation of a republican form of government. We the people were those intended to determine what righteous power would be granted those who we select through the free and open electoral process. The party system actually started a scant three years after the ratification of the Constitution, in large part because of a rift between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson held very strong beliefs in the people to make their own decisions, and Hamilton, being a Federalist, felt a strong central government was best for all.

So how does this snippet of history apply to contemporary politics and government? The simple answer is that it doesn’t. A large part of the blueprint known as the Constitution of the United States has been reduced to answers in Trivial Pursuit. The handful of American citizens who actually study and analyze our history are labeled as geeks, freaks, and sometimes, anarchists. The irony can be mind twisting and at the very least, frustrating to those of us who believe in the document that changed the world forever.

Our leaders at all levels of government like to quote a passage here or there, mostly on July 4^th or during a political campaign. These politicos are not interested in legislation passed by “the consent of the governed”. The power to tax the citizenry into bankruptcy, and draft regulatory legislation that makes every day life more difficult is the method of the day. Healthcare reform was overwhelmingly unpopular, as scientific polling data reflected. Does it not make sense that as any unpopular bill is passed, it implicitly defies and makes a mockery of governing through the consent of the governed?

“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

…our lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” The last
passage carries with it an incredible and powerful message that, once again, has been lost in the shuffle of 20^th century politics. To some it may appear as an expression of bravado and dramatic pomposity. To me and those of like mind, we understand it to be an absolutely profound and literal statement. For the most part, all the signatories had left after the revolution was “their sacred honor”. These men were from diverse backgrounds, varying degrees of education and wealth, but they were bound together by the last line of the Declaration. They wrote it, signed it, but most importantly believed, to the very core of their beings, the message that was conveyed to King George.

With our current leaders having lost nearly complete sight of the founder’s intent, would it not be time to assemble peacefully and begin to draft a new version of this historic document? Would there be enough men and women of like mind to have the fortitude and courage to sign this document? The good thing is we wouldn’t have to travel overseas to deliver it. We all have a pretty good idea where the White House is, and most of us even know the address.

…… we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Heck, we don’t even to do that anymore. Remember to vote in November. Your lives, fortunes, and sacred honor depend on it.

Rants and Raves

2010-05-09T20:28:00.019-04:00

On Crime and Justice: Looks like the Seattle Po-lice overextended their Po-lice powers. A video shows a Mexican laying on the ground getting the shit kicked out him. A police officer close to the case is overheard saying “..beat the fucking Mexican out of you, Homey”. Nice. Turns out this is part of the training program for the Arizona State Police.

On Jurisprudence: Seems

Iran

sent five women to the gallows, executed for being “'enemies of God”. That sucks………

On the Prez: The Prez awarded a no-bid, $568 million contract Haliburton thru 2011 for supplies and services for wars of foreign aggression, aka

Iraq

. I thought everything was W’s fault?

On Mz. Prez: During a speech, The 1st lady told graduates Saturday “to prepare to overcome adversity”, …..told students to “summon their courage to fight segregation”, she added…..”and make every effort to kill whitey and eat their children”………I made the last part up, but I bet she was thinking it……

On Freedom of Expression: Apparently, a 52-year-old Colorado woman who likes to garden wearing only a yellow thong and pink gloves has won her fight with her landlords, who wanted her to cover up. Boulder Housing Partners has decided not to outlaw tenants from going topless outside….on the bright side, it could have been a 52-year-old man……

On Only in the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts: An inmate at a prison in PRM received taxpayer funded hormone treatments and electrolysis because of his/her dissatisfaction with being born a male. He/she was recently granted a taxpayer funded mammogram and a $250.00 gift card to Victoria’s Secret……

On Human Rights: Two young female performers were handcuffed and taken away after a concert in China’s Chengdu City. It seems they were arrested for lip synching. They were not immediately executed, which shows enormous growth for civil liberties in the PRC….makes me a little weepy…..

On Politics and Common Sense: John White, now running for sheriff in Roundup, Mont., will be unable to carry a gun if he wins because of a long-ago bank robbery conviction. What's the fuss? Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry never carried a gun…..

On Politics and Common Sense 2: Convicted felons might be running against each other if they win their primaries in May for county judge-executive in Hindman, Ky. Democrat Donnie Newsome and Republican Randy Thompson were both convicted of election fraud. At least these guys are honest about their dishonesty….

On Crime and Justice 2: On Jan. 29, more than 200 Alabama state troopers were amassed at 4 a.m. for the purpose of raiding several illegal bingo parlors. The raids were eventually called off, but a University of Alabama professor estimated the staging cost to the budget-shriveled state at $130,000. Said a spokesman for Gov. Bob Riley, "No matter what it costs, the law must be enforced." Crack houses, Meth labs, and gangland murders were considered to be minor issues when compared to this group of overweight and nicotine addicted terrorists that live only to hear “B3!!”……….

On the End of the World: Archeologist Jim Turner has discovered enormous Mayan monuments that were apparently hand carved out of the mountains of rock on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The only problem is the 500 miles of ocean between the island and the west coast of South America. Those Mayans must have been the maritime beasts of the day…..however; the countdown for December 12^th, 2012 has begun…….

On the War on Terror: The war on terror has another casualty -- this guy's ego. A humiliated TSA screener, whose small penis was revealed to all his colleagues at the Miami airport when he did a test run through a new full-body X-ray machine, allegedly beat one of his co-workers with a nightstick after taking endless abuse. Rolando Negrin, 44, said he "couldn't take the jokes anymore." Lighten up, dude……….

On WTF?: A fanged leech was pulled from a girl’s nose after she finished swimming in the Amazon River. The new species of blood sucker feeds from the body orifices of livestock and, apparently, the nasal cavities of young, South American girls. A new chapter of MAFBSL, or

Mothers Against Fanged Blood Sucking Leeches was formed immediately thereafter to combat this new menace……

And finally: George Washington grew marijuana in his garden, Hummingbirds can't walk, iguanas, koalas and Komodo dragons all have two penises, Leonardo De Vinci invented the scissors, snails can sleep for 3 years without eating, and the longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds.

“They certainly give very strange names to diseases. “
Plato

The Death of a Republic

2010-04-30T09:01:00.002-04:00

Obituary (April 2010)-The United States of America: 1776-2010. Beloved home to 300,000,000 Americans, devoted country to veterans of foreign wars, loving nation remembered as a home of the free, land of the brave. The USA will be remembered as a grand experiment using the philosophies of the Romans, John Locke, and patriots who pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor in order to form a more perfect union. The USA was preceded in death by Common Sense, Patriotism, Self Reliance, Personal Responsibility, Free Markets, Fair and Equal Taxation, and the American Family. Beloved father of the democratic republic, manifest destiny, freedom to worship, freedom of movement, free markets, and free trade.

Dear brother to the allied forces, NATO, and the United Nations. Loving protector and liberator of the oppressed, the disenfranchised, the enslaved, and the victims of natural and unnatural disasters.

Cherished benefactor of the nations’ poor, unfortunate, unemployed, underemployed, and the wretched masses of discontent. The late, great USA is survived by twin sisters Political Correctness and Expediency, False Piety, Situational Tolerance, Big Brother, Misplaced Priorities, Republicrats, Righteous Lobbyists, Government Schools, Government Owned Banks and Corporations, and Influential Corruption. The USA left an indelible mark on history as a free nation that failed to learn from its own mistakes, and as a result, died a horrible death at the hands of its own people, which are drenched in the blood of patriots, living and dead. (Survivors may wash their hands in the Federal restroom, and may their conscience be free and clear.)

Mourners may view the deceased via satellite uplink. Login to www.1984.gov. The place of burial is to be determined. The bill is held up in committee and no decision is expected until after the summer recess. Memorial donations may be made out to the US Treasury. All contributions are appreciated and are due by April 15^th.

On Security and Liberty

2010-04-27T11:35:00.004-04:00

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

“Papers, please?”

“Papers? What papers?”

“Do as I say. Please”

“Who are you?”

“I am special agent Volt Jackhammer with the joint task force ICECIAFBIATF and the I-hate-all-things un-American book-of-the-month-club. Papers. Now”.

“Can you tell me why I am being stopped and questioned? Please.”

“We have a sniper posted on the roof of the Starbucks with his crosshairs on your forehead. I suggest you comply.”

“Oh, this has to do with the new anti-immigration law passed here in Arizona. The law was intended to be used with probable cause as the basis. What is the probable cause?”

“I need your ID, now. Thank you.” (Talking into his sleeve).

“Just as I suspected. You were observed eating lunch at a Taco Bell, then entering a video game store and purchasing a Microsoft Flight simulator. Your internet traffic shows a visit to “The Philosophy of Islam” website, and a check on emails indicates a steady stream of dialogue between you and a co-conspirator in Baghdad and Mexico City. A response from

Mexico

was “see you soon”, which is a clear indication of the intent to smuggle human contraband across the border. Where were you born, where are you employed, and just what are your radical intentions?

“I can’t believe this. I was born in Tuscon, and I am a student at Arizona State University. I have a class called “World Religions”, and I enjoy video games.”

“Uh-huh. I find this hard to believe, Mr., uh Muhammed Rodriguez. That is your name, correct?”

“It is. My father is from Mexico City, where he owns an auto parts manufacturing facility. We email back and forth. My brother is in the Marine Corps stationed outside of Baghdad. My mother is Jordanian, but was born and raised in New Jersey. Satisfied?”

“After the information is verified, we will allow you to appear before a tribunal to determine your status. This shouldn’t take more than a year or two. You are not being arrested, only detained.”

“He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself.” ~Thomas Paine

The preceding dialogue is not based on real events, at least not yet. The fictional conversation is what could happen if we wander down that particular road too far. Legal immigrants, by and large are opposed to illegal immigration. Those that have chosen to immigrate via lawful and proper channels are typically offended by those who don’t. Candidate after candidate will beat the drum of anti-immigration every election cycle. They always tend to back off after the votes are counted. At this point in time, the proverbial horse has been out of the barn for a very long time and the solutions are few.

Illegal immigration and offshore production of manufactured products share some common threads. When the lawn care company presents an attractive quotation for landscaping and weed killing and shows up with a half dozen illegal Mexicans, we turn our head and profess ignorance. When we shop at Best Buy, and purchase a 60” high definition TV for a fraction of what it would have cost fifteen years ago, we say that’s OK, what a deal.

We, as American citizens tend toward moral selectivity when sensitive issues collide with out pocket books. It seems quite convenient to ignore the human rights of the Chinese when they stock our stores with dirt cheap products, but quite another issue when the state of Arizona can use “just cause” to verify an individual’s status. “Just cause” can be broadly defined and be as flexible as one may desire at any given time. The illegal immigration problem has grown to out-of-control proportions. Crime, health care, employment, and a plethora of areas are clearly impacted with regard to illegal border crossings. Immigration is a Federal issue that has not been adequately dealt with. Perhaps the state of Arizona had no choice but to pass legislation to stem the flow of undocumented nationals, but once this type of legislation is enacted, the slope gets a little bit slippery. How high is the bar? When does this become abuse?

My illustration may be extreme, but should not be discounted and discarded as the rantings of a paranoid madman. The population of Arizona is comprised of 35% Hispanic/American Indian. This does not include migrants from

Mexico

and Central America that sneak across the border. Will agents of the State of Arizona be able to differentiate American citizens and legal immigrants of Hispanic lineage to those who have entered the country through other means? What constitutes “just cause”? Does this law render federal border agents less or more effective?

Police agencies all over the nation set up DUI checkpoints on a frequent basis. Statistically, the arrest rate is around 0.5% or less. So they inconvenience a thousand cars to make a ridiculously low number of arrests. Is this what will happen is Arizona and other states who implement similar laws? Why should any state be forced to assume Federal jurisdiction? Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and there respective administrations looked the other way when it came to illegal immigration while making it nearly impossible to achieve legal status.

Police officers all over the nation see a carload of teenage boys driving around at 11:00PM and “just cause” is firmly established at that moment. It happens every day. “Yeah, but what business does a carload of teenage boys out at 11:00PM have anyway?” It is not the business of the police or anybody else so long as these teenagers are behaving inside of the law. My fear is this same scenario will befall law abiding American citizens and legal immigrants in Arizona. “Probable cause” can be defined very loosely. Once it starts, it will be tough to stop, just like the flow of illegal aliens. Why does the next generation have to clean up the mess of the previous one? Cheap labor has it's price.

By the way, last time I checked we have a few hundred thousand soldiers fighting a couple of pointless wars on the other side of the world. Wouldn't they would be more useful plugging the holes in our own borders? That makes too much sense, though. Another topic for another day.

The 10th Amendment and Nullification

2010-03-10T18:22:00.004-05:00

“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.” 10th Amendment

"The true barriers of our liberty are our State governments; and the wisest conservative power ever contrived by man, is that of which our Revolution and present government found us possessed." --Thomas Jefferson to A. L. C. Destutt de Tracy, 1811

The founders understood that the lust for power and distrust in the people were a recipe for disaster. During the ratification period of the U.S. Constitution, congress was back at work penning the Bill of Rights. Federalists believed it was an unnecessary addition to an already satisfactory document. The Democratic-Republicans, i.e., Thomas Jefferson believed it an absolute, had-to-have list of amendments that should have been incorporated in the original draft. Three years after the ratification was complete, the Bill of Rights, or the first ten amendments were voted into law.

Shortly after, the Alien and Sedition Acts were put into law to protect the young nation from foreign enemies. Kentucky and Virginia, however, felt the legislation went too far and as a result violated their 1st Amendment rights of free speech. These states passed a resolution to nullify this federal law because they felt it was unconstitutional. Ultimately, the resolutions were ruled invalid, but it effectively put on hold on the federal excess for years.

"Where powers are assumed which have not been delegated, a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy."
Thomas Jefferson: Kentucky Resolutions, 1798.

During Andrew Jackson’s term, South Carolina felt that the trade tariffs in place favored the northern industries, and passed a resolution to nullify the tariffs. Jackson sent warships in 1832 off the coast of South Carolina, a meeting ensued and a compromise was agreed upon.

The Fugitive Slave Act, otherwise known as the Compromise of 1850 was another example of a group of states reaction to the federal government ignoring their sovereignty as guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. This federal law effectively forced free states to participate in the slave trade. How? Slave owners could legally go across state lines with a band of U.S. marshals to hunt down and capture any runaway slave. Citizens who once were apathetic with regard to slavery suddenly had a vested interest in the long arm of Washington. Wisconsin, among other free states declared the law unconstitutional and nullified it. The Wisconsin Supreme Court was the only judicial body among the states using nullification to rule the law null and void.

These examples were pointed out in a simplistic fashion, and the complexities were bypassed for the sake of time and sanity. While our individual and sovereign states had tested the “compact” with the federal entities throughout our history, nullification is not just a quaint piece of history. While the great Civil War was perhaps the single largest and most dramatic example, it did have precedence as I have described.

Nullification, for the most part is peaceful, effective, and has a long history in the American tradition. It has been estimated that up to (25) states will pass resolutions denying federal healthcare reform. Thirteen states have already defied federal marijuana prohibition in one form or another. President Bush’s Real ID Act of 2005 has been effectively prevented from being implemented in at least (20) states. Missouri and Tennessee are preparing for a showdown by passing laws that negate federal firearms laws in their respective states.

The 10th Amendment apparently is alive and well. It’s a shame that we have to take these measures to reclaim our constitutional rights. The feds, by design, should answer to the states, as opposed to taking the phrase “general welfare” to uncharted heights.

As noted, there are many states using or in preparation of nullification language in an attempt to dissuade Big Brother from crossing that Constitutional line. Today there are others who walk in lock step, like characters from the Dawn of the Dead, with whatever Congress dictates. Thank God for Tennessee and Texas.

While our freedoms are seemingly an abstract concept today, tomorrow is, well, a new day.

Rants and Raves.......

2010-01-15T21:40:00.030-05:00

On the Prez: The Prez hasn’t held a press conference since July....what a pussy......

On Healthscare: Rep. Anthony Weiner (pronounced Weener or Whiner) (D-N.Y.) issued a statement, saying the Senate is being “mean”, and referred to Harry Reid as “Mr. Poopy Pants”....maybe he didn’t say that, but he could have....

On Healthscare 2: We will all see, very soon, who has brass balls and who does not........Maybe Madam Pelosi fancies herself as bullet proof, but what about the rest? Joyce Jr. thinks not.....when standing on the edge of the political abyss in a mid-term election cycle, nobody jumps.........

On the GOP: Massachusetts State Attorney General Martha Coakley blamed GOP “stalkers” today for triggering tensions outside a Washington, D.C., fund-raiser last night where a Weekly Standard reporter said he was roughed up.......she was mistaken, there are no Republicans alive who have the stones to rough up anybody.......except maybe
Gov. Perry of Texas..........

On Aliens and Lumberjacks: NASA reportedly photographed 'trees' on Mars. The “trees” are actually debris from an avalanche, NASA says........sounds like time for a multi billion dollar Federal investigation....
I think SOMEBODY knows the real story.......

On The Patriot Act: An (8) year old New Jersey boy is on the Terrorism Watch List. Apparently he shares a name with a foreign terrorist....Homeland Security overlooks a guy with C-4 in his boxer's. When it comes to Cub Scouts, they don't miss a thing...........

On The Prez 2: A new musical set to open in Germany is called "Hope -- the Obama Musical Story"........whatever...........

On Hollywood, Avatars, and Patriots: The script, in its entirety, is out for “Avatar”. Here’s a portion: “............ troopers issue automatic weapons and magazines to a long line of mine workers. The miners lock and load like the red-blooded redneck NRA supporters they are.” Hollywood is so tolerant of others, aren’t they?

On Celebrity Conservatives: Bo Derek reportedly is a committed conservative and appeared on Bill O’Reilly to talk about Japanese Whalers and Wild Horse Roundups.....I’m not sure about her politics, but she looked really good when she got naked in “Ten”.......

On Barney Frank: Uh, oh...take a gander at Rep. Frank’s 1,279 pages H.R. 4173. I think somebody should look at it, because apparently our elected reps in D.C. have not. It authorizes Federal Reserve banks to provide as much as $4 trillion in emergency funding the next time Wall Street crashes......say it ain't so, Barn.........

On Barney Frank2: Looks like a sheep gave birth to human-faced lamb in Turkey. This is not 100% substantiated, but a certain congressman was in Istanbul recently and the resemblance is uncanny.........

On Illinois Will Elect Anybody: Former Governor Blagojevich waxed poetic, with eloquence as he said, 'I'm blacker than Barack Obama.” His response to a reporter’s question? “It was a stupid thing to say”.
Maybe it’s the hair......

On Nevada Will Elect Anybody: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s evaluation of our current Prez: “Obama is a "light-skinned" black man with no Negro dialect unless he wanted to have one." Negro? "Bring me my shoes,Toby!!" It’s 2010, Harry, maybe time to sit on the front porch with a good, government issued drool cup......

On the U.S. Will Elect Anybody: Bill Clinton recounting a conversation to a friend said this about the Prez: “a few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.” Nice........

On Political Bedfellows or Friends of Convenience: During the last presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton was seriously considering a new tactic when her New Hampshire campaign chairman, Billy Shaheen, mentioned Prez Obama's previous use of drugs. Probably would have been a good idea. Perhaps we would have had a Secretary of State that was actually worthy of the office......

On Mrs. Prez: A man was taken into custody and later hospitalized for mental-health observation after he was seen jogging stark naked a few blocks from the White House. Maybe the Prez got home earlier than expected?

On Mrs. Prez 2: The Food Network TV show “Iron Chef America” featured the beefy first lady Ms. Obama to share her kitchen secrets with the rest of the world. The veggies used on set did not, in fact, come from the White House garden, as previously reported. This amounts to a Culinary Hoax of grand proportions, not unlike Dan Rather and Buffalo Bob. However, this scandal affirms the character of those who inhabit the White House. I didn't vote for him.........

On the End of World: Isaac Newton said the year 2060 is it.....could the Mayans be wrong? Stay tuned............

On Did You Know: A cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a pregnant goldfish is called a twit, the plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets, and finally, on average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens every year.

On Inner Harmony: Could there possibly be any group of people in the entire world happier than the Yak Herdsmen of Nepal? I think not.........

On Random Lyrics of 60’s Protest Songs:

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe

But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain.

Bob Dylan-Masters of War

The Birth of a Patriot

2010-01-05T20:45:00.022-05:00

"But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations... This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution."
John Adams, letter to H. Niles, 13 February 1818

I had been thinking about it for some time. Twenty years ago or so, I sent for some information about it. I felt the need to educate myself. So I went through the packet, digested what I had read, put the stuff in my closet, and there it stayed for a couple of decades. It all made perfect sense to me, the principles were sound since they were based on history and the original ideas and philosophies of the men who created them. But how could I possibly alter my way of thinking that cut to the very core of my being? What was so special and unique about this radical, old-new ideology that would allow for a paradigm shift in my day-to-day life experience?

Fast forward to a couple of years ago: my oldest son, who was a junior in high school, was on a diatribe I didn’t care for. The topic was anti-Bush, anti-Republican, anti-war, and anti-everything that I held very dear to my heart. “But Dad, what about civil liberties? Why are we at war with a country which had nothing to do with 911? Don’t you think the Patriot Act is a bit intrusive? The Conservatives are social Nazis!”

“Everywhere the human soul stands between a hemisphere of light and another of darkness on the confines of two everlasting hostile empires, Necessity and Free Will.”
Thomas Carlyle, Essays, "The Opera"

His questions originated with literature I had given him, the very same information I stashed away years before. The packet was about The Libertarian Party. At that moment, I began to process the exchange I had just had with my 17-year-old son. I had read a great deal about American History, the life and times of the Founders, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration, but I was so jaded and politically hypnotized by the Dark Side; yes, the GOP.

I had pictures of Reagan and J.C. Watts hanging in my office, two or three RNC membership cards in my wallet, and a vicious right-wing attitude. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I had an epiphany, angels did not break out in chorus, and the heavens did not open up. But, at this moment, my eyes were opening, and my vision was approaching clarity. The most remarkable result was the notion of peripheral thinking, to think outside of what had been my sad, little box.

"All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; Second, it is violently opposed; Third, it is accepted as self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer

Honestly, it was the elbow of perspectives previously unknown to me giving me a polite nudge. My personal Ghost of Political Future had shown me a glimpse of what could be. I knew that what had once been wasn’t working any longer. There was no need to question the fact that the current gang of 535 presently in D.C. was not there to serve me or mine.

After November 4th, 2008, I awoke uncharacteristically rested, but a tad troubled. Typically, on the night of the presidential election I stay up until it’s over. My little crystal ball told me the outcome long before the votes were cast. My first thought as I woke up was: Had I done it again? Did I vote in another presidential election just to vote? Did I vote against a candidate again? Yes, yes and yes. That day, I wrote a piece about what I knew about The Libertarian Party, sent it to the newspaper (The Cincinnati Enquirer, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t show up on the editorial page that Saturday morning. So I wrote more, and again, and I’ll be double damned if they didn’t print my column four out of the next six weeks. Then, boom, it stopped as quick as it started. Oh, well, I had my fifteen minutes of fame, or whatever you would like to call it. I was miffed, but more than motivated to continue.

“The searching-out and thorough investigation of truth ought to be the primary study of man”. Cicero

My experience gained was I could write something passable to publish in a large newspaper where it is read by thousands of people. I learned that I could write about the Founders and Libertarianism, publish it on my own blog, and have people read it and comment. The 1st Amendment is alive and well, thank you very much. The internet is a veritable plethora of knowledge, and a good portion of it is accurate. I also learned that I had more readership from the newspaper.

I learned that it really wasn’t any of my business what people do behind their closed doors, and that if two people of the same sex want to live and thrive together, it really had no impact on me at all. The Patriot Act seemed like a good idea, but at that time I was under the influence of GWB. Good man, bad decisions. Period. The 10th Amendment meant very little to me back in the day, but today it has become a throw away. It’s a sad day when the Bill of Rights turns into a comedy sketch that would be seen on Saturday Night Live. “Let’s see, we’ll keep the 1st so the media can gush all over us, and the 10th is laughable, and the 2nd is in our sights”. The dominoes are falling, one by one.

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” ~Thomas Paine

This is all happening today, at every level of government. Our elected officials, by and large, are of one party. We could call the party the Democratic Republicans, but that would be a slap in the face of Jefferson, who used that moniker at the birth of partisan politics. Rinos, Republicrats, whatever. This political hybrid has lied, bluffed, misguided, begged, borrowed and stolen all of what I had learned to believe in, and I mean BELIEVE. Hook, line and sinker. Now I can see sideways. I can see inside out, upside down and backwards. Anybody can read the platform of The Libertarian Party (www.lpo.org), and grasp at least enough to understand that anything is possible. “What once was” is absolutely relevant to “what has to be”.

"Every human has four endowments: self awareness, conscience, independent will, and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom. The power to choose, to respond, to change." - Steven R. Covey

The Libertarian Party is, quite simply, an organization whose goal is restoration of government to its rightful owners, who are “We the People”. We the People should be governed by our consent, and only our consent. We the People should be entrusted with policy and protocol, with selecting the individuals that best represent our village, our township, our county, our state, and our nation. Here’s the dirty secret: THEY don’t trust us anymore. THEY are effectively saying, “Sit down and shut up. We’ll tell you what’s good for you. And if you don’t like it, screw you.”

We the People deserve better than that. We, as Libertarians are positioned for a sort of spiritual revival, or a back-to-the-future type of quest. The other major parties have financial resources, but are lacking in assets that only We the People can provide. Our major assets are our people. The Libertarian Party is in a position to recruit, market, and recruit some more. There exists, in today’s political hodgepodge, an enormous potential for disgruntled voters stuck in the abyss of the political middle to make a new commitment. Maximum freedom + minimum taxes + limited government = The Libertarian Party.

M_f + M_t + L_g = LP.

The time is now and our goal is just. A true revitalization of government and its objectives are in reach; freedom of movement, freedom of thought, freedom of choice, and most importantly, freedom of spirit. Like the man said:

“It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.” -Unknown

The Song of the Syren

2009-12-22T22:29:00.017-05:00

"It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth -- and listen to the song of that syren, till she transforms us into beasts. ... Are we disposed to be of the number of those, who having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not?" --Patrick Henry

si⋅ren [sahy-ruhn] syren (alternate spelling)

Classical Mythology, one of several sea nymphs, part woman and part bird, who lure mariners to destruction by their seductive singing.

Throughout history, civilizations have been seduced by the Song of the Syren. Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Amin, Saddam, Franco, Mussolini, Pol Pot, Ngirumpatse, on and on and on. What these despots had in common was a song that was very soothing to their population. Typically, these monsters raise their heads at a time of economic collapse or civil unrest, or both.

The song is always the same: a promise to bring their respective country/state/region back from the abyss, a firm commitment to be a leader for the people. The lyrics reflect a sort of hope to these people who have none. The tune always begins with a melodic, yet hypnotic tempo that sets their collective minds at ease. One could imagine a symphonic largess filled with strings and woodwinds. Now that the new “leader” has the attention and support of the crowd, the tempo begins to change.

It speeds up, with more percussion, a marching band in motion. He selects his most ardent supporters to stand firm by his side, the volume of the music increases, the cadence much more distinct, but the theme has morphed into a much darker and sardonic one. Cello and bass overtake the violins and flutes. The Song of the Syren ends abruptly, every time, with a staccato-like finality.

As the director leaves the stage, the scenes unfolds with timeless duplicity; thousands of bloated corpses floating down the Kagera River in Rwanda, mountains of rotting bodies at Auschwitz, fields filled with the skulls of intellectuals in Cambodia, millions starved to death in the Ukraine, countless dead during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. And so it goes.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant -- and free ... it expects what never was and never will be." --Thomas Jefferson

The song is always the same. Those that are in need or in a state of despair hear the seductive notes as a solution that they perhaps did not hear the day before. The messiah has come. Never again will they have to worry about war and famine, disease and pestilence for the savior has arrived and sings the song of salvation up until the point when the realization of oppression and genocide appears. By then it is too late.

We have had the good fortune here in the U.S. to have had a group of men who studied and understood the ramifications of what such regimes had to offer its citizens. After years and years of debate, the U.S. Constitution was born, and has outlived countless dictators and despots. Why? Personal freedom and the right to choose our own individual destinies. It all boils down to choices we are permitted to make on a daily basis. The decisions we make are either right, wrong of indifferent. Some can impact our lives in such a negative fashion that we may never be able to dig out. These choices are being taken away bit by bit.

"Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing."--Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1791

Today my toilet allows me one gallon per flush. I’m not supposed to fill up my car until after 6:00 PM if the air quality index is in the red zone. I can’t decide whether to smoke or not smoke in the bowling alley because the state has decided I cannot. My guns must be registered or deemed to be illegal. I don’t have choice which assault rifle to purchase, or whether or not I can smoke a Havana. My insurance company chooses for me what doctor to see and where to go for treatment. I can’t make a decision to carry shampoo on an airplane. I’m not allowed to make a choice on whether or not my Federal government spends us into oblivion.

"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition." --Thomas Jefferson

We, as a country, could fall into that same hypnotic state, like sleepwalkers. Lack of due diligence on the part of the rest of us could be deadly. We must stay focused, keep our eye on history, and to be forever committed to the cause, and that is the restoration of government to its rightful owners; we the people. If we lose sight of that, the U.S. could become the Late, Great United States.

The Ukrainians or Jews or Cambodians or Rwandans didn’t see it coming either. They listened to the song. They were attracted to the lyrics. They loved the beat. It was easy and pleasant to dance to. What separates us from them is a unique document, firm resolve, and commitment to turn our ears from the music. At least I hope we still have enough Americans that believe to maintain the necessary diligence to turn back any attempts to further degrade the freedoms we take for granted, for, after all, the song remains the same.

“There is trouble in the forest,
And the creatures all have fled,
As the maples scream "Oppression!"
And the oaks just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union

And demanded equal rights.

"The oaks are just too greedy;

We will make them give us light."

Now there's no more oak oppression,

For they passed a noble law,

And the trees are all kept equal

By hatchet, axe, and saw.”-

Neil Peart (Rush)

Happy Bill of Rights Day

2009-12-15T09:20:00.015-05:00

“We the people.........” three words that changed the course of human history as none had done before.

As a group of forty two delegates sat in Philadelphia, all from different regions of the American colonies, from different cultures and ancestry, in what would become Independence Hall, they had but one purpose: to draft a document that would redefine government as the world had known it since the dawn of civilization.

The founders and framers understood through painful lessons of history that the monarchies and kingdoms and papal edicts were a study of what not to do. By the very nature of their existence, these forms of governing were inherently tyrannical and oppressive. By the whims of kings and queens and clergy, freedoms could be erased if those in power “felt like it.”

The Church of England had the power to arrest, detain, imprison, and execute those who spoke or wrote anything contrary to the mandates of the

church.

The Spanish Inquisition is a stark and frightening example of what Papal decree wrought on the populace.

Commoners paid enormously for the right to feed their families, for the kings of the time took whatever they felt they needed or wanted.

“.....In order to form a more perfect union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility........”

The Constitution was written in direct defiance to the traditional European form of government. Self government was just a theory, as it really hadn’t been attempted on the scale in which the founders proposed. Imagine a government “by the people”, a government which “governs by the consent of the governed”. What a concept to consider. John Locke’s vision of a “social contract”,

considered empirically radical in the late part of the 17th century fanned the flames for the revolutionaries in the American colonies. Voltaire, Rosseau, and Locke were a few of the forward thinkers the founders relied on to draft the Declaration of Independence.

“Bills of rights are in their origin, stipulations between kings and their subjects, abridgments of prerogative in favor of privilege, reservations of rights not surrendered to the prince. Such was "Magna Charta", obtained by the Barons, swords in hand, from King John"– Alexander Hamilton

Hamilton, being a Federalist, relied on British Common Law which did not define or quantify natural rights. He felt the Bill of Rights was unnecessary as it would limit the freedoms of the people. Federalist held the belief that the government knew what was best for the people, and the Bill of Rights would stifle central power.

During the drafting and finalization of the U.S. Constitution, there were those involved who felt the Constitution did not protect the basic liberties of the citizenry, and therefore should not be ratified. At the convention of 1787, James Madison proposed a “Bill of Rights” to ensure the freedoms that were not enumerated in the original text of the Constitution. The anti-Federalists, on the other hand, felt that a “Bill of Rights” was an absolute necessity to guarantee the freedoms not delineated in the Constitution. As Thomas Jefferson relayed in a letter to Madison:

"Half a loaf is better than no bread. If we cannot secure all our rights, let us secure what we can."

So as politics go, an honest compromise was reached to include the Ninth Amendment:

“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

In essence, it was a win-win for the people. Both “parties” achieved the result they were looking for, and strangely enough, good and just.

Today we celebrate the 218^th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. These ten amendments essentially expanded the liberties we all enjoy today. Without these amendments, the Federal government had the flexibility to enumerate “freedoms” in such a way to be advantageous for the power of a central government. Jefferson and Madison were correct in pushing for the inclusion of these rights. Although our contemporaries may have forgotten that they exist at all, the Bill of Rights does indeed live and thrive in our daily lives.

“A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inferences” – Thomas Jefferson

Conceal and Carry laws, which covers the 2^nd and 10^th amendments are a good example. The fact that there are countless religious sects and denominations takes care of the 1^st. Illegal search and seizure is questionable at best. Due process and trial by jury are another good example of rights observed on a daily basis. Cruel and unusual punishment is always a topic of contention.

By and large, the Bill of Rights was an historic addition to an already historic document. We the people need to get busy and emphasize the importance of the 10^th amendment that is to give back to the states the rights we were guaranteed, and push back on the extortion and oppressive nature of the Federal government who has methodically centralized the power that was intended to be ceded to the states.

As Libertarians, we understand that our ultimate goal is to return the government to its rightful owners. “We the people....”

As Libertarians, we understand the time is now, and the goal is just. We know this is a marathon and the journey will be long and arduous. Think about the enormity of the Bill of Rights, the effort undertaken to make it a reality, the sweat and the blood spilled to protect it, and the battle we are engaged in to maintain its relevance.

“The Bill of Rights is a born rebel. It reeks with sedition. In every clause it shakes its fist in the face of constituted authority... it is the one guaranty of human freedom to the American people.” – Frank Cobb

Regulatory Extortion

2009-11-25T19:45:00.017-05:00

"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

--Thomas Jefferson, letter to Joseph Milligan,
April 6, 1816

Thomas Jefferson was most certainly not born with the gift of prophecy. I’m fairly sure he did not consult an ancient seer residing in some cave far up in the Blue Ridge mountains. He did not read tea leaves, depend on Tarot cards, or employ an astrologer to assist him in day to day decisions.

Jefferson was born with the gift of forward thinking based on personal experience and more importantly, the historical significance derived from the decisions and policies of our predecessors. He may have been referring to what had already transpired during the young and brief history of our nation.

Alexander Hamilton feared anarchy, and as a result took a very liberal view of the U.S. Constitution, most notably granting broad powers to the Federal government. Jefferson, on the other hand, felt that the Constitution’s 10th Amendment was very clear, granting powers not specified to the states. This disagreement led to the formation of the two-party system which we know so well today. Hamilton, Adams, John Jay, et el, were “loose constructionists”. There political philosophy dictated more power to the central government for the “Greater Good”; hence the party was called the Federalists.

Jefferson couldn’t have disagreed more with this thinking. The U.S. Constitution was written with the express purpose of granting the central government with a very limited roll in governing, while allowing each sovereign state to decide what would be more advantageous for them. Jefferson’s party was called the Democratic Republicans.

Jefferson could see very clearly what would and could happen if the Feds were granted expansive powers to usurp the rights of each sovereign state. Fast forward to modern America, and we have the Feds doing exactly what Jefferson feared. For example, The Uniform Drinking Age Act (1984) gave each state a five year window to change their laws to the minimum age of 21. If not, interstate highway funding would be cut off. Another example is to pay off states with a highway slush fund that lowered the legal alcohol blood limit to .08.

How about the “Tobacco Settlement”? The Feds blackmailed the tobacco companies through regulatory extortion by “allowing” them to stay in business if they paid a few hundred million dollars to lawyers, plaintiffs, federal, state and local governments.

The Mother of All Shakedowns may be the Community Reinvestment Act, in which the Feds mandated private banks to loan mortgage money to those who had no intention of repaying it. For those banks who declined to participate, the Feds would regulate them out of business. The CRA has brought us to this point in history where we all face an uncertain future, largely because of our leaders in Washington using political muscle and employing figurative leg breakers to apply pressure to those in private industry who really didn’t want to play the game. Did I mention Microsoft?

There are many more examples of Federal Blackmail, but I think you get the point. Jefferson saw this as a possibility 200 years ago, when Hamilton wanted to start a national bank. Since then, the two party system has morphed into essentially one enormous political machine where right is wrong and wrong is right. We live in a country where 65% of the citizenry believe our current administration is on the right track. We live in a society that would allow for the redistribution of wealth, “because it’s the right thing to do”, where the clever and industrious are punished, where those who go to work everyday to provide for family are penalized. Complacency is the rule, so long as we are “provided for”.

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." – Samuel Adams

Pulpit Politics

2009-11-12T13:17:00.002-05:00

“I never told my own religion nor scrutinized that of another. I never attempted to make a convert, nor wished to change another's creed. I am satisfied that yours must be an excellent religion to have produced a life of such exemplary virtue and correctness. For it is in our lives, and not from our words, that our religion must be judged.” -1816, Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Mrs. H. Harrison Smith

Here in Ohio we had Issue 3, which was a statewide referendum on casino gambling. The issue passed, and, (4) cities in Ohio will be granted a license to build Las Vegas type casinos. The cities are Cincinnati (my hometown), Cleveland, Toledo, and Columbus. I count (25) states with casino gambling. The impetus for this post is that the Catholic Church issued a press release a couple of weeks ago condemning the ballot initiative. The reason? “Moral, social, and economic reasons”. Being a recovering Catholic, I seem to recall festivals, Monte Carlo nights, weekly Bingo, on and on. The church would have us believe that these activities are not “gambling”, but righteous fund raisers for the salvation of a multitude of souls archdiocese would say the “Vote No on Casinos” stance had nothing to do with the possible diversion of funds that otherwise would end up in the coffers of the church. No hypocrisy here.

Throughout our country’s history, Pulpit Politics has attempted to shape public policy all the way back to pre-revolution, Tory dominated Boston, to the split of the Methodist Episcopals prior to The Civil War, and the current Roman Catholic stance that makes us scratch our collective heads. The heart and soul of the American Revolution which was Boston, was fairly evenly divided on allegiance to the crown and the complete independence from England.

Anglican churches preached fire and brimstone sermons opposing independence, with had nothing to do, once again, with the business of religion. Since the Anglicans were really just an Americanized version of the Church of England, this really was no surprise. The Roman Catholics, however, were accustomed to a huge power base for centuries in Europe, and, in actuality, were responsible for that political structure. So for the Archdiocese to preach from the pulpit about the evils of previously mentioned Issue 3, should not be a big surprise either.

Likewise, the Methodists in the southern states could not agree with their counterparts in the northern states about slavery. Sermons on Sundays were riddled with talk of the moral absurdities of the “peculiar institution” on the north, and spirited speeches about secession in the south. Granted, slavery was a very real and serious moral issue, there was no resolution that was going to come from a pastor, preacher, priest, or any other clergy. This issue was to be settled politically, and no sermon written was going to serve as a replacement for public policy.

Once again, none of this had anything to do with biblical themes or the business of salvation. Publicly, the founders professed no membership in a particular religious denomination. Privately, it may have been a different matter, but based on the First Amendment, religion was intended to be a private matter, that is, not public.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The founders had it right. Religion is and should be a personal issue. Religious doctrine should be about religion, not public policy. Political matters are for governments at all levels to determine, and the First Amendment should preclude Pulpit Politics. This guarantees us the right to worship as we please, or not at all. The founders knew that morality was based in human nature. They felt that by allowing us to choose our faith, this would be a means to the end of religious intolerance that was prevalent in the Church of England and the Holy Roman Catholic Church. The freedom is there, but so is the intolerance. Let’s go to the Town Hall to listen to politics, and church for the religion. OK?

“One man's religion is another man's belly laugh.” Robert Heinlein

Healthcare and Hypocrisy

2009-11-05T11:34:00.021-05:00

“The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” ~Voltaire

As a child growing up in the 1960’s, I remember trips to the doctor’s office, along with my (5) siblings and my mother and father. Doc Krone would line us up, with a tray full of syringes, and give us shots, one by one. My dad would pay the bill, drive to the pharmacy, pay for the medicine, and we would go home. There were no co-pays, prescription cards, forms to fill out, HMO’s or any other kind of “managed care”. There was no such thing as HSA’s, MSG’s, PPO’s, PPG’s, PPA’s, EPO’s, or BHP’s. We didn’t have HBO, CNN, ESPN, or MSNBC. Our esteemed elected officials in Washington are very close to voting on a comprehensive healthcare reform bill that I call a POS.

Back in the days when a physician’s primary procedure was “bleeding”, the medical knowledge base was very limited. In the surgeon’s tent after a battle, they relied on whiskey as an anesthetics, and musket balls for the patient to bite down on during amputations and removal of shrapnel. These tools of the trade were readily available, and were a good way to keep costs down. At the advent of the industrial revolution, and the technological advances associated with this period led to rapid advancement in medical care and procedures. Chloroform and ether replaced whiskey and muskets balls as the preferred pre-surgery anesthetic. Although this provided an improved level of comfort for the patient, there was a certain amount of increased cost associated with it. As with any technological discoveries and inventions, life becomes easier, healthier, but the component of cost is driven upwards.

The first insurance plans came to the fore during the Civil War, and only to protect those that worked on railroads and steamships, and only in the event of an accident on the job not unlike disability insurance in today’s world.

As urban centers became more populated, families were living in more confined spaces, and an alternative was needed to care for the sick. By the 1920’s there was an advisory board to establish some standards for the practice of medicine. By the 1930’s, a non-profit know as Blue Cross and Blue Shield negotiated discounted pricing on a “fee for service” basis. This system worked quite well for decades. Strong union influence in the 1940’s and 50’s created employer paid insurance plans.

Government programs to cover health care costs began to expand during the 1950s and 1960s. Disability benefits were included in social security coverage for the first time in 1954. When the government created Medicare and Medicaid programs in 1965, private sources still paid 75 percent of all of the health care costs. By 1995, individuals and companies only paid for about half of the health care with the government responsible for the other half.

"Of several remedies, the physician should choose the least sensational." -Hippocrates

As the cost of healthcare rose dramatically in the 70’s and 80’s, “fee for service” was replaced by “managed care”. Which brings us to 2009. Speaker Pelosi proudly announced the long awaited Healthcare Reform bill, all 1,990 pages of it. At first blush, after perusing some random pages, it would appear that attorneys across the nation would be smacking their lips. Endless litigation, page by page, section by section is the likely outcome of this behemoth. The fact that nobody really knows what is in the bill, including most members of Congress is seemingly irrelevant. That the “cost” is “only” a trillion dollars or so over (10) years is only a detail. When was the last time the CBO accurately predicted anything (10) years out? I recall we were to have a balanced budget by now. The stimulus package was to have a profound and positive impact on the economy and unemployment. I digress. Oh, yeah, the U.S. Constituion was only (8) pages or so.

"I find medicine is the best of all trades because whether you do any good or not you still get your money." (Moliere: "A Physician in Spite of Himself," 1664)

The fact that there is no interstate competition for health insurance, is, on the surface a huge part of the problem. In order to make this happen, states are going to have to waive some laws and regulations already in place. Each state has their own policies and laws regulating the healthcare industry, and this makes is difficult to compete across state lines. Once we get by this barrier and allow true, free market price shopping, I believe the market can and will allow the price of doing business to come down. Once the Federal government gets more of her greedy and power hungry paws in the mix, the more difficult it will be to repair the damage; free markets have always worked when left to run their course. Over regulation and government interference only serves to stifle, and ultimately strangle whatever course the markets would direct. Once it is deemed to be “free”, Katy bar the door.

“You can't fix stupid.”- Ron White (Comedian)

The United Socialist States of America

2009-10-30T12:49:00.019-04:00

In a higher phase of communist society... only then can the narrow horizon of bourgeois right be fully left behind and society inscribe on its banners: from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.-Karl Marx

During the early part of the 20^th century, the Communist Party USA, specifically post World War I boasted a membership of over 60,000 Americans, eclipsing its rival, The Socialist Party of America’s 40,000. They were credited with laying the foundation of labor unions, whereas, on the surface appeared as a positive step in dealing with the exploitation of the working class. By the 1950’s membership was estimated at 200,000.

With the start of the Cold War, the Red Scare, and McCarthyism, the party began to break apart with members leaving the party, going underground, or creating splinter groups that ranged from Democratic Socialist to card carrying anarchists. In 1962, the Mossad infiltrated a speech given by Nikita Khrushchev, where he spoke of Gulags, purges, and other grim topics that were, up until this point in history, a well kept secret.

"All the sparrows on the rooftops are crying about the fact that the most imperialist nation that is supporting the colonial regime in the colonies is the United States of America."

Nikita Kruschev

Upon this revelation, the Communist Party USA imploded, and for all intent and purpose all but disappeared. This vacuum became the basis for the New Left, an offshoot of the CPUSA. The disillusionment and disintegration of the party was fueled by the fact that there really was no “utopia”, as Marx had prescribed in his writings. The Soviet Union, prior to 1962, was the model by which the CPUSA had hoped to build here in the USA. They didn’t count on the fact that with all power residing with a central government, those that disagree usually disappear. They completely disavowed the notion that freedom is an inherent trait granted by birth; freedom to decide, freedom to move, freedom to succeed or fail, freedom to exercise the unlimited potential of the human spirit.

“Men fight for freedom, then they begin to accumulate laws to take it away from themselves.”

This quote is prophetic as we, as Americans, have begun the process by which we will forfeit our freedoms in search of that very same “utopia” which eluded the American Communists. As D.H. Lawrence so eloquently predicted in 1922:

“Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves.”

Samuel Adams implored his fellow countrymen to make a choice:

“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”

He is, in essence, saying that freedom is not free, that with liberty comes great responsibility, and that the only currency that can be used to “purchase” freedom is sweat and blood. As Jefferson conveyed in a letter to William Stephen’s Smith in 1787:

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”

We are faced with the very decisions the Founders had to deal with 235 years ago. The Communists are waking up. They see the gulf between our Republic and their Utopia narrowing. Socialism is defined as a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism. The fact that our Federal government is in taking control of private industry under the guise of “recovery” would preclude that the transition is well under way. The TEA party movement is a great start, but like other grass roots movements, my hope is this will grow into a

groundswell of activism, so we don’t repeat history, which so often happens when we don’t learn from our mistakes and forget about the blood that has been spilled to create and maintain the greatest system ever implemented in the history of man.

“So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men.”-Voltaire

Let us awake from our slumber.

Marx and Madsion (Redux)

2009-10-26T06:31:00.012-04:00

"It has been said that all Government is an evil. It would be more proper to say that the necessity of any Government is a misfortune. This necessity however exists; and the problem to be solved is, not what form of Government is perfect, but which of the forms is least imperfect."

James Madison, to an unidentified correspondent, 1833

As I awoke this morning to the cacophony of morning birds and the song of the coyote, I couldn’t help but think that this would be a great day. My memory still fresh from sitting on a dock, fishing pole in hand, sun rising above the trees, all worries and cares worlds away, thinking this is what heaven must be like.

In my heaven, there is no pain, suffering, anxiety, or politicians. I won’t have to awake every day searching for what it good and great, for all of that will be left behind for my children and their children, and all children to ponder and question.
The next generations will have the burden and responsibility to restore the eroding freedoms we only took for granted, that, incrementally are being stolen one at a time. We were warned, in no uncertain terms, that this could happen.

The great ones who designed our system of government knew the great potential for corruption and greed, understood that the human condition was inherently flawed, and, as a result of this understanding, inserted checks and balances within the Constitution. As Mr. Madison so eloquently expressed in the above quote, there is no perfect system of government. The founders were cynics by necessity.

Karl Marx once said “Democracy is the road to socialism.” In his mind, he had the “perfect’ system of fairness, where all prospered and no one lived in despair, wanting for any of the staples of life. He too, was cynical, kind of like Madison but twisted inside out and sideways. Marx’s and Madison's philosophies were as divergent as night and day, yet, in a perverse way, had the same concern and a similar starting point.

Both men knew the weaknesses and failings of a monarchy or a theocracy. Within a theocracy, the Pope dictated public doctrine under the guise of religious faith, and as a result controlled money and property. Ditto for a monarchy, but instead of a religious figurehead a family with endless “lineage” and “pure bloodlines” oppressed all but the aristocracy. Marx called the ruling class the “Bourgeois”, as Madison referred to King George as a “Tyrant”. How could two men with such similar observations go off in two diametrically opposed directions?

"Political economy came into being as a natural result of the expansion of trade, and with its appearance elementary, unscientific huckstering was replaced by a developed system of licensed fraud, an entire science of enrichment.”-Karl Marx

Marx saw a market economy as class divisible, a component which would be unacceptable in his utopian society where everyone is “equal”. A society that was self-contained and self-sufficient required very little trade, and any goods or service that required import or export would be handled by the “state”.

“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his needs”-Marx

The private ownership of property in a utopian society would be illegal. The “state”, in essence, would own the land and its physical contents in its entirety.

The one thing Marx didn’t think about was the human spirit. He didn’t give much thought to the fact that humans are programmed to be born, live, and die free. The human spirit demands excellence and choice. We live each day to be a little better than the one before. Marx could not have understood this. Utopia sounds great on paper, but once you work real, breathing human beings into the equation.....well................

“The theory of Communism may be summed up in one sentence: Abolish all private property”-Marx

This is where the political philosophies went in opposite directions. Whereas history shows Madison to be suspicious of a market economy, he did indeed support capitalism, but with some government oversight. Not a bad idea, as Anti-Trust laws will attest. Private ownership of property was, indeed, a sore point for Mr. Madison. English history was awash in serfs and feudal lords and the The Church of England and everybody owning land and property except for the masses.

“As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights.”-Madison

“The personal right to acquire property, which is a natural right, gives to property, when acquired, a right to protection, as a social right.”-Madison

So, at the end of the day we have two, nearly identical opinions about the status quo, both of which take off in completely opposing directions. One system has never worked in any country, at any time in history. The other, 230 years later, still thrives amid corruption, back slapping, eye-winking, payoffs, kickbacks, communists, socialists, mother stabbers and father rapers, the system lives.
Madison and his friends knew this would happen and that, inherently, politicians crave power like drunks crave alcohol. They knew all of this and had enough foresight to make the system cumbersome, complicated, and flexible enough to evolve with civilization, and maintain the integrity of the U.S Constitution. The reason the system still works may not be pure or righteous, but congressmen and women are there to be reelected. You will always have the Far Left, who are really Communists at heart, and the Far Wacko Right who fancy themselves the moral force and compass for all of us. But the majorities of our leaders are somewhere right of the left and left of the right, and really just want to be reelected. In politics, stalemate beats checkmate.

I really have digressed. I started writing about sitting on the dock, fishin’, knockin’ back a cold one, dreamin’.......

Well I'm goin' down to the river
I've got a cane pole in my hand
I've got my redworms in a Maxwell house coffee can
I'm gonna sit under a shade tree on a riverbank where it's cool
I'm gonna close my eyes and dream and let the cork bob away my blues...

-The Marshall Tucker Band

Pulpit Politics

2009-10-26T05:27:00.011-04:00

Here in Ohio we had Issue 3, which was a statewide referendum on casino gambling. The issue passed, and, (4) cities in Ohio will be granted a license to build Las Vegas type casinos. The cities are Cincinnati (my hometown), Cleveland, Toledo, and Columbus. I count (25) states with casino gambling. The impetus for this post is that the Catholic Church issued a press release a couple of weeks ago condemning the ballot initiative. The reason? “Moral, social, and economic reasons”. Being a recovering Catholic, I seem to recall festivals, Monte Carlo nights, weekly Bingo, on and on. The church would have us believe that these activities are not “gambling”, but righteous fund raisers for the salvation of a multitude of souls archdiocese would say the “Vote No on Casinos” stance had nothing to do with the possible diversion of funds that otherwise would end up in the coffers of the church. No hypocrisy here.

Throughout our country’s history, Pulpit Politics has attempted to shape public policy all the way back to pre-revolution, Tory dominated Boston, to the split of the Methodist Episcopals prior to The Civil War, and the current Roman Catholic stance that makes us scratch our collective heads. The heart and soul of the American Revolution which was Boston, was fairly evenly divided on allegiance to the crown and the complete independence from England.

Anglican churches preached fire and brimstone sermons opposing independence, with had nothing to do, once again, with the business of religion. Since the Anglicans were really just an Americanized version of the Church of England, this really was no surprise. The Roman Catholics, however, were accustomed to a huge power base for centuries in Europe, and, in actuality, were responsible for that political structure. So for the Archdiocese to preach from the pulpit about the evils of previously mentioned Issue 3, should not be a big surprise either.

Likewise, the Methodists in the southern states could not agree with their counterparts in the northern states about slavery. Sermons on Sundays were riddled with talk of the moral absurdities of the “peculiar institution” on the north, and spirited speeches about secession in the south. Granted, slavery was a very real and serious moral issue, there was no resolution that was going to come from a pastor, preacher, priest, or any other clergy. This issue was to be settled politically, and no sermon written was going to serve as a replacement for public policy.

Once again, none of this had anything to do with biblical themes or the business of salvation. Publicly, the founders professed no membership in a particular religious denomination. Privately, it may have been a different matter, but based on the First Amendment, religion was intended to be a private matter, that is, not public.

“One man's religion is another man's belly laugh.” Robert Heinlein

Facebook and Universal Healthcare

2009-10-12T10:23:00.005-04:00

Standing on the waters casting your bread
While the eyes of the idol with the iron head are glowing.
Distant ships sailing into the mist,
You were born with a snake in both of your fists
while a hurricane was blowing.
Freedom just around the corner for you
But with the truth so far off,
what good will it do?

Bob Dylan-Jokerman

“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.”-Samuel Adams

Typically I like to refer to history with respect to any point(s) I may be attempting to convey to those who honor me with reading my essays. If you have read my posts before, you probably have guessed I lean strongly toward the notion of personal accountability and responsibility. You may have surmised that I am not a huge fan of government, particularly at the federal level. I may lead with a pertinent quote from one of the founders, or at times lyrics from a song I find to be connected to my topic.

Today is not a typical day. I offer apologies in advance.Sometimes a guy needs to vent.

I want to discuss the progressive segment of our population, the far left, the whiney ass, feel-good, everything’s free, phony elitist, windmill loving, panty waist, big-government worshipping, tax and tax, race-baiting, gun-hating idiots.

Did I leave anything out? Vitriolic? Hateful? Spiteful? Rabid? Vicious?

Oh, yeah, free healthcare for everyone.

Below is an excerpt from a Facebook discussion yesterday. The topic was, quite obviously, Healthcare Reform. This is cut and pasted verbatim. I have changed the names to protect the mentally challenged left.

Her:”I swear, Ins. companies need to be taken down. Crooks.”

Me:” I don't think the insurance companies are evil incarnate, but even he (a VP from Anthem) says there needs to be some changes.”

Him: “No, the insurance companies are evil and so are the right-wing reactionaries that enable them. They drop sick people, they refuse coverage to those who need it, their executives make millions. They are in business to make huge profits on the backs of the sick and the suffering. If that's not evil tell me what is.

HEALTH CARE SHOULD NOT BE A FOR PROFIT BUSINESS!”

Me: “I don't care for those "right wing reactionaries" either. Good luck finding good doctors who will work for a non-profit.”

Him: “They don't seem to have a problem finding superb doctors in France or England. Plus the "system" being non-profit does not mean the doctors don't get paid. It just would mean the government writes the check instead of an insurance company.

At this point I either had to shut down Facebook, or go slash my wrists. I chose the former. I don’t think Hollywood could write this stuff in a script for a good sit-com. Is truth stranger than fiction?

“Where does the money come from for the government to write the checks?”, I should have asked.

I go to great lengths to be open to all avenues of thought. Intellectual honesty is also a major component of my thought process, and I believe any of us who really think things through would agree. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like most economic problems we face, the government is the last place we should look for answers. The free market generally takes care of itself.

Free markets, free trade, freedom of choice, free people. Freedom.

If we took care of your own, nobody would need taking care of. I am such a heartless bastard.

--Thomas Jefferson, letter to Joseph Milligan, 6 April 1816

On Alliances and Foreign Intervention

2009-10-08T08:44:00.012-04:00

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe

But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

-Bob Dylan-

“My enemy’s enemy is my friend.” –Chinese Proverb

The American Revolution may have dragged on and quite possibly could have been lost if not for the involvement of the French. They supplied warships, supplies, and troops, but more importantly gave full recognition of the American colonies as a free and independent country. The irony here is not (15) years before, the very same French were fighting the colonists for dominance in the Northwest Territory (current mid-west).

The French were soundly defeated and humiliated during the Seven Years War by the British. The war was fought on multiple, global fronts including the American Colonies. During the French and Indian War, both the French and the British were able to form temporary alliances with native tribes that historically hated each other, otherwise known as friendships of convenience.

At the conclusion of the American Revolution, and the subsequent ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1789, the Federalists had taken over, Jefferson was in self-exile, and was being referred to as a “Francophile”. Alexander Hamilton had the stage, and was supporting the re-establishment of relations with Great Britain. This, of course, meant hanging France out to dry. Enemy, friend, ally, friend, and then estrangement. Although Washington himself was an independent supporter of the Federalists, a quote from his inaugural mirrored Jefferson’s:

“It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.”-George Washington from the 1796 Inauguration

“Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none”.-Thomas Jefferson from the 1801 Inauguration

“My enemy’s enemy is my friend.”

Winston Churchill detested Communists. The United States were isolationists, and had shown no fervent interest in actively involving our military in the early stages of WWII. But for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, we may have remained on the sideline, and continued to provide advisors to assist the British logistically. The alliance with Stalin was born out of necessity after Hitler reneged on his promise of non-aggression with the Soviet Union.

"If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favorable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons"-Winston Churchill

In the early days of the Nazi invasion of Poland, FDR stood his ground, maintaining the issue was a European one, and they should deal with it themselves. In the late 1930’s Prime Minister Chamberlain had “negotiated” a deal with Adolf Hitler, much to the chagrin of the Conservatives in Parliament. “Appeasement” took on a whole new meaning, allowing Hitler to annex Czechoslovakia, leaving him wide open for his conquest of Europe.

Fast forward to 1945, the Red Army invaded Berlin, and the Cold War was on.

“My friend’s enemy is my enemy.”

The U.S. eventually normalized relations with Germany, and the new enemy was our former ally, The Soviet Union. Japan became a trading partner, but remains arch enemies with China. The Chinese backed North Korea during the Korean War, so another former ally becomes an enemy.

“My enemy’s friend is my enemy.”

Consider the relationship with the Shah of Iran. After he was deposed and the U.S. embassy was attacked, all of a sudden we are supplying Saddam Hussein with weapons for his war against the Ayatollah. Look ahead a few years, and we are running Saddam out of Kuwait.

The U.S. supplies the Mujahideen in Afghanistan with Stinger missiles to knock Soviet helicopters down, and, next thing we know, these former freedom fighters are running airplanes into the World Trade Center. It would seem that even these temporary alliances or friendships of convenience come back to bite us time after time.

“My old friend is my new enemy.”

Jefferson had it right. It may be that temporary alliances are necessary, but in Jefferson’s world, they must be avoided whenever possible. His philosophy of neutrality made the most sense (see Switzerland). Being directly attacked complicates neutrality, but it is still sound policy. Our problem is feeling compelled to solve everybody else’s problems. A non-interventionalist policy is good policy. Engage in global commerce with no limitations, but back off entirely with foreign deployments that have little or no impact on us as a nation.

Does this sound like too much idealism? It made sense (70) years ago, and most certainly did (200) years ago. While I am not proposing total isolationism, foreign military intervention hasn’t had any real positive impact since WWII. Protect our shores and borders, engage globally, and allow us life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Pretty catchy, huh?

“My friend’s friend is my friend.”

Not always.

“My enemy’s enemy is my enemy.”

Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, oh man, never mind.............maybe a discussion for another day.

Rants and Raves.......

2009-10-06T14:14:00.048-04:00

On Turtle Flu: It seems the Australians have identified a new strain of flu that can be transferred directly from pet turtles to humans....pigs....birds...turtles? We are all doomed......next thing you know flu will be passed from human to human.....

On Plantar Fasciitis: Eli Manning is a big girl..........

On Healthscare: The president revived the healthcare debate by handing out white lab coats at the White House....is BHO a great strategist, or what?

On Healthscare 2: Harry “I’m a blithering fool” Reid and Nancy “I didn’t used to look like this” Pelosi are fighting a GOP plan to post the Health care Reform bill online 72 hours prior to the Senate vote. Funny thing is, the Dems are not supporting this effort......gee...I wonder why? It would suck to actually know what was in the bill.........

On Healthscare 3: ........so I’m walking into a grocery store the other day, and, as always, there are those antiseptic hand wipes by the door. The lady I followed in grabs a grocery cart, by the handle, wheels it to the door, and proceeds to wipe down the handle with one of those antiseptic hand wipes......this is kind of like putting on a condom right after sex.........isn’t it?

On the War on Terror: The Clueless-in-Chief is having a difficult time deciding whether or not to adopt the strategies as recommended by General McCrystal. (10) more GI’s dead....make a decision Mr. President; the bodies are piling up.....

On the War on Terror 2: The leader of the Pakistani Taliban is apparently a very funny guy, and also not dead as the White House had reported. Flanked by his homeboys, he was cracking jokes and promised death to all American Pig Dog Infidels (PDI’s). He also described his group's relationship to al-Qaeda as one of "love and affection." Makes me weepy.........

On the Stimulus: Another great idea.....like the New Deal and the Great Society......Why can’t our fearless leaders in Washington open up a history book from time to time........

On the End of World: It seems as though the Hopi Indians of the American southwest came up with December 21^st, 2012 as the “end of the world as we know it” around the same time the Mayans did.....is that Karma or what?

On the End of World 2: So what happens on December 22^nd, 2012? Just wonderin’......

On Pack Mentality: So WTF is wrong with Florida raccoons? It seems as though a pack (gang?) of raccoons attacked a 74-year old on the front porch of her home. There were no arrests, and no gang colors were identified........

On Michelle O.: I still think she could whip Barack’s ass.........

On our Vice-Idiot: "Nobody is going to mess with your benefits. Nobody. All we do is make it better for people on Medicare," except ObamaCare takes away $100 billion over ten years from Medicare, which really means $500 billion. Since when can the Feds do more with less? I am so screwed.......

On Barney Frank: Breaking News! The CDC has confirmed MCBD (Mass Constituent Brain Damage) for the entire 4^th Congressional district of Massachusetts. This district has reelected Rep. Frank every (2) years since 1981. Environmental testing is ongoing..........quarantine a possibility.....

On Random Lyrics of 60’s Protest Songs:

Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Unborn living, living, dead
Bullet strikes the helmet's head

And it's all over
For the unknown soldier
It's all over
For the unknown soldier

-Jim Morrison

And finally.......India has 50 million monkeys, Emus cannot walk backwards, and more people are killed annually by donkeys than in airplane crashes.

“My enemy’s enemy is my friend” is an old Chinese proverb. The Prime Minister of Great Britain, circa 1940 said the following:

"If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favorable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons" - Winston Churchill

Revolution

2009-09-16T10:34:00.005-04:00

Well, I'm a barrel of laughs,
with my carbine on
I keep 'em hoppin',
till my ammunition's gone.
But I'm still not happy,
I feel like
there's something wrong.
I got the revolution blues,
I see bloody fountains,
And ten million dune buggies
comin' down the mountains.
Well, I hear that Laurel Canyon
is full of famous stars,
But I hate them worse than lepers
and I'll kill them
in their cars.

Neil Young – Revolution Blues

Revolution-rev⋅o⋅lu⋅tion
[rev-uh-loo-shuh n]

1) Sociology; a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure, especially one made suddenly and often accompanied by violence.

2) an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.

Revolution as defined above refers to as “change....often accompanied by violence”. Often, but not always.

Revolution. Catchy, makes me think of The White Album.

Exteme? I don’t know. Anarchy? I don’t know. Civil War? I don’t know. Revolution? I think so. Revolution can be defined in a number of ways. In 1994 we had the “Republican Revolution” in the “Contract With America”. We had the “Fall of the Berlin Wall” in 1989 which can be described as a “peaceful” revolution. Karl Marx advocated peaceful and complete transition. Of course, he was an idealist where history has shown that his theory of government would never work. The remnants of the Soviet Union showed the world that a nearly bloodless transformation was possible, as well as satellite countries in Eastern Europe.

As we take a journey through history, we make a stop in the Dark Continent. African revolutions are typically accompanied by genocide, as Congo, Rwanda, and the Sudan can attest. On the other side of the world, Latin America is an analog to Africa with Communist Sandinistas, Shining Path Maoists, etc. While it may be true that during the 19th and early 20th century, some of these conflicts were to gain independence from European colonial rule, many were internal coups to establish new and better ruling juntas, year after year after year.

“You say you want a revolution, well, you know....”

King George III of England didn’t care much for the independent nature of the American colonies. His predecessors, I and II, allowed the British Parliament to govern the Empire, and were largely symbolic Monarchs. George the Third was young, not very bright, and took his mother’s advice to be a “King”. The timing was good because the ruling Whigs were losing favor with the “people”, and the Tories were gaining power within Parliament. King George III exerted and expanded his power base to the American colonies through various ministries. Making an example of his “bastard children”, he imposed taxes, tariffs, and general abuses on the colonials that could not be redressed due to lack of representation. The Second Continental Congress attempted reconciliation after the first shots were fired at Lexington, but the king rejected the offer. Any notion of a peaceful resolution to address the grievances were no longer a possibility.

“You tell me that it’s evolution, well, you know.....”

The Continental Army lost an estimated 25,000 soldiers, mostly from disease. These farmers and mechanics, and artisans confronted the world’s most powerful military machine of the time, and with a little luck and a whole lot of desire, forced the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

What this brief history lesson really means is that these men laid it all on the line; their “.....lives, fortunes, and sacred honor....” so that we could experience the birth of a nation. That effort has become a mockery at best, as the blood and toil of the Patriots and Sons of Liberty have been forgotten and blemished by a Federal government that is a bloated corpse, or as Benjamin Franklin so eloquently put it, “... a dead Mackerel in the street that shines in the moonlight, but stinks as you get close enough to smell it..”. I paraphrase here, but the point is clear.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson

Whether this quote is figurative or literal in the contemporary context, its meaning requires no explanation. The Sons of Liberty must be revived with clear direction and purpose, to reclaim our country and to take it back from a central power whose time has come and gone. We must return to the premise as written on July 4th, 1776, that is to “govern by the consent of the governed”. Which model of revolution do we adopt? Peaceful or something else? It is no longer a question of if, but when. I prefer the ballot box, unless that is no longer an option.

"We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately"-Benjamin Franklin

Rants and Raves........

2009-09-02T15:34:00.003-04:00

On the 10^th Amendment: Massachusetts is considering legislation to allow the police to enter a home without a warrant to quarantine (detain) those with H1N1. The 10^th Amendment is my favorite, so.........but, golly........

On Fossil Fuel: British Petroleum discovered a huge reserve of oil in the Gulf of Mexico......whatever.....

On the survival of the Human Race: Secretary Ban Ki-Moon paid a visit to the “doomsday” seed vault in Antarctica because.....because.......well........I don’t think a guy with a name like Ban Ki-Moon should be in charge of anything....

Swine Flu 2: The CDC and our plus size Surgeon General says to expect between 30,000 and 90,000 deaths due to the Little Piggies.....now that’s nailing it........did you know that, on average, 36,000 Americans die every year from the flu?.......30,000 sounds better than 36,000,,,,,,,,,,,

On the 2^nd Amendment: Does the NRA need a better spokesman than Ted Nugent? He’s the guy we need in the Oval Office.....except he’s way to intelligent for that job........

On Healthcare: "The president is considering all of his options on how to advance the debate and get reform passed. This includes possibly laying out a more specific vision. No decisions have been made, though," the Whitehouse official said.......”possible.....more specific vision.....no decisions....” Huh? Jumbo Shrimp? Working vacation? Deafening silence?

So who says racehorses have to pee any worse than anybody else?

On the War on Terror (or whatever it’s called today): The Soviets were in Afghanistan for (10) years and left with a lot less soldiers and helicopters that it came in with......Why is our war different? We’ve been there (8) years with no end in sight......we will come home eventually with a lot less soldiers and helicopters.........

On the Stimulus: Productivity is at a (6) year high, housing sales are up, unemployment has stagnated, durable goods sale are up......experts are reporting the recession is all but history.......the stimulus money is on NEXT years budget......way to go Prez.........

On heavy metal: Cotton-Top Mandarin Monkeys have reportedly developed an affection for music from Metallica........

On the End of World: Due to the Mayans prediction that the world will end on December 21^st, 2012, should I even consider early Christmas shopping that year? Will there be more holiday discounts? Just wonderin’.......

On Bush the Younger: Since January 21^st, 2009, “W” has not said a single word about anything...perhaps the smartest political move he has ever made.......it’s killing the current occupant of the Oval Office.....BHO wishes like hell “W” would say something...anything............ain’t gonna happen.

On our Vice-Idiot: Good to see VP Biden is attending to matters of state attending the Little League World Series..........he was inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence....oh, boy......

On MJ: Has anybody buried that poor SOB yet?

More on MJ: In light of the fact that none of his children possess one strand of his DNA, and he could have bought any sperm donor in the world, why in the HELL would he pick Macaulay Culkin to father ANY of his children.....now that is wrong.......

On Nancy Pelosi: She looks really, really awful, doesn’t she?

On Teddy K.: Rest in Peace, dude, but it may be hot where you are headed......

On Mary Jo K.: I hope you are resting in peace now that your killer finally got his........(Ouch!)

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." --Thomas Paine

Relative Truth

2009-08-27T15:39:00.009-04:00

Truth -noun, plural truths [trooth z, trooths]

1) the true or actual state of a matter

2) conformity with fact or reality; verity: the truth of a statement

3) actuality or actual existence

4) an obvious or accepted fact; truism; platitude

5) honesty; integrity; truthfulness

It is true that all forms of abortion are acceptable; and it is true that no forms of abortions are acceptable; it is true that that first trimester abortions are acceptable.

It is true that foreign military intervention is the moral and just thing to do; it is true that foreign military intervention is moral and just when it applies to “National Security”; it is true that foreign military intervention is never applicable and we should protect our shores and borders from invasion.

It is true that redistribution of wealth is just and proper; it is true that the collection of taxes to distribute to the masses of the unfortunate is just and proper; it is true that the ideal of taking care of our own is just and proper.

It is true that the government should provide 100% of the populace with health care; it is true that the government should provide the less fortunate with health care; it is true that the populace should pay for catastrophic healthcare insurance and pay the rest out-of-pocket.

It is true that marriage is defined as one man and one woman; it is true that marriage is defined as two people that love each other, regardless of sex.

It is true that mankind is causing global climatic collapse; it is true that global climate change is a natural cycle and has nothing to do with mankind.

It is true that there is a shortage of fossil fuel sources globally; it is true there is not a shortage of fossil fuel sources globally.

It is true that drug usage among teenagers is down; it is true that drug usage among teenagers is up.

It is true there is a God; it is true there is no God.

It is true there is life after death; it is true there is no afterlife.

It is true we are all created equal; it is true we are not.

It is true that sex is only for procreation; it is true that sex is for recreation, as well.

It is true that Christ will one day return; it is true he will not.

It is true that a high fiber diet is healthy; it is true that a high fiber diet makes no difference.

It is true that marijuana is the scourge of society; it is true that it is harmless.

It is true man walked on the moon; it is true they did not.

It is true that life follows death; it is true that death follows life.

It is true that nuclear weapons are bad; it is true nuclear weapons are good.

It is true that prophets are false; it is true that they are not.

It is true good is bad; it is true that bad is good.

It is true that truth is false. It is true that fallacy is truth.

It is true that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

Or is it?