http://forum.batr.net/ 2012-06-01T08:36:11Z MyBB BreakingAllTheRulesForum-AllForumshttp://feedburner.google.com 2012-06-01T00:04:35Z 2012-06-01T00:04:35Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2295
You may or may not agree with this, but it seems to be a truism that perhaps one of the biggest flaws in a democracy---and compared to a republic, there are plenty—is that in democracy the individual gets the opportunity to vote. And that includes Joe Cadaver, and all his dead fellow-Americans.

Too many still-alive Americans don’t bother to vote, don’t know the importance of voting, can’t find time to vote, or vote their party, not bothering to do any background check on the person they voted for. That’s troubling enough, but now
add all the voters who are ineligible, manage to vote twice, pressured to vote,
and those who shouldn’t be voting because they are dead, and you’ll wind up with a perfect election for a funny farm.

A stunning case in point is what is happening in New Hampshire—and probably
a lot more states, reports James OKeefe, founder and president of Project
Veritas, an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to finding and exposing voter fraud. How do they do this? By sending undercover reporters into places suspected of voter corruption then capturing the conversations on a hidden camcorder so all can see the video.

And here’s what the viewer will see:
Posing as a legitimate voter, the reporter gives his name to the lady behind the
desk, who looks up the name, finds it, and hands him a ballot. The reporter apologizes and says he lost his ID. The lady replies that he doesn’t need an ID
to vote in New Hampshire---in fact, she has been instructed NOT TO ASK for an ID!

This video encounter is repeated dozens of times in different places, and two things never change; First, “no ID needed” is always the answer; Second, on a corner of the video screen (seen only by the viewer) is the voter’s name, the date of his birth, and the date of his death… which, of course, is already known by the reporter.

Democratic Governor John Lynch wasn’t too happy with these exposures, since he had just vetoed a PHOTO ID TO VOTE law that the New Hampshire legislature had just passed, saying that there were no ballot security problems in New Hampshire. With all due respect, Governor, Project Veritas begs to differ.

James O’Keefe refuses to make a “monumental achievement” out of Project Veritas victories on the corruption front, but he’s not reticent about reminding
us of the role his undercover investigative films played in bringing down, and putting out of business, voter-fraud organizations, like ACORN, which was Barrack Obama’s former employer when he worked as a “community organizer.”

“When you think about it,” says, O’Keefe, “vote fraud is really a dagger aimed at the heart of our constitutional republic. If we can’t trust the results of elections, we can’t trust the validity of our government. That’s why the major focus of Project Veritas for 2012 is to investigate, document, and expose the growing problem of vote fraud.” Sovereignty is a nation’s heart. Voting is its blood.]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2295 2012-05-31T18:05:42Z 2012-05-31T18:05:42Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2294 http://www.infowars.com/bilderberg-2012-...ticipants/

Editor’s note: The Bilderbergers now post the participant list on their “official” website. In the past, moles inside the organization would release the secretive list to journalists, most notably Jim Tucker of the American Free Press.

Bilderberg Meetings

Chantilly, Virginia, USA, 31 May-3 June 2012

Final List of Participants

Chairman

FRA

Castries, Henri de

Chairman and CEO, AXA Group

DEU

Ackermann, Josef

Chairman of the Management Board and the Group Executive Committee, Deutsche Bank AG

GBR

Agius, Marcus

Chairman, Barclays plc

USA

Ajami, Fouad

Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University

USA

Alexander, Keith B.

Commander, US Cyber Command; Director, National Security Agency

INT

Almunia, Joaquín

Vice-President – Commissioner for Competition, European Commission

USA

Altman, Roger C.

Chairman, Evercore Partners

PRT

Amado, Luís

Chairman, Banco Internacional do Funchal (BANIF)

NOR

Andresen, Johan H.

Owner and CEO, FERD

FIN

Apunen, Matti

Director, Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA

TUR

Babacan, Ali

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs

PRT

Balsemão, Francisco Pinto

President and CEO, Impresa; Former Prime Minister

FRA

Baverez, Nicolas

Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

FRA

Béchu, Christophe

Senator, and Chairman, General Council of Maine-et-Loire

BEL

Belgium, H.R.H. Prince Philippe of

TUR

Berberoğlu, Enis

Editor-in-Chief, Hürriyet Newspaper

ITA

Bernabè, Franco

Chairman and CEO, Telecom Italia

GBR

Boles, Nick

Member of Parliament

SWE

Bonnier, Jonas

President and CEO, Bonnier AB

NOR

Brandtzæg, Svein Richard

President and CEO, Norsk Hydro ASA

AUT

Bronner, Oscar

Publisher, Der Standard Medienwelt

SWE

Carlsson, Gunilla

Minister for International Development Cooperation

CAN

Carney, Mark J.

Governor, Bank of Canada

ESP

Cebrián, Juan Luis

CEO, PRISA; Chairman, El País

AUT

Cernko, Willibald

CEO, UniCredit Bank Austria AG

FRA

Chalendar, Pierre André de

Chairman and CEO, Saint-Gobain

DNK

Christiansen, Jeppe

CEO, Maj Invest

RUS

Chubais, Anatoly B.

CEO, OJSC RUSNANO

CAN

Clark, W. Edmund

Group President and CEO, TD Bank Group

GBR

Clarke, Kenneth

Member of Parliament, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of Justice

USA

Collins, Timothy C.

CEO and Senior Managing Director, Ripplewood Holdings, LLC

ITA

Conti, Fulvio

CEO and General Manager, Enel S.p.A.

USA

Daniels, Jr., Mitchell E.

Governor of Indiana

USA

DeMuth, Christopher

Distinguished Fellow, Hudson Institute

USA

Donilon, Thomas E.

National Security Advisor, The White House

GBR

Dudley, Robert

Group Chief Executive, BP plc

ITA

Elkann, John

Chairman, Fiat S.p.A.

DEU

Enders, Thomas

CEO, Airbus

USA

Evans, J. Michael

Vice Chairman, Global Head of Growth Markets, Goldman Sachs & Co.

AUT

Faymann, Werner

Federal Chancellor

DNK

Federspiel, Ulrik

Executive Vice President, Haldor Topsøe A/S

USA

Ferguson, Niall

Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History, Harvard University

GBR

Flint, Douglas J.

Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc

CHN

Fu, Ying

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs

IRL

Gallagher, Paul

Former Attorney General; Senior Counsel

USA

Gephardt, Richard A.

President and CEO, Gephardt Group

GRC

Giannitsis, Anastasios

Former Minister of Interior; Professor of Development and International Economics, University of Athens

USA

Goolsbee, Austan D.

Professor of Economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

USA

Graham, Donald E.

Chairman and CEO, The Washington Post Company

ITA

Gruber, Lilli

Journalist – Anchorwoman, La 7 TV

INT

Gucht, Karel de

Commissioner for Trade, European Commission

NLD

Halberstadt, Victor

Professor of Economics, Leiden University; Former Honorary Secretary General of Bilderberg Meetings

USA

Harris, Britt

CIO, Teacher Retirement System of Texas

USA

Hoffman, Reid

Co-founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedIn

CHN

Huang, Yiping

Professor of Economics, China Center for Economic Research, Peking University

USA

Huntsman, Jr., Jon M.

Chairman, Huntsman Cancer Foundation

DEU

Ischinger, Wolfgang

Chairman, Munich Security Conference; Global Head Government Relations, Allianz SE

RUS

Ivanov, Igor S.

Associate member, Russian Academy of Science; President, Russian International Affairs Council

FRA

Izraelewicz, Erik

CEO, Le Monde

USA

Jacobs, Kenneth M.

Chairman and CEO, Lazard

USA

Johnson, James A.

Vice Chairman, Perseus, LLC

USA

Jordan, Jr., Vernon E.

Senior Managing Director, Lazard

USA

Karp, Alexander

CEO, Palantir Technologies

USA

Karsner, Alexander

Executive Chairman, Manifest Energy, Inc

FRA

Karvar, Anousheh

Inspector, Inter-ministerial Audit and Evaluation Office for Social, Health, Employment and Labor Policies

RUS

Kasparov, Garry

Chairman, United Civil Front (of Russia)

GBR

Kerr, John

Independent Member, House of Lords

USA

Kerry, John

Senator for Massachusetts

TUR

Keyman, E. Fuat

Director, Istanbul Policy Center and Professor of International Relations, Sabanci University

USA

Kissinger, Henry A.

Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.

USA

Kleinfeld, Klaus

Chairman and CEO, Alcoa

TUR

Koç, Mustafa

Chairman, Koç Holding A.Ş.

DEU

Koch, Roland

CEO, Bilfinger Berger SE

INT

Kodmani, Bassma

Member of the Executive Bureau and Head of Foreign Affairs, Syrian National Council

USA

Kravis, Henry R.

Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

USA

Kravis, Marie-Josée

Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

INT

Kroes, Neelie

Vice President, European Commission; Commissioner for Digital Agenda

USA

Krupp, Fred

President, Environmental Defense Fund

INT

Lamy, Pascal

Director-General, World Trade Organization

ITA

Letta, Enrico

Deputy Leader, Democratic Party (PD)

ISR

Levite, Ariel E.

Nonresident Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

USA

Li, Cheng

Director of Research and Senior Fellow, John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution

USA

Lipsky, John

Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Johns Hopkins University

USA

Liveris, Andrew N.

President, Chairman and CEO, The Dow Chemical Company

DEU

Löscher, Peter

President and CEO, Siemens AG

USA

Lynn, William J.

Chairman and CEO, DRS Technologies, Inc.

GBR

Mandelson, Peter

Member, House of Lords; Chairman, Global Counsel

USA

Mathews, Jessica T.

President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

DEN

Mchangama, Jacob

Director of Legal Affairs, Center for Political Studies (CEPOS)

CAN

McKenna, Frank

Deputy Chair, TD Bank Group

USA

Mehlman, Kenneth B.

Partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

GBR

Micklethwait, John

Editor-in-Chief, The Economist

FRA

Montbrial, Thierry de

President, French Institute for International Relations

PRT

Moreira da Silva, Jorge

First Vice-President, Partido Social Democrata (PSD)

USA

Mundie, Craig J.

Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Microsoft Corporation

DEU

Nass, Matthias

Chief International Correspondent, Die Zeit

NLD

Netherlands, H.M. the Queen of the

ESP

Nin Génova, Juan María

Deputy Chairman and CEO, Caixabank

IRL

Noonan, Michael

Minister for Finance

USA

Noonan, Peggy

Author, Columnist, The Wall Street Journal

FIN

Ollila, Jorma

Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell, plc

USA

Orszag, Peter R.

Vice Chairman, Citigroup

GRC

Papalexopoulos, Dimitri

Managing Director, Titan Cement Co.

NLD

Pechtold, Alexander

Parliamentary Leader, Democrats ’66 (D66)

USA

Perle, Richard N.

Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

NLD

Polman, Paul

CEO, Unilever PLC

CAN

Prichard, J. Robert S.

Chair, Torys LLP

ISR

Rabinovich, Itamar

Global Distinguished Professor, New York University

GBR

Rachman, Gideon

Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, The Financial Times

USA

Rattner, Steven

Chairman, Willett Advisors LLC

CAN

Redford, Alison M.

Premier of Alberta

CAN

Reisman, Heather M.

CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc.

DEU

Reitzle, Wolfgang

CEO & President, Linde AG

USA

Rogoff, Kenneth S.

Professor of Economics, Harvard University

USA

Rose, Charlie

Executive Editor and Anchor, Charlie Rose

USA

Ross, Dennis B.

Counselor, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

POL

Rostowski, Jacek

Minister of Finance

USA

Rubin, Robert E.

Co-Chair, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary of the Treasury

NLD

Rutte, Mark

Prime Minister

ESP

Sáenz de Santamaría Antón, Soraya

Vice President and Minister for the Presidency

NLD

Scheffer, Paul

Professor of European Studies, Tilburg University

USA

Schmidt, Eric E.

Executive Chairman, Google Inc.

AUT

Scholten, Rudolf

Member of the Board of Executive Directors, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG

FRA

Senard, Jean-Dominique

CEO, Michelin Group

USA

Shambaugh, David

Director, China Policy Program, George Washington University

INT

Sheeran, Josette

Vice Chairman, World Economic Forum

FIN

Siilasmaa, Risto

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Nokia Corporation

USA

Speyer, Jerry I.

Chairman and Co-CEO, Tishman Speyer

CHE

Supino, Pietro

Chairman and Publisher, Tamedia AG

IRL

Sutherland, Peter D.

Chairman, Goldman Sachs International

USA

Thiel, Peter A.

President, Clarium Capital / Thiel Capital

TUR

Timuray, Serpil

CEO, Vodafone Turkey

DEU

Trittin, Jürgen

Parliamentary Leader, Alliance 90/The Greens

GRC

Tsoukalis, Loukas

President, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy

FIN

Urpilainen, Jutta

Minister of Finance

CHE

Vasella, Daniel L.

Chairman, Novartis AG

INT

Vimont, Pierre

Executive Secretary General, European External Action Service

GBR

Voser, Peter

CEO, Royal Dutch Shell plc

SWE

Wallenberg, Jacob

Chairman, Investor AB

USA

Warsh, Kevin

Distinguished Visiting Fellow, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University

GBR

Wolf, Martin H.

Chief Economics Commentator, The Financial Times

USA

Wolfensohn, James D.

Chairman and CEO, Wolfensohn and Company

CAN

Wright, Nigel S.

Chief of Staff, Office of the Prime Minister

USA

Yergin, Daniel

Chairman, IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates

INT

Zoellick, Robert B.

President, The World Bank Group

Rapporteurs

GBR

Bredow, Vendeline von

Business Correspondent, The Economist

GBR

Wooldridge, Adrian D.

Foreign Correspondent, The Economist]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2294 2012-05-30T16:00:16Z 2012-05-30T16:00:16Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2293
Considering how some forces at work are destroying our
form on government, I had to read sections of the Constitution
again to make sure I had read it right the first time. Turns out
I had.

The most important function of Congress is to keep the
Executive branch of government from running rough shod
over the people, and make a mockery ( or at a non-sequitur)
of the Bill of Rights, which is occurring in a slash-and-burn way
these days.

This, of course, is what “checks and balances” is all about. And
how is Congress supposed to do this? By exercising specific
duties assigned to it by the Constitution, which are spelled out
in language that even this writer can understand.

Am I being too hard on our Representatives and Senators?
I don’t think so. But if you read just a few of the duties
that the Constitution says are the obligations of the Congress,
and you think they are meeting those obligations, I’ll shut up
and go home.

“All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in
the Congress of the United States.” This one line in the
the Constitution clearly sums it all up. Only the Congress
is authorized to make laws. But the Executive branch, instead
of accepting (or vetoing) those laws, and the Judicial branch,
instead of simply acting as judge of those laws, steal the
powers of Congress by making news law as they go along,
and Congress rolls over and let’s them get away with it!

“To establish a uniform rule of naturalization.” If such a
rule exists no member of Congress is digging it out. Therefore,
our immigration laws are either not working, or non-existent.
So, hundred of thousands of foreigners who come here never
go home---and never apply for American citizenship. We don’t
need beard combers, Ellis Island style, but we do need sensible,
regulated immigration laws with established restrictions and
limitations. Has congress does its job in this regard? Not that
I know of.

“ To coin money, regulate the value of.” This is a joke.
Congress’s duty to coin money went out the window the day
we scrubbed the gold standard and put America on a fiat “paper”
system that will never be worth its weight in gold or anything
else. There is no standard to judge the worth of the paper we
call money. When there is a need for more money, the Fed
prints it, ignoring how much less our dollars will buy. Congress
simply looks the other way.

“To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of
money to that use for a period of not longer than two years.”
With our “leaders” demanding more troops, more money,
more resources, and more countries to democratize, Congress
has been lukewarm in questioning why all this is in the interest
of America. In point of fact, the administration declaring what
it wants and when it wants it, has literally taken Congress out
of the loop. Why isn’t the House screaming bloody murder
at this illegal usurpation of its constitutional rights?

“To make rules for the government and regulation of
the land and naval forces.” With its Conquer-the-World plan,
things move fast, so the administration has had to radically
restructure the mix of our armed forces. To do this it is
imperative that Congress be turned into a house of eunuchs
to take them out of the equation. In effect, Congress has
become the Rubber Stamp branch of service, rather than the
Legislative branch. And it’s their fault because they’ve allowed
the Administration to neuter into non-players

“To provide for calling out the militia to execute the laws of
the Union.” Think of a militia as our National Guard.
Illegal aliens are storming into some of our southwestern
states, but our “militia” of the National Guard and Coast Guard
are swamped. What is Congress doing about this illegal
invasion of America? Nothing, but sitting on its duff.

“To declare war.” Congress has yet to declare war on anybody.
The Executive branch decided to bypass the Congress and
wage war all over the planet, at their own discretion. Meantime.
Congressmen folded their hands and sat idle. They don’t have
the guts to tell the administration, “With due respect, Mister
President, go to hell! America won’t get into any war until
WE say so!”

Congress is ignoring the people in this and dozens of other
areas. Is there some way to shake Congress up and demand
they meet their obligations? Yes, But it’s up to us. We have
to tell them to get off their butts and do their Constitutional job.

Do enough of us have the guts to tell them that?]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2293 2012-05-29T16:08:04Z 2012-05-29T16:08:04Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2292
Whatever else you may say about our Founding Fathers, they had spit and fire. Without the gutsy raw courage of those men there would never have been such a thing as the United States of America.

If you doubt that, think about what England was like in the late 16th century. For centuries it had been a totalitarian government ruled by a succession of royal, sometimes ruthless monarchs with a history of world-wide intrigue, conquest and empire building. And an important part of that empire consisted of the British colonies in America

In the 1770’s, the mostly English colonists got fed up with royal arrogance, heavy-handed rule, intimidation and gross taxation and decided then and there to break away from not-so-motherly England, and take a stand for freedom, independence and self rule.

Facing rebellious subjects, King George III uttered these words: “Blows must decide.” And so they did: the Revolutionary War, as history records, settled the matter once and for all. And though it was no cake walk, the colonists were free of English domination forever!

We may never know, however, the kind of guts it took to take this momentous step. For one thing, the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were willing to take the consequences of their rebellious action for liberty. They pledged: “For the support of this declaration, with the firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

And the consequences were indeed vicious and brutal. Five signers of the Declaration were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes burned and ransacked. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary War. Another had two sons captured and executed. Nine of the 56 men fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. And one case was exceptionally heart-rending: John Hart of New Jersey was driven from his wife’s beside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives, and his fields and gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year, Hart lived in forests and caves; and upon returning home he found his wife and children had vanished. A few weeks later, this rebel patriot died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

Facing their willingness to endure the horrors that befell these men for signing the Declaration that made us free, speaks clearly of their raw courage and high resolve. But their fortitude doesn’t end there because they showed courage in another, more important, arena: the spiritual realm.

Some religious tenets tell us that all life is sacred and no killing is justified. Some frown on “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Others call the material world “evil” and therefore we will never have true peace. Other religions declare that we are part of the animal kingdom, therefore only the strong are worthy of survival. And some religions teach that humanity is inherently diverse; that is, there are born leaders and followers, and in the natural order of things, the followers will always be subservient to the leaders.

The 56 Declaration signers, however, dared to ignore all dogmatic theosophy and courageously act only on an eternal principle: that God intended man to be free of tyranny, to be independent in his thinking, to be sufficiently self-reliant, to be inferior to no man, and to worship only God and obey His laws.

Oh, if today’s Americans had just one-tenth the backbone, guts, and do-or-die grit of our Founding Fathers, what a country we would have.]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2292 2012-05-29T10:38:33Z 2012-05-29T10:38:33Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2291 http://www.batr.org/negotium/053012.html

The one inescapable drag on the economy and every American taxpayer or government dependant is the interest obligation paid on the national debt. Indebtedness is nothing new to this country, but the inability to service the public debt stretches over the last half century. This trend is so disturbing that politicians spend every waking hour avoiding the consequences of the ultimate outcome, the demise of the currency. The reserve currency status that has allowed for effortless deficit spending has a day of reckoning. The final collapse of the global empire and superpower will smell more of financial evaporation than of a military defeat.
A brief review of The National Debt: How Did We Get Here?, provides a valuable background.

“Historically, the debt generally increased because of wars and economic depressions. The debt was then reduced after the war or during more prosperous times. This trend was broken beginning about 1918, and definitely so by the end of WW2. The last time the debt was actually reduced was in 1957 when it declined by 0.82%.”

What power on earth can reverse this ominous pattern of refusal to balance the books of federal spending? Do not look to the voodoo economics propagated by the free traders over at Redstates. “If the government stops accumulating debt today and dedicates oil from shale to paying off that existing debt, and if we produce just 8% of that oil and sell it on the global market, we can completely pay off our national debt with the proceeds.” Stop and evaluate such hooey.

Putting the federal government into the oil fracking business and selling domestic resources on the world market is an obscene economic model. Also, the notion that Congress would go cold turkey and ban any budget that is not in balance is about as probable as closing all foreign military bases because of funding shortfalls.
However, the rudimentary reason that the growth in federal debt continues to rise is directed by who owns the obligations.

In Who Owns the U.S. National Debt?, an outline of entities that provide the money that finances the debt is informative.

The largest part (40%) of the Debt Held by the Public is owed to foreign governments and investors. The next largest part (20%) is not really the public, but other government entities, like the Federal Reserve and state and local governments. Another &36;2.6 trillion (20%) is held by the public through mutual funds, private pension funds, savings bonds or individual Treasury notes. A wee bit is held by businesses, like banks and insurance companies. Here's the breakout:

Foreign - &36;4.5 trillion

Federal Reserve - &36;1.4 trillion

State and Local Government, including their Pension Funds - &36;708 billion

Mutual Funds - &36;636 billion

Private Pension Funds - &36;616 billion

Banks - &36;316 billion

Insurance Companies - &36;253 billion

Savings Bonds - &36;188 billion

Other - &36;1.2 trillion. (As of December 2010. Source: Treasury Bulletin, Ownership of Federal Securities, Table OFS-2)

Even under near zero interest rate returns, the trillions needed to satisfy the hungry appetite of spending continue to flow, even if the Federal Reserve needs to be a buyer of last resort. In a prosperous “main street” domestic economy, tax revenues would increase because the velocity on money expands. Yet taxation alone can never retire the national debt as long as the debt created money of central banking exists.

When the Federal Reserve buys T-bill securities with phony money of their own creation, the monetization function of that purchase, swells the liability. Each succeeding presidential administration expounds upon the previous expenditures. Push back for fiscal responsibility from Tea Party proponents, meets with hostility by the elite political class, and illustrates the resistance for eliminating the freewheeling spending practices.

The growth in the national debt is just the most obvious tally that gets attention. Even the CBO's 2011 Long-Term Budget Outlook promotes the tax more and spend less con game that is a focal point in the current election cycle.

Higher levels of debt imply higher interest payments on that debt, which would eventually require either higher taxes or a reduction in government benefits and services.

Rising debt would increasingly restrict policymakers' ability to use tax and spending policies to respond to unexpected challenges, such as economic downturns or financial crises. As a result, the effects of such developments on the economy and people's well-being could be worse.

Growing debt also would increase the probability of a sudden fiscal crisis, during which investors would lose confidence in the government's ability to manage its budget and the government would thereby lose its ability to borrow at affordable rates. Such a crisis would confront policymakers with extremely difficult choices. To restore investors' confidence, policymakers would probably need to enact spending cuts or tax increases more drastic and painful than those that would have been necessary had the adjustments come sooner.

In the article, Just who will pay the debt?, provides a stark analysis.

“In an era where governmental debt on all levels rises continually and out strips growth in population, the percentage of each citizen’s accrued share to sustain that debt, inevitably must increase. With the incurable appetite of ‘public servants’ to invent new programs, entitlements and agencies, the concept of limited government has long passed into memory. The aftereffect of unfair international trade has shackled the economy with permanent balance of payment shortfalls. The expansion of state and federal bureaucracies of all kinds, coupled with additions to local municipalities, has produced the only growth occupations, virtually immune to layoffs. Contrary to public myth and distortions, inflation in essential necessities has not departed, as the purchasing power of your money buys less.”

The only way to resolve the bogus national debt, based upon the central banking counterfeit currency swindle, is to renounce the debt as illegitimate. Nothing else will stop or even slow down the rapid expansion and growth of the national debt clock from collapsing the economy and destroying the currency.

James Hall – May 30, 2012]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2291 2012-05-28T21:54:28Z 2012-05-28T21:54:28Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2290
Opponents of the practice argued that not everyone receiving the sentence actually committed the crime of which the judicial system found them guilty.

However, having only carried out the practice five times since 1977, it is doubtful such miscarriages of justice have been perpetrated all that often in the jurisdiction under consideration.

State Senator Lissa Gladden, a sponsor of the legislation, said, "I think as a community and a government that we should not be in the business of killing people."

Senator Gladden certainly has a warped way of implementing that ethical assumption.

According to Maryland Right To Life Incorporated, Gladden voted for stem cell funding that placed no limits on the destructive harvesting of human embryos.

The legislator also voted against an amendment that would have limited taxpayer funding of abortions for reasons of mental health; in other words, for women in a panic that a pregnancy might leave them with stretch marks during swimsuit season.

So in her eyes, if you are a murderer or a rapist, Gladden believers your life is so precious that it is worth saving no matter the horror or carnage you may have wrought in other people's lives.

However, if you happen to rank among the most innocent or defenseless members of society, Senator Gladden has little problem with snuffing you out in the name of utilitarianism or convenience.

Proverbs 8:36 admonishes that those that hate God love death.

It may seem counterintuitive. But the effort to eliminate the death penalty, when coupled with the effort to legalize homosexual matrimony, indicates that the hatred of the Almighty in this particular state is approaching levels that threaten to unravel those social conventions established from on high designed to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness founded on true virtue.

by Frederick Meekins]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2290 2012-05-28T14:13:00Z 2012-05-28T14:13:00Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2289 ======================================
May 27, 2012 Updates

We open with a message from Mr. Steele, ...to YOU:
"In New America, we will have equal rights for all and special rights for none."
-ed

The Board members of the Edgar Steele Defense Fund are honored to be able to correspond (via email) with Mr. Steele during his time spent so far in the Victorville, CA facility. Alas, that correspondence is not without intervention by system censors who clearly derive pleasure from delaying or loosing emails in both directions. More on short messages below.

---------------------- Idahun Pipe Bomber Larry Fairfax a free man

The best word we have is that the FBI's setup-man Fairfax is free from the life of a prisoner. It's possible that he has been free for a few months. Cyndi Steele - in typical fashion - was not notified. She reports that when she agreed to be removed from the Victim Notification System to gain visitation rights with her husband, 'they' apparently removed her name from the VNS Fairfax release notice as well. All the good it did, as 'they' still refuse to allow visits. Your tax dollars put to great use!


---------------------- Former Steele attorney Robert McAllister not free for long

From the May 24 edition of the Denver Business Journal:

"Former Denver criminal-defense attorney Robert T. McAllister, 62, pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of conspiracy to commit financial fraud and one count of bankruptcy fraud." "Sentencing is set for Sept. 14. McAllister faces a maximum penalty
of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to &36;250,000 on each of the conspiracy counts, and a maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to &36;250,000 on the bankruptcy fraud count."

http://www.bizjournals.com article
Watch carefully if McAllister is given a greatly-reduced sentence, as was done in Fairfax's case, for assuring Mr. Steele would end up in prison for excercise of his First Amendment Rights.

---------------------- David Adams releases video excerpt #2 of 4

Partial segments from the DVD expose to be released Summer 2012 on Mr. Steele's case are being made public, except #2 is now available for viewing: YouTube video
Mr. Adams continues to work near-round-the-clock in assembling all the content and footage that will make up the DVD to be released.



---------------------- Mr. Steele to speak to supporters via Twitter???


He recently asked to establish a Twitter account, such that he might send Tweets to those who connect with his account. We also hear that Edgar is considering creating a new web site to hold his prison writings. When those elements are worked out, we'll let you know, so you can - hopefully - start receving that commentary that you previously received on a more regular basis. He cannot twitter from his prison email account, but would send his messages to one of his ESDF Board member contacts, and we would pass it on to you. We're figuring out what best to do here.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2289 2012-05-27T21:02:58Z 2012-05-27T21:02:58Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2288 FORGET THE COMPANY

The advertising you see today is atrocious. It’s apparently written by giddy young tyros who think that fast action, screaming music, and bare skin is what effective advertising is all about. And just as bad is the avalanche of “how-to” blathertising the public has to put up with.

For example, the pamphlet that came with your new grill may as well have been written in Farsi. The booklet you got with your health insurance plan is migraine material. Moreover, you’re left to decide if what the company sells is really as good as advertised. Frankly, you’d do better in a gambling casino.

After writing advertising for 35 years, I offer a bit of advice to all storekeepers and business executives who fancy they are expert communicators about their product or service. My advice: Forget your company.

By that I mean, when it comes to communicating information, close your mind on what YOU think about your product and imagine what HE or SHE will think about it. Look through the customer’s eyes, not yours. This may sound like an obvious thing to do, but don’t let the simplicity of it fool you. Nor the absence of it surprise you.

More than once in my advertising career I have read through a brochure and saw how the writer told the product story from the company’s point of view, totally forgetting that the reader is much less interested in the superior design of it, than straight talk about how he can best use it, and benefit from its unique features.

Of course, nobody knows his product better than the maker of it, but it is this very ownership fascination with it that prevents him from objectively communicating its benefits in clear, concise, and simple statements. He would rather talk about the excellent construction or the quality contents of the product than what good, creative use or pleasure it would be to the customer.

Few executives escape this trap. He MADE the product, and by-george nobody can tell people about it better than HE can. He then proceeds to write a prosaic manual on name recognition, quality assurance, money-back guarantee, and number of nearby offices. But forgets (or neglects) to explain in plain, one-and-two syllable words how it works to help make your day be a smoother, easier, and perhaps less expensive adventure.

So, bottom line in advertising: forget writing about the steak (your company) and write about the sizzle (your customer’s needs). He comes first, then you.
Anything else---like having an ad agency touch up your copy and using it-- isn’t advertising. It’s toadying up to what you want, which makes for less effective advertising. And worst of all, it’s a poor use of your advertising dollars.]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2288 2012-05-27T10:01:30Z 2012-05-27T10:01:30Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2287 http://batr.org/reactionary/052712.html

Democratic politics is a false premise experiment. The foundation of the modern liberalism, based upon an erroneous worldview, is a dead end ideology. Compared to the mad NeoCon war-mongering alternative, the fatal attraction of progressives, allures weak minded and desperate people into thinking government can provide solutions. Step back from the false left-right political discussions and focus upon the principles that make up sound and balanced standards for a civil society.

Basic contrasts between Conservatives and Liberals defined by Christian Walker seem plausible.

"At the core of it, Conservatives base their ideology on what they see as reason and logic and it is individualistic by nature, whereas a liberal's ideology is based on emotion and ideals and is collective by nature. A liberal is interested in curing society's ills by social engineering. A conservative is interested in curing society's ills by individuals exercising their own choices to better themselves. Because of this, conservatives view centralized power with deep suspicion. Liberals on the other hand see centralized power as an opportunity to affect great change for good."

The central precept that separates and differentiates democratic politics from traditional conservative advocacy rests upon moral doctrine. However, scholars are determined to avoid this requirement with theories such as Realism V. Liberalism. Understanding International Relations Theory, "how the world works IR scholars usually subscribe to one of two dominant theories, realism or liberalism. One, classical/neo-realist thought, is more pessimistic about the prospects of peace, cooperation, and human progress whilst the other, liberalism/idealism, is more upbeat and sanguine about human nature and human possibilities."
Modern Liberalism is based upon the following set of assumptions:

1.Human nature is essentially "good"

2.The fundamental human concern for others' welfare makes progress possible

3.Sinful or wicked human behavior such as violence is not the product of flawed people but of evil institutions

4.War and international anarchy are NOT inevitable

5.War is a global problem requiring collective rather than national efforts to control it

6.Reforms must be inspired by a compassionate ethical concern for the welfare and security of all people

7.International society must reorganize itself in order to eliminate the institutions that make war likely

The America First foreign policy viewpoint is anti-war and anti-empire. Foreign intervention to make the world safe for democracy is pure poppycock. The premises of democratic liberalism suffer from the illusion that humanity, as a whole, is able to build a global alignment of institutions, treaties and interconnections that can result in international harmony.

The notion, which discredits democratic bias and governmental programs that surround us, is all around. The utter catastrophe of the Obama administration is not simply a failure of a partisan regime. It is systemic of a system that has abandoned time-honored principles.

The inspiring and late Dr. Schaeffer preached the following message back in 1982.

"I want to say to you, those of you who are Christians or even if you are not a Christian and you are troubled about the direction that our society is going in, that we must not concentrate merely on the bits and pieces. But we must understand that all of these dilemmas come on the basis of moving from the Judeo-Christian world view -- that the final reality is an infinite creator God -- over into this other reality which is that the final reality is only energy or material in some mixture or form which has existed forever and which has taken its present shape by pure chance."

Can any person argue with sincerity that fundamental improvement in the plight of humanity has improved in the last three decades?

Facing up to the decline in Western Civilization is hard for many people. Most prefer the comfort of illusionary denial. Justin Raimondo offers a cogent insight in The Democratic Delusion.

"Rooted in the old-fashioned idea that people are merely the playthings of all-powerful and highly abstract forces, Soviet socialism was a throwback to the reactionary mechanistic doctrines that had ruled the earth and its peoples since time immemorial. Human beings, in this view, are passive lumps of clay whose fate is determined by History, the gods, or, perhaps, the gods of history."

This looming conflict for the democratic liberal is unsettling, since their beloved governmental authority structure, is their presupposed answer to resolve intrinsic power struggles. After stripping away all the political posturing and propaganda, the Obama cohorts are left with an empty intellectual defense of their pernicious and intrusive tyranny.

Those who identify themselves as part of the Democratic Party or supporters of liberal policies really do suffer from a mental disease. The Maxine Waters’ video illustrates, while caring the bucket for the cause. Move over and watch Michael Savage, Herb Denenberg is giving you a run for top honors.

"You can look at almost any plan and policy of Obama, and more often than not find it runs contrary to common sense and logical thinking. He more often than not does the opposite of what common sense would dictate."

Apply the following Obama traits to your favorite liberal. Do they also suffer from the same symptoms?

A. NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER. If that’s not enough, consider the Mayo Clinic’s definition of narcissistic personality disorder: "Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. They believe that they’re superior to others and have little regard for other people’s feelings. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism."

B. PATHOLOGICAL LIAR. I think the most obvious disorder to add to all of the above is being a pathological liar. That condition is defined by the Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary as follows: "an individual who habitually tells lies so exaggerated or bizarre that they are suggestive of mental disorder."

C. THE TALKING DISEASE. I’ve spoken of another mental disorder, which I don’t think psychiatry has yet named. It is the talking disease. He thinks his words are magical, and that all he has to do is talk to solve problems.

Liberals and progressives want to feel your pain, while inflicting misery from the consequences of their policies. The Manchurian Candidate president champions Marxist pillaging as a badge of pride. The crux of the rationale that drives such plunder is humanism. Dr. Schaeffer warns, "A conservative Humanism is no better than a liberal Humanism. It's the Humanism that is wrong, not merely the coloration." The point made is that the liberal sickness infects "so called" conservatives with the integrations of the progressive disease into all levels and stratums of a dependent society.

Utopian delusions are the prevalent and dominate political mindset. This infection forbids a serious and substantial contraction of government deficit spending or useless programs. As long as Democrats swallow the social poison of multicultural nirvana, in a futile attempt to create a worldly paradise, the planet is doomed.

The few remaining conventional Democrats bear little similarity with the ultra totalitarian collectivists that currently hold the majority in the U.S. Senate. Abdicating the responsibility of passing a federal budget may seem trivial to the hordes of dependent addicts that vote the liberal/progressive slate. Nevertheless, the results from the next election, the prospect of instituting a sober and comprehensive reform of government is but a pipe dream for wishful escapists.

The final indisputable proof of neurotic perspective is that the electorate may likely vote Barry Soetoro to another term. The reason for such an irrational prospect is that the infected public is plagued by modern liberalism. Is it possible to dialogue with institutionalized progressives? Can cogent arguments penetrate the locked doors in their palatial asylum suites or are they so committed to their medicated state of denial that the destruction of the country is viewed as a mere academic speculation?

Radical Reactionaries understand that co-existence with essentially decadent bottom feeders is a suicidal prospect. America’s collapse is a certainty on much more than an economic level. Political dialogue or activist immersion is a most painful exercise for the average person. The depths of the "Politically Correct" culture disallow a serene separation from federal supremacy. Individual state sovereignty is the only practical response to central despotism. Democrats refused to run a primary challenge to a sitting President in their own party. That error renounced any assertion of the high ground or argument claiming the role of an honest opposition.

The legacy of FDR haunts the socialists that strive to empower the nanny state. H.L. Mencken had it correct, "The New Deal began, like the Salvation Army, by promising to save humanity. It ended, again like the Salvation Army, by running flop-houses and disturbing the peace."

Still the demographics, especially in several swing states like Virginia and Wisconsin, may rally the government employed or the entitled reliant to rise up the dead and vote for Democrats in November. To these kind of voters, the democratic view of the world, transforms into digging graves for the dynamic producers, who create all the wealth.

The progressive malady that shapes public policy is the ultimate superstition. I am from the government and here to help you . . .

SARTRE – May 27, 2012]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2287 2012-05-26T21:07:45Z 2012-05-26T21:07:45Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2286
By Jim Moore - World War ll Veteran

The “Greatest Generation” of military veterans who came home after the war with Germany and Japan in seemingly high spirits, feelings of invincibility
and optimism, rarely complained about the trauma of war. But subsequent
investigation by The Bay Citizen and the New America Media proved that that
was a false picture. In California, the rate of World War II veterans killing themselveswas nearly double the number of veterans under 35 coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Most people today will never think about this, and those who do will have difficulty
believing it. Possibly because anything to do with WW ll is foreign to them, or
Because today’s war casualties are “classified information.” The fact remains,
however, that both wars, 60 years apart, have an unacceptable rate of military suicides, although –as we will show—for entirely different reasons.

Though the killing, bloodshed and paralyzing sights and sounds are common horrors in all wars, it appears that World War ll veterans suffered the pains of mental trauma, such as suicidal thoughts, much later in life than today’s soldiers. For example, Ken Norwood, 86, who was shot down over Belgium and was a Nazi prisoner of war, says that “Some little incident will trigger a recollection about some event in combat, I’ve gotten used to it.”

Many WW ll veterans who suffered mental aberrations had other ways of “forgetting” the war. Instead of counseling, Patrick Arbore of the Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention, said the old guys “self-medicated themselves with alcohol. They never talked about it, but they go over to the American Legion or the VFW religiously and sit around and get drunk.

But to restate the question differently (based on a report from VA Secretary Eric Shinseki) “Why are 18 of our young veterans committing suicide every day?” The reasons may seem complex, but are glaringly obvious and deceptively simple.

1. A soldier’s multiple tours to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
2. Obama’s unwillingness to withdraw speedily from wars in the Middle East.
3. Fighting without knowing who or where our enemy is.
4. Having no stated objective, no battle plan and seeing no reason for the war.
5. Nation-building at the foot soldiers’ expense.
6. The commanders’ sad formula of “staying longer, trying harder and committing more troops.
7. An eleven-year, unwinnable war with no end in sight.
8. The “All Quiet on the Western Front” syndrome: being told about the glory and excitement of war, and then finding out it’s a hellhole of death, blood, broken bodies and minds, unbearable sights and sounds, and no hope of it ending.

Accept it or not, friends, those are the reasons for the increase in suicides in today’s military.]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2286 2012-05-26T17:18:36Z 2012-05-26T17:18:36Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2285
In his speeches, President Obama has noted that most of America’s problems
did not start with him, but from the poor decisions President George W. Bush made, and that he, Obama, is now stuck with them. Consequently, any lack of progress in “fixing” America is Bush’s fault, not his.

To venture the possibility that Obama may be right, Paul Levy, an expert on “spiritual emergence”, authored a stunning book titled, “The Madness of George W. Bush”, which quickly became a best-seller. Levy pulls no punches: “George W. Bush is ill. He has a psycho-spiritual disease of the soul, a sickness endemic to our culture and symptomatic of our times. Bush can sound quite coherent and appear like a “regular” guy, which makes the syndrome he is suffering from very hard to recognize.

"Because the way the personality self-organizes an outer display of coherence around a pathogenic core, I would like to name Bush’s illness Malignant Egophrenia ( as compared to schizophrenia). If ME disease goes unrecognized, and is not contained, it can be very destructive, particularly if the person afflicted is in a position of power.” (italics mine)

Now, I believe you will agree that what we have a right to expect is a reasonably sane president. But without a law that requires all presidential candidates to take a physical---AND a psychological—test, who’s to know who is and who isn’t?

Bush is a Republican. But presidential sickness has no party or preference. And
emotional illness can show up in the Democratic Party as well. Here is a report from Michael A. Haberman, M.D. quoting Israeli Psychologist Dr. Sam Vaknin, a world authority on narcissism. “I must confess I was impressed by Obama the first time I saw him. I was excited to see a black candidate. Youthful, well-spoken and confident. But I was put off soon, not because of is shallowness, but also because there was a haughtiness in his demeanor that was unsettling. Obama is not a genius. In fact he is quite ignorant on most important subjects.”

Dr. Sam Vaknin, author of Malignant Self-Love, believes that “Barrack Obama
appears to be a narcissist. “His language, posture and demeanor, suggest that the man may even have a narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Narcissists project a grandiose but false image of themselves. They create a personality cult around themselves with blazing speeches to elevate their admirers. They promise them the moon, but alas, bring them down to their doom.

“One must never underestimate the manipulative genius of pathological narcissists. Charmed by their charisma, people become like clay in his hands. Narcissists are focused on only one thing: power. They have no interest in things that do not help them reach their personal objective. Narcissists are often callous and even ruthless. And as a norm they lack conscience. This is evident from Obama’s lack of interest in his own brother who lives on &36;1.00 a month. Why no interest? His brother can’t be used for his ascent to power. A narcissist cares for no one but himself.

“Pathological narcissism is a mental health issue, not just a character flaw. And this is worrisome because they look normal, even intelligent. It is this disguise that makes them dangerous. And this is disturbing because a president’s decisions affect the lives of millions of people.”

With America on the verge of destruction, warns Dr. Haberman, there is no insanity greater than electing a pathological narcissist as president, regardless of his party.]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2285 2012-05-25T22:44:41Z 2012-05-25T22:44:41Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2284
Ask any ten people if they were familiar with the U.S. Constitution. You may get: “Well, we touched on it in high school.” Then ask if anyone has read even parts of the Constitution since school days. Two out of ten might say “yes.” Finally, with America in the fix we’re in today, ask if anyone intends to refer to the Constitution again. Chances are, nine out of ten will say “yes.”

And you can smile, because you know that the nine out of ten people you interviewed are fibbers. Because, in spite of the fact that their constitutional rights are gradually being stolen from them, nobody takes the time to find out what evil forces are doing the stealing, and why, and what will happen once we have lost our constitutional safeguards. And that’s a pity.

For this reason, I’ve decided that, since people can’t spare the time to find what or why the Constitution is of utmost importance to us, this short, briefing of “key words” reflecting America’s principles, may inspire them to get out the U.S. Constitution and, for our nation’s sake, as well as they’re own, read the entire document.

FEDERALISM
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It gives the national government certain powers and duties, and relegates all other powers and duties to the states.

LIMITED GOVERNMENT
Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by the states, are reserved to those states, or to the people of the states.


INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
All citizens in each state are entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens of the state. This protection of peoples’ rights is guaranteed by the Constitution, no matter which state they’re in.

POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
Members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen every second year by the people in each state. This means that the people have the real power. No titles of nobility (kings, monarchs, etc) shall be granted by the United States.

REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT
The United States shall guarantee to every state in the union a republican form of government. (A republican form of government is Rule by Law; a Democratic form of government is Rule by Majority) Thus, America is actually a republic, not a democracy.

SEPERATION OF POWERS
Executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. Judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity. Legislative Power is vested in the Congress of the United States.

CHECKS AND BALANCES
The three aforementioned powers, or three branches of government, are separated so that no one branch can usurp the responsibilities of any other branch, and thus become too powerful.

If this little crash course in Constitutionality has made the document more clear and understandable it has not only served its purpose but, hopefully, has also served as an inducement a get a copy of the U.S. Constitution and become familiar with it. I think it is not too much of an overstatement to say that our nation, our culture, our principles and our way of life depend on our knowledge of it.

Allow me to close this article with quotations from two of our most prominent founding fathers. Their words seem particularly appropriate at this moment in our nation’s history.

“Whoever would found a state and make proper laws for the government of it, must assume that all men are bad by nature.”--John Adams

“In questions of power let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”—Thomas Jefferson]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2284 2012-05-24T23:30:21Z 2012-05-24T23:30:21Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2283 false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2283 2012-05-23T21:16:05Z 2012-05-23T21:16:05Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2282
http://planet.infowars.com/groups/breaki...-the-rules

Select SARTRE as one of your friends.]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2282 2012-05-23T16:16:55Z 2012-05-23T16:16:55Z http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2281
As a World War II Army veteran with three years overseas, I believe I’ve earned the right to speak about Memorial Day (originally called Decoration Day) in a whole difference context.

Last Memorial Day I went to a veterans’ cemetery, sat with the crowd of devout people, listened to stirring speeches, stood up and saluted as Taps was played, then left for home, satisfied that I paid my respect to those who were killed in wars---but wondering why all these young men had to die in the first place. In short, what are we doing with our lives that makes Memorial Day necessary?

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. The Day was originally proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. Predictably, the North and South fought over the date for a century, until finally, it is now celebrated in almost every state as the last Monday in May; to ensure a 3-day weekend for Federal holidays, what else?

These days, however, we have forgotten the meaning of Memorial Day. Military gravesites are ignored, or forgotten. Flag etiquette has become an oddity. Towns across America haven’t had a parade in decades. Many people feel that Congress should shoulder the blame; when they turned Memorial Day into a 3-day weekend people got distracted from the spirit and meaning of the day.

To remind people of what Memorial Day means, “The National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed on December 2000. It asks that at 3 P.M. local time, for all Americans to “voluntarily and informally observe a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence, or listening to “Taps.”

This, to me, is a commendable effort, but it falls short. Like watching a good movie but missing the plot; or casually eating an apple and forgetting the creative power of the seed.

Better than a “Remembrance Day”, would be a “Forgiveness Day” where, we use the same moment of silence to ask Almighty God to forgive us our material propensities for hate and greed and arrogance and power that foment war. That we have buried the thought of killing each other. That war is no longer an option, because the very thought of war never enters the mind. That You, Lord, created us perfect, in whatever form we take, and realizing in the heart and mind that perfection is ours forever because: “God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.”

Holding to that thought, and reaffirming it in our moments of silence on “Forgiveness Day” could indeed start making the need for wars obsolete, make killing other human beings unthinkable, and might well “change” us as a people, and save America, our homeland.

It’s commendable and proper that we memorialize our war dead each year. But I pray that someday we have no Memorial Day because, with no more wars, there will be no more dead soldiers to remember.]]> false http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=2281