Faultline USA

Lou Dobbs Calls it Quits

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Simpson) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:05:00 +0000

Jim Simpson

CNN newsman Lou Dobbs, an increasingly strident voice against the epidemic of illegal immigration had his last show on CNN last night. Although this has apparently been in the works for a while, he tendered his resignation suddenly, only telling his staff that afternoon. Watch his excellent resignation announcement here.

MSNBC, quoted Jonathan Klein, the president of CNN/U.S. as saying “Lou has now decided to carry the banner of advocacy journalism elsewhere.” That's funny. CNN never heard of "advocacy journalism" before? What is it that they do?

Dobbs added that he wanted:

to contribute positively to the understanding of the great issues of our day ... in the most honest and direct language possible.

Good!

Go here to read more.

Lou Dobbs Photo: AP File

Veterans Day 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:46:00 +0000

VETERANS DAY 2009

Honoring all who served and are now serving!

***********************************************

THE THINGS THAT MAKE A SOLDIER GREAT
Edgar Guest

*********************
The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die, To face the flaming cannon's mouth nor ever question why, Are lilacs by a little porch, the row of tulips red, The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed,The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall: 'Tis these that make a soldier great. He's fighting for them all.

'Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a soldier brave;

'Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave;

For soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam

As when behind the cause they see the little place called home.

Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run,

You make a soldier of the man who never bore a gun.

What is it through the battle smoke the valiant soldier sees?

The little garden far away, the budding apple trees,

The little patch of ground back there, the children at their play,

Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray.

The golden thread of courage isn't linked to castle dome

But to the spot, where'er it be — the humblest spot called home.

And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there

And homesick soldiers far away know spring is in the air;

The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green,

And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been.
He sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call,

And only death can stop him now — he's fighting for them all.
********************************

The Poppy

During the Napoleonic wars, it was observed that the fields were bright with colorful red poppies before a battle. Strangely enough, it was discovered that the bombardment of these fields helped the poppy to grow! John McCrae's poem (IN FLANDER'S FIELD) became popular in 1915 and by 1918, Moina Michael began to weave poppies in remembrance of those who had died in WWI while working at the YMCA canteen. Madame Guerin learned of this in 1920 when she visited in New York from France. On her return home, she began making poppies to earn money for the children of veterans and the worn torn Europe. The USA tends to wear poppies on Memorial Day while other countries (e.g., Canada, etc.) wear them in November.
In Flanders Field
by Captain John D. McCrae

**********************************
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from failing hands, we throw
The torch-Be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
*************************************
HONORING ALL WHO SERVED and ARE NOW SERVING!
J. D. Longstreet
***********************
Conservative+Veterans-Day
Labels: Veterans Day

Positive GDP number is misleading

jsobservations@yahoo.com (James Shott) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:15:00 +0000

Commentary by James H. Shott

Last month’s Gross Domestic Product advance report showing positive productivity of 3.5 percent was certainly one piece of good news in this time of financial strife, the first positive GDP figure in over a year. Those that believe that the recession has ended are emboldened by this figure, since one measure of the end of a recession is two consecutive quarters of positive growth.

Another positive sign is the performance of the stock market, which has gained back about 45 percent of its losses since the financial crisis began. A recovery in the stock market, economists tell us, precedes the general economic recovery by six months to a year.

One not-so-good number, however, is the unemployment figure, which has risen again, and now sits above 10 percent for the first time in 26 years.

In selling his economic stimulus package to the nation President Barack Obama said that it would keep the unemployment rate at about 7 percent, whereas without the stimulus, unemployment would hit 8.8 percent by the last fiscal quarter of 2010.

Obviously, the stimulus failed to stop job loss. And, when you look beneath the surface of the GDP figure, the stimulus has produced little if any significant improvement in productivity.

Economic writer Mike Shedlock wrote about “how bad this all looks once you break down the numbers. The government sloshed trillions around and yet disposable income is down, jobs are horrendously weak, and the only reason GDP rose is wasteful government spending, cash-for-clunkers and extremely unaffordable housing tax credits whose effect is soon going to start diminishing even though the program was just extended.”

Almost half of the 3.5 percent positive GDP number (1.66 percent) came from the Cash-for-Clunkers program, which used stimulus money to incentivize car buying decisions and moved purchases that normally would occur over several months forward to an earlier time period. Consequently, since that initial surge, auto sales have dropped off.

Without the auto sales effect, GDP was still positive, although a more modest 1.9 percent, and some of that was due to the increase in government spending of 7.9 percent. So, the positive figure is far less impressive than it seems. And, the GDP advance report will be revised: a second report will follow at the end of November and the final report at the end of December. It may go up, but it might go down.

Looking ahead, the economic activity that was shifted forward by the stimulus program has prompted some economists to predict a return to negative GDP in the fourth quarter, which would reset the calculation for when the recession is over.

Something to think about is the similarity of what is going on today to what happened after the 1929 stock market crash. It is commonly thought and sometimes reported that the cause of the Great Depression of the 1930s was the market crash in October of 1929. Walter Williams, columnist and Professor of Economics at George Mason University, asks: “How could that be? By April 1930, the stock market had recovered to its pre-crash level. What is not taught in history books is the Great Depression was caused by a massive government failure,” he states.

Dr. Williams goes on to blame actions by the Federal Reserve Bank that led to the contraction of the money supply by 25 percent, the passage of the Smoot-Hawley Act in June 1930 in the name of saving jobs, which increased U.S. tariffs by more than 50 percent, causing a collapse of world trade when other nations retaliated against the U.S. action.

He cites other missteps that include the imposition of the largest tax increase in U.S. history (at the time) that raised the top tax rate on income from 25 percent to 63 percent, and then the New Deal legislation that heavily regulated the economy and extended the Great Depression to after World War II.

“Have today's politicians and their economic advisers learned anything from yesteryear's policy that turned what would have been a short, sharp downturn in the economy into a 16-year affair?” Dr. Williams asks. His answer: they have learned very little.

Dr. Williams echoes Johns Hopkins University economics professor and Cato Institute Fellow Steve Hanke’s belief that the chief enabler of both the Great Depression and our latest economic downturn is the Federal Reserve Bank. Dr. Hanke believes the Fed views itself as America's “systemic risk regulator,” but he sees this as exactly backward: The Federal Reserve is the systemic risk.

Today we see obscene levels of government spending, with the stimulus bill and other spending measures increasing the deficit by one trillion dollars. We watch helplessly as the Democrat-controlled Congress works overtime to jam through highly controversial and largely unpopular measures like health care reform and cap and trade. That means even more government spending; raising taxes on businesses that will stymie job creation; and skyrocketing energy costs, which will raise the cost of goods and services for everyone. And the Fed goes merrily along unchecked.

It’s déjà vu all over again, folks. Can we make the same mistakes as our predecessors and expect a different result?

Cross-posted from Observations

The Health Care Bill Americans Don’t Want

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:46:00 +0000

The Health Care Bill Americans Don’t Want
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet.
*****************************

The US House of Representatives passed a Health Care Bill over the weekend that will never see the light of day. Yes, it will go to the US Senate -- and that is as far as the House bill will go. The Senate Health Care bill will be a different animal, entirely.

Public Option must go. Public Option will not be a part of a Senate Health Care bill. That is a good thing. An even better thing would be for there to be no Health Care Bill at all!

Now, I am just an ole country boy, with limited book learning, but even I know that Americans don’t want the monstrosity the US House was congratulating itself on passing last Saturday.

I could not help but think to myself, as I watched them preen and parade their pride before America that many of the Democrats had just committed political suicide. Their façade of smiles and backslapping will crumble soon, especially when they get home for the holidays and their spurned, and burned, constituents begin to “button-hole” them and explain to them why they can expect this to be their last term in the Congress. And that, too, will be a good thing.

NEXT November the American voters will have their say officially and it is going to be a democrat massacre at the polls.

Why is it so difficult for the democrats to understand that Americans would have settled for insurance coverage for those unable to afford it? THAT we could do. It would be a strain but we could manage to pay for it. What Americans do not want is Universal Healthcare with a trillion and a half dollar price tag, which we cannot pay for!

Americans also do not want the so-called public option. Americans do not want anybody, or anything, or any entity, between them and their doctor! Period! When the government announces IT will be the gatekeeper between all Americans and their sacred relationship with their personal physician, the national ire began rising.

Allow me to give you an example of what Americans fear. Today I was experiencing a problem with my eyes. I picked up the phone and dialed my doctor’s office and explained the symptoms. I asked when I could see the doctor. The receptionist asked how long it would take me to drive to the office. I replied: “5 or 6 minutes.” The receptionist then directed me to “come on.” I was seen and treated in short order and was back home in no time. Do you really, REALLY, think Socialized Medicine will provide that sort of medical service? This relationship with one’s doctor will be destroyed by Socialized Medicine… and THAT is what Americans fear!

Today, Americans are finally paying attention to the run-away, rogue, Congress in Washington. Not just conservative Americans, either. Our congress is out of control and is in desperate need of being reined in. The way we rein in a congress is by tossing out as many offending Congresspersons and Senators as we possible can. Unfortunately, in America, we have no apparatus for a vote of “no confidence” with which we could dissolve the Congress and hold new elections. As a result we must wait until November of 2010 to clean the House AND the Senate!

Many months ago this scribe told you the problem with the democrats is -- every time they come to power they overreach. EVERY TIME. They have not disappointed. This past weekend the democrats stayed true to their history and they overreached again… BIG TIME. And it will cost them BIG TIME!

J. D. Longstreet

************************

Conservative+ObamaCare+Congress+Democrats+Election

Cartoon video from 50 years ago predicts today's political environment

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:48:00 +0000

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Fifty years ago, the issues of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were the same as today. The only difference between then and now - the snake oil salesman is female. See video below.

Snake Oil Salesmen

This is a priceless 50 year-old cartoon, demonstrating how big and small business thrives alongside labor. Then as today, one cannot survive without the other - capital and labor working together.

insert here photo of Nancy Pelosi with rose in teeth

Liberals contend that America is different today, our needs are different, the U.S. Constitution is no longer relevant, but this humorous and desperately serious cartoon shows how the struggle for liberty never ends...until we let "them" end it.

Fifty year old political cartoon predicts future (video)

Copenhagen Treaty to Create a One-World Government?

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:38:00 +0000

Copenhagen Treaty to Create a One-World Government?

Will US Cede its Sovereignty to a Global Government?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
************************************

Lord Christopher Monckton, the former science adviser to Margaret Thatcher, warned Americans "in the next few weeks, unless you stop it, your president will sign your freedom, your democracy and your prosperity away forever."Lord Monckton was speaking about the Copenhagen Treaty on Climate Change.While speaking at the Minnesota Freemarket Institute Conference recently, Lord Monckton said the following:

“At [the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in] Copenhagen, this December, weeks away, a treaty will be signed. Your president will sign it. Most of the third world countries will sign it, because they think they’re going to get money out of it. Most of the left-wing regime from the European Union will rubber stamp it. Virtually nobody won’t sign it.

I read that treaty. And what it says is this, that a world government is going to be created. The word “government” actually appears as the first of three purposes of the new entity. The second purpose is the transfer of wealth from the countries of the West to third world countries, in satisfaction of what is called, coyly, “climate debt” – because we’ve been burning CO2 and they haven’t. We’ve been screwing up the climate and they haven’t. And the third purpose of this new entity, this government, is enforcement.

How many of you think that the word “election” or “democracy” or “vote” or “ballot” occurs anywhere in the 200 pages of that treaty? Quite right, it doesn’t appear once. So, at last, the communists who piled out of the Berlin Wall and into the environmental movement, who took over Greenpeace so that my friends who funded it left within a year, because [the communists] captured it – Now the apotheosis as at hand. They are about to impose a communist world government on the world. You have a president who has very strong sympathies with that point of view. He’s going to sign it. He’ll sign anything. He’s a Nobel Peace Prize [winner]; of course he’ll sign it.” You may read the entire article here: SOURCE.
Watch Lord Monckton’s Speech on Video

We live in exceedingly dangerous times for freedom and democracy. As our socialist President prepares to fly off to Copenhagen and sign the Copenhagen Treaty, we freedom loving Americans need to be lobbying the US Senate insisting they not ratify the Copenhagen Treaty. Remember, if they do, it will supercede US law. The 2nd clause of Article VI of the US Constitution reads thusly:

"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."

In Reid v. Covert the Supreme Court in 1957 said: “There is nothing new or unique about what we say here. This Court has regularly and uniformly recognized the supremacy of the Constitution over a treaty.” But THAT was in 1957! Do you REALLY want to risk the US Constitution before the current Supreme Court?? Do you, as a freedom loving American, want to be ruled by a non-elected Global Government?

This is serious stuff.

There is no doubt Obama will sign that treaty.

Now, here is what is so frightening about all this: Obama could choose to approach the treaty as an executive agreement type of treaty in which case ratification by the Senate would not be required. The instant Obama places his signature on the document it is a done deal. On the other hand, he could ask for the advice and consent of the Senate. He will be asking the Senate to ratify it by a two-thirds vote. Somehow, I do not see Obama asking for advice and consent from the US Senate on a treaty he surely knows has little chance of obtaining the two-thirds approval of that body. If Obama DOES ask for ratification by the Senate we have a chance to save our country. If he doesn’t – The United States of America could become the serf of some nameless, faceless, non-elected Global Government. It is as simple – and -- as deadly as THAT!

J. D. Longstreet
*****************

Obama+Copenhagen-Treaty+GlobaGovernment+Socialist+Communist

PelosiCare penalties for not buying what she's selling

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:47:00 +0000

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

If PelosiCare passes, the bill has some very stiff penalties for those refusing to participate. Rep. David Camp (R-MI) requested official word from the Joint Committee on Taxes. If you do not buy what PelosiCare is selling fines of up to $250,000 and up to 5 years imprisonment, including both civil and criminal trials, may be in your future.

David Camp

The following information is taken from a letter to Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), the ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means Republicans. Camp asked for clarification of penalties to be imposed if a taxpayer chooses not to purchase at least a $15,000 policy - which Camp says is the "lowest cost family non-group plan under the Speaker's bill" in 2016.

The date stamp is November 5, 2009 and is on the letterhead of Congress of the United States, Joint Committee on Taxation and is signed by Thomas A. Barthold. Read the entire pdf letter here, as well as Rep. Camp's comments. The following are signifigant snippets:

“H.R. 3962 provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax.” [page 1]

Among possible Civil penalties for not obeying Nancy Pelosi:
* An "accuracy" penalty of 20% of the underpayment attributable to the health care tax, based on negligence...

* A fraud penalty of 75% of the underpayment...

* A $5,000 penalty for taking a frivolous position on a tax return...

* A delinquency penalty of .5% of the unperpayment, each month, up to a max of 25% of the underpayment...

Among possible Criminal penalties for evading PelosiCare:
* A misdemeanor willful failure to pay - fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

*A felony willful evasion - fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 5 years.

Obama’s Contempt for America!

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:29:00 +0000

Obama’s Contempt for America!
The Obama Regime’s “Stalinist” Approach to Governing
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

***********************************

I still get chills up my spine when I hear stories of the way Obama’s henchmen are going about governing this nation. Why? It frightens me because I have seen it before. Actually I have seen it thrice before. I saw it in Germany and Italy, in the 1930’s and 1940’s, and in Russia from the Bolshevik Revolution in the early 1900’s until the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Just the other day Thomas Sowell, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, asked this question: “Just one year ago, would you have believed that an unelected government official, not even a Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate but simply one of the many "czars" appointed by the president, could arbitrarily cut the pay of executives in private businesses by 50 percent or 90 percent?

Did you think that another "czar" would be talking about restricting talk radio? That there would be plans afloat to subsidize newspapers — that is, to create a situation where some newspapers' survival would depend on the government liking what they publish?

Did you imagine that anyone would even be talking about having a panel of so-called "experts" deciding who could and could not get life-saving medical treatments?

Scary as that is from a medical standpoint, it is also chilling from the standpoint of freedom. If you have a mother who needs a heart operation or a child with some dire medical condition, how free would you feel to speak out against an administration that has the power to make life and death decisions about your loved ones?

Does any of this sound like America?” Read the entire article HERE.

THAT’S where we are in Obama’s America today. It resembles more and more, every day, Stalin’s Russia -- and I don’t like it at all.

I know it does no good to repeat the mantra “we told you so”, over and over again, but, we DID tell you this would happen and we were called racists and red necks, and idiots, and morans, and just about every negative epthet one can think of. And yet -- time has proven us correct.

In the Thomas Sowell article, at Deseret News, Mr. Sowell goes on. He says: “President Barack Obama has already floated the idea of a national police force, something we have done without for more than two centuries.

We already have local police forces all across the country and military forces for national defense, as well as the FBI for federal crimes and the National Guard for local emergencies. What would be the role of a national police force created by Obama, with all its leaders appointed by him?”

That is an extremely importan question. Ever hear of the Gestapo?

“The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany.

The Gestapo had the authority to investigate treason, espionage and sabotage cases and cases of criminal attacks on the Nazi Party and Germany. The basic Gestapo law passed by the government in 1936 gave the Gestapo carte blanche to operate without judicial oversight. The Gestapo was specifically exempted from responsibility to administrative courts, where citizens normally could sue the state to conform to laws. The Gestapo also had the responsibility for setting up and administering concentration camps.” (Read the entire article HERE. )

It is a sad commentary on the Presidency to have to admit that Obama, the President of the United States, harbors great contempt for this country. “We have to understand that Obama looks at this country as an obstacle, … and as a country that was immoral and unjust before he was elected.” (SOURCE).

In an article, by AWR Hawkins, at Pajamas Media, we find this: “This belief in the “terrible things” America has done led to Obama’s international apology tour and his quasi-sycophantic Muslim outreach earlier this year. Both these things were direct outgrowths of Obama’s contempt for this country… …” SOURCE.

You see – we are getting a picture here of a man who, apparently, believes that, somehow, America has done some really bad things, committed some heinous evils on the peoples of the earth, uh, before HE became President, of course, and he is bound to see that America is never able to commit those evils again.

Does this explain why Obama seems to cozy up to tyrants? Is it true that Obama actually LIKES tyrants and dislikes America? (Hugo Chavez, Manuel Zelaya, and yes, Castro, all come to mind.) Is that evidence enough that the common man, and America, come in second to these tinhorn dictators in Obama’s mind?

Look, when American business becomes more concerned with pleasing the government than pleasing their customers, and consumers, and stockholders, then we, as a capitalist country, are in deep, deep, trouble. And THAT, dear reader is where we find ourselves today!

The path America will take over the next few months and years is as predictable as tomorrow’s sunrise. How can I say that? Because, dear reader, this ain’t my first rodeo! I have been around the block a few times and I have seen it all too many times before. To those of us for whom history did not begin the day we were born, this is all too familiar.

We Americans need, from time to time, to go back and read our founding documents. For instance, the famous preamble to the Declaration of Independence includes the ideas and ideals that were principles of the Declaration. It is also an assertion of what is known as the "right of revolution” that is, people have certain rights, and when a government violates these rights, the people have the right to "alter or abolish" that government. Read the words below from the Declaration of Independence:

“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 of 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 effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

We Americans have a right, and we have a duty, to rein in an out of control government. We must never allow a federal government to become so powerful that the people are compelled to serve it rather than it, the government, serving the people who created it. Americans seem to have forgotten the federal government was created by the states as an agent of the states, not the other way around. As a result, America is in deep trouble today.

America is STILL worth saving and we, as Americans, must make every effort to rescue her and set her aright. We owe it to the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedom and we owe it to the generations not yet born to preserve this wonderful nation for them and their posterity.

J. D. Longstreet

****************

Obama+Socialism+Marxism+Stalinist

Jihadis Attack Fort Hood!

noreply@blogger.com (Findalis) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:58:00 +0000

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

For some years now there has been a lax attitude in background checks for members of the military. This is especially true of Muslim members of the military. This attitude is the result of CAIR forcing the military to adopt such position towards Muslims.

Today this has hit the US Army right in the stomach with the rampage at Fort Hood by Major Malik Nadal Hasan:

Eleven people plus a gunman were dead and 31 wounded after the gunman opened fire Thursday on a soldier-processing center at Fort Hood, Texas, officials said.

The gunman was a soldier, and two other soldiers have been detained as suspects, Army Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said.

The slain gunman was identified as Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, according to a law enforcement source. The source believes he is 39 or 40 years old.

Ten of the other dead also were soldiers, while the remaining one was a civilian police officer who was working as a contractor on the base, Cone said.

Two of the injured were in "very serious" condition, Fort Hood spokesman Christopher Hogue said.

The primary shooter had two weapons, both handguns, he said.

"The local police response forces were there relatively quickly and killed the confirmed shooter," Cone said.

President Obama called the shootings "tragic" and "a horrific outburst of violence." He expressed his condolences for the shooting victims.

"These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk, and at times give, their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis," Obama said. "It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil."

Officials at Fort Hood, which is the Army's largest U.S. post, were asking people there to stay away from windows, CNN affiliate KXXV said. The incident took place at the sports dome, now known as the soldier readiness area, the station reported.

A congressional aide said he was on the post to attend a graduation service when he saw a soldier with blood on his uniform near the building where the service was being held, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Read the full story here.

My prayers go out to the families of the dead and wounded. I ask each of my readers to include the dead and wounded in their prayers.

It is time that full background checks are done for each person in the military. Especially those of the Muslim faith. When the facts come to light, we shall find that Major Hasan was a member of CAIR (the US political arm of Hamas in the United States), the Muslim American Society (MAS), or even Hizbollah or al Qaeda.

In April Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned that returning veterans would become involved in terrorism and anti-government activities. These veterans she inferred would be angry white men.

Secretary Napolitano should stop looking at white, male veterans and start looking at the Muslim community pronto!

I ask our leaders to stop appeasing those who wish to destroy us. I ask that we go very hard against those who wish to destroy us.

These attacks will only continue and get worse until we either destroy the enemy or cave into all of their demands. Given the attitude of our President, he will surrender as soon as he can!

Is This Recession a Huge Marxist Trick?

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:30:00 +0000

Is This Recession a Huge Marxist Trick?
Forcing Political Change Through Orchestrated Crisis
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

********************************

Remember that “Shadow Government” in Washington we warned about months ago? Well, ten months have now elapsed in the Obama Regime’s subjugation of America and yours truly is even more convinced now, than ever, that such a Shadow Government does, in fact, exist and is all but running the United States.

I have had the nagging feeling that this recession has been manufactured and guided, or shepherded, right from the outset. I have also come to believe that the Cloward and Piven Strategy has been employed as the vehicle to intentionally crash the US economy in order to demoralize the American people in such a way, and so deeply, that the citizens will accept the declaration which has yet to come -- but is expected, by this scribe, at some point shortly after the first of the year, stating that our current economic system, capitalism, has failed and our democratic capitalist republic form of government has, likewise, failed and it is now time for the American people to create a new political system in America. That proposed political system will be socialism/communism and the American economy will then be based on the tenants of Marxism and it will lean heavily on a redistribution of the nation’s wealth.

Now, if we are right, all this planning was made long before Obama arrived on the scene -- and since day one in the White House the Shadow Government, with Obama as their mouth piece reading the scripts that have been prepared for him, has been setting the agenda for the implementation of a Socialist/Marxist government to take the place of our democratic republic as soon next year as they are able to convince the American people that without the change over to socialism/communism America, and capitalism, is doomed.

All last summer, before the election, we warned this could happen and probably would. Now all indications are that it is ready for implementation.

I am convinced that Obama’s Shadow Government is a group of socialists and Marxists bent on bringing America to her knees and making her crawl to them begging for a new, workable form of government, They are ready! They have the long drawn-up plans in their briefcases ready to be put into action.

We have been set-up. You and I, all Americans have been given the “Mushroom Treatment. Like Mushrooms, we have been kept in the dark and fed a steady diet of horse manure.

I can’t speak for you, but like Howard Beal, of the famous movie “Network,” I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” And neither should you!

So what is the Cloward Piven Strategy? Simply put it is the strategy of forcing political change through orchestrated crisis. The "Cloward-Piven Strategy" seeks to hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse.

In an article at The American Thinker, James Simpson says the following: “Barack Obama, the Cloward-Piven candidate, no matter how he describes himself, has been a radical activist for most of his political career. That activism has been in support of organizations and initiatives that at their heart seek to tear the pillars of this nation asunder in order to replace them with their demented socialist vision.” Read the entire article HERE.

The Shadow Government, comprised of all those leftist radicals with whom Obama has been associated most of his adult life, in my opinion, orchestrated the current economic crisis. They did it for one reason. That one reason was, again – in my opinion -- to cause the collapse of the democratic capitalist republic of the United States and replace it with the new Socialist States of America!

It is nearly overwhelming just to think that one’s fellow Americans would do such a thing!

With Obama in the White House, during this critical time in our history, we truly have the fox guarding the henhouse! Obama can brush aside all the inquiries concerning his association with leftist radicals if he wishes, but when one steps back, and gets a look at the big picture of Obama’s life, one begins to understand that the major influences on his life came from a long list of the crème de la crème of leftist radicals in America with whom he associated. When you make that critical observation you cannot help but be convinced that Obama, himself, is a willing participant in the campaign to bring about the collapse of America’s democratic, capitalist, republic and replace it with a socialist/marxist regime. As Obama has spent nearly his entire adult life totally immersed in the socialist, leftists, ideology, what else could one expect.

Look around you. Look at America today. Look at the financial mess our economic system is in today. Then consider the truckloads of money siphoned from the US treasury and spent on so-called bailouts that have done no good, and will do no good, and then consider the Cloward Piven Strategy again: “The strategy of forcing political change through orchestrated crisis. The “Cloward-Piven Strategy” seeks to hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse.” Could it be any clearer? The very politicians who swear they are trying to get us out of this mess are the very same politicians who got us into the mess in the first place!

I am now convinced that Obama and his henchmen intend to continue tossing one crisis after another at our financial and governmental systems until they cause a collapse of both systems. Then they intend to replace our democratic republic with a socialist/marxist regime.

It has been reported they intend to first use the power of persuasion – and -- if that doesn’t work they intend to use “the persuasion of power.” Did you get that? You had better understand what that means.

They have just begun their massive transfer of power FROM the people of the United States TO the Shadow Government. After Christmas, after the first of the year, expect the financial crisis to worsen. That will be your tip-off that the socialist troops are on the move. It will be time to man the barricades. Forewarned is forearmed.

Yes. I know how this must sound to my readers. Paranoia. OK. Let me say this: If everybody IS out to get you – then paranoia is just damn good thinking!

Look. I love this country and I do not want to see her hijacked by a socialist movement that will rot the soul of the people of America. We need to begin a SAVE AMERICA MOVEMENT right now. This once great country can be great again, but first she needs rescuing. We cannot rescue her by standing on the sidelines. We will soon learn whether we are the Home of the Brave – or not!

J. D. Longstreet

*******************

Conservative+Shadow-Government+Obama+Socialism+Marxism

What’s behind the manic rush to pass dangerous, intrusive legislation?

jsobservations@yahoo.com (James Shott) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:57:00 +0000

Commentary by James H. Shott

Belief in manmade climate change has dropped off in recent years and support for cap and trade measures also is losing steam. This latter trend is picking up speed as it becomes more obvious that climate scientists are sharply divided on whether humans play any role in global warming/global cooling/climate change. However, the U.S. Congress races blindly on with plans to enact sweeping, intrusive legislation, undaunted by either the lack of convincing evidence that human activity affects the environment, or the public’s increasing disaffection with this legislation.

While a recent CNN poll found that 60 percent support cap and trade measures, it neglected to mention to participants that these measures will raise energy and other costs, instead talking only about companies paying penalties for their greenhouse-gas emissions.

But when consumers realize their pocketbooks will take a hit, they have a different view, as shown by a poll commissioned by NBC and The Wall Street Journal. The survey asked half the respondents: “Would you approve or disapprove of a proposal that would require companies to reduce greenhouse gases that cause global warming, even if it would mean higher utility bills for consumers to pay for the changes?” This question garnered only 48 percent approval when respondents realized their costs would rise, while 43 percent disapproved, a significant change from April, when 53 percent approved and 40 percent disapproved.

The other half was asked questions about the importance of greenhouse-gas pollution. Only 29 percent regard it as a serious problem requiring immediate action (down from 34 percent in 2007), and 29 percent also believe we don’t know enough and need more research (up from 25 percent in 2007). These changes in public perception of this issue occurred despite the one-sided coverage of the scientific debate on manmade climate change.

Each house of Congress has its own version of this legislative misadventure, crafted in Capital backrooms in meetings to which the minority party was not invited, the 946-page Waxman-Markey bill in the House and the 821-page Kerry-Boxer bill in the Senate.

During climate change hearings Montana Democrat Sen. Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, commented that “we cannot afford the unmitigated impacts of climate change but we also cannot afford the unmitigated effects of legislation.” Like so many in Congress Sen. Baucus is unaware that human-caused climate change is a tenuous claim, at best, so his comment is only half right; we cannot afford the unmitigated effects of this legislation.

Putting that concern into practical terms, Steve Roberts, president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, which represents businesses providing jobs to a majority of West Virginia workers, said that while the administration and Congress have put several anti-business measures into effect, the greatest threat to his state lies in the cap and trade bills. Speaking to the Rotary Club of Bluefield, W.Va., he said that in addition to raising the cost of electricity, the Waxman-Markey Bill contains 1,000 costly new mandates and 420 expensive resolutions that employers will have to implement, if the bill becomes law.

Mr. Roberts believes it is possible to craft legislation to address carbon pollution that would actually do something about it, but Waxman-Markey will have no measurable impact on the environment. It will, however, have a substantial negative impact on the economy of West Virginia, as well as neighboring southwestern Virginia, and other states whose economy depends upon energy.

Another leader whose organization represents businesses providing jobs to Americans – nine million jobs, to be precise – is Jack Gerard, President of the American Petroleum Institute. “Like the House climate change bill,” he said, “the Senate’s Kerry-Boxer bill would hurt our economy by killing American jobs, increasing energy costs and undermining our nation’s energy security.” He said that multiple studies show that more than two million jobs, net of any so-called “green” jobs created, will be lost, and rising direct and indirect energy costs will hit everyone in the pocketbook.

“The Kerry-Boxer bill would undermine America’s energy security,” he continued. “Under the bill, many refining and related jobs would likely move offshore to countries that have lower costs because they do not have similar climate change laws. Americans would be more dependent on foreign sources of gasoline and other refined products. … We should not be sending any of these jobs overseas.”

The Energy Information Administration analysis of the House bill predicts gasoline prices may exceed $5 a gallon and diesel prices may exceed $5.60. With our economy struggling to recover from a historical recession, now is not the time to enact job-killing legislation, or measures that will raise the cost of living for the American people.

Job creation will suffer if businesses spend more of their money on higher taxes and higher operational costs, and everyday Americans can’t buy more products to spur the economy if they don’t have a job, or they have less to spend on wants and needs because the costs of energy and everything associated with it have been driven higher by thoughtless legislation.

Surely our servants in Washington are capable of understanding this simple economic equation. But perhaps they are more concerned with increasing control over their constituents than with protecting their interests.

Cross-posted from Observations

Saving The New Socialist/Communist America From Itself

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:21:00 +0000

Saving The New Socialist/Communist America From Itself
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
************************************

That thing that could not happen HAS, indeed, happened in America.

Back in the 18th century, some very independent folks living along the eastern seaboard of the North American continent decided they wanted to be free. They decided they did not want a sovereign of any kind, a king, a czar, an emperor, or ANY kind of sovereign, to rule over them.

So they challenged a world super power and fought a long, grueling, war for independence and, against all odds, they won! They set themselves up a government called a democratic republic. They even wrote into their laws that no citizen of their country could have a title. There would be no royalty, in this country; there would be no ruling class in this country. This country would be ruled over by its people!

So – how did that work out? Pretty good, actually... up ‘til fairly recently, that is.

So, what happened? Socialism happened. Back in the 1930’s the FDR Administration ushered socialism into America. He held the door open wide. Some say that FDR, himself, was not a socialist but was willing to TRY socialism in order to advance his political career. However, he was surrounded by socialists in the White House and, some say, even his wife was a socialist.

FDR’s New Deal was a socialist program. There can be no denying it. It did not bring the depression to an end; in fact, looking back on it today we can see how it prolonged The Great Depression rather than shortening it and restoring the American economy. Truth be told, it was the Second World War that ended the depression in America. But, America’s flirtation with socialism had begun. One political party seemed to really like those socialist ideas and the power of a strong central government over the lives of their fellow citizens, especially if they happened to fill those positions in which they, themselves, could wield that power. Oh, did I mention, FDR was a Democrat?

Then in the 1960’s President Lyndon Johnson introduced America to something called “The Great Society.” More socialism was introduced to the American people. The US government ballooned in size and power. And something else showed up in America for the first time -- something very ugly. It was cultural Marxism. That is employing Marxist thought into the media, art, theatre, film, and other cultural institutions in a society. And, boy, did they ever! It has become so inter-twined in American society today that it is accepted as the norm.

You probably know Cultural Marxism as most American do. Today we refer to it as “Political Correctness.” The practice of political correctness is nothing more than employing Marxist thought. William S. Lind is reported to have said: "Political Correctness is cultural Marxism. It is Marxism translated from economic into cultural terms. It is an effort that goes back not to the 1960s and the hippies and the peace movement, but back to World War I. If we compare the basic tenets of Political Correctness with classical Marxism the parallels are very obvious.” Lind goes on to say that American citizens are "afraid of using the wrong word, a word denounced as offensive or insensitive, or racist, sexist, or homophobic.” He says that such changes can be attributed to the influence of cultural Marxists.

All of this was an expansion of socialism mixed with outright Marxism and it occurred in the 1960’s under the Johnson Administration. Oh, need I remind you that LBJ was a democrat?

Now, here we are today, with Barack Obama in the White House and we are looking down the barrel of another gigantic expansion of socialism in America. Socialized Medicine. I KNOW they don’t like us using that term – socialized Medicine, but THAT, dear reader, is exactly what it is! Changing the name to something like “Universal Healthcare” or “public option insurance” is political correctness and we have just learned that political correctness in nothing more that Marxism.

Since we have begun shucking this particular ear of corn, let us shuck it further: Socialism is nothing more than communism. It is not quite as bold as full-blown communism. It is stealthier than full-blown communism. A better word, I think is “sneakier.” It is socialism until it has a nation by the throat then it becomes known by its real name – COMMUNISM!

As a soldier in the US Army in the 1950’s and 1960’s I was trained to fight communism. Now I am forced to watch it take away my country, right before my eyes -- and if I raise my voice in protest I am shouted down as another “right-wing nut!”

The thing I want you to understand, as my readers, is this: In my opinion, American is not only becoming a socialist nation, America is becoming a communist nation. Our current government in the Congress and in the White House is leading America into the darkness from which it will not, it cannot, emerge. Socialism/communism rots the soul of a nation and utterly destroys it. It is a hard truth. It is a truth we had better deal with and very quickly. Much damage has been done and even if we could turn America around, on a dime, today it will be generations before we can ever claim a democratic republic again as our chosen form of government. I believe it to be that bad today.

Before I forget, I just want to be sure you understand that Barack Obama is a democrat as are the leaders in the Congress of the United States. Do I detect a trend here? You might want to consider that fact, long and hard, over the next year as we prepare to go to the polls in the 2010 elections.

If we are to save America we must begin NOW! Do not deceive yourselves, it will be a long bitter battle, and it may well end in a divided country. As it stands today the socialists and the communists have the upper hand. I am convinced that the battle to reclaim America for the democratic republic she was meant to be will be led by the Christian Conservatives. The disaffected from the left will slowly join the ranks of the “Save America” movement over time.

We must blunt the socialist/communists as best we can, these days, and the first targets must be the Socialized Medicine Bill and the Cap and Trade Bill now before the current socialist dominated Congress. Neither must be allowed to pass.

The movement to Save America must begin NOW!

J. D. Longstreet

******************

America+Socialism+Communism

The Triumvirate of DUMB!

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:05:00 +0000

The Triumvirate of DUMB!

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
***********************************

Where are the “Grown-ups” in the Obama Regime? I look around and I see emotionally immature people traipsing about in the West Wing of the White House with the blessing of the uno numero socialist in America, President Obama. Then I look up the Hill to the Congress and I see Harry Reid over in the Senate, and I see Nancy Pelosi over in the House of Representatives -- and I shudder. I fear I am looking at “Dumb” and “Dumber.” It is frightening to realize that our country is in the hands of those three people: Obama, Reid, and Pelosi. You know what is even scarier? Pelosi is third in line for the Presidency should something, God forbid, happen to the President and the Vice-President.

There is a great deal of angst in the US these days. One can almost feel the tension in the air. Each day we awaken to another day of wondering what exactly the Obama regime is going to do today to strip more of our precious freedom away.

Already we have a Cap and Trade bill hanging over our heads. That bill alone is going to cost every American family mucho deniro in the years ahead as the government attempts to fight an enemy that doesn’t even exist. I am referring to global warming, or as the “environuts” are wont to say -- “Climate Change.” The “Bailouts” have strapped a generation, or so, of

Americans, even those yet unborn, with thousands of dollars of debt they must pay off in their lifetimes on this earth. I have read that the Obama Regime has saddled America with more debt in his ten months, or so, in office than all the previous US Presidents combined! Unemployment in America is now over nine percent and climbing. With fewer jobs there is less disposable income, less money in the marketplace, and that has affected Wall Street and stocks are all over the map. Investors are as nervous as a lady of ill repute in church!

Now, comes socialized medicine. The added cost to Americans is expected to be well over a trillion dollars in the first decade, and, frankly, we have serous doubts it will turn out to be that cheap. And regardless of what our esteemed senators and congresspersons are telling us it WILL affect the nations deficit and wreak even more havoc with what is left of our economy.

If there is any silver-lining, at all, to the dark clouds gathered over America these days, it is the very real possibility that in one year, if we can hang on, there is likely to be a political massacre of democrat politicians at the ballot box.

Even the liberal voters who flocked to the polls in 2008 to elect Obama are now having serious doubts about him and his policies.

I have noticed some of the more liberal journalists are bemoaning Obama’s failure to stand by his campaign promises, those promises especially favored by ultra-liberals, and, in fact, has continued a number of Bush’s policies and programs with what appears to be total disregard for the leftist dreams he has shattered along the way over the past ten months, or so.

Now, we are told, some in the White House are experiencing some trembling in the knees as Tuesday’s elections approach and their candidates are not making the “showing” they were expected to make against the more conservative candidates. In fact, The Obama Regime is admitting that at least a couple of races, they deem especially important to them, are likely to go to the opposition as their candidates go down in flames. One must ask: is this a precursor to coming attractions in 2012? Could be. But, 2012 is still a long way off and things change at a remarkable velocity in politics, especially national politics.

Dumb, dumber, and dumbest. Taking on Fox News was, probably the dumbest move yet. But, hey, that is what happens when people with power get cocky. They open themselves up to return fire.

I was in the US Army Artillery during my service in the military. One of the important lessons we learned -- and it is a lesson readily applied to one’s life -- is to always remember when the enemy is in range of your guns – YOU are in range of THEIRS! Somebody apparently forgot to tell the folks in the Obama Regime.

Americans have, at a minimum, three more years of wondering what we are going to be hit with next. Are we worried? You are “durn tootin” we’re worried -- and with good reason. We still do not see a viable presidential candidate being groomed by the Republicans to run against Obama in 2012. Oh, yes! It is truly worrisome.

J. D. Longstreet
***************

Conservative+Obama-Regime+Pelosi+Reid+Dumb

Is The Cost of Freedom Too High? Totalitarian Socialism is Much Cheaper!

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:08:00 +0000

Is The Cost of Freedom Too High? Totalitarian Socialism is Much Cheaper!
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
************************************************

I’ve thought about it for a long while now and I have concluded that the US needs to recant its pledge not to be the first to use the atom bomb in a war/conflict. I mean, hey, we did it, already. Two of them, in fact! Perhaps you remember August 1945 and a place called Japan??? I do!

Look, we are allowing ourselves to be tied up in these little brushfire wars in Afghanistan, and Iraq, when both could be ended by a flight of B-2’s and a few nukes.

What about the problem in Iran? Well, Mr. Ahmadinejad wants the atomic bomb? Well, I say give it to him, several, actually, delivered from the bomb bay of a B-2, or B-52 bomber.

Then… the little squirt in North Korea, we could provide a demonstration of what a REAL atomic blast looks like… up close and personal!

For those of you screaming at the computer and pulling your hair out about now, YES, I know it is extreme. But understand this: the whiners and those who bitch, and moan, about the war in Afghanistan going badly, and those who force our armed forces to fight with one, or both, hands tied behind their backs are, quite frequently, the same people. They are quickly pushing the US into a corner. A corner, from which, the only means of escape is to lash out in all directions. The most effective way to do that is with our atomic arsenal.

I hear the “national scolds” complaining that we have now been in Iraq as longer than it took for us to fight the Second World War. Well, actually, that’s true, but we have less KIA’s than we had the day we hit the beach in Normandy!

So, you want to leave win the war, any war? Use the nuke arsenal. It would be quick, efficient, very effective, and there would be no question as to the victor. Leave the offending country a radioactive pile of debris for the next few thousand years.

We have the material, the methods, and the means to take out any country causing trouble for us in the world. I must tell you, those atomic weapons, as costly as they are, would be more cost efficient than placing a couple hundred thousand troops on the ground, in a troublesome region, and supporting those troops while forcing them to fight handicapped. And that is what we are doing, currently!

Hey, I’m tired of all the bellyaching, all the bitching, and moaning, coming from the very people who could not screw up enough courage to defend their own shadow. I’m tired of good, loyal, American men and women spilling their blood and laying down their lives for a whole segment of our society who have no respect, nor love for the country nor their fellow Americans. I’m tired of the useful, idiots our enemies find, in abundance, in the governing bodies in Washington.

What you will, my fellow Americans, but we have become two nations, again, much as this country split in the 1860’s. I’m not talking about a North/South split… I’m talking about a “Love America/Hate America” split. The last presidential election did nothing to bring us closer together. In fact, it appears Obama’s election has driven us even farther apart. We are hopelessly split apart and the Union, though it appears as one on paper, in reality… it no longer exists. Neither side has any interest, at all, in rejoining the other.

The “Hate America” and the “Blame America First” crowds (one and the same) have sapped this country of its will to survive. Any medical practitioner will tell you that when the will to survive is gone… all is lost.

The story is told of a Confederate general, during the darkest days of the America “War Between the States,” sending a dispatch to the Commanding General, Gen Robert E. Lee. In the dispatch, the Southern general is said to report that he and his troops were cut off, vastly outnumbered, the causality rate was extremely high, they were without provisions, and their ammunition was all but gone. In summation that Southern cavalier told Gen. Lee he would do the only thing left for him, and his men, to do. So, he said, they would attack, at dawn, with everything they had at their disposal!

That is the America I was born into. That is the America I grew up in. That is the America for which I wore the uniform of the US Army, and that is the America, which does not exist anymore.

I am frustrated with “mealy-mouthed” Americans who will accept second place. In my America, second place didn’t exist… in anything. Like the US Marine Corp, the improbable we did right away. The impossible took us just a tad longer.

I have been chided for stating that the US losses in Iraq are well within the acceptable range. Look, you don’t go to war if deaths are not acceptable. Rather, you bow your head and bare your neck to the chains of slavery. If you would remain free you must be willing to pay the price. The price for freedom is high. It is paid in the blood of patriots… the men and women of our Armed Forces.

I am heartsick at what this nation has become. America is now a cesspool of deviancy, mediocrity, cowardice, socialism, secularism, hedonism, and, regardless of what Obama says we are without hope.

Somewhere, about the late 1960’s to early 1970’s, Americans, like the shirker, in the Bible, decided to bury our talents for safekeeping rather than risk them in order to have them grow and benefit the country. Now we are paying the price for that reticence to risk everything for each other.

We are growing apart as a people. Our national conversation has grown shrill and vulgar. We can’t communicate with each other. When we try, it turns into a shouting match. We have become course, crass, and without sophistication. Our gentility is gone.

Finally, we have painted ourselves into a corner now. A corner, which threatens to deny us, even our own survival. Only drastic action will save us… and, unfortunately, many Americans do not wish to be saved and those who do are not interested in saving those who don’t. We are feeding upon ourselves.

I began this piece by pointing out where this attitude of mediocrity has gotten America in its war-fighting capability and the cost to recover that capability. Atomic Bombs will certainly win for us on the battlefields, but they will do nothing to salvage our land.

American men and women in uniform are growing tired of sacrificing their blood, limbs, and lives, for fellow Americans who actually want them to lose! And why would they not? They have grown distrustful of their Commander-in-Chief who is plainly dragging hi feet while trying to make a decision on whether oer not to allow those American fighting ment to have the resources they say they need to win the war in Afghanistan. Once before, in Somalia, a President (of the same political party) denied a request from the commanders on the ground and it cost the lives of at least 18 US service men and resulted in the withdrawal of US troops from that troubled land – and -- emboldened America’s enemies to such a degree that they flew plane loads of people into skyscrapers in our greatest city killing thousands of innocent Americans. The trust of many of our service men and women for their fellow Americans has been forever shattered. When the time comes for them to send their young sons and daughters to war for the US … will they do it? Can you blame them?

When a nations vision is forced to dissipate, that nation is doomed. When a nation’s hopes, and dreams, and aspirations, are shelved because social programs, such as socialized medicine, take precedence over that national vision… the death knell has sounded. When a nation sends it’s national treasure, its sons, and daughters, into harm’s way… and abandons them, that nation has lost its soul. Make no mistake about it. Many US troops in Afghanistan are beginning to question if their Commander-in-Chief has abandoned them.

Here are the words of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, a man even his own party would seek to impeach today:

“The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.”… Pres. John F. Kennedy

Kennedy also said:

“There are risks and costs to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction”

President Harry Truman, the 33rd President of the US, said the following:

“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”

Nowadays, the men mentioned above would be accused of insisting on “staying the course”. They would be ridiculed and hounded from office… even by their own Democrat Party.

That, Dear Reader, is how far we have sunk!

J. D. Longstreet

*********************

America+Socialism America+Socialism+Apathy+Obama+Afghanistan+Iraq+Iran+Military+Freedom

Double Jeopardy in the New Hate Crimes Legislation?

maggiesnotebook@cox.net (Maggie M. Thornton) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:04:00 +0000

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

A few days ago, Hans Bader writing for Stop the ACLU reported on the hate crimes legislation Bill. This article is intended to be a further discussion of what is behind the language in the Bill. The question is, is double jeopardy a factor in this new legislative language?

Dual Sovereignty

The answer is kinda-sorta. It's really more about The Dual Sovereignty Doctrine negating the double jeopardy clause in the 5th Amendment.

The government now does have the right to try hate crime suspects after they have been tried by the state, and even if already tried and found guilty by the state. This position is confirmed by a letter from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to members of the U.S. Senate. Read it at NationaReviewOnLine. So how does it happen a person can be tried twice for the same crime?

Here is a portion that I believe gives the DOJ the opportunity to retry a hate crime: (The text of the Bill is here).

(b) (1) IN GENERAL - No prosecution of any offense described in the subsection may be undertaken by the United States, except under the certification in writing of the Attorney General, or his designee, that- (C) the verdict or sentence obtained pursuant to State charges left demonstratively unvindicated the Federal interest in eradicating bias-motivated violence; or (D) a prosecution by the United States is in the public interest and necessary to secure substantial justice.

(b) (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the authority of Federal officers, or a Federal grand jury, to investigate possible violations of this section.

This gives the DOJ the right to try any case on behalf of a victim they feel has not received justice, while also eliminating "the badges...and relics of slavery and involuntary servitude."

A quick reading of the Bill might lead you to think it will simply "support" state's with money, but it goes much deeper than the $5 million to be given to states in each of the years 2010 and 2011. If a state can "certify" the need for government assistance to "investigate or prosecute the hate crime," then that state will get that assistance. But read about the"sham and cover" exception a few paragraphs below. We have to ask why this administration believes this legislation is necessary.

The Dual Sovereignty Doctrine expects those administering under the Doctrine to "limit" their actions. This from TheFreeLibrary:

The court did not, however, fully eliminate the double jeopardy prohibition from this context. The dual sovereignty doctrine continues to be limited by what is referred to as the "sham" exception, which was described by the Bartkus Court.

The sham exception provides that a prosecution by one sovereign cannot be used as a "sham and a cover" for another sovereign's re-prosecution of the same defendant.

This doctrine would operate to prevent, on double jeopardy grounds, a prosecution brought by one sovereign with the encouragement and support of another sovereign that has already failed in its attempt to prosecute the same defendant.

The doctrine is founded on the rationale that the two sovereigns are acting as one. Unfortunately, this exception has been construed so narrowly as to make it difficult to be utilized successfully.

Apparently, this DOJ and Barack Obama believe that justice is not done often enough, and courts do not punish, often enough, those who commit hate crimes? So the question remains: is it possible for any violent crime to be classified as a “hate crime” when it is perpetrated against a Jewish or a white person?

The American Socialist Phase

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:05:00 +0000

The American Socialist Phase
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

************************************

“Health Care Bill Favors Marijuana and Cocaine Smokers Over Tobacco Users.” That’s the title of a piece by Karen Schuberg ay CNSNEWS.Com.

In the article Ms. Schuberg says: “Under the Senate Finance Committee version of the health-care bill, health insurance companies would be allowed to charge tobacco users premiums up to 50 percent higher than those of non-users, while marijuana and crack cocaine smokers could not be penalized with higher premiums.”

Ms. Schuberg points out that this means, for example, that for every $100 in premium that a non-tobacco user pays, a tobacco user could be charged $150.

Why Tobacco users and not users of Cocaine and Marijuana? Simple -- because tobacco use is politically incorrect.

Read the entire article HERE.

The big push for socialized medicine in the United States began, in earnest, this week. . Altho, there is little funny about this boondoggle, it is sorta funny to watch the socialists in the US government, including the Obama Administration, tie themselves into knots to avoid using the words “socialized” and “medicine” in the same paragraph, let alone the same sentence. Nevertheless, that is exactly what they are proposing… socialized medicine. And again, I expect ignorance to overcome logic and sound reasoning as the government shoves socialized medicine down the throats of American citizens and, in so doing, bring about the collapse of the best healthcare system in the world.

After reading Ms. Schuberg’s commentary you just cannot bring yourself to believe the US government will do this to her people -- think again! They WILL do it, if fact, they are DOING IT even as I write this piece. Remember now, we no longer have a democratic republic in America. We have a full-blown socialist government in America these days. Democracy is dead and gone from the shores of America. We warned that that would happen and you didn’t believe that either, did you?

ObamaCare is all about POWER in the hands of the Federal Government. That is something my Confederate ancestors knew something about.

For those of you who think it’s bad now, wait until we actually HAVE national health insurance (known as ObamaCare). Our every move will be monitored, and the government, will direct us in every facet of our lives.

Still don’t believe me? Are you deaf, dumb, and blind? The government is going to run our lives through ObamaCare! America will become a dictatorship overnight! There is no other way to describe it.

Weigh too much? Lose weight… or the government won’t pay for your medical bills.

Drive too fast? Slow down or the government won’t pay for your medical bills if you’re in an accident.

Smoke? The government won’t pay for your medical bills, period.

Have more than (two) kids? Your medical bills will not be paid if you exceed the allowable limit on babies.

Pregnant with a third child and the government insists that you have an abortion, but you really want this third child? Well, either have an abortion, or that third child will have no medical coverage and the cost of the pregnancy, and delivery, will not be covered, either.

Didn’t finish High School? Your medical bills will not be covered if you do not get a High School Diploma.

Take the wrong courses in college? Well, if you didn’t check before you signed up for a course, and you signed-up for a course the government thinks is uncalled for, or that you do not need for your chosen occupation… then your medical bills will not be picked up by the National Healthcare.

Choose the wrong career, and you are on your own! No medical help from the government.

Get the picture? Almost total control. And you, and I, will have given that power to the government!

So, next time you hear someone calling for the passage of ObamaCare, remind them of all the freedom they will give up for that cradle to the grave care.

I have said time and again, the Founders of this country wanted us to live free… healthy, if we can manage it, but free, in any event. Today, it seems we are prepared to give our freedom up for a form of modern day Marxism -- Socialized Medicine.

Slowly, but surely, all the things we have warned about with ObamaCare (Socialized Medicine in the United States) are coming to pass. One really big one can’t come to pass until after Obamacare is “installed.” I refer, of course, to healthcare rationing. I know many of you don’t want to believe it and many of you have consistently lied to yourselves for so long about this that you can no longer deal with the reality of the situation. Nevertheless, healthcare rationing WILL become a reality. It must.

Healthcare rationing is something we have never had before in our history. Just THINK about it! Rationing of healthcare. There is simply no escaping it. Costs of healthcare will have to be brought to heel by the Obama administration (The socialist government in charge) and there is only one way to do that… and that is to ration it. In other words you will be placed on a waiting list and your ailment will be treated whenever they get to you, in a couple of weeks, a couple of months, or a couple of years, or maybe never. If you don’t get the care you require and you die, so much the better. That is the other way of bringing healthcare costs down.”

When Americans stopping deceiving themselves and come to the realization they have traded their freedom for a bottle of pills, by the time Americans come to understand that those of us warning against a government healthcare system are, in fact, telling them the truth, it will be too late and healthcare in the US will be scraping the bottom of the barrel like so many other socialized medicine programs around the globe. In other words it will be too cussed late to do anything about it! We have very nearly arrived at that point -- even as I write this piece today.

I am lobbying my Congressional delegation to vote against any form of National/universal/socialized healthcare. Why? I am lobbying simply because I am convinced it is the last nail in the coffin lid of freedom in America.

I was thinking just the other day that King George could not hold a candle to the current government of the United States. The current Socialist Government of the US is doing that which was denied King George. This socialist government is squelching the freedom of Americans and making them come to heel. For the very first time in the history of the United States, the government has the power of life and death over its citizens. When any entity can decide whether you live or die that have the ultimate power over you. THAT fellow Americans is exactly where we are headed with ObamaCare. ObamaCare will not just socialize medicine in America. It will place an implacable stamp of socialism on everything American -- first and foremost – her government. America has entered her socialist phase.

J. D. Longstreet
**********************

America+Socialism

America IS Turning To Socialism

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:06:00 +0000

America Is Turning To Socialism
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

************************************
There is an article entitled: “America Moving from Kingdom of Cash to Socialism Slowly but Surely” we recommend you read. You’ll find it on Pravda’s site. And, YES, we DID say PRAVDA!

If any organization on the planet should know a socialist state when it sees one, it is Pravda.

So, who, or what, is Pravda? Well, for those you who attended government schools … Pravda ("Truth") was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991. The Pravda newspaper was started in 1912 in St. Petersburg. It was converted from a weekly Zvezda. It did not arrive in Moscow until 1918. During the Cold War, Pravda was well known in the West for its pronouncements as the official voice of Soviet Communism. (Similarly Izvestia was the official voice of the Soviet government.)

Leon Trotsky founded the original Pravda as a Russian social Democratic newspaper aimed at Russian workers. The paper was published abroad to avoid censorship and was smuggled into Russia. The first issue was published in Vienna, Austria on October 3, 1908. The editorial staff consisted of Trotsky and, at various times, Victor Kopp, Adolf Joffe, and Matvey Skobelev.

After the paper was closed down in 1991 by decree of then President Boris Yeltsin, many of the staff founded a new paper with the same name, which is now a tabloid-style Russian news source.

There is an unaffiliated Internet-based newspaper, Pravda Online (http://www.pravda.ru/) run by former Pravda newspaper employees. A number of other newspapers have also been called Pravda, most notably Komsomolskaya Pravda, formerly the official newspaper of the now defunct Komsomol and currently the best-selling tabloid in Russia. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

The Pravda article states, flatly, the following: “The appeal to adopt American values doesn’t work either. Why would we adopt the system if the system is in crisis? Pragmatic America realized that billions of people are not willing to live in the kingdom of hard cash and decided that it would be better off leaving this kingdom itself. Now the USA is talking about introducing elements of socialism." Pravda goes on to say: “What does Obama’s decision not to build the Eastern European Missile Defense System have to do with all of this? Well, it means that it’s not capitalism that’s undergoing the crisis, but the belief in its high efficiency. And this, in turn, means that America, the bulwark of capitalism, is no longer the boss of the world. And if it’s not the boss any more, it has to be friends with everybody, including Russia. And it’s America’s turn to offer Russia to push the reset button. Or maybe it’s just tired of imposing its rules on others and felt that friendship is more valuable than money and power? If this is the case, we will soon witness another turning point in the world history.” You may read the entire article at Pravda HERE.

The point is -- we have been attempting to call your attention to the fact that America has been turning to socialism at an ever-increasing speed since the election of the current Congress in 2008 – and -- at an even faster pace since the election of the current President, Obama. Now comes a news outlet whose very birth was at the hands of Leon Trotsky, a Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist, to support our claims!

Trotsky was one of the leaders of the Russian October Revolution, second only to Lenin. During the early days of the Soviet Union, Trotsky served first as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and later as the founder and commander of the Red Army and People's Commissar of War. He was also among the first members of the Politburo. The news outlet Trotsky founded, called Pravda, was an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991. Now Pravda is validating what we have been trying to tell you.

So listen up! When old graybeards, like myself, tell you that today’s America is NOT the America we knew, NOT the America we grew up in, NOT the America The Founders of the country intended, we are telling you THE TRUTH! This is not the America we knew, at all! When we say we want our country back, we are absolutely sincere. For today’s America is not ours. Today’s America is only a shadow of our America. Today’s America is a shell of its former self.

Dare I say it again? Yes, I shall! I want my country back!

J. D. Longstreet

*******************

America+Socialism+Pravda+Obama+Trotsky+Marx+Lenin+Democrats

First Amendment

noreply@blogger.com (Findalis) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:48:00 +0000

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

Wake up, America

View at YouTube

I find myself amazed at the poor quality of education that $41,500 a year buys at Harvard Law School. You would think that for that amount of money they would at least teach the US Constitution. But it seems not to be the case, especially with one of their most famous graduates, Barack Hussein Obama, our current President.

I wonder what part of the First Amendment they did teach him or was he absent that day? For no person who has been taught the US Constitution would ever forget the words of the First Amendment:

"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."

Yet President Obama has chosen to ignore this and is pushing for full restrictions on our right to Free Speech:

The U.N. Human Rights Council approved a U.S.-backed resolution Friday deploring attacks on religions while insisting that freedom of expression remains a basic right.

The inaugural resolution sponsored by the U.S. since it joined the council in June broke a long-running deadlock between Western and Islamic countries in the wake of the publication of cartoons depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.

American diplomats say the measure — co-sponsored by Egypt — is part of the Obama administration's effort to reach out to Muslim countries.

"The exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression is one of the essential foundations of a democratic society," the resolution states, urging countries to protect free speech by lifting legal restrictions, ensuring the safety of journalists, promoting literacy and preventing media concentration.

Not the sort of "outreach" the majority of Americans want. We like our Freedoms very much. Free speech is a protected right here in the US. Our own Supreme Court has affirmed the concept that "Even the most hateful and harmful speech is protected speech." (NATIONAL SOCIALIST PARTY v. SKOKIE, 432 U.S. 43 [1977])

Oh yes, we can say what we want about a religion without the fear of blasphemy laws. Oh happy day!

Mr. Condell need not worry about the United States losing our Freedoms soon. Not as long as Article VI of the Constitution is the law:

"This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

Or in layman speak:

"This Constitution will be the hightest law in the land. No law or treaty can be written or ratified that would violate this Constitution."

This whole idea of forcing Islamic blasphemy laws came about because of the riots over the Danish Muhammad Cartoons, it is only fitting that this post on Free Speech end with these cartoons.

To Muslims around the world:

Feel free to riot. For that shows to us the true face and spirit of Islam. A backward cult suitable only for children and those with the intelligence of an imbecile.

The rest of us will just laugh at your ignorance and keep on speaking our mind!

Manufactured Crisis Speech

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Simpson) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:29:00 +0000

Jim Simpson gave a speech on the Manufactured Crisis Strategy last Friday, October 23, to Grassroots America We the People, in Tyler, Texas. To listen, go to the Grassroots America radio program and look to the right hand side, under the “Recent Shows” heading for the following description:

The Freedom Destroying Philosophy of Leaders in the White House Administration: James Simpson's Speech on Friday Oct 23 at Call To Action Lunch Meeting in Tyler, TX.

You can either click on the “Play” button under the description or double click on it and download the podcast.

Those greedy corporate CEOs and their absurdly high salaries

jsobservations@yahoo.com (James Shott) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:18:00 +0000

Commentary by James H. Shott

Corporate CEO salaries have been a target of criticism for a long time, and that criticism increased during the mortgage banking collapse, when bank CEOs also became targeted for doing a lousy job.

The heads of large companies do make huge salaries, as shown by this sample from the 2008 AFL-CIO CEO Pay Database: Robert A. Iger, The Walt Disney Company, $51 million; Lloyd C. Blankfein, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., $42.9 million; Mark V. Hurd, Hewlett-Packard Company, $34 million; and Rex W. Tillerson, Exxon-Mobil Corporation, $32 million.

There are a few reasons for this criticism, including envy and not understanding how businesses work. However, some people who understand perfectly well how businesses work also think CEOs are overpaid. People wonder how CEOs can be worth multi-million dollar salaries.

The short answer is that this is America – at least for a little while longer – and people are able to make as much as they can. Businesses want the best talent they can find, and they’ll pay what they must to get the right person to run the company.

Here’s one example:

Rex Tillerson’s company, Exxon-Mobil, is the world’s largest publicly traded company, the world’s largest refiner and marketer of petroleum products and also among the world’s largest chemical companies. It provides a job for 30,000 Americans and 80,000 people worldwide.

Exxon-Mobil had total income of $477.3 billion in 2008, and spent $395.6 billion on operations and other expenses. Some of the same people who get upset with CEO pay also get upset with the amount of money Exxon-Mobil earned in 2008, and for the same reasons. The company’s profit was $45.2 billion, which is a lot of money. But considering that Exxon-Mobil had $477 billion in income, $45.2 billion really isn’t excessive; only about 8.9 percent.

The company paid taxes of approximately $120 billion, more than twice its profit, and paid its shareholders $40 billion in dividends. Mr. Tillerson was in charge of the company and responsible for its performance. He did his job well. How much is that performance worth to shareholders?

If you still think Mr. Tillerson and his fellow corporate heads are overpaid, remember that corporate CEOs are not the only ones making a lot of money, even though they are the ones whose incomes are most frequently criticized. So do professional athletes, entertainers, and TV personalities, including some news anchors.

The top five athletes last year, for example, were also highly paid, and because of their success attracted lucrative endorsements from product manufacturers: Golfer Tiger Woods earned $100 million; boxer Oscar De La Hoya, $43 million; golfer Phil Mickelson, $42 million; auto race drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher, $40 million and $36 million.

Salaries in the world of entertainment also boggle the mind. Take movie actors: Matt Damon made $26 million for The Bourne Supremacy; Johnny Depp takes home $20 million per film; Nicole Kidman gets up to $17 million per film; and George Clooney routinely collects more than $15 million per film.

On television, the highest-paid person on the 2008 prime-time series list is Charlie Sheen at $825,000 an episode, and with money he gets from owning a stake in his show, he makes nearly $20 million a year. David Letterman gets $40 million annually, and American Idol’s Simon Cowell’s annual pay is $36 million.

We even see that some of the people that deliver the news have seven- and eight-figure annual salaries, like CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric at $15 million; Matt Lauer, NBC Today co-anchor, $12 million; ABC News’ Diane Sawyer makes $12 million; Meredith Vieira, NBC Today co-anchor, $10 million; NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams takes home $8 million, Anderson Cooper of CNN is paid $5 million; and MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann gets $4 million.

These CEOs, athletes, entertainers and news people are among the best in their respective fields. Their pay is not based entirely upon their performance, however, because some CEOs drive their companies into the ground; some athletes make horrible mistakes and lose instead of win; some movies and TV shows do not do well, despite the stars that appear in them; and news anchors often produce lousy ratings. Some high earners in every career field have notoriously bad personal problems, and some have committed crimes.

Because of the expectation of high levels of performance, these folks are in high demand, hence the high paychecks, sometimes in spite of embarrassing personal problems or criminal involvement.

Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg sees no problem with big salaries in sports. "People should be able to make what they make," he said. That idea applies equally to everyone in America, even CEOs.

Maybe we should make thoughtful judgments about the value of what each of these people produces. Which of them contributes the most to the society at large; which is the more valuable: a movie, a television program, a winning team or athlete, a news program or a business that provides useful products or services, jobs and that pays taxes to support government activities?

Viewed in that light, a CEO running a successful business deserves more than contempt and resentment.

Are Obama’s Czars Constitutional?

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:23:00 +0000

Are Obama’s Czars Constitutional?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
****************************************
OK. Let us “tell it like it is!” Obama’s Czars are simply a way for Obama to get around the Constitution. There. I’ve said it.

We have noted many times in the past that the Constitution is only an irritant to the political left and they will do almost anything to get around dit. They consider it an outdated “suggestion” if you will, and not The Law as the political right considers it.

With the Obama Regime, America has a government being run, for all practical purposes by a bunch of unelected officials who answer, not to the American people, but to the benign dictator Barack Obama. Oh, may I remind you that even a benign dictator is still a dictator.

One of the finest military men this country has ever produced, a republican, and a man in line to receive his party’s endorsement as a candidate for president, Douglas McArthur, once said: ““I am concerned for the security of our great nation, not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within.” — General Douglas MacArthur. If General MacArthur could see the US today, he would be spinning in his grave!

A friend admonished me many months ago because I referred to Obama as a socialist. My friend told me I was wrong. He went on to say that Obama was not a socialist; he was, and is, a communist! I must tell you now, that I am slowly coming around to my friend’s way of thinking. Why? It is primarily because of Obama’s Czars.

Alan Caruba in his commentary entitled: “Obama’s Unconstitutional “Czars” says the following: “As I read it, the Constitution is very specific about whom the President may appoint and he can do so only within parameters “established by law” and this applies specifically to the “heads of departments.” I interpret this to mean Cabinet Secretaries, all of whom must be vetted and approved for their positions by the Senate.” Mr Caruba goes on to say: “Obama’s appointments are clearly “principal officers” though it will be argued that they are only advisors to the office of the President. Clearly, Obama’s appointments are not heads of departments, but they appear to have been granted an unknown degree of influence and control as regards their responsibilities. They function “in the dark.” You may read the entire article HERE.

Looking at the Constitution we find this: “Article II. Section 2. “He (the President) shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consults, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein provided for, and which shall be established by law; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.”

Clearly, The Founders gave no thought to CZARS when writing the constitution. Clearly they did not intend for any unelected group to weild authority over their fellow American then or now. But that is what we have with the Obama Regime and its Czars.

Many times in the past we have warned of a “Shadow Government” wielding the REAL authority in the American government. We have taken a good bit of ribbing for that. But, not so much these days as readers begin to understand what a shadow government is. It is a group of Czars operating, as Mr. Caruba says: “… in the dark.”

Why should we fear this group of 30 odd czars? As usual, Mr. Caruba’s insight has nailed it for us. He says: “There are now some thirty or more of these “czars” and they represent a threat to the authority of the Congress and could be utilized in some manufactured “crisis” to take control of the federal government, dispensing with the rule of law.”

I don’t know about you, but I am convinced that Americans have a “Shadow Government” in place and ruling America today.

But – is this Shadow Government”, this group of Czars, constitutional? We need a ruling from the Supreme Court on it and the sooner the better before irreparable harm is done the Republic.

J. D. Longstreet

******************
Socialist+Obama+Shadow-Government+Unconstitutional,Czars

Obama’s Chicago-Style Politics

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:10:00 +0000

Obama’s Chicago-Style Politics
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

*************************************

Ah, Chicago! It is mythologized as the land of the mobster, the gangster, Al Capone, etc, etc. Many politicians, and even some journalists, are adding the name of Obama to that list of supposed infamy.

Do you remember back during the campaign for President when Obama promised to re-introduce “bipartanship” into Washington politics if he was elected? I do. As a matter of fact I wrote at least once piece in which I blasted bipartanship as a bad thing, a VERY bad thing for the country if Obama was elected. Well, as it turned out he WAS elected and it also turns out, I needn’t have worried about bipartanship being re-introduced, by Obama, into politics in our capital city! It didn’t happen -- and it isn’t likely to happen -- as long as Obama is President. (As for my part, I hope it NEVER happens because that is not the way a democratic republic works!) As a matter of fact, Obama has introduced Chicago style politics into Washington politics.

Strong arms and brass knuckles are now the order of the day. No velvet gloves for the Obama Regime. Nope. It is Obama’s way, or the kneecaps are mush! See, Obama and his minions run everything, I MEAN EVERY THING! His Czars will see to it. THEY decide how you and I will live. If you are inside Obama’s orbit you get pretty much what you want. If you are outside Obama’s orbit you get what they let you have and no more. THAT is what Americans; especially the business community in America, is living with today.

Michael Barone has an excellent article on this very thing entitled: “Obama Hits Opponents With Chicago Brass Knuckles.” You’ll find it HERE. In his commentary Mr. Barone says: “It's not the worst way to run a city… But it's not the optimal way to run a national administration, at least if you've promised to bring in a new era of bipartisanship and mutual respect. Even so, it appears to be the way that Barack Obama, who once aspired to be mayor of Chicago, has decided to run his administration.” Mr. Barone goes on to say: “…Maybe Obama thought everyone in Washington would be his great friend. Having encountered un-Chicago-like dissent and disagreement, he has responded with classic Chicago brass knuckles. We'll see how far this kind of thuggery gets him.”

“In the American Mafia Family everyone has a job to do. Some people are bosses and some are workers. However you can always work your way up the ladder of power, and respect. Below is the hierarchy of an American Mafia family.

The Boss of the family. He controls everything that goes on in the mafia family. Every worker and lower ranking boss works for him. It is the boss who decides if someone should be killed or if someone should be initiated. The boss gets money from all of his workers and therefore is usually the richest person in the family.

The Underboss. The underboss is the person who actually runs the family. He is boss over all the other members except the actual boss. He will often become the boss of the family if something happens to the boss. The boss will choose who his underboss is. A family will usually have only one underboss.

The Consigliere. Consigliere is an Italian term meaning someone who gives advise. The consigliere in a mafia family is the "right hand man" to the boss. It is his job to help the boss make important decisions. The consigliere is as important as the underboss but is not the boss of anyone in the family. A family will usually have only one consigliere. Acts as a middle man in personle vendetas. He is supposed to make impartial descions which are best for everybody.
Caporegimes.

The next position of the family is caporegime (or captain). Families will have different numbers of caporegimes. A caporegime is in charge of a group of workers (see below; Soldiers). The underboss of the family is in charge of the caporegimes. The job of the caporegime is to collect money from the workers to give to the boss, underboss and consigliere as well as keeping money for himself. A family can have anywhere from 2 to 20 caporegimes.

Soldiers. The workers of a family are called "soldiers" or in Italian "soldati". There job is to earn money to give to their captain (caporegime). They will do any job asked of them by their captain or the boss or underboss. A family can have anywhere from 10 to 300 soldiers.
Each family will have a number of associates. These are people that work with them or for them but are not official members.” (Courtesy of Wikipedia. You can read the full article HERE.)

As you observe the Obama Regime in action keep this article (HERE.) in mind. It might help you sort through the smoke and mirrors and gain some insight into how the current regime occupying the White House operates.

Lest you conclude we are dubbing the President a gangster, allow me to disabuse you of such an idea. What we are saying is simply that his STYLE of politics resembles, greatly, the style of politics infamously attriubuted to the style of politics in Chicago, which is famous, or infamous, (as you will) for it’s history of gangsters.

A recent example of the Obama Regime’s Chicago style politics is their attempt to freeze Fox News out of an interview with White House pay czar Kenneth Feinberg. Plus, some of the President’s aides have recently referred to Fox News as an arm of the Republican Party, as the opposition, and as a non-credible news operation. Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), at his weekly press briefing last week, said the following: “When you can’t win an argument based on the facts, launch vicious political attacks. This Chicago-style politics is shutting the American people out and demonizing their opponents.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), a former Nixon White House aide, said: “An 'enemies list' only denigrates the Presidency and the Republic itself." (You will find an excellent article on this at CNSNEWS.com HERE.)

In our view, the President needs to “grow-up.” Petulance does not become a President of the United States.

Thinking back over the long months of the presidential campaign we recall that we were warned on more than one occasion that the President has a strong bent toward narcissism. His actions, and those of his staff, in the past few months have done absolutely nothing to ease our concern over those warnings. Self-importance, self-absorption, self-centeredness, all these shortcomings are more than a little evident in the Obama Regime. And they all point to narcissism. Narcissists tend to strike out, to flail, viciously when they perceive opposition.

If anything has become clear, in the past nine months or so, it is that America has made a monstrous mistake in choosing a leader. As the remaining years of the Obama Regime go by, we can only pray that the damage to The Republic can be held to a minimum until the next presidential election in 2012 and the nation can begin the process of healing.

J. D. Longstreet

*****************

Liberal+Socialist+Chicago+Politics+Obama

The First Step Into A Thousand Years Of Darkness

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:33:00 +0000

The First Step Into A Thousand Years Of Darkness
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
******************************************

This is a sad time in world history. The “Shining City on a Hill,” so often referred to by Ronald Reagan, has fallen.

The great American Spirit has been broken by a socialist government, which feeds on power and has neither love nor concern for its people. Just power, raw political power, and they’ll do whatever is necessary to maintain their grasp on that power.

Is this the way the greatest nation ever to exist in the history of the planet goes out… on bended knee, with heads bowed, and necks bared to the blade of a government grown fat and ugly on raw power? Is this it?

Or… do we rise up, in righteous anger, and take our government back from those whose thirst for power has taken the USA to the brink of extinction as a nation?

The people of America must make a decision before November of 2010. Do we allow those we entrusted with our safety, and security, to continue to tear the country apart, or do we clean the house at the polls? Do we vote to send those incumbent politicians back to Washington… after what they have done to this country, or, do we run our own candidates, candidates sworn to take this country back to is roots in the Constitution, candidates sworn to ensure the domestic tranquility and security of this nation? Yes, all this is extremely important, but we are going to desperately need candidates who will return the US to its status as a democratic republic.

The socialist in charge if the US government are working feverishly to impose socialized medicine on all Americans regardless of whether we want it or not. They intend to force us to purchase health insurance although; the constitution invests no such power in the Congress. Many Americans maintain that healthcare is not a concern of the Federal government. It is ONLY the concern of the private citizen. It is up to each individual American to decide for himself, or herself, if they wish to invest in health insurance. But the federal government, in true socialist style, is determined to force all Americans to purchase it.

True Americans do not rely on the government. Americans who wish to better themselves, to amount to something, must rely upon themselves, not the federal government. Here is what President Theodore Roosevelt had to say about that: “If an American is to amount to anything he must rely upon himself, and not upon the State; he must take pride in his own work, instead of sitting idle to envy the luck of others. He must face life with resolute courage, win victory if he can, and accept defeat if he must, without seeking to place on his fellow man a responsibility which is not theirs. Theodore Roosevelt - Review of Reviews, January 1897

I don’t know about you, but I want my country back! I want that America which would look anybody, any nation, any political philosophy, such as socialism, in the eye and say: “If you want my country, then, by God, you’ll have to fight me to the death for it!”

Something must be done. The federal government has made it clear they intend to foist socialism on the people of America. We have a chance to stop them a year from now at the ballot box. One year is not a long time in a fight for the life of a country. We must begin now.

Ronald Reagan said: “"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done". Ronald Reagan

Defense of a nation by the people of that nation is “self defense.” Self-defense is a God given right. Many Americans took oaths, upon entering the US military, to defend America from all enemies foreign and domestic. Many are now remembering their oaths and asking themselves if there is an expiration date on the oath they took. It is a question well worth pondering.

If we want to save what is left of the republic, we must begin now and be ready in November 2010. We cannot afford to lose the next round at the ballot box. Even if we win, many decades of hard work will await as we attempt to heal the nation from the damage done it by the brief experiment with socialism lead by the current administration.

The nation cries out for rescue. We must not turn our backs a second time. She will not survive.

J. D. Longstreet

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Conservative+US+Obama+Socialism+Collapse+Rescue

The United Democratic Nations?

noreply@blogger.com (Longstreet) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:27:00 +0000

The United "Democratic" Nations?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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The United Nations has become so corrupt and, so anti-American, the United States can no longer remain a member. Any chance to save the UN, as a viable mediator of disputes in the world, has completely disappeared. Their graft, and corruption, has taken away the last leg they were leaning on. It is now a hollow shell of what it was supposed to be, indeed, what it was created to be. It never quite reached the grand plateau of respectability envisioned for it by its creators.

The United Nations is a flop. Worse… it is a caricature of the organization it should be and… could have been. The United nations seems occupied, these days, with one thing, and one thing only, and that is -- the advent of global governance -- a "One World Government." Guess which organization will be the government of that "One World?" You've got it! the UN. The US MUST get out. To preserve itself, and its constitution, Americans have no choice but to demand the United States government pull out of the United Nations. If, in fact, we find a world forum is needed to fill the void left by the decomposing UN, then we should found a new one… one that reflects the hallmark of truly democratic countries.

Enter the United Democratic Nations. (The UDN.)

Let the world see the US, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, just to name a few of the democratic nations inside the US orbit, conceive and give birth to a world body of nations to carry out the mandate once given to the United Nations and spurned so horribly by them.

It is only a matter of time until an organization, such as the UDN, is established.

Oh, it was not a mistake, by this author, to be so obvious in overlooking France and Germany, and Russia and the other European Socialist Democracies. They have decided to go their own way, refusing to believe there is anyone else on the globe worthy of their respect. France and Germany have the shortest memories in the history of the planet. Or, is it a huge inferiority complex? Whatever their problem, they no longer deserve to be shielded by the truly western democracies and we should make it plain that membership in the UDN will not be extended to them. They are own their own… to fend for themselves.

If history is any is any indication of their destiny, they will soon be at each other’s throats again. For history has taught us that as soon as the US leaves "The Continent" they begin to squabble with each other, pick fights that turn into wars that set the globe ablaze in WORLD WARS. Their vanity and arrogance is exceeded only by their utter lack of common sense.

Yes, we will have a bi-polar world again. East and West. There will soon be a diplomatic slugfest to determine the leader of the Eastern Block and that will soon be Russia, not France, as France supposes. The French entitlement to leadership is in THEIR minds ONLY.

So, bring on the UDN, if we must, and the sooner the better. Let us commit the United Nations to the ash heap of history where it belongs. That dream turned into a nightmare. It is time to wake up, from it, and get on with handling the problems of the real world.

J. D. Longstreet
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Conservative+US+UN+Global-Governance+UDN

FCC moves to codify network neutrality principles

noreply@blogger.com (Faultline USA) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:08:00 +0000

The FCC: Net neutrality, localism, and media ownership reviews are soon to be underway. Watch out for the progressive code word, "localism," which could be the death blow to conservative talk radio.

From C-SPAN this morning. FCC Votes to Move Forward With Net Neutrality Rulemaking Process

Today
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) met and voted to move forward on Chairman Julius Genachowski’s open internet proposal. The net neutrality rules, if passed, would prohibit internet providers from favoring or discriminating against online applications. The FCC will have a period of hearings and comments on the proposal before a final vote is taken.

FCC Votes To Propose Net Neutrality Rules

As expected, the FCC voted Thursday to launch a rulemaking to expand and codify network neutrality principles.
All the commissioners agreed it was the beginning of a process that will solicit much comment. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the FCC will establish a technical advisory process to make sure, as Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker said, that the process is informed by the laws of physics and not just politics. . .

The FCC has proposed to codify its existing four Internet openness principles as well as adding two new ones requiring ISPs to inform customers about network management techniques and preventing them from discriminating against content of applications, with a carve-out for reasonable network management public safety and homeland security. That codification is meant to remove any question of whether they are enforceable.

As expected, the vote was unanimous to launch the process, but the commission Republicans dissented on the factual basis undergirding it, which was that there were cracks and fissures in the open Internet that needed fixing. They warned of unintended consequences that could include reduction in service quality, a rise in price and disincentive to investment. . .

. . .Republican members expressed concern that the new rules could be viewed by other countries, with darker motives, as a precedent for their attempts to increase their hold on the net.

Panelists, Agenda Set For Ownership Workshops

October 22, 2009: The FCC has set the agenda and panelists for three workshops, to be held November 2, 3, and 4, that will kick off the 2010 quadrennial media-ownership review.

These initial panels, held by the Media Bureau, will "discuss the scope and methodology of the proceeding and the analytical framework the commission should use for conducting its review." Also on the table are the specifics of how the FCC should address its goals of competition, localism, and diversity. . .

The above link lists the featured panelists by name.

Technorati Tags: FCC,Net neutrality,localism,media,ownership,reviews,rules,codes