November 30, 2007
November 29, 2007
Clinton News Network
It comes as no surprise that some people in the audience at the Republican Youtube debate last night are Democratic operatives. While this seems outrageous, it is not surprising: after all, CNN was started by Ted Turner, the man who said that North Koreans looked healthy and got a lot of exercise on their bikes.
The real battle the Republicans face is the bias in media. Critics always point to Fox News and then declare that liberal bias is bunk. Really? Name a major news source that is not slanted to the left. The networks are run by baby boomers, mostly men, who were 60's radicals disguised as news reporters. They hated Nixon, they thought Reagan was a lost old man and they think G.W. Bush is an idiot.
I honestly have no problem with bias if it's announced. However, it sickens me that major news organizations hide behind the facade of journalistic integrity while pushing their own leftist agenda.
November 26, 2007
November 25, 2007
Pat's Proclamation
Pat Buchanan, in his new book "DAY OF RECKONING: HOW HUBRIS, IDEOLOGY AND GREED ARE TEARING AMERICA APART", is predicting the end of the United States as we know it by 2050. As summarized by Drudge:
“America is coming apart, decomposing, and...the likelihood of her survival as one nation...is improbable -- and impossible if America continues on her current course," declares Pat Buchanan. "For we are on a path to national suicide.”
The best-selling author and former presidential candidate is on the eve of launching his new epic book: DAY OR RECKONING: HOW HUBRIS, IDEOLOGY AND GREE ARE TEARING AMERICA APART.
This time, Buchanan goes all the way:
"America is in an existential crisis from which the nation may not survive."
The U.S. Army is breaking and is too small to meet America’s global commitments.
The dollar has sunk to historic lows and is being abandoned by foreign governments.
U.S. manufacturing is being hollowed out.
The greatest invasion in history, from the Third World, is swamping the ethno-cultural core of the country, leading to Balkanization and the loss of the Southwest to Mexico.
The culture is collapsing and the nation is being deconstructed along the lines of race and class.
A fiscal crisis looms as the unfunded mandates of Social Security and Medicare remain unaddressed.
All these crises are hitting America at once -- a perfect storm of crises.
Specifically, Buchanan contends:
• Pax Americana, the era of U.S. global dominance, is over. A struggle for global hegemony has begun among the United States, China, a resurgent Russia and radical Islam
• Bush’s invasion of Iraq was a product of hubris and of ideology, a secular religion of “democratism,” to which Bush was converted in the days following 9/11
• Torn asunder by a culture war, America has now begun to break down along class, ethnic and racial lines.
• The greatest threat to U.S. sovereignty and independence is the scheme of a global elite to erase America’s borders and merge the USA, Mexico and Canada into a North American Union.
• Free trade is shipping jobs, factories and technology to China and plunging America into permanent dependency and unpayable debt. One of every six U.S. manufacturing jobs vanished under Bush
• “Sovereign Wealth Funds,” controlled by foreign regimes and stuffed with trillions of dollars from U.S. trade deficits, are buying up strategic corporate assets vital to America’s security
• As U.S. wages are stagnant, corporate CEOs are raking in rising pay and benefits 400 to 500 times that of their workers
• The Third World invasion through Mexico is a graver threat to our survival as one nation than anything happening in Afghanistan or Iraq
* European-Americans, 89% of the nation when JFK took the oath, are now 66% and sinking. Before 2050, America is a Third World nation
• By 2060, America will add 167 million people and 105 million immigrants will be here, triple the 37 million today.
• Hispanics will be over 100 million in 2050 and concentrated in a Southwest most Mexicans believe belongs to them
Buchanan’s Recommendations:
• A new foreign-defense policy that closes most of the 1000 bases overseas, reviews all alliances, and brings home U.S. troops
• A purge of neoconservative ideology and the “Cakewalk” crowd” from national power.
• To avert a second Cold War, the United States should “get out of Russia’s space and get out of Russia’s face,” and shut down all U.S. bases on the soil of the former Soviet Union
• To reach a cold peace in the culture war, Buchanan urges a return to federalism and the overthrow of our judicial dictatorship by Congressionally mandated restrictions on the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
• To end the trade deficits and save the dollar, Buchanan urges a Hamiltonian solution: a 20% Border Equity Tax on imports, with the $500 billion raised to be used to end taxation on American producers
• To prevent America becoming “a tangle of squabbling nationalities” Buchanan urges: No amnesty for the 12-20 million illegal aliens; a border fence from San Diego to Brownsville; Congressional declarations that children born to illegal aliens are not citizens and English is the language of the United States; and a “timeout” on all immigration.
Let me make something clear: I don't like Buchanan. He borders on anti-semitic, his solution to our foreign problems is to pull back and let the world figure it out for themselves, and he has a real problem with immigrants, illegal AND legal. His idea of barring the children of illegals born in the US from automatic citizenship reeks of the old "Know-Nothings" of the 19th century.
But he has some valid points, especially those dealing with our financial situation. We have an enormous national debt we are not addressing. Social Security is a looming disaster that my generation will not be able to afford. Medicaid and the specter of national healthcare (via Senator Clinton) guarantee a bankrupt nation.
Yet, we have yet to hear even one sound byte from a Presidential candidate addressing our financial crisis. Is it too complicated? No, but it's not exciting and sexy, either. If we don't do something soon, it will leave us all with a nation very different from the one we know today.
November 21, 2007
Water Seeks Its Own Level
Many of you reading this are Ron Paul supporters. You have the right to support whomever you choose, but before you send his campaign money or volunteer in your city, please read this long article. While I have heard rumors about Ron Paul for some months now, this is the first time I've seen all the allegations in one place.
I believe Rep. Paul has the support he does because of his position on Iraq. Like the fantasy-world leftists running on the other side of the aisle, Paul believes that immediately pulling out of Iraq will solve our terrorism problems. It's the simpleton coward's plan----if we go home, the bully will leave us alone.
My hope is that Paul will be a flash in the pan. If he receives the Republican nomination, he will be beaten in the general election by Hillary Clinton. Or worse, he will win. For the good of our nation, stop it.
Stretch. Terry. Jumpsuit.
Most of you have seen the e-mail floating around that includes pictures from the 1977 JC Penney catalog. While some of the clothes are certainly funny in our "enlightened" age, one outfit caught my eye:
Laugh if you must, but I always thought the jumpsuit would be the clothing of the future. One-piece, lots of pockets, lots of colors; what's not to love? Evidently, those who determine what we wear do not see the genius of the one piece jumpsuit. So here I am, khakis, belt and shirt. Blehhh.
I WILL bring the jumpsuit back. The one above is make of terrycloth. Terrycloth! How unbelievably cool is that? You could sleep in it! I only need ten of them: five long-sleeved and five short-sleeved, each in a different color. Work, play, whatever: my clothing needs will be permanently met. Add in some of those velcro-tightened tennis shoes, and hello 21st century!!!
Who's with me?
November 20, 2007
Scandal As Example
Here's one more: a scandal in a Christian church. The problem, as I see it, is that the guilty party in this case, as with many others, is a Christian in name only. His actions are not justified by true Christian teaching, regardless of how liberally the Bible is interpreted.
Of course, that doesn't matter to the anti-religion media. To them, any transgression by a church leader is grist for the mill. Remember all the priest pedophilia cases that sprang up a few years ago? Many of them were settled, but there are two facts never reported on: the cases that were thrown out and the fact that even if every accused priest were guilty, it would still be a smaller per capita number than the general population. I don't say that to justify anyone's actions, but to point out that the scandal wasn't as scandalous as we were led to believe.
Regardless of what you believe, there is no denying that Judeo-Christian values are what made this the greatest nation on earth. We are constantly told that our Founding Fathers were deists at best and some were probably agnostics. Regardless, they understood well the value of a society based on moral principles and not humanist logic. So as the faithless pundits (mostly leftists) laugh at anyone with even a shred of faith, they fail to realize that they are driving our nation away from what made it great.
November 19, 2007
A Victory of Capitalism
Hugo Chavez has learned well the lessons of 20th century dictators. He has created an enemy, the United States, which many people in the third world also look upon with disdain. His bravado in the face of the world's only superpower probably plays well at home, at least among those who are uneducated or who understand that the best way to control a populace is to give them a common enemy on which to blame their problems and direct their hate.
But the little Venezuelan blowhard we've all grown to despise has met his match in the almighty dollar. While he may have friends in the other OPEC nations, none of them is willing to help him wage his war of words against the United States. An embargo on idealistic terms? Forget it---there are yachts and planes to buy. The black gold will flow.
Chavez reminds me of the troublemaker who sits in the back of the classroom and cracks wise about everything the teacher says. He desires attention, and he's receiving it. If I were running things (laugh now, citizen), the official White House response to Chavez would be "Who?".
November 13, 2007
The Rain Dance
As Georgia descends deeper into drought, Gov. Sonny Perdue has ordered water restrictions, launched a legal battle and asked President Bush for help. On Tuesday, the governor will call on a higher power.
He will join lawmakers and ministers on the steps of the state Capitol to pray for rain.
Something that has always riled me is the role God is granted in some people's lives. Case in point: a lady who owned a business for which I used to do some IT-related work was fond of the phrase, "It's a blessing." When she and her new husband (her third, I believe) bought a house, it was a blessing. When the office was busy, it was a blessing. With this in mind, I asked her, wouldn't it be fair to say that if your house burned down it would be a curse? If abundant food on your table is a blessing, God must really be angry at those kids in Africa. I wonder what they did wrong, other than not being born as fundamentalist Christians.
Please don't think I'm making fun of anyone's faith. My point is that too many people in our society turn their very existence over to the random whims of an apparently passive-aggressive God (at least by their logic). We are all born with some ability, something that will see us through life if we use it to its fullest. THAT is the blessing. If that ability leads you to a good job and a lovely home, you should be thankful. But when everything becomes the direct action of a supreme being, then two things happen: no one is responsible for anything and failure on any level becomes a sign of God's anger. This was the belief system of another group of fundamentalists, the Aztecs. Look where it got them.
November 11, 2007
For The Veteran
Veteran's Day is almost over. Although I technically am a veteran, this day always makes me think of those who actually served in combat or overseas. I was in Naval Nuclear Power School during the first Gulf War; I watched it on CNN like most of the rest of you. The Navy was, to me, training, training, training, followed by boredom and invitations to get into trouble. Don't get me wrong: I would do it again in a heartbeat because it helped shape the person I am today. It also allowed me to meet my best friend, without whom my life would be completely different (and not in a good way, I suspect).
Today, I thought about how my mother remembers the Second World War. She was born in 1936, so she was very young when her father went away to the Navy. The extended family spent every Sunday at her grandmother's house, situated on the Indiana bank of the Ohio River. Directly upstream was the Jeffersonville Boat Works, today known as Jeffboat. The yard built LSTs during the war, hulking vessels designed to be driven up on enemy beaches and disgorge tanks and other heavy machinery. The LSTs sailed by my great-grandmother's house, becoming the only contact with the military my mother experienced during the war. Interestingly, my dad's father, who was too old for the war, helped build those LSTs.
One thing mom has mentioned time and time again is that all the men of her father's generation were gone. ALL of them. Sure, there were guys who had seven kids or didn't qualify physically for the military, but every one of mom's uncles served. When I was younger and heard that fact, it just made sense: the war was big, people got drafted or volunteered and we won the war. Ta-da.
Not this war. This time, only a tiny percentage of the US population is in the military. Most of you reading this do not have regular contact with anyone in the military. When the story of this war is told, witnesses to combat will be few and far between. In one way, this is good. In another, it is tragic because most of us have not been asked to sacrifice anything. We don't buy war bonds or grow victory gardens or patch old tires or save up so we can buy enough meat for Sunday dinner. I believe we are missing something, an exercise that would give us a sense of community and nationhood.
Thanks to those who have served and are now serving. The world is better because of your service.
November 08, 2007
One From The God Squad
Pat Robertson has endorsed Rudy Giuliani publicly, which is very good news for his campaign. As I've mentioned here before, I believe the only thing that can guarantee a Democrat victory in '08 is the migration of religious folks away from the Republican Party. Despite what you may think about Robertson (he's not high on my list), he carries a tremendous amount of weight amongst evangelicals and fundamentalists. I hope it makes a difference.
Someone asked me the other day why I like Giuliani so much when there are true-blue conservatives vying for the Republican nomination. My answer is simple: Rudy is leadership material. If you remember when Ronald Reagan was in the White House, you know that even his Democrat opponents liked him for the most part. In fact, he and Tip O'Neal (then Speaker of the House) were actually friends. Rudy is that guy for the 21st century. Because of this, I believe he can get things done.
As strongly as I feel about abortion and gun control and other issues with which I disagree with Giuliani, they must all take a backseat to the prosecution of the war against Islamo-Fascists. I can't image Rudy backing down on issues of national defense. Can you picture him with his staff, busting chops and telling them how things need to be? I can, too. That's why he needs to be the next President.
November 06, 2007
Sell That Space!
Some of you are old enough to remember the days when comic books were full of ads for crazy things like x-ray glasses, perpetual motion machines and the ever-popular guide to becoming a muscle man. With this in mind, check out this ad" (courtesy of Double Viking). If I didn't know any better, I would think it was a homoerotic joke. Wow...that closet must have really chafed back then.
November 05, 2007
Evil Fairness
A co-worker approached me today to ask about mp3 players. His daughter had an iPod Nano that she damaged beyond repair after having it for about a year; he is willing to buy her a new player, but not something as expensive as the Nano. Since his daughter’s taste in music changes by the hour, he wants to buy something that will be compatible with a Napster-like subscription service. I told him that almost any non-Apple device will work with the subscription services and then recommended a couple brands with which I am familiar.
My co-worker then asked me about his daughter’s current collection of iTunes-purchased songs. How, he wondered, can she move those songs to her new player? The simple answer, I said, is that she can’t. Actually, there IS a way, even though it breaks Apple’s DRM (digital rights management) scheme and is technically illegal---just burn the songs to CD and then rip them back to the PC hard drive. However, there will be a loss of quality with this procedure.
The man looked at me with puzzlement on his face:
“Are you serious?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Because Apple sells iPods and music. The two must be used together. That’s they way they work.”
And here it came, rolling down the mountain like a boulder in front of an avalanche:
“But that’s not fair!”
Actually, it’s very fair. Apple runs a business with the intent of making a profit selling cool products. Their software and hardware are proprietary with regard to the iPod. Don't like it? Don't buy one. There are hundreds of other mp3 players out there capable of doing the same job. My co-worker bought his daughter a Nano and didn't do his homework about DRM. That's not Steve Jobs' fault.
My point is that we increasingly seem to cry foul and unfair over things that are of our own making. Case in point: Congress. The current Congress has the lowest approval rating ever recorded for an American governing body. Yet, not even a majority of eligible Americans vote if we average yearly elections. If you don't vote, then the asshats in Congress are there partly because you stayed at home. Don't say that both parties are the same----if you believe that, you haven't spent enough time studying the issues.
Most of us learn early that life is not fair. Yet, our relative wealth as a society has, I believe, made many Americans believe that fairness must exist everywhere. It's part of what I call the "wussification" of our country. More on that later.
November 04, 2007
November 01, 2007
First, Maybe Last
Paul Tibbets has died. Tibbets, then a Colonel in the Army Air Corps, was the pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb to be used in combat (the first bomb built was tested in the New Mexico desert). Tibbets never doubted his actions; he was acutely aware of the costs of an invasion of the Japanese home islands. He was 92. Another of the greats among the greatest is gone.
Beating Rudy
The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press has released a poll showing that if the Presidential election were held today, Sen. Hillary Clinton would hammer Rudy Giuliani. What amazes me is that the two of them split households with over $100,000 in income. Do these people realize they are rich by Democrat standards and will be the subject of substantial tax increases if Sen. Clinton is elected? Or do they feel guilty for being successful?
Clinton's "eat the rich" policies will resonate well among the poor and lower middle class, the people who elect Democrats in the first place. But once the votes have been cast, the Senator will have to make good on her promises. Of course, history shows us that LOWERING taxes actually increases government revenue, not raising them. When taxes become confiscatory, people of means tend to start hiding money. Who can blame them? With that hidden money out of circulation, the economy slows and unemployment follows. So while those who love class warfare are satiated in the short term, they are stabbing themselves in the back.