Blog For Free!
Archives
Home
2004 October
2004 September
2004 August
2004 June
2004 May
2004 April
2004 March
2004 February
2004 January
My Links
Dean's World
E Pluribus Unum
Insults Unpunished
A Small Victory
Right Wing News
Rosemary QOAE
IMAO
Deinonychus antirrhopus
Cox and Forkum
Martinis, Persistence, and a Smile
Drudge Report
Micheal Savage
New Weblog Showcase
The Ecosystem
TTLB HomePage
My Yahoo Profile
tBlog
My Profile
Send tMail
My tFriends
My Images
Sponsored
Blog
Libs WMD Quotes:
|
| New Link |
| 04.26.04 (2:51 pm) [edit] |
Well, Rosemary has moved from here hubbies page to a home all her own. Why don't you GO stop by and say hello.
While your at it check out the Liberty Alliance, and drop a donation in as a site warming gift of sorts for the QOAE.
(By the way for those of you not familiar with Rose, the QOAE stands for the Queen of All Evil. Check out the site and you will quickly understand why she is one of my favs.)
|
|
|
| |
| No Rest For The Wicked |
| 04.25.04 (11:15 am) [edit] |
Finals are starting this upcoming week and because of this I will not be adding anything new to the blog for some time. Maybe a week, but hopefully I can get some light posting in. Right now, I just don't know.
So until a post of signifigance happens here why don't you check out Dean's World. There are a couple of substitute posters there for the weekend and they are doing their best to stir the pot.
Also you could check out Spirit of America and their great cause. Or Chief Wiggles and the great cause of Operation Give.
Or you could skip all that and leave a little in my tip jar to help a broke college student buy his books next semester, better yet leave a lot in the tip jar allowing me to pay for next semester.
Its always good to give.
|
|
|
| |
| Pay To the Order of Idaho |
| 04.23.04 (3:47 pm) [edit] |
http://www.idahopress.com/articles/2004/04/22/n ews/story1.txt
Vasquez bills Mexico for $2 million
By Michael McAuliffe - IPT
CALDWELL -- Canyon County Commissioner Robert Vasquez sent a bill for $2 million to the Mexican government on Wednesday.
He says Mexican citizens in the county illegally are costing local taxpayers for jails and welfare programs.
The invoice demands reimbursement "for payment of services rendered to Mexican citizens who have illegally entered the United States and received services from the government of Canyon County, Idaho."
In the past, Vasquez has frequently condemned American taxpayer financing of immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally.
"Illegal aliens are not immigrants," Vasquez said, charging that they bring "disease and crime" and threaten the national security of the United States.
"The reality is, we are securing the borders of Iraq, but are not securing the borders of the United States," Vasquez said Wednesday during a press conference at the Canyon County Courthouse.
Joetta Fulgenzi of the Canyon Area Human Rights Task Force said Vasquez's comments and decision to bill the Mexican government were counterproductive to U.S-Mexico relations.
"One of the things that has been a positive part of the United States is that we have always had a strong relationship with our neighbors to the north and to the south," Fulgenzi said.
Adding actions such as those undertaken by Vasquez could be "very hurtful to the relationship between our country and our neighbors to either side of us."
Fulgenzi added that people have long immigrated to America in a number of ways, and that the country has a history of accepting people who choose to make a better life for themselves here.
The $2,009,315.07 invoice Vasquez sent to the Mexican consulate in Salt Lake City, Utah, includes demands for the payment of about $1.4 million for expenses related to the incarceration of Mexican nationals held in the Canyon County jail and $575,000 for medical services provided by the county to Mexican citizens who entered the country illegally.
Although the Mexican consulate had yet to receive the commissioner's letter and invoice, an official there Wednesday said the request sounded unfair when it includes Mexicans who pay income and sales taxes locally despite their legal status.
"They are paying taxes without benefit," said Arturo Chavarria, the official in charge of the consulate's department that helps Mexican nationals deal with U.S. authorities. "It doesn't make any sense that someone says, 'You have to reimburse me.'"
In a prepared statement, Vasquez indicated that the Mexican government should be held accountable for the costs he says Canyon County taxpayers must shoulder to take care of Mexican citizens who enter the U.S. without proper authorization.
"If the (Mexican) consulate can send people to provide matricula cards, then they should be able to help Mexican nationals here illegally to get back to Mexico. At the very least, they should provide some compensation to the Canyon County taxpayer that is bearing the financial burden," Vasquez said.
The commissioner said he was acting independently of the county commission as a whole, but that he hoped other elected leaders at all levels of government would follow his lead.
"If the federal government will not act, then we at the local level must do so," Vasquez said.
So who is next in line to try and collect?
|
|
|
| |
| Kerry Decries Budget Cuts by Bush, but There Have Been None in Usual Sense |
| 04.23.04 (12:00 pm) [edit] |
From the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1895 8-2004Mar23.html" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1895 8-2004Mar23.html" target="_blank"http://www.washingtonpost.com...
Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry has accused President Bush of shortchanging the nation's veterans by cutting the Department of Veterans Affairs budget, increasing many veterans' health care costs and excluding thousands more from the system altogether.
The facts are a bit more complicated.
Kerry has repeatedly accused Bush, for example, of cutting the agency's budget. "This president is breaking faith with veterans all across the country," he said at a Democratic presidential debate in January. "They've cut the VA budget by $1.8 billion."
In fact, Bush has never cut the agency's budget -- at least not in the conventional sense of the word. The president has proposed increasing its discretionary budget -- funding for programs not required by law -- in each of his annual budget proposals. Most recently, Bush suggested raising the department's discretionary spending by an estimated $500 million, to $29.7 billion, in his budget for fiscal 2005. The bulk of that money would go to the agency's health care programs. Over the course of his administration, Bush, along with Congress, has increased that portion of the agency's budget by about $7 billion, according to the VA.
Those increases have not been enough for many veterans groups, which have complained that the agency remains severely underfunded. A consortium of veterans groups has issued an annual "independent" budget suggesting that the department needs billions of dollars in new funding. Even Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony J. Principi has suggested that his agency is underfunded. "I asked OMB [the Office of Management and Budget] for $1.2 billion more than I received," he told a House panel in February.
A Kerry adviser said the candidate was referring, at the January debate, to a budget proposal that was then making its way through Congress that she said would have cut the VA budget. Some Democrats outside his campaign, however, still consider the Bush administration's proposed increase a cut because, they said, it would not allow the agency to continue to provide the same level of services -- thanks to rising medical costs and the increased demand that will come with the troops' return from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Kerry campaign has also accused the Bush administration of trying to increase thousands of veterans' health care costs. That is accurate. Bush has proposed creating a new $250 annual fee for some veterans and more than doubling the agency's monthly drug co-payment to $15. Kerry has said that the new fees would drive about 200,000 veterans off the system and discourage 1 million more from enrolling.
But it should be noted that those new fees would apply to veterans who are considered the agency's lowest priority -- those who do not have any health care issues related to their military service and who have incomes above certain, rather modest thresholds. The administration made similar proposals last year, but both were rejected by Congress.
Kerry has also complained that the administration has cut some veterans' access to the agency's programs. That is accurate. The department announced early last year that it would no longer admit any veterans who would fall into its "priority eight" category, its lowest-priority veterans. The decision did not kick anyone out of the program -- those who were already enrolled were allowed to remain in the system. But it has prevented some -- 200,000, according to some Democrats' estimates -- from joining the agency's programs.
Kerry has said Bush has refused to rescind what the Massachusetts senator has referred to as the "disability veterans tax." That tax refers to a long-standing government policy that prevents disabled, retired veterans from simultaneously collecting both a military pension and disability payments. Congress recently revised that policy to allow some veterans to collect both types of payments. Kerry, who supports allowing all veterans to receive them -- a proposal that would cost billions of dollars -- has accurately said the Bush administration opposes such an extension.
Kerry has also accused Bush of not fulfilling a promise to cut the number of veterans who have been waiting months to have their disability and other health care claims processed by the agency. "He refuses to lift a finger to help the quarter of a million veterans who've waited half a year just to see a doctor for the first time," Kerry said at a recent campaign stop in West Virginia. His campaign has suggested that Bush would exacerbate that problem by cutting 540 claims processors from the agency's payroll.
In fact, Bush has cut the backlog of veterans from a peak of 432,000, in January 2002, to about 331,000. The average wait for those veterans has declined from 233 days to 155 days, at the end of the previous fiscal year, according to the Veterans Affairs Department.
The agency said Bush has proposed adding five claims processors to its rolls and, over the course of his tenure, has added 1,800 of those workers to the agency.
|
|
|
| |
| Book Meme |
| 04.22.04 (10:37 am) [edit] |
Found at Insults Unpunished.
Via Chris and Brock
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
My own results:
Those nine years passed by, however, before I had made up my mind about the questions that are usually debated among educated people or had begun to look for foundations for a philosophy that would be more certain than what is generally accepted
I think I need a new hobby.
|
|
|
| |
| 38 Million Not Expected at D.C. Abortion Rights Rally By Scott Ott |
| 04.22.04 (10:20 am) [edit] |
Although several hundred thousand abortion rights supporters are expected to march in Washington D.C. this coming Sunday, a spokesman for a major special interest group said its members would not attend the rally.
The American Association of Aborted People (AAAP), a political inaction committee, said none of its 38 million members would participate in the protest march.
"Since the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973, our ranks have swelled by about 1.4 million per year," said the unnamed AAAP spokesman. "So, we should be at the center of any debate about abortion. Unfortunately, none of our members could tear themselves away to attend the rally. But we'll be there in spirit, if not in body."
If you enjoyed this satire by Scott Ott, you can read more of his work at Scrappleface.
Found at RWN.
|
|
|
| |
| Kerry Revises |
| 04.21.04 (4:03 pm) [edit] |
Check out today's editorial on the recent Kerry campaign revision.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2923 0-2004Apr20.html" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2923 0-2004Apr20.html" target="_blank"http://www.washingtonpost.com...
WE NEED A reasonable plan and a specific timetable for self-government" in Iraq, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) said in December. "That means completing the tasks of security and democracy in the country -- not cutting and running in order to claim a false success." On another occasion, he said: "It would be a disaster and a disgraceful betrayal of principle to speed up the process simply to lay the groundwork for a politically expedient withdrawal of American troops."
Contrast that with what Mr. Kerry told reporters last week: "With respect to getting our troops out, the measure is the stability of Iraq. [Democracy] shouldn't be the measure of when you leave. I have always said from day one that the goal here . . . is a stable Iraq, not whether or not that's a full democracy."
Mr. Kerry contends that he has not shifted his public position. But there are major differences between what he said in December -- right after Saddam Hussein's capture, when Mr. Kerry was seeking to discredit dovish Democratic challenger Howard Dean -- and his remarks last week, which followed several weeks of bad news from Iraq and growing public disenchantment with the course of the war. Where once he named democracy as a task to be completed, and the alternative to "cutting and running" or a "false success," Mr. Kerry now says democracy is optional. Where once he warned against setting the conditions for an early but irresponsible withdrawal of U.S. forces, now he does so himself by defining the exit standard as "stability," a term that could describe Saudi Arabia or Iran -- or the Iraq of Saddam Hussein.
In December Mr. Kerry's Iraq policy differed with that of President Bush not in its goals but in its tactics. Mr. Kerry rightly insisted, and still does, that the United States cannot succeed without greater international collaboration and reliance on the United Nations. Now he differs with Mr. Bush on the crucial issue of what the United States must achieve in Iraq before it can safely end its mission. "Iraq," Mr. Bush said at his news conference last week, "will either be a peaceful democratic country or it will again be a source of violence, a haven for terrorists, and a threat to America and to the world."
Mr. Kerry now argues that there is a third option. But what would that be? "I can't tell you what it's going to be," he said to reporters covering his campaign. "That stability can take several forms." True; in the Middle East, there is the stability of Islamic dictatorship, the stability of military dictatorship and the stability of monarchical dictatorship. In Lebanon, there is the stability of permanent foreign occupation and de facto ethnic partition. None is in the interest of the United States; all have helped create the extremism and terrorism against which this nation is now at war.
There is no question that achieving even a rudimentary democracy in Iraq will be tough, and weakness in administration planning and implementation has made it tougher. At best democracy will take years to consolidate; at worst, it will prove unachievable during the U.S. mission. The past weeks of violence have been, or should have been, sobering to any observer. Yet on goals Mr. Bush is right, not only in a moral sense but from the perspective of U.S. security too. Iraq is a country of diverse communities; if its differences are not arbitrated by some form of democratic politics, then it can be held together only by brute force. The wielder of that force is likely to be hostile to the democratic world and, like Saddam Hussein or the mullahs of neighboring Iran, to seek defense by means of terrorism or weapons of mass destruction.
We believe a successful political outcome is still possible; others disagree. But Mr. Kerry's shift on such a basic question after just a few months is troubling and mistaken.
Cut 'n Paste thanks to therealspartacus who is too lazy to sign up for washingtonpost.com to read the editorial.
|
|
|
| |
| Et tu Heinz ? |
| 04.21.04 (11:15 am) [edit] |
Hahahaha!
Wonder if their jobs will be outsourced anytime soon?
|
|
|
| |
| Oil For Terror... |
| 04.19.04 (11:05 am) [edit] |
Take this as an extension of yesterday's (This early morning's) post on the Iraqi Oil for Food program.
Also there is this at NRO about some of the other, more seedier, sides of this multinational bushwacking.
HatTip to Mr. Antler at Econopundit.Com.
|
|
|
| |
| Oil For Fraud... |
| 04.18.04 (10:31 pm) [edit] |
As I stated before I am otherwise predisposed at the present time, so I have to rely on some cut n paste and linking till I have more time to write a post of consequence.
So without further ado:
Go here.
And
Read this.
I believe you will enjoy. Very insightful as always from Mr. Robert Prather.
|
|
|
| |
| A wise man, and a decent actor. |
| 04.16.04 (10:56 pm) [edit] |
Have a read here.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1630 0-2004Apr15.html" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1630 0-2004Apr15.html" target="_blank"http://www.washingtonpost.com...
Various links and cut n paste will be my forte for the next couple of weeks because I am far too busy with finals coming up and extended work hours to try and afford school this summer semester. Hope you enjoy.
|
|
|
| |
| I agree... |
| 04.14.04 (7:54 am) [edit] |
I originally did not want to post on the August 2001 PDB, nor did I want to post on the politicization of the 9-11 commission by Ben Viniste and Bob Kerrey. But alas after reading so much misinformation out there, and seeing these two men get a clean pass while those they heckle and ridicule get shamed and are then percieved by some as villians, I felt the need to try and express my opinion on the issue.
While I was looking to put my words on the pc screen and doing research looking for quotes and the like, I came across something that did it all for me.
http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/editorial /18736.htm" title="http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/editorial /18736.htm" target="_blank"http://www.nypost.com/postopi...
Let me add that I think the 9-11 commission is nothing more than a witch hunt scham and this is why the President tried to oppose the creation of it in the first place. I also think that most Americans can see through this however. A recent poll shows that only around 30% found Clarke believeable or credible whereas the numbers for Rice were nearing 60%. (Take this with a grain of salt seeing as we should all know by now the reality of polls.) So there is hope, and through reading articles like the one above you educate yourself beyond the CNN soundbites and DNC paranoia.
|
|
|
| |
| Treason... |
| 04.13.04 (2:24 pm) [edit] |
The secret service should waste no time to investigate and indict any and all that were involved with this disgusting and disturbing political ad.
http://drudgereport.com/rc7r.htm" title="http://drudgereport.com/rc7r.htm" target="_blank"http://drudgereport.com/rc7r....
Now someone from the left try and tell me this is satire and should be protected speech. It is nothing more than hate speech and should recognized as such. If I were to make similar comments about my neighbor I would be held responsible for my comments, and thus so should these folks.
The last comment I would like to make here is the possible campaign finance law violation. In defense of the "clubs'" actions the spokesperson relates their stance as this:
McCall said her club is in direct contact with John Kerry campaign.
"We're all working together."
So if this organization which is putting out ads advocating a candidate against another, and this organization says that they are "working together" with the Kerry campaign, how is this not a violation of 527's and soft money?
Maybe I am wrong about the second point here due to lack of information on the organiztion in question (Not much info is out there the story has just broken) but I garauntee you their actions fall under the definition of treason.
Violation of allegiance toward one's country or sovereign, especially the betrayal of one's country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely acting to aid its enemies.
What else could it be?
**UPDATE** LMAO!
**UPDATE** True Nature of Reality has a full transcription of the ad so all can veiw it for themselves. Please do so.
|
|
|
| |
| Man bites dog.... to death. |
| 04.12.04 (9:14 pm) [edit] |
Maybe if it were a cat I could understand, but a dog?
Man's best friend?
That's horrible.
http://www.china.org.cn/english/China/92684.htm" title="http://www.china.org.cn/english/China/92684.htm" target="_blank"http://www.china.org.cn/engli...
And to think there is no law against this in China. Just another reason to hate the commie bastards.
|
|
|
| |
| Pretty cool..... |
| 04.12.04 (7:58 am) [edit] |
|
This is pretty cool. Amazing what the technology can do now-a-days.
|
|
|
| |
| Hip hip hooray!! |
| 04.11.04 (8:10 pm) [edit] |
It's about time if you ask me.
http://sports.yahoo.golfserv.com/gdc/news/article.asp?id=22340" title="http://sports.yahoo.golfserv.com/gdc/news/article.asp?id=22340" target="_blank"http://sports.yahoo.golfserv....
So who becomes the new "Best player to never win a major?"
|
|
|
| |
| Please help... |
| 04.11.04 (4:26 pm) [edit] |
Today after services and the family stuff became a spring cleaning and laundry day. And this is what I need help with. No, not the laundry I got that all finished on my own. I need someone to PLEASE tell me how in the world you are supposed to fold those fitted sheets?
You know the ones with the elastic in them.
How? Thats all I want to know.
I also wanted to wish everyone a happy and joyous Easter. Hallelujiah!
|
|
|
| |
| Good Friday |
| 04.09.04 (11:19 am) [edit] |
Happy Good Friday, and to the Jews happy Passover.
Go have a read here.
That is all I have for you today.
HatTip to Dean.
|
|
|
| |
| A letter... |
| 04.08.04 (3:10 pm) [edit] |
Feel free to read the following if you would like. But, a caveat if I may, read only if you are willing to be open to its message. Do not read if your visceral hatred of George W. Bush blinds you from truth, and do not read if you are going to toss it aside as propaganda just to tell me we shouldn't have been there in the first place.
Read it.
Comprehend it.
Hear its message.
Comment.
Follow these steps and I may be able to provide some answers you are not hearing on CNN.
The following was originally printed in the Houston Chronicle on April 5, 2004. It is a letter from Joe Roche, a soldier with 16th Combat Engineers in Iraq. In other words someone who is there. Someone who is living what we are all trying to make calculations and conclusions about.
[LINE]
I'm a soldier with the U.S. Army serving in the 16th Combat Engineer Battalion in Baghdad.
The news you are hearing stateside is awfully depressing and negative. The reality is we are accomplishing a tremendous amount here, and the Iraqi people are not only benefiting greatly, but are enthusiastically supportive.
My job is mostly to be the driver of my platoon's lead Humvee. I see the missions our Army is performing, and I interact closely with the Iraqi people. Because of this, I know how successful and important our work is.
My battalion carries out dozens of missions all over the city — missions that are improving people's lives. We have restored schools and universities, hospitals, power plants and water systems. We have engineered new infrastructure projects and much more. We have also brought security and order to many of Baghdad's worst areas — areas once afflicted with chaos and brutality.
Our efforts to train vast numbers of Iraqis to police and secure the city's basic law and order are bearing fruit.
Our mission is vital. We are transforming a once very sick society into a hopeful place. Dozens of newspapers and the concepts of freedom of religious worship and expression are flowering. So, too, are educational improvements.
This is the work of the U.S. military. Our progress is amazing. Many people who knew only repression and terror now have hope in their heart and prosperity in their grasp. Every day the Iraqi people stream into the streets to cheer and wave at us as we drive by. When I'm on a foot patrol, walking among a crowd, countless people thank us — repeatedly.
I realize the shocking image of a dead soldier or a burning car is more salable than boring, detailed accounts of our rebuilding efforts. This is why you hear bad news and may be receiving an incorrect picture.
Baghdad has more than 5 million inhabitants. If these people were in an uprising against the United States, which you might think is happening, we would be overwhelmed in hours. There are weapons everywhere, and though we are working hard to gather them all, we simply can't.
Our Army is carrying out 1,700 convoys and patrols each day. Only a tiny percentage actually encounter hostile action. My unit covers some of the worst and most intense areas, and I have seen some of the most tragic attacks and hostility, such as the bombing of the United Nations headquarters.
I'm not out of touch with the negative side of things. In fact, I think my unit has it harder than many other Army units in this whole operation. That said, despite some attacks, the overall picture is one of extreme success and much thanks.
The various terrorist enemies we are facing in Iraq are really aiming at you back in the United States. This is a test of will for our country. We soldiers of yours are doing great and scoring victories in confronting the evil terrorists.
The reality is one of an ever-increasing defeat of the enemies we face. Our enemies are therefore more desperate. They are striking out more viciously and indiscriminately. I realize this is causing Americans stress, and I assure you it causes us stress, too.
When I was a civilian, I spent time as a volunteer with the Israeli army. I assure you we are not facing the hostility Israelis face. Here in Iraq, we Americans are welcomed by most Iraqis.
I'm not trying to sound like a big tough guy. I'm scared every day, and pray before every mission for our safety and success. This is a combat zone. We are in the heart of the world's leading terrorist-birthing society. I remember well how families of suicide bombers who attacked in Israel received tens of thousands of dollars from Saddam Hussein for their kin's horrendous crimes. A generation of Iraqis was growing up in a Stalinist worship of such terrorism.
They are no longer.
Instead, Iraqis today are embracing freedom and the birth of democracy. With this comes hope for the future.
Yes, there are terrorists who wish to strike these things down, but this is a test of will we must win. We can do this, as long as Americans at home keep faith with the soldiers in this war. We are Americans, after all. We can and must win this test. That is all it is.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/248 7509" title="http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/248 7509" target="_blank"http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/s...
Hopefully this helps to give us all a greater understanding of the conflict and the reality in the region.
|
|
|
| |
| Too indecisive to lead.... |
| 04.07.04 (8:48 am) [edit] |
Thanks to RWN for the following graphic.
I believe it pretty much says it all, but as always if I am wrong, please let me know. Just don't try and tell me he is nuanced again.
![]() =http://img19.photobucket.com/...
|
|
|
| |
| Quiz Time... |
| 04.06.04 (9:33 pm) [edit] |
What New York Times Op-Ed Columnist are you?
You are William Safire! You're ruthless and
cunning, and a conservative demigod. You used
to write speeches for Nixon. Now you write
another column on the English language which
has made you the world's most popular
etymologist. You hate media deregulation, but
love the Bush administration. If only you
weren't such a brilliant writer. You bastard.
Which New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
This result should come as little surprise to those of you who have read Safire and myself. Or so I would wish..;-)
Hat Tip to Steve.
|
|
|
| |
| "Joogle" Quest |
| 04.06.04 (10:41 am) [edit] |
When you do a google search on the word Jew the first thing that pops up is an anti-semetic web site. So someone with far more spirit and chutzvah than myself devised a way to fix that. I don't know if this person is a Jew, but I found the link on Dean's World. You should check him out too. But while your at it continue this linkfest. Help others learn that Jews are people and not stereotypes. Help change the current antisemetic attitude toward the Jew.
Who knows maybe you too could be a Jew? I am not. But I know quite a few Jews, and knowing Jews has greatly impacted my life.
Hat Tip to: Dean and Second Breakfast.
|
|
|
| |
| United We Stand, Divided We Fall |
| 04.06.04 (12:13 am) [edit] |
"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murder is less to fear."
Marcus Cicero, Oration 42 AD
It is strange how certain quotes can remain so timeless. Is is amazing how such simple words can sustain such pertanence. It is incredible how those whose so often tout their brilliance and knowledge have failed so often to learn from these historic words.
And thus I relate a second quote:
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
George Santayana, Reason in Common Sense 1905-6
By rationalizing both of these quotes together, who is more to blame? Those who have not learned from previous seditious acts and continue the same actions in our own days? Or those who do not seek to silence the enemies within the walls? Both in my opinion bear some responsibility for the ills of civilization, but only the treasonous ones can be guilty of their crimes.
December 7th, 1941 A day that will live in infamy. This was the day of the attack on Pearl harbor. Up until this point the US as a whole had taken the wait and see approach to the Nazi march through Europe. Until the horrible consequences of this day arose the partisan clammoring and rhetoric continued. With the minority Republicans in both the house and Senate calling out FDR on all kinds of things, similar to the partisan hatred of our current POTUS. From domestic to foreign affairs the minority Rep. looked to hedge the progressive movements of FDR. Trying to in anyway end liberal actions such as the New Deal, the WPA, and others. But on that terrible day all of that stopped. If you don't believe me ask your grandparents (As I did) Go and read a microfilm version of an historic newspaper (As I did). Simply put the parties and members thereof at the time realized what was more important. They realized as some do now, that America is more important than any one man, woman, political party, or idea. Because America itself is the only idea that needs to be continued. When America was attacked in 1941 the country bonded together through rations, women entering the workforce, blood drives, etc etc Name it they did it. And this is why they are called the greatest generation. Everything that we are not doing right now through our bickering and partisan fingerp pointing they counteracted with togetherness and brotherhood under one flag. They showed true knowledge of their history and true awareness of the enemies within the walls warned of by Cicero.
When will we become aware? When will we finally awaken to the fact that we were once again attacked? When will we put behind they petty infighting and join together in the greater good of this country?
I personally believe it could be a very long while, if at all. For as long as we have individuals justifying attacks on US citizens, as long as we have individuals trying to blame US citizens and officials for attacks perpatrated upon them, and as long as we have a blind eye given to those who have fallen victim to venemous attacks we cannot be one nation. We cannot with all these things be united under one flag. And this is exactly what they as our attackers want.
United we stand, divided we fall.
For those of you wondering what has brought this screed out I can elaborate per request. For a quick answer look here:
http://www.homestead.com/prosites-prs/pictures 033104.html" title="http://www.homestead.com/prosites-prs/pictures 033104.html" target="_blank"http://www.homestead.com/pros...
*WARNING* NOT OFFICE OR CHILDREN APPROPRIATE
|
|
|
| |
| Time For Reality... |
| 04.02.04 (8:50 pm) [edit] |
After perusing some of the most hate filled, myopic, and misinformed posts the blog world has ever seen (SpyMaster, CheckItOut, among others), and thinking I was buried deep wthin the Democratic Underground I figured I should try and add a twist of reality to today's fodder.
The following was recently sent to me by Ed Gillespie (Chairman of the RNC):
Our economy created more than 300,000 jobs in March-the largest monthly increase since April 2000!
Over the last seven months 759,000 jobs have been created, and the unemployment rate of 5.7 % is far below its peak of 6.3% in June 2003, and below the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
The Presidents policies are moving our economy in the right direction. And there will be a clear choice in November between Senator Kerry's promise to increase taxes and blow the lid off spending and the pro-growth policies we are seeing now.
It should be interesting to see if the few that are running around with the doom and gloom will be willing to remove the blinders long enough to see reality for just a glance. It could probably serve us all pretty well.
Cheers!
jim
|
|
|
| |
| Bush trying to shore up base... |
| 04.01.04 (9:49 am) [edit] |
In a speech earlier today POTUS George W. Bush announced plans to dessimate the competition once his reelection campaign was finished. In an effort to shore up his conservative base and get them to the polls he announced several future efforts to help aid the right wing.
The first of these was the announcement of slave labor camps for anyone in the press that writes about dissent of the administration.
"We just can't have people like Clarke able to run around telling lies all the time and getting coverage because of it," Bush stated.
The second of the efforts was to announce death camps after torturous train rides for anyone registered to vote as a Democrat.
"The liberals of this country have gotten entirely out of control. They must be stopped now before their treasonous and seditous plan can be unfurled," the POTUS exclaimed to cheers.
The last was to remove the constitution from the US law system, and donate it to Afgahnistan and Iraq.
"We aren't using it anymore with all the activist judges, so why not give it to countries who need it?" Bush went on to explain,"They are having such a difficult time figuring out one of their own. Let's just cut them a deal. Our constitution for your oil. You all know these wars were just to get their oil anyway."
Immediately the liberal press, startled by the days events, began clammoring for asylum in Cuba. The ones that decided to stay immeadiately updated resumes and sent them out to talk radio stations throughout the country. FoxNews recieved a quarter of a million applications by itself.
APRIL FOOLS
Unless of course you are a mush headed tax and spend liberal wanna be socialist, than of course you probably thought this was true simply because it fit you preconstructed black helicopter fantasies.
Happy April Fool's day
|
|
|
| |
|
|
