Anti-Americans in High Places

When you support sponsors of international terrorism, have sympathy for the jihadist enemies of America and consistently laud America’s enemies and assail America’s military during wartime, you ARE acting in an anti-American manner.

Since 2002, the American Left has gone on an orgy of anti-Americanism, starting with protests against the invasion of Afghanistan, when the Taliban refused to hand over the al Qaida members in their midsts.

Later that year, three Democratic Congressmen (Dave Bonior, Jim McDermott and Mike Thompson) went on a Saddam Hussein-paid junket to Iraq to highlight the devastation of the U.S. sanctions in Iraq – at the time, the ONLY tool we had to try and rein in this vicious, state sponsor of international terrorism.

Jim McDermott, was particularly repugnant in both his pity for Iraq, which at the time, was the same as having pity for Saddam Hussein and his “blame America first” stance.

It has only recently come out that Saddam Hussein sponsored and paid for that trip. Of course, none of the three men have been charged, as they (1) claim they didn’t know that Hussein had funded that trip (politicians go on junkets not knowing who paid for them, about as much as do professional athletes ingest things into their bodies that they don’t know the contents of, which is to say, NEVER) and (2) that they only went to witness the plight of the Iraqi children, said a McDermott spokesman, “That’s the only reason we went.”

Ironically enough, a video has surfaced that shows Jim McDermott lying about who funded that trip. It aired on C-Span on October 30, 2007. In that short clip (see BELOW) Jim McDermott says, “When a Seattle Church group sent me to visit Iraq in 2002...”

Now, why would Jim McDermott LIE about who sponsored that trip, if he wasn’t aware that taking a gift (the trip cost over $5,000 per person), from a rogue state sponsor of international terrorism, might be, you know, wrong, especially in the wake of 9/11 and all?

The fact is that all three of these men opposed the sanctions against Iraq, McDermott opposed the surge (surprise!) and at least McDermott called the invasion of Iraq a “war for oil.”

But this anti-Americanism is not limited to Iraq. For years now, we know that Joe Kennedy II has shilled for would-be dictator, Hugo Chavez, a man whose forged alliances with Cuba and Iran and pushed OPEC to reduce output to, among other things, wreak havoc on the U.S. economy.

Recently, James McGovern’s (D-Mass) name has surfaced on a computer disc recovered from the Colombian attack on a FARC terror camp. It turns out that the recovered hard drive of Raul Reyes (the FARC leader) revealed, what the Wall Street Journal called, “an ardent effort to do business directly with FARC by Congressman James McGovern."

The WSJ reported that Rep McGovern had also acted as “an American go-between, who has been offering the rebels help in undermining Colombia’s elected and popular government.” Here at home, Rep McGovern has been a staunch opponent of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade deal that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is desperate for.

So, the American Left has embraced Saddam Hussein, Hugo Chavez and the South American, anti-Capitalist, anti-American terror group, FARC! On virtually EVERY front, far-Left Americans have embraced a rigid anti-American posture.

What else does any caring American need to know?

REP McDERMOTT WHAT GEORGE BUSH ISN'T TELLING YOU ABOUT IRAQ!

Here, Jim McDermott, one of the three Congressmen who went on a Saddam Hussein-paid junket to Iraq in 2002, LIES about who sent him. Just prior to the 1-minute mark he says, "When a Seattle Church group sent me to visit Iraq in 2002..."

Why would he LIE, unless he knew it was wrong to accept a junket paid for by Saddam Hussein, the leader of a major state sponsor of interntaional terrorism?

Where’s the Outrage Now???

Aren’t Democrats SUPPOSED to be FOR the common man, the “average taxpayer?”

Yeah, I thought so too. After all they say that ALL the time!

Well, here’s proof that “IRONY can get pretty ironic sometimes.”

See, Barney Frank and his House Financial Services Committee and Christopher Dodd and his Senate Banking Committee have proposed legislation that would move most of the “bad paper” risks FROM the lending banks TO the American taxpayer!

Yeah, “Power to the peop-”

Wait a minute, that doesn’t seem all that appropriate.

The problem with the currently suggested “Mortgage Bailout,” is that all such things have long-term unintended consequences.

OK, some, in this case, like the government (I mean taxpayers) taking on nearly $30 BILLION in bad loans in the Bear-Stearns deal are quite “intended.”

Others, like ordinary citizens who’ve paid their mortgages seeking to get the same kinds of deals offered to their defaulting neighbors, are quite “unintended” and thus incalculable in terms of their potential future economic impact.

Now, how come when some “evil Republican” does something that benefits business at taxpayer expense they get excoriated, but when Liberals like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd do it, nobody pays attention?

I know, that’s a pretty good question, isn’t it?!

Saying “NO” to the International Ambulance Chasers

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How bad does the U.S. NEED tort reform?

Well, our “litigious society” has gotten so litigious that a California law firm had taken Dole Foods to court on behalf of Nicaraguan farm workers, none of whom had any standing in, nor had even set foot in America!

The lawsuit was over the charge that Dole Foods had used the pesticide DBCP (Dibromochloropropane) in the 1970s, with a group of farm workers claiming that the DBCP left them sterile.

A California jury found that Dole Foods had used DBCP and was liable and subsequently awarded the workers $2.5 MILLION in punitive damages.

Thankfully, for the USA, on March 7, 2008 Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Victoria Chaney (pictured above) overturned that verdict and threw out the entire punitive award!

The war on out-of-control Civil Litigants has been in full throttle over the past five years, as it’s been a passion of the Bush administration’s.

This March has been an especially difficult month for the tort bar with two of its stars (Richard (Dickie) Scruggs and Mel Weiss both accepting felony plea deals.

Now this California ruling is threatening to halt the practice of drumming up lawsuits abroad to be tried within the United States.

DBCP, used to kill microscopic worms that feed off the roots of banana plants, was not only approved by Nicaragua at the time, but also the U.S., Australia, Europe and South America.

Moreover, there is still NO scientific evidence that links exposure to DBCP to sterility or ANY other human health problems.

Judge Chaney noted, “Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, the evidence compels a verdict for the defendants as a matter of law.”

Can you say “Junk science based nuisance suit?”

Robert Reich Caught in a Lie...er...Mis-Statement of Fact???

On his blog Robert Reich writes, “repeal [of the estate tax] would cost the U.S. Treasury $1 trillion in its first ten years. That's about equivalent to what's needed to save Social Security over the next 75 years.”
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But Harvard Economics Professor Gregory Mankiw (pictured above) takes issue with those numbers. Professor Mankiw states, “How much does repeal of the estate tax cost over its first 10 years? According to the Tax Policy Center, immediate repeal would cost about $300 billion from 2006 to 2015. That, however, appears to be an undiscounted number. The present value is probably around $250 billion.
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“What does it cost to fill the Social Security shortfall over 75 years? This report from the Social Security Administration shows the present value of the 75-year shortfall for OASDI of about $5 trillion.”“Hmmm....Those two numbers don't seem "about equivalent" to me. In fact, the second one seems 20 times as big as the first.”
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WoW! That sure seems like a huge gap!
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While Robert Reich claims a $1 TRILLION loss, the Tax Policy Center’s numbers show $250 BILLION.
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With Social Security looking at a $5 TRILLION shortfall over the next 75 years!
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So, while Robert Reich himself seemed off by a factor of 5X in claiming a $1 Trillion Social Security shortfall over the next 75 years, when you consider the Tax Policy Center’s numbers (a $250 Billion ten year revenue loss with the Estate Tax repeal) it becomes a factor of 20X that Reich’s claim is off.
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Sadly, Liberals ALWAYS tend to make their arguments this way – with blatant, often deliberate distortions! Remember homeless activist Mitch Snyder’s claim that 45 homeless people die every second (which would amount to 1.4 billion deaths every year)?! The media LOVED that! Or the unfounded claim that Snyder made that there were 3 million homeless Americans, but when questioned about the source of this figure, he admitted that he had made it up to please journalists!
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More of the same?
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As Professor Mankiw states, “Why compare a 75-year shortfall to a 10-year revenue loss? There is no reason to, other than for dramatic effect. But policy wonks are supposed to have less license in making up their drama than playwrights.”

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Indeed they are.

Keith Olbermann: A Tale of Two Controversies!

No wonder they call it Olberpocrisy! Once again, Keith Olbermann goes out of his way to prove he’s one of the dumbest, most pathetic dorks currently polluting America’s airwaves. Here he excoriates Geraldine Ferraro’s anti-Obama comment, while defending Jeremiah Wright’s far more vile anti-white and worse yet, anti-American comments.

Hey! I did MY part. I told Keith to stop wearing those red bell-bottoms.

My FIRST Blog of the Month

Yes, it’s my blatant rip-off of Webb Sloane’s “Blog of the Week,” – I’m just a lot lazier than Webb, thus I’ve retreated to the monthly slate from his ambitious weekly schedule.

And what better way to pay homage to the founder of this “Blog-O-the” and, more importantly, avoid some nasty litigation than to make Webb’s blog “Grandma Is An Idiot” my initial “Blog-of-the Month.”

Webb has a talent for satire and writes in the voices of a number of characters – sensible, Conservative and reviled (by Webb) Grandma, naïve, gullible, liberal Webb and now another conservative, ("meat-eating, Neo-Con") Uncle Joe.

His posts are not only riveting, humorous and thoroughly enjoyable, they’re always thought-provoking and worth reading. Posts like “Americans love America Too Much,” and “Scientific Consensus: Al Gore Has Single Handedly Slowed Global Warming.”

He’s blog rolled here, but you really should stop over and check out Webb Sloane’s awesome satire.

Yet Another Terrori...er...Liberal Democrat Released Back Into Society

More good news on the Hillary/Obama front, yet another Liberal Democrat was released back into society last week, when Sara Jane Olson (the former SLA terrorist) was released from federal prison via a “clerical error.

Of course a review is in progress, with Scott Kernan (chief deputy secretary for the California Department of Corrections) saying, "The department is sensitive to the impact such an error has had on all involved in this case and sincerely regrets the mistake."

Kernan said the review was ordered "after many concerns raised in the media." The union that represents Los Angeles police officers and the son of a woman killed in a decades-old botched robbery at a bank near Sacramento opposed Olson's release.

AND of COURSE, Sara Jane Olsen’s attorney disagrees...and in true 1960s radicaleeze, no less! “As far as we're concerned they're bowing to political pressure and they are wrong," Shawn Chapman Holley said, adding, "It's like they make up all new rules when it comes to her. It's like we are in some kind of fascist state."

As Austin Powers would say, “YEAH BABY! Go on with your bad self!!!”

Given Barack Obama’s earlier meeting with Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers, what are the odds in the all important, “Who’s gonna get to Sara Jane Olsen first” sweepstakes?

My money’s on Barack Obama based on past performance.

Passport Probe Focuses on ONE Worker...With Ties to the Obama Camp

From Bill Gertz and Jon Ward at the Wshington Times;


“The State Department investigation of improper computer access to passport records of three presidential candidates is focusing on one remaining employee — a contract worker with a company headed by an adviser to the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama...
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“... The third employee, who has not been fired, worked for The Analysis Corporation (TAC), which is headed by John O. Brennan, a former CIA agent, who is an adviser to Mr. Obama's presidential campaign on intelligence and foreign policy.”

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The TAC employee is the only individual to have accessed both Mr. Obama's and Mr. McCain's passport information without proper authorization, a State Department spokesman said. That employee, who was not named, triggered an electronic alarm system, officials familiar with the probe said.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080322/NATION/243762495/1001

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WoW! Not only was the Obama camp a “victim” in this scandal, one of the major players had ties to that camp!

You don’t think it’s at all possible that the Obama camp cooked up a little scandal to take the spotlight off Jeremiah Wright and James Meeks do you?

Of course not...neither do I.

All You Really Need to Know About the Kos Kids...

...can be found right here;

http://nmdan.dailykos.com/poll/1205882364_lqjMBAaf

If Bush were running against the Reverend Wright, who would you support?

George W. Bush or John McCain - 4 votes - 8 %
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Reverend (Jeremiah) Wright - 43 votes - 91 %


From the author of that poll:

"The policies of George W. Bush and now supported John McCain are far more disgusting, unpatrotic, un-American, and downright indignant than anything I have heard come out of Reverand Wrights 30 seconds of craziness..."


You don't need any more evidence of the outright batshit craziness of the Kos Kids. The most generous polls have shown that less than 8%...fewer than 8 in every 100 Americans support the views espoused in the numerous Reverend Wright clips that have made the rounds recently. Moreover, an overwhelming majority of African-Americans oppose those views.

That's because there's no discernable difference between those views espoused by Reverend Wright and those espoused by the likes of Louis Farrakhan (NOI) and Tom Metzger (Aryan Nation).

In fact, it was the NOI that first made the insane claim that "America invented the AIDs virus to murder black people." Of course it was the likes of Michael Moore and other America-hating extremists who first compared American foreign policy to the terrorism if al Qaeda.

The Daily Kos and MoveOn.com are, and have long been the face of "the enemy within." Those organizations are the face of the "Hate America First" crowd.

WOW! Barack Obama Really IS a Great Speaker!

I know this is going to come across as heresy to some other Conservatives, but after listening to Barack Obama’s speech this morning (March 18, 2008) I was very impressed!

Without question, Barack Obama is a great speaker. He not only has a great deal of personal charisma, he is as good as anyone at making the case against freedom as Liberty (self-ownership/responsibility) and in favor of more government intervention in and control over our lives. Not an easy thing to do at all, just ask John Kerry or Al Gore.

But he DID make some very GOOD points about race in America, some that haven’t been made before, at least not in this context. He claimed that Jeremiah Wright’s actions belie the rhetoric he’s now famous for, and we all know people whose demeanors differ from the image they project. He compared Wright to his own white grandmother, who was prone to uttering various “racial stereotypes that would make (him) cringe.” He linked them by stating, “I’d no more renounce (Reverend Wright) than I would my white grandmother.” He then gave voice to both poor and workingclass black’s perspective and poor and workingclass white’s perspective on race in America, acknowledging that many workingclass whites have “had an immigrant’s experience,” and “have had few privileges through their race,” in that regard, attempting to find a common-ground on which to make the issue a shared experience.

It was a brilliant strategy and it was very well delivered.

The problem I have with Barack Obama is pretty much the same ones I have with Hillary Clinton and that’s their politics. BOTH encourage and play on divisions within America – CLASS divisions and that is toxic in and of itself.

Can we, should we always strive to be more fair and as inclusive as a merit-based system will allow?

Without question.

But neither Barack Obama, nor Hillary Clinton offer much in the way of specifics and the fear is that, once again, we’ll return to the highly divisive and racially exploitive “racial spoils system” of preferences and set-asides that most harms all those white workingclass and the rural poor whom Barack Obama acknowledged were least benefitted by their whiteness, in the first place.

In my own honest assessment, Barrack Obama delivered an excellent speech. The question is, “Is it too little, too late?”

I suppose the Pennsylvania (PA) Primary will tell.

He CAN afford to lose Pennsylvania, what he can’t afford is a rout. While Clinton being unable to win the Keystone State in the wake of this flap would be a serious blow to her contention, a huge defeat (10 points or more) would be a huge blow to the Obama camp.

If PA goes 52% - 46% for Clinton, the Democratic nominating process will continue heading toward what seems like a brokered Convention, if either Clinton LOSES, despite being bolstered by this flap, OR if Barack Obama is routed (by 10 points or more), it probably bodes poorly for him going forward.

Barack Obama’s Radical Roots

In the above photo, Barack Obama stands behind Kezia (his stepmother) in a Kenyan family shot, which includes his brother Abongo "Roy" Obama, pictured with his arm around his younger brother Barack. Abongo or “Roy” Obama is a Maoist, Luo activist and a militant Muslim who argues that the black man must "liberate himself from the poisoning influences of European culture."

"Abongo's new lifestyle has left him lean and clear-eyed, and at the wedding, he looked so dignified in his black African gown with white trim and matching cap that so many of our guests mistook him for my father," Obama wrote in Dreams From My Father.

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His mother (Stanley Anne Dunham) stayed in Indonesia after she divorced her abusive, radical Muslim 2nd husband, with her daughter and left Barack Obama with her wealthy parents in Hawaii.
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It's been reported (http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/familytree/545461,BSX-News-wotreex09.stng) that Barack Obama always felt abandoned by his mother and father, and gravitated towards his non-participating African family as an adult, and rejected his white relatives' influences. Maybe that explains some of why he’s been a devoted member of Jeremiah Wright’s (see entry below) Church and its rather malignant, racialist value system.

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A family member or two does not, in and of itself, define another family member. There are excellent detectives who were born to career criminals and vice versa.

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BUT, in this case, Barack Obama seems to have bonded with a Maoist, radical Islamist brother (Abongo Obama), sought out a minister who preaches a blend of racial animus and anti-Americanism and Married a woman, born to privilege, whose Princeton thesis was about her alienation at that school, in her mind due entirely because she was black....not unfriendly, not aloof, not any flaw in herself.

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While the people around Barack Obama don't define him, they are troubling enough to raise some serious concerns that, to date, he has been either unwilling or unable to explain.

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THANKS to Seane-Anna for inspiring an edit.

The NSEA Against Nevada

Out in Nevada, the State’s Teacher’s Union, the Nevada State Education Association (NSEA) is at war with the State’s taxpayers and one of its largest businesses (the Casino Industry) and its leading Labor Union (the Culinary Workers Union).

Last year, the NSEA decided that it would circumvent the State Legislature and go directly to the people to get a pay raise for teachers.

Unfortunately for them, the voters of Nevada were even more opposed to raising their own taxes for a teacher pay raise than the State Legislature was.

NSEA President, Lynn Warne laid out the NESA’s position very clearly, “There is nothing more important than increasing educators’ salaries, benefits and improving their working conditions.”

It’s good to see that she didn’t muck things up by appealing for “the children.” She makes it all too clear that the NSEA’s concern has NOTHING to do with educating the children of Nevada, only with increasing the salaries, benefits and “improving the working conditions” (a code for LESS work for MORE pay) for her beloved teachers.

Interestingly enough the current Clinton-Obama race has created enmity between the NSEA and the the State’s Culinary Workers Union, which supported Barack Obama and with whom it appears, the AFL-CIO stands with, is opposed to a current ballot referendum the NSEA is pushing that would hike State taxes on Casinos, almost certainly resulting in tens of thousands of Culinary Union Workers being laid off.

So, that’s Lynn Warne’s plan?!

To push for a referendum (that would raise State taxes on Casinos from 6.75% to 9.75% to pay for NSEA member raises) that would result in thousands of layoffs for other Union workers to pay for her Union’s workers raises.

So, Lynn Warne and NSEA is engaged in some not so friendly inter-worker cannibalism for her own personal gain.

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What's that famous Union motto? Isn't it "brotherhood, fraternity, equality?" I guess the brotherhood and fraternity are OUT....come to think of it, so's the equality, seeing that the NSEA seems to see teachers as being so much more "equal" than say, casino culinary workers.

Government Subsidized TV...for ONLY $1.5 BILLION

As of Super Bowl Sunday, (February 17) 2009, all TV broadcasts will be transmitted in digital signal only.

The Commerce department believes that there are still some 35 million Americans with sets that don’t have a digital converter.

It hasn’t estimated how many of them could afford the converters, but Congress has authorized a TV Converter Box Coupon Plan that will allow any family to get a$40 coupon (or two) to convert their analog sets to a digital signal. Oddly enough, technology routinely renders other forms of technology obsolete (phones, PC, etc.) , but to date government doesn't pay folks to upgrade those assets. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez claims that digital television will "improve our quality life." Hmmmm, so does a good beer...

So, with that single stroke of the pen, digital TV becomes a “Universal entitlement.” That's how "Conservative," the current administration is! That's how market oriented it is, as well. Well, there's still hope, I mean, can a beer subsidy be far behind?

Jeremiah Wright Promoting The Hate

This the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. He is Barack Obama's minister for over 20 years, he Married the Obama's and he's Barack Obama's spiritual mentor. This is the core of his message.

Wall Street Rejoices Tonight...AND So Should Main Street...

Did “the Catholic School Boys” bring down “the Steamroller?”

Yesterday the feds announced that FBI wiretaps had snared New York’s Governor Eliot Spitzer as “John-9” in the “Emperor’s Club” prostitution ring.

BUT Spitzer’s problems don’t end there. The feds claim he’s in violation of the Mann Act (transporting someone across state lines for the purpose of prostitution) and money laundering charges.

So where’s the “Catholic School Boys” link?

Well, late last week, the steamroller met with a number of Catholic Bishops over his demand that doctors working in Catholic hospitals be mandated to perform abortions or face the loss of their licenses. The Bishops supposedly responded that the Church would shutter those hospitals rather than allow abortions to be performed in violation of Church law.

Lots of very smart, very aggressive lawyers come out of schools like Fordham, Seton Hall, Villanova, Notre Dame. The Catholic school system is in full effect in those places. Instead of an “old boy’s network of chums,” those places are more like the cauldron that is a piranha tank, where the shrewdest and craftiest survive and the others are left by the wayside.

Lots of those Catholic School Boys wind up in places like the Treasury Department, the FBI, the NSA, etc. They’re instilled with a “a Catholic School Boy’s morality” – I don’t cheat, so you better not either.

Rudy Giuliani (PROSECUTOR and first-term MAYOR Giuliani, not post-9/11 Giuliani) was a “Catholic School Boy,” (even though he went to Manhattan College and NYU Law (he’d attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial HS) SO WAS Bill Bratton although he attended U Mass and was a Research fellow at the JFK School of government at Harvard University.

They BOTH had the “Catholic School Boy” mentality and morality. It generally doesn’t pay to mess with “the Catholic School Boys.” They tend to not only be very, very smart, they’re often very mean-spirited to crooks, thugs and “evil-doers,” of all kinds. Most people in and out of government come to know, that no matter how much you might like to fight, you really don’t to fight with those “Catholic School Boys” – they don’t just LIKE to fight, they LIVE to fight!

Was there a “Catholic School Boy’s” link that led to Eliot Spitzer being brought down?

Who knows? He had lots of enemies, including most of New York State’s Democrats. As one said, “To know him is to hate him.”

But who knew that “the great Crusader” was living a double almost Jim McGreevy-ish double life?

There’s a lesson in this for all those youthful folks, who see government as a “force for positive change.” NO ONE, but NO ONE goes into politics to “change” anything other than their own wallets. OK, maybe that’s too harsh! Let’s say that even those who DO enter that slime fest with good intentions, those who rise above the slime are few and far between.

TODAY Wall Street rejoices the demise of a man they long knew as a corrupt pol who made a joke out of public service, Main Street America should be rejoicing too! Tonight I’ll tip a glass to “Outta-bounds Byrnes” and some of those other “Catholic School Boys.”

Major Andrew Olmsted – Patriot, Blogger R.I.P.

I’d wanted to get around to this awhile back, but other things just kept on coming up. That is to my shame.

A few weeks ago I read Major Andrew Olmsted’s "Final Entry," and it was one of the more moving blog entries I’ve seen anywhere.

First some details about Major Andrew Olmsted himself;

FROM: The Rocky Mountain News:

Olmsted Compassionate to the End

Army major was trying to spare three insurgents

John C. Ensslin and David Montero
Originally published 12:30 a.m., January 7, 2008
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/07/olmsteds-compassion-a-factor-in-his-death/

A sniper killed Maj. Andrew Olmsted as he was trying to talk three suspected insurgents into surrendering, relatives confirmed Sunday.

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A sniper's bullet also cut down Capt. Thomas J. Casey as he rushed to Olmsted's aid during the small arms firefight in Sadiyah, Iraq, on Thursday.

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"They were pursuing some insurgents," Casey's brother, Jeffrey, said. "Major Olmsted got out of his vehicle and was pleading with these three individuals to stop and surrender so that the team would not have to fire upon them and kill them."

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"Unfortunately, there were snipers in the area, and apparently that's when Major Olmsted was hit," Jeffrey Casey added. "He didn't want to kill these individuals. He was trying to save their lives."

THIS is from his last blog entry:

"This is an entry I would have preferred not to have published, but there are limits to what we can control in life, and apparently I have passed one of those limits. And so, like G'Kar, I must say here what I would much prefer to say in person. I want to thank hilzoy for putting it up for me. It's not easy asking anyone to do something for you in the event of your death, and it is a testament to her quality that she didn't hesitate to accept the charge. As with many bloggers, I have a disgustingly large ego, and so I just couldn't bear the thought of not being able to have the last word if the need arose. Perhaps I take that further than most, I don't know. I hope so. It's frightening to think there are many people as neurotic as I am in the world. In any case, since I won't get another chance to say what I think, I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. Such as it is...

"... What I don't want this to be is a chance for me, or anyone else, to be maudlin. I'm dead. That sucks, at least for me and my family and friends. But all the tears in the world aren't going to bring me back, so I would prefer that people remember the good things about me rather than mourning my loss. (If it turns out a specific number of tears will, in fact, bring me back to life, then by all means, break out the onions.) I had a pretty good life, as I noted above. Sure, all things being equal I would have preferred to have more time, but I have no business complaining with all the good fortune I've enjoyed in my life. So if you're up for that, put on a little 80s music (preferably vintage 1980-1984), grab a Coke and have a drink with me. If you have it, throw 'Freedom Isn't Free' from the Team America soundtrack in; if you can't laugh at that song, I think you need to lighten up a little. I'm dead, but if you're reading this, you're not, so take a moment to enjoy that happy fact...

"... Believe it or not, one of the things I will miss most is not being able to blog any longer. The ability to put my thoughts on (virtual) paper and put them where people can read and respond to them has been marvelous, even if most people who have read my writings haven't agreed with them. If there is any hope for the long term success of democracy, it will be if people agree to listen to and try to understand their political opponents rather than simply seeking to crush them. While the blogosphere has its share of partisans, there are some awfully smart people making excellent arguments out there as well, and I know I have learned quite a bit since I began blogging. I flatter myself I may have made a good argument or two as well; if I didn't, please don't tell me. It has been a great five-plus years. I got to meet a lot of people who are way smarter than me, including such luminaries as Virginia Postrel and her husband Stephen (speaking strictly from a 'improving the species' perspective, it's tragic those two don't have kids, because they're both scary smart.), the estimable hilzoy and Sebastian of Obsidian Wings, Jeff Goldstein and Stephen Green, the men who consistently frustrated me with their mix of wit and wisdom I could never match, and I've no doubt left out a number of people to whom I apologize. Bottom line: if I got the chance to meet you through blogging, I enjoyed it. I'm only sorry I couldn't meet more of you. In particular I'd like to thank Jim Henley, who while we've never met has been a true comrade, whose words have taught me and whose support has been of great personal value to me. I would very much have enjoyed meeting Jim...

"...Blogging put me in touch with an inordinate number of smart people, an exhilarating if humbling experience. When I was young, I was smart, but the older I got, the more I realized just how dumb I was in comparison to truly smart people. But, to my credit, I think, I was at least smart enough to pay attention to the people with real brains and even occasionally learn something from them. It has been joy and a pleasure having the opportunity to do this...

"... I do ask (not that I'm in a position to enforce this) that no one try to use my death to further their political purposes. I went to Iraq and did what I did for my reasons, not yours. My life isn't a chit to be used to bludgeon people to silence on either side. If you think the U.S. should stay in Iraq, don't drag me into it by claiming that somehow my death demands us staying in Iraq. If you think the U.S. ought to get out tomorrow, don't cite my name as an example of someone's life who was wasted by our mission in Iraq. I have my own opinions about what we should do about Iraq, but since I'm not around to expound on them I'd prefer others not try and use me as some kind of moral capital to support a position I probably didn't support. Further, this is tough enough on my family without their having to see my picture being used in some rally or my name being cited for some political purpose. You can fight political battles without hurting my family, and I'd prefer that you did so...

"...On a similar note, while you're free to think whatever you like about my life and death, if you think I wasted my life, I'll tell you you're wrong. We're all going to die of something. I died doing a job I loved. When your time comes, I hope you are as fortunate as I was...

"...Those who know me through my writings on the Internet over the past five-plus years probably have wondered at times about my chosen profession. While I am not a Libertarian, I certainly hold strongly individualistic beliefs. Yet I have spent my life in a profession that is not generally known for rugged individualism. Worse, I volunteered to return to active duty knowing that the choice would almost certainly lead me to Iraq. The simple explanation might be that I was simply stupid, and certainly I make no bones about having done some dumb things in my life, but I don't think this can be chalked up to stupidity. Maybe I was inconsistent in my beliefs; there are few people who adhere religiously to the doctrines of their chosen philosophy, whatever that may be. But I don't think that was the case in this instance either...

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"...As passionate as I am about personal freedom, I don't buy the claims of anarchists that humanity would be just fine without any government at all. There are too many people in the world who believe that they know best how people should live their lives, and many of them are more than willing to use force to impose those beliefs on others. A world without government simply wouldn't last very long; as soon as it was established, strongmen would immediately spring up to establish their fiefdoms. So there is a need for government to protect the people's rights. And one of the fundamental tools to do that is an army that can prevent outside agencies from imposing their rules on a society. A lot of people will protest that argument by noting that the people we are fighting in Iraq are unlikely to threaten the rights of the average American. That's certainly true; while our enemies would certainly like to wreak great levels of havoc on our society, the fact is they're not likely to succeed. But that doesn't mean there isn't still a need for an army (setting aside debates regarding whether ours is the right size at the moment). Americans are fortunate that we don't have to worry too much about people coming to try and overthrow us, but part of the reason we don't have to worry about that is because we have an army that is stopping anyone who would try...

"...Soldiers cannot have the option of opting out of missions because they don't agree with them: that violates the social contract. The duly-elected American government decided to go to war in Iraq. (Even if you maintain President Bush was not properly elected, Congress voted for war as well.) As a soldier, I have a duty to obey the orders of the President of the United States as long as they are Constitutional. I can no more opt out of missions I disagree with than I can ignore laws I think are improper. I do not consider it a violation of my individual rights to have gone to Iraq on orders because I raised my right hand and volunteered to join the army. Whether or not this mission was a good one, my participation in it was an affirmation of something I consider quite necessary to society. So if nothing else, I gave my life for a pretty important principle; I can (if you'll pardon the pun) live with that."


You should read the rest...it’s well worth the time it takes to do so. It’s a humbling experience all around.

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http://www.andrewolmsted.com/

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THANKS to Dan O for reminding me to post the link.

Anne Rice's Return to Catholicism Mirrors Tolstoy’s Mid-life Conversion...

After spending nearly half a century as a self-described atheist, Anne Rice returned to her Roman Catholic faith, a religion she’d not practiced since she was 15. In October 2004, as she reaffirmed her Catholic faith, Rice announced in a Newsweek article that she would "write only for the Lord."

She called Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, her first novel in this genre, the beginning of a trilogy that will chronicle the life of Jesus.

In an interview with Christianity Today, headlined "Interview with a Penitent", Rice declared that she will never again write another vampire novel, saying; "I would never go back, not even if they say, 'You will be financially ruined; you've got to write another vampire book.' I would say no. I have no choice. I would be a fool for all eternity to turn my back on God like that."

Some of her fans reacted with shock to the news of her religious and literary conversion, admonishing her in magazine articles, internet weblogs...

For that reason, some have reacted with consternation over news of her latest book, yes, a vampire tale entitled, “Lestat Returns.” Why this should be such a big deal or even considered a break in her faith remains a mystery, as she’d said in an interview with TIME Magazine, that she may write one more novel in the series, adding that if she did write the book, it would be a Christian novel with a redemption theme involving the vampires Lestat and the Talamasca.

Many of her fans had turned their backs on her after her conversion, not unlike what happened after Tolstoy penned Anna Karenina and War and Peace before turning toward Christianity and following those novels up with such works as My Confession, The Kingdom of God is Within You, and The Gospels in Brief.

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Tolstoy never again had another work that was met with literary acclaim, but his religious works, which were themselves heavily influenced by American Henry George, later influenced Mahatma Ghandi.

This one’s for Robert...The End of an Era

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My nephew Robert is 10 y/o and he lives in Wisconsin and he mourns with that entire state, the retirement of Brett Favre.

When I was 10 my favorite quarterback was also a Green Bay Packer – Bart Starr. He, Sonny Jurgenson, and Johnny Unitas were arguably the best quarterbacks of that generation, certainly in my mind the two best quarterbacks of my early youth – a time long since passed.

In my teens it would be Roger Staubach, John Brodie, Len Dawson, Bob Griese and Terry Bradshaw who’d take those spots.

In my early young adulthood it would be Joe Montana, John Elway, Dan Marino


By the mid-1990s when I approached my forties, Troy Aikman, Steve Young and Brett Favre had taken that mantle.

With the new millennium, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning seem poised to eclipse most if not all of Favre’s records and surpass him in both winning percentage and Super Bowl rings.

One thing that Favre won’t soon be surpassed in is his durability (253 consecutive starts, 275 including the playoffs) and his childlike joy of playing a kids game on the biggest of stages.

If I were out in Wisconsin now, I’d tell Robert that it’s natural to grieve the passing of such figures, as their passing’s ultimately measure the passing of our own lives in eras. There’ll be sports figures that stand out from your early youth, your teens, and throughout your adulthood, measuring era by era, the passing of the times of your life.

From Bart Starr to Brett Favre to Aaron Rogers in Green Bay, from Roger Staubach to Troy Aikman to Tony Romo in Dallas, that’s how time is measured in “sports years.”

“It happens to us all,” is what they say, and that’s true enough, and that’s all natural and we should feel it...we SHOULD grieve the passing of time. So long as you love this life, it’s good, every once in awhile to be reminded of its inexorable passing.

So, when people mourn the passing of such icons, they’re really mourning the passing of a part of their own lives. For a fleeting moment we are each made painfully aware of our own mortality by accepting that each era, whether in sports or in life, is destined to pass.

Robert, you’ll have many more eras as you grow. Here’s hoping that each one is more enjoyable than the last.

Geraldo Writes a Book!...Hooorah!!!

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WhoooHoooo! Geraldo Rivera has written a brand new BOOK (entitled HIS-Panic)!!!

That, sad to say, is the end of the good news.

The bad news is that in that tome Geraldo Rivera defends a rabidly anti-American “Open borders” viewpoint that boldly claims that America is NOT a nation (a nation requires a common language, a common culture and actual borders). In fact, Geraldo is such an open border extremist that he even opposes deporting criminal illegal aliens.

How extreme is that position?

Well, slightly over 65% (appx. 2 to 1) of Hispanic-American citizens oppose “open borders for America,” and support basic border enforcement.” The most common refrain among that group is, “I came here legally, so should everyone else.”

Moreover, slightly more than 84% of Americans oppose any form of amnesty and support an “enforcement first” approach to dealing with illegal immigration.

While Geraldo ignores the Hispanics opposed to open borders, he makes it very clear that he (the half-Hispanic Geraldo) considers those Americans to be “racists.”

Even worse for the former, “Gerald Michael Rivera,” is that the economics are squarely against him.

* Illegal immigration puts a persistent DOWNWARD pressure on ALL prevailing wage rates. There isn’t a single economist who’d dispute that.

* Illegal immigration’s social costs (health, education, welfare, etc) dwarf the benefits of that cheap labor. It’s estimated that the cheap labor of illegal immigration saves America appx. $150 Billion/year, while the ancillary costs (the costs of all that “free emergency room care,” the costs of imprisoning of illegal felons, education, etc. for their children) are appx. $500 Billion/year. That means that while appx. 1% of Americans benefit to the tune of about $150 Billion/year (that averages out to around $80,000/year each for those lucky few, the 100 million adult Americans in the top 50% of taxpayers are shelling out nearly $3500/year to pay for all those ancillary costs...and many American hospitals are still going broke and closing their doors in response to being overwhelmed by the costs of providing free health care through their emergency rooms for the estimated 12 million illegal aliens here!

I know, I know, open border advocates don’t argue on the economics, they argue on the “morality.”

Utter nonsense!

How “moral” is LYING Geraldo?!

That’s right, Geraldo LIED. Hardly surprising, I know, but sadly it’s true. In one memorable section of his book he indignantly takes on Lou Dobbs over Dobbs’ 2003 claim that “one third of the inmates in our federal prisons are illegal aliens.”

Geraldo called Dobbs a liar and a bigot. I guess Dobbs earned the “bigot moniker” by dint of that particular lie.

Geraldo rebutted by claiming that illegal aliens only comprise 6% of our federal inmates, adding that ILLEGAL immigrants commit crimes at "a lower rate than American citizens do.”

So, the question is, “Who’s right?”

Well according to the DOJ stats, in 2003 (the year that Lou Dobbs made that claim), the 2003 federal prison population was comprised of 71.6 percent United States citizens, and 28.4 percent “other” (?)...apparently non-citizens. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/30/dobbs.prison/index.html


Well, who’s closer to the truth?

It seems very clear that one-third (33.3%) is certainly closer to 28.4% than it is to 6%. The fact that illegal aliens comprise 6% of the total prison and jail population in America would further seem to indicate that Geraldo didn’t merely mis-speak, he deliberately misled his audience into believing that Dobbs said "one third of all those in prison in the U.S.", in short, he appears to have lied. So, does that make Geraldo, by his own standard, a “bigot”?

At any rate, looks like Lou Dobbs 1, Geraldo River 0, on this score.

Still, what about Geraldo’s claim that illegal aliens commit crimes at a LOWER rate than American citizens do?

Well, there are appx 1.6 million people in America’s prisons. There are 12 million illegal aliens in the country. There are 300 million people in America, of which 220 million are adults. Many estimate that as many as 4 million of the illegal alien population here are children, but let’s say that there are 10 million adult illegal aliens here.

OK, using those numbers; 1.5 million Americans out of the 220 million adults in the country are in prison – that’s appx. 0.7% of Americans in prison.

Six percent of the prison population (appx. 100,000) are illegal aliens. One hundred thousand out of appx. 10 million adult illegal aliens is appx. 1%.

It would seem that 0.7% (the percentage of Americans in prison) is LESS than 1% (the percentage of illegal aliens in prison, so, while it’s certainly close, that too, seems to be a false claim by Geraldo Rivera.

But there’s more...MUCH more!

The ONLY reason that illegal immigration has been tolerated up to now has been that the cheap labor (that $150 Billion/year going to less than 1% of all Americans), so any kind of AMNESTY program would eradicate that cheap labor just as surely as would E-Verify and other forms of immigration enforcement!

Now some would argue (and rightly so) that “some jobs are exempt from minimum wage laws,” but we’re not supposed to know that about many agricultural jobs and some food service positions...but it IS true. So, without illegal immigrants, those employers would have to pay more for those workers and charge more to us consumers, BUT we’d be free of all those ancillary costs!

Beyond that is the fact that a majority of those here illegally DON’T WANT U.S. citizenship. They’d rather have jobs in Mexico, Guatemala and Ecuador, where most of their families still live, and who can blame them? For the most part, they DON’T WANT to become “Americans.”

Well, then what about the “Re-conquista?”

Stop! That’s a canard, an utter pipedream! Less than 10% of Mexicans (many of those who are here, members of that racist group, La Raza – “the race”) believe that any kind of re-conquest of the American southwest is even remotely feasible.

Consider that some 85% of Staten Islanders voted to secede from New York City, in a referendum Giuliani promised them while running for Mayor. Once safely in office, however, Rudy had a change of heart and decided that “all of New York had the right to vote on this issue,” which doomed Staten Island to remaining a part of a city it wanted no part of, just as surely as a national vote would doom the Southwest (no matter how many Mexicans transplanted there) to remaining a part of the U.S.

As history shows, America has a poor track record on allowing secessionist movements within its borders.

In fact, any kind of “re-conquest” figuratively pisses on the graves of the estimated 1600 Mexicans and 400 U.S. Army casualties of the Mexican-American War, rendering all of those, “deaths in vain.” The current arrangement honors the dead on both sides of that brief (1846 – 1848) conflict.

Truth be told, Mexico legally ceded those territories to the U.S.A. with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which was signed on February 2, 1848. That Treaty not only ended the war, it gave the U.S. undisputed control of Texas, established the U.S.-Mexican border of the Rio Grande River, and ceded to the United States the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado, Arizona, new Mexico, and Wyoming. In return, Mexico received U.S. $15,000,000, — less than half the amount the U.S. had attempted to offer Mexico for the land before the opening of hostilities — and the U.S. agreed to assume $3.25 million in debts that the Mexican government owed to U.S. citizens.

On top of all this, Geraldo lies yet again, by implying that “Hispanics are turning away from the GOP over this issue.”

Really?

Even though Hispanic-Americans oppose open borders by better than 2 to 1, and they’re angry with Republicans EVEN THOUGH the most recent border enforcement Bill, H.R.4088 (the SAVE Act) was sponsored by a DEMOCRAT (Heath Shuler D-NC)!

That doesn’t make any sense, when you think about it!

Then again, neither does Geraldo’s book.

Hugo Chavez is Really, Really Pissed Off at America...

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So he’s doing exactly what you’d expect a maniacal, tyrannical dictator to do – he’s preparing to invade...Columbia.

Apparently “Chavez” really does mean “Crazy-Ass” in Venezuelan!

After Columbian military forces moved into Ecuador to kill Raul Reyes, a leader of the FARC terrorist group, whom Chavez has called, “a good revolutionary”, Chavez mobilized 10 Venezuelan tank regiments along the Venezuelan/Columbian border and had his air force mobilized.

Apparently Chavez is toying with the idea of starting a regional war to defend a terrorist group.

That’s a war the U.S. almost certainly couldn’t avoid getting drawn into. Man, if he’s that outraged over having Exxon-Mobil freezing $12 Billion of Venezuelan assets worldwide, think how PO’d he’ll be when U.S. Marines are streaming across the Venezuelan border.

Yikes!

Magpul Industries SHOTSHOW 2008 Part 2

This has got to be the BEST home/personal defense tool ever! I can't believe they're not going to mass produce the FMG-9.

By the way, my birthday just passed, for anyone interested...

Awwww You Go Crazy Girl!!!

Just as I suspected all along, apparently Michelle Obama really is a blithering, blathering idiot.

Or maybe she just wants to sabotage her Hubby’s Presidential campaign, though personally, I'm increasingly leaning toward the former.

Speaking to a gathering of women at an Ohio daycare center recently, she advised them, “Don’t go into Corporate America”.

“We left corporate America, which is a lot of what we’re asking young people to do,” she tells the women. Adding, “You know, become teachers. Work for the community. Be social workers. Be a nurse. Those are the careers that we need, and we’re encouraging our young people to do that. But if you make that choice, as we did, to move out of the money-making industry into the helping industry, then your salaries respond.”

Yeah, making money and stuff is really over-rated.

What a dope!

Investors Business Daily made two great points in response;

“The real, productive jobs in the private sector help people in ways government can’t. A president who does not understand these things will kill the geese who lay the golden eggs — kill them with high taxes and onerous regulations and ultimately adverse economic conditions.

“Second, did the Obamas really make a tough choice to give up high-paying jobs to work in community service? The University of Chicago Medical Center reportedly pays Michelle more than $300,000 a year for her services as “vice president of community and external affairs.”

“Yeah, "Vice President of Community and External Affairs" sounds like an important service oriented job....and with a $300,000 salary, wow! I guess that's what she means by "your salaries respond".”

This one is right out of Murphy’s Laws, one of which states, “When a politician gets an idea, SHE almost always gets it wrong.”

You GO crazy girl!!!

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It's quotes like that, that have earned Liberal Democrats the moniker Dumb-O-crats.