July 4th Observations

I know I am not the first, nor the most eloquent to make these observations. I do find myself compelled to do so. Tomorrow is the fourth day of July. Much of the nation will be celebrating just that: The Fourth of July. WHY? Why is that day special?   Not because it’s the fourth day of the seventh month. Nothing to do with it. Why do stores run ‘Fourth of July Sales!’? Why do bars have ‘ July Fourth Bash Specials!’ all weekend?  Well, those are because they want some extra business.

But WHY is that date special?

Tomorrow is Independence Day. It is because of the document signed and dated for July 4, 1776 that the date is remembered. I realize this is picky and fussy, but once more we see the real historical America subsumed in consumerism and distraction. The only reason we have a nation so wealthy, so free that we can indulge in such consumerist behavior is because the men of that generation were willing to sacrifice it ALL to provide freedom. And not just for themselves.  The concluding sentence from that historic document lays out exactly what is at risk:

And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

After the conclusion of hostilities, the same men saw fit to enshrine the ideals into a concrete document, one which was meant to set out, clearly and plainly just what it was they fought for.  The preamble contains this sentence which can contrast with modern ‘me first’ attitudes:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

They are thinking, not only of themselves, but ‘Posterity’. A manner of future thinking which seems to be sorely lacking in these days of  trillion dollar deficits which will be paid for by that very posterity. We in America need to return to that mindset. We should, each and all, examine our hearts, and find that still burning spark which longs for freedom. We must nurture it back to the raging fire of Liberty. Only when Americans are once more willing to struggle for their liberties, willing to pledge their lives, fortunes and Sacred Honor.  We have become a placated people, but Americans have always been slow to rise to action, but once in action we have always been able to muster the necessary strength to meet any challenge facing us.

Perhaps it’s time to take back that ember, to fan it to flame. Start this weekend. Do not say ‘ Happy Fourth’. No, instead recall the origin of the day, the real reason to honor the date.

This weekend, this Saturday, loudly and clearly greet any and all you meet with a rousing and friendly greeting:

Happy Independence Day!

Keep The Faith!

The Rev

Washington Bled to death. Will History Repeat Once More?

In December, 1799 at the age of 67 retired President George Washington was riding his property, inspecting and marking trees to be cut. Washington was reportedly still in fine health, a physically strong and strong willed man, full of vigor.

While he rode the weather changed, and he continued to ride in rain and snow and freezing temperatures. From his own diary of the day he reports:

Morning cloudy, wind at northeast and mercury at 33. A large circle around the moon last night. About 10:00 it began to snow, soon after hail and then a settled rain. Mercury at 28 at night

He returned home, retaining his wet, cold clothing.  He grew hoarse, his throat raw and irritated. That night he awoke, feeling ill. The following morning he instructed his aide to ‘bleed him’ a procedure common at the time, and one which Mr. Washington believed would help relieve his distress. At Washington’s directions, his aide removed somewhere less than a pint of blood from the great man’s vein.

During the next days several physicians attended President Washington, continuing to follow the practice of bloodletting attempting to rid him of the affliction which weakened Mr. Washington. Sources put the amount to be in the range of  5-7 pints of blood removed from his body.

One of the physicians attending to the former president proposed:

that the President’s worsening respiratory condition made it imperative that his trachea be perforated. This newly described procedure, attempted as a last therapeutic resort, had been reported to save the lives of patients in extremis. Both Drs Craik and Brown decided against permitting Dr Dick to perform this procedure even though the latter assured them that he would assume all responsibility in case of unfavorable outcome. Dr Dick subsequently noted in a personal correspondence: “I proposed to perforate the trachea as a means of prolonging life and of affording time for the removal of the obstruction to respiration in the larynx which manifestly threatened speedy resolution.”

Accompanied by various poultices and applications of salves, the medical treatment was unhelpful. George Washington died December 14, 1799. There has been much written analyzing the medical treatment.  Practices which seem barbaric to us were commonplace at the time.  However there is a general consensus that Mr. Washington succumbed to asphyxiation from a throat infection, and his condition was severely weakened by the shock of removing nearly half his blood at the same time.  Speculation abounds that had he not been bled, he may have survived the infection. To any modern medical observer, in fact to just about any layman, the practice of removing blood seems wholly dangerous.

In the spring of 2008 the United States began to suffer from economic crises. The bloated housing market was beginning to collapse, creating a ripple throughout the economy in ways unexpected by government economic experts.  As the ‘housing crisis’ worsened, it infected the financial markets, causing investment companies, insurance firms and banks to shudder and those which were weakest began to collapse. The US Treasury and the Federal Reserve formulated a plan, and began to print more and more money,pumping funds into the economy, lending it to various struggling financial industry powerhouses. Despite running near record budget deficits, the US Government borrowed more and more money to finance the expansion of government aid to weakened companies.

As the Bush administration exited, the Obama administration entered the scene. Looking at what had been done Obama, and his Treasury Secretary decided that not enough had been done. (The Treasury Secretary had been a principle architect of the first bailout) The economy continued to stumble, growing weaker and weaker. This was the justification for much more bailout on an amplified scale. The Obama Administration ran up current budget deficits which dwarfed all previous such overspending. In his first proposed budget Mr. Obama has,in one year, exceeded the deficit spending of the previous SEVEN years of the Bush administration. His proposed deficit spending in fact will eclipse that of all previous administrations combined from G Washington to GW Bush.

Such inflationary spending will sap the energy of the US as surely as the bloodletting did of George Washington. Rather than look at the facts, the government is merely following outdated, and dangerous economic treatments. Continuing to run such deficits and expanding the debt in a time of global economic weakness is not far from continuing to bleed the president, while newer treatments, such as  surgical opening the trachea could save him. Solidifying the currency rather than draining the lifeblood would be a better prescription.

Make no mistake, our economy is dangerously weak. The remedies being applied are akin to continued bleeding. We continue to manufacture currency with nothing to back it. As more and more money is printed, the fiat currency in circulation becomes more and more diluted, essentially valueless. The inflationary policies of the Federal Reserve, abetted by the US Treasury department’s  continued profligate spending on various ‘bailout’ and ’stimulus’ packages weaken the economic body of the nation to the point where we will be unable to sustain ourselves. The continued selling of federal debt to foreign nations will choke us off as surely as an infected trachea choked George Washington.  Inflationary currency practices drain the lifeblood of the economy.  We are being bled to death while we choke on the political schemes of Obama and his allies as they attempt to fundamentally change the nature of our Republic.

The danger is carefully hidden from view, and shrouded in deception. Evan as unemployment continues to rise ( Remember the promise that if we enacted the ’stimulus bill’ we would not see unemployment rise over 8%?) we are told that things are somehow improving. Look at reports today. The headline on a CNN report reads as follows:

Job market shows some improvement

While the actual text of the story reads this way:

The pace of U.S. job losses has slowed but the labor market is expected to remain weak, according to reports released Wednesday.

Automatic Data Processing, a payroll-processing firm, said private-sector employers cut 473,000 jobs in June, a 2.5% improvement from the revised 485,000 drop in May.

The June job cut total was more than expected. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a loss of 394,000 jobs last month.

Don’t worry, all the blood being lost is a good thing, really.

I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time to find another doctor. Time for Obama and his crew in congress to stop before we die from all this helpful treatment they are giving us. Perhaps a tracheotomy,rather than bleeding, might have saved George Washington. Perhaps a sound dollar, based on something real rather than fiat currency, will save the American Economy. We can at least attempt it. Uncle Sam grows pale from his blood loss as we watch.

Keep the Faith

The Rev

==========================================

Significant information regarding the treatment and death of George Washington was obtained from the following:

A Moment in Time The Asphyxiating and Exsanguinating Death of President George Washington http://xnet.kp.org/permanentejournal/spring04/time.html

End of Empire

For nearly fifty years there were two competing empires in the world, with dramatically different worldviews. The Soviet Empire was bent on forcible domination, imposing a Marxist-socialist state on every nation. The American Empire was determined to export it’s worldview of state sponsored capitalism and nominally democratic government systems installed to replace  whatever previous system was in place.

The competition eventually ground down the Soviet system, which collapsed in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Many of the international supporters of that system migrated to various other political activities, notably environmentalism. During the last decade there has been somewhat of a resurgence of state sponsored socialism in the western hemisphere, particularly in Latin America.  Originally backed by Castro’s Cuba, then funded by the petrodollars of Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela, the movement has sought to blunt the strength of the American influence in the region.

Months ago,while George W. Bush was still president, I sat and mused one night about how the opponents of America could move steadily to bring about the collapse of the American Empire.  I was reading through some old writings and came across this piece, which I never posted.  It seems to be pretty appropriate to our current situation.

For what it’s worth, here’s my musings from last October, 2008

#############################################

Ok, so let’s look at some things.

Let’s suppose one wishes to work now to undermine what remains of the USA (empire) after the collapse of the Soviet empire.

What are the weak points, where are the choke points.

Well, as we move from the late 1980’s forward, one clear thing emerges. People are led by ‘popular opinion’. The new god of America is the mythical “Democracy”. Recall how when the Chinese students protested against their autocratic rulers, they gained credibility with the west by erecting a small version of the Statue of Liberty. Only as you may remember, it was called the “goddess of Democracy”. This was the elevation of the concept which began with Wilson, of the USA as the bringer of Democracy to the world. Gradually we saw the replacement of references to the USA as “the Republic” with the fetishization of Democracy as the goal of everything. Now, those bent on replacing the constitutional system of the republic with a dictatorship need to gain the acceptance of the people. Mass communication, led by the emergence of the 24r hour cable news outlets drives mass hysteria. Social engineers can see that constant polls, reported as news over and over will tend to push public opinion rather than reflect it.  Recall the term used during the last several political campaigns of “Push Polling”. By routinely suggesting ideas, the mass media can drive perception.

Now, watch the last few years of reporting. After a terrorist attack on the USA, our military moves with lightning speed, and accomplished unprecedented deeds in theater after theater. Afghanistan was quieted, despite cries that we would fall victim, just as “the British in the 1800’s and the Soviets in the 1980’s”. Once that failed to play out, the media simply went quiet on the story. Then in Iraq, as the military campaign rolled up victory and success again and again, the individual behavior of some soldiers was distorted, and then portrayed as a ‘standard policy of evil’ enacted by a ‘rogue administration’. While the Bush administration worked around this, the press stole and published military documents, and praised such acts, previously (and quite accurately) described as treason.

When this too failed to deter, then the shibboleth of “world opinion’ was trotted out to bash the Americans. Nation after nation was presented as opposed to America. As the nations saw the results of ignoring the peril; riots in France, murder in Holland, bombs in Spain, ’honor killings’ all over the world, elections turned out the presumed left leaning governments, replacing them with center-right, pro American leadership.

However, ‘public opinion’ in the US was growing increasingly opposed to the policies of a successful government, as the media continued to tell gullible consumers of ‘news’ that what they saw was not reality.

The economy was continuing an unprecedented growth string, interrupted only by the infamous ‘dot com’ bubble and a brief hiccup following the 9-11 attacks.

However, surveys showed that as the party out of power and it’s craven allies in the media shouted once again that facts were not so, and reality was malleable, that opinion was moved against truth. A generation raised on situational ethics, believing that there is no fixed viewpoint of right and wrong could not argue against such illogic.

Despite strong economy, jobless rates at or below 5%, low inflation, and continued increase in annual GDP figures, elections were moved by screams of ‘the worst economy in a generation’.

Now that everyone believes that the economy is in the tank, it will follow. After all, much of the interconnected global economy is lubricated by confidence. Removing that confidence is the equivalent of sand in the gears. The result is the small road bump created by the sub prime mortgage fiasco becoming a sink-hole that sucks the American economy into a pit. Those who wished to replace a free market system with a centralized, socialist command economy simply needed to control the media outlets and those drivers of public opinion.

Fast forward as the US government, in the face of economic panic, and global pressure to stop what is increasingly beginning to be called a US contagion to the global economy, must accede to and embrace international controls on economics.

As the economy stumbles from blow upon blow, a single, small added pressure can then bring about vastly greater leveraged results.

Imagine the result, of the following scenario:

After the election of a leftist president, accompanied by a sympathetic congress, the US government begins to concentrate economic control in Washington. The economy continues to stagger along, with blame heaped on the evil capitalists, and robber barons of industry.

Somewhere in the world, perhaps in England or France, is a spectacular terrorist attack, perhaps the destruction of Trafalgar square in London, or the collapse of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Taking this as a cue, the media in the US decry the culture of individuality and guns in America. Emergency powers are granted and gun confiscation begins. As the economy continues to collapse, Americans now more resentful than ever of the ‘over class’ of industry and government, stage insurrections and acts of resistance. In a rapid and accelerating pace, this action spreads across the nation.

The US government, now nearly bankrupt simply has neither the resources, nor the loyalty if it’s citizens to stop the disintegration of the country into warring factions.

We will see the dissolution of the USA into many, perhaps dozens of fractured republics, fiefdoms and warring enclaves. As the central engine of free market economics and free government disappears, socialist regimes expand power, and are subsequently subsumed by surging Muslim majorities in nation after nation.

The USA will not need to be conquered by Islam. The virus of socialism will rot the nation from its inside out, making the destruction of The Great Satan a moot point, made irrelevant by history and events.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For now, this is purely conjecture. For now. But tell me just how much of it you think is not probable. Tell me the flaw, please, show me that none of this is remotely possible. Because it’s a nightmare scenario that is likely to become a waking nightmare for all of us.

What is Obama thinking?

Let’s look at some recent events here. There may be some instruction in the the nature and form of our President’s thinking.

Obama has reached out to those opposed to the political system embraced historically by the USA. Achmedinajad in Iran, Chavez in Venezuela, Lula in Brazil, etc. ( leftist thugs in the USA like the ‘New Black Panthers’ who had charges dropped just before they would have been convicted of illegal voter intimidation)

Now, look at recent events.

Israel’s new Prime Minister stands firm against Haman and Hezbolla. He refuses to kowtow to the conventional wisdom of ‘following the ‘peace process’. This is a process which has allowed terrorist organizations to gain more and more credibility while the legitimate security interests of a freely elected, liberty loving nation are tossed into the gutter.  Obama’s policies pressure Mr. Netanyahu to cede more land, surrender more freedom even in the face of an implacable foe who refuses even to grant Israel’s right to exist.

The election in Iran appears to have been massively fraudulent. While there was polling data in advance to indicate that the incumbent would win a close election, the results have been nearly universally condemned as entirely made up.

The people of Iran, seeing that their wishes are ignored protest. It takes days for the US president to respond. Even after it is clear that repression and violence are being deployed on a massive scale, Barack Obama cannot seem to rouse himself beyond token statements that ‘everyone should remain calm’. He refuses to make any statement of support for ‘democracy’ in Iran.

Next, the President of Honduras attempts to run a ‘referendum’ which will enable him to violate the constitution of his country and assume a second term. The Congress voted that this was illegal. The Supreme Court ruled that this was unconstitutional.

Yet he pursued the referendum anyway. Eventually the Supreme court ordered the Army to step in, and remove him from office and allow the leader of Congress to assume the presidency. Obama has stated that he is ‘deeply concerned’ by the news.

Why the difference? Why would Obama respond rapidly to one, and respond to the other only after pressure from political opponents as well as some allies?

The Thuocracy in North Korea tramples on any and all agreements to which it is a party. This has been the pattern for decades and multiple administrations have followed the dead ent of negotiations with them. Now Kim and his army detonate weapons, fire missiles and threaten to annihilate the US. In face of this, Obama says ‘there will be consequences.’

What I see here is a pattern. If the ‘incumbent’, who exercises authority, has such power threatened, then Obama will condemn it. Achmedinijad holds power. The opposition is attempting to remove him, to prevent him from continuing his agenda. Obama is opposed.

Zelaya in Honduras violates his constitution, and attempts to extend his term. The constitutional, legal authorities thwart him, and Obama supports him. He must be defended . Why does  it Obama chose some leaders to object to and gives others a pass? It seems that as long as someone maintains power, he is credited with the right to keep it, no matter the legal, moral or constitutional violations he committed to maintain that position of power.

Is he setting an international precedent? Is he attempting to set the stage for future actions in his own administration?

We shall see.

Idiots on Parade

Relaxing this morning, I was sitting on the patio, reading the morning paper. Included in it is the weekly junk mail called Parade. Over the years this ‘journalistic endeavor’ has moved more and more to a parody than a magazine. The editors preach their liberal gospel even in the fawning celebrity gossip pages contained in the front.

This morning was an even wilder and more silly bit than I have seen in quite a while. It’s easy to dismiss it as junk and move on, but I think this takes more thought and deserves more attention than the usual tripe they print. Buried amidst stories trumpeting Hollywood stars ( Did you know Kyra can actually DANCE??? and Suri is well dressed!) comes something called ( now don’t laugh) ” The Intelligence Report”. The gem on display today is headlined:

Despite Recent Violence, Gun Laws Are Softening

The bit features a photo of a fierce faced woman apparently at a gun range. Of course to make it interesting she’s dolled up in some sort of cleavage baring  shimmery top. ( Imagine the discomfort should a wayward spent casing find its way there!) The story goes on to decry the fact that so many states are actually allowing law abiding Americans to exercise their second amendment rights! Worse still, they say, is that the congress has ( oh the HORROR) allowed Americans to carry their own weapons in federal parks, pursuant to local state laws.

The editors use an old diversionary tactic in the hit piece. In one line they say:

While it wouldn’t necessarily lead to more mass shootings, they say,

In the next paragraph they quote another expert, who clearly links any guns to mass shootings:

“We have the equivalent of a Virginia Tech massacre every day in this country. It’s just not all in one place,” says Daniel Webster of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research.

We could dance all day over the silliness of this drivel, but the more serious point is clear. Any time there is any advance in protecting freedom, individual freedom in particular, the media will do whatever it can, wherever it can to attack it.  The anti gun advocate quoted above works for a university. Like many Johns Hopkins will benefit from significant federal funding for it’s research.  Mr. Webster’s particular research is funded by the fiercely anti gun Joyce Foundation.   There is a deeply rooted web of such groups which work diligently to portray individual rights in general, and Second Amendment rights in particular as dangerous to the greater good.

The headline of the piece is a clear indicator of the disconnect between reason and advocacy.  Perhaps  someone with a calmer head, and slightly better powers of reason would see the link. The reason that governments are heeding the call by citizens to remove restrictions on a fundamental right  is simply that individuals wish to protect themselves rather than wait for the bankrupt government to do so. Concerned citizens will do what it takes, especially when the government which confiscates so much of wealth returns less and less to those who actually earned it.

Oh, one more thing, there’s a link at the end of the article. Parade is asking for comments. Anyone wanna send them some thought provoking critique of the pile of goo they printed this week?

Keep the Faith!

The Rev

Tough Week, Or: Obie Charms The World Once More

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks in the world. And of course, our leader, the Great and Powerful Obama has been right there, in the thick of things, saving the world.  Let’s have a look around and see what’s been done.

First of all Pres. Obama has continued to strengthen ties with our key allies.  His press spokesman spoke movingly of the integrity of the British press, and in return they lauded praise upon him. After all, we all have been told over and over that “The Europeans Love Obama” and that will make it so much easier for him to solve the problems of the world. Here’s how Mr. Gibbs discussed the British Press:

I want to speak generally about some reports I’ve witnessed over the past few years in the British media. And in some ways, I’m surprised it filtered down,” Gibbs began. “Let’s just say if I wanted to look up — if I wanted to read a writeup today of how Manchester United fared last night in the Champion’s League cup, I might open up a British newspaper. If I was looking for something that bordered on truthful news, I’m not entirely sure it’d be in the first pack of clips I’d pick up.”

“You’re not going to find very many of these newspapers and truth within 25 words of each other,” Gibbs continued.

Of course, this was all just taken in jest, as The Great and Powerful Obama is adored all over the globe. Here is an example of the adulatory response generated by his hilarious spokesman’s comments:

For all its talk of “raising America’s standing” in the world after the Bush years, the  Obama administration is doing a spectacularly bad job of reaching out to its allies. Unfortunately this is the new face of America’s public diplomacy, which will only serve to alienate public opinion across the Atlantic. Congratulations Gibbs – you’ve just made an enemy out of the entire British media, quite an achievement for the man in charge of selling the President’s message.

Yes, he’s building great relationships, and making great decisions all the time. And he’s SOO on top of everything too. We know, for example that he is brilliant. After all, he taught ‘Con law’ and was graduated from Harvard right? His brilliant brain holds so much information. Recall that he has promised to review the federal budget “line by line’ and eliminate any and all wasteful spending. He must know everything there is to know about the government and administration of the United States.  But, then what about all those pesky intelligence and information divisions? How’s THIS for brilliance? While  once more taking the ever vigilant press corps out to lunch at yet another swanky burger joint, our Commander in Chief met someone who works for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. He apparently had absolutely no idea what it is, or that it’s part of the Defense Department charged with developing and interpreting vital satellite imagery for the military and intelligence communities.

Obama: So explain to me exactly what this National Geospatial…uh…
Walter: Uh, we work with, uh, satellite imagery..
Obama: Right
Walter: [unintelligible] …support systems, so…
Obama: Sounds like good work.
Walter: Enjoy the weekend.
Obama: Appreciate it.

Ok, so we see how totally brilliant and on top of things our president is regarding the internal workings of the government he says he will run with total control and dedication. How about international affairs with other than Europeans who adore and worship him. ( We see the great affection he’s generated in Britain) How about our critical ally in the Middle East. The Great and Powerful Obama had a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Netanyahu has been there, done that. He organized a commando squad that fought for the survival of their nation while our President Organized communities.  They had their private meeting where it was anticipated the Great Obama would use his charm to persuade Mr. Netanyahu to go along with plans to meet and talk nice with the various Palestinian and Arab groups which seek to exterminate Bibi’s nation and people. Apparently things did not go the way Obie planned.  The traditional post meeting press conference was a gold mine for students of body language. The leader of the Free World sat stiffly, never glancing at his guest once during the questioning and recounting of their ‘frank discussion’.  He stammered and dodged any questions of substance. Meanwhile, Israel’s leader sat stoically, staring directly at his chastened  counterpart. His body language was more like that of a boxer during a pre-fight press conference looking at the latest tomato can put in front of him before he can fight for the title.  Clearly, he knew he had to put this man in his place. At this point the policy of the United States in the Levant is reduced to something akin to begging that if they decide to go to war against Iran, would they please at least think of calling and telling us before they win so we can claim some credit.

The campaign is long over, yet Obama continues to pepper his policy speeches with finger pointing and blame fixing. ” We didn’t mess this up, the guy before us did it!’  ” We inherited a mess, and we’re not sure what to do yet”. As he is confronted with the reality of events in his role as President of The United States Mr. Obama has begun to shrink and step away from any engagement.  Nations and world leaders are not the same thing as small community groups pleading for someone to help them out. He simply cannot vote ‘present’ when a true crisis emerges. 

Look to the latest fire burning on the world stage in Asia.  The ever agreeable  Comrade Kim decided that talks with the ‘multilateral group’ were not progressing as fast as he wished. So, to increase the spirit of community he set off a nuke and began firing missiles in all directions. He warned the US and South Korea not to ‘provoke him’. Of course this brought swift and decisive action. The Secretary of State of the United States thundered with anger that such actions would surely bring about some serious consequences. Not to be outdone, the UN, that wellspring of decisive action offered to print a statement that would say stern words to the Norks, and might even consider discussing the possibility of potentially increasing sanctions on the already crushingly impoverished nation.

In response to all these  terrifying threats  Crazy Kim Jong Il  puts on a new pair of designer shades and shouts something that translates roughly as : ” Booga Booga BOOGA” and everyone in the world backs up a couple of steps because he’s so scary. Except of course the incredibly calm and reasonable Achmedinajad in Iraq, who inches closer and says, ” Please, please can I have some too!” Kim is not merely making threats, he’s poking a stick in the eyes of the ‘multilateral nations’ and seeing if they will take it away from him or let him sharpen it and try again.  The thing to remember is that in Iran they are watching to see what happens. If Kim and his sunglasses are allowed to bask in the nuclear glow with no restrictions, then Achmedinijad will put on a brand new ‘Members Only’ jacket and set off his own fire crackers knowing that no one has the stones to do anything about it. Once  he opens the throttle it will signal the beginning of a mad race throughout all the other regimes in the area. The various Arab chieftains would all want their own personal glow in the dark kits to balance out the ‘Twelvers’ in Tehran. Mahmoud the Mad in sole possession of nukes in the Middle East is as much a nightmare for the Syrians and Saudis as it would be for the US.  he might just decide it’s time to shake things up for real so his favorite hidden teen age Imam can emerge from some well hidden in the badlands of Iraq and restore the ‘peaceful and beautiful’  rule of his particular flavor of Shiite Islam upon the burning embers of  the post nuke dust that remains.

Boy, I sure am glad that we have such an engaged and powerful leader in the White house right now. He’s done so much to calm things.  Maybe next week he can take the North Koreans out for burgers, maybe that will fix things. After all, why can’t we all just get along?

Keep the Faith!

The Rev.

And…. we’re back

I blame Brother Kharma for this, but since his post, I have been interrupted by life. As I work in the real world ( imagine… I can’t make a living doing this!) and work demands come first I have been away from the keyboard for a bit. But I see some daylight, and will attempt to put some electrons to use shortly.

Thanks for staying around.  It looks like Deke and Bro have kept things humming a bit.

Keep the Faith!

The Rev

If these were “civilians”

Here is the whole article. 

 Here is the excerpt: 

“A statewide SWAT team exercise at a firing range on the secured grounds of a nuclear power plant in Southern Maryland was halted this month after stray bullets shattered glass and struck a command center near the plant’s reactors, officials said yesterday.

Reactor safety at the Calvert Cliffs plant in Lusby was never compromised, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Constellation Energy Group, which operates the facility. But Constellation closed the range, a popular training site for local law enforcement agencies, pending investigations by plant security and the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, which hosted the exercise.

 

At least five bullets escaped the firing range and traveled more than a half-mile before striking buildings and a vehicle near the reactors, according to the NRC, Constellation and the sheriff’s office.”

 

My thoughts:

 ”Reactor safety at the Calvert Cliffs plant in Lusby was never compromised”

The real reason to be upset (to me) is the employees, there, were in serious danger. Shooting without P R O P E R backstop is ridiculous. The folks in the line of fire are what concern me. I mean it hit a car? What if a fellow was having lunch or just parking? Hit Windows too, what about employees at the windows? If they have P R O P E R backstops then why are we getting stray volleys? Uncontrolled bursts from either inept or irresponsible shooters?

Someone’s rump should be in a sling for this one. Bet nothing happens though. Had this been a private range (what I mean is individual owned) and “civilians”, we’d have heard calls for gun control, range closure, lawsuits, “only professionals should have firearms”, and the Brady crew would have been on scene with picket signs and body bagged adults doing die-ins.

Speaking of which… You know I gotta say it.

“I am the only one professional enough to…” (watch the linked video to that, if you haven’t seen it, it’s a classic)

Welcome Addition

Today we welcome a new member to this crazy crew.  “Brother Kharma” will post occasionally, as his ’spare time’ allows. ( Part of my job will now become nagging him for more writing!)

I think he’ll bring another view of the world, with a perspective that I appreciate greatly. I hope you will enjoy his insights as much as I have.

Keep the Faith!

The Rev.

In My Spare Time – Right?

The Rev and I have had many discussions surrounding this website, and for some reason he still encouraged me to provide input.  My initial reaction was that I would be thrilled to bloviate (apologies to Mr. O’Reilly) on a number of things that interested only me.  I would have no problem driving down the readership of this site.  My next reaction was to agree, as long as expectations were low and the submissions could be staggered and unreliable.  Underwhelmed by my enthusiasm, the Rev did not rescind his invite, which I interpreted as acceptance.

I found myself with a lot of opinions, and an outlet.  This was tremendous!  I mulled over some issues and ideas, wanting my first post to make a splash.  I sat down and began to write something, but the dog needed to be walked.  Well, I’d think about it on the walk and get started the next morning.  Several next mornings and a slew of track meets, softball games, booster club meetings, Taekwondo classes, book reports, leaky pipes, deadlines at work, client meetings (yes, I do actually have to work for a living, I’m not a liberal blogger), doctors appointments and other “trivial” things later, I still had nothing.  I told the Rev I was trying the best I could, but was interrupted by life. 

My next attempts faired slightly worse.  I actually went backwards by completely forgetting what I had wanted to write about.  It was obviously compelling and of a burning urgency to the world.  Somehow, I just could not work up the passion to ignore life to write about politics.  Something must be wrong with me.  I mentioned this to the Rev again and he pointed back to my “interrupted by life” excuse.  He suggested that if I had time (seriously, he did), I might want to expand on that. 

I thought about that for a while, not too long lest I forget what I was thinking about.  Then it hit me.  The major uphill battle that Conservatism faces is our complete and total ineptness at staying “me” focused.  The left has us beat hands down, and have for years.  I was raised by two people (of different genders, actually married – gasp!) who did whatever it took to ensure good things for their children.  Sacrifice was something they did by choice and out of love, not demanded of others to enhance their position.  I have tried to follow that example, because I admire the people who set it. 

There are tremendous issues facing us every day, and there are always important points to make on each one.  There is only one spring choir concert a year, and I am running out of those.  There is only one first varsity wrestling match.  The left can whip up professional protesters and seminar callers in an instant. If they can prevent themselves from being interrupted by life to stay focused on the issue du jour, then they have convinced me I am on the right side (pun intended).  We went through all of this in the 70’s (pending Ice Age vs. Global Warming;  Jimmy Carter and détente vs. Barack Obama world apology tour insisting we are not a Christian country) and survived, even thrived again 10 years later.  This country can get through anything.  I am not sticking my head in the sand and saying pull me out in 8 years, but a lot of voices are starting to sound shrill.  I would love to explain in detail why there is no need for panic, but please pardon the interruption, my life is calling.  Maybe after I pick up a sick kid from school I’ll have time to write it all down.

 

bro