Bellringer's lament

Believe it or not, I hate being the bearer of bad tidings (to those subjected to public schools, that means I don't like bringing bad news all the time). I'd much rather be the guy that comes in with a big smile and says, "Guess what, everyone; happy days are here again!"  Unfortunately, that would be a lie, and a dangerous one.Besides, there are plenty of people already doing that. Truth is, the world has changed radically within the past few years, and the bad news is ramping up like a brakeless steamroller running down the mountain toward a ski lodge during the New Year's Eve party. And like the party, most of the folks inside are too drunk or wrapped up in who they're gaming to take a look out the window, even when someone is yelling, "There's a steam-roller coming at us, run for your lives!"

I've been trying to get people's attention for years; to warn them of what could be (there's less mystery now if you pay attention) coming, but most just laugh or shrug it off. It's not as though I'm speaking down from on high, with all the physical and economic security one could desire. In fact, I'm just the depth of a shadow away from complete poverty, but I don't consider myself poor. God has blessed me so much more than I deserve, and He doles those blessings out daily in one form or another. So, I feel my obligation and duty is to serve, and to try and tell others of coming danger and Judgment. Like others who try to ring the warning bell, it can be lonely and frustrating to realize most people - including those you care about - don't believe you and couldn't care less.

While we're on the topic...  Since we're dwelling on bad news here (as opposed to..??), you may as well join me for a run-down of just a couple of examples of the latest social detritus, and see which ones you can check off your "already knew that" list.

We learned from that right-wing (not) news organ Reuters that the Obama malAdministration has a secret panel in the National Security Council that conducts virtual 'Star Chamber' hearings to decide which American citizens to put on a literal 'hit' list. The most prominent victim so far to make this extinguished list is US-born al-Qaeda mastermind Anwar al-Awlaki.  I'm torn on this, because on the one hand I believe our government shouldn't be targeting us for elimination for political reasons. But on the other hand, I believe that the government wields the 'sword of justice' and has a responsibility to punish murderers and those complicit in such crimes. For me, it comes down to the morality of the government wielding that 'sword', and I don't think the present one is the right one to do so. Besides, they claim to "follow international law" while prosecuting their list. So that means it is internationally acceptable to knock off one's citizens? Globalism rules! And that's a scary thought.

We're discovering more about the American educational system that has been systematically poisoning minds for nearly a century.  The mechanism for this dissemination of anti-American values is locked up in the teachers' union, but at its core is the corrupting philosophy of socialists (OK; let's call them what they actually are...communists).  While many are frothing-at-the-mouth commies, most are simply ignorant of the goals and background of the educational elites who influence their own education, and in turn influence their students. As computer geeks say, garbage in, garbage out.

Meanwhile, the "totally (non-)spontaneous" mobs of the ignorant, indolent, insolent and unwashed continue their live-out in the streets of the Big Apple, Washington DC, and other cities.  And although they would probably count me among the "99%" (actually, I'm solidly in the 43%) I think these self-absorbed smellitists are woefully - and purposely - misled.

At the core of the chaos is a statist, collectivist, communist ideology, conveniently wrapped up in phony feel-goodism and globaloneyism. What these overly-impressionable Young Turks don't realize is that they are being used (as in useful idiots) as cannon fodder.

The financial elites who bankroll these events, the planners who formulate and instigate them, and the political elites who set the stage are all using these gullible meatheads (or veg-heads, as the case may be) to provoke the authorities into an action that will ignite a maelstrom of violence, which in turn would cause the authorities to stomp them into submission, which would fan the flames of revolution, which would help collapse the system, which would provide the excuse for the elites to roll in and crush the revolt (which they financially backed in the first place) and restore 'peace'. (Yes, it's a massive run-on sentence, but I'm trying to make a point.) 

This would put them in position to create a new system, the same as the old system that has caused the misery and deaths of millions of people everywhere it is tried. And if you think I'm crazy to talk about the deaths of millions, keep in mind that this brain-trust firmly believes in massive population control, just so long as it happens to any other portion of the population except their own. They have admitted and discussed as much, it's just that so few are listening, and fewer are willing to believe it.

We also learned that the Boy Scouts have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood (Say it isn't so!). The fact is that radical Islamicists have - much like the communists/progressives - infiltrated virtually every aspect of society; every political party and institution, nearly every media outlet, university, union, and government agency. Since they, like the communists, understand that the simplest way to conquer a nation or culture is to capture or influence its children, it shouldn't come as a surprise that these malevolencies would worm their way into organizations like the Scouts that center around the young.  This includes the churches of America as well.  But that is a tale for another time.

Changing the rules

Happy Labor Day! Yes; I'm being sarcastic. As President Obama spends the day pumping up union workers in Detroit with the illusion that his job creation plans are nothing more than strategies for failure, Americans celebrate a day that salutes the very unions which have helped to humble us and drive us into depression, psychologically and economically. And while I too appreciate a day off from the grindstone, I cannot help feeling betrayed yet again by people with fat wallets and fatter egos who gather together in closed rooms and determine what is best for everyone else, even knowing that what they plan is just the opposite. In one sense, we are all celebrating the demise of our liberty, but few seem to notice, and even fewer seem to even care. We've been conned on a grand scale by the collatoration of unions and big government (even while that government works with big business on the other side), and they've convinced us to love it so much we kick back and party hardy.

While unions were begun with the best of intentions - at least by the rank-and-file, the end game of organized labor since the beginning has been the ruthless accumulation of power. And while union workers by and large have made out very well, the cost has been an exodus of millions of American jobs out to other countries [According to a 2004 Cornell University report, 39% of the jobs lost overseas were union jobs. Congrats, union bosses!]. The intransegence of the unions - always seeking more benefits and protection for workers without considering the long-term effects of crippling competitiveness and protecting bad workers - has had the inevitable effect of shooting the workers themselves in both feet. After all, a golden contract is no good if there is no production line to support it.  And while this pathetic short-sightedness is bad enough among industries, it is downright deplorable among civil servants, who seem to have forgotten the "servant" part of their job description.

With cities' and states' governments threatening to save themselves by throwing the most essential workers (police, firefighters, water, sanitation and others) under the collectivist bus, it is truly ironic that the police, who are the hammer that pounds the populace on the anvil of government regulations, is so often first on the chopping block. Of course, as the enforcement role is assumed by a generation not versed in rights and responsibilities, the incidence of storm-trooper personality types is increasing exponentially, so we might be able to spare a few of those people, for the general welfare of citizens, if not economic stability.

Who's in charge?  When I was growing up, there were rules that most people took for granted. Marriage meant one man and one woman. You could do pretty much what you wanted - especially with your own property - as long as it didn't affect someone else in a substantially negative way (which meant you could fly the American flag from your front porch with nary a whimper from the neighbors). Children, while not as pampered as they often are now, were loved, and the children generally knew it because they saw both parents every day.  If need be, you could defend yourself and your property without fear of persecution (yes, I meant persecution,in the sense of a common understanding that person and property are sacrosanct). Ideally (if not practically) you didn't lie to people, you didn't cheat, you didn't steal, you didn't murder, and you respected the God of the Bible and His Church.  Leaders were expected to set the example for ethics and personal behavior. Of course, almost everyone screwed up at least one of those at some point in their lives (and some more than others), but you assumed everyone at least knew the rules and would be held to them. They were the  standards you could point to and defend the social fabric with.

My, how far we have fallen. It's getting increasingly difficult to find more than a relative handful of people who even recognize those social boundaries anymore. And with each passing generation, our hold on the wholesome gets more tenuous.  Holy matrimony is being trampled in the name of political correctness as as another direct affront to God. Private property is being swallowed up by the State, and privacy is all but lost to an ever-intrusive government and corporate behemoth that respects nothing but its own power. Children are being pampered to spiritual death; provided with more wants than they can handle responsibly, yet their real needs (the actual presence and involvment of loving parents [plural] and a quality education that reinforces both rights and responsibilities) are relegated to the not-so-tender mercies of the daycare provider, the sickening agenda of the education establishment and the self-centered goals of the teachers' union. Lying, cheating and stealing are not only acceptable but fashionable by many social institutions and groups including the halls of academe and government. Murder has even become legal, as long as the victims are the absolutely most defenseless segments of society. And as predicted, one of the latest pushes on the homosexual front is an attempt to normalize pedophelia via the faux-science of the psychological' community'.

As for leaders...where do I begin?  After thirty-plus years as a Republican, I switched a couple of years ago to the Conservative party (here in New York State), simply to avoid the ambiguity of where I stand, so I don't think it would be fair to lable me as a party hack, although the GOP still has a few good minds in its ranks; however, those folks too often get pushed aside by the party leadership. As someone else once said, "I didn't leave the party, the party left me." And to be honest, I've come to the point where I reluctantly agree that both parties, at the 'establishment' level, are simply two wings of the same agenda.

Then there is the media, some members of which are so far in the bag for the Left they no longer even register on the 'sense' scale, and whose major goal seems to be as water-carriers for the radical Demoncrats of this malAdministration.

Flipping to the other side of the media coin; Glenn Beck's Restoring Courage rally in Jerusalem was held a couple of weeks ago without any of the incidents predicted by his critics who were trying to dissuade him and scare attendees away. It was a series of events intended to reassure Israelis in particular and Jews in general that there are many people around the world who do not agree with the emnity displayed by so many nations, organizations and individuals, including our own current malAdministration.

In addition to his passionate defense of Israel's right to exist, Glenn called for a new paradigm - one that defines human rights but also restores the responsibilities that are the necessary counterbalance to those rights - is a refreshing change from the 'gimme' brand of faux rights put forth by the Left. Besides, if the Left (or the extreme Right) ever achieves total global domination, there will be no such thing as rights for anyone except the most powerful elites. It has become a trusim that our most dangerous enemy is the enemy within.

Just another day of "fundamental transformation."  The Obama malAdministration continues - in line with the sickening agenda of the global elites - its relentless persuit of "nudging" us into total Mao-style communism. From continuous little insults (such as having China provide a 30-foot-tall statue of Martin Luther King and a 2,050 ft bridge spanning San Francisco Bay), to increasing pressure against our national defense, China is demonstrating that they are not content to merely sit back and fix their own country; they want to 'fix' ours and the rest of the world as well, and they are proceding headlong on that course.  Now, imagine how well that will go for all of us once they totally suceed.

Anxiety attack

Have you ever had one of those weeks in which it seems almost everyone around you is pushing your buttons, seemingly trying to provoke you into doing something you'll seriously regret? Yeah; one of those.

I'm here to tell you, it isn't just you. Globally, there is a wave of animus that is engulfing millions of people. And it is neither accidental nor coincidental.

In London and other European cities mobs have increasingly devolved from ideological and social misfits to racial tribalism. As I noted in the previous posting, it's also happening here. As in other US cases, officials are carefully walking a "see no evil" line, in which any hint of racism - if it is (obviously) black-on-white or Muslim-on-Christian - is automatically denied by politicians who are equally quick to pin the blame on anyone other than the actual culprits.

Earlier this year, I posted Glenn Beck's discovery of an active plot by SEIU organizer Steven Lerner to begin an assault against the banking industry by encouraging millions of people to purposely default on their mortgage payments, with the aim of causing the entire economic system to collapse. The apparent goal was to have the resulting crash to cause widespread riots and violence to ripple across the country. Taken to its logical conclusion, that atmosphere of chaos would be just the crisis needed to declare a national emergency that would necessitate the nullification of our constitutional rights. Because of Beck's public warning, the effort didn't really get off the ground at that time, although more than 400 showed up to annoy people at JP Morgan Chase's annual stockholder meeting in Ohio.

Now, they're back, and bolder than ever. Capitalizing (if I may use that term) on the massed protests in Wisconsin and other areas, the mobs are set to occupy Wall Street itself in what organizers are calling the Days of Rage, with the goal of creating “a week of civil disobedience, direct action all over the city:” Since this action could be an impediment to the conduct of big business, maybe even Mayor Bloomberg will find a backbone and impede them in return.

In addition to the larger efforts at mobocracy, smaller but just as sanctimonious groups including the AFL-CIO (isn't it curious; the union labels are everywhere) are once again protesting individual corporate officers at their homes.

When union thugs end up destroying businesses or driving them away, you can thank your local union member for his support (union dues, protests, intimidation, etc.) in causing even more job losses. And in case you don't work at a big corporation and don't care, keep this in mind: every large corporation buys goods and services from hundreds of small businesses - everything from the local restaurants and pizza parlors patronized by the workers and their families, to the office supply companies, security firms, gas stations, corner stores and markets, hardware stores, beauty- and barber-shops, and many others.

If there is anything to be learned from all this, it is simply that...if people really are out to get you, you aren't schizophrenic. And ironically, it seems that the only folks more afraid of violence in the streets are the people at the top of government. The irony isn't that they are afraid, because they hold the military, police, judicial and political power; it is that they are afraid all that power won't be enough to keep them eternally in those positions of power.

Stand, or get knocked down. This week may become one of the most memorable in recent years, and it could go either way; to glory or infamy. Glenn Beck is holding his Restoring Courage event. Actually, it is a series of events taking place over four days in Israel.

• On Sunday, Glenn, historian David Barton, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Pastor John Hagee and others will speak at the Roman ampitheater in Caesarea, where the biblical stories of Ruth and Esther will be highlighted.
• Monday, from the Old Train Station Plaza in central Jerusalem, there will be a remembrance of the Holocaust, as a reminder of the evil men can do, and the threat that looms over all of us when we forget that. At a time when anti-semitism is again on the rise globally, and billions of people around the world are being programmed with the belief that average Americans are no better than the dehumanized (and patently false) depiction of Jews, there is coming a time when we all will need courage.
• On Tuesday, Glenn will follow that with a special documentary he produced which follows his personal journey into Auschwitz-Birkenau, where more than one million people (incidentally, not just Jews) were systematically murdered by a government, while citizens went about their business literally within a stone's throw away, and did nothing about it. We once boldly stated "We shall never forget," and yet there is barely a mention of this shattering chapter of history in the schools or in the media anymore, other than the History Channel archives, which most people never watch.
• The keynote event happens on Wednesday, where Glenn and others will meet at the Western Wall and the Temple Mount, only yards from where Jesus Christ overturned the tables of the money-changers. Glenn will " issue a challenge to all citizens of the world to stand with and declare their support for Israel."

If the impending fate of Israel doesn't interest you, you aren't nearly as alone as the citizens of that tiny nation. It is literally surrounded by enemies determined not to merely beat them, but to utterly destroy them - every man, woman and child, and not just in Israel. Muslim clerics (remember that Islam is equally a religious and political system). Millions of Europeans are revisiting their historic disdain for Jews, and many Americans are being turned against them by our own current government (which also happens to be recalling many of the policies, activities and goals of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union). I have even heard Christians argue that Israel deserves no special attention from us, in the sense of upholding our historic defense agreements with them. Personally, I don't believe my Christian faith tells me that abandoning our honor or compassion is the right way to go. But then, to each their own interpretation of scripture, I guess.

If you are one of those people who doesn't believe we should stand up for Israel when they need us most (by the way, they haven't asked for help yet; what they are looking for is someone that will at least speak on their behalf -- in other words, a friend), then perhaps it is time to recall the words of Pastor Martin Niemoller. The exact text of what Martin Niemoller said, and which appears in the Congressional Record, October 14, 1968, page 31636 is:

"When Hitler attacked the Jews
I was not a Jew, therefore I was not concerned.
And when Hitler attacked the Catholics,
I was not a Catholic, and therefore, I was not concerned.
And when Hitler attacked the unions and the industrialists,
I was not a member of the unions and I was not concerned.
Then Hitler attacked me and the Protestant church --
and there was nobody left to be concerned."

You can follow Glenn Beck as he tries to restore the compassion and courage of the American people (you didn't really think the Israelis needed to be reminded of courage, did you?) by signing on to his fledgling internet TV channel which officially launches September 12. You can subscribe to GBTV without contracts for $4.99 per month (until launch day, after which the price goes up to 9.95 per month unless you're already locked in). Having seen a number of productions already presented, I can say it is worth the cost. However,for those who just can't go that step, it was just announced that TBN will carry at least one event (Sunday) so far.

As I've stated before, I don't like to put anyone on a pedestal because we're all flawed. But Beck has done what no one else with his ever-expanding media footprint has been willing to do; put everything - including his own money and his reputation - on the line to put the evidence, the truth as he sees it, and a call for a return to moral principles, and a return to God as revealed in the Bible. Many of those who criticize Beck have either never actually listened to him - other than perhaps a selected sound-bite by other critics - or they judge him purely on the rants of those critics. You don't have to agree with him on everything (I don't), but if you listen to what he presents; the evidence and his interpretations thereof you may tend to consider him worth listening to. The truth is that we've been lied to by virtually everyone, and he's trying to discover the truth, and get it out there for the rest of us to see. And Beck sees God as the ultimate Truth; as do I.

You don't have to get all religious to understand - with a little serious study - that the Bible actually is the essential handbook for the human race. It uses history to illustrate how people get off the track, and that common sense, integrity, morality, fairness, honesty, love, and compassion are timeless principles. If you're willing to believe you aren't the center of the universe, it also shows that there actually is a Being that created and cares about us; and He provided everything we need - eternally - if we're only willing to accept it. But unlike certain other faiths in which your only choice is submit or die, the Bible shows that the God it describes is a God willing to give you a choice to do it your way and suffer the eventual consequences, or do it His way and reap rewards beyond your comprehension.

Going, going,...?

You may have heard about Glenn Beck leaving Fox News. The blamestream media is all a-twitter and salivating like Pavlov's dog at the looming prospect (in their minds) of a Beck-free forum in which they might continue to slant or omit news that contradicts their personal agendas. Think again.

Those who bother to read this tacky little blog each week know I have used Glenn Beck as a major resource, while others may say that's precisely why they don't read it, because they automatically dismiss any reference to him (an extremely shortsighted reason). People who actually know me will readily tell you I'm a Beck fanatic. But what generally gets left out of that discussion (either way) is why I pay such respect and close attention to him.

Simply stated, no one else with the media footprint Beck has developed over the past few years seems interested in gathering the information, making the connections, or putting this information out there for the public to see. Few indeed even have the backbone to suffer the attacks and personal threats he has in doing so, and I think that risk is why most everyone else avoids the issues Glenn broaches. As a flawed human acutely aware of his flaws, Glenn lives his life with deliberation and integrity, and that characteristic is both the hallmark of his work and an example to others such as myself.

Another reason I have such great respect for him is that he makes a point of not wanting you to believe him on face value. He repeatedly advises his audience to "Do your own homework." He provides the information (and posts the sources so all can judge for themselves), and tells you how he believes certain individuals, organizations and events are interconneted. Then he lets you decide whether or not he is on the right track. His own track record is fairly consistent and accurate, so....

It is undeniable that we live in increasingly troubled times; more so than we have experienced in many years. We are, for all intents and purposes, approaching a 'nexus' of sorts, a coming together in purpose and/or effect of many bad events, triggered by many separate elements all culminating in a common outcome; the collapse of civilization as we knew it. That approaching apocalypse, if it actually occurs, will be the end for the foreseeable future of the comforts we enjoy (because everything will be much more expensive, harder to find, and of lower quality) and the freedoms we have taken for granted.

The fact is there are presently two major philisophical groups vying for control of everything (they don't call it "global governance" for nothing), Statism and Islam. Statists generally are atheistic - but only in the sense that they don't believe in a supernatural force (i.e., God), because to them, a strong central government is their focal point of worship. Islam is also a political system as much as a religious one - it merely uses a merciless, unforgiving entity as it's core of authority. That isn't to say every Muslim is evil, but very many are quietly supporting the larger movement, which is - to a rational person - undeniably evil in its methods and intent. There are very few "moderate" Muslims speaking out against mass murder, "honor" killings, gross maltreatment of women and children, sharia-instituted extortion, or other behaviors, policies and doctrines that only a few years ago (pre-PC) would have been clearly labeled as murder, rape, attempted genocide, and crimes against humanity.

Unleadership.  Once again proving himself to be the singularly least qualified, most undignified president of the United States ever (at this point, even undercutting Jimmy Carter), Usurper-in-Chief Barack Obama has once again turned his back on our troops in the current budget battle by threatening to veto legislation to fund the troops for the remainder of the year, while the rest of the Demoncrats are completely disregarding real fiscal solutions and rallying around funding for Planned Parenthood as their line in the sand. 

Does anyone else find it incredible that a group of so-called leaders would be willing to hamstring our entire government over funding for the abortion industry? How depraved and indifferent does someone designated as the people's representative have to be to circle the wagons around maintaining a private organization that derives 95% of its money from our tax dollars, an organization whose gruesome techniques caused the inhumane deaths of 332,278 infants in 2009, or one abortion every 95 seconds? But then, many of those politicians are owned by Planned Parenthood. Between their undying support for the deaths of babies and the elderly and infirm, and their abandonment of our ally Israel as Islam prepares to destroy it, under their leadership we may soon owe an apology to the the Nazis for bothering to stop them in World War 2.

On the topic of serious (but not final) solutions; when it comes to restoring fiscal responsibility to the federal government, it appears that no one has as good a grasp on the topic as Congressman Paul Ryan. He has just released his Path To Prosperity plan that would turn the projected path of government spending us into fiscal oblivion into a return to managed growth and renewed economic vigor.

Nanny Statement.  When it comes to micromanaging people's lives, Nowhere in America does "Nanny State" with as much vigor as New York City. The ruling philosophy seems to be "tax it till it bleeds" and squeeze 'em till it hurts." It began with an ever-expanding restriction on where and when people can smoke cigarettes (something I won't argue with, except for the blatant ignorance of individual rights). Then it moved to restricting trans-fats in restaurants. The latest episode in the Big Apple's current drive to turn every inhabitant into a walking stick figure is happening in the very place that is driving so many other New Yorkers to drink diet booze: the city's Health Department has issued new internal guidelines banning fried foods in its work-related meals. The new rules are so intrusive they're now telling employees to cut bagels and muffins in half - I don't know how long they have to wait before eating the other half.

Where do you stand?

How much more of this government micromanagement must we take? Are the current powers-that-be really trying to provoke a violent reaction for the purpose of nullifying the Constitution and suspending the Bill of Rights so they can instill a true police state? I really don't know when we stopped being a country of truly free people, and became a society merely under the delusion of freedom. The majority of this generation cannot express the difference between liberty (which implies a counterbalancing personal responsibility for one's actions) and license; between self-rule and self-indulgence. Each successive generation will understand even less of the differences because each generation is taught less about what is expected of them in a free society, and taught more of what they should expect from government. They don't know the difference between capitalism and communism, so how can they be expected to defend what our nation used to stand for?

In the span of a single generation, we are reverting from history's most noble social contract to history's standard paradigm of the caste system, with its protected and privileged ruling class at the top, the tolerated merchant/artisan class in the middle, and the worker drones and poor peasants (the welfare class - those capable of work but disincentivized to look for it) at the bottom. The middle class will be allowed just enough privilege to keep them fairly content, and in turn they will see to the needs of the upper class. The lower class is controlled by the upper class and perpetually "managed" through the manipulation and induced limitations of food, energy, travel, communications, education, opportunity and reproductive rights. The workers at the low end will provide the 'mindless' labor needs of the society, working in the fields and factories, picking up the trash and cleaning the homes of the wealthy.

As long as the facade of representative government is maintained, a sufficient population of welfare-dependent poor people will be allowed to remain, to provide a sufficiently loyal voting pool. This has been the Demoncrats' modus operandi since the mid-1960s, with the  Cloward-Piven welfare strategy. I say "allowed to remain" because it is, after all, the party of eugenics. It is, after all, made up of the same group of radicals who during the early 1970s bombed and murdered across the country, and plotted the elimination of 25 million Americans who wouldn't go along with them in "reeducation centers" to be located in the Southwest (incidentally, there now are such centers waiting for occupancy).  Keep in mind that they have stuck to the rest of their plans since that time, so why discount their willingness to go that far?).  Why else are the most and largest Planned Parenthood abortion centers located in urban areas with large minority populations? Why are black babies the most frequently aborted?

Brother, can you spare a dime?

Perhaps once in your life you've heard a comment that goes something like, "I'd give all the money in the world for ______..."  Yeah; maybe it was Debbie, that beautiful girl who sat across from you in homeroom...mmmm...uh, what was I talking about?

Oh, yeah. Well, it's now all but official, all the money in the world couldn't pay off our national debt as it now stands, if you include all unfunded liabilities, which is defined as "promises to spend money in the future in excess of the funds available." The actual numbers are staggering.

But that's not the end of the story. According to the Census Bureau, America's poverty rate is higher than it has been in the past 51 years (as long as the government has been tracking it), now estimated to be around 14.3% and includes virtually all races and ages.  The number of Americans without health insurance also increased from 43.6 million in 2008 to 50.7 million one year later, largely due to the huge numbers of the newly-unemployed and the increasingly unbearable burdens put on employers. The dismal business climate is continuing to drive even more of the relatively few remaining manufacturing jobs to move offshore or close their doors. Although, as Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you," the deliberate dismantling of our economic structure and open government hostility toward market forces over the past couple of years -facilitated by both Demoncrats and Republicrats - has greatly contributed to this disturbing trend. 

One has to wonder how far ahead the global elitists have thought. When the entire planet is brought down to the same level of poverty, hopelessness, apathy or anger, who is going to provide all the needs and luxuries for our "betters"?  As was proven by the usually inferior production standards of the Soviet Union, when everyone is equally miserably, people generally stop trying to do exceptionally well. In the long term, the circular logic of socialism will come back to bite them. The tragedy will be all the wasted lives resulting from their repressive and faulty philosophy.

Well, as long as it's part of your strategy.  Frances Fox Piven, the distaff half of the team that brought us the Cloward-Piven strategy for social chaos, recently did a Book TV C-SPAN 2 interview interview in which a questioner pinned her down about her thoughts on political violence. She apparently believes Martin Luther King and others in the Freedom March were almost planning on white violence to make their point. Maybe. But the pictures I've seen of their faces in the march looked more like fear and apprehension than hopeful anticipation.  After a bit of hedging, her conclusion seems to be that politically-motivated violence(such as staged riots, car burnings, storefront trashing, etc.) is OK "if it's part of your strategy." Spoken like a true communist.

"Come as you are" crisis.  Glenn Beck stirred up another hornets' nest of controversy, this time mostly among his own fans and some of the more exuberant members of the Tea Party movement, many of whom arrive for rallies in full costume and/or bearing signs that highlight their point. Glenn recently made the plea that if you want people to take you and the movement seriously, leave the costumes and signs home.  Fans (many of whom presumably were those who committed the sins) clogged the show's phone lines, complaining that Beck was more or less slamming the very people who were the most passionate about the cause.

But I believe that in their sudden embarrassment at feeling he was mocking them, they missed his point, and indeed, misunderstood what he was telling them. He as much as said that there was nothing to be ashamed of for their initial displays (he himself admitted to costuming with his sisters during the Bicentennial celebration), but that now the time had come for more "respectable" tactics. 

I agree with Glenn on this.  In the early stages of a fledgling movement, the key is to get noticed.  The size of the crowds, visually amplified by patriotic costumes and homemade signs with slogans that instantly got the point across definitely got them noticed. The images presented by the protestors connected with the more traditional and common-sense-based American populace, which helped to expand their base and their perceived political clout. But now that they have achieved that critical level of popularity, it is necessary to move on to the next phase: being taken seriously as a political force. 

Once a group reaches a certain point, it must alter its tactics to fit a changing role.  The only way the Tea Parties can succeed in overcoming the inertia of the Demoncrats and Republicrats is to be taken seriously by the general public, and eventually to gain gravitas with the media. Watching crowds with signs and colorful costumes is no longer sufficient. The movement must do just that - it must move beyond mere entertainment value, and become a credible political force.  Glenn Beck is frequently mocked by the Loony Left, but he's right far more often than not. And this time he's spot on target.

"Earn this"

The most poignant line from Saving Private Ryan comes at the end of the final battle scene, where the dying Lt. Smith whispers to Pvt. Ryan, "Earn this." The scene still chokes me up each time I watch it. "This" was the lives of the men who died trying to bring Ryan home alive after both his brothers had been killed in action. That simple imperative applied a huge moral weight to Ryan's young shoulders, and it obviously haunted him even to the very last scene where Ryan, now an old man, pauses and kneels over the Lt's grave and asks his wife if, indeed, he had earned it by being "a good man."

Honor is a word most have heard, many think they understand, but only a relatively small number actually and fully live it. We see all the time how shallowly honor is treated in the culture. People get "honored" with cheap awards for merely entertaining non-discerning people, or achieving some fleeting 15 minutes of fame for a nebulous talent opportunity, or getting elected to a political office by voters willing to believe anything. 

Honor isn't about pompous heroism and personal glory-seeking. Honor is about respecting something bigger than yourself; something truly worthy of that honor and effort. It's about sacrificing something you love (perhaps even your own life) for someone else you may not like or even know. It's about respecting your commitments and doing what is morally right even if it's inconvenient and not something you want to do; even when it costs you. It's about doing something great, and not drawing attention to yourself.  Truly, the greatest heroes are those who risk all, and either remain in the background or give the credit to someone else.

Know anyone like that?  I'll nominate Glenn Beck, perhaps the most unlikely candidate in the public view these days.  Yes, he's famous, but he's the first to belittle himself and give the credit to others. Even though he is pilloried daily by virtually all the media outlets and even by certain otherwise-rational conservatives, Glenn plods ahead with his message of impending menace, our absolute need for God, and the redemptive power of faith, hope and charity.  His clarion call is based on the premise that Son-light is the best disinfectant for the soul.  He's not just preaching to the choir, he's shouting it from the rooftops, on the No.3 radio show, on the No.2 cable show, in a series of No. 1 best-selling books, in a magazine, and on stage shows.  He's a tireless proponent for the only "hope and change" that actually works: hope in God's grace and promise of redemption, and the life-changing, world-changing force of the gospel message.

His latest effort is happening this weekend, with his Restoring Honor event on the National Mall in Washington DC. In front of the Lincoln Memorial he is hosting an event (only his closest team members have just recently been told what's to transpire) that is planned to reintroduce America's nearly-forgotten core values, and to reintroduce us to Him who has made all things possible. I'll have to admit he's clever. He's using an event designed as a fund-raiser for the Special Operations Warrior Fund as a medium to get his message of redemption out. Oh, how sneaky.

Even as he is accused of doing it all for profit, he is spending hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of his own money to finance the ancillary costs such as hotel rooms for his invited guests and other costs that keep popping up. Aside from the fact that the Obama malAdministration has delegated at least four high-level advisors to work actively against Beck, Glenn can't even get permission to have a military color guard present at the event. But despite lies about him, insults at him, boycotts against him, and physical threats against him, his family and his staff, he (and they) continue fighting the good fight. He's setting the example, and the bar is high.

But to return to my original point, I think we're in a unique time. After generations of struggle, then generations of increasing leisure and luxury, we've now arrived at the knife's edge of a time when everything - and I mean literally, everything - we recognize as part of life in America is now on the brink of extinction.  For perhaps the first time in our history, our own government has leagued with our traditional enemies: socialist progressives, communists, radical Muslims, foreign governments, criminals and opportunists. Generations of Americans have traditionally stood in the gap, willing to take just so much guff and upstartness, and then reigning back the power to themselves - more or less (less and less, actually). But as each generation has been deliberately taught less about our actual history - in context - and our traditions are mocked, belittled and legally frustrated, and our faith is continually attacked in the name of "fairness," how many of us still stand, willing and capable of overcoming the enemy within? How many have the stamina and thick skin to withstand the withering barrage of vitriol, the insults and outright lies thrown against us and those who still love this country?

I think Glenn Beck is being used by God to show us what is required of us if we want to remain (or return to) a free people. He's setting the example for all to see. It's just a matter of how many will actually open their eyes to see.  Many heroes, quiet and otherwise, have passed by before us. Now, it is our turn to stand in the gap. If America falls to this fallen ideology of hate, greed, avarice, pettiness, and envy, there will be no other country to come to our rescue. Worse still, we will destroy the hope of those in other lands who have always looked to America as the beacon of that hope.  The world is watching; some with glee over our impending doom, others with anguish that, with the tempering force of America gone, any possibility of rescue for them will disappear as well.

This is our time, and we were born in it for a reason. This is our land because of God's Providence. We are His stewards, and we have been failing in that mission.  We have an obligation, a duty, to recapture our future and our children's future, but we cannot accomplish anything righteous without God; and if we are on His side we can accomplish anything.  We each have our own talents and opportunities to help in some way.  If we combine those talents with God's will, we can save this country, and that will restore hope to the world. But we must decide to act, and to act properly. If I may recite another famous movie line, "What are you prepared to do?"

Taking the Higher Ground

The so-called Ground Zero Mosque (GZM) is a story that refuses to go away. Or more pointedly, the people who want it to happen won't allow it to go away, because they consistently rub it in our faces. I noted my own major objection last time, so I'll look at other views instead.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, taking a moment away from her duties to her fellow Leftist constituents in San Francisco (and breaking with other Leftists including desperate-for-votes Harry Reid and Howlin' Howard Dean), couldn't resist the temptation to add her two depreciated cents on the matter, not surprisingly giving her support for the mosque. On Tuesday, she told reporters that "I think everyone respects the right of people in our country to express their religious beliefs on their property." After missing the point with that remark, she immediately followed up with an accusation that Republicans were somehow "ginning up" the controversy, sayin that, "I join those who have called for looking into how...this opposition to the mosque [is] being funded."  Should we be surprised that she doesn't feel a need to find out who is funding the GZM itself?

Meanwhile, the congregation of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, the only church actually destroyed by the 9-11 attack (when Tower Two collapsed on it) is being stonewalled by city officials in its bid to rebuild the church, in part because their plan to rebuild it would cause the church to rise above the proposed Ground Zero Memorial (which still isn't complete, nearly ten years later). Obviously, no such height restrictions have been placed on the GZM Mosque project.

Religion remains one of the most unifying - and divisive - elements of human personal and social behavior.  More good has been done in the name of God than under any other banner. More evil has been done in the rejection of God than for any other expressed reason.  And there has also been no small degree of crossover in both causes. Individual interpretations of faith - or the lack thereof - have literally meant the difference between improving the quality of life for millions, or directly causing the deaths of millions. 

President Obama's own vision of his faith, as he describes it, appears to be a highly personalized yet vaguely-defined and fundamentally unscriptural version of the Holy Bible which allows him to pursue social change according to his political agenda, yet not feel any deep commitment to God's own stated requirements for us.  "[He finds] it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell," he states in a 2004 interview.  What I would consider an alarm bell occurs when, asked "what is sin?", Obama defines it simply as "Being out of alignment with my values."  His values, not God's.  That leaves a lot of territory open to interpretation.  Just a poor choice of words?  I dunno; he's the one with the Harvard degree. I never went to college, so perhaps I'm just to dull and ignorant to grasp his deeper nuance.

I will tell you that, after decades of being lost in selfishness, loneliness, sinfulness (according to God's word) and near-death experience, I finally came - almost grudgingly and over several years - to what I believe is a saving faith. I can tell you that no one comes to real faith on their own; it just doesn't seem like much fun, at least when you don't know much about it. You're either raised in that belief (and it therefore becomes habit at an early age), or you're convinced by someone else, or you discover it within your own self through personal experience and observation. 

I'm of the "school" that believes God Himself calls those He chooses to call, and He guides our path through life, and that he eventually led me, stumbling and bumbling, to what I now believe. Is that cruel, to think most people aren't saved? Perhaps, but for me at least, it isn't quite that simple. I also believe many delude themselves into believing they are saved, yet use that belief to justify their own sinfulness. Guess what: I could be just as guilty of such delusion as anyone else. I trust in God, I know He is in charge of my life (even though I don't even approach sinlessness), and that trust keeps me plodding along, trying my best to be a better person - a better Christian - than my natural inclinations would lead me to be.  And keep in mind, Christianity gives you a choice. Now, you may believe differently than me. Refer to my point above. I'm honest enough with myself to realize I could be wrong (although of course I don't think I am). But so could you.  The best we can do is to follow our conscience; He already knows how it will all turn out.

"Hero" worship.  New information has finally come to light that might have affected history much differently if it had been more well-known. Adolf Hitler was always portrayed to the German people (before his election as Chancellor) as a WW1 war hero. But according to a researcher, he was little more than a rear-echelon messenger, who was looked down on by the men at the front.  Hmmm...an unknown candidate who comes from obscurity and is hyped up as a larger-than-life fugure in order to get elected to the highest office in the land. Why does that sound familiar? [Note: translation of the Hitler propaganda poster says, "Give me 4 years' time."]

Get your mind "right."  There is a new, independently-owned, conservative TV network lauching September 8. RightNetwork hopes to be able to give a place and a voice for the not-so-Left-minded (wouldn't that be "right-brained") folks to settle in for news, entertainment, history, commentary and more. Kelsey Grammar has been doing promos for the network in advance of the opening. Ambitious, yes; and the sort of change I've been hoping for.  If it's not on your local cable (or satellite) provider's fall lineup, call and ask, "Why not?"

Thanks to Glenn Beck's website for putting up the Leftist think-tank Politico's new PowerPoint presentation designed to convince people to support Obamacare. There's plenty to discuss among the two dozen slides, but the very last point on the last slide was perhaps the most telling, in a way they probably didn't intend. The final "Do Not..." it warns the activists of is, "...say the law will reduce costs and deficit." 'Nuff said.

By the way: if you haven't been watching Glenn Beck on his Fox TV show this week, you've missed an incredible exposure of hidden American history, revolving around slavery and civil rights.  Just one more reason I believe Beck is one of God's chosen annunciators "for such a time as this."

How much room is there under the bus?

There's an old expression that says, "May you live in interesting times."  It isn't meant as a compliment. We are undoubtedly living in interesting times, and it certainly isn't a compliment to us. To those who are paying attention, the confluence of all the bits of information indicate that we are now plunging headlong toward an America none of us (at least those over forty or so) will recognize.

America was founded upon Judeo-Christian principles to be a beacon of liberty to the world; and we have been that for well over two hundred years. Never perfect (but there has never been a perfect nation) and not without flaws, America was nevertheless the one place in the world that oppressed  and downtrodden people could look to.  Even if they couldn't get here themselves, this country inspired people the world over and gave them the dream and hope that there was someplace where people could live and breathe free, pursue their dreams, and have the law actually give them some protection against oppression or persecution, if they could just get here and dig their heels in and work to achieve their dreams. Millions in other countries took up that challenge, coming here themselves with virtually nothing but the shirts on their backs. Others sacrificed so their children might chase the dream instead.

That dream is dying; or perhaps more accurately, it is being deliberately strangled. The principles that have shepherded us for centuries are being ignored, hampered, and impugned.  The next logical step in our transition from a free society to a cradle-to-grave authoritarian nanny state is probably a combination of contrived chaos (to produce a perceived threat) and judicial/executive fiat to modify, supplant, or repeal the laws that have traditionally protected us.

The US Constitution is neither taught, understood, obeyed or enforced by the current malAdministration, and this will only get worse. President Obama and his advisors and cohorts are gutting our constitutional safeguards and threatening the liberties that they are pledged to protect.

A short list of relevent examples would include:

• Obama's nominee for Supreme Court Justice, Elena Kagan, has argued that flag-burning should not be banned but certain speech should be "disappeared", and that free speech should be weighed against "societal costs," and that some restrictionson speech are preferable to none...for example, "by preventing a few voices from drowning out others."  Sounds suspiciously like she'd be in favor of silencing conservative talk radio because it might oppose government policy.
• Obama's Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is trying to give our Second Amendment rights away to the UN.
• During a joint press conference at the White House, President Obama  and Mexico's President Calderon took turns insulting Arizona for defending itself, while Progressive/Socialist/Democrats applauded. Perhaps Obama might at least consider parity rather than national submission, since Mexico's own immigration laws look like ours should. Perhaps el Presidente Calderon should take his own hypcrisy home with him. Incidentally, Obama only allowed one American reporter to ask a question at the press conference; a reporter from Spanish-language network Univision. What do you think their take on the immigration situation is?
• The Supreme Court is nudging us away from the US Constitution in favor of international (socialist) law interpretations. So they think the laws that aren't working elsewhere will somehow, magically work here.
• The EPA is now trying to merge with liberal churches in an attempt to harness them in that part of their agenda which promotes environmentalism and planet-worship (Gaiaism) as the new State psuedo-religion. By co-opting many people's spiritual longing and redirecting it from Christ to Gaia, the Statist big brains want to convince congregations to adopt "social justice" (redistribution of wealth, aka legalized theft) as their religious theme.
• Part of the "Mob-ization" of America is the use of SEIU union thugs to intimidate ordinary citizens. There is an ominous parallel between SEIU's tactics and the tactics of the Nazi Party's SA troopers - the notorious "brownshirts" that intimidated and assaulted Hitler's political opponents in the early days of his election campaign. Intimidation is in fact becoming a favorite technique of the Left in general. Consider the ginned-up blogs and threats of congressional investigation for perfectly legal activities and White House-orchestrated boycotts against Glenn Beck in an attempt to punish and discredit him for his major investigative work. Hasn't really worked though; his ratings have shot up 22% in the past week alone. If Beck is so wrong, why do they always attack him, but never present any serious challenge to his evidence?

Define 'sedition'.  Between watching our top government leaders and officials gut the Constitution, undermine our laws and betray our principles, and allowing taxpayer-paid teachers to poison young minds, the next generation of Americans will have no idea what it means to be in control of your own life. 

I've said it before: Everyone begins life with their personal 'meter' at 'zero'.  All your positive life experiences push that meter upward, while your negative experiences push it backwards.  Today's kids have the most potential ever; not because they are superior, but because they can reap the benefits of all those who have gone and done before them. But if they are never taught to recognize the positive influences they should pay attention to, they will get sucked in by the negative influences.  It has happened before -- the young, the bored, the hungry, the angry, the frustrated, the scared, and oh, yes, the illiterate; all good candidates for evil leaders to take advantage of for their own nefarious purposes.

Our young people have incredible, amazing potential; but they could also be turned into a new generation of "stormtroopers" by being convinced that they are superior, or that they are "destined" to assist the advancement of a "Brave New World".  Unfortunately, most of them have not been told to be careful what they wish for. It is our present task, our responsibility, our DUTY, to try and teach them the difference between good and evil in an age of relativism, to teach them responsibility instead of entitlement; to teach them that God is superior to man, and that one's disbelief is not proof of His non-existence. It is a task we cannot accomplish alone or with ease, because the brainwashing, conditioning and propaganda has been eating away at them their whole, short lives. But we must try, and we cannot afford to give up.  Millions of lives - present and future - depend on what we do with our time here, and we will be Judged on our efforts.

Technicalities

It really sucks when all your enemies are smart enough to use your own laws against you.  That fact really hits home when a 13-story Muslim cultural center and mosque prepares to open within spittin' distance of the hole in the ground formerly known as the World Trade Center.  A little legal technicality is preventing the Community Board from revoking its ill-considered decision to allow the construction.  According to American Society for Muslim Advancement's executive director Daisy Khan, "For us, it's a symbol, a platform that will give voice to the silent majority of Muslims who suffer at the hands of extremists. A center will show that Muslims will be part of rebuilding lower Manhattan."

"Rebuilding lower Manhattan."  That sounds so nice, doesn't it?  Does she mean, the same way Muslims have "rebuilt" urban Detroit, and London, and Paris, and other Western cities, complete with minarets sounding prayer five times a day over loudspeakers? After all, it is the Society for Muslim Advancement, right?  I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if so many Muslims hadn't sworn to conquer, enslave or kill all non-Muslims.

I might almost be able to swallow their altruistic PR gimmick if they didn't plan to open the facility on  September 11, 2011, ten years to the day after two hijacked planes dropped the twin towers, along with more than two thousand people.  I don't know about you, but to me it kinda has the feel of someone sticking their thumbnail in  my eye. for me, it isn't about hatred of people different than I am; it's about self-preservation, and the preservation of a nation/culture that has brought improvement in the quality of life and freedom to billions of people around the world (whether we gave it to them, or they bought or stole it).

Right now, there are millions of kids who weren't alive or were too young to remember that dreadful day. It's a cinch they aren't being taught about that aspect of 'peaceful' Islam in school (but don't get caught wearing an American flag tee shirt!), and, other than an annual reminder on the History Channel or NatGeo, the media has conveniently decided that we don't need to be burdened with such memories, even though that event has affected all our lives in ways most don't even notice anymore - most notably in our loss of freedom. And for all the truly peace-loving (and generally silent) Muslims out there, they are being far overshadowed by people such as the young female college student recently encountered by communist-turned-conservative David Horowitz during a speech he gave at UC San Diego. She gave a dramatic impression of what can be expected if Muslims are allowed to continue their below-the-radar colonization of America unopposed.

We've got a whole lot of re-educating to do, and we can't expect much help from the government, the schools, or the media.

Don'tcha hate it when he's right?  I know it's an anomaly, but the media Left was practically tripping over itself this past week as it danced around the possibility that Glenn Beck might actually be right about something. Or many somethings. Story after story affirms many of Beck's dire predictions. They can't realistically accuse him of being a GOP hack because he goes after both parties with equal vehemence. He admits that both - but particularly the Democrat Party - have been hollowed out by Progressives, who have worked insidiously to undermine them in order to change the US into little more than another impoverished, enslaved communist third-world satellite. If they succeed, there won't be any "first-world" left.

Don't know much about history...  If you were subjected to the American education system over the past 75 years or so, you have probably learned less and less about your own country than any other nation on Earth. That's not to say you weren't taught anything, but (especially in recent decades) most of what you learned was probably not the stuff that makes you proud to be an American. Glenn Beck has a real passion for our history, and the Founders in particular. He's begun a series on his Fox News Channel (5 pm, Eastner time) that he calls Founding Father's Friday.  So far, he's done an hour each on Samuel Adams, George Washington, and George Whitefield, who can honestly be called the real "Father of the Revolution". Fascinating stuff that I'm guessing you don't know about, but will be pleasantly surprised to learn. I am.

Stepping up to the plate.  New Jersey Goveror Chris Christie continues to impress conservatives with his straightforwardness and honesty in dealing with the problems of his state. Nowhere is this more evident than his response to one of the mealy-mouthed minions of the Fourth Estate in a recent press conference. He is the anti-PC politician. If he were running for President, I'd probably have voted for him on the spot.

The check's in the mail.  The secretive International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pledging to bail out the bankrupt country of Greece, to the tune of nearly $1 trillion. The US taxpayer's contribution to the IMF is 17%.  Don't you feel generous?  Anyone with an ounce of credibility is studiously avoiding endorsing the bailout, worrying that it does little more than buy time until the country collapses. According to Carl Weinberg, chief economist of High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, N.Y., “Lending more money to already overborrowed governments does not solve their problems.”

Too Late To Apologize - A Declaration.  If you haven't seen this campy music video, allow me to recommend you check it out. It's a semi-satiric adaptation of Timbaland's vid "Apologize" that takes the perspective of the American Revolution. It was designed to make history more interesting for students. It works. It rocks, and it educates. Well executed, and a good tune.

Put on some coffee.  As those of you who bother to read this tacky little blog probably know, I'm something of a conservative (insert collective gasp here). So I have a concern about the progress (no pun intended) of the conservative effort to repopulate the once-hallowed halls of Washington D.C. - as well as state and local governments - with people who actually share our ideals, as opposed to those who simply pretend to only long enough to get elected. It's not just the deceptive superficiality of some supposedly-conservative commentators and the difficulty of finding truly conservative candidates to replace the two-faced weasels now in office; there are also the problems of getting conservative voters to unify on both principles and tactics.

Move along, move along.  There are some fascinating conceptual technologies being looked at, including a unique mono-wheel people-mover from Honda that goes one step beyond the Segway.  But as I watch the short video presentation, I have to wonder: what's the point, other than the intellectual excercise of designing and building it? This device would have a reasonable amount of "wow" factor, but it would only tend to make some people even lazier than they already are. It also doen't look like it could support a very heavy person or take a lot of abuse. It would probably be effective for an indoor environment (without stairs) but rough ground might be problematic. However, it does have that "cutesy" Asian/European-tech feel that will have a lot of younger folks who really don't need it clamoring to be first in line to get one, if it ever goes into production.

Frauds are US

If you listen to the usual suspects in the media, Cap and Trade legislation is virtually dead. But because of the conspiratorial nature of this malAdministration, we must assume it is only flying below the radar, and will surely come back to haunt us with it's oppressive mandates and skyrocketing prices. Thanks to the hard work of Glenn Beck and his team, it has been learned that if Cap and Trade is eventually passed, it will be the signal that Al Gore, Franklin Raines, and a host of co-conspirators - including Barack Obama - will have foisted what will be the most profitable scam in human history upon the American people, with potential ill-gotten gains approaching an estimated $12 trillion. 

If only the likely revenues of that mega-fraud - essentially nothing more than trading for air, which would do absolutely nothing to improve air quality - would be used to pay off the national debt it might be excused. But of course it won't; it will be used largely to line the pockets of the investors and further the schemes of those who aim to conquer the world, all at the expense of virtually every working human, who will wind up paying more for virtually every human activity. Other than Beck and a few conservative bloggers who have echoed him such as Investor's Business Daily, few other news organization (ironically including Fox News) have even mentioned the mega-scam involving the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX).

Speaking of the ubiquitous Glenn Beck, on Wednesday he had a live audience of legal immigrants who helped him give a passionate and well-informed response to the debate over the Arizona anti-illegals law. That law, sparked by a need to defend their state in the absence of federal enforcement of existing laws, is being used as a battering ram by the radical Left, Mexican infiltrators and agents provocateurs in yet another push to weaken our national unity and security. 

The Mexicans have never gotten over their loss of the Southwestern territory, and the Hispano-racists (i.e., La Raza, etc.) aim to reconquer it through whatever means necessary. Why, after turning their own country into one of the world's largest pockets of corruption, they feel it necessary to add more space to their nationalized criminal syndicate, I don't know. Human nature, I guess.  It's all the more baffling since they could enjoy nearly unfettered access without resorting to their clownish cavorting and violent protests, and also since we're rapidly becoming nearly as corrupt as they are anyway, it seems like a lot of wasted effort to me.

This is no drill!  In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster - or rather, a week after the fact - President Obama suspended new offshore drilling, as though that will somehow prevent another accident(?) from ocurring.  The only thing the freeze seems to accomplish is to give Obama justification to play to his environut lobbyists, while lamely mouthing to the public how much he "really wants to continue to seek energy self-sufficiency."  Pardon my skepticism.

Ignore that man behind the curtain!  Glenn Beck uncovered another very important piece of the puzzle involving the cabal currently overthrowing over the world's oldest constitutional republic (uh...that would be the United States...of America). He's calling Professor Joel Rogers "the man behind Obama," and he may well be the penultimate puppet-master, if not the man at the top.  Rogers is the brain behind the current socialist/Progressive economic model, utilizing the Cloward-Pivin strategy to its fullest potential and unifying many of the various organizations and institutions that have pledged themselves to the overthrow of the United States.

SEAL of approval!  US Navy SEAL Matthew McCabe is the third and last of three warriors to be cleared of all charges that he physically abused Ahmed Hashim Abed, a terrorist alleged of being the leader of an incident in Fallujah, Iraq, where four US contractors were ambushed and killed, dragged from their vehicle, and their bodies burned and hung from a bridge.  After his capture, Abed claimed that McCabe and fellow SEALs Julio Huertas and Jonathan O'Keefe beat him up while in custody. Three subsequent courts-martial cleared the three sailors after Abed's story fell apart.

I'm delighted in the outcome because it demonstrates that there is still a smidgeon of actual justice left in America; in a military courtroom, of all places. If this case had gone the social justice route that our civilian courts, government, and many churches seem to be pushing these day, the verdict probably would have gone the other way, simply because it would be portrayed as a case of white American military 'oppressing' a poor, misguided Muslim. That's not to say I'd be OK if they'd actually tortured Abed or subjected him to any kind of 'street justice' along the lines that he has been accused of dishing out to others. No...'course not.

Joke of the week.  In what I can only describe as irony, Vladimir Putin blew off Obama's offer to send Joe Biden to Moscow to attend the annual communist 'May Day' (May 1st) military parade and celebrations. It appears that Obama just couldn't make it for the big Commu-fest, and wanted Biden to take his place among other socialist (at least, they're honest about it) demogogues. Putin, apparently unable to resist the urge to let Obama know how he feels about our tyrant-boot-licking leader, snubbed the offer as thoroughly as Obama has done to virtually every real ally the US has. Wow; more 'justice' at work!