Archive.org has some great old videos, many of which were put out by the government and some private funding by the "National Education Foundation." This film below is one in which I could find no fault. Why isn't it being taught today? Perhaps we should re-film it and send it free to schools. I wonder how many would actually use it? Notice that they never mention "God" as the foundation of our society, but the "Building blocks" metaphor he uses that is displayed on his desk has as it's foundation "Fundamental Belief in God" on the bottom, followed by "US Constitution." It was just assumed by the "WW2" generation that "Of course belief in God is the foundation." Today, we can't even get a majority and many on the Supreme court to agree that the US Constitution should be the foundation much less God. If it isn't, then what is? Unfortunately, it looks like we went through 75 years of Cold War struggle against the Red Menace only to have them freely elected here in 2008. Again my fellow Americans, the price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance.
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Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
APALACHICOLA OYSTERS
November rolls around and I start to get that yearning feeling. That primal need many Floridians feel (and especially Panhandle Natives) for fresh, salty, right from the bay Oysters. Oysters are certainly an acquired taste but they also must be consumed in the proper atmosphere for optimal enjoyment. When I was just a lad living in Bonifay, FL, my dear father would take me to "Grady's Oyster Bar." This was always a treat on many levels. Firstly, it was a treat because it meant time spent with my Dad and secondly because we got to sit at the bar where I was given permission to consume obscene amounts of Coca Cola out of a glass bottle. The right kind of atmosphere most conductive to Oyster consumption is a sort of "dive" or "hole in the wall" with a TV blaring or a Jukebox playing. Often the jukebox is so old you can't quite believe such a mechanical device is still in service or how they could possibly still get parts for it. Grady's was located on Highway 90 and was owned by the Grandfather of my good friend "John Paul." The Bar was a former drive-in built in the 50's that had been added on to and was also the residence of the purveyors. When you went into the front door, sometime (if business was slow) there would be no one up front so you had to yell for Mr. Grady to come up from whatever he was doing to serve you. He would often come through the back door that led to their home, sleepy eyed or with a tired expression. But he would quickly settle into his work and would always have a joke or two for you. You would begin your order with a "dozen" and go from there to judge the freshness and quality of this particular batch. Professional Oyster Shuckers pride themselves on telling a good from bad oyster and we would rarely, if ever, get served a bad one. The first oyster would be shucked and served on the half-shell in front of you. You then looked at it. The oyster should look plump and full. It should be running with juices and very wet. (A dry looking or shriveled oyster is considered a bad one and should be avoided). Next you smell the oyster. It should have a nice salty-sea smell. (If it's fishy or pungent, it's no good, move on to the next). Finally, you prepared the oyster for consumption. You take your tooth-pick and gentle guide the oyster onto a saltine cracker. You then can salt it just a tad; a little pepper if you are so inclined, and then add the hottest Tabasco sauce known to man. Pop the whole thing into your mouth. The first bite tells all. It should burst with flavor and juices, a nice sea-food crustation flavor, salty and delicious. Once the first one passes the visual, olfactory, and taste tests, you know you likely have a good batch.
Yesterday I made my pilgrimage to the local Oyster bar in Leesburg, FL. It's the only one I've found in Central, Florida that reminds me of Grady's (Poor Mr. Grady passed on a few years ago, God rest his soul). I had an excellent batch of Oysters on the half-shell and a dozen steamed jumbo shrimp to boot. My obscene Coca Cola consumption has given way to moderate Beer consumption followed by a single diet coke (I'm going soft in my old age). I loved sitting in this smoky, seedy bar with AC/DC blaring, bikers and blue collar gentleman getting off work sitting around trying to drink the hard week away. When I sat down the Server asked, "What'll you have?" To which I replied, "A Dozen Oysters, raw on the half-shell." The burly mechanic looked up from his beer and gave me a smile and nod as if to approve. I sat there eating, thinking of Dad, and looking forward to seeing him Thanksgiving where we can shuck a few together and remember simpler times.
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Yesterday I made my pilgrimage to the local Oyster bar in Leesburg, FL. It's the only one I've found in Central, Florida that reminds me of Grady's (Poor Mr. Grady passed on a few years ago, God rest his soul). I had an excellent batch of Oysters on the half-shell and a dozen steamed jumbo shrimp to boot. My obscene Coca Cola consumption has given way to moderate Beer consumption followed by a single diet coke (I'm going soft in my old age). I loved sitting in this smoky, seedy bar with AC/DC blaring, bikers and blue collar gentleman getting off work sitting around trying to drink the hard week away. When I sat down the Server asked, "What'll you have?" To which I replied, "A Dozen Oysters, raw on the half-shell." The burly mechanic looked up from his beer and gave me a smile and nod as if to approve. I sat there eating, thinking of Dad, and looking forward to seeing him Thanksgiving where we can shuck a few together and remember simpler times.
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Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A LETTER TO MY VERY DISAPPOINTED SON
Dear Donovan:
I know you are sad about the outcome of the election. Son, firstly we have to remember that God is still on the throne, he still answers prayers, and Jesus is the answer and true hope for our salvation. I do agree with you that this election is an outcome that many of us, especially in the conservative community would have rather not experienced, but we have to keep working! What is the alternative? Give up? Never! What happened in this election was not an acceptance of ultra-left politics by the American People, it was an Anti-Bush, Anti-Big Spending, Fix this economy now, get us out of war, coalition. Now that they've won, that coalition will fall apart. Barack has his work cut out for him. And it won't be easy. He'll have to do all the things that he's promised and more. The same thing happened in 1992. Bill Clinton promised a middle class tax cut, he ran against George Bush, Sr. , on the basis that Bush, Sr. had raised taxes against his own pledge not to do so. The Democrats promised Bush, Sr. that if he would just agree to raise taxes for "the good of the country" they wouldn't use it against him in the election. They lied to Bush, Sr., they did use it against him and Clinton didn't or couldn't keep his promises. In 1992 I was a student in my Masters degree program in Springfield, Massachusetts. One of the big campaign issues was that Bill Clinton often lied. But the media told us that character didn't matter. I remember over hearing two professors discussing the outcome of the election. They said, "Yeah, he's a Liar but at least we'll get universal health care." Son, as I've taught you many times, character does matter, and telling the truth is always more important than just being popular or getting ahead at any cost. In 1992, the media said it was the death of the "Reagan Era" and the death of "Conservative and Libertarian ideas" and the death of "Small Government". They were wrong then, they are so very wrong now. So what happened is that the year you were born, in 1994, the most conservative and freedom loving congress in a generation was swept into power, this happened only two years after electing the previous Charlatan who made a lot of promises that were empty and without merit. It wasn't conservative ideas that were defeated in 1992 and it isn't conservative ideas that were defeated in 2008. On the contrary, Obama ran on Tax cuts, Family Values, Personal Responsibility, Hope and Liberty, and Christian values, which are all Conservative ideas. In fact, he could not have been elected if he had been honest about his own true philosophy or World view. The ultra-Left world view, when correctly and accurately and honestly articulated, has never won in this country. Just ask Michael Dukakis or Walter Mondale. The only way Barack and the Democrats will stay in office is if they can be successful. But you can't cut taxes and raise spending by what Barack has promised and keep the economy going. Just research Milton Friedman or better yet read his book, "Free to Choose." Liberal Keynesian Economics will never work, it never has. It always leads to the path of ruin at worst and stagnation at best. Therefore, it is only a matter of waiting for their failure and working to help in the ushering of those who will be the champions of free thinking back to the noble halls of our vibrant democracy. But in the meantime, we also pray. We pray and truly wish that the Democrats will be successful and the nation will get back on it's feet and all the good things they promised will happen, which will still be great for America. In the end, we are truly all Americans and either way, we win. Ironically, with the election of Barack Obama, we must have hope! We must hope that the ember of Liberty and Freedom that has almost died out, can once again be fanned into a roaring flame. We must hope that the small business person who sets out toward prosperity can do so without the oppressive hand of Big Government on their back. We must hope that the Shining City on a Hill that Ronald Reagan so artful spoke of, can once again be the symbol of the America that once was, and can be again. We must hope that we can keep the faith, fight the good fight, and finish the race so we can have both our reward and the good knowledge that we are following our steadfast principles. Son, you come from a good and noble lineage. A family line that stretches back to the founding of this great nation. When you feel down and despair, think of John and Robert Saunders as they fought against British oppression and threw off the chains of a heavy monarch; think of James Saunders who left Virgina and headed west with his family to settle a new frontier; think of John Thomas Saunders who held the line at Appomattox and had to watch one of the noblest men ever to walk the face of the Earth, Robert E. Lee, surrender to an invading army; think of Bartow Saunders, Sr. who survived the worst economic Depression of the 20th century and died a millionaire after a lifetime of hard work, struggle, and determination; think of your Great-Grandfather Tup McWaters who risked his life in the South Pacific, who spent 4 years of lonely nights in a fox hole not knowing if the next moment might be his last, who fought against an Empire so mighty that America feared she might not ever be able to overcome it. Yet we did! We overcame it all. Son, our family and our nation has endured much and overcome obstacles that make this current "let down" pale in comparison. And finally my dear sweet son, we must not tire, we must fight on, as was said in a letter by Thomas Jefferson to his beloved wife Martha, "Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time, who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done, if we are always doing. And that you may be always doing good, my dear, is the ardent prayer of yours affectionately."
With my dearest love and prayer for strength for you, Yours truly,
Dad Sphere: Related Content
Dear Donovan:
I know you are sad about the outcome of the election. Son, firstly we have to remember that God is still on the throne, he still answers prayers, and Jesus is the answer and true hope for our salvation. I do agree with you that this election is an outcome that many of us, especially in the conservative community would have rather not experienced, but we have to keep working! What is the alternative? Give up? Never! What happened in this election was not an acceptance of ultra-left politics by the American People, it was an Anti-Bush, Anti-Big Spending, Fix this economy now, get us out of war, coalition. Now that they've won, that coalition will fall apart. Barack has his work cut out for him. And it won't be easy. He'll have to do all the things that he's promised and more. The same thing happened in 1992. Bill Clinton promised a middle class tax cut, he ran against George Bush, Sr. , on the basis that Bush, Sr. had raised taxes against his own pledge not to do so. The Democrats promised Bush, Sr. that if he would just agree to raise taxes for "the good of the country" they wouldn't use it against him in the election. They lied to Bush, Sr., they did use it against him and Clinton didn't or couldn't keep his promises. In 1992 I was a student in my Masters degree program in Springfield, Massachusetts. One of the big campaign issues was that Bill Clinton often lied. But the media told us that character didn't matter. I remember over hearing two professors discussing the outcome of the election. They said, "Yeah, he's a Liar but at least we'll get universal health care." Son, as I've taught you many times, character does matter, and telling the truth is always more important than just being popular or getting ahead at any cost. In 1992, the media said it was the death of the "Reagan Era" and the death of "Conservative and Libertarian ideas" and the death of "Small Government". They were wrong then, they are so very wrong now. So what happened is that the year you were born, in 1994, the most conservative and freedom loving congress in a generation was swept into power, this happened only two years after electing the previous Charlatan who made a lot of promises that were empty and without merit. It wasn't conservative ideas that were defeated in 1992 and it isn't conservative ideas that were defeated in 2008. On the contrary, Obama ran on Tax cuts, Family Values, Personal Responsibility, Hope and Liberty, and Christian values, which are all Conservative ideas. In fact, he could not have been elected if he had been honest about his own true philosophy or World view. The ultra-Left world view, when correctly and accurately and honestly articulated, has never won in this country. Just ask Michael Dukakis or Walter Mondale. The only way Barack and the Democrats will stay in office is if they can be successful. But you can't cut taxes and raise spending by what Barack has promised and keep the economy going. Just research Milton Friedman or better yet read his book, "Free to Choose." Liberal Keynesian Economics will never work, it never has. It always leads to the path of ruin at worst and stagnation at best. Therefore, it is only a matter of waiting for their failure and working to help in the ushering of those who will be the champions of free thinking back to the noble halls of our vibrant democracy. But in the meantime, we also pray. We pray and truly wish that the Democrats will be successful and the nation will get back on it's feet and all the good things they promised will happen, which will still be great for America. In the end, we are truly all Americans and either way, we win. Ironically, with the election of Barack Obama, we must have hope! We must hope that the ember of Liberty and Freedom that has almost died out, can once again be fanned into a roaring flame. We must hope that the small business person who sets out toward prosperity can do so without the oppressive hand of Big Government on their back. We must hope that the Shining City on a Hill that Ronald Reagan so artful spoke of, can once again be the symbol of the America that once was, and can be again. We must hope that we can keep the faith, fight the good fight, and finish the race so we can have both our reward and the good knowledge that we are following our steadfast principles. Son, you come from a good and noble lineage. A family line that stretches back to the founding of this great nation. When you feel down and despair, think of John and Robert Saunders as they fought against British oppression and threw off the chains of a heavy monarch; think of James Saunders who left Virgina and headed west with his family to settle a new frontier; think of John Thomas Saunders who held the line at Appomattox and had to watch one of the noblest men ever to walk the face of the Earth, Robert E. Lee, surrender to an invading army; think of Bartow Saunders, Sr. who survived the worst economic Depression of the 20th century and died a millionaire after a lifetime of hard work, struggle, and determination; think of your Great-Grandfather Tup McWaters who risked his life in the South Pacific, who spent 4 years of lonely nights in a fox hole not knowing if the next moment might be his last, who fought against an Empire so mighty that America feared she might not ever be able to overcome it. Yet we did! We overcame it all. Son, our family and our nation has endured much and overcome obstacles that make this current "let down" pale in comparison. And finally my dear sweet son, we must not tire, we must fight on, as was said in a letter by Thomas Jefferson to his beloved wife Martha, "Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time, who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done, if we are always doing. And that you may be always doing good, my dear, is the ardent prayer of yours affectionately."
With my dearest love and prayer for strength for you, Yours truly,
Dad Sphere: Related Content
A CLASS ACT ALL THE WAY
What the mainstream media will not say is what a class act President Bush is now and through the transition. Unknown to most, is that he signed the Executive Order: (for the) Facilitation of a Presidential Transition. This is the first time in history that so orderly and formal a transition is being conducted. If you recall in 2000, President Bush went into the shortest transition in history. Further, he went into the White House that looked like a night-after Frat-boy party. Then, as a "funny joke", the Clinton staffers at Clinton's insistence removed all the "W's" from the typewriters and computer keyboards. President Bush had to spend $18,000 of taxpayer money to repair the damage and clean up after Clinton. This will certainly not happen now. As Bush-1 said when conceding to Bill Clinton, America is "the envy of the world", because of our peaceful transitions. This shows that history will indeed vindicate President George W. Bush on many levels. Truly, a class act all the way.
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Monday, October 27, 2008
SOCIALISM MADE SIMPLE
Often what is happening in the world can seem complex and overwhelming. When politicians throw words around like capitalism and socialism, we often aren't sure what to make of it. I would like to assist you in understanding these complex concepts with a few simple, straightforward examples.
SOCIALISM: an economic system based on state ownership of capital. Meaning, the Government owns the means of production. You can't buy, sell, make, or do most anything, without approval. In many ways, it is what is going on now, just degrees of freedom.
CAPITALISM: an economic and social system in which individuals can maximize profits because they own the means of production. Wow, gee, imagine that. You mean there is such a thing as an economic system where the individual actually has the freedom to choose and create their own destiny? Yes, that is the essence of capitalism, freedom.
Now here are a few simple examples to help you fully comprehend these complex concepts.
EXAMPLE #1:
BAR STOOL ECONOMICS
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from each persons share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each and up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay!
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. 'I only got a dollar out of the $20, 'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, 'but he got $10!' 'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!' 'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'
'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
EXAMPLE #2: Redistribution of Wealth
Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read "Vote Obama, I need the money". I laughed. Once in the restaurant my server had on a "Obama 08" Button, again I laughed as he had given away his political preference -- just imagine the coincidence. When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need--I pointed out the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight. I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I've decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was very grateful.At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient deserved money more. I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.
Example #3: Joe Biden is Interviewed by local Orlando Newscaster:
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SOCIALISM: an economic system based on state ownership of capital. Meaning, the Government owns the means of production. You can't buy, sell, make, or do most anything, without approval. In many ways, it is what is going on now, just degrees of freedom.
CAPITALISM: an economic and social system in which individuals can maximize profits because they own the means of production. Wow, gee, imagine that. You mean there is such a thing as an economic system where the individual actually has the freedom to choose and create their own destiny? Yes, that is the essence of capitalism, freedom.
Now here are a few simple examples to help you fully comprehend these complex concepts.
EXAMPLE #1:
BAR STOOL ECONOMICS
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from each persons share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each and up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay!
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. 'I only got a dollar out of the $20, 'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, 'but he got $10!' 'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!' 'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'
'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
EXAMPLE #2: Redistribution of Wealth
Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read "Vote Obama, I need the money". I laughed. Once in the restaurant my server had on a "Obama 08" Button, again I laughed as he had given away his political preference -- just imagine the coincidence. When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need--I pointed out the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight. I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I've decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was very grateful.At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient deserved money more. I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.
Example #3: Joe Biden is Interviewed by local Orlando Newscaster:
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
MOST UNDER-REPRESENTED GROUP OF ALL
When it comes to under-representation, likely the most ignored segment of our society are those living in the rural areas of our great nation. Who are the rural folks? The Daily Yonder, a rural advocacy group, is my favorite source of news and information when contemplating rural issues. I've thought long and hard about small-town life and rural America this election season. There was a time when I turned my back on my small-town roots, happy to be rid of what I once saw as silly and ignorant "one-horse" town. Ironically, it wasn't until I moved to Chicago (the 3rd largest city in the US) that I finally realized how lucky I had been. Particularly one day when I had to physically fight off a mugger attempting to rob a friend of mine (but that's another story). Years later, I returned to Florida and after bringing my son into the world, I looked for a small town to raise him (and later my second son as well). I was recently back in my small town of Bonifay, Florida where I grew up for the annual "Championship Rodeo" which is always just an excuse to go back home, see my parents, brother and his family, and take my kids to play with their cousins. There is a sense of safety and belonging in Bonifay. There is great comfort having skills that none of my city-dwelling friends have. Like knowing I can fish, hunt, farm, and make a living off the land if I ever had to. I think that is why I often can take swings in the market or "economic" disaster in stride because I know I could survive and feed my family without a Government handout (or even without a Government) no matter what may happen. When back for the rodeo, we always watch the parade (which is held on Friday and Saturday afternoon). We sit out on the front lawn of my grandparents home (which is still in the family) and wait for the fire engines to start up which typically are what begins the parade. You see every business, church, civic group, and school represented in floats that go by, all of them homemade and hilarious to see. For me, small towns represent true hope, family, goodness, virtue, truth and honesty, integrity, and a straight forward sense of knowing who you are. It always makes me smile when city-dwelling politicians try to either pander to the small-town vote (thinking all those from small towns are simple minded imbeciles) or being critical of traditions they cannot understand (spiritual values, Gun-ownership, or hunting rights) and disparaging them by labeling small town people as "bitter." It makes me really smile to know that if society collapses, the economy goes to nothing, and the cities are burning from rioting, Bonifay and thousands of small towns like it, will continue because of the very traditions, values, and people that make them great now.
In celebration of small towns everywhere, here are my two favorite songs about small towns, enjoy!
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Monday, October 13, 2008
SOCIALISM: SO?
So many socialist influences, and so little caring. The 1980s were not so long ago, much less the 60s and 50s. Yet, so few of the ideas that came from the so-called Conservative Revolution remain. Why? It is important to know what socialism truly is. If you choose to vote into office those that promote socialist ideas, then do yourself a favor and research the basic ideas of socialism.
The following was posted at American Thinker by Paul Kengor of Grove City College, who wrote GOD AND RONALD REAGAN, one of my favorites.
Another way to look at Bill Ayers and those radical 60's terrorists is to ask, "How would the media treat McCain if it were to come to light that he had started his presidential campaign in the living room of Timothy McVeigh (the Oklahoma city bomber)? Or David Duke (who never actually bombed anyone but simply said things people didn't like)? Sphere: Related Content
The following was posted at American Thinker by Paul Kengor of Grove City College, who wrote GOD AND RONALD REAGAN, one of my favorites.
It is a sad day when we must live in the shadow of oppression instead of the sweet sunshine of Liberty. As for me? I had rather scratch out a living in the soil of my ancestral homeland, living day to day in poverty and yet be free, than have an oppressive world government micromanage my life, deny my family even the most basic of freedoms, but still have my IPOD. How about you?
Capitalism is based on private ownership; communism on public ownership. Capitalism thrives on small government and taxes; communism on large government and taxes, typically progressive income-tax rates and estate taxes -- both advocated explicitly by Marx -- and much more.
This stuff isn't rocket science. It is easy to teach, if the professor desires. The problem is that it isn't being taught. Consequently, Americans today do not know why communism is such a devastating ideology, at both the level of plain economic theory and in actual historical practice. It is a remarkably hateful system, based on literal hatred and targeted annihilation of entire classes and groups of people. (Nazism sought genocide based on ethnicity; communism sought genocide based on class.)
Most Americans generally know that the USSR was a bad place and that it was good that the Berlin Wall fell; they lived through that. But they know little beyond that, especially young Americans in college today, born around the time the wall fell -- Obama's biggest supporters. Nowhere in America is Barack Obama worshipped as he is on college campuses, by students and professors alike.
What does it all mean for November 2008? It means that millions of modern Americans, when they hear that Barack Obama has deep roots with communist radicals like Bill Ayers and Frank Marshall Davis, don't care; they don't get it. Moreover, the leftist establishment -- from academia to media to Hollywood -- will not help them get it. To the contrary, the left responds to these accusations by not only downplaying or dismissing them but by ridiculing or even vilifying them, given the left's reflexive anti-anti-communism. The left will create bad guys out of the anti-communists who are legitimately blowing the whistle on the real bad guys.
When the leftists of the ‘60s took over higher education and the media, they really knew what they were doing. This was brilliant, masterful, a tactical slam-dunk, a tremendous coup for them and their worldview, with ripple effects we can scarcely imagine.
Does this mean that the McCain camp, talk radio and conservatives generally shouldn't bother exposing these things? Not at all. The truth is the truth, and needs to be told. Moderates especially need to be informed that Barack Obama is not your typical liberal: he is the most hard-left Democrat that his party has ever nominated for the presidency. It is absolutely not a coincidence that the man with these far-left associations just so happens to be ranked -- quantifiably, objectively, by non-partisan, respected sources like National Journal -- the most far-left member of the U.S. Senate, which is no small thing given the leftward drift of the modern Democratic Party. In other words, Obama's extremist associations matter; they are fully revealing, illustrative of the political-ideological realities that the pro-Obama media will not expose. His voting record bears this out.
That said, I warn my fellow conservatives: Be prepared to be really, really frustrated when few people seem to care.
Another way to look at Bill Ayers and those radical 60's terrorists is to ask, "How would the media treat McCain if it were to come to light that he had started his presidential campaign in the living room of Timothy McVeigh (the Oklahoma city bomber)? Or David Duke (who never actually bombed anyone but simply said things people didn't like)? Sphere: Related Content
Monday, September 29, 2008
BAILOUT IS DEFEATED BY FREE MARKET CONSERVATIVES
In September 1999, the New York times printed an interesting article. The beginning is quoted here:
Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending
For an alternative to the current Welfare for Millionaires Bailout plan go to:
Newt Gingrich.org
At that link, you can also download the FULL TEXT of the Bailout Bill and read it for yourself. I did read it and it's a mess. Thankfully, the House Republicans along with over 90 Democrats helped to defeat it. This is a great reminder to the arrogant Senate that the founding fathers created TWO chambers of congress for this very reason.
For those who want the Cliff Notes version: Here is a Video News Report:
Think about it! We all live in this country and it's our money they (the Congress) are spending. Thankfully today, we've seen democracy in action. Now, I'm going to sharpen up my Hunting, Fishing, and Farming skills and get ready for the coming economic depression. Sphere: Related Content
In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.This is an excellent article for understanding the source of the current Housing and Economic crisis. It is a prime example of how Government interference in the Free Market never works, always destabilizes, and creates a dependant class (and with this current bailout the dependants are wealthy Millionaires!). When well meaning diversity ideas wrongly applied become public policy, then we create a terrible system that winds up actually seriously hurting (via lost jobs, less credit available, etc.) the very people that the government was supposed to help to begin with. Here is the link:
Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending
For an alternative to the current Welfare for Millionaires Bailout plan go to:
Newt Gingrich.org
At that link, you can also download the FULL TEXT of the Bailout Bill and read it for yourself. I did read it and it's a mess. Thankfully, the House Republicans along with over 90 Democrats helped to defeat it. This is a great reminder to the arrogant Senate that the founding fathers created TWO chambers of congress for this very reason.
For those who want the Cliff Notes version: Here is a Video News Report:
Think about it! We all live in this country and it's our money they (the Congress) are spending. Thankfully today, we've seen democracy in action. Now, I'm going to sharpen up my Hunting, Fishing, and Farming skills and get ready for the coming economic depression. Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
IDENTITY POLITICS CONTINUES TO BACKFIRE
Shepherd Smith on FOX News reported (as did the Blog POLITICO) today:
South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler sharply attacked Sarah Palin today, saying John McCain had chosen a running mate " whose primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.” Palin is an opponent of abortion rights and gave birth to her fifth child, Trig, earlier this year after finding out during her pregnancy that the baby had Down syndrome.
Fowler told my colleague Alex Burns in an interview that the selection of an opponent of abortion rights would not boost McCain among many women. “Among Democratic women and even among independent women, I don’t think it helped him,” she said.
Told of McCain's boost in the new ABC/Washington Post among white women following the Palin pick, Fowler said: "Just anecdotally, I believe that those white women are Republican women anyway."
When the Democrat Convention began there was a hint of justice that hasn’t been much discussed even by political pundits. The Clintons rode into Washington almost 16 years ago. It doesn’t seem like a longtime ago, but it is the equivalent to when Barry Goldwater lost and Ronald Reagan won.
Further, favorite Political Pundit, Thomas D. Stamper reports:
It wasn’t enough for the Clintons to occupy the White House. They also needed to occupy the moral high ground. These children of the 1960s were going to right the wrongs of their parents and grandparents except when they were useful as some sort of prop so that Clinton could refer to himself as a child of WWII or the Depression or whatever real challenge his parents generation lived through, he skipped the hard road. His cabinet would look like America, meaning that he would scrape three deep to get a female Attorney General, going all the way to a Miami prosecutor. If you were a minority and a female, the staff of Clinton would refer to you as a "twofer." Jocelyn Elders was the most famous of the twofers according to Clinton insiders at the time. Realistically, it was Clinton’s right as President (according to the US Constitution) to pick who he wanted and let Congress decide if they were qualified, but it did no honor to those chosen to say they were considered for their looks. Isn’t that just what Gloria Steinem didn’t want?
The Clintons brought a lot of baggage into 2008. They probably didn’t think that their “looks like America” stance would be anything but a positive. After all, they were here to let you nominate the first female president. But what happened? Hilary has always been a smart political ideologue and she saw it as her strength. And she decided to run a campaign based on experience and the issues, two things decidedly not superficial. But along comes Barack Obama, a Charismatic, intelligent, and politically savvy candidate who just looks like he should be President according to the Clinton's own standard, which has become the standard of the political left. He’s warm and she’s cold. He’s new and she’d old. But even more important, he comes from a demographic background more victimized than hers, a background less represented in society.
How many times do you think during the debates that Hilary wanted to blurt out that Democrats were choosing symbols over substance? Yeah, and who taught them that? And when would Democrats ever get another chance after all these years of having the radical left spoiling things?
Hilary had her opportunity it 2004 and she skipped it hoping for a wide open race in 2008. She did everything right, even sending her operatives down to Iowa to get the dour Kerry nominated. You could make a case that Hilary’s pragmatic approach to the war could have beat Bush in 2004. She would have easily won the nomination in that crowd, but she ducked it.
The Clintons brought identity politics into the mainstream and finally poetic justice makes them a victim of it.
Now in the most ironic twist of all, the victim centered politics of the left is being used against them by the McCain campaign. Poor Barack Obama cannot even get a word in edge wise since Gov. Sarah Palin was nominated without charges of sexism. It is a shame. The American people would be better served if we would live up to our own ideals during campaigns and judge our potential future leaders not by the color of their skin (or their Gender) but by the content of their character.
Monday, September 8, 2008
THE "OLD" SOUTH MORE PROGRESSIVE AND CHARMING THAN STEREOTYPE
According to a recent article by AP writer, Jay Reeves a Jewish Community, Group dangles $50K for Jews who move to Ala. town
Larry Blumberg is looking for a few good Jews to move to his corner of the Bible Belt. Blumberg is chairman of an organization offering Jewish families as much as $50,000 to relocate to Dothan, an overwhelmingly Christian town of 58,000 that calls itself the Peanut Capital of the World. Get involved at Temple Emanu-El and stay at least five years, the group's leaders say, and the money doesn't have to be repaid...I grew up in Bonifay, FL about 40 minutes just south of Dothan, AL. For us, Dothan was the "big city." It was the closest place we could drive to see a mall and a movie. What is wonderful about Southern folks is that you'll find them accommodating and very open to new people and individuals. It has been my experience that unlike many left-wing Northerners who will "fight" for whole groups but do very little for a single individual (i.e. homeless) that they see everyday, Southerners will help, and demonstrate compassion through the actions of individual relationships. Just look at the vast migration patterns of recent decades with the North losing population and the South continues to grow. We must be doing something right (no pun intended). Sphere: Related Content"The biggest thing Dothan has to offer is that it's just a very family-oriented community," said Barnes, who directs a hospital foundation. "Our congregation is very vibrant, and we have a lot of things that we get involved in."
Rabbi Lynne Goldsmith didn't know quite what to expect when she moved to Dothan a year ago to lead the congregation at Temple Emanu-El, which was founded in 1929. She came with her husband, who directs the Jewish community services group.
A Connecticut native, the rabbi halfway expected the Alabama of old with wide-open racism and dirt roads. "The Northeast has a really warped perception of what the South is all about, and I found out it was all wrong," she said. "The South is a wonderful place to be. The people are warm and friendly. There's very little traffic. And best of all, there's no snow."
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL, AND NOT ASHAMED OF IT
Peggy Noonan weighs in on the real problem of immigration. Unfortunately she does not offer a solution, and maybe there isn't one.
Sphere: Related ContentIt's the broad public knowledge, or intuition, in America, that we are not assimilating our immigrants patriotically. And if you don't do that, you'll lose it all. We used to do it. We loved our country with full-throated love, we had no ambivalence. We had pride and appreciation. We were a free country. We communicated our pride and delight in this in a million ways--in our schools, our movies, our popular songs, our newspapers. It was just there, in the air. Immigrants breathed it in. That's how the last great wave of immigrants, the European wave of 1880-1920, was turned into a great wave of Americans. We are not assimilating our immigrants patriotically now. We are assimilating them culturally. Within a generation their children speak Valley Girl on cell phones. "So I'm like 'no," and he's all 'yeah,' and I'm like, 'In your dreams.' " Whether their parents are from Trinidad, Bosnia, Lebanon or Chile, their children, once Americans, know the same music, the same references, watch the same shows. And to a degree and in a way it will hold them together. But not forever and not in a crunch. So far we are assimilating our immigrants economically, too. They come here and work. Good. But we are not communicating love of country. We are not giving them the great legend of our country. We are losing that great legend. What is the legend, the myth? That God made this a special place. That they're joining something special. That the streets are paved with more than gold--they're paved with the greatest thoughts man ever had, the greatest decisions he ever made, about how to live. We have free thought, free speech, freedom of worship. Look at the literature of the Republic: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Federalist papers. Look at the great rich history, the courage and sacrifice, the house-raisings, the stubbornness. The Puritans, the Indians, the City on a Hill. The genius cluster--Jefferson, Hamilton, Adams, Madison, Franklin, all the rest--that came along at the exact same moment to lead us. And then Washington, a great man in the greatest way, not in unearned gifts well used (i.e., a high IQ followed by high attainment) but in character, in moral nature effortfully developed. How did that happen? We fought a war to free slaves. We sent millions of white men to battle and destroyed a portion of our nation to free millions of black men. What kind of nation does this? We went to Europe, fought, died and won, and then taxed ourselves to save our enemies with the Marshall Plan. What kind of nation does this? Soviet communism stalked the world and we were the ones who steeled ourselves and taxed ourselves to stop it. Again: What kind of nation does this?
Only a very great one. Maybe the greatest of all. Do we teach our immigrants that this is what they're joining? That this is the tradition they will now continue, and uphold? Do we, today, act as if this is such a special place? No we don't. American exceptionalism is so yesterday. We don't want to be impolite. We don't want to offend. We don't want to seem narrow. In the age of globalism, honest patriotism seems like a faux pas. And yet what is true of people is probably true of nations: if you don't have a well-grounded respect for yourself, you won't long sustain a well-grounded respect for others.
DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT IS MOST PARAMOUNT
REPRINTED FROM COLLEGIATETIMES.COM
Lacking a major diversity in ideas
Allison Aldrich, CT Regular Columnist
Monday, September 10; 5:34 PM
In the months after April 16, campuses across the country began scrambling to create programs that encourage diversity and ensure that students have an effective way to report discrimination. To its credit, Virginia Tech has been at the forefront of this movement.
The MOSAIC program was established this year (after a couple years of planning) with the purpose of creating dialogue between participants about race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, political views and numerous other differentiating characteristics.
We also now have SafeWatch, a program launched to reduce harassment and encourage harmony among all groups. These new measures show that as a community we are taking positive steps to support diversity in all its forms among the student body. Despite this progress, I believe the campus has fallen short in promoting the diversity of opinions among professors and in the classroom.
Many professors proudly place "Safe Zone" stickers on their doors, promising that their office is a place free from discrimination regardless of whether a student is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Students should never feel threatened or intimidated by entering a professor's office just because of their sexual orientation. Having said that, how do conservative students feel when they meet with professors whose doors are plastered with bumper stickers, political cartoons and news articles, all of which make fun and are intolerant of their political views?
Students enter college hoping to expand their horizons and learn from the knowledge and experiences of others. We all expect to discover and reflect on new theories and concepts that will help mold us into unique and thoughtful individuals. The diversity essential in the learning process includes hearing from people with all different ideological viewpoints — not just ones based on differences in skin color or sexual orientation.
I doubt you can find an argument that communism, for example, should never be taught in classrooms just because as a political ideology it is responsible for more deaths of its own citizens than any other form of government. Likewise, socialism should be taught, but not because a professor believes it to be a better form approach than "evil" capitalism. It's one thing to teach various political theories, but it's quite different when a professor becomes the champion of an ideology or the scold for political or economic views he or she does not favor.
When a diversity of ideas is absent among professors at Tech, a great disservice is done to students. When professors become apologists, where is the education?
A recent report by the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group that tracks campaign contributions, exposes the liberal-leaning bias of academia in America. The report states, "College professors and others in the education field have contributed more money than the oil industry and drug makers, with the nearly unanimous goal of putting a Democrat in the White House." Professors should be allowed to support whomever they wish, but when 76 percent of professors' political donations are going to Democrats, I begin to wonder where the conservative representation is in academia.
Many people today seem to think college campuses are one-party environments, and the statistics seem to bear that out. Are colleges places of learning for students who are hungry for knowledge so that they can make informed choices? Or, have they become cushy soapboxes-for-life for tenured professors with a political agenda?
Personally, I have made it through two years as a political science major without being assigned one conservative book to read. Although I have become well acquainted with Marxist thought, had an entire exam devoted to Watergate, and read countless essays against our foreign policies in the Middle East, I have yet to discuss F.A. Hayek, Milton Friedman, Frédéric Bastiat or any other influential conservative thinker in any political science class I have taken.
It is encouraging to see Tech embracing programs that promote diversity on campus. I hope that we can begin to make the same strides with intellectual diversity and create a community where politics, economics, and other such ideas can be intelligently debated no matter what ideology a professor might hold true. Sphere: Related Content
Lacking a major diversity in ideas
Allison Aldrich, CT Regular Columnist
Monday, September 10; 5:34 PM
In the months after April 16, campuses across the country began scrambling to create programs that encourage diversity and ensure that students have an effective way to report discrimination. To its credit, Virginia Tech has been at the forefront of this movement.
The MOSAIC program was established this year (after a couple years of planning) with the purpose of creating dialogue between participants about race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, political views and numerous other differentiating characteristics.
We also now have SafeWatch, a program launched to reduce harassment and encourage harmony among all groups. These new measures show that as a community we are taking positive steps to support diversity in all its forms among the student body. Despite this progress, I believe the campus has fallen short in promoting the diversity of opinions among professors and in the classroom.
Many professors proudly place "Safe Zone" stickers on their doors, promising that their office is a place free from discrimination regardless of whether a student is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Students should never feel threatened or intimidated by entering a professor's office just because of their sexual orientation. Having said that, how do conservative students feel when they meet with professors whose doors are plastered with bumper stickers, political cartoons and news articles, all of which make fun and are intolerant of their political views?
Students enter college hoping to expand their horizons and learn from the knowledge and experiences of others. We all expect to discover and reflect on new theories and concepts that will help mold us into unique and thoughtful individuals. The diversity essential in the learning process includes hearing from people with all different ideological viewpoints — not just ones based on differences in skin color or sexual orientation.
I doubt you can find an argument that communism, for example, should never be taught in classrooms just because as a political ideology it is responsible for more deaths of its own citizens than any other form of government. Likewise, socialism should be taught, but not because a professor believes it to be a better form approach than "evil" capitalism. It's one thing to teach various political theories, but it's quite different when a professor becomes the champion of an ideology or the scold for political or economic views he or she does not favor.
When a diversity of ideas is absent among professors at Tech, a great disservice is done to students. When professors become apologists, where is the education?
A recent report by the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group that tracks campaign contributions, exposes the liberal-leaning bias of academia in America. The report states, "College professors and others in the education field have contributed more money than the oil industry and drug makers, with the nearly unanimous goal of putting a Democrat in the White House." Professors should be allowed to support whomever they wish, but when 76 percent of professors' political donations are going to Democrats, I begin to wonder where the conservative representation is in academia.
Many people today seem to think college campuses are one-party environments, and the statistics seem to bear that out. Are colleges places of learning for students who are hungry for knowledge so that they can make informed choices? Or, have they become cushy soapboxes-for-life for tenured professors with a political agenda?
Personally, I have made it through two years as a political science major without being assigned one conservative book to read. Although I have become well acquainted with Marxist thought, had an entire exam devoted to Watergate, and read countless essays against our foreign policies in the Middle East, I have yet to discuss F.A. Hayek, Milton Friedman, Frédéric Bastiat or any other influential conservative thinker in any political science class I have taken.
It is encouraging to see Tech embracing programs that promote diversity on campus. I hope that we can begin to make the same strides with intellectual diversity and create a community where politics, economics, and other such ideas can be intelligently debated no matter what ideology a professor might hold true. Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
GOD AND THE ACADEMIC WORLD
Late one winter afternoon in Chicago during my graduate school days, a terrible blizzard arose. I sat in the classroom along with my fellow classmates listening to a lecture from our professor and watching the snow come down in white sheets. Then about a third of the way into our class, a tremendous thunderclap arose. Very unusual to hear thunder during a snowstorm. The class grew very tense. As is my nature in such a time, I made a joke. "Wow, God must be angry." There were a few snickers, but instead of the Professor moving on or rolling his eyes and dismissing my rude interruption, he stopped his lecture and immediately launched into a very different lecture. He began in his crisp English accent, with an air of condescending self-importance, "You see Steven, what has obviously happened is that a warm air mass has just bombarded this cold air front we are now seeing that is causing both this precipitation..." and on and on and on and on he went for at least 15 minutes talking about all the scientific knowledge he could remember on meteorology and perhaps trying to explain away his own anxiety (and this was supposed to be a psychology course?). After he was finished he smiled and looked at me and said, "What to you think of that Steven?"
"Wow, God must be really smart to know how to do all that." I said as the class burst into uncontrolled laughter.
True story. But it expresses the depth many in the academic world will go to quite those who believe. Ironically, their disbelief is felt with more of a fervent zeal than most religious adherents. Ben Stein, in his movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed", has done a great service to all those who feel the same and have experienced persecution or ridicule for their beliefs. The move doesn't ask you to believe, but merely asks, why can't I question? Why are some questions or some lines of thought not allowed in some academic environments and universities? My little story above, is certainly the merest vapor of a hint of what others have experienced. I've been very blessed to have a supportive environment to teach my classes and express my questions as I saw fit. Truly I feel academically free. But many other professors, particularly those who want to ask questions about intelligent design do not have that freedom or luxury. May God be with those who truly believe and those who choose not to.
Sphere: Related Content
"Wow, God must be really smart to know how to do all that." I said as the class burst into uncontrolled laughter.
True story. But it expresses the depth many in the academic world will go to quite those who believe. Ironically, their disbelief is felt with more of a fervent zeal than most religious adherents. Ben Stein, in his movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed", has done a great service to all those who feel the same and have experienced persecution or ridicule for their beliefs. The move doesn't ask you to believe, but merely asks, why can't I question? Why are some questions or some lines of thought not allowed in some academic environments and universities? My little story above, is certainly the merest vapor of a hint of what others have experienced. I've been very blessed to have a supportive environment to teach my classes and express my questions as I saw fit. Truly I feel academically free. But many other professors, particularly those who want to ask questions about intelligent design do not have that freedom or luxury. May God be with those who truly believe and those who choose not to.
Sphere: Related Content
Monday, June 16, 2008
BARACK CAN SAY IT, BUT CAN YOU?
It is interesting to listen to Barack Obama discuss a subject that when others have brought it up, they have been called "racist" or "traitors." From the Associated Press:
Recently, Juan Williams NPR commentator in his book "Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America--and What We Can Do About It " comments about this issue. Bill Cosby also had much to say on this subject at the NAACP meeting last year and was labeled a "traitor."
So how is it that Obama is now being cheered for his "leadership" on this issue? Sphere: Related Content
In my first child development class in my Doctoral program we read a terrible book entitled, "There are No Fathers Here" about the plight of two young boys in the intercity Chicago housing projects (now which have been torn down). After reading the book and being a new father I simply asked myself, "Where is their father?" It seemed to me that my own sons would have been in an equally dire situation had I abandoned them at birth. However, through hardwork, family support and committment to my responsibilities, my sons are thriving. When I brought this fact up in class, I was nearly kicked out of school for my obvious "racist" ideas. Wow! It's nice to be proven correct, even if it is 15 years after the fact. What I was saying and what Barack is saying now, are about the same, in fact Barack Obama is even more harsh than I was.CHICAGO — Barack Obama celebrated Father’s Day by calling on black fathers, who he said are “missing from too many lives and too many homes,” to become active in raising their children.
“They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it,” the Democratic presidential candidate said Sunday at a largely black church in his hometown.
Reminding the congregation of his firsthand experience growing up without a father, Obama said he was lucky to have loving grandparents who helped his mother. He got support, second chances and scholarships that helped him get an education. Obama’s father left when he was 2.
“A lot of children don’t get those chances. There is no margin for error in their lives,” said Obama, an Illinois senator.
“I resolved many years ago that it was my obligation to break the cycle — that if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father to my girls,” added Obama, whose daughters, Sasha and Malia, and his wife, Michelle, watched from the audience.
Recently, Juan Williams NPR commentator in his book "Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America--and What We Can Do About It " comments about this issue. Bill Cosby also had much to say on this subject at the NAACP meeting last year and was labeled a "traitor."
So how is it that Obama is now being cheered for his "leadership" on this issue? Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
DIVERSITY MEANS DIVERSE IDEAS OF THOUGHT
Diversity means diverse ideas and diverse cultural experience (or at least that is what it should mean) not beating you down into guilt-ridden submission. Here is what the President of the University of Pennslyvania & Political Theorist, Amy Gutmann, has to say about Diversity.
Sphere: Related Content
Sphere: Related Content
GREAT PROOF THAT THE US JUSTICE SYSTEM WORKS
Kenji Yoshino, Professor, Yale Law School and Author speaks about current Justice system issues and demonstrates through facts and sound reasoning how the rights of the minority are protected.
Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
FORGOTTEN WISDOM OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS
Earlier this year I was taking a course with a group of fellow Professors for UCF's online teaching program. Dr. Charles Dziuban, Director of the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness at the University of Central Florida, was giving us a lecture on the differences in the American generations and how we had to adapt our teaching styles to accommodate the needs of each generation of student. To exemplify this he asked if anyone knew who had said this quote, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." I immediately recognized the quote and knew the author started with "N", I blurted out, "Nathanial Hawthorne." Which was incorrect, "No, it's Nathan Hale" said Dr. Dziuban. He went on to lecture about how in the Depression era generation, this sort of education was mandatory; but now this knowledge is being left behind. Ashamed and sad at not knowing this, I lapsed deep in thought. He was right, we are indeed losing something in our educational system. Due to political correctness and historical revisionism, the wisdom, sacrifice and courage of the Founding Fathers of our great nation is being lost. As penance for my own ignorance (and for great pleasure to my surprise), I've read both 1776 and John Adams both by David McCullough. Both are wonderful historical novels and teach you a bit to boot. For further enlightenment here are my personal favorite Founding Father quotes.
I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.
- Nathan Hale, before being hanged by the British, September 22, 1776
An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy; because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation.
- John Marshall, McCullough v. Maryland, 1819
Give me liberty or give me death.
- Patrick Henry
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, Proposal Virginia Constitution
"The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object."
- Thomas Jefferson
- George Washington
"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
- Samuel Adams
"Any people that would give up liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin
"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
- John Adams
"The truth is, all might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they ought."
- Samuel Adams
"If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained _ we must fight!."
- Patrick Henry
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe."
- Noah Webster
"Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God."
- Thomas Jefferson
"[T]he people are not to be disarmed of their weapons. They are left in full possession of them."
- Zacharia Johnson
"There are more instances of the abridgement of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
- James Madison
"Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?."
- Patrick Henry
"...that standing army can never be formidable (threatening) to the liberties of the people, while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in the use of arms."
- Alexander Hamilton
"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks."
- Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, 1785
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a moneyed aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."
- Thomas Jefferson
"The right of the people to keep and bear...arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country."
- James Madison
"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything."
- Alexander Hamilton
"You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe."
- John Adams
"When once a republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil."
- Thomas Jefferson
Click here many more Founding Father Quotes
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I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.
- Nathan Hale, before being hanged by the British, September 22, 1776
An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy; because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation.
- John Marshall, McCullough v. Maryland, 1819
Give me liberty or give me death.
- Patrick Henry
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, Proposal Virginia Constitution
"The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object."
- Thomas Jefferson
"Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy."
- Ben Franklin
- George Washington
"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
- Samuel Adams
"Any people that would give up liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin
"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
- John Adams
"The truth is, all might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they ought."
- Samuel Adams
"If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained _ we must fight!."
- Patrick Henry
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe."
- Noah Webster
"Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God."
- Thomas Jefferson
"[T]he people are not to be disarmed of their weapons. They are left in full possession of them."
- Zacharia Johnson
"There are more instances of the abridgement of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
- James Madison
"Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?."
- Patrick Henry
"...that standing army can never be formidable (threatening) to the liberties of the people, while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in the use of arms."
- Alexander Hamilton
"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks."
- Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, 1785
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a moneyed aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."
- Thomas Jefferson
"The right of the people to keep and bear...arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country."
- James Madison
"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything."
- Alexander Hamilton
"You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe."
- John Adams
"When once a republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil."
- Thomas Jefferson
Click here many more Founding Father Quotes
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Friday, June 6, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
CONDOLEZZA RICE SPEAKS ON OBAMA NOMINATION
After Senator Obama's nomination, Secretary of State Condolezza Rice had the following to say:
...speaking at the State Department, said: "The United States of America is an extraordinary country. It is a country that has overcome many, many, now years, decades, actually a couple of centuries of trying to make good on its principles. And I think what we are seeing is an extraordinary expression of the fact that 'We the people' is beginning to mean all of us."This is the greatness of this country, that an ordinary person can become the most powerful person in the nation. What other nation provides this opportunity? Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
THE POLITICS OF FREEDOM
From the CATO Institute:
"As Americans head into a crucial election year, pundits are coloring everything in red and blue. But according to David Boaz, the old labels of left and right don't tell us much any more. What we are witnessing is a contest of "Big-Government Conservatives" vs. "Big-Government Liberals." In The Politics of Freedom, David Boaz takes on both liberals and conservatives who seek to impose their own partisan agendas on the whole country."
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"As Americans head into a crucial election year, pundits are coloring everything in red and blue. But according to David Boaz, the old labels of left and right don't tell us much any more. What we are witnessing is a contest of "Big-Government Conservatives" vs. "Big-Government Liberals." In The Politics of Freedom, David Boaz takes on both liberals and conservatives who seek to impose their own partisan agendas on the whole country."
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Saturday, May 31, 2008
THE NEED FOR A NEW REVOLUTION
My graduate student intern came bursting into my office sobbing in tears.
"What's wrong?" I inquired.
"That class, that class, that class..." She sobbed as she held her face in her hands.
Without even asking, I knew exactly what class she was referencing. I too had battled the oppressive ideology of this class and suffered the crippling emotional onslaught of name calling and the racist ranting at who I was perceived to be (rather than who I actually was) by the Professor and fellow students alike. The class was "Diversity" or "Treatment of Diverse Populations" and it goes by many other names depending on the College. No matter the name, all these classes usually have one thing in common. An tyrannical attempt at thought control and a unilateral imposition of extreme leftist political ideas. If one debates the ideas, one is labeled a racist. If one opposes the very foundational ideas of the course, then one is labeled "difficult" a "problem student" and "lacking in capacity to come to terms with identity." This is education? Where is the freedom of thought we were promised? Where is the academic freedom that is waved like a banner by the college or University?
I consoled my intern and vowed to begin a new dialogue. A dialogue about a new direction that this course should take. A new direction, nay a Revolution of thought, so that the Diversity debate itself may begin moving toward expanding our minds and uplifting our spirits. A direction away from indoctrination and toward true diversity of thought and culture. One that truly celebrates the differences among us and embraces our shared human values (you know those of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness). A debate that will hopefully lead to the creation of Diversity courses based upon compassion, understanding, love, and acceptance. This site is dedicated to that mission and I welcome a dialogue with you...
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"What's wrong?" I inquired.
"That class, that class, that class..." She sobbed as she held her face in her hands.
Without even asking, I knew exactly what class she was referencing. I too had battled the oppressive ideology of this class and suffered the crippling emotional onslaught of name calling and the racist ranting at who I was perceived to be (rather than who I actually was) by the Professor and fellow students alike. The class was "Diversity" or "Treatment of Diverse Populations" and it goes by many other names depending on the College. No matter the name, all these classes usually have one thing in common. An tyrannical attempt at thought control and a unilateral imposition of extreme leftist political ideas. If one debates the ideas, one is labeled a racist. If one opposes the very foundational ideas of the course, then one is labeled "difficult" a "problem student" and "lacking in capacity to come to terms with identity." This is education? Where is the freedom of thought we were promised? Where is the academic freedom that is waved like a banner by the college or University?
I consoled my intern and vowed to begin a new dialogue. A dialogue about a new direction that this course should take. A new direction, nay a Revolution of thought, so that the Diversity debate itself may begin moving toward expanding our minds and uplifting our spirits. A direction away from indoctrination and toward true diversity of thought and culture. One that truly celebrates the differences among us and embraces our shared human values (you know those of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness). A debate that will hopefully lead to the creation of Diversity courses based upon compassion, understanding, love, and acceptance. This site is dedicated to that mission and I welcome a dialogue with you...
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