THINGS WE SAID TODAY

2009-08-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

THE AARP AND YOU

http://michellemalkin.com/2009/08/06/revolt-against-aarp-in-dallas-do-you-work-for-us-or-do-we-work-for-you/

I really don't want to shatter anyone's bubble, but the AARP is not your friend or advocate. My hope is that after you read this and watch this video, you will cancel your membership in this left-leaning organization and let them know why! They are in the back pocket of the Dems' & are strongly supporting this "so called" health care reform in it's current form. (listen carefully in the video & you will hear about one of their leaders being photographed with the likes of Hugo Chavez....it's true in case you're wondering! & if you don't see anything wrong with this, then there's not much hope for you anyway!) Interesting that so many Seniors are supporting AARP, when they are the ones who will suffer the most under Obamacare. This bill plainly states that Medicare benefits will be cut drastically...they call it "a savings." (over $500 billion in Medicare and Medicaid) Notice they never say they will cut waste, fraud and inefficiency. The days of stents, bypass surgery, hip & knee replacement (Get a cane!) and even chemotherapy for many cancers in the "over 55 crowd" will be gone.
If you are having difficulty believing this, then please read the bill for yourself. (if you dare). This, my friends, is HEALTH CARE RATIONING.

You can call it something else if it makes you feel better.
AND........if you don't believe all of this, well.........you can just "BITE ME!"

(sorry.....I know that's not a nice saying)
Oh no....maybe you better not.

I hear they won't be giving rabies shots to anyone over 50!

2009-06-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

WORKING FOR PEANUTS

According to radio host and author Dennis Prager, "What psychological planet are doctors living on?" I am wondering where all of you doctors are hiding? You're not? You're not visable (or audible) to me, the patient. If you don't know (or understand) what the Obama team has in mind for medicine in this country, you had better work fast and furious to educate yourself. Then, you had better educate your peers. We all hate the "S" word, but what do you think letting the federal government run your medical practice is? Are you actually willing to let this happen? You won't be a doctor anymore (not in the sense you and I understand that terminology). You will be in the health care delivery business. My aunt is 58 and has recently been diagnosed with cancer..........sorry, she has to wait 8 weeks to get an appointment for chemo. My great uncle is 82 and has prostate cancer. Sorry.....he is too old for treatment. My daughter is 29 and having severe headaches. She has to wait 6 weeks for an MRI to rule out a life-threatening condition. Yes, we the patients are going to suffer the most, but so are you doctors.

Your pay will be cut by 1/3 to 1/2 of what it is now. You will be part of a huge government bureaucracy, and if you think you hate dealing with insurance companies, wait till you deal with this red tape. Oh, and did I forget to mention that you will no longer enjoy the status that being a physician once offered? You will move down several rungs on the ladder of prestige......kind of like going from a pilot to a flight attendant.

How do you think you will like them peanuts?

Check these sites out..............educate yourself now. FIGHT THIS! (for all of us)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124416366699887489.html

http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/blog/g/995e4df7-b73c-4cb2-8c1b-70b910986d3d

http://www.docs4patientcare.org/7301.html

2009-01-22T16:42:00.000-08:00

All of us are born Liberals. We come into the world wanting our Mothers to provide milk on demand. We expect to be provided warmth when we're cold, coolness when we're hot, clothes to wear and a roof over our head. We expect to poop anytime we want to and someone will clean up our mess. And then some of us grow up and become Republicans. PENNY LANE

Editorial from the London Daily Mail

OBAMA'S VICTORY
A victory for the hysterical Oprah Winfrey, the mad racist preacher Jeremiah Wright, the mainstream media who abandoned any sense of objectivity long ago, Europeans who despise America largely because they depend on her, comics who claim to be dangerous and fearless but would not dare attack genuinely powerful special interest groups. A victory for Obama-worshippers everywhere. A victory for the cult of the cult. A man who has done little with his life but has written about his achievements as if he had found the cure for cancer in between winning a marathon and building a nuclear reactor with his teeth. Victory for style over substance, hyperbole over history, rabble-raising over reality. A victory for Hollywood, the most dysfunctional community in the world. Victory for Streisand, Spielberg, Soros and Sarandon. Victory for those who prefer welfare to will and interference to independence. For those who settle for group think and herd mentality rather than those who fight for individual initiative and the right to be out of step with meagre political fashion. Victory for a man who is no friend of freedom. He and his people have already stated that media has to be controlled so as to be balanced, without realizing the extraordinary irony within that statement. Like most liberal zealots, the Obama worshippers constantly speak of Fox and Limbaugh, when the vast bulk of television stations and newspapers are drastically liberal and anti-conservative. Senior Democrat Chuck Schumer said that just as pornography should be censored, so should talk radio. In other words, one of the few free and open means of popular expression may well be cornered and beaten by bullies who even in triumph cannot tolerate any criticism and opposition. A victory for those who believe the state is better qualified to raise children than the family, for those who prefer teachers' unions to teaching and for those who are naively convinced that if the West is sufficiently weak towards its enemies, war and terror will dissolve as quickly as the tears on the face of a leftist celebrity. A victory for social democracy even after most of Europe has come to the painful conclusion that social democracy leads to mediocrity, failure, unemployment, inflation, higher taxes and economic stagnation. A victory for intrusive lawyers, banal sentimentalists, social extremists and urban snobs.

2009-01-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

HALLELUJAH

I never watched American Idol because I am just not into reality television. However, I must confess I have recently gone to YOU-TUBE and have been quite enthralled with the young singer from the Dallas metroplex (Rockwall) named Jason Castro. His voice is classically pure and mellow, but capable of resonance when necessary. He is young, but with the right material, he will wildly succeed in the music world. I am equally impressed with his Christian testimony. Very rare for young people today. Go to the "I Am Second" website and be prepared to be awed..... by the music and his testimony.

http://iamsecond.com/#/home/

Which brings me to the reason for this post. Jason sang a song on Idol called Hallelujah. The song was written by Leonard Cohen, but he is no singer as far as I'm concerned. Listen to the full version by the late Jeff Buckley (died in '97) and then listen to the shortened version by Jason Castro. I am looking forward to hearing him perform the full version.

(Jeff Buckley)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AratTMGrHaQ&feature=related

(Jason Castro)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2nRxKC-OyAhave just discovered this fabulous song and wanted to share! It's rare today for me hear a "new" song that so totally moves me. Of all the things I can think of doing in this world, if I could do anything at all, it would be to write great songs......ones that people would remember all their lives. Hallelujah!

P.S. Just found my favorite version so far. Listen to this. Wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2NEU6Xf7lM&feature=related

2009-01-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

~~~~~ The late Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931 - 2005 ~~~~~

(three-time past president of the Southern Baptist Convention)

2009-01-11T13:27:00.001-08:00

WHAT WILL MATTER

by Michael Josephson

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end. It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when your gone.
What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.
It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.

2008-12-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

Barrack Obama.....Our Christmas Present

Overly Confident or Narcissistic?
Meek or Haughty?
Humble or Arrogant?
Agent of Change or “Business as usual”?

We were sold a “bill of goods” and the packaging was all shiny with pretty ribbon though many of us could see beyond the glitzy wrapping. We’ve all heard the expression, “You get what you pay for.” Well, we are all going to get exactly what we paid for……...but the actual cost is yet to be determined.
Already some of his supporters are experiencing buyer’s remorse. After all, the tinsel is off, so to speak, and it’s starting to look more and more like the package is somewhat empty. The media is being forced to report on the Illinois political cesspool where filth keeps floating to the top. Are the unsavory connections starting to make sense now? Are you connecting the dots? Not yet? Hold you nose…….it’s just beginning to smell like a rotten Christmas present...........ONE THAT'S NON-RETURNABLE.

2008-10-26T09:53:00.000-07:00

A REAL HALLOWEEN SCARE

“Trickle-down economics" and "trickle-down theory" are terms of political rhetoric that refer to the policy of providing tax cuts or other benefits to businesses and rich individuals, in the belief that this will indirectly benefit the broad population. The term has been attributed to humorist Will Rogers, who said during the Great Depression that "money was all appropriated for the top in hopes that it would trickle down to the needy." (definition from Wickipedia)

In recent years, this “trickle down” theory has been closely identified with Regan’s tax policies and now George Bush and “the Rich Republicans.” According to the Democrats, this theory just doesn’t work and needs to be reversed. Big business and individuals making over a decided amount need to pay more to “spread the wealth around” as Obama recently correctly identified his true thinking on the matter. So according to my thinking, Barack “Robin Hood” Obama and Joe “Little John” are planning to rob the rich to give to the poor…...all in the name of “spreading the wealth” around. They don’t even deny it!

What we are talking about here people is TAX INCREASES! These tax increases will affect the providers of jobs, goods, services, and charitable contributions. Let’s look at the obvious under Obama’s plan:

· Higher corporate taxes….more jobs move overseas.
· More American dollars go to offshore financial institutions.
· Higher tax on the oil companies…...you already know what that means.
· Fewer charitable contributions……..who suffers?
· Work force will be cut…….who is hurt?
· Socialized medicine….do you really think that only 20% of taxpayers will fund this?
· Increase in social spending to unprecedented amounts.
· A redistribution of dollars to the same low income people who have repeatedly squandered other government handouts.

Obama’s plan reduces investment and punishes wealth. Never mind that millions of Americans are counting on their investments to help fund their retirement. The main thing that strikes me about Obama is that he is really counting on the average American NOT understanding the basic economics of tax policies. Sad to say, that’s exactly what has happened.

My husband & I own a remodeling firm that has a total of 5 employees and keeps many, many sub-contractors busy on a daily basis. We have been fortunate that our business has continued to prosper even during economic downturns. With the recent financial market meltdowns and the “Scary Factor” of an Obama presidency, in this past week two clients (90% of our clients make $200,000. + a year) have put their jobs on “hold.” How many sub-contractors will make less money now? How many vendors will sell less product? How many future jobs will be put on hold or even cancelled? SO.......where does this leave "the little guy?" Isn't this the one that Obama wants to help?

THAT, my friends, is real “Trickle Down Economics.”
THAT is the Witch’s Brew that is Obama’s tax plan.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!!!

2008-10-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

AMERICA

First they came after the global warming deniers and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a denier .......at least not in public.

Then they came after the hate-speech mongers (ministers and anyone who doesn't believe in same-sex marriage), but I didn't speak up because I never said I was against same-sex marriage....at least not in public.

Then they came after the Mormons and evangelical Christians and and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Mormon and didn't call myself "evangelical."

Then they came after "the wealthy"and I didn't speak up because I wasn't one of "the wealthy."

Then they came after the conservative radio hosts and bloggers and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a radio host or blogger.

Then they came after blue collar "Joes" who dared to question Obama's socialistic tax plans and I didn't speak up because I never dared to question The Anointed One about anything .....in public.

Then they came for me.........and by that time, no one was left to speak up.

Think that America is immune to fascism?
Think again.

2008-09-21T19:59:00.001-07:00

OIL LEASE, BURKBURNETT, TX

2008-09-04T06:34:00.000-07:00

SARAH PLAIN AND TALL

"Sarah Palin: babies, guns, Jesus. Hot damn!"

Rush Limbaugh hit the nail on the head. Hot damn! I am finally excited.
As I was watching Sarah’s speech last night during the RNC, I was getting emails from my 27 year old daughter.
“She kicks a__!” “She’s my new hero.” “I want to be like her when I grow up!”
Can I even begin to explain this? The liberals are going nuts (& are being vicious). Me thinks they doth protest too much! Let’s face it. They are scared. And they should be. And better yet…… they finally have a reason to be. During the primary I had written a long email to many of my email friends stating all the reasons I couldn’t support John McCain. After he won the primary (surprise to me), in lieu of the alternative, I can only support John McCain. As with Bush, I am certain there will be many issues on which I will disagree with him, but I can at least intellectually and emotionally get behind this ticket now. I know the Vice President isn’t a defining player in the executive branch, but perhaps Sarah can turn it into more than it has been.
If anyone can, she can.
I like her. I really, really like her! She makes Joe Biden look like a whiny Chihuahua.

What's the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?, she asked.
Answer: Lipstick.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! Sic’em!

2008-07-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Radio talk show host Michael Medved finishes every broadcast with a sentence that ends “in this greatest nation on God’s green earth.” We are, you know……………the greatest nation on God’s green earth. How many Americans wake up every morning and thank God for living in such a great country? How many ever even think of the price in blood that was paid for these incredible freedoms we enjoy?

John McCain recently responded to Phil Gramm’s remark that we are all a bunch of whiners by denouncing the statement and throwing Gramm under the bus, so to speak. Well, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate our attitudes and our whiney nature.

OK, I am going to say it!.

WE ARE INCREDIBLY SPOILED AND WE ARE WHINERS.

Of course, the main cause of our complaining right now is the cost of gas and the subsequent escalating cost of food prices and other necessities. It certainly is a big point of concern, and I resent the heck out of paying $75 to fill up the tank, knowing that in a few weeks, it could be $100.

But, let’s put aside all the things we agree on like ……
· Yes, we feel we are being ripped off by big oil companies.
· Yes, we should have weaned ourselves off foreign oil years ago.
· Yes, we needed a comprehensive energy plan yesterday.
· Yes, we should have seen this coming.

BUT, let’s just consider some of the many things we have to be thankful for……………

· WE CAN VOTE FREELY WITH NO WORRY OF BEING ATTACKED
· THERE IS PLENTY OF FOOD AT THE GROCERY STORE OR WE CAN GROW SOME THINGS OURSELVES
· WE HAVE A REFRIGERATOR (OR TWO) AND USUALLY A FREEZER
· WE HAVE AT LEAST ONE GOOD VEHICLE TO DRIVE (USUALLY TWO OR THREE) AND THERE IS FUEL AVAILABLE EVERY FEW BLOCKS
· OUR HOUSES AND CARS ARE AIR-CONDITIONED IN THE SUMMER AND HEATED IN THE WINTER
· WE HAVE WATER FOR SHOWERS, TO WASH OUR CAR, TO WATER OUR YARD, AND WATER FOR THE WASHING MACHINE THAT WASHES OUR CLOTHES
· IF WE ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE A SWIMMING POOL (& MANY DO), WE HAVE PLENTY OF WATER FOR THE POOL
· WE HAVE A CLOTHES DRYER
· WE DON’T JUST HAVE ONE TELEVISION; CHANCES ARE WE HAVE SEVERAL THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE
· MOST OF US HAVE A MOBILE PHONE AND WE PROBABLY HAVE A LAND LINE IN OUR HOMES WITH SEVERAL EXTENSIONS.
· WE HAVE A COMPUTER AND UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE INTERNET
· MOST OF US HAVE CABLE TV AND CAN CHOOSE FROM MULTIPLE NEWS SOURCES AND PERSPECTIVES. IF WE DON’T WANT NEWS, WE CAN CHOOSE FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF MOVIE CHANNELS
· IF WE CHOOSE NOT TO HAVE A TELEVISION IN OUR HOMES, THERE ARE MORE AM & FM RADIO STATIONS THAT WE CAN LISTEN TO FOR NEWS, DIVERSE OPINIONS, AND ALL GENRES OF MUSIC
AND SO ON, AND SO ON, AND SO ON..............

The list is literally endless !

Quite a few years ago after returning from a trip to Europe, I was acutely aware of just how much there was to appreciate about our great country. Some of the people we stayed with were fairly affluent. They had a small undercounter refrigerator,no freezer. They had a washing machine but no clothes dryer. They had to walk to the neighborhood market on a near daily basis for basic items like milk and bread and meat. I remember wanting ice for a glass of tea. There was a few small cubes available. I remember walking all over Paris on a fairly warm and humid day. Every vendor I approached could only offer a canned drink that was slightly cooled……no ice. When I needed to wash my clothes, there was no clothes dryer. I hung them out to dry. I wasn’t particularly bothered, only slightly inconvenienced. After all, “When in Rome……,” right? The point I am making is that these “slight inconveniences” only magnify why some Europeans call us spoiled Americans. Let’s admit it. We are. We want everything to be easy. We want change “yesterday.” Our sense of entitlement has run amuck! Are we willing to make any sacrifices on that long list of perks to help us survive this economic crunch? If not, then I’m afraid we are reinforcing that stereotype of the spoiled American. I’m not suggesting we need to live like Europeans, but let’s face it….. probably half the world’s population would be happy just to have a roof over their head. Politicians flap their jaws about “global warming”, then go hop in their chauffeured SUVs or Town Cars to get back to their 6,000 + SF homes. Or there’s the average Joe American. He (or she) uses paper sacks, buys whole and organic foods, saves the plastic water bottles for recycling that took more of a toll on the environment to produce & deliver to the point of sale than his saving the plastic can ever offset, and then he jumps in his Prius and drives thirty miles each way to get back to his 3,000 SF McMansion. Sooooooo……….you get the gist of my message. I’m OK with being a bit spoiled. Really, I am.
But STOP COMPLAINING !!!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media.
Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage.
Do what you can to conserve and cut back where necessary.
Cut coupons; cut Starbucks...........you get the message!
Then start being grateful for all we have “IN THIS GREATEST NATION ON GOD’S GREEN EARTH!”

2008-07-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

FREEDOM IS NEVER FREE

The Boys of Iwo Jima (From the book, Straight From the Heart)

By Michael T. Powers

Each year my video production company is hired to go to Washington, D.C. with the eighth grade class from Clinton, Wisconsin where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable. On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history-that of the six brave Marines raising the American flag at the top of Mount Surabachi on the Island of Iwo Jima, Japan during WW II. Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, "Where are you guys from?"I told him that we were from Wisconsin."Hey, I'm a Cheesehead, too! Come gather around Cheeseheads, and I will tell you a story." James Bradley just happened to be in Washington,D.C. to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good-night to his dad,who has since passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington, D.C. but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night.When all had gathered around he reverently began to speak. Here are his words from that night:

"My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo,Wisconsin. My dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called Flags of Our Fathers which is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me. Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game, a game called "War." But it didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of twenty-one, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out; I say that because there are generals who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen years old. (He pointed to the statue) You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken, and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph. A photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection, because he was scared. He was eighteen years old. Boys won the battle of Iwo Jima. Boys. Not old men. The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the "old man" because he was so old. He was already twenty-four. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, "Let's go kill the enemy" or "Let's die for our country." He knew he was talking to little boys. Instead he would say, "You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers."The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona. Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima. He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, "You're a hero." He told reporters, "How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only twenty-seven of us walked off alive?" So you take your class at school. 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only twenty-seven of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes died dead drunk, face down at the age of thirty-two, ten years after this picture was taken. The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky, a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, "Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epson salts. Those cows crapped all night." Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of nineteen. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning. The neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away. The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley from Antigo,Wisconsin, where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's producers, or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say, "No, I'm sorry sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back." My dad never fished or even went to Canada. Usually he was sitting right there at the table eating his Campbell's soup, but we had to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press. You see, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a caregiver. In Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died, and when boys died in Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed in pain. When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, "I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. DID NOT come back." So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima, and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time." Suddenly the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a hero in his own eyes, but a hero nonetheless. End Note: A few days before placing the flag, John Bradley had braved enemy mortar and machine-gunfire to administer first aid to a wounded Marine and then drag him to safety. For this act of heroism he would receive the Navy Cross, an award second only to the Medal of Honor. Bradley never mentioned his feat to his family. Only after his death did Bradley's son, James, begin to piece together the facts of his father's heroism.

Michael T. Powers

HeartTouchers@aol.com

2008-07-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

The Neal Boortz Commencement Speech
No, this speech has never been delivered at a college or a university. It was written to protest the fact that such an invitation has never been offered! It has only been delivered on my radio show, printed in my book "The Terrible Truth About Liberals" and produced on a limited edition CD. The irony is that this commencement speech has been more widely distributed, and has been the subject of more comment than any commencement speech that actually has been delivered at any college or university in the past 50 years. ©Copyright 2001, 2002, 2003 by Neal Boortz. http://www.boortz.com/

I am honored by the invitation to address you on this august occasion. It's about time. Be warned, however, that I am not here to impress you; you'll have enough smoke blown your way today. And you can bet your tassels I'm not here to impress the faculty and administration. You may not like much of what I have to say, and that's fine. You will remember it though. Especially after about 10 years out there in the real world. This, it goes without saying, does not apply to those of you who will seek your careers and your fortunes as government employees. This gowned gaggle behind me is your faculty. You've heard the old saying that those who can - do. Those who can't - teach. That sounds deliciously insensitive. But there is often raw truth in insensitivity, just as you often find feel-good falsehoods and lies in compassion. Say good-bye to your faculty because now you are getting ready to go out there and do. These folks behind me are going to stay right here and teach. By the way, just because you are leaving this place with a diploma doesn't mean the learning is over. When an FAA flight examiner handed me my private pilot's license many years ago, he said, 'Here, this is your ticket to learn.' The same can be said for your diploma. Believe me, the learning has just begun. Now, I realize that most of you consider yourselves Liberals. In fact, you are probably very proud of your liberal views. You care so much. You feel so much. You want to help so much. After all, you're a compassionate and caring person, aren't you now? Well, isn't that just so extraordinarily special. Now, at this age, is as good a time as any to be a Liberal; as good a time as any to know absolutely everything. You have plenty of time, starting tomorrow, for the truth to set in. Over the next few years, as you begin to feel the cold breath of reality down your neck, things are going to start changing pretty fast .. including your own assessment of just how much you really know. So here are the first assignments for your initial class in reality: Pay attention to the news, read newspapers, and listen to the words and phrases that proud Liberals use to promote their causes. Then compare the words of the left to the words and phrases you hear from those evil, heartless, greedy conservatives. From the Left you will hear "I feel." From the Right you will hear "I think." From the Liberals you will hear references to groups --The Blacks, The Poor, The Rich, The Disadvantaged, The Less Fortunate. From the Right you will hear references to individuals. On the Left you hear talk of group rights; on the Right, individual rights. That about sums it up, really: Liberals feel. Liberals care. They are pack animals whose identity is tied up in group dynamics. Conservatives and Libertarians think -- and, setting aside the theocracy crowd, their identity is centered on the individual. Liberals feel that their favored groups, have enforceable rights to the property and services of productive individuals. Conservatives (and Libertarians, myself among them I might add) think that individuals have the right to protect their lives and their property from the plunder of the masses. In college you developed a group mentality, but if you look closely at your diplomas you will see that they have your individual names on them. Not the name of your school mascot, or of your fraternity or sorority, butyourname. Your group identity is going away. Your recognition and appreciation of your individual identity starts now. If, by the time you reach the age of 30, you do not consider yourself to be a libertarian or a conservative, rush right back here as quickly as you can and apply for a faculty position. These people will welcome you with open arms. They will welcome you, that is, so long as you haven't developed an individual identity. Once again you will have to be willing to sign on to the group mentality you embraced during the past four years. Something is going to happen soon that is going to really open your eyes. You're going to actually get a full time job! You're also going to get a lifelong work partner. This partner isn't going to help you do your job. This partner is just going to sit back and wait for payday. This partner doesn't want to share in your effort, just your earnings. Your new lifelong partner is actually an agent; an agent representing a strange and diverse group of people. An agent for every teenager with an illegitimate child. An agent for a research scientist who wanted to make some cash answering the age-old question of why monkeys grind their teeth. An agent for some poor aging hippie who considers herself to be a meaningful and talented artist ... but who just can't manage to sell any of her artwork on the open market. Your new partner is an agent for every person with limited, if any, job skills; for every person who ignored all offered educational opportunities, dreaming of nothing more than a job at City Hall. An agent for tin-horn dictators in fancy military uniforms grasping for American foreign aid. An agent for multi-million-dollar companies who want someone else to pay for their overseas advertising. An agent for everybody who wants to use the unimaginable power of this agent's for their personal enrichment and benefit. That agent is our wonderful, caring, compassionate, oppressive Imperial Federal Government. Believe me, you will be awed by the unimaginable power this agent has. Power that you do not have. A power that no individual has, will have or should have. This agent has the legal power to use force – deadly force – to accomplish its goals. You have no choice here. Your new friend is just going to walk up to you, introduce itself rather gruffly, hand you a few forms to fill out, and move right on in. Say hello to your own personal one ton gorilla with a gun. It will sleep anywhere it wants to. Now, let me tell you, this agent is not cheap. As you become successful it will seize about 40% of everything you earn. And no, I'm sorry, there just isn't any way you can fire this agent of plunder, and you can't decrease it's share of your income. That power rests with him, not you. So, here I am saying negative things to you about government. Well, be clear on this: It is not wrong to distrust government. It is not wrong to fear government. In certain cases it is not even wrong to despise government for government is inherently evil. Oh yes, I know it's a necessary evil, but it is dangerous nonetheless ... somewhat like a drug. Just as a drug that in the proper dosage can save your life, an overdose of government can be fatal. Now – let's address a few things that have been crammed into your minds at this university. There are some ideas you need to expunge as soon as possible. These ideas may work well in academic environment, but they fail miserably out there in the real world. First – that favorite buzz word of the media, government and academia: Diversity! You have been taught that the real value of any group of people - be it a social group, an employee group, a management group, whatever - is based on diversity. This is a favored liberal ideal because diversity is based not on an individual's abilities or character, but on a person's identity and status as a member of a group. Yes – it's that liberal group identity thing again. Within the great diversity movement group identification - be it racial, gender based, or some other minority status - means more than the individual's integrity, character or other qualifications. Brace yourself. You are about to move from this academic atmosphere where diversity rules, to a workplace and a culture where individual achievement and excellence actually count. No matter what your professors have taught you over the last four years, you are about to learn that diversity is absolutely no replacement for excellence, ability, and individual hard work. From this day on every single time you hear the word "diversity" you can rest assured that there is someone close by who is determined to rob you of every vestige of individuality you possess. We also need to address this thing you seem to have about "rights." We have witnessed an obscene explosion of so-called "rights" in the last few decades, usually emanating from college campuses. You know the mantra: You have the right to a job. The right to a place to live. The right to a living wage. The right to health care. The right to an education. You probably even have your own pet right - the right to a Beemer, for instance, or the right to have someone else provide for that child you plan on downloading in a year or so. Forget it. Forget those rights! I'll tell you what your rights are! You have a right to live free, and to whatever wealth you are able to produce with your labor. I'll also tell you have no right to any portion of the life or labor of another. You may think, for instance, that you have a right to health care. After all, Hillary said so, didn't she? But you cannot receive health care unless some doctor or health practitioner surrenders some of his time - his life - to you. He may be willing to do this for compensation, but that's his choice. You have no "right" to his time or property. You have no right to his or any other person's life or to any portion thereof. You may also think you have some "right" to a job; a job with a living wage, whatever that is. Do you mean to tell me that you have a right to force your services on another person, and then the right to demand that this person compensate you with their money? I can't wait for you to point that one out for me in our Constitution. I sure would like to be a fly on the wall when some urban outdoorsmen (that would be "homeless person" for those of you who don't want to give these less fortunate people a romantic and adventurous title) came to you and demanded his job and your money. The people who have been telling you about all the rights you have are simply exercising one of theirs - the right to be imbeciles. Their being imbeciles didn't cost anyone else either property or time. It's their right, and they exercise it brilliantly. By the way, did you catch my use of the phrase "less fortunate" a bit ago when I was talking about the urban outdoorsmen? That phrase is a favorite of the Left. Think about it, and you'll understand why. To imply that one person is homeless, destitute, dirty, drunk, spaced out on drugs, unemployable, and generally miserable because he is "less fortunate" is to imply that a successful person - one with a job, a home and a future - is in that position because he or she was "fortunate." The dictionary says that fortunate means "having derived good from an unexpected place." There is nothing unexpected about deriving good from hard work. There is also nothing unexpected about deriving misery from choosing drugs, alcohol, and the street instead of education and personal responsibility. If the Left can create the common perception that success and failure are simple matters of "fortune" or "luck," then it is easy to promote and justify their various income redistribution schemes. After all, we are just evening out the odds a little bit, aren't we? This "success equals luck" idea the liberals like to push is seen everywhere. Democratic presidential candidate Richard Gephardt refers to high-achievers as "people who have won life's lottery." He wants you to believe they are making the big bucks because they are lucky; all they did was buy the right lottery ticket. What an insult this is to the man or woman who works that 60 hour week to provide for a family. It's not luck, my friends. It's choice. One of the greatest lessons I ever learned was in a book by Og Mandino, entitled "The Greatest Secret in the World." The lesson? Very simple: "Use wisely your power of choice." That bum sitting on a heating grate, smelling like a wharf rat? He's there by choice. He is there because of the sum total of the choices he has made in his life. This truism is absolutely the hardest thing for some people to accept, especially those who consider themselves to be victims of something or other - victims of discrimination, bad luck, the system, capitalism, whatever. After all, nobody really wants to accept the blame for his or her position in life. Not when it is so much easier to point and say, "Look! He did this to me!" than it is to look into a mirror and say, "You S.O.B.! You did this to me!" The key to accepting responsibility for your life is to accept the fact that your choices, every one of them, are leading you inexorably to either success or failure, however you define those terms. Some of the choices are obvious: Whether or not to stay in school. Whether or not to get pregnant. Whether or not to hit the bottle. Whether or not to keep this job you hate until you get another better-paying job. Whether or not to save some of your money, or saddle yourself with huge payments for that new car. Some of the choices are seemingly insignificant: Whom to go to the movies with. Whose car to ride home in. Whether to watch the tube tonight, or read a book on investing. But, and you can be sure of this, each choice counts. Each choice is a building block - some large, some small. But each one is a part of the structure of your life. If you make the right choices, or if you make more right choices than wrong ones, something absolutely terrible may happen to you. Something unthinkable. You, my friend, could become one of the hated, the evil, the ugly, the feared, the filthy, the successful, the rich. Quite a few people have followed that tragic path. The rich basically serve two purposes in this country. First, they provide the investments, the investment capital, and the brains for the formation of new businesses. Businesses that hire people. Businesses that send millions of paychecks home each week to the un-rich. Second, the rich are a wonderful object of ridicule, distrust, and hatred. Few things are more valuable to a politician than the envy most Americans feel for the evil rich. Envy is a powerful emotion. Even more powerful than the emotional minefield that surrounded Bill Clinton when he reviewed his last batch of White House interns. Politicians use envy to get votes and power. And they keep that power by promising the envious that the envied will be punished: "The rich will pay their fair share of taxes if I have anything to do with it.' The truth is that the top 10% of income earners in this country pays almost 50% of all income taxes collected. I shudder to think what these job producers would be paying if our tax system were any more "fair." You have heard, no doubt, that in America the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Interestingly enough, our government's own numbers show that many of the poor actually get richer, and that quite a few of the rich actually get poorer. But for the rich who do actually get richer, and the poor who remain poor ... there's an explanation -- a reason. The rich, you see, keep doing the things that make them rich; while the poor keep doing the things that make them poor. Speaking of the poor, during your adult life you are going to hear an endless string of politicians bemoaning the plight of the poor in America. So, you need to know that under our government's definition of "poor" you can have a $5 million net worth, a $300,000 home and a new $90,000 Mercedes, all completely paid for. You can also have a maid, cook, and valet, and $1 million in your checking account, and you can still be officially defined by our government as "living in poverty." Now there's something you haven't seen on the evening news. How does the government pull this one off? Very simple, really. To determine whether or not some poor soul is "living in poverty," the government measures one thing -- just one thing. Income. It doesn't matter one bit how much you have, how much you own, how many cars you drive or how big they are, whether or not your pool is heated, whether you winter in Aspen and spend the summers in the Bahamas, or how much is in your savings account. It only matters how much income you claim in that particular year. This means that if you take a one-year leave of absence from your high-paying job and decide to live off the money in your savings and checking accounts while you write the next great American novel, the government says you are 'living in poverty." This isn't exactly what you had in mind when you heard these gloomy statistics, is it? Do you need more convincing? Try this. The government's own statistics show that people who are said to be "living in poverty" spend more than $1.50 for each dollar of income they claim. Something is a bit fishy here. just remember all this the next time Peter Jennings puffs up and tells you about some hideous new poverty statistics. And please remember this: The average person in this country described as "poor" has a higher standard of living than the average European. Not the average "poor" European, the average European. Why has the government concocted this phony poverty scam? Because the government needs an excuse to grow and to expand its social welfare programs, which translates into an expansion of its power. If the government can convince you, in all your compassion,that the number of "poor" is increasing, it will have all the excuse it needs to sway an electorate suffering from the advanced stages of Obsessive-Compulsive Compassion Disorder. Well, it looks like I'm about to be given the hook. The faculty looks a little angry. I'll bet they've already changed their minds about that honorary degree I was going to get.That's OK, though. I still have my Ph.D. in Insensitivity from the Neal Boortz Institute for Insensitivity Training. I learned that, in short, sensitivity sucks. It's a trap. Think about it - the truth knows no sensitivity. Life can be insensitive. Wallow too much in sensitivity and you'll be unable to deal with life, or the truth. So, get over it. Now, before the dean has me shackled and hauled off, I have a few random thoughts.

1. You need to register to vote, unless you are on welfare. If you are living off the efforts of others, please do us the favor of sitting down and shutting up until you are on your own again.

2. To the welfare class I say that we're taking care of you we would appreciate if if you would just stay out of our way so we can get the job done.

3. When you do vote, your votes for the House and the Senate are more important than your vote for president. The House controls the purse strings, so concentrate your awareness there.Liars cannot be trusted, even when the liar is the president of the United States. If someone can't deal honestly with you, send them packing.

4. Don't bow to the temptation to use the government as an instrument of plunder. If it is wrong for you to take money from someone else who earned it -- to take their money by force for your own needs -- then it is certainly just as wrong for you to demand that the government step forward and do this dirty work for you.

5. Don't look in other people's pockets. You have no business there. What they earn is theirs. What your earn is yours. Keep it that way. Nobody owes you anything, except to respect your privacy and your rights, and leave you the hell alone.

6. Speaking of earning, the revered 40-hour workweek is for losers. Forty hours should be considered the minimum, not the maximum. You don't see highly successful people clocking out of the office every afternoon at five. The losers are the ones caught up in that afternoon rush hour. The winners drive home in the dark.

7. Free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech. Popular speech, by definition, needs no protection.

8. Finally (and aren't you glad to hear that word), as Og Mandino wrote:

1. Proclaim your rarity. Each of you is a rare and unique human being.

2. Use wisely your power of choice.

3. Go the extra mile ... drive home in the dark.

Oh, and put off buying a television set as long as you can. Now, if you have any idea at all what's good for you, you will get the hell out of here and never come back. Class dismissed.

2008-07-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

CONSERVATIVE ICON JESSE HELMS DIES

Raleigh, N.C. — Jesse Helms, the firebrand United States senator whose outspoken, conservative views polarized North Carolina and U.S. voters for decades, died at 1:15 a.m. Friday in Raleigh, according to John Dodd, president of the Jesse Helms Center.He joins the second, third and fifth presidents of the United States – John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe – who also died on Independence Day. He was 86.

Jesse Helms Quotes on Life and Politics
Some quotes of Jesse Helms, who died on the Fourth of July at age 86

"I'm so old-fashioned I believe in horse whipping." _ During a debate in 1991 on an AIDS-related amendment.

"Well, there is no joy in Mudville tonight. The mighty ultraliberal establishment, and the liberal politicians and editors and commentators and columnists, have struck out again." _ Helms after defeating black Democrat Harvey Gantt for Senate in 1990.

"I came up between the two world wars during the Depression. All the people around me emphasized working and savings and personal responsibility. They spelled out in one way or another the uniqueness of America. This has largely been lost. Nobody would have thought of turning to the government to solve all our problems." _ 1984 interview.

"The destruction of this country can be pinpointed in terms of its beginnings to the time that our political leadership turned to socialism. They didn't call it socialism, of course. It was given deceptive names and adorned with fancy slogans. We heard about New Deals, and Fair Deals and New Frontiers and the Great Society." _ From a Helms editorial at WRAL-TV in Raleigh.

"I shall always remember the shady streets, the quiet Sundays, the cotton wagons, the Fourth of July parades, the New Year's Eve firecrackers. I shall never forget the stream of school kids marching uptown to place flowers on the Courthouse Square monument on Confederate Memorial Day." _ Helms writing in 1956 on life in his hometown of Monroe, N.C.

"If he taught us anything, he taught us that we are personally responsible and accountable. I remember that day, and always will, when he called in several from the senior class. ... He said you can make it in this country. He said it's going to take hard work. ... He said you're going to succeed. He said you'll own your own homes and you'll have two cars and all that. I thought this man had lost his mind." _ Helms reflecting on his high school principal.

"Compromise, hell! That's what has happened to us all down the line _ and that's the very cause of our woes. If freedom is right and tyranny is wrong, why should those who believe in freedom treat it as if it were a roll of bologna to be bartered a slice at a time?" _ Helms writing in 1959 on compromise in politics.

2008-06-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

I was cruising around the internet looking at definitions and explanations of the word antichrist after listening to a talk radio host speak to a caller who believed that Obama himself is the antichrist. This man was a bible scholar, spoke 5 languages and very effectively presented his reasons for believing such. I really don't know if it is a stretch or not. I do know that I think the man is not trustworthy and has a hard time with the truth. Alot of myths and stories have been woven into a web around him, and I find it scary that the mainstream media , as well as his loyal followers, question nothing he says.......not even when there are facts to dispute the fabrications.
The passage below is one example I ran across of a post someone (unnamed) posted to a blogger's site.

I think this person hit the nail on the head.

Where are the journalists checking out the facts and trying to bring out truth at all costs? Where is even one?

Feb 29, 2008
Here's part of what Obama has said...If this would have been John McCain or Hillary Clinton, they would have already been called on this!

"...something happened back here in Selma, Alabama. Something happened in Birmingham that sent out what Bobby Kennedy called, "ripples of hope all around the world." Something happened when a bunch of women decided they were going to walk instead of ride the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry, looking after somebody else's children.
"When (black) men who had PhD's decided 'that's enough' and 'we're going to stand up for our dignity,' that sent a shout across oceans so that my grandfather began to imagine something different for his son. His son, who grew up herding goats in a small village in Africa could suddenly set his sights a little higher and believe that maybe a black man in this world had a chance."

"So the Kennedy's decided we're going to do an airlift. We're going to go to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and give them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country America is."
"This young man named Barack Obama got one of those tickets and came over to this country. He met this woman whose great great-great-great- grandfather had owned slaves; but she had a good idea there was some craziness going on because they looked at each other and they decided that we know that, (in) the world as it has been, it might not be possible for us to get together and have a child. There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. Was born. So don't tell me I don't have a claim on Selma , Alabama. Don't tell me I'm not coming home to Selma, Alabama."

Okay, so what's wrong with that? It all sounds good. But is it?

Obama told his audience that, because some folks had the courage to "march across a bridge" in Selma, Alabama, his mother, a white woman from Kansas, and his father, a black Muslim from Africa, took heart. It gave them the courage to get married and have a child. The problem with that characterization is that Barrack Obama, Jr., was born on August 4, 1961, while the first of three marches across that bridge in Selma didn't occur until March 7, 1965, at least five years after Obama's parents met.

Obama went on to tell his audience that the Kennedys, Jack and Bobby, decided to do an airlift. They would bring some young Africans over so that they could be educated and learn all about America. His grandfather heard that call and sent his son, Barrack Obama, Sr., to America. The problem with that scenario is that, having been born in August 1961, the future senator was not conceived until sometime in November 1960. So if this African grandfather heard words that ''sent a shout across oceans,'' inspiring him to send his goat-herder son to America, it was not a Democrat Jack Kennedy he heard, nor his brother Bobby, it was a Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Obama's speech is reminiscent of Al Gore's claim of having invented the Internet, Hillary Clinton's claim of having been named after the first man to climb Mt. Everest, even though she was born five years and seven months before Sir Edmund climbed the mountain, and John Kerry's imaginary trip to Cambodia.

As one of my black friends, Eddie Huff, has said, "We need to ask some very serious questions of the senator from Illinois. It's not enough to be black, it's not enough to be articulate, and it's not enough to be eloquent and a media darling. The only question will be how deaf an ear,or how blind an eye will people turn in order to turn a frog into a prince."

2008-05-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

SUCKER PUNCHED BY KHRUSHCHEV
Obama Needs To Read This

This needs to be passed around and around until everyone knows what can happen in well-intentioned meetings with one's adversaries.

Kennedy Talked, Khrushchev Triumphed From New York Times op-ed:
Nathan Thrall is a journalist. Jesse James Wilkins is a doctoral candidate in political science at Columbia.

May 22, 2008

Senator Obama defended his position by again enlisting Kennedy's
legacy: "If George Bush and John McCain have a problem with direct
diplomacy led by the president of the United States, then they can
explain why they have a problem with John F. Kennedy, because that's
what he did with Khrushchev."

But Kennedy's one presidential meeting with Nikita Khrushchev, the
Soviet premier, suggests that there are legitimate reasons to fear
negotiating with one's adversaries. Although Kennedy was keenly aware
of some of the risks of such meetings - his Harvard thesis was titled
"Appeasement at Munich" - he embarked on a summit meeting with
Khrushchev in Vienna in June 1961, a move that would be recorded as
one of the more self-destructive American actions of the cold war, and
one that contributed to the most dangerous crisis of the nuclear age.

Senior American statesmen like George Kennan advised Kennedy not to
rush into a high-level meeting, arguing that Khrushchev had engaged
in anti-American propaganda and that the issues at hand could as well
be addressed by lower-level diplomats. Kennedy's own secretary of
state, Dean Rusk, had argued much the same in a Foreign Affairs
article the previous year: "Is it wise to gamble so heavily? Are not
these two men who should be kept apart until others have found a sure
meeting ground of accommodation between them?"

But Kennedy went ahead, and for two days he was pummeled by the
Soviet leader. Despite his eloquence, Kennedy was no match as a
sparring partner, and offered only token resistance as Khrushchev
lectured him on the hypocrisy of American foreign policy, cautioned
America against supporting "old, moribund, reactionary regimes" and
asserted that the United States, which had valiantly risen against
the British, now stood "against other peoples following its suit."
Khrushchev used the opportunity of a face-to-face meeting to warn
Kennedy that his country could not be intimidated and that it was
"very unwise" for the United States to surround the Soviet Union with
military bases.

Nikita punk'd him:

Kennedy's aides convinced the press at the time that behind closed
doors the president was performing well, but American diplomats in
attendance, including the ambassador to the Soviet Union, later said
they were shocked that Kennedy had taken so much abuse. Paul Nitze,
the assistant secretary of defense, said the meeting was "just a
disaster." Khrushchev's aide, after the first day, said the American
president seemed "very inexperienced, even immature." Khrushchev
agreed, noting that the youthful Kennedy was "too intelligent and too
weak." The Soviet leader left Vienna elated - and with a very low
opinion of the leader of the free world.

Kennedy's assessment of his own performance was no less severe.
Only a few minutes after parting with Khrushchev, Kennedy, a World
War II veteran, told James Reston of The New York Times that the
summit meeting had been the "roughest thing in my life." Kennedy went
on: "He just beat the hell out of me. I've got a terrible problem if
he thinks I'm inexperienced and have no guts. Until we remove those
ideas we won't get anywhere with him."

A little more than two months later, Khrushchev gave the go-ahead
to begin erecting what would become the Berlin Wall. Kennedy had
resigned himself to it, telling his aides in private that "a wall is
a hell of a lot better than a war." The following spring, Khrushchev
made plans to "throw a hedgehog at Uncle Sam's pants": nuclear
missiles in Cuba. And while there were many factors that led to the
missile crisis, it is no exaggeration to say that the impression
Khrushchev formed at Vienna - of Kennedy as ineffective - was among
them.

If Barack Obama wants to follow in Kennedy's footsteps, he should
heed the lesson that Kennedy learned in his first year in office:
sometimes there is good reason to fear to negotiate.

2008-05-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

A SHORT FALL FROM GRACE

“A Messianic complex is not just the general wish to redeem the world or to improve the conditions of the world, but it includes another component equally as important. The messianic wish is not merely a general wish for improved conditions and for changes for the better, but the wish of that person to become personally the redeemer of the world.”

Sometimes, a group views a person as a sort of “messiah”. That person doesn’t have to make any claims to be a messiah, but if he is treated as such by his followers, the results are the same. I found part of this definition on the Internet and couldn’t find the source, but does anyone doubt that this “Messianic complex” very aptly describes Barrack Obama and the Democrats today?

They truly believe they need to save us from ourselves. (US….meaning “us” Republicans) They know best what this nation needs, but better yet, they know what’s best for you and me.

* They know that you don’t need guns (after all you are just angry and bitter).
* They know you need religion (as long as it is their brand of religion).
* They know the government needs to tell you how to eat, maybe even penalizing you financially if you order a Big Mac.
* They know the United States should grant amnesty to all the illegals that are here right now (especially those working in the agricultural industry). We must be compassionate.
* They know how best to raise your children (after all, It Takes a Village).
* They know that private schools and home schools could never be as effective as public education. (could it be that the Teacher’s Union is in the back pocket of the Democrats?)
* They know that sitting down with rogue leaders of terrorist nations will make us all feel better. After all, maybe we can finally find out why they don’t like us and talk them out of being bad .
* They want to reduce our military while muslim "jihad" is taking place all over the world.
* They want to disarm our nuclear capability while rogue nations are building up theirs.
* They know a little ole’ country like Iran couldn't possibly be a threat to a big ole’ country like the USA or our allies. (Israel?)
* They know that you want to have universal health care like Canada. After all, it has worked so well there. (just kidding!)
* They know that you really want to re-define the definition of marriage, because if you don’t, then you must be a nasty ole’ homophobe and they will have to pass some hate crime laws to keep you in line.
* And mostly…….they know that they are morally superior to you if you don’t think like they do.

When is someone who is politically prominent and respected by both parties going to have the kahonies to tell the masses swallowing this Obama Kool-Aid that the Democrats really do want them to stay on the plantation…..yes, even Obama.

When is it going to matter to the American people that Obama is an empty suit full of empty rhetoric? (Where is the press in investigating his less than savory ties and associations?) He can speak for hours and say nothing. His followers are so gullible they don’t even understand his use of “catch phrases” and “buzz words” to appeal to their fears?

As much as I find disdainful and disgusting about this phenomenon, perhaps it isn’t entirely their fault. The mainstream media has consistently portrayed Obama as the Great Redeemer, the Savior of the masses. They are indulging in a great orgiastic media-fest, the likes of which we haven’t seen since The Beatles and Elvis. When they granted John and Bobby Kennedy halos and wings, at least they were intelligent and had charisma. Obama only marginally meets the criteria for charisma . Anyone would be hard-pressed to name anything he has actually accomplished in his two short years in Congress that qualifies him to be President.

Seems I remember not so very long ago the Clinton's were the media darlings. Now, with the appearance of a new savior on the horizon, they have certainly lost their place among the celestial kingdom of bright media stars . They show us the masses of humanity at Obama’s events and portray him speaking to the crowd like Jesus preaching the Sermon on the Mount. Alas…..how quickly they anoint and then condemn to the depths of that place that shall go unnamed! If we’ve learned anything at all, it should be that people elevated to such heights by mere mortals cannot help but disappoint, fall from grace and generally fail us in ways we can’t even imagine yet. Obama might be riding a great wave for now, but he should be very, very afraid! It’s not such a long fall from Savior to Prince of Darkness. Just ask Bill and Hillary.

2006-02-15T21:21:00.000-08:00

THE PRESS TODAY HAS NO CREDIBILITY.
Has it occurred to anybody that freedom of the press is not even protected by the press anymore? We are not well served by the printed media or television news. The days we knew as reporting the news seem to be gone forever. They take a shred of truth and spin it to promote an agenda, and it’s not even a hidden agenda. It’s blatantly apparent to all but the most illiterate, and there are more of those than I care to think about. (If you believe there isn’t an agenda, please note the saturated reporting of the shooting accident involving Vice President Cheney, as opposed to ex-Vice President Gore going to Saudi Arabia and verbally trashing (in a very public forum) the United States of America in every way possible. Did you even hear about it?

Enough from me. Here is Dennis Prager’s column, and he waxes more eloquently than I ever could. Needless to say, I agree with everything he says. Give it some serious thought as you continue to subscribe to your local newspapers and passively listen to a news broadcast on television....cable or other.

American news media: little courage and little honesty
Feb 14, 2006 by Dennis Prager

"American news media have suffered in recent years. Thanks to the Internet and talk radio, millions of Americans have ceased relying on The New York Times and CNN for their written and televised news. But it is difficult to recall a greater blow to the credibility of American news media than their near-universal refusal to publish the Mohammed cartoons originally published in a Danish newspaper that have brought about worldwide Muslim protests.
This loss of credibility owes to two factors: dishonesty and cowardice.

Everyone and his mother knows why the networks and the print journals haven't shown the cartoons -- they fear Muslims blowing up their buildings and stabbing their editors to death. The only people who deny this are the news media. They all claim that they won't show the cartoons because of sensitivity to Muslim feelings. Which brings us to the other reason for the latest blow to the news media's credibility: They are lying to us. If some politicians were telling lies as blatantly as the news media are now, the media would be having a field day exposing those politicians and calling for their removal from office. But, alas, what TV news station will criticize another TV news station? And what newspaper or magazine will criticize another newspaper or magazine?

So, without anyone in the media holding them accountable, the news media continue to believe they can fool nearly all the people all the time when they say they are not publishing the cartoons out of respect for Muslim sensibilities.
Why is this false?

First, major papers in virtually every European country have published the cartoons. It is inconceivable that European papers are less concerned with Muslim sensibilities than American media are. If anything, in Europe they are more pro-Muslim given their anti-Israel and anti-American views and given that they live in countries with far greater numbers of Muslims than live in America.

Second, the reason to publish the cartoons is not to offend Muslims; it is to explain the most significant current news event in the world. How can anyone understand the Islamic riots without having seen the cartoons that triggered them? If millions of Christians rioted after cartoons were published in the Muslim world, does anyone doubt that the Western press would publish them, or that it had the obligation to do so?
The argument that people can see the cartoons on the Internet is specious. Anyone could see the photos of the abuse of Arab prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison on the Internet, yet the news media presented these photos day after day for weeks.

Third, the American press has routinely published cartoons and pictures that insult Christians and Jews. The Los Angeles Times published a cartoon depicting the stones of the Western Wall of the Jewish Temple, the holiest site to Jews, as spelling out the word "HATE" and showing a religious Jew bowing down before it. And what newspaper did not publish a photo of "Piss Christ," the Andres Serrano work of "art" depicting a crucifix in the artist's urine?
American newspapers "insult" every group whenever they feel like it, but no one riots, burns and kills because of it.

Fourth, the ban on depicting Mohammed applies to Muslims, not to non-Muslims. It is remarkable that American newspapers, so frightened of any breakdown between church and state, are suddenly guided by Muslim religious prohibitions.

Fifth, the argument that publishing the images would inflame Muslims' passions is another coverup for cowardice. No American newspaper or TV news show exhibited the slightest concern with inflaming Muslim passions when they endlessly published and depicted Abu Ghraib abuse photos.

If the liberal news media in America -- conservative Fox News and The Weekly Standard have shown the cartoons -- admitted they feared being hurt if they showed the cartoons, one would have respect for their honesty, if not their courage. But the liberal news media's lack of courage coupled with their dishonest justifications make for a devastating commentary on American news media.

One should not be surprised. A few years ago, New York Times foreign affairs reporter John Burns reported -- to his great credit -- that some of the most prestigious American news organizations had made a deal with Saddam Hussein not to report negatively about his regime in exchange for being allowed to have a Baghdad news bureau.

When it comes to taking on conservatives, Catholics, Evangelicals and the like, liberal news media are Supermen. When it comes to confronting real evil, however, the news media are Mickey Mouse."

Dennis Prager is a radio talk show host, author, and contributing columnist for Townhall.com.
Copyright © 2006 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

2006-02-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

I CONFESS........I can find myself caught up in (what did my anthropology professor call it?) CONSPICUOUS CONSUMER CONSUMPTION............ as much as the next person. I am barely recovered from Christmas and Valentine’s Day is being shoved down my throat. Did you notice that the Valentine cards were out on the shelves before the Christmas cards were put away? So..... I’ve done what any normal, red-blooded American would do. I’ve purchased & put together Valentine gifts for my husband, my Mother & my adult daughter. Cards (including one from the cat & dog), a musical card (no...it’s not Wild Thing), CD’s, candy hearts, a book, a frilly little top from Target (50%off!), gift soap from Whole Foods (must be healthy), polished rocks with "LOVE"& "CREATE" carved in them, and oh yes, a Hallmark gorilla named Boom Boom (just $9.98 if you buy 3 cards) that lights up and makes the sound of a beating heart when you squeeze his hand. I really wanted Valentino Lion, but they were out of him. Well, I think you get the point. The question is.....DO I GET IT? This is really ridiculous and I know it. Why do I get sucked in?

Just what is Valentines Day anyway?

The date was initially marked by sending love poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a maybe a dance . When did it get so completely out of hand?

Well, I have definitely decided to keep it simple from now on. I vow to not get caught up in all this consumer craziness anymore in regard to all holidays. I owe it to myself to lead a more simplistic and less frivolous lifestyle. I vow to concentrate on the true meaning of holidays from now on. My family will just have to understand that these childish celebrations have to be scaled way back.

So there......you’ve heard it from me. That’s it!
NO MORE SANTA CLAUS, EASTER BUNNY, etc.! Enough is enough.

I need to close now. When I was getting out the Valentine decorations, I set out the Easter baskets and all the Easter decorations so I could go through them and see what I needed to update. I noticed Target has a whole aisle of Easter out and I want to be sure and get what I need before they sell out.

There was this talking chocolate bunny.........................

2006-02-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS
It seems the world is spinning out of control and I think we all feel somewhat powerless to do anything about it. I know I do. These radical Islamists have gone crazy over this cartoon business. But I'm afraid it's not nearly so simplistic as a reaction to a series of cartoons. Do the Jews riot & murder at the cruel depictions of them by (not even radical) Muslims? Do the Christians riot and set fires as they are pummeled in the media and the art world .....when Christ is depicted as "Piss Christ" in a vat of urine? Make no mistake about it...this is a clash of civilizations, not merely some spontaneous overreaction to some cartoons. This is a carefully orchestrated violent response to any perceived opposition to their view of the world, God, & Man. (How do you think they had so many Danish flags ready to burn?) I think the only thing they understand is "like" & superior power. Hirsi Ali, the black, Muslim, female co-producer of assassinated Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh, talked about western journalists to Der Spiegel this week, while in hiding: "The [Islamists] call Jews and Christians inferior, and we say they're just exercising their freedom of speech ... Islamists don't allow their critics the same rights … After the West prostrates itself, the [Islamists] will be more than happy to say that Allah has made the infidels spineless."

Where is our proud American press who so prides itself in the tradition of truth? The people (that's YOU & ME) need to demand our local media (television & newspapers) reprint these cartoons. Did appeasement stop Hitler or lead to further agression? Do we ever learn our history lessons?

I try to get up everyday and lead a somewhat normal life, but it is becoming a little scary. I'd like to plan a trip to Europe, but don't feel safe. I'm not sure I feel truly safe anywhere other than in my own little corner of the world.

And how much longer will that be?

2006-02-04T12:18:00.000-08:00

I was just reminded in an email from a friend of the disgusting cartoon (recently published by The Washington Post) of a member of the armed services depicted with no arms or legs lying in a hospital bed. (What could be a more shining example of the Left's hatred of President Bush than this? That's another subject though) We then read that General Motors is pulling their advertising from the LA Times because of " factual errors and misrepresentations in the newspaper", a spokesman for the automaker said. For GM, it may seem little more than a slap on the wrist to the LA Times, but to the Times, it represents what has been estimated as a loss of around $21 million in advertising revenue a year. Major newspapers and media outlets across the country continue to lose readers, subscribers, and advertisers while ways of disseminating information and news to the public continues to morph into a completely new sub-culture of its own . While some might call this a form of censorship, it is Americans exercising their God-given right to decide how to use their advertising dollars as well as their expendable income. Of course, these newspapers can certainly continue to print whatever they like, but management had better start understanding the consequences of editorial incompetence.

For me, what is missing is CREDIBILITY. The days are gone when we go to a doctor and accept their verdict as if they were God. Many of us take a pro-active approach to our own health now. We seek other opinions and make more informed decisions. Same for our news sources. We aren't so quick to accept any one news outlet (newspaper, internet source, or television) as the gospel. We question, seek other facts and opinions, and draw our own conclusions and when the facts blur the lines with fiction and blind hatred, WE MOVE ON TO A MORE CREDIBLE SOURCE!

2006-02-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

Before you get too far....this is not a movie review.

BUT............if you have never seen the movie, Night of the Iguana , then you have missed moviemaking at it's very best. Based on the play by Tennessee Williams and directed by John Huston, every major player is superbly cast. It is a truly amazing and brilliant film with a wide range of emotional and intellectual levels existing within it. It makes it worth seeing more than once.

Richard Burton was quite possibly one of the most gifted actors the world has ever known. It's worth watching for his performance alone. Incredible.....................is all I can think of to say.

Ava Gardner was never better or sexier. (she once said, "Deep down, I'm pretty superficial") Well, she is anything but superficial in this role. It's hard to believe that this was her last really great movie. "The rest", she said, "were for the loot." Maybe, in a way, she was really playing Ava Gardner. Regardless, she was phenomenal.

And Deborah Kerr....very aptly cast as the gentle and dutiful granddaughter of the poet. She is thoughtful, sensitive, and plays the role as if she is living it. One of her best performances.

Filmed on location in Puerto Vallarta Mexico in 1964, this movie was responsible for making Puerto Vallarta a popular tourist destination forevermore. Filmed in the striking contrast of black and white, I am reminded of what is often lost in color movies. Even more than that, I am reminded of what is sorely missing in most moviemaking today ...... substance, sexual tension without explicit portrayal, and highly developed characters who play off each other like fine tuned instruments. I am so thankful for these great movies of a golden era and encourage you to check them out for yourself.

Funny story about John Huston and the cast: (author unknown)
"Burton was at the height of his torrid affair with Elizabeth Taylor, who had left her husband Eddie Fisher and was living openly with the still-married Burton. Deborah Kerr's husband, Peter Viertel, had once had an affair with Ava Gardner. Even John Huston had attempted to seduce Gardner at an earlier point in his career but had been rebuffed. Meanwhile, Gardner was cavorting with several Mexican beach boys on and off the set. As for Sue Lyon, she had to constantly contend with a very jealous fiance. Deborah Kerr joked that she was the only one who "wasn't having an affair with somebody." Gossip columnists sent daily dispatches from the set and it was reported that John Huston presented the cast and visitor Elizabeth Taylor with gold-plated derringers, each with bullets engraved with the names of the others. But expected fireworks never happened -- everyone got along famously."

What a genius America produced in playwright Tennessee Williams.....A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie, Suddenly Last Summer, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Night of the Iguana, etc.

TCM On Demand has Night of the Iguana right now. Also on TCM........Mrs Miniver (Starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon). Another great movie worthy of watching today.

Re: Mrs. Miniver
WW II propaganda film that succeeded as a great movie anyway.
Interesting aside about Miss Garson: She married the actor (Richard Frey) who played her college age son, Vin in the movie, after filming. He was only slightly more than 10 years her junior, and the marriage didn't last long. Not entirely surprising. He was practically blacklisted in Hollywood after purportedly being incredibly cruel to Ms Garson during the divorce. (He did go on to succeed in the financial field later)

When I'm old and can't move anymore, just prop me up in front of a television with lots of DVD's (or whatever is comparable to them by then) of all my favorite old movies.

2006-01-31T10:10:00.000-08:00

I want to thank JJ for the provocative comments, but must respond briefly. What angers me most about this film is that a man like Spielberg has such potential to shape the emotions of the viewing public as well as their perception of reality. Instead of asking questions (as he is quoted as saying he hopes they will), I think many will come away with conclusions based on what he put in his film or more pointedly, left out. Granted, it's not a documentary...it's art...... but it seems to paint an unbalanced view of extremely complicated issues. Spielberg told film critic Roger Ebert, "I don't have an answer.", yet by stating that he seems to deny the very message of his own film. His agenda of the futility of violence promotes the idea that revenge is by definition wrong. I think it is human nature to want to see people suffer commensurate with the evil they have inflicted. Those who have no desire to do so have become desensitized not only to violence, but to justice. Dennis Praeger (radio talk show host, author) asks us if justice would have been served if Israel did not seek the death of the murderers. He says that argument is never advanced in the movie. I, like many, still believe that we must (when we can) recognize evil and not be afraid to fight it. So many of the left have seemingly lost this ability.

As far as my comment about Spielberg making movies about gay cowboys........perhaps you read more into it than intended. ("What does a statement like that say to someone else about what you believe?") I was merely making a comparison to another current movie with a political agenda....perhaps a little less politically charged than terrorism at this point in time. What does your assumption that you know what I meant say about you? Thank you for pointing out that I am here to seek my own truth and find my own path. Thank you for telling me about my 1st amendment rights. Thank you for reminding me.... "we cannot pretend they don't exist, can we?"

"Found a culture, have you, Rita? Found a better song to sing, have you? No--you have found a different song, that's all. And on your lips it's shrill and hollow and tuneless. Oh, Rita, Rita...." Dr Frank Bryant in "Educating Rita"

2006-01-29T18:37:00.000-08:00

One of the first terrorist attacks to receive the attention of the world was the 1972 slaughter of the Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. According to a recently released interview, the man (I won''t even give him the courtesy of putting his name in print) who orchestrated the attack, told his German interviewer that , "I regret nothing. You can only dream that I would apologize." He then proceeds to say that they never intended on killing the Israelis, though the facts make it clear they had every opportunity to release them instead of executing them while they were restrained. So which truth are we to believe?

This brings me to Steven Spielberg's recently released film, Munich. A recently published interview with Spielberg quotes him as saying "he would die for Israel." Who is he kidding? As a Jewish American he prides himself on "humanizing" these terrorists and suggesting the need to understand our enemy and what motivates them. I find this so outrageous I can hardly respond in language that is printable. How other Jews can judge him as anything but a blind pacifist and a traitor is beyond my understanding. These athletes were massacred for being Jews....not for anything they did. He told Time magazine that this movie was his "prayer for peace", yet he is trying to morally equate acts of the Palestinian terrorists with the Israeli response (in the movie it was fictionalized, but the ones found and killed were killed for what they did, not who they were) . I understand that somewhere near the end of the movie, there is a shot of the twin towers. How can we think anything other than he is trying to parallel the U.S. response to the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 with the Israeli response to the massacres in Munich? This is sick! This kind of moral relativism only trivializes the deaths of those innocent young men as well as all other innocents who have been massacred by these Muslim terrorists. Is almost everyone in Hollywood morally bankrupt? ( I know the answer to that)

Until reading these last interviews, I had seriously contemplated seeing this movie, but in good conscience cannot imagine spending money to see it now. I will have to think some more about whether I want to ever see another Spielberg movie. Perhaps he would be better off making movies about gay cowboys.

GETTING STARTED...........

2006-01-26T20:06:00.000-08:00

The hardest part of any journey is the first step. (I know someone must have said that before) Bear with me while I ....... RUMINATE, CONTEMPLATE, BLOVIATE, COGITATE, and maybe, even on occasion, CAPITULATE.

Opinions are just that.......everyone has one. Some of us are known to have one on most any subject. (just ask us if you have any doubts) Some are based on feelings. Some are based on facts. Some are based on values. I like to think mine are mostly a combination of facts and values ..........preferring not to let "feelings" influence what I know to be morally right. (I've said more than once,there are a couple of people I have felt like murdering, but so far, have been able to restrain myself.)

STAY TUNED........opinions forthcoming!