A Big Backfire Against Liberal Democrat Actions

I challenge any of you liberals to refute any of the facts in this BLOG. Facts, not opinions. On second thought, maybe you shouldn't read this. Your thin skin couldn't take the facts.

The beginning of the fracus, (My commentary inserted in italics) Harry Reid on the Senate floor:

Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today on the floor of the U.S. Senate, urging Senators to sign a letter that calls on Mark P. Mays, CEO of Clear Channel Communications, to publicly repudiate Rush Limbaugh’s characterization of troops who speak out against the Iraq war as "phony soldiers."
Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:

"Freedom of speech is one of our country’s most cherished values. Nothing sets us further apart than the countries and regimes we oppose than our belief that everyone’s opinion matters, and everyone has the right to express it. That is why, when we hear things on the radio that are offensive, by and large, we tolerate them.

"But last week, Rush Limbaugh went way over the line – and while we respect his right to say anything he likes, his unpatriotic comments cannot be ignored. (Boy, Dingy Harry, did you ever get that wrong! For one who routinely condemns the war and Ameria, you have little authority to accuse others.)

"During his show last Wednesday, Rush Limbaugh was engaged in one of his typical rants. This rant was unremarkable and indistinguishable from his usual drivel, which has been steadily losing listeners for years (In your dreams, maybe! Factually incorrect as usual. Rush continues to gain listeners and has the largest following of anyone on radio.) – until he crossed that line by calling our men and women in uniform who oppose the war in Iraq ‘phony soldiers.’ This comment was so beyond the pale of decency that it cannot be left alone. And yet, he followed it up with denials and an attack on Congressman Jack Murtha, a 37-year active member of the Marine Corps. (He denied the Media Matters interpretation of his words and his "attack" was to repeat Murtha’s own words verbatim. Funny how liberal Democrats consider repetition of their own words as an attack on them.)

"We have been debating the Iraq war here in the Senate and throughout the country for not months, but years. (Wrong! You, the left, and your lackeys in the media, have been condemning Bush for waging an "illegal" war, calling him and his administration "criminals," "Nazis," and launching numerous other personal attacks, twisting facts and downright lying since the war started, and strictly for political gain. You have aided and abetted our enemies and provided direct support for their propaganda machines.) There are good, patriotic Americans who favor the war – and good, patriotic Americans who oppose President Bush’s handling of it. (There are also millions of Americans who decry the obvious assistance those bitter condemnations in your propaganda provides to those Islamic terrorists. Al Jazeera frequently uses your words verbatim in their constant attacks on our nation.) Neither party holds a patent on patriotism. (The liberal Democrats certainly act like they hold a patent on anti American hate speech.) I know all my Republican colleagues would agree with that.

"Yet Rush Limbaugh took it upon himself to attack the courage and character of those fighting and dying for him and for all of us. (How you could twist and mischaracterize Rush’s actual words means you did not hear them yourself and are either lying about what you heard or are taking the words of some other person or organization as being correct– which they certainly are not. Perhaps you get your marching orders from ‘Media Matters.’) Rush Limbaugh got himself a deferment from serving when he was a young man. He never served in uniform. He never saw in person the extreme difficulty of maintaining peace in a foreign country engaged in civil war. Yet he thinks that his opinion on the war is worth more than those who are on the front lines. (Sounds like a description of Bill Clinton to me. See "Bill Clinton's Militarfy Career" below.)

"And what’s worse – Limbaugh’s show is broadcast on Armed Forces Radio, which means that thousands of troops overseas and veterans here at home were forced to hear this attack on their patriotism. Rush Limbaugh owes the men and women of our Armed Forces an apology. (In the light of Rush’s long standing and unquestioned support for our troops, these last statements are pure nonsense and apply more to your actions, Senator Reid. Indeed, you are the one who owes everyone an apology.)

"On Friday, many Democrats joined me in drafting a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel, Mark Mays that we will send out this week. (This may actually have been a criminal or at least illegal act. Of course, liberal Democrats are above the law, aren’t they? They certainly seem to think they are.) Here is what we wrote:

‘Dear Mr. Mays,

‘At the time we sign this letter, 3,801 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq, and another 27,936 have been wounded. 160,000 others awoke this morning on foreign sand, far from home, to face the danger and uncertainty of another day at war. (The same is true about just three days of the start of the invasion of Normandy in WWII.)

‘Although Americans of goodwill debate the merits of this war, (I see absolutely no evidence of goodwill on the part of any liberal Democrat in this so called ‘debate.’) we can all agree that those who serve with such great courage deserve our deepest respect and gratitude. That is why Rush Limbaugh’s recent characterization of troops who oppose the war as "phony soldiers" is such an outrage.

‘Our troops are fighting and dying to bring to others the freedoms that many take for granted. (I can hardly believe you have admitted that, Senator Reid. George Soros, moveon.org and Media Matters will really be upset at you.) It is unconscionable that Mr. Limbaugh would criticize them for exercising the fundamentally American right to free speech. Mr. Limbaugh has made outrageous remarks before, but this affront to our soldiers is beyond the pale. (Compared to your ‘outrageous’ propaganda and hate speech about Bush and Republicans, Rush’s words are mild.)

‘The military, like any community within the United States, includes members both for and against the war. Senior generals, such as General John Batiste and Paul Eaton, have come out against the war while others have publicly supported it. A December 2006 poll conducted by the Military Times found just 35 percent of service members approved of President Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq, compared to 42 percent who disapproved. From this figure alone, it is clear that Mr. Limbaugh’s insult is directed at thousands of American service members. (What a farce and the military knows it is. I’d like to see results of a poll comparing Rush’s approval rating among all of our troops compared to yours, Senator. Try about 100 to 1.)

Active and retired members of our armed forces have a unique perspective on the war and offer a valuable contribution to our national debate. In August, seven soldiers wrote an op-ed expressing their concern with the current strategy in Iraq. Tragically, since then, two of those seven soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq. (I suppose that’s why General Petraous’ report was given such great support by lefties.)

‘Thousands of active troops and veterans were subjected to Mr. Limbaugh’s unpatriotic and indefensible comments on your broadcast. We trust you will agree that not a single one of our sons, daughters, neighbors and friends serving overseas is a "phony soldier." We call on you to publicly repudiate these comments that call into question their service and sacrifice and to ask Mr. Limbaugh to apologize for his comments.’

"Just as patriotism is the exclusive realm of neither party, taking a stand against those who spew hate and impugn the integrity of our troops is a job that belongs to all of us. I can’t help but wonder how my Republican colleagues would have reacted if the tables were turned – if a well-known Democratic radio personality had used the same insulting line of attack against troops who support the war. (Your people do so all the time and there is no well known Democrat radio personality.)

"The letter I read will be available on the Senate floor for the entire day. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle will have every chance to add their names to it, and I encourage all of us to do so. If we take the Republican side at their word that last week’s vote on another controversial statement related to the war was truly about patriotism, not politics, then I have no doubt that they will stand with us against Limbaugh’s comments with equal fervor.

"I am confident we will see Republicans join with us in overwhelming numbers. (What a farce! He knows that's untrue.) Anything less would be a double standard that has no place in the United States Senate. I ask my colleagues, Democrat and Republican alike, to join together against this irresponsible, hateful, and unpatriotic attack by calling upon Rush Limbaugh to give our troops the apology they deserve."

HoJo’s follow up commentary: My only question is how stupid, ignorant and childish can a Senator get to concoct such a letter? The results of Reid’s stupid and possibly criminal behavior triggered a response that showed without a doubt who stood where in support of our troops and just how out of touch Reid is with reality. After this completely erroneous and unjustified attack, the poise and humor with which Rush handled his actions in response certainly speaks well for the kind of a man he is. That liberals will do literally anything they can to shut down Rush Limbaugh and many others on talk radio is an accepted truth. This is because so many in talk radio are among the very few in the media who tell the truth about the liberal left and their hatred for Republicans, the military, capitalism and yes, even the America that grants them the freedom to utter their words of hatred. They particularly hate the fact that their own words are used to show their true nature and what they are after. Notice who’s on the list of signers of his letter. It's a who's who among Socialist hate mongers in our Senate.

Senators that signed are listed below.
Senator Harry Reid, Senator Richard Durbin, Assistant Majority Leader (D-NY)
Senator Charles Schumer, Vice Chairman, Democratic Conference (D-NY)
Senator Patty Murray, Secretary, Democratic Conference (D-WA)
Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)
Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) Wants to be President?
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)
Senator Tom Carper (D-DE)
Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) Wants to be President?
Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) Wants to be President?
Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Senator Tom Harkin (D-CA)
Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA)
Senator John Kerry (D-MA) Wanted to be President
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI)
Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) Wants to be President?
Senator Jack Reed (D-RI)
Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO)
Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT)
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-M)
Senator Jon Tester(D-MT)
Senator Jim Webb (D-VA)
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)

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Comments from everywhere:
For more varied comments, click on http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1913623/posts

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I include the following few comments from bloggers:

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I don't think the shook up Dem party will appeal to the masses.

Too out there. Too socialistic, too entitlement, too anti entrepreneurship. They quite obviously try to keep the poor poor and make the rich and successful pay for it.

They need to work with what they have, stop the petty crap and accomplish something. Fat chance of that actually happening.

Add up Hillary’s proposed trillion dollar tax increase (offered up by front man Charley Rangle) and you have a real recipe for a US financial disaster like Jimmy Carter’s 20%+ interest rate debacle and the recession it caused. Are Dems really so stupid they don’t realize that lower taxes equals prosperity and greater tax revenues? It happened under Kennedy, Reagan and Bush. It’s just that they really aren’t interested in an economy that creates wealth for so many people, only a system that puts as much money under their control as possible. How long do you think it will be until they take all your income (and property) and dole back to you (and illegals) what they decide you need.

But my question remains, why is there no press coverage on the auction? Nothing on network news, my local papers, etc. even if you hate Rush, why aren't more people disturbed? This shows strong news bias to the left. Don't you all want to hear all the news - good and bad? And why didn’t all those wealthy Democrat Senators offer to match the bid as Rush did? Because they think all donations should come from your tax dollars and not from their pockets, no matter how deep.

Or do libs only want to see, hear and read good things about Dems and bad about Republicans? They seem to hate everybody that speaks the truth. In fact, hasn’t unreasoning hate become their single most used method? The certainly never propose or talk about practical solutions or offer proposals for real progress.

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'Today' Omits Mention of Rush's $2.1 Million Donation

By Mark Finkelstein October 20, 2007 - 13:58 ET

Given his show's modest ratings, it's unlikely that Keith Olbermann would be in a position to make a multi-million dollar donation to charity anytime soon. But let's imagine he did. Do you think that, in a segment on a related subject, NBC might find a moment to mention Olbermann's generosity?

So do I.

But "Today" managed to get through its report this morning about Rush Limbaugh's auctioning off of the Harry Reid letter . . . without mentioning that Rush has publicly pledged to match the $2.1 million winning bid.

Typical main stream media "objective" reporting.

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Comments from Republican Representative, Joe Wilson of South Carolina:

WILSON: Madam Speaker, last week, America's number-one radio personality, Rush Limbaugh, auctioned off for charity a letter shamefully signed by a group of 41 Democrat senators. The letter to Limbaugh's employer attacked Rush for comments blatantly distorted by Media Matters regarding persons who had lied about their service in the military. I am happy to report that the Senate letter of infamy auctioned for $2.1 million, an amount Rush says he will generously match. That brings the total to $4.2 million. The money will be donated to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation. This charitable organization provides financial assistance to the children of fallen Marines and law enforcement officers. I wish to commend Rush for overcoming what was clearly a political ploy to chill his First Amendment rights of free speech. Rush took an abuse of power by Democrat leadership and turned it into something positive. Between Rush Limbaugh and Senate Democrats, America knows who really supports our troops.

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Comments from Rush on his program:

RUSH: Well, we have a winner. The auction is over. The final bid remained at $2,100,100. The winning bidder, the high bidder: Betty Casey. More about Betty Casey in due course. (Open Line Friday intro jingle) Betty Casey: $2,100,100. She now is the proud owner of the Smear Letter written by Dingy Harry Reid, read by him on the Senate floor, mailed to the CEO of Clear Channel Communications, my syndication partner. This, ladies and gentlemen -- for those of you watching on the Dittocam, this is -- the Zero Halliburton metal attaché case, and inside (I'm going to be very, very careful with this) is the letter. I am holding it up now so that you can see it, watching on the Dittocam. Here is the first signature page that contains Hillary Rodham Clinton. It also contains Senator Reid, the Senate leadership and so forth. The attaché case, the letter, and a very, very well-written and nice thank-you note from me will be included, as well as a picture of me displaying it publicly for the first time last week in Philadelphia. Now, folks, while I'm waiting on the information here to fill you in on Betty Casey, who is a noted philanthropist, I want to share with you just a couple thoughts here about this. Everything about this, the letter -- and, by the way, I have to tell you...Harry Reid in a speech on the Senate floor at 12 noon today, a little over an hour ago, attempted to horn in on all this and take some credit for it, claiming that he and I had buried the hatchet, or implying that that had been the case, and then kept using the pronoun "WE" in discussing how good this was, the money going to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation. So the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, it's now official, is going to get in excess of $4.2 million because I am matching Betty Casey's bid on eBay -- $4.2 million. I asked Senator Reid to match and all the other senators who can afford to do so. I haven't heard from them on that. I asked Senator Reid to go on the program and discuss his discussion of me as "unpatriotic." He did not accept my offer to do that, and now has the audacity to climb aboard this, praising the effort, saying that "he" never knew that it would get this kind of money. It got this kind of money because it represents one of the most outrageous abuses of federal power in modern American history, and that is what makes it a collector's item.

This letter that Senator Reid wrote will forever memorialize him as a demagogue, and the same for the other 40 who signed it. Senator Reid will be remembered forever, here, as a disgrace. But let's put this in perspective. I think it's fascinating to see what happened here. Look at what happened. The Senate leader, the Senate majority leader, smeared a private citizen -- a private citizen, I, me, who has donated time and money to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation. The government tried to take away my living, by sending this letter to Mark Mays at Clear Channel and asking him to confer with me about my remarks. So that was an attempt from him to take away from me my living, and, in the process, my ability to support charities like this: the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation. This is the government, by the way, that our Founding Fathers warned us about and tried to protect us from, with a Bill of Rights. As a result (and I have tingles going up my spine here, and I have had all week long), fellow private citizens took up the cause. They bid their own hard-earned, after-tax dollars -- and many of you are sending your money in small amounts and large amounts to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, the charity that Senator Reid indirectly attempted to damage when he smeared the charity's board member and very active donor and fundraiser. The government was used as a blunt instrument here on me, and you could almost say as a blunt instrument on people in need.

Private citizens, of their own accord -- without a government mandate, without an Algore pledge -- responded with creativity, and charity, and a sense of fun. See, in the private sector, ideas matter, individuals care, and things get done. I guess conservatives are compassionate after all. The winning bidder is -- and this is subject to the receipt of funds, of course -- a wonderful woman named Betty Casey. She is a trustee of the Eugene B. Casey Foundation. She gives significant sums of money to hospitals, hospices, colleges, and private schools. These include the Eugene B. Casey Diabetes Education Center at Suburban Hospital, the Eugene B. Casey Swim Center, and the Eugene B. Casey Academic Center, and the Casey Home Hospice in Rockville. She has also donated tens of millions from the foundation and her personal funds to the Washington Opera. Betty Casey has been a listener to this program since its inception. She's a huge fan. We would expect nothing else -- and we cannot thank her enough for her support in this, and I am honored, and proud, and happy to be matching her $2,100,100. We also want to give thanks to eBay Giving Works, for allowing us to break their website in the closing moments of the auction. We were trying to get the latest bid amount in the last ten seconds, and on three different computers, we got a "system down" message. We broke eBay! I don't know that anybody has ever broken eBay. As such, we have heard from south Florida lawyers, ladies and gentlemen, who suspect that there might be a hanging-chad scenario here. We, of course, are going to just flick that away as we would a Lake Erie midge during a New York Yankees game in the American League Divisional Series Playoffs. Auction Cause also is an outfit we want to thank, because they managed all of this on eBay. They were our consultant, prequalifying bidders and developing the auction. So thanks again to Betty Casey, who is a trustee of the Eugene B. Casey Foundation, a fan and listener of this program from the beginning. It's $2,100,100 for the Harry Reid letter and this attaché case from Zero Halliburton.

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Another demonstration of where liberal Democrats stand in their battle against America:

By Colonel Harry Riley USA ret.

Senators,

Your vote against an amendment to the Immigration Bill 1348, to make English America's official language is astounding. On D-Day no less when we honor those that sacrificed in order to secure the bedrock character and principles of America. I can only surmise your vote reflects a loyalty to illegal aliens.

I don't much care where you come from, what your religion is, whether you're black, white or some other color, male or female, democrat, republican or independent, but I do care when you're a United States Senator, representing citizens of America and vote against English as the official language of the United States Your vote reflects betrayal, political surrender, violates your pledge of allegiance, dishonors historical principle, rejects patriotism, borders on traitorous action and, in my opinion, makes you unfit to serve as a United States Senator... impeachment, recall, or other appropriate action is warranted.

Worse, 4 of you voting against English as America 's official language are presidential candidates: Senator Biden, Senator Clinton, Senator Dodd, and Senator Obama. Those 4 Senators vying to lead America but won't or don't have the courage to cast a vote in favor of English as America's official language when 91% of American citizens want English officially designated as our language. This is the second time in the last several months this list of Senators have disgraced themselves as political hacks... unworthy as Senators and certainly unqualifed to serve as President of the United States.

If America is as angry as I am, you will realize a back-lash so stunning it will literally rock you out of your pants... and preferably, totally out of the United States Senate.

The entire immigration bill is a farce... your action only confirms this really isn't about America ; it's about self-serving politics... despicable at best. "Never argue with an idiot; they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ~anonymous

"If you are a liberal, you never let lack of or even contrary facts get in the way of your opinion. How you ‘feel’ about it is all that counts."

FOR COUNTLESS EXAMPLES: Read "I’ve Always Been a Yankees Fan" by Tom Kuiper and get to know Hillary Clinton like never before with this often shocking, always hilarious collection of the former-First Lady and aspiring-President's own quotes!

From claiming to be named after a famed mountaineer (Sir Edmund Hillary actually scaled Mt. Everest years after she was born), to bragging about being a lifelong Yankees fan (although she grew up in Chicago rooting for the Cubs), Hillary shows that there's no tall tale too tall to tell.
With extensive, attributed sources, including recollections from former Clinton aide Dick Morris, this is the biggest collection of Hillary quotes ever... witty with clever illustrations, and always hilarious context. Sad, but true that a US Senator and aspiring President should be such a consummate liar or have such a terrible memory. Remember those countless, "I just can’t recall." statements to questions about her activities in a testimony. Do you really want such a person running the country?

The following senators voted against making English the official language of America :

Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE) Wants to be President?
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Clinton (D-NY) Wants to be President?
Dayton (D-MN)
Dodd (D-CT) Wants to be President?
Domenici (R-NM) Coward, protecting his Senate seat...
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI) Not unusual for him
Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-CA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA) Wanted to be President
Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT) Disappointment here.....
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Obama (D-IL) Wants to be President?
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV) Senate Majority Leader
Salazar (D-CO)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-M)

"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale, and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged."

~ President Abraham Lincoln

"Amen!"

Of course, Lincoln was one of those hated Republicans so his words now carry little weight with Congress or the main stream media.

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BILL Clinton's MILITARY CAREER - Dan Rather please note!

Bill Clinton registers for the draft on September 08, 1964, accepting all contractual conditions of registering for the draft. Selective Service Number is 3 26 46 228.

Bill Clinton classified 2-S on November 17, 1964.

Bill Clinton reclassified 1-A on March 20, 1968.

Bill Clinton ordered to report for induction on July 28, 1969.

Bill Clinton refuses to report and is not inducted into the military.

Bill Clinton reclassified 1-D after enlisting in the United States Army Reserves on August 07, 1969, under authority of COL. E. Holmes.

Clinton signs enlistment papers and takes oath of enlistment. Bill Clinton fails to report to his duty station at the University of Arkansas ROTC, September 1969.

Bill Clinton reclassified 1- A on October 30, 1969, as enlistment with Army Reserves is revoked by Colonel E. Holmes and Clinton now AWOL and subject to arrest under Public Law 90-40 (2)(a) registrant who has failed to report...remains liable for induction.

Bill Clinton's birth date lottery number is 311, drawn December 1, 1969, but anyone who has already been ordered to report for induction is INELIGIBLE!

Bill Clinton runs for Congress (1974), while a fugitive from justice under Public Law 90-40.

Bill Clinton runs for Arkansas Attorney General (1976), while a fugitive from justice.

Bill Clinton receives pardon on January 21, 1977, from President Carter.

Bill Clinton becomes the FIRST PARDONED FEDERAL FELON ever to serve as President of the United States.

All these facts come from Freedom of Information requests, public laws, and various books that have been published, and have not been refuted by Clinton.

After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, President Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.

After the 1995 bombing in Saudi Arabia, which killed five U.S. military personnel, Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.

After the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 and injured 200 U.S. military personnel, Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.

After the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa, which killed 224 and injured 5,000, Clinton promised that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.

After the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 and injured 39 U.S. sailors, Clinton promised that those responsiblewould be hunted down and punished.

Maybe if Clinton had kept those promises, an estimated 3,000 people in New York and Washington, DC. who are now dead would be alive today.

THINK ABOUT IT! It is a strange turn of events. Hillary gets $8 Million for her forthcoming memoir. Bill gets about $12 Million for his memoir yet to be written. This from two people who spent 8 years being unable to recall anything about past events while under oath.

Sincerely, Cdr. Hamilton McWhorter USN (ret)

Dan Rather please note that at least George Bush reported for duty.

I wonder if any liberals read this far?

Bully for Australia!

Received in an email forward:

Subject: Look what Australia is doing! Excerpts from an on going debate in Australia.

This is true and can be checked at
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/australia.asp

Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks. A day after a group of mainstream Muslim leaders pledged loyalty to Australia and her Queen at a special meeting with Prime Minister John Howard, he and his Ministers made it clear that extremists would face a crackdown. Treasurer Peter Costello, seen as heir apparent to Howard, hinted that some radical clerics could be asked to leave the country if they did not accept that Australia was a secular state, and its laws were made by parliament. "If those are not your values, if you want a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you", he said on National Television.

"I'd be saying to clerics who are teaching that there are two laws governing people in Australia : one, the Australian law, and another, Islamic law, that is false. If you can't agree with parliamentary law, independent courts, democracy, and would prefer Sharia law and have the opportunity to go to another country, which practices it, perhaps, then, that's a better option", Costello said.

Asked whether he meant radical clerics would be forced to leave, he said those with dual citizenship could possibly be asked to move to the other country. Education Minister Brendan Nelson later told reporters that Muslims who did not want to accept local values should "clear off. Basically people who don't want to be Australians, and who don't want, to live by Australian values and understand them, well then, they can basically clear off", he said.

Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques.

Quote: "IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians."

"However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the 'politically correct' crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others. I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to Australia ." "However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand."

"This idea of Australia being a multi-cultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. And as Australians, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own life style."

"This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom"

"We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!"

"We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us."

"If the Southern Cross offends you, or you don't like "A Fair Go", then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. By all means, keep your culture, but do not force it on others.

"This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'."

"If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted."
_________________________________________

Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, American citizens will find the backbone to start speaking and voicing the same truths !

If you agree please SEND THIS TO EVERYBODY YOU KNOW! (HOORAY FOR AUSTRALIA ! OUR "REPRESENTATIVES" IN WASHINGTON SHOULD TAKE A HARD LOOK AND LEARN A LESSON BEFORE WE DON'T HAVE A COUNTRY ANYMORE!

Ho’s response:

The last comment is wasted energy. Those gutless, self-serving politicians in Washington could care less about the opinions of most Americans. They have proven themselves over and over again to place their personal ambition above the nation and above the people.

Maybe I should move to Australia. Apparently a much higher percentage of Australians love their country and culture than do Americans. It is my opinion that the "Politically Correct" and "Multi cultural" crowd in America are so full of class envy and hatred for the personal freedom, culture and economy of America that they are doing everything in their power to destroy them and bring our country to it’s knees. America has done more to bring more people out of poverty than any other nation in the history of the modern world, yet the PC crowd condemns America for poverty. (Remember, their truth is that which promotes their agenda and has nothing to do with being factual.)

The degradation of our education systems and other associated systems are the result of many years of growth and control of those who foolishly believe one bloated, self-serving entity, the government, can do a better job than thousands of individual independent organizations in virtually every area. That private enterprise, capitalistic enterprise, can do anything government can do and do it better, cheaper, safer, creating more and better jobs and yes, even do a better job environmentally, there is absolutely no doubt. It has been proven time and time again. This is now especially true in our education system.

Even the Chinese have discovered this fact and look what’s been happening to them. Yes they have problems with pollution, but they are also doing something about it. While our elected officials pander to powerful political and economic forces, lining their pockets and satisfying their petty egos with power, the Chinese are loosening the chains of socialism and encouraging capitalism, free enterprise and personal freedom. "Who’d a thunk it." If this continues, I can see a time in the near future where the world roles of China and the US change places. Where China and maybe others, including India, become the strongholds of free enterprise, quality education and success as they forego the dull gray life of socialism which envelops most of the rest of the western world. Can despotism and dictatorship in the west be far behind? As in Venezuela?

In my opinion the powerful and self-serving "Robber Barons" of America now sit in the halls of Congress, in bureaucratic positions in government agencies, and among the lobbyists, media and entertainment personalities. These powerful people work to impose their agendas on an American populace that has less and less to say about it’s government. Though they vigorously deny it, fact is they provide aid, comfort and support to Islamic terrorists and others who would destroy us. They seem happy to sell us out to our potential destroyers just to gain power and money for themselves. That their efforts have encouraged our deadly enemies and aided greatly in their efforts to destroy us, there is no doubt. Like spoiled children that destroy toys that won’t do their bidding, they work to destroy a culture and economy they cannot control.

I suggest that those America haters like Michael Moore, Sean Pann, Noam Chomsky, Susan Sarandon and the rest of the entertainment world freaks, move to Cuba or Venezuela and live under the wonderful system they are trying to foist off on America. I would suggest Europe, but before long and thanks to their European counterparts, Sharia law will be in effect there and they would be among the first to be beheaded.

In God We Trust???

I recently received the following forwarded email:

"NBC this morning had a poll on this question. They had the highest Number of responses that they have ever had for one of their polls, and the Percentage was the same as this: 86% to keep the words, IN God We Trust and God in the Pledge of Allegiance 14% against

That is a pretty 'commanding' public response. Therefore, I have a very hard time understanding why there is such A mess about having "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance!

Why are we catering to this 14%?"

Ho’s comments:

We cater to the small minority because of the elitist Politically Correct crowd in the media (entertainment world). They guide and control the thoughts and opinions of the sheep and America haters among our citizens to serve their beliefs and agenda. They have those citizens who follow and support them out of habit, out of ignorance, out of class envy, out of belief systems, and out of self service.

Not to worry! If this bunch succeeds in their "hate Bush, hate conservatives, hate Republicans and hate America" campaign, the resulting aid and support for Islamic fascists and terrorists will solve that for us. They will soon replace the word "God" in the pledge with "Allah" and "In God we trust" on our coins with, "It's Allah or lose your head." I wonder how the feminists will respond to Sharia law? We’ll probably see this in Europe before it gets here so if you plan to visit Europe you’d better do it soon before the Islamic fascists take over. Remember, they like to behead Americans. They've been murdering all they encounter who won't join them for a millenium and a half. Why would anyone expect them to change.

Ho

Reverberations from 9-11

A friend of mine just sent me the address of a website with photos of expressions of sympathy and solidarity from all over the world right after 9-11. The website is http://www.coreykoberg.com/9-11-01/ . If you check it out you’ll probably shed some tears.

It is so sad that the perveyors of hate and animosity have since done everything in their power including outrageous lies and ridiculous charges all laced with the vitriol of class, ethnic, racial and political hatred and envy to divide us and virtually incite mob rule. And to what purpose? That singular, self-serving purpose is political power and monetary gain for themselves. They believe they have discovered that fanning the flames of envy into unreasoning hatred among the poor and less educated will gain them the votes they need to gain power and thus money for themselves with little regard for any damage it does to our nation.

I'm quite certain those in opposition could have found a more constructive means to oppose what they believe to be wrong, but they chose instead to use the path of inciting hatred. They chose to use their followers in the media to help them launch a campaign of charges, condemnations, and even more importantly, omissions in hopes of molding public opinion and affecting elections in their favor. They acted on the known fact that it is far far easier (and cheaper) to destroy than to build. The murderous Islamic 9-11 terrorists who used planes as bombs clearly demonstrated that a few men can destroy in short order what took many men years and a great deal of money and effort to build. This old lesson has not been lost on the left.

The easy way is destruction-- the hard way is cooperation, creativity and construction. Cheap and dirty attacks are much easier than hard work, dedication, cooperation and building. In addition, those who for whatever reason are at the bottom of the income and education scales-- the underpriveleged-- the have-nots-- are easily enlisted in causes that promise the destruction of those better off than they. Enlisted by words of hatred and condemnation for those they envy for whatever reason they become a mob with mayhem and destruction their aim. How much easier to bring down those they envy than to work to raise themselves up.

In his book, "The True Believer," Eric Hoffer describes men who think so little of themselves they can only gain self-esteem by abandoning "self" to a "cause." These true believers, as he calls them, will do anything, including committing suicide for their cause. Following their "leaders" who enslave them to serve the leader’s own and often undefined purpose, these are not men of free will, but true slaves of those who manipulate them. Such is the enemy free men now face including those within our nation as well as those elsewhere.

Here, from fifty years ago, are two of my favorite Eric Hoffer Quotes that describe these people so accurately:

“To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance.”

“People unfit for freedom - who cannot do much with it - are hungry for power. The desire for freedom is an attribute of a have type of self. It says: leave me alone and I shall grow, learn, and realize my capacities. The desire for power is basically an attribute of a have not type of self.”

Copperheads, Then and Now

The more things change, the more the seem the same. A history lesson.

Although the Democratic party had broken apart in 1860, during the secession crisis Democrats in the North were generally more conciliatory toward the South than were Republicans. They called themselves Peace Democrats; their opponents called them Copperheads because some wore copper pennies as identifying badges. A majority of Peace Democrats supported war to save the Union, but a strong and active minority asserted that the Republicans had provoked the South into secession; that the Republicans were waging the war in order to establish their own domination, suppress civil and states rights, and impose "racial equality"; and that military means had failed and would never restore the Union.

Peace Democrats were most numerous in the Midwest, a region that had traditionally distrusted the Northeast, where the Republican party was strongest, and that had economic and cultural ties with the South. The Lincoln administration's arbitrary treatment of dissenters caused great bitterness there. Above all, anti-abolitionist Midwesterners feared that emancipation would result in a great migration of blacks into their states.

As was true of the Democratic party as a whole, the influence of Peace Democrats varied with the fortunes of war. When things were going badly for the Union on the battlefield, larger numbers of people were willing to entertain the notion of making peace with the Confederacy. When things were going well, Peace Democrats could more easily be dismissed as defeatists. But no matter how the war progressed, Peace Democrats constantly had to defend themselves against charges of disloyalty. Revelations that a few had ties with secret organizations such as the Knights of the Golden Circle helped smear the rest. The most prominent Copperhead was Ohio's Clement L. Vallandigham, who was a vehement opponent of President Abraham Lincoln's policies. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), he headed the secret antiwar organization known as the Sons of Liberty.

At the Democratic convention of 1864, where the influence of Peace Democrats reached its high point, Vallandigham persuaded the party to adopt a platform branding the war a failure, and some extreme Copperheads plotted armed uprisings. However, the Democratic presidential candidate, George B. McClellan, repudiated the Vallandigham platform, victories by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and Phillip H. Sheridan assured Lincoln's reelection, and the plots came to nothing. With the conclusion of the war in 1865 the Peace Democrats were thoroughly discredited. Most Northerners believed, not without reason, that Peace Democrats had prolonged war by encouraging the South to continue fighting in the hope that the North would abandon the struggle.

Copperheads were the "Peace" faction of Democrats in the North who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. They were also called "Peace Democrats" and "Butternuts" (for the color of the Confederate uniforms). The Copperheads nominally favored the Union but strongly opposed the war, for which they blamed abolitionists, and they demanded immediate peace and resisted draft laws. They wanted Lincoln and the Republicans ousted from power, seeing the president as a tyrant who was destroying American republican values with his despotic and arbitrary actions. (Sound familiar?)

Some Copperheads tried to persuade Union soldiers to desert. They talked of helping Confederate prisoners of war seize their camps and escape. They sometimes met with Confederate agents and took money. The Confederacy encouraged their activities whenever possible. Most Democratic party leaders, however, repelled Confederate advances.
Some historians, such as Richard Curry, have downplayed the treasonable activities of the Copperheads, arguing that they were simply people who fiercely resisted modernization and wanted to return to the old ways.

Media Supporters

The Copperheads had numerous important newspapers, but the editors never formed an alliance. In Chicago, Wilbur F. Storey made the Chicago Times into Lincoln's most vituperative enemy. The New York Journal of Commerce, originally abolitionist, was sold to owners who became Copperheads, giving them an important voice in the largest city. A typical editor was Edward G. Roddy, owner of the Uniontown, Pennsylvania Genius of Liberty. He was an intensely partisan Democrat who saw black people as an inferior race and Abraham Lincoln as a despot and dunce. Although he supported the war effort in 1861, he blamed abolitionists for prolonging the war and denounced the government as increasingly despotic. By 1864 he was calling for peace at any price.

John Mullaly's Metropolitan Record was the official Catholic paper in New York City. Reflecting Irish opinion, it supported the war until 1863 before becoming a Copperhead organ; the editor was then arrested for draft resistance. Even in an era of extremely partisan journalism, Copperhead newspapers were remarkable for their angry rhetoric. "A large majority [of Copperheads]," declared an Ohio editor, "can see no reason why they should be shot for the benefit of niggers and Abolitionists." If "the despot Lincoln" tried to ram abolition and conscription down the throats of white men, "he would meet with the fate he deserves: hung, shot, or burned."[2] Through the 1864 election, Wisconsin newspaper editor Marcus M. Pomeroy called Lincoln "fungus from the corrupt womb of bigotry and fanaticism" and a "worse tyrant and more inhuman butcher than has existed since the days of Nero... The man who votes for Lincoln now is a traitor and murderer... And if he is elected to misgovern for another four years, we trust some bold hand will pierce his heart with dagger point for the public good."

Copperhead resistance

The Copperheads sometimes talked of violent resistance, and in some cases started to organize. They never actually made an organized attack, though. As war opponents, Copperheads were suspected of disloyalty, and Lincoln often had their leaders arrested and held for months in military prisons without trial. Probably the largest Copperhead group was the Knights of the Golden Circle; formed in Ohio in the 1850s, it became politicized in 1861. It reorganized as the Order of American Knights in 1863, and again, early in 1864, as the Order of the Sons of Liberty, with Clement L. Vallandigham as its commander. One leader, Harrison H. Dodd, advocated violent overthrow of the governments of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri in 1864. Democratic party leaders, and a Federal investigation, thwarted his conspiracy. In spite of this Copperhead setback, tensions remained high. The Charleston Riot took place in Illinois in March of 1864. Indiana Republicans then used the sensational revelation of an antiwar Copperhead conspiracy by elements of the Sons of Liberty to discredit Democrats in the 1864 House elections. The military trial of Lambdin P. Milligan and other Sons of Liberty revealed plans to set free the Confederate prisoners held in the state. The culprits were sentenced to hang but the Supreme Court intervened in Ex parte Milligan, saying they should have received civilian trials.

Most Copperheads actively participated in politics. On May 1, 1863, former Congressman Vallandigham declared that the war was being fought not to save the Union but to free the blacks and enslave Southern whites. The Army then arrested him for declaring sympathy for the enemy. He was court-martialed and sentenced to imprisonment, but Lincoln commuted the sentence to banishment behind Confederate lines. The Democrats nevertheless nominated him for governor of Ohio in 1863; he campaigned from Canada but was defeated after an intense battle. He operated behind-the-scenes at the 1864 Democratic convention in Chicago; this convention adopted a largely Copperhead platform, but chose a pro-war presidential candidate, George B. McClellan. The contradiction severely weakened the chances to defeat Lincoln's reelection.

Profile of the average member

The sentiments of Copperheads attracted Southerners who had settled north of the Ohio River, conservatives, the poor, and merchants who had lost profitable Southern trade.[3] Copperheads did well in local and state elections in 1862, especially in New York, and won majorities in the legislatures of Illinois and Indiana.[3] Copperheads were most numerous in border areas, including southern parts of Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana (in Missouri, comparable groups were avowed Confederates). The Copperhead coalition included many Irish American Catholics in eastern cities, mill towns and mining camps (especially in the Pennsylvania coal fields). They were also numerous in German Catholic areas of the Midwest, especially Wisconsin.
Historian Kenneth Stampp has captured the Copperhead spirit in his depiction of Congressman Daniel W. Voorhees of Indiana:

“There was an earthy quality in Voorhees, the tall sycamore of the Wabash. On the stump his hot temper, passionate partisanship, and stirring eloquence made an irresistible appeal to the western Democracy. His bitter cries against protective tariffs and national banks, his intense race prejudice, his suspicion of the eastern Yankee, his devotion to personal liberty, his defense of the Constitution and State's rights faithfully reflected the views of his constituents. Like other Jacksonian agrarians, he resented the political and economic revolution then in progress. Voorhees idealized a way of life which he thought was being destroyed by the current rulers of his country. His bold protests against these dangerous trends made him the idol of the Democracy of the Wabash Valley."

Today:

The Bush haters, capitalism haters, organized far left (read socialists & communists), anti war activists, and others, all of whom seem to be walking in lock-step with Al Queda and our other totalitarian enemies, have much in common with the Copperheads. The only difference is that the war in question is not over. They are invested in our defeat and humiliation in Iraq and are doing everything in their power to bring about that defeat. Their current ridiculous pre condemnation of Gen. David Petraeus’s report is just one more activity orchestrated by moveon.org and/or the New York Times. It’s hard to tell who’s calling the shots, but hearing precisely the same words of condemnation from so many Democrats and media reporters makes it clear their mantras and marching orders come from a single source.

Remember the plethora of “gravitas” statements a while back? It is impossible for these repetitions of words and phrases to be accidental. It remains to be seen if we will win in Iraq as we did in the civil war and thus relegate the Democrats to relative political obscurity or give in to the efforts of the left and go down to defeat and humiliation and thus relegate Republicans to political obscurity.

I am reminded that when the 13 colonies were still part of England, Professor Alexander Tyler, a Scottish historian, wrote about the fall of the Athenian democracy over 2000 years earlier. “A democracy can not exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates promising them the most money from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship.” It is quite clear that this describes today’s America precisely. Historically, collapses are quite sudden and unexpected and happen when a nation is at its peak. Debt and liberalism are sure to destroy America in the very near future. We have neither the guts or determination to do the things that will save us from destruction. The far left should be ecstatic, albeit for a very short time until the despots take over and murder and mayhem become the prime political control activity. I wonder how many main stream media personalities will be left alive after the fall.

Words to go

The phrase, “a gay young man” has a totally different meaning today than it did a hundred years ago. Then it was a phrase describing a happy, maybe frivolous, but certainly pleasant young man– a compliment mostly. In fact, the word “gay” has been hijacked from our language and turned into a word bearing no relationship to its earlier, corporeal meaning. Its usage in the previous sense has been entirely eclipsed by this new meaning and the old one has completely disappeared from use. I doubt there is a person under fifty in the US who has ever used “gay” in any way other than to describe sexual orientation. There are several other words that have been drastically changed in meaning, good or bad, by the”sexual revolution.”

“Prostitute” is one that used to hold a very bad, negative connotation and has now become almost complimentary– at least in the entertainment world– and that includes sports, media news, and even politics. Of course, the entertainment world, now so revered by the public, traces its origins back to the camp followers and dancers who followed armies and provided sex for money. In fact, the synonymous word “hooker” originated as a description of a member of “Hooker’s army,” the large and well organized camp followers and sexual slaves General Hooker supported for his troops during the Civil War. With literally millions of “teeny boppers” adopting the dress, makeup and often the actions of prostitutes how long will it be before the word will be applied to any young girl and become synonymous to “young girl”?

After all, word usage, moral codes, dress standards, “normal” accepted behavior, even pejorative intents, change as meanings and peer acceptance or demands change. The media, all kinds of media, has become a powerful tool for this to the dismay of many and the joy of those media personalities who look for more and more shocking language and word usage to influence public actions, language and morals. The good or bad of this depends on where each individual stands in the moral or social spectrum at any given time. Those who decry our current “moral decay” and “destruction of family values” are merely reacting to these changes which are, like unruly children, pretty much out of their control. “Shock jock” Iiames was pretty much a victim of this ongoing conflict when he stepped just slightly over current bounds. Incidently, these boundaries are the opposite of fixed in any sense. They are constantly changing like edges of shapes in snow or desert sand by fickle, agenda driven winds from varying directions and force. Heaven help the individual who treads these amorphous shapes and happens to step on the wrong side of an edge at the wrong time. The media will glorify or condemn such actions at a whim or as moved by the direction of the winds of contemporary political agendas. These winds are driven and controlled almost entirely by someone’s or some group’s lust for power, money, or both. The vast majority of the common folk blow in these winds and exert little effort to change or resist them. Those in power count on this non-thinking, non-involvement to hold on to their positions of power.

Political labels are also changing as different groups of power brokers exert more or less influence. Those power brokers of the nineteenth century we dubbed “Robber Barons” are long gone, but their legacy lingers on, haunting all successful business people with strong negative images in a mostly media driven culture riddled with class envy and that describes “profits” as evil and depicts “businessmen” as dictatorial oppressors of the masses. “Governmentalists,” my term for the whole spectrum of “let the government do it” proponents come from a long history of anti-capitalist, anti-business, anti-establishment movements variously called, socialist, communist, populist, fascist, and even democratic. They gain their popularity by use of a human trait we could call “the Robinhood syndrome” or “take from the rich and give to the poor.” This, of course, is driven by envy and jealousy and exhibited by anger of the poor toward the rich. This force, variously named class envy or some other form of group envy, is evident where those that have the least are pitted against those who have the most, regardless of how either came to be in that stage. This pitting of the haves against the have nots, the rich against the poor, is often promoted with loud condemnation by the powerful and influential (and very wealthy) entertainment world in movies, TV shows, news broadcasts and such. Their animosity toward successful capitalists and industrialists and their portrayal of them as greedy oppressors is legion. Many very wealthy politicians use the same tactics to gain votes from the “poor and oppressed.” The truth is that in our country, those greedy individuals and organizations are the main source of revenue for all levels of government either directly through taxes or indirectly through wages paid to employees and then taxed by governments. This includes all payments for government services including social services and social security. The wealthiest five percent of our nation provide a hefty fifty percent of tax revenue mostly from gross profits of these businesses and industries.

Those media personalities and politicians who protest loudly at evils committed by the likes of the Enron crowd or the mischief of the dot com manipulators are not nearly as vocal about similar activities of wealthy members of the media, the legal profession, politicians mostly of the left and in particular, those with extreme wealth who support leftist policies and causes. Several studies have been conducted on the behalf of business organizations showing that business on both the personal and corporate level has a much lower incidence of dishonesty and criminal activity than does virtually any other major component of our nation including government, the professions, unions, the entertainment world including sports and media, and in particular, our elected officials who happen to have the worst record of any group examined. Of course, these studies are suspect since they were done by organizations that are not strongly anti-business. Surprisingly, university studies of the same subject seem to bear this out in spite of the strong anti-business, anti-capitalist leanings of the university environment. The realities of this do not at all indicate any innate honesty among members of the business community, but rather are the result of laws, controls and reporting requirements enacted to correct past abuses by those “robber barons” of earlier times. This body of business control legislation has been growing steadily for more than a hundred years. Very little such legislation encumbers or limits the activities of most other groups including labor unions and of course, our legislators who write such laws and determine such controls.

The legal profession is a special case because of their unique relationship with the body of law. Their members are an overwhelming majority in all legislative bodies, writing virtually all laws and then sitting on the judicial benches in judgement of those who are suspected of violating those laws. This gives them ample opportunity to provide “wiggle room” for legal maneuvering in much legislation providing long range benefits including “job security” for their colleagues. I’ll only mention in passing all the very special and expensive (to taxpayers) perks and privileges they are constantly granting themselves. Things like their own special and very generous health and retirement plan, virtually unlimited travel expense accounts, multi-million dollar well staffed luxury offices and then there’s all that pork and well hidden XXXX written into so much legislation for the sole purpose of buying votes. Of course, they have seen to it that such activities are all legal.

Is it any wonder that the latest polls show lawyers as one of the least trusted professions? How is it we tolerate our congressional public servants– that’s sure an oxymoron– who have the lowest approval rating ever recorded for Congress. Do you wonder why the media constantly harps on the President’s low approval rating but never mentions the much lower rating of Congress? The truth is obvious to all but the dullest and most prejudiced minds, and you know just who you are. Yes, words are changing just like everything else and many carry meaning with far more political impact than fact. I will finish this by mentioning a few.

Just a few in addition to those mentioned include: abortion, anti-war, bio-anything, criminal, Christian, endangered species, environmental, freedom, global warming, hunger, illegal immigrant, Islam, labor union, left wing, Muslim, nuclear, politically correct, politician, profit, protest, right wing, sexual orientation, socialist, terrorist, welfare, wetlands. There are thousands more.

Like many writers, I have a large vocabulary and in general, like most people, use not even a fraction of it on a daily basis. Quite frankly, most people don't really care about vocabulary. We live in a society in which words aren't used, they are made up or changed to new and different meanings. I'm always curious about them though. I often get excited when I happen across old meanings of words that have very precise connotations in present day. For instance, I think it's fascinating that the word virgin once simply meant an unmarried woman. It had nothing to do with a Hymen being intact as it now means. Virgins were often mothers, had partners as she chose (Hollywood virgins???) and may have been warriors.

Obviously, if a word challenges my vocabulary, then I'm curious enough to look it up. One word I recently looked up was 'polymath'. New one on me. It means a person of great learning in several fields of study. It is something or someone I would strive to be or emulate– like someone with a PhD about a number of subjects. I had instilled in me at an early age a hunger for knowledge, for information, for understanding– logical understanding. Trying to satisfy this hunger has taught me one significant thing. The more I learn, the more there is I realize I don’t know and might never be able to know. I guess that’s just the natural progression of things. My how things do change.

Rising fuel and food prices

June 17, 2007 - Leesburg Indiana - HoJo Press

I am also emailing this to my entire address book.

The food/energy crunch is upon us. Evidenced by the immediate prospect of four dollar per gallon gasoline and five dollar per gallon milk (and the promise that both will continue to rise) Americans are becoming aware of something this writer wrote and spoke about at least twenty years ago. I did not think then it would happen so soon, predicting the crunch for somewhere around 2040. Increasing shortages of petroleum, a limited resource, has combined with increasing use of biofuels, another limited resource, as promoted by the President (and many politicians and environmental activists) to create a major crisis in both the energy and food industries. Read one article about what is going on at:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070617/ap_on_bi_ge/ethanol_refineries

This article is mainly about oil companies and refineries and, as usual, politicians are taking pot shots at oil companies and threatening punitive and corrective actions. Haven’t those politicians and their buddies in the media done enough damage to that industry already? First, they impose massive controls and restrictions on refining and prospecting for oil which is the real cause for much of our dependence on imported oil and lack of new refineries. Wasn’t that their real goal in the first place– to punish Big Oil for making impacts? Or do they and their co-conspirators in the media merely play the blame game and do it specifically to divert attention from their own miserable, self-serving actions. (Check out some earlier postings in this BLOG>)

I’m no fan of Big Oil, but doesn’t it seem logical to suppose that a for profit company of any kind would then do those things that made for high profitability and not make the huge investment required to build refineries? The monumental effort and investment they did make was in internal expansion of existing refineries. If not for that we would certainly now be importing most of our gasoline at world prices far above what we now pay. Add to that the very real threat our government makes to soon have 20% of our gasoline replaced by biofuels and you have a force that is a real threat to the profitability of adding refinery capacity. I doubt any of you would buy a home where there was a very real threat to reduce the value of that home by twenty percent in the very near future. Unless for charity, you wouldn’t go to work for anyone without pay (or profit). Also, you would not take a job you knew would soon be replaced. So why would you expect any company to do so? Those companies are made up of people just like you.

There is another force acting in this energy equation that will negatively impact everyone’s pocketbook. Not so obvious, but very real nevertheless, is the sharp boost in food prices brought about by just the threat of the increasing use of biofuels. About thirty miles south of me a huge plant is rising out of the cornfields along I-15. No, it is not an ethanol plant like at least twelve now built or being built in our state. It is a biodiesel plant which will convert soy beans into diesel fuel. The big difference between biodiesel and ethanol is that it can go directly into the fuel tanks of virtually all present diesel vehicles with no modification! Also, a soy bean oil plant is much simpler and cheaper than an ethanol plant, uses less energy per energy equivalent of ethanol, doesn’t produce carbon dioxide as a by product, and gives off fewer pollutants. This huge plant, scheduled for opening late in the year, will use as much as thirty percent of Indiana’s soy bean crop. I have no idea if they are on schedule but looking at the plant as I passed it yesterday, I seriously doubt it.

Already, soy bean futures are climbing along with corn futures. That’s great for Indiana farmers– farmers in all grain producing states– but does not bode well for food producers and the buying public. With milk soon to pass five bucks a gallon and other food products also on the rise, the public, and especially those governmentalists who look to the government for solutions to every problem, will soon be shouting, “Do something!” It’s already been noted by the media with their usual predictions of doom and crisis.

I am beginning to wonder about existing grain supply contracts with China and many other nations who cannot produce enough food for their people as it is. Because of population growth, many once food exporting nations have become food importers in recent years. How do you suppose diverting 30% of our raw food production into fuels will affect the completion and renewals of food export contracts. I’ll wager China will not be very happy– in spades! If five buck a gallon milk is here now, how soon do you suppose two dollar a dozen eggs will be a common reality? How about five bucks a box cereal?

OK, so I’ve described the problem. How about a solution? Well, I’ve been working on not one, but a whole complex of interwoven solutions. This is not a simple problem. It has many tentacles reaching into many aspects of our economy and our lives. You all know of what I speak. “A Convenient Solution” should be published by year’s end.
(for info, click on http://superh2ee.blogspot.com/)

No, it is not really a solution, but it is a collection of facts that could lead to several. The best thing government could do is to encourage private enterprise to work on it, grease the skids for as many of the proposals as could come out of it, not waste money on dead ends for political purposes, and just get out of the way. American ingenuity and can do spirit will provide the practical solutions, make a little profit (or maybe a lot), put many Americans to work in high paying jobs, boost our real economy and, as long as taxes stay low, provide a huge boost to tax income. In fact, this is already happening. (See the new innovations I found out about and recorded in the last portion of my book.)

I wonder why the media hasn’t been shouting about the fact that all but a few states are not only in the black, but are now having huge and growing surpluses– a very new thing. Thank you George Bush for those tax cuts. (Democrats insisted they would wreck our economy, remember? They were wrong as usual) Now these Democrats promise to demolish this economic miracle with huge new taxes. No wonder Congress has an approval rating far lower than Bush. Why doesn’t the media ever mention that? They shout about Bush’s low rating but never mention the dismal record and even worse approval rating of the Democrat controlled Congress. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi each have ratings even lower than all of Congress. Hmmmmmmmm?

I’ll be interested to receive responses. Does anyone even care?

Happy father’s day!

Ho

Another Destroy America Bill?

The mounting expressions of hatred and remarks and efforts I see as anti-American aimed to demean and damage our nation all in the cause of political expediency. Actually, this is just one factor among many self-serving ones that completely ignore the will of the people. Coming from so many politicians and media people, it causes me to seriously wonder about their intelligence, motivation and honesty. Why? The general public is so turned off by this that the President’s approval ratings have sunk to new lows. This is regularly and gleefully reported by the main-stream media (Rush describes them accurately as “the drive-by media”). Of course, that same media somehow neglects to mention that the Democrat controlled Congress has an even lower approval rating and that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have ratings even lower still. Now why would they not want us to know that? Hmmmmmmm?

The impending legislation supposedly aimed to stop illegal immigration is a sad example. Have we reached a point where we write laws and then refuse to enforce them? Why are we turning our border guards into the bad guys while describing illegal aliens, criminals actually, into heros? What is the real motivation of people like Ted Kennedy whose pronouncements about the last amnesty bill were out-and-out lies. (By his own words) Why is this bill actually described by that same Ted Kennedy as, “Too complex for anyone (but we in the Senate) to understand.” To me that is a clear indication that Senators consider themselves and their work as far beyond the understanding of the masses. Apparently we should bow to their superior abilities and do as they want. Or are they merely afraid that the people will discover the mischief they are actually up to.

None of the desires of the vast majority of Americans (by almost any poll numbers you can find) have the remotest chance of being part of that bill. They (The President and Senators) want to ram it down our throats over any and all objections, and without explaining why. I’d certainly like to know the real reason why? What motivates these people who so demean, flaunt and refuse to enforce the desires of such a vast majority of our people. Maybe they just want to bring in more people who hate America and will work to divide and destroy us.

The government refused to enforce the last law and as a result we now have at least four times as many illegal aliens as we had before the last law that was supposed to stop illegal immigration. Of course, all those who so opposed the last immigration law, the majority of Americans, said that it would only encourage more illegal entries. They were absolutely right while Ted Kennedy and his buddies were dead wrong. (I'm sure they knew they were misleading us) As far as I can see this will be a repeat of the last law. The gates will open up to an even greater invasion as illegals take advantage of the provisions in the law that favor them and our government will once more refuse to enforce any of the controls. I believe actions speak much louder than words and what happened after the last law was not enforced will be even worse when the new law goes into effect and its provisions remain unenforced.

That brings up a really big question. Have we reached a point at which criminal law is no longer being adequately enforced? You can find evidence of that everywhere. Statistics show that even hardened criminals including murderers, are only convicted about15% of the time when they are apprehended. Early release of some criminals, even violent ones, has become rampant. Police departments in many cities are now ordered not to apprehend or detain illegal aliens for virtually any reason. No wonder so many now flaunt our laws with impunity. That is becoming a motivator of vigilantism, but of course, such action will be punished with vengeance. Just who is in charge and how far are we now from total anarchy? I wonder! Do you wonder?

Freemen and G-men

This is a response to the increasing number of specific threats to the freedom of speech and talk radio in particular. Republican Trent Lott has now joined the numerous liberal Democrat voices in calling for muzzling talk radio. So much for freedom of speech.

I am terribly disappointed in our present crop of politicians and main stream media personalities. I am particularly disappointed in the Republican party who’s members seem now to be taking the same kinds of self-serving actions the Democrats have so mastered and practiced for so long, spending and expanding government power and control. Now they are even beginning to appear among the ranks of those who want to shut down talk radio, the one voice of many people, previously without a voice, pointing out the excesses of government– politicians, bureaucrats and other so-called public servants. Is “public servant” ever a misnomer. Many have become self-servants acting as if they were saying, “the public be damned.” It is no wonder they rant against the restraints of our Constitution and twist its meaning beyond recognition– that marvelous document designed specifically to protect the people from them, and would be tyrants like them– those who “know what’s best for the masses.” I lump all these people: Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Conservatives, Liberals and media personalities, into one group I call “Governmentalists” or “G-men.” They are the G-men (and women) of the current age. They have perverted the old saying about government to, “That government governs best that governs most.” They ultimately admire, support or become Vladimir Lenin, Hugo Chavez, Mao Tse Tung, Fidel Castro or Saddam Hussein. Their answer to virtually every problem is, “The government should do something about that” and then try to devise ways they can use that problem to gain power and money for themselves.

It looks as if the main body of real Americans, those I call “Individualists” or “Freemen”are now restricted mostly to the heartlands. For all intents and purposes, they have been completely rejected, reviled and frequently “dissed” by G-men. They are the self-starters and creative geniuses who built this country and made it a magnet for people from all over the world. I don’t believe I need to repeat the words engraved on the Statue of Liberty here– most of you, except those who graduated from public schools in the last thirty years, know them. Despite a huge invasion of criminals and political efforts to turn us into a gray, socialist state, this is still the safest, freest, most secure country in the world. It is not, as G-men would have you believe, the source of all evils and world problems and is undoubtedly doing more positive environmental effort than any other nation– we do while others discuss. And free enterprise capitalists among freemen do far more for the environment than do government bureaucrats. Sure there are some stinkers and criminals among them who do bad things, but I’ll wager they are a much smaller percentage than stinkers criminals among G-men.

The real evil doers who twist and interpret our Constitution to seem to mean the exact opposite of what it really says and means are found among those who seek to destroy our country– who speak against it at every opportunity. They are the Cindy Sheehans, Michael Moores, Cynthia McKinneys, and even Ted Kennedys among us that the media so loves to quote. They include the PC imposers and others who seek control and call it freedom. They verbally oppose slavery but work to make us all slaves of the state. They give active aid and support to Islamic terrorists and their Islamo-fascist leaders who almost daily announce their determination to exterminate us. I can’t believe those G-men I mentioned do not understand the Islamo-fascists fully intend to exterminate them and probably at the first possible moment.

OK! So maybe I am a bit worked up. I doubt I will live long enough to see my nation destroyed, but my children and grandchildren may and that’s why I’d like to wake up those who’s minds have been clouded by hatred and prejudice for anything or anyone who expressed a differing opinion. Have G-men their own definition of freedom of speech? It seems they believe only speech that supports their agenda should be free.

Here’s a list of what I see as the difference between G-men and Freemen - as defined in the previous paragraphs - at least most of them. Not all people can be painted with such a broad brush so exceptions are many.

● Freemen believe the rest of the world should be more like America.
● G-men believe America should be more like the rest of the world.

● Freemen believe we are fully capable for doing most things for ourselves and making our own decisions.
● G-men believe the government should do many things for us because we can’t take care of ourselves or make our own decisions.

● Freemen believe we are far better at handling our money than is the government.
● G-men believe government bureaucrats (read G-men politicians) are better equipped to handle our money than we are.

● Freemen believe the existing free enterprise capitalistic system is the best system for America and the American economy. (It’s what makes America a world leader and angers the despots of the world.)
● G-men believe European style socialism leading to dictatorship (ala Venezuela) with them in charge is best for them and who cares about Americans or the American economy. Besides America needs to be taken down a notch or two.

● Freeman version of an old Chinese saying: “If you give a man a fish, he has food for a day. If you teach him to fish, he had food from then on.”
● G-man version of the same saying: “If you give a man some fish, he has food for some time. If you continue giving him fish, he will become totally dependent on you. Don’t ever let him learn how to fish.

● Freemen support our military, join our military, respect our military and view them as our guardians against evil countries and despots.
● G-men despise our military, use all means possible to discredit our military and view them only as tools of American imperialism.

● Freemen believe our military is supposed to break things and kill people.
● G-men believe our military is supposed to be a tool for social action and food distribution.

● Freemen believe laws should be enforced and criminals punished.
● G-men believe laws one doesn’t like should not be enforced or obeyed. And that criminals are only misguided victims of troubled childhoods and should not go to jail.

● Freemen attract and support: the successful, the hard-working, the entrepreneurs, capitalists, the privately employed, concerned Americans, and those who value freedom and individual enterprise.
● G-men attract and support: the unemployed, the unemployable, criminals, free loaders, government employees, entertainment world types (celebrity status automatically makes them experts on everything), professional activists, trial attorneys, illegal aliens, Muslim extremists and those who hate America.

● Freeman definition of truth: That which is not false or lies or fabrications. (Almost completely absent from political speech.)
● G-man definition of truth: Any thing that agrees with the G-men agenda regardless of its veracity as long as it is spoken by or agrees with the G-men agenda.

● Freeman definition of false: That which is not true, lies or fabrications.
● G-man definition of false: Any thing that disagrees with the G-men agenda regardless of its veracity as long as it is not spoken by or disagrees with a G-men. Any thing uttered by a Freemen.

● How do Freemen keep from hearing anti Republican, liberal and anti America news? Turn off their TV and listen to talk radio.
● How do G-men keep from hearing the truth about Democrats, Conservatives and America? Turn off their radios and watch TV news.

● Freeman news, anything that’s good about of for America.
● G-man news, anything that’s negative or bad about or for America.

● Freeman definition of freedom of speech: The freedom to express one’s opinion in public regardless of the content. Vulgarity and shouting “Fire” when there is non is frowned upon.
● G-man definition of freedom of speech: The freedom to express ones opinion in public as long as it agrees with the G-men agenda. Speech that disagrees with G-men principles and ideas is strictly forbidden.

● Freeman opinion of the “Fairness Doctrine.” We certainly don’t need it.
● G-man opinion of the “Fairness Doctrine.” We desperately need it to silence talk radio.

● Freeman opinion on illegal aliens. “They should be rounded up and deported, criminals should be prosecuted, A sound registration with ID cards is required. Those who disobey the existing laws should be charged and prosecuted.”
● G-man opinion on illegal aliens. “Open the borders! Let them all in! Let them all vote as we know they will vote for us.”

● Freeman opinion on Islamo-Fascist terrorists. They should be fought and either incarcerated or killed as they pose a serious threat to America and Americans. Witness all the terrorist acts against Americans including 9/11.
● G-man opinion on Muslim “freedom fighters.” They’re merely expressing their religious beliefs and we should respect that. Maybe if we act nice toward them they will leave us alone. Don’t do anything to upset them or they might not like us.

● Freemen heros: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh, those who died in our wars.
● G-men heros: Eugene V. Debs, Karl Marx, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Dan Rather, and those who dodged the draft and refused to serve in the military.

● Women admired by Freemen: Molly Pitcher, Jacquelyn Cochran, Elizabeth Dole, Condelezza Rice, and Dolly Parton (I don’t even know her politics)
● Women admired by G-men: Eleanor Roosevelt, Princess Di, Helen Gurley Brown, Paris Hilton (I don’t know her politics either) and the smartest, sweetest, kindest, most honest darling of them all, Hillary

● Freeman weather: sunny, bright, warm and pleasant.
● G-man weather: gloomy, gray, cold and unpleasant.

● Organizations supported by Freemen: Churches, Boy and Girl Scouts, Chambers of Commerce, private schools, most pro American organizations.
● Organizations supported by G-men: Mosques, the ACLU, Labor unions, Teachers union, MECHA (look it up), failing public schools, most anti American organizations.

Education - responses

Uncle Mike,

I almost can't read all of the information that you so eloquently share. But, on education... I was interested. After all, it is my field for 30 + years. I did read that latest Blog. I agree that our students need a "kick in the pants" and that the sports, music, and entertainment idols have taken over many of our youth. To whom do most look up? See above... But my thought is this: Why can't we all work together...all countries. I know competition inspires, but cooperation could help the world. I don't know if we will ever get there, but in my small corner of the world (two elementary schools) I will continue to push for cooperation vs. competition as the way to go. If all the Chinese and American scientists could cooperate, the world would be a better place. My view is somewhat simplistic, but it is too bad that it can't work.

Carole

Dear Carole:

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response. Please read my following words not as condemnation, but admiration for those brave souls like yourself who hope and work for a better world where we all work together in peace and harmony. That would indeed be a wonderful world. Among idealists and dreamers– those positive, hopeful souls that want a truly benevolent world– indeed all who deal in hopes and promises for everyone– there are those dedicated souls who “know” there is always the possibility that by some miraculous action we can all work together for the common good. “The Impossible Dream” from ‘The Man from LaMancha” is one heart rending musical plea for the Don Quixotes of our world. It is a powerful emotional appeal which touches many of us, mostly because it seems so hopeless. Believe me, I have felt its grip.

Unfortunately, the real world is just not such a place. There are truly many evil and malevolent people who, in varying degrees, would and do gladly use such appeals to further their own cause or belief system to their own or their groups imagined benefit and to the detriment of others. Their appeals seem just as worthy and emotionally compelling as any other, often more so as they are not bound by morals or truth. The reality of the existence of these kinds of people, even if they were in a tiny minority of say one in a thousand, would and does of itself, counter or destroy virtually any unprotected positive effort. Sadly, they are not a tiny minority. Those self serving actions seem to come from a dominant human nature in virtually any culture. The honor system works only if used on a very small scale, in a controlled arena or with a particular group with at most very few outsiders. That the poor boxes in churches have so often been robbed is an old and classic illustration. They only work where they are constantly watched.

Even the best motivated professionals, including scientists, compete with each other individually and in groups, sometimes viciously, but sometimes also in a friendly rivalry. The men who worked on the human genome project are a pretty good example of both. There certainly was friendly rivalry but there was also some extremely vicious and acrimonious responses to ideas espoused by some and despised by others. One man working with his small private group and in defiance of government instruction, developed a very successful, quick and accurate method of discovering and recording genetic code. His procedure cut the time (and the cost) for project to less than half of that projected. That complete story is a perfect example of intelligent and well meaning scientists who should have been cooperating, but instead were sometimes almost at each other’s throats like schoolboys fighting in a playground disagreement during a game. Fortunately, one of the major combatants backed down to quell the conflict. Sadly it became his reputation that was sullied in that tight little scientific community even though the concept he developed was subsequently adopted by everyone in every group involved. He was the one who was right, yet he was the one who suffered merely because he went against the consensus and associated peer pressure to develop his own system.

Conflicts of this type are inevitable between individuals, groups, families, tribes, cultures, nations, clans, races– any identifying characteristic, cause, idea, concept, action or other difference becomes the dividing factor. In their best state, they become friendly rivalries, often very motivating, quite fruitful and rewarding to all sides. In their worst state, they ultimately develop into warfare on many scales and with the resulting death and destruction. The “space race” was one rivalry between nations that was about as “friendly” as one could imagine between two powerful nations possessing the capability of blowing each other to smithereens. Perhaps MAD did work? With luck, this is the kind of rivalry and competition we will experience with the Chinese, Indians and others, particularly in the new e-world where anything that can be digitized is instantly transported to the entire globe.

Make no mistake, education, specifically the education of the very young, will be a major deciding factor in the results of this competition. Not only in who wins, but in the direction the entire lot of humanity takes– how the winner shares that success with the rest of the world– how the results affect our lives and the environment– the attitude of those involved in the competition– plus a thousand other factors of great significance to individuals and groups. We really need a strong, positive force educating those leaders of tomorrow while they are young and malleable.

Whether we like it or not, the Chinese, as a nation, have chosen deliberately to out educate, out produce, out innovate, out create, out wealth and out wit us and delegate our nation to second place on the world scene. Whether this develops into friendly rivalry or bitter warfare is up to the leadership of those nations as guided by circumstance or the will of the people. The sudden emergence of the e-world carries with it wonderful possibilities that the will of the people will become an increasing force for the positive. It is intriguing that Chinese leadership has chosen to abandon much socialist doctrine and emphasize profits, individual enterprise and almost laissez-faire capitalism as their tool to do the job. There are numerous others in the wings, working and driving, some with varying degrees of malevolence toward us. Read Tom Friedman’s book, “The Earth is Flat 2.0" for a much more in-depth explanation of that to which I’m referring.

Quite the opposite of the emerging nations, the Islamic world is and has, for at least fourteen centuries, chosen the route of hatred and warfare as virtually their only means of competing. That they've been at it consistently for fourteen hundred violent years sumarily disputes those who now blame us for their recent acts of violence. With madrassas and imams teaching the very young nothing but hatred for all who disagree with their rigid way of life, Islam chooses murder, mayhem and warfare as their tools for competing. This is true not only for their efforts against all “outsiders,” but even against other sects within Islam itself. They are as much an enemy of the Chinese, Indians and others as they are of the West and specifically, the US. They are a powerful menace to humanity with which we will have to deal one way or another. Either we defend ourselves, join their regressive religion or die by their hands. They, not we, made that choice centuries ago. Short of all out war, the only way to deal with them is to choke off their money supply by finding an alternative to petroleum as our major energy source. That is the major thrust of my book and I believe it can be done within ten years or even less. Incidently, I truly believe their leaders, even American Islamic leaders, when they say they want the entire world governed by Islamic Sharia law. I also believe their current rapid infiltration of Europe will soon result in at least one European nation under Islamic law, probably France.

The education essay was but a small part of my book, “SOLUTIONS!” which I have been developing and researching for the last five years and which I hope to have published this year.

For your information, the main effort of the book is addressing the energy/oil crisis, but that actually affects most of the other problems covered in the book. Here’s my latest, description of this positive book:

A ten year plan to put America back on top by regaining the lead in energy, education, science, engineering, economics, the environment and much, much more.

I’ll bet you didn’t even know we lost it, did you?

Well, if we haven’t already lost it, we are about to unless we reverse course quickly.

The purpose of the book - -

- - it is to propose timely, affordable and practical solutions to several of the serious problems facing our nation including:

1. Our growing consumption and dwindling supply of increasingly expensive petroleum based fuels.

2. Our continuing addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and its possible link to global warming.

3. Our increasingly dangerous transfer of huge amounts of money from the US (and many other free-world countries) to totalitarian regimes that threaten, indeed promise, our destruction while helping tyrants stay in power.

4. The vagaries and complexities of an inconceivable complex web of federal and state income tax laws.

5. The national security crisis including the growing illegal alien invasion of our nation.

6. A huge, money making drug problem that fosters murder and other law breaking by competing drug organizations as well as unscrupulous individuals.

7. An education system that is rapidly destroying our leadership position in the
world, primarily in science and engineering innovation, but in other areas too.

8. An information media that values celebrity over substance, sensation over
excellence, sex over morality, bias over objectivity, and dollars over honesty.

9. A Social Security system on the verge of bankruptcy which no one seems willing to address creatively.

And there are others. . . .

Education -- a matter of concern

WHY IS OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM ASLEEP?
WHAT CAN WE DO TO AWAKEN IT TO DEAL WITH THE E-WORLD

Think about this: many students in the developing nations are working many hours a day– ten, sixteen, even twenty– to learn enough so they can get a good job or get into a prestigious university. Consider how much time these dedicated young people would spend watching the antics of "prostibimbos" like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton on TV. That should give you some idea of the huge gap between where those young people are going and where our young people are headed and how that portends the future of their nations versus ours. Kinda scary, huh?

The unprecedented and growing shortage of scientists and engineers in our nation is balanced by unprecedented growth of graduates in law and the social disciplines. (The US is by far the most litigious nation on earth.) Couple this with the rapidly declining skills in language, math and science of our high school graduates and we find that there is a huge crisis in education that threatens to soon bury us in a sea of technological advances from the developing nations. In fact, many experts feel that we have fallen so far that recovery will now be virtually impossible. The bulk of basic research and development is now moving to centers and universities in China, India and Russia where it costs much less than in the US. The e-world with its ability to instantaneously transfer information– huge quantities of information– to virtually any place on the globe for study, manipulation and publication, has moved much of the dog work of science and engineering out of the US to many places where it can be accomplished faster, cheaper, and with better accuracy.

In addition to foreign students now more likely to return home after completing their studies at US Universities in both China and India, universities in those countries are now turning out far more science and engineering graduates and post graduates than we are. This is resulting in a substantial "brain drain" that we can ill afford. Now it is the dog work that is going overseas, but how long will it be before the much larger and better motivated pool of Chinese scientists and engineers combine with government supported entrpreneurial effort to move the bulk of new and creative technology as well as the leadership thereof from the US to China. And there are numerous other nations trying to take the same or a similar path. And remember, every one of those scientists and engineers is able to communicate with and exchange information with every other scientist in the world, almost instantaneously. In the e-world, everything that can be digitized and that needs work will soon be moved to that place where the work strikes the best combination of speed, excellence, and cost. An office around the world is just as easily accessed as the one on the other side of the wall.

For these reasons– because of the Internet, e-commerce, e-science and email– we have serious and rapidly increasing competition in the fields of science and engineering from many parts of the world now including China, India, South Korea, and much of the Pacific Rim nations in addition to Europe including the Eastern Block, Russia and other parts of the old Soviet Union. With foreign students sometimes outnumbering Americans in science and engineering courses and especially in graduate schools at many of our prestigious universities we are producing far fewer of these important individuals than the growing need of our own science and industry. Until recently, the shortfall in scientists and engineers has been made up by foreign students who choose to stay in America and take positions here, but that is no longer the case. Many foreign students, especially Chinese and Indians now find they can obtain really good jobs at home so choose to return there rather than stay here to work. As a result, many tech jobs in America now go unfilled for lack of applicants with the needed skills, primarily in science and engineering. It’s all because of the e-world revolution– things have changed, dramatically.

With their booming economies, China, India and numerous much smaller countries are now building universities– high quality universities– primarily for science and engineering students. Secondary schools, even primary schools are increasingly concentrating on science and engineering curricula in order to prepare students for the rigors of jobs in the tech sector or further education in science and engineering. Unfettered with political or traditional limits and encouraged and supported by governments that now realize the huge potential to be gained by encouraging education and business entrepreneurship, these new universities are positioning their nations to succeed in an 3entirely new and different world. The e-world no longer divided by mountains or oceans– the e-world where distance and time have disappeared– are no longer a factor in the transfer of information.

Look at the leadership of these nations. Many are scientists and engineers who understand, who "get" the e-world and its many ramifications. In China, India and in numerous other "progressive" nations, science, engineering, business and industry are greatly admired and increasingly promoted. Those who succeed in business are treated with respect and honor. Entrepreneurs are supported by the leaders, in the media and in the public eye. They are rewarded for their service to improve the growth of their nation’s economy, prosperity and reputation in the world.

Look at the contrast with many nations and leaders in the developed west. Most are lawyers or social activists, politicians who are so wrapped up in the past and past dogma they don’t "get" much if anything about the e-world. These politicians haven‘t a clue about what has changed in the last ten years and what will change in the next ten. They, the media and the rest of the entertainment world of western developed nations, often resort to the use of class warfare as weapons of politics and cultural division, denigrating business and treating entrepreneurs as if they were nineteenth century "robber barons." For the most part, western democracies load down businesses with restrictive laws, punitive taxation, huge reporting requirements and in some cases, labor laws making it almost impossible to fire an employee. Labor unions promote and expect counterproductive, "make-work" practices that favor their members and raise the cost of products. Classic example: the American auto industry.

Not a few poor socialist nations are moving into the capitalist, entrpreneurial realm of the e-world with astonishing economic success. Several, China, India and Ireland for example, are doing so quite rapidly. The key to their success: their leaders are capitalizing on educating scientists and engineers, promoting entrepreneurial freedom, arranging laws about business startups and new industries that promote rather than hog-tie the initiative of business While there could be many pitfalls in the road from the gray, regressive world of socialism to socially conscious capitalism and the immense personal freedom and opportunity of the e-world, the rapid advancement of major parts of these nations in the throes of this change is quite evident to those who choose to see– to "get it." The very speed with which the world is changing has already left behind numerous nations that didn’t adapt to the new rules quick enough. At the same time, some of the present leader nations, including the US, seem to be poised for a possible plunge into the gray fog of hedonistic, anti-creative socialism. With news media more engrossed in sensationalism, sex and celebrity than with real news and a public more fascinated by the antics of "prostibimbos," than statesmen or scientists, and a public that values and idolizes sports figures over businessmen (and women) scientists and engineers, is it any wonder that our young people in their music, worship crime and brutality while completely ignoring the positive, enriching things of life? The "politically" correct crowd would have us ultimately ignore all human failings or achievement and condemn us to the slow death of submergence in a gray mud of anti-exceptional humanity with no high achievements or low degradations.

Is there any good news out there for the western developed world, or are we doomed to fall on the trash heaps of history like Carthage and Rome? In a word, yes. In spite of all the anti business sentiment from the entertainment world– media news is now firmly a part of this, entertaining even more than informing– there are still successful entrepreneurs building e-world enterprises In a business world almost without borders. Our universities are still graduating exceptional scientists and engineers and even multi national companies are still hiring American scientists and engineers. We can build on that by finding ways to encourage more bright American students to choose an education and career in science and/or engineering. Even business degrees should be encouraged– in spite of debacles like Enron and the dot-com shenanigans. Fortunately for America, those kinds of "business" people are actually few and far between.

More good news: the concerted effort to "dumb down" the products of our primary education system seems to have run its course. The increasingly challenging demands of the job market with its surplus of unskilled workers, many of whom are barely literate, and shortage of those equipped with marketable skills complained of by employers for years, is having an effect on educators, the public, and even a few politicians. With many secondary school graduates unable to handle math, English or social requirements of entry level jobs, employers are now demanding schools do a better job on the basics. Parents, alarmed at this situation are organizing and becoming more demanding of their children’s schools. Even those who wouldn’t dare to comment about the poor parenting of many minority students for fear of a racist label are beginning to speak out about this serious problem while now actively seeking remedies, even painful ones. Thank you Bill Cosby! Making those comments took real courage.

It’s about time the various and sometimes feuding elements and cultures in our country quit bitching about each other and start looking in the mirror for answers and solutions. The only person whose attitude anyone can change is their own. The only way anyone can become convinced to change their own attitude is with positive leadership willing to bite the bullet and look inward for solutions. The only way we will find those leaders and give them the power to succeed is to quit demonizing the very business and industry that provides the jobs, income, and taxes that make our education system possible. It’s a about time Americans stopped treating profit as a dirty word and begin applauding it.

That’s exactly what Chinese leaders did that broke the yoke of poverty for many Chinese and started their unprecedented economic expansion. They reversed the long standing socialist/communist hatred for business and profits and said aloud, "Business is beautiful. Profits are beautiful. Capitalism is beautiful." And they have yet to look back. Sure, they are a long way from laissez faire capitalism, and they may yet stumble because of political roadblocks or upheavals, but . . . but! They might also become the worlds biggest, best and most free capitalist nation, considering they have just freed a people who have been in virtual slavery for thousands of years. For an energetic, hard working people, suppressed for so terribly long, even in a nation so large, this could be very heady stuff.

I only wonder, is it possible we are in the throes of doing the exact opposite with our socialist activists in Hollywood, Washington and New York calling the shots– the constant stream of hatred for business, profits and capitalism? In contrast, consider the constant stream of adoration for entertainment world celebrities including the news media and sports– people who are performing in the public eye, play acting or playing sports– and this adoration continues virtually regardless of any degrading activity it is in which they choose to engage. In the e-world this is not leadership, but self destruction.

To get our education on track we need to remove ourselves from the nineteenth century condemnation of "robber barons" and all they represent. They have long been gone, destroyed by their own concentration on self-service. Maybe they all became politicians or socialists. We need to stop beating that dead horse. Today’s business, now mostly dominated by technology, is a completely different animal, living in a fish bowl. The transparency of the e-world is making it increasingly difficult to hide anything, good or bad from anyone. And because of the e-world, one bad move and everyone on the globe knows about it or soon will. With twelve billion eyes looking and twelve billion ears listening and most each of those able tell it to the entire world instantly, it is becoming extremely difficult for anyone to hide anything. Couple that with the fact that of those six billion, many are holding and using video cameras creating video that can quickly be posted to the Internet and you have a virtual earth-scale fish bowl with all of our activities viewable through the transparent sides. Indeed, big brother may be watching, but the entire world is watching big brother at the same time.

The twenty-first century will be the century of education and technology, even more so than the last. Education will be absolutely essential for virtually everyone. The e-world will eventually make it practical for everyone to learn as much as their brains can hold and as quickly as their brains can take it in. Instant access to all information will make that not just possible, but necessary. All work and creativity will quickly gravitate to those able to understand what is needed and accomplish it, wherever in the world they may be. That goes for teaching and learning as well. The nation that provides the best and quickest Internet access to the most of its people however that is accomplished, will have the potential to lead. Real leadership in the real e-world will go to that nation, people or culture that best motivates its members to use this instant access to expand their minds, to learn, to train and to teach and train others.
to teach those basic skills to those who didn’t have them.

Some significant quotes on the subject:

…the generation of scientists and engineers who were motivated to go into science by the threat of Sputnik in 1957 and the inspiration of JFK are reaching their retirement years and are not being replaced in the numbers that they must be if an advanced economy like that of the United States is to remain at the head of the pack. — The World is Flat

…math and science are the keys to innovation and power in today's world, and American parents had better understand that the people who are eating their kids' lunch in math are not resting on their laurels. — Still Eating Our Lunch: Singapore, New York Times.

— Thomas Friedman, 2005

The critical lack of technically trained people in the United States can be traced directly to poor K–12 mathematics and science instruction. Few factors are more important than this if the United States is to compete successfully in the 21st century.

<—National Academies, 2005

America's high schools are obsolete. By obsolete, I don't just mean that our high schools are broken, flawed, and under-funded—though a case could be made for every one of those points. By obsolete, I mean that our high schools—even when they're working exactly as designed—cannot teach our kids what they need to know today…This isn't an accident or a flaw in the system; it is the system.

—Bill Gates, 2005

We know—and this report demonstrates—that there is a need to make drastic changes within the Nation's science and mathematics classrooms. If not, our Nation risks raising generations of students and citizens who do not know how to think critically and make informed decisions based on technical and scientific information.

— NSF Report February 2006

America's competitive edge in this "flat world," its strength and versatility, all depend on an educational system capable of producing young people and productive citizens who are well prepared in science and mathematics. We know—and this report demonstrates—that there is a need to make drastic changes within the Nation's science and mathematics classrooms. If not, our Nation risks raising generations of students and citizens who do not know how to think critically and make informed decisions based on technical and scientific information. Nor will they have a firm grasp of academic language necessary to advance into STEM careers and produce the innovation and discovery necessary to maintain our Nation's prosperity for the future.

— Conclusion of NSF Report, February 2006

For more information on the subject, here are links to some specific articles on the Internet.
Related Websites
Science and Engineering Indicators 2006: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/

S & E Indicators 2006 (Excerpts):

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=105858

S & E Indicators 2006: Global R&D Landscape (Fact Sheet):
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=105857

America's Pressing Challenge (Full Text): http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsb0602/

America's Pressing Challenge (Fact Sheet):

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=105859

National Science Board: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $5.58 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 1,700 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 40,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes nearly 10,000 new funding awards. The NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

Receive official NSF news electronically through the e-mail delivery and notification system, MyNSF (formerly the Custom News Service). To subscribe, visit www.nsf.gov/mynsf/ and fill in the information under "new users".

Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov/
NSF News: http://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/

How do we accomplish this momentous and challenging task before us?

How do we do this? It will require a major change of direction for many people and a completely new kind of education system. It will require educators to think outside-the-box. Here is just one idea I have come up with that could accelerate our education system in K-12 grades.
I have one suggestion for a radically new system designed for rapid growth and high achievement for students. First of all, lets quit forcing people to go to school– leave that up to parents. Once people see education as a privilege and opportunity rather than an obligation, it puts a whole new factor in play. Second, let’s disconnect education from chronological age. An entrance exam requiring passage of basic social and communication skill requirements to start school could be administered several times a year, say anytime parents feel their child is ready. Those who passed would start school. Those who failed wouldn’t start and would be given a report describing what they needed to learn of basic social and communication skills. There could even be "prep" schools available

How about a completely new system for education from K through 12. The basic system, infrastructure, grade levels and teaching methods will obviously have to be considered for change and improvement. The use of classroom teaching may be modified as teaching via the Internet could even be found advantageous for some students and/or subjects. But there is one concept concerning advancement through the system that I would like to see changed drastically. That is the way students are advanced through the various grade levels. As it is presently, some students learn so quickly they can become bored for lack of challenge. At the other end of the spectrum there are those who have a difficult time keeping up. This is also often quite different as subject matter varies. One student may learn math very quickly while the same student may be relatively slow in English or another subject.

To provide for all kinds of students, each subject should be broken up into sections much smaller than semesters or quarters. Lets start with two week "chunks" of learning a part or several parts of a subject. These "chunks" would progress directly from one to the next in a sequence keyed to the fastest learners- the ones who "get it" the quickest. An evaluation test would be administered at the end of the two week "chunk" which could be graded and if a certain test score is reached, the student advances to the next "chunk" with the grade earned going into his record. Those who did not advance would simply repeat the last "chunk" without the stigma of failure. After the second time through the process would be repeated, a test score would be issued and the student would advance to the next "chunk" in that particular subject or again repeat it once more. The grade of record would be based on the test scores and performance over the entire "semester" of eight "chunks" or "quarter" of six "chunks." This would leave two weeks for vacation and holidays each year. That is of course considering going to school year ‘round. Use of two "semesters" or three "quarters" each year of mandatory attendance would provide time for summer vacations for those children and for those areas where it was important for any reason.

In action this program would probably see most students varying between taking each "chunk" once or twice. Some would breeze through only needing single "chunks" for one subject while other subjects might require mostly two "chunks." There would naturally be a strong incentive to excel and require only single "chunks" or one-time-through each for many students. In a single subject, some students might require two or more "chunks" to master some parts of a subject while other parts would be completed in but one with ease. With a broad enough curricula including English, math, science, history, languages, the arts, shop, athletics and others, every student would have a broad opportunity to excel in at least one or more subjects. Certainly there would be some stigma for some slow learners, but as in the present, special help could be used along with guidance into the best path for achieving a career.

Of course there would be inequalities. There are always inequalities. All schools are not the same. Some have better funding than others. Some are in areas where frequent damage makes maintenance expensive. Some teachers are better in many ways than others. Some school organizations are better than others. Some legal requirements are more restrictive or expensive than others. There are any other differences, even among students and their families. Some families and cultures place a lot more emphasis on education than others. Personal prejudices of many kinds can seriously damage a school’s ability to get their message across to some students. Anti-intellectualism of many kinds can instill animosity and/or fear in some students. Peer pressure can be either a positive boost or a negative downer on a student’s attitude toward school and educators.

Parents, their attitude toward schools and their students, the importance they place on education at home, their level of education and amount of personal pride and good self image, all of these can be of paramount importance to the desire for learning and school in every child. Parents, their own educational level and the culture they come from, is probably the most significant factor in motivating their children to be hungry for learning. This is so very evident in the achievement level of the children of so many immigrants. Those parents that come from cultures that place great value on education usually have children that excel in school. Those that come from poor or backward cultures may have a dim view of education, sometimes even fearing it will harm their children. Certainly many place little value on education and instill that value system in their youngsters. The task we face is educating parents not just to the value of an education, but to help the natural curiosity of the young flow into the constructive paths of a formal education.

The media, electronic and print, could do a much better job of guiding young people in a better direction than promoting the worshiping of useless prostibimbos, play actors, musicians and sports personalities. It’s gotten so the main stream media does far more reporting about the antics of these entertainment world celebrities than they do about all but the most serious issues facing the world. The sound bites of these people and of the latest spotlight seeking politician vie for their ten or twenty seconds of attention while in depth reporting about serious issues is relegated to special TV shows, cable channels and talk radio. Even there it is often sensationalized or highly biased. It’s really a sorry state when the news media gets so into the bottom line or promoting a political agenda that objectivity and honesty goes out the window. Of course the public will have to demand this and in a substantial fashion before it changes so don’t hold your breath.