I picked this up from another web site. The message is good and I wanted to share with others.
"How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day?
However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly he/she can get back her focus on what’s important. Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab.
Here’s what happened. …… I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly.
So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital! And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck.
Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you.
When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy you did.
So this was it: The “Law of the Garbage Truck. I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: At work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do it anymore.
Well, now “I see Garbage Trucks. I see the load they’re carrying.
I see them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver, I don’t make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on."
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
Schools 1967 compared to Schools 2007
Thanks to "Blindsodusbay"! Known also as Don from Rockford.
Those of us old enough to remember our school days back in the 1960's can relate to this and only look in amazement at the 2007 version. The question is what has happened during this 40 year time span?
SCHOOL 1967 vs. SCHOOL 2007
Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into high school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.
1967 - Vice principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his own shotgun to show Jack.
2007 - School goes into lock down, the police are called, Jack is hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors are called in to assist traumatized students and teachers.
Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1967 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 - Police are called, SWAT team arrives and arrests Johnny and Mark. They are charged with assault and both are expelled even though Johnny started it.
Scenario: David won't sit still in class, disrupts other students.
1967 - David is sent to the principals office and given a good paddling. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 - David is given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra state funding because David has a disability.
Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1967 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.
Scenario: Mark has a headache and takes some Aspirin to school.
1967 - Mark shares Aspirin with the school principal.
2007 - Police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His car is searched for drugs and weapons.
Scenario: Pedro fails high-school English.
1967 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.
2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by local human rights group. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that making English a requirement for graduation is racist. American Civil Liberties Association files class action lawsuit against school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.
Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover 4th of July firecrackers, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up an anthill.
1967 - Ants die.
2007 - Police and the Hazmat Team are called and Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. FBI investigates parents, siblings are removed from the home, computers are confiscated, and Johnny's dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
Scenario: Johnny falls during recess and scrapes his knee. His teacher, Mary, finds him crying, and gives him a hug to comfort him.
1967 - Johnny soon feels better and goes back to playing.
2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces three years in federal prison. Johnny undergoes five years of therapy.
Those of us old enough to remember our school days back in the 1960's can relate to this and only look in amazement at the 2007 version. The question is what has happened during this 40 year time span?
SCHOOL 1967 vs. SCHOOL 2007
Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into high school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.
1967 - Vice principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his own shotgun to show Jack.
2007 - School goes into lock down, the police are called, Jack is hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors are called in to assist traumatized students and teachers.
Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1967 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 - Police are called, SWAT team arrives and arrests Johnny and Mark. They are charged with assault and both are expelled even though Johnny started it.
Scenario: David won't sit still in class, disrupts other students.
1967 - David is sent to the principals office and given a good paddling. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 - David is given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra state funding because David has a disability.
Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1967 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.
Scenario: Mark has a headache and takes some Aspirin to school.
1967 - Mark shares Aspirin with the school principal.
2007 - Police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His car is searched for drugs and weapons.
Scenario: Pedro fails high-school English.
1967 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.
2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by local human rights group. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that making English a requirement for graduation is racist. American Civil Liberties Association files class action lawsuit against school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.
Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover 4th of July firecrackers, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up an anthill.
1967 - Ants die.
2007 - Police and the Hazmat Team are called and Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. FBI investigates parents, siblings are removed from the home, computers are confiscated, and Johnny's dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
Scenario: Johnny falls during recess and scrapes his knee. His teacher, Mary, finds him crying, and gives him a hug to comfort him.
1967 - Johnny soon feels better and goes back to playing.
2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces three years in federal prison. Johnny undergoes five years of therapy.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
33rd Military Police Battalion
Today the Twin Cities of Bloomington-Normal had a "Welcome Home" parade for the 33rd Military Police Battalion from the Bloomington National Guard. The parade was led by several police cars from various local and other police departments and included many supporters on motorcycles who have formed into a support the troops organization. Of course, the seventy men and women that served more than a year in Iraq were paraded in convertibles donated for this event. Starting at Illinois State University and proceeding down Center street to the Armory in Bloomington the parade appeared to be about a mile long.
I woke up this morning and heard on the local radio that this welcome home parade was to start about noon and mentally said "It would be nice to go over to Center Street and welcome the troops home". By 9:00A.M. I had almost forgotten that the event would happen, but then my middle son who served several terms in Iraq as a private contractor employed to train and handle explosive detection dogs phoned my wife. His first call was to tell us that he was heading to an Olympics for police dogs in Indiana, then a few minutes later he called back to ask if we could attend the parade and welcome home the troops for him. Needless to say a priority had been established.
Not thinking that there would be a hugh crowd we headed over to Center Street about noon and was I surprised! The street were lined with people where we had intended to park and watch. We turned South on the parade route thinking that we would find a less populated place we drove almost a mile south until we found a place to park, and we did kind of park illegally as the sign said no parking this block. Standing on the corner were a couple of veterans from prior wars waiting to welcome home the returning kids.
It was neat to see the returning young men and women as they rode on the back seats of the convertibles. This old guy had goose bumps and tears as he waived at the brave young men and women as they rode by. It was neat how they smiled and waived back, but more than that were the two young men that did more than smile and waive they yelled out to us "Thank You". I was struck with the thought how often I fail to say thank you and yet two young men returning from war had said thank you and in fact they deserved to be thanked.
I am reminded of the many incidents that my son experienced while in Iraq and the close calls he had with not returning. There was the time he and his dog were searching an incoming vehicle and the dog hit on a scent which means it is time to call the explosive detonations unit but the detonator exploded immediately, but the bomb failed. There was also the night that as the alert sounded he headed out for shelter and a incoming RPG hit about 100 yards away and he felt a twinge on his leg to only find out that a piece of shrapnel had hit his leg but only causing minor damage.
Some of the events he witnessed included the two Iraqi women that worked at the Embassy and went home one night an then were shot for not cooperating with the insurgents. The other was a lazy computer specialist that decided to go back to his "hootch", sleeping quarters, for a noon nap. For several weeks the hootches had been declare unsafe at night and this guy had been one of the first to seek the permanent shelter safety to sleep at night. This particular day he received a call from the Embassy that they had a computer problem, his last response was that he would be there in an hour. This time the enemy did not wait until night time to fire an RPG, he died in his sleep.
On the Friday before my son came home he watched an incoming RPG head toward him, not knowing where it would land. It fell short and three British soldiers lives were snuffed out. The following Sunday morning my son exited Iraq.
Some how getting out of Iraq doesn't take the experiences of war out of the minds of the brave young men and women. They can still hear the sirens, the whistles of the incoming and the explosions and gunfire, and then the memories of friends and comrades who have been wounded or came home in body bags.
No young men and women of the 33rd Military Police you do not need to thank me for coming to welcome you home, I am only doing what I should to thank you and then I should be saying how can I help you now that you are home safely?
I woke up this morning and heard on the local radio that this welcome home parade was to start about noon and mentally said "It would be nice to go over to Center Street and welcome the troops home". By 9:00A.M. I had almost forgotten that the event would happen, but then my middle son who served several terms in Iraq as a private contractor employed to train and handle explosive detection dogs phoned my wife. His first call was to tell us that he was heading to an Olympics for police dogs in Indiana, then a few minutes later he called back to ask if we could attend the parade and welcome home the troops for him. Needless to say a priority had been established.
Not thinking that there would be a hugh crowd we headed over to Center Street about noon and was I surprised! The street were lined with people where we had intended to park and watch. We turned South on the parade route thinking that we would find a less populated place we drove almost a mile south until we found a place to park, and we did kind of park illegally as the sign said no parking this block. Standing on the corner were a couple of veterans from prior wars waiting to welcome home the returning kids.
It was neat to see the returning young men and women as they rode on the back seats of the convertibles. This old guy had goose bumps and tears as he waived at the brave young men and women as they rode by. It was neat how they smiled and waived back, but more than that were the two young men that did more than smile and waive they yelled out to us "Thank You". I was struck with the thought how often I fail to say thank you and yet two young men returning from war had said thank you and in fact they deserved to be thanked.
I am reminded of the many incidents that my son experienced while in Iraq and the close calls he had with not returning. There was the time he and his dog were searching an incoming vehicle and the dog hit on a scent which means it is time to call the explosive detonations unit but the detonator exploded immediately, but the bomb failed. There was also the night that as the alert sounded he headed out for shelter and a incoming RPG hit about 100 yards away and he felt a twinge on his leg to only find out that a piece of shrapnel had hit his leg but only causing minor damage.
Some of the events he witnessed included the two Iraqi women that worked at the Embassy and went home one night an then were shot for not cooperating with the insurgents. The other was a lazy computer specialist that decided to go back to his "hootch", sleeping quarters, for a noon nap. For several weeks the hootches had been declare unsafe at night and this guy had been one of the first to seek the permanent shelter safety to sleep at night. This particular day he received a call from the Embassy that they had a computer problem, his last response was that he would be there in an hour. This time the enemy did not wait until night time to fire an RPG, he died in his sleep.
On the Friday before my son came home he watched an incoming RPG head toward him, not knowing where it would land. It fell short and three British soldiers lives were snuffed out. The following Sunday morning my son exited Iraq.
Some how getting out of Iraq doesn't take the experiences of war out of the minds of the brave young men and women. They can still hear the sirens, the whistles of the incoming and the explosions and gunfire, and then the memories of friends and comrades who have been wounded or came home in body bags.
No young men and women of the 33rd Military Police you do not need to thank me for coming to welcome you home, I am only doing what I should to thank you and then I should be saying how can I help you now that you are home safely?
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Where is Obama and Durbin????? MIA
Illinois has almost complete Democratic leadership, and yet even the Demos cannot agree on a budget for the State of Illinois! We have a crazy Demo for Gov, the house and senate are full of democrats and they cannot pass a budget that every Illinois legislative body has been able to pass annually for years, even with divided legislative bodies.
Where are our illustrious Federal Senators? One is too busy beating up on Bush, who by the way won't be running for President next term. The other is out beating the bushes, he is getting his licks in on George too, wanting to be the next President.
Couldn't one or both of our Federal boys take a day off and help the state boys compromise on a budget? If Obamha really is Presidential material he could place a feather in his cap by negotiating a budget for his state.
Makes one wonder what will happen when Hillary or Obama get elected to preside over the House and Senate of a Federal level. I can hardly wait, nothing will be accomplished as Dingy Harry and Nancy P all want to "have it their way"
Come on down Obama and show us your leadership abilities in Springfield, your home state, where you failed to do anything doing your term of office.
I like the way you state that "I was against the war in Iraq from day one". Which vote was it that you voted? Oh that's right you were not even asked to vote were you. You were still in Illinois serving as a House member. The question is a little harder when you have to place your name on the line instead of being able to use hind sight.
Where are our illustrious Federal Senators? One is too busy beating up on Bush, who by the way won't be running for President next term. The other is out beating the bushes, he is getting his licks in on George too, wanting to be the next President.
Couldn't one or both of our Federal boys take a day off and help the state boys compromise on a budget? If Obamha really is Presidential material he could place a feather in his cap by negotiating a budget for his state.
Makes one wonder what will happen when Hillary or Obama get elected to preside over the House and Senate of a Federal level. I can hardly wait, nothing will be accomplished as Dingy Harry and Nancy P all want to "have it their way"
Come on down Obama and show us your leadership abilities in Springfield, your home state, where you failed to do anything doing your term of office.
I like the way you state that "I was against the war in Iraq from day one". Which vote was it that you voted? Oh that's right you were not even asked to vote were you. You were still in Illinois serving as a House member. The question is a little harder when you have to place your name on the line instead of being able to use hind sight.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Impeach Rod Blagovich
I received an email petition to Impeach our dearly loved Illinois Govenor. Of course I signed and forwarded it back immediately, but then I thought about the issue. How can we impeach a govenor that is rarely in Springfield, seldom talks to other legislaturers, and has so much goop on his hair that it could never be wind blown?
Todays local paper told me that he blamed all the problems on one of his own Democrats, House leader Michael Madigan. It is all Madigans fault that the budget issues can't be resolved. I have actually become a little more in favor of Madigan because of his fight against the "new ideas" of Roddy Boy.
I think the issue that most miffed me was that the gov now has a plan to take away the privildeges of elected Republicans. If that isn't partison politics I guess I don't know what is. What good is it to elect official to represent you if the govenor of the state devises a plan to take away those officials voting priviledges? And how can any Democrat that supports this type of plan be anything but partison?
Maybe the only option Illinois has is to impeach the jerk! Take away his expensive airplane trips and make him fly like the rest of us waiting in line, going through security and on the puddle jumpers that fly from Chicago to Springfield. Then after he is impeached we can elect third party candidates and get rid of the partisons on both side of the aisle.
Todays local paper told me that he blamed all the problems on one of his own Democrats, House leader Michael Madigan. It is all Madigans fault that the budget issues can't be resolved. I have actually become a little more in favor of Madigan because of his fight against the "new ideas" of Roddy Boy.
I think the issue that most miffed me was that the gov now has a plan to take away the privildeges of elected Republicans. If that isn't partison politics I guess I don't know what is. What good is it to elect official to represent you if the govenor of the state devises a plan to take away those officials voting priviledges? And how can any Democrat that supports this type of plan be anything but partison?
Maybe the only option Illinois has is to impeach the jerk! Take away his expensive airplane trips and make him fly like the rest of us waiting in line, going through security and on the puddle jumpers that fly from Chicago to Springfield. Then after he is impeached we can elect third party candidates and get rid of the partisons on both side of the aisle.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Why change the rules NOW?
Read the letter first and then read what it is costing us as Americans. Every Federal Representative and Senator should read this letter before proposing or voting on legislation for immigration revisions.
This lady made her arguments pretty clear. She made some good points. For some reason, people have difficulty structuring their arguments when arguing against the politically correct versions of immigration reform being proposed.
Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor which they either deem politically incorrect (read below) or which does not agree with the philosophy they're pushing on the public. This woman wrote a great letter to the editor that should have been published.
New Immigrants
From: "David LaBonte"
My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the Orange County Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet.
Pass it along if you feel so inclined.
Dave LaBonte (signed)
Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:
Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer.
Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.
Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.
Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is about.
I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.
(signed) Rosemary LaBonte
MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA
-----
-----
Check out these figures, has the U.S. gone mad or is it just the people who are running it....
So often, we get caught up in a debate over political semantics and end up ignoring the hard-shell realities of what we're talking about. According to http://www.immigrationCounters.com , here are some of the realities that the Flake-Gutierrez Bill would airbrush out of the picture:
Number of Illegal Aliens in the Country 20,807,645
Money Wired to Mexico City since January, 2006 $ 22,213,001,672
Cost of Social Security Services for Illegal Aliens since 1996 $397,450,739,563
Number of Children of Illegal Aliens in Public Schools 3,958,789
Cost of Illegal Aliens in K-12 Since 1996: $ 13, 965,063,431
Number of Illegal Aliens Incarcerated 332,594
Cost of Incarcerations Since 2001 $ 1,398,127,429
Number of Illegal Aliens Fugitives 642,799
Skilled Jobs Taken by Illegal Aliens 9,872,838
Figures can trick your eyes. Take particular note that items 2,3,5, and 7 reflect BILLIONS not millions of dollars -- and that item 3 exceeds one-third of a TRILLION dollars.
Can you imagine how much it will cost taxpayers if we triple the number of illegals entering this country!!
So, What's in a Billion?.......
Granted................. This is from the US!
The next time you hear a politician use the word "billion" in a casual manner, think about whether you want the "politicians" spending your tax money.
A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.
A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it .
While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take a look at New Orleans It is amazing what you can learn with some simple division.
Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans. Interesting number, what does it mean?
a. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, child), you each get $516,528.00.
b. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787.00.
c. Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.00.
Washington, D.C. .... HELLO!!! .. Are all your calculators broken??
This is too true.........And these numbers don't lie.........and, it's not funny!!!
This lady made her arguments pretty clear. She made some good points. For some reason, people have difficulty structuring their arguments when arguing against the politically correct versions of immigration reform being proposed.
Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor which they either deem politically incorrect (read below) or which does not agree with the philosophy they're pushing on the public. This woman wrote a great letter to the editor that should have been published.
New Immigrants
From: "David LaBonte"
My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the Orange County Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet.
Pass it along if you feel so inclined.
Dave LaBonte (signed)
Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:
Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer.
Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.
Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.
Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is about.
I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.
(signed) Rosemary LaBonte
MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA
-----
-----
Check out these figures, has the U.S. gone mad or is it just the people who are running it....
So often, we get caught up in a debate over political semantics and end up ignoring the hard-shell realities of what we're talking about. According to http://www.immigrationCounters.com , here are some of the realities that the Flake-Gutierrez Bill would airbrush out of the picture:
Number of Illegal Aliens in the Country 20,807,645
Money Wired to Mexico City since January, 2006 $ 22,213,001,672
Cost of Social Security Services for Illegal Aliens since 1996 $397,450,739,563
Number of Children of Illegal Aliens in Public Schools 3,958,789
Cost of Illegal Aliens in K-12 Since 1996: $ 13, 965,063,431
Number of Illegal Aliens Incarcerated 332,594
Cost of Incarcerations Since 2001 $ 1,398,127,429
Number of Illegal Aliens Fugitives 642,799
Skilled Jobs Taken by Illegal Aliens 9,872,838
Figures can trick your eyes. Take particular note that items 2,3,5, and 7 reflect BILLIONS not millions of dollars -- and that item 3 exceeds one-third of a TRILLION dollars.
Can you imagine how much it will cost taxpayers if we triple the number of illegals entering this country!!
So, What's in a Billion?.......
Granted................. This is from the US!
The next time you hear a politician use the word "billion" in a casual manner, think about whether you want the "politicians" spending your tax money.
A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.
A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it .
While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take a look at New Orleans It is amazing what you can learn with some simple division.
Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans. Interesting number, what does it mean?
a. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, child), you each get $516,528.00.
b. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787.00.
c. Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.00.
Washington, D.C. .... HELLO!!! .. Are all your calculators broken??
This is too true.........And these numbers don't lie.........and, it's not funny!!!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
The Bird Feeder
I received this email from a friend and thought it appropriate to share.
I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food. But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue. Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table...everywhere. Then some of the birds turned mean: They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. And others birds were boisterous and
loud: They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.
After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio. Soon, the back yard was like it used to be...quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.
Now lets see...our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen. Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for
free services; small apartments are housing 5 families: you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor: your child's 2nd grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English: Corn Flakes now come
in a bilingual box; I have to press "one" to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than "Old Glory" are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.
Maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder.
I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food. But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue. Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table...everywhere. Then some of the birds turned mean: They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. And others birds were boisterous and
loud: They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.
After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio. Soon, the back yard was like it used to be...quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.
Now lets see...our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen. Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for
free services; small apartments are housing 5 families: you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor: your child's 2nd grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English: Corn Flakes now come
in a bilingual box; I have to press "one" to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than "Old Glory" are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.
Maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Brits and Basrah in Danger
Interesting article from the Telegraph.co.uk
British troops in Basra will be hemmed into an isolated military base and will face a relentless series of murderous attacks over the summer, senior officers have warned.
Commanders believe that the plan to withdraw troops to just one British base in the southern Iraqi city, which begins today, will lead to a significant increase in the number of casualties being sustained by the Army.
They fear it will encourage insurgents to concentrate almost all their attacks against the base, Basra Palace, a mile from the city centre and home to about 1,000 soldiers.
The withdrawal is part of a "reposturing" plan outlined by Tony Blair in a statement to the House of Commons in February, in which British troops gradually hand over areas of the city to the Iraqi police and army, while withdrawing from three separate bases to just the one.
The fighting in Basra is already being compared to the summer of 2004, when British troops were attacked by heavily armed insurgents every time they ventured on to the streets of the city after an uprising by the Shia Mehdi Army.
The latest deadly attack came on Thursday when four soldiers, two of them women including a Sandhurst contemporary of Prince William, were killed when their Warrior armoured vehicle was destroyed by a roadside bomb.
Virtually every military patrol in the city is now attacked with automatic rifle fire, rocket propelled grenades or, worse still, the feared roadside bomb. Soldiers who have recently returned from fighting in Basra have revealed that troops can now be expected to be attacked within minutes of leaving the relative safety of their bases.
Even non routine, intelligence-led operations are at risk from attacks because troop movements are monitored by so-called "dickers", a term which originated during the conflict in Ulster and is now used to describe Iraqis who relay information to the insurgents by mobile telephones.
The upsurge in violence is being blamed on two rival Shia groups in Basra who are vying to fill the power vacuum created when British troops finally pull out of the city. They also want the perceived kudos of being able to say they were the ones who ousted the British Army.
British commanders in Basra now admit that the number of attacks against coalition forces are beginning to escalate dangerously.
Lt Col Kevin Stratford-Wright, the Army spokesman in Basra, said: "The level of attacks against us at the moment is high. There appears to be a conscious decision by the insurgents to attack British troops.
"They want to disrupt the security transition process and they want to be able to say 'we kicked the Brits out of Basra'. But we will leave Basra when the time is right."
Movement by military convoys around the city is also becoming increasingly more difficult and even the shortest journey borders on being a major operation, with routes having to be cleared by Army dog handlers checking "vulnerable points" - such as areas where roads narrow - for hidden explosives.
The eight miles to the airport can take more than five hours to travel because it is no longer possible to take a direct route in and out of Basra.
Last month, British troops vacated the Old State Building, the base in the centre of Basra which had the dubious distinction of being the most attacked military location in Iraq.
One senior officer said: "We have been bombed out of every base we have been in so far and the prediction is that the same will happen when we are based only in the Basra Palace.
"Withdrawing to just one base will enable the insurgents to concentrate their forces against us. They can attack us with indirect fire from within the city, by firing rockets and mortars into the compound, they can ambush us with IEDs [improvised explosive devices] when we are travelling in vehicles and they can snipe at us when we are on foot patrol. It is only going to get worse."
The security situation in the area is further undermined by the notoriously corrupt local police, the majority of whom are aligned to one of the insurgent groups. Last month one police chief complained that he could not trust one third of his officers because of links to insurgents. Another senior officer said that he had been forced to hire 300 illiterate officers for tribal reasons.
In any other country apart from Iraq, Basra Palace would be a "must see" site on the international tourist map. Built by the Ottomans and expanded under Saddam Hussein's regime, it sits in a tranquil setting along the lush banks of the Shatt al-Arab waterway.
These days, however, its once beautiful gardens, lakes and canals are rarely visited by the multi-national force housed inside. No one wants to be caught in the open when mortars and rockets begin to fall, as they do on most days.
The brunt of the attacks has been felt by troops from 19 Light Brigade, who are coming to the end of their six-month tour. The brigade has sustained more than 20 fatalities and dozens more soldiers have been injured. Several have lost limbs.
This year alone 13 soldiers have been killed in Basra and six of those deaths have occurred this month.
Thursday's attack, which left four soldiers and a civilian interpreter dead when their Warrior armoured fighting vehicle was destroyed by a roadside bomb, was a carefully planned ambush.
The soldiers, 2nd Lt Joanna Dyer, 24; Cpl Kris O'Neil, 27, Pte Eleanor Dlugosz, 19 and Kingsman Adam Smith, 19, were all killed instantly.
Lt Dyer, who came from a military family, was a close friend of Prince William at Sandhurst. She was serving with the Intelligence Corps and had volunteered to deploy to Iraq immediately after being commissioned in December.
Such is the strength of the armour on the Warrior that the vehicle was regarded previously as being impregnable to improvised explosive devices, which use a shaped charge to pierce the hull of armoured vehicles.
The fact that the Shia insurgents have developed a weapon that can "defeat" a Warrior's armour means that British troops now have no vehicle that can protect them against the threat from roadside bombs.
The "shaped charge" basically has the same effect as an anti-tank rocket when it strikes an armoured vehicle. It is widely assumed that the technology for making the bombs and the devices for triggering them have been developed across the border by elements of the Iranian Republican Guard.
Prince Harry will be serving with 1 Mechanised Brigade which replaces 19 Light Brigade in the next few weeks.
However, the prince will not take part in patrols in Basra. His unit, the Life Guards, will spend six months working as a covert force patrolling the border with Iran.
Senior officers have said that Harry, who has "won the respect of his men" will be given no special treatment and will expect to carry out his duties "just like any junior officer".
British troops in Basra will be hemmed into an isolated military base and will face a relentless series of murderous attacks over the summer, senior officers have warned.
Commanders believe that the plan to withdraw troops to just one British base in the southern Iraqi city, which begins today, will lead to a significant increase in the number of casualties being sustained by the Army.
They fear it will encourage insurgents to concentrate almost all their attacks against the base, Basra Palace, a mile from the city centre and home to about 1,000 soldiers.
The withdrawal is part of a "reposturing" plan outlined by Tony Blair in a statement to the House of Commons in February, in which British troops gradually hand over areas of the city to the Iraqi police and army, while withdrawing from three separate bases to just the one.
The fighting in Basra is already being compared to the summer of 2004, when British troops were attacked by heavily armed insurgents every time they ventured on to the streets of the city after an uprising by the Shia Mehdi Army.
The latest deadly attack came on Thursday when four soldiers, two of them women including a Sandhurst contemporary of Prince William, were killed when their Warrior armoured vehicle was destroyed by a roadside bomb.
Virtually every military patrol in the city is now attacked with automatic rifle fire, rocket propelled grenades or, worse still, the feared roadside bomb. Soldiers who have recently returned from fighting in Basra have revealed that troops can now be expected to be attacked within minutes of leaving the relative safety of their bases.
Even non routine, intelligence-led operations are at risk from attacks because troop movements are monitored by so-called "dickers", a term which originated during the conflict in Ulster and is now used to describe Iraqis who relay information to the insurgents by mobile telephones.
The upsurge in violence is being blamed on two rival Shia groups in Basra who are vying to fill the power vacuum created when British troops finally pull out of the city. They also want the perceived kudos of being able to say they were the ones who ousted the British Army.
British commanders in Basra now admit that the number of attacks against coalition forces are beginning to escalate dangerously.
Lt Col Kevin Stratford-Wright, the Army spokesman in Basra, said: "The level of attacks against us at the moment is high. There appears to be a conscious decision by the insurgents to attack British troops.
"They want to disrupt the security transition process and they want to be able to say 'we kicked the Brits out of Basra'. But we will leave Basra when the time is right."
Movement by military convoys around the city is also becoming increasingly more difficult and even the shortest journey borders on being a major operation, with routes having to be cleared by Army dog handlers checking "vulnerable points" - such as areas where roads narrow - for hidden explosives.
The eight miles to the airport can take more than five hours to travel because it is no longer possible to take a direct route in and out of Basra.
Last month, British troops vacated the Old State Building, the base in the centre of Basra which had the dubious distinction of being the most attacked military location in Iraq.
One senior officer said: "We have been bombed out of every base we have been in so far and the prediction is that the same will happen when we are based only in the Basra Palace.
"Withdrawing to just one base will enable the insurgents to concentrate their forces against us. They can attack us with indirect fire from within the city, by firing rockets and mortars into the compound, they can ambush us with IEDs [improvised explosive devices] when we are travelling in vehicles and they can snipe at us when we are on foot patrol. It is only going to get worse."
The security situation in the area is further undermined by the notoriously corrupt local police, the majority of whom are aligned to one of the insurgent groups. Last month one police chief complained that he could not trust one third of his officers because of links to insurgents. Another senior officer said that he had been forced to hire 300 illiterate officers for tribal reasons.
In any other country apart from Iraq, Basra Palace would be a "must see" site on the international tourist map. Built by the Ottomans and expanded under Saddam Hussein's regime, it sits in a tranquil setting along the lush banks of the Shatt al-Arab waterway.
These days, however, its once beautiful gardens, lakes and canals are rarely visited by the multi-national force housed inside. No one wants to be caught in the open when mortars and rockets begin to fall, as they do on most days.
The brunt of the attacks has been felt by troops from 19 Light Brigade, who are coming to the end of their six-month tour. The brigade has sustained more than 20 fatalities and dozens more soldiers have been injured. Several have lost limbs.
This year alone 13 soldiers have been killed in Basra and six of those deaths have occurred this month.
Thursday's attack, which left four soldiers and a civilian interpreter dead when their Warrior armoured fighting vehicle was destroyed by a roadside bomb, was a carefully planned ambush.
The soldiers, 2nd Lt Joanna Dyer, 24; Cpl Kris O'Neil, 27, Pte Eleanor Dlugosz, 19 and Kingsman Adam Smith, 19, were all killed instantly.
Lt Dyer, who came from a military family, was a close friend of Prince William at Sandhurst. She was serving with the Intelligence Corps and had volunteered to deploy to Iraq immediately after being commissioned in December.
Such is the strength of the armour on the Warrior that the vehicle was regarded previously as being impregnable to improvised explosive devices, which use a shaped charge to pierce the hull of armoured vehicles.
The fact that the Shia insurgents have developed a weapon that can "defeat" a Warrior's armour means that British troops now have no vehicle that can protect them against the threat from roadside bombs.
The "shaped charge" basically has the same effect as an anti-tank rocket when it strikes an armoured vehicle. It is widely assumed that the technology for making the bombs and the devices for triggering them have been developed across the border by elements of the Iranian Republican Guard.
Prince Harry will be serving with 1 Mechanised Brigade which replaces 19 Light Brigade in the next few weeks.
However, the prince will not take part in patrols in Basra. His unit, the Life Guards, will spend six months working as a covert force patrolling the border with Iran.
Senior officers have said that Harry, who has "won the respect of his men" will be given no special treatment and will expect to carry out his duties "just like any junior officer".
Sunday, March 25, 2007
A few thoughts submitted by my wife's cousin.
*SOME OF YOU ARE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER THAT NEARLY EVERY FAMILY IN AMERICA WAS GROSSLY AFFECTED BY WW II . MOST OF YOU DON'T REMEMBER THE RATIONING OF MEAT, SHOES, GASOLINE, AND SUGAR. NO TIRES FOR OUR AUTOMOBILES, AND A SPEED LIMIT OF 35 MILES AN HOUR ON THE ROAD, NOT TO MENTION, NO NEW AUTOMOBILES. READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE WOULD REACT TO BEING TAKEN OVER BY FOREIGNERS IN 2007.
This is an EXCELLENT essay . Well thought out and presented.
Historical Significance Sixty-three years ago, Nazi Germany had overrun almost all of Europe
and hammered England to the verge of bankruptcy and defeat .
The Nazis had sunk more than 400 British ships in their convoys between England and America
taking food and war materials .
At that time the US was in an isolationist, pacifist mood, and most Americans
wanted nothing to do with the European or the Asian war .
Then along came Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and in outrage Congress unanimously
declared war on Japan, and the following day on Germany , who had not yet
attacked us . It was a dicey thing. We had few allies .
France was not an ally, as the Vichy government of France quickly aligned itself with its German occupiers .
Germany was certainly not an ally, as Hitler was intent on setting up Thousand Year Reich in Europe.
Japan was not an ally, as it was well on its way to owning and controlling all of Asia.
Together, Japan and Germany had long-range plans of invading Canada and Mexico,
as launching pads to get into the United States over our northern and southern borders,
after they finished gaining control of Asia and Europe
America's only allies then were England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and Russia.
That was about it. All of Europe, from Norway to Italy (except Russia in the East) was already under the Nazi heel .
The US was certainly not prepared for war. The US had drastically downgraded most of its military forces
after WW I because of the depression, so that at the outbreak of WW II,
Army units were training with broomsticks because they didn't have guns, and cars
with "tank" painted on the doors because they didn't have real tanks.
A huge chunk of our Navy had just been sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor.
Britain had already gone bankrupt, saved only by the donation of $600 million in gold bullion
in the Bank of England (that was actually the property of Belgium) given by Belgium
to England to carry on the war when Belgium was overrun by Hitler (a little known fact).
Actually, Belgium surrendered on one day, because it was unable to oppose the German invasion,
and the Germans bombed Brussels into rubble the next day just to prove they could .
Britain had already been holding out for two years in the face of staggering losses and the near decimation
of its Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain, and was saved from being overrun by Germany
only because Hitler made the mistake of thinking the Brits were a relatively minor threat
that could be dealt with later. Hitler, first turned his attention to Russia, in the late summer of 1940
at a time when England was on the verge of collapse.
Ironically, Russia saved America 's butt by putting up a desperate fight for two years,
until the US got geared up to begin hammering away at Germany .
Russia lost something like 24,000,000 people in the sieges of Stalingrad and Moscow alone
. . 90% of them from cold and starvation, mostly civilians, but also more than a 1,000,000 soldiers
Had Russia surrendered, Hitler would have been able to focus his entire war effort against the Brits,
then America. If that had happened, the Nazis could possibly have won the war .
All of this has been brought out to illustrate that turning points in history are often dicey things.
Now, we find ourselves at another one of those key moments in history.
There is a very dangerous minority in Islam that either has, or wants or may soon have, the ability
to deliver small nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, almost anywhere in the world .
The Jihadis, the militant Muslims, are basically Nazis in Kaffiyahs -- they believe that Islam,
a radically conservative form of Wahhabi Islam, should own and control the Middle East first,
then Europe, then the world. To them, all who do not bow to their will of thinking should be killed,
enslaved, or subjugated . They want to finish the Holocaust, destroy Israel,
and purge the world of Jews. This is their mantra . (goal)
There is also a civil war raging in the Middle East -- for the most part not a hot war, but a war of ideas.
Islam is having its Inquisition and its Reformation, but it is not yet known which side will win --
the Inquisitors, or the Reformationists.
If the Inquisition wins, then the Wahhabis, the Jihadis, will control the Middle East,
the OPEC oil, and the US, European, and Asian economies.
The techno-industrial economies will be at the mercy of OPEC -- not an OPEC
dominated by the educated, rational Saudis of today, but an OPEC dominated by the Jihadis.
Do you want gas in your car? Do you want heating oil next winter?
Do you want the dollar to be worth anything? You had better hope the Jihad,
the Muslim Inquisition, loses, and the Islamic Reformation wins.
If the Reformation movement wins, that is, the moderate Muslims who believe that Islam
can respect and tolerate other religions, live in peace with the rest of the world, and
move out of the 10th century into the 21st, then the troubles in the Middle East will eventually fade away
A moderate and prosperous Middle East will emerge.
We have to help the Reformation win, and to do that we have to fight the Inquisition, i. e.,
the Wahhabi movement, the Jihad, Al Qaeda and the Islamic terrorist movements. We
have to do it somewhere. We can't do it everywhere at once. We have created a focal point for the battle
at a time and place of our choosing . . in Iraq . Not in New York, not in London , or Paris or Berlin,
but in Iraq , where we are doing two important things.
(1) We deposed Saddam Hussein. Whether Saddam Hussein was directly involved
in the 9/11 terrorist attack or not, it is undisputed that Saddam has been actively supporting the
terrorist movement for decades Saddam is a terrorist! Saddam is, or was, a weapon of mass destruction,
responsible for the deaths of probably more than 1,000,000,000
(2) We created a battle, a confrontation, a flash point, with 1,000,000 Iraqis and 2,000,000 Iranians .
Islamic terrorism in Iraq. We have focused the battle. We are killing bad people,
and the ones we get there we won't have to get here. We also have a good shot at creating
a democratic, peaceful Iraq, which will be a catalyst for democratic change in the rest of the Middle East,
and an outpost for a stabilizing American military presence in the Middle East for as long as it is needed .
WW II, the war with the Japanese and German Nazis, really began with a "whimper" in 1928
It did not begin with Pearl Harbor. It began with the Japanese invasion of China.
It was a war for fourteen years before the US joined it. It officially ended in 1945
-- a 17 year war -- and was followed by another decade of US occupation in Germany and
Japan to get those countries reconstructed and running on their own a gain . a 27 year war.
WW II cost the United States an amount equal to approximately a full year's GDP --
adjusted for inflation, equal to about $12 trillion dollars. WW II cost America
more than 400,000 soldiers killed in action, and nearly 100,000 still missing in action.
The Iraq war has, so far, cost the United States about 160,000,000,000, which is roughly what the 9/11
terrorist attack cost New York. It has also cost about 3,000 American lives, which is roughly equivalent
to lives that the Jihad killed (within the United States) in the 9/11 terrorist attack .
The cost of not fighting and winning WW II would have been unimaginably greater --
a world dominated by Japanese Imperialism and German Nazism .
This is not a 60-Minutes TV show, or a 2-hour movie in which everything comes out okay.
The real world is not like that. It is messy, uncertain, and sometimes bloody and ugly.
It always has been, and probably always will be .
The bottom line is that we will have to deal with Islamic terrorism until we defeat it,
whenever that is. It will not go away if we ignore it
If the US can create a reasonably democratic and stable Iraq, hen we have an ally,
like England, in the Middle East, a platform, from which we can work to help modernize
and moderate the Middle East. The history of the world is the clash between the forces
of relative civility and civilization, and the barbarians clamoring at the gates to conquer the world.
The Iraq War is merely another battle in this ancient and never ending war.
Now, for the first time ever, the barbarians are about to get nuclear weapons.
Unless some body prevents them from getting them.
WE HAVE FOUR OPTIONS:
1. Defeat Jihad had now, before it gets nuclear weapons.
2 . We can fight the Jihad later, after it gets nuclear weapons (which may be as early as next year,
if Iran's progress on nuclear weapons is what Iran claims it is).
3 . We can surrender to the Jihad and accept its dominance in the Middle East now;
in Europe in the next few years or decades, and ultimately in America.
OR
4 . We can stand down now, and pick up the fight later when the Jihad is more widespread and better armed,
perhaps after the Jihad has dominated France and Germany and possibly most of the rest of Europe.
It will, of course, be more dangerous, more expensive, and much bloodier.
If you oppose this war, I hope you like the idea that your children, or grandchildren,
may live in an Islamic America under the Mullahs and the Sharia,
an America that resembles Iran today.
The history of the world is the history of civilization clashes, cultural clashes. All wars are about ideas,
ideas about what society and civilization should be like, and the most determined always win.
Those who are willing to be the most ruthless always win.
The pacifists always lose, because the anti-pacifists kill them.
Remember, perspective is every thing, and America's schools teach too little history
for perspective to be clear, especially in the young American mind.
The Cold War lasted from about 1947 at least until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989; forty-two years!
Europe spent the first half of the 19th century fighting Napoleon, and from 1870 to 1945 fighting Germany!
World War II began in 1928, lasted 17 years, plus a ten year occupation, and the US still has troops
in Germany and Japan. World War II resulted in the death of more than 50,000,000 people,
maybe more than 100,000,000 people, depending on which estimates you accept.
The US has taken more than 3,000 killed in action in Iraq. The US took more than 4,000 killed in action
on the morning of June 6, 1944, the first day of the Normandy Invasion to rid Europe of Nazi Imperialism.
In WW II the US averaged 2,000 KIA a week -- for four years. Most of the individual battles of WW II
lost more Americans than the entire Iraq war has done so far .
The stakes are at least as high . . A world dominated by repsentative governments with civil rights,
human rights, and personal freedoms . . or a world dominated by a radical Islamic Wahhabi movement,
by the Jihad, under the Mullahs and the Sharia (Islamic law) .
It's difficult to understand why the average American does not grasp this. They favor human rights,
civil rights, liberty and freedom, but evidently not for Iraqis.
"Peace Activists" always seem to demonstrate here in America, where it's safe.
Why don't we see Peace Activist demonstrating in Iran, Syria, Iraq, Sudan , North Korea,
in the places that really need peace activism the most? I'll tell you why! They would be killed!
The liberal mentality is supposed to favor human rights, civil rights, democracy, multiculturalism,
diversity, etc., but if the Jihad wins, wherever the Jihad wins, it is the end of civil rights, human rights,
democracy, multiculturalism, diversity, etc.
Americans who oppose the liberation of Iraq are coming down on the side of their own worst enemy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raymond S . Kraft is a writer living in Northern California
who has studied the Middle Eastern culture and religion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is an EXCELLENT essay . Well thought out and presented.
Historical Significance Sixty-three years ago, Nazi Germany had overrun almost all of Europe
and hammered England to the verge of bankruptcy and defeat .
The Nazis had sunk more than 400 British ships in their convoys between England and America
taking food and war materials .
At that time the US was in an isolationist, pacifist mood, and most Americans
wanted nothing to do with the European or the Asian war .
Then along came Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and in outrage Congress unanimously
declared war on Japan, and the following day on Germany , who had not yet
attacked us . It was a dicey thing. We had few allies .
France was not an ally, as the Vichy government of France quickly aligned itself with its German occupiers .
Germany was certainly not an ally, as Hitler was intent on setting up Thousand Year Reich in Europe.
Japan was not an ally, as it was well on its way to owning and controlling all of Asia.
Together, Japan and Germany had long-range plans of invading Canada and Mexico,
as launching pads to get into the United States over our northern and southern borders,
after they finished gaining control of Asia and Europe
America's only allies then were England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and Russia.
That was about it. All of Europe, from Norway to Italy (except Russia in the East) was already under the Nazi heel .
The US was certainly not prepared for war. The US had drastically downgraded most of its military forces
after WW I because of the depression, so that at the outbreak of WW II,
Army units were training with broomsticks because they didn't have guns, and cars
with "tank" painted on the doors because they didn't have real tanks.
A huge chunk of our Navy had just been sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor.
Britain had already gone bankrupt, saved only by the donation of $600 million in gold bullion
in the Bank of England (that was actually the property of Belgium) given by Belgium
to England to carry on the war when Belgium was overrun by Hitler (a little known fact).
Actually, Belgium surrendered on one day, because it was unable to oppose the German invasion,
and the Germans bombed Brussels into rubble the next day just to prove they could .
Britain had already been holding out for two years in the face of staggering losses and the near decimation
of its Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain, and was saved from being overrun by Germany
only because Hitler made the mistake of thinking the Brits were a relatively minor threat
that could be dealt with later. Hitler, first turned his attention to Russia, in the late summer of 1940
at a time when England was on the verge of collapse.
Ironically, Russia saved America 's butt by putting up a desperate fight for two years,
until the US got geared up to begin hammering away at Germany .
Russia lost something like 24,000,000 people in the sieges of Stalingrad and Moscow alone
. . 90% of them from cold and starvation, mostly civilians, but also more than a 1,000,000 soldiers
Had Russia surrendered, Hitler would have been able to focus his entire war effort against the Brits,
then America. If that had happened, the Nazis could possibly have won the war .
All of this has been brought out to illustrate that turning points in history are often dicey things.
Now, we find ourselves at another one of those key moments in history.
There is a very dangerous minority in Islam that either has, or wants or may soon have, the ability
to deliver small nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, almost anywhere in the world .
The Jihadis, the militant Muslims, are basically Nazis in Kaffiyahs -- they believe that Islam,
a radically conservative form of Wahhabi Islam, should own and control the Middle East first,
then Europe, then the world. To them, all who do not bow to their will of thinking should be killed,
enslaved, or subjugated . They want to finish the Holocaust, destroy Israel,
and purge the world of Jews. This is their mantra . (goal)
There is also a civil war raging in the Middle East -- for the most part not a hot war, but a war of ideas.
Islam is having its Inquisition and its Reformation, but it is not yet known which side will win --
the Inquisitors, or the Reformationists.
If the Inquisition wins, then the Wahhabis, the Jihadis, will control the Middle East,
the OPEC oil, and the US, European, and Asian economies.
The techno-industrial economies will be at the mercy of OPEC -- not an OPEC
dominated by the educated, rational Saudis of today, but an OPEC dominated by the Jihadis.
Do you want gas in your car? Do you want heating oil next winter?
Do you want the dollar to be worth anything? You had better hope the Jihad,
the Muslim Inquisition, loses, and the Islamic Reformation wins.
If the Reformation movement wins, that is, the moderate Muslims who believe that Islam
can respect and tolerate other religions, live in peace with the rest of the world, and
move out of the 10th century into the 21st, then the troubles in the Middle East will eventually fade away
A moderate and prosperous Middle East will emerge.
We have to help the Reformation win, and to do that we have to fight the Inquisition, i. e.,
the Wahhabi movement, the Jihad, Al Qaeda and the Islamic terrorist movements. We
have to do it somewhere. We can't do it everywhere at once. We have created a focal point for the battle
at a time and place of our choosing . . in Iraq . Not in New York, not in London , or Paris or Berlin,
but in Iraq , where we are doing two important things.
(1) We deposed Saddam Hussein. Whether Saddam Hussein was directly involved
in the 9/11 terrorist attack or not, it is undisputed that Saddam has been actively supporting the
terrorist movement for decades Saddam is a terrorist! Saddam is, or was, a weapon of mass destruction,
responsible for the deaths of probably more than 1,000,000,000
(2) We created a battle, a confrontation, a flash point, with 1,000,000 Iraqis and 2,000,000 Iranians .
Islamic terrorism in Iraq. We have focused the battle. We are killing bad people,
and the ones we get there we won't have to get here. We also have a good shot at creating
a democratic, peaceful Iraq, which will be a catalyst for democratic change in the rest of the Middle East,
and an outpost for a stabilizing American military presence in the Middle East for as long as it is needed .
WW II, the war with the Japanese and German Nazis, really began with a "whimper" in 1928
It did not begin with Pearl Harbor. It began with the Japanese invasion of China.
It was a war for fourteen years before the US joined it. It officially ended in 1945
-- a 17 year war -- and was followed by another decade of US occupation in Germany and
Japan to get those countries reconstructed and running on their own a gain . a 27 year war.
WW II cost the United States an amount equal to approximately a full year's GDP --
adjusted for inflation, equal to about $12 trillion dollars. WW II cost America
more than 400,000 soldiers killed in action, and nearly 100,000 still missing in action.
The Iraq war has, so far, cost the United States about 160,000,000,000, which is roughly what the 9/11
terrorist attack cost New York. It has also cost about 3,000 American lives, which is roughly equivalent
to lives that the Jihad killed (within the United States) in the 9/11 terrorist attack .
The cost of not fighting and winning WW II would have been unimaginably greater --
a world dominated by Japanese Imperialism and German Nazism .
This is not a 60-Minutes TV show, or a 2-hour movie in which everything comes out okay.
The real world is not like that. It is messy, uncertain, and sometimes bloody and ugly.
It always has been, and probably always will be .
The bottom line is that we will have to deal with Islamic terrorism until we defeat it,
whenever that is. It will not go away if we ignore it
If the US can create a reasonably democratic and stable Iraq, hen we have an ally,
like England, in the Middle East, a platform, from which we can work to help modernize
and moderate the Middle East. The history of the world is the clash between the forces
of relative civility and civilization, and the barbarians clamoring at the gates to conquer the world.
The Iraq War is merely another battle in this ancient and never ending war.
Now, for the first time ever, the barbarians are about to get nuclear weapons.
Unless some body prevents them from getting them.
WE HAVE FOUR OPTIONS:
1. Defeat Jihad had now, before it gets nuclear weapons.
2 . We can fight the Jihad later, after it gets nuclear weapons (which may be as early as next year,
if Iran's progress on nuclear weapons is what Iran claims it is).
3 . We can surrender to the Jihad and accept its dominance in the Middle East now;
in Europe in the next few years or decades, and ultimately in America.
OR
4 . We can stand down now, and pick up the fight later when the Jihad is more widespread and better armed,
perhaps after the Jihad has dominated France and Germany and possibly most of the rest of Europe.
It will, of course, be more dangerous, more expensive, and much bloodier.
If you oppose this war, I hope you like the idea that your children, or grandchildren,
may live in an Islamic America under the Mullahs and the Sharia,
an America that resembles Iran today.
The history of the world is the history of civilization clashes, cultural clashes. All wars are about ideas,
ideas about what society and civilization should be like, and the most determined always win.
Those who are willing to be the most ruthless always win.
The pacifists always lose, because the anti-pacifists kill them.
Remember, perspective is every thing, and America's schools teach too little history
for perspective to be clear, especially in the young American mind.
The Cold War lasted from about 1947 at least until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989; forty-two years!
Europe spent the first half of the 19th century fighting Napoleon, and from 1870 to 1945 fighting Germany!
World War II began in 1928, lasted 17 years, plus a ten year occupation, and the US still has troops
in Germany and Japan. World War II resulted in the death of more than 50,000,000 people,
maybe more than 100,000,000 people, depending on which estimates you accept.
The US has taken more than 3,000 killed in action in Iraq. The US took more than 4,000 killed in action
on the morning of June 6, 1944, the first day of the Normandy Invasion to rid Europe of Nazi Imperialism.
In WW II the US averaged 2,000 KIA a week -- for four years. Most of the individual battles of WW II
lost more Americans than the entire Iraq war has done so far .
The stakes are at least as high . . A world dominated by repsentative governments with civil rights,
human rights, and personal freedoms . . or a world dominated by a radical Islamic Wahhabi movement,
by the Jihad, under the Mullahs and the Sharia (Islamic law) .
It's difficult to understand why the average American does not grasp this. They favor human rights,
civil rights, liberty and freedom, but evidently not for Iraqis.
"Peace Activists" always seem to demonstrate here in America, where it's safe.
Why don't we see Peace Activist demonstrating in Iran, Syria, Iraq, Sudan , North Korea,
in the places that really need peace activism the most? I'll tell you why! They would be killed!
The liberal mentality is supposed to favor human rights, civil rights, democracy, multiculturalism,
diversity, etc., but if the Jihad wins, wherever the Jihad wins, it is the end of civil rights, human rights,
democracy, multiculturalism, diversity, etc.
Americans who oppose the liberation of Iraq are coming down on the side of their own worst enemy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raymond S . Kraft is a writer living in Northern California
who has studied the Middle Eastern culture and religion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
More humor and elements of the truth
21 Ways To Be A Good Democrat
1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.
2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.
3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than U.S.nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists.
4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding.
5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical documented changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.
6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural.
7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.
8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach 4th-graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.
9. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but loony activists who have never been outside of San Francisco do.
10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.
11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make The Passion Of The Christ for financial gain only.
12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.
13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.
14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Robert E. Lee, and Thomas Edison.
15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.
16. You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a very nice person.
17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried is because the right people haven't been in charge.
18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.
19. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag, transvestites, and bestiality should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.
20. You have to believe that illegal Democrat Party funding by the Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest to the United States.
21. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right wing conspiracy.
1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.
2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.
3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than U.S.nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists.
4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding.
5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical documented changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.
6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural.
7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.
8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach 4th-graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.
9. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but loony activists who have never been outside of San Francisco do.
10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.
11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make The Passion Of The Christ for financial gain only.
12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.
13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.
14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Robert E. Lee, and Thomas Edison.
15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.
16. You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a very nice person.
17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried is because the right people haven't been in charge.
18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.
19. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag, transvestites, and bestiality should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.
20. You have to believe that illegal Democrat Party funding by the Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest to the United States.
21. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right wing conspiracy.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
How long will our United States Stand
I sense a very real threat to our nation, the United States of America. The threat isn't blatant an obvious as seen in other countries throughout the world. Yet the threat exists in a cunning fashion that will eventually lead to a break down of the very heart and sole of this country.
The very morale fiber of this great country is under a tremendous attack by multiple sources. I was listening to the radio the other day and realized how the broadcasters were constantly using language that only a few years ago would have violated FCC standards and maybe even cost a few jobs, now it is an everyday occurrence and now it seems nothing is left to the imagination. It isn't just the radio, but television shows are becoming more grotesque in their programing with more sex scenes, vulgar language and disgusting behavior.
The local newspaper has a long standing policy to verify the name and address of a submission to the "Letters to the Editor" and making few exceptions to withholding the names of the submitter, but now they are beginning to include responses to issues by bloggers with "handles" rather than names. Many times the responses are full of hatred and despise for others opinions.
Our country has always been described as "the melting pot" where many from all nations and walks of life have blended to form this great nation, but now we are seeing more and more demands for special treatment and special recognition of nationalities.
A friend passed this on to me. I did go to http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/lamm.asp
and verified that in fact Dick Lamm did in fact write and give this speech.
No matter where you stand on the issue, interesting points are raised...
Goodbye America!
FOR THOSE OF YOU ON THE "CONSERVATIVE" SIDE OF THE
FENCE, READ THIS AND LEARN TO UNDERSTAND YOUR FEELINGS
BETTER THAN EVER.
FOR THOSE OF YOU NOT ON THE "CONSERVATIVE" SIDE OF THE
FENCE, READ AND LEARN FROM A FORMER DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR.
Please take the time to read this; it ought to scare the pants off you!
We know Dick Lamm as the former Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington, DC, filled to capacity by many of America’s finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked about his latest book, “Mexifornia,” explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal - was destroying the entire state of California . He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.
Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America . The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States . He said, “If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let’s destroy America. It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that ‘An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.’”
“Here is how they do it,” Lamm said: “First, to destroy America, turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country.” History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: “The histories of bilingual and bi-cultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy.” Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, and Corsicans.”.
Lamm went on: Second, to destroy America, “Invent ‘multiculturalism’ and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. I would make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal. That there are no cultural differences I would make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds.”
Third, “We could make the United States an ‘Hispanic Quebec’ without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: “The apparent success of our own multiethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentricity and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.” Lamm said, “I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities.”
“Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school.”
“My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of ‘Victimology.’ I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population.”
“My sixth plan for America’s downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia , threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. “E. Pluribus Unum” - From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the ‘pluribus’ instead of the ‘Unum,’ we will balkanize America as surely as Kosovo.”
“Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits; make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of ‘diversity.’ I would find a word similar to ‘heretic’ in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like ‘racist’ or ‘xenophobe’ halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bicultural country, having established multi-culturism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of ‘Victimology,’ I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration has been good for America, it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them.”
In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed. Finally he said, “Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis’s book “Mexifornia.” His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America. If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don’t read that book.”
There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate ‘diversity.’ American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America - take note of California and other states - to date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell’s book “1984.” In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: “War is peace,” “Freedom is slavery,” and “Ignorance is strength.”
Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don’t get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially The American Dream.
Another emailer sent this:
New Immigration Plan...
Bring troops home from Iraq to guard the
border. When they catch an illegal immigrant crossing the border, hand him
a canteen, rifle and some ammo and ship him to Iraq. Tell him if he
wants to come to America, then he must serve a tour in the
military.
Give him a soldier's pay while he's there and tax him on it.
After his tour, he will be allowed to become a citizen since he defended
this country. He will also be registered to be taxed and be a legal
patriot.
This option will probably deter illegal immigration and
provide a solution for the troops in Iraq, and the illegal aliens
trying to make a better life for themselves.
If they refuse to serve, ship them to Iraq anyway, WITHOUT the canteen,
rifle or ammo.
Problem solved.
this came from a guy who is Mexican!
The very morale fiber of this great country is under a tremendous attack by multiple sources. I was listening to the radio the other day and realized how the broadcasters were constantly using language that only a few years ago would have violated FCC standards and maybe even cost a few jobs, now it is an everyday occurrence and now it seems nothing is left to the imagination. It isn't just the radio, but television shows are becoming more grotesque in their programing with more sex scenes, vulgar language and disgusting behavior.
The local newspaper has a long standing policy to verify the name and address of a submission to the "Letters to the Editor" and making few exceptions to withholding the names of the submitter, but now they are beginning to include responses to issues by bloggers with "handles" rather than names. Many times the responses are full of hatred and despise for others opinions.
Our country has always been described as "the melting pot" where many from all nations and walks of life have blended to form this great nation, but now we are seeing more and more demands for special treatment and special recognition of nationalities.
A friend passed this on to me. I did go to http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/lamm.asp
and verified that in fact Dick Lamm did in fact write and give this speech.
No matter where you stand on the issue, interesting points are raised...
Goodbye America!
FOR THOSE OF YOU ON THE "CONSERVATIVE" SIDE OF THE
FENCE, READ THIS AND LEARN TO UNDERSTAND YOUR FEELINGS
BETTER THAN EVER.
FOR THOSE OF YOU NOT ON THE "CONSERVATIVE" SIDE OF THE
FENCE, READ AND LEARN FROM A FORMER DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR.
Please take the time to read this; it ought to scare the pants off you!
We know Dick Lamm as the former Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington, DC, filled to capacity by many of America’s finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked about his latest book, “Mexifornia,” explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal - was destroying the entire state of California . He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.
Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America . The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States . He said, “If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let’s destroy America. It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that ‘An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.’”
“Here is how they do it,” Lamm said: “First, to destroy America, turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country.” History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: “The histories of bilingual and bi-cultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy.” Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, and Corsicans.”.
Lamm went on: Second, to destroy America, “Invent ‘multiculturalism’ and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. I would make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal. That there are no cultural differences I would make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds.”
Third, “We could make the United States an ‘Hispanic Quebec’ without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: “The apparent success of our own multiethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentricity and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.” Lamm said, “I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities.”
“Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school.”
“My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of ‘Victimology.’ I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population.”
“My sixth plan for America’s downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia , threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. “E. Pluribus Unum” - From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the ‘pluribus’ instead of the ‘Unum,’ we will balkanize America as surely as Kosovo.”
“Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits; make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of ‘diversity.’ I would find a word similar to ‘heretic’ in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like ‘racist’ or ‘xenophobe’ halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bicultural country, having established multi-culturism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of ‘Victimology,’ I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration has been good for America, it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them.”
In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed. Finally he said, “Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis’s book “Mexifornia.” His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America. If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don’t read that book.”
There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate ‘diversity.’ American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America - take note of California and other states - to date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell’s book “1984.” In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: “War is peace,” “Freedom is slavery,” and “Ignorance is strength.”
Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don’t get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially The American Dream.
Another emailer sent this:
New Immigration Plan...
Bring troops home from Iraq to guard the
border. When they catch an illegal immigrant crossing the border, hand him
a canteen, rifle and some ammo and ship him to Iraq. Tell him if he
wants to come to America, then he must serve a tour in the
military.
Give him a soldier's pay while he's there and tax him on it.
After his tour, he will be allowed to become a citizen since he defended
this country. He will also be registered to be taxed and be a legal
patriot.
This option will probably deter illegal immigration and
provide a solution for the troops in Iraq, and the illegal aliens
trying to make a better life for themselves.
If they refuse to serve, ship them to Iraq anyway, WITHOUT the canteen,
rifle or ammo.
Problem solved.
this came from a guy who is Mexican!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Judge Not, that ye be not judged!
Matthew 7:1 is often quoted by many to magically quote the Bible and purportedly show how the Bible defends an issue from attack. In fact, the complete passage is not just verse one but verses one to five and while the passage does deal with judging another person it does not defend issues declared by other Scriptures to be sinful.
“Judge not, that ye be not judged” has been used to defend all types of sinful actions as if we in the human race should not discern between right and wrong or moral and immoral actions as to do this would be “judging another person”. In fact this passage doesn’t argue that the “mote” and “beam” are good and acceptable, but rather that each person should cast out or get rid of the unacceptable “mote” or “beam” from their own life prior to trying to help someone else.
In verse 5, Jesus says “Thou hypocrite” which means that one person is critical of another person while ignoring their own problems. Jesus then states get rid of your “beam” or sin and then you will be able to better see how to cast out the “mote” or sin in someone else’s life. Jesus does not defend either person of their sins, nor does he imply that He finds their actions acceptable. Those using this one verse to support immoral and sinful actions are simply showing their ignorance of the Scriptures and attempting to quiet anyone questioning these immoral and sinful actions. In reality they have become the judge with the “beam” in their eye.
Matthew Chapter 7 Verses 1-5
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
“Judge not, that ye be not judged” has been used to defend all types of sinful actions as if we in the human race should not discern between right and wrong or moral and immoral actions as to do this would be “judging another person”. In fact this passage doesn’t argue that the “mote” and “beam” are good and acceptable, but rather that each person should cast out or get rid of the unacceptable “mote” or “beam” from their own life prior to trying to help someone else.
In verse 5, Jesus says “Thou hypocrite” which means that one person is critical of another person while ignoring their own problems. Jesus then states get rid of your “beam” or sin and then you will be able to better see how to cast out the “mote” or sin in someone else’s life. Jesus does not defend either person of their sins, nor does he imply that He finds their actions acceptable. Those using this one verse to support immoral and sinful actions are simply showing their ignorance of the Scriptures and attempting to quiet anyone questioning these immoral and sinful actions. In reality they have become the judge with the “beam” in their eye.
Matthew Chapter 7 Verses 1-5
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Bush to send more troops to Iraq
The popular question today is "What do you think about Bush sending more troops to Iraq?" Often the questionnaire doesn’t even wait for your response but rushes into the usual rant on the President. The ranting usually follows the same line of statements, not questions, "We should never have gone into Iraq.”, or “George Bush lied to us about there being weapons of mass destruction.”
Even an idiot can occasionally make right choices when using hindsight. I think the real question facing our Nation is, are we Honorable, can we do our Duty and do we love our Country? I suggest that many Americans have a greater self love than a love for their country.
It really doesn’t make a difference if we should not have gone to Iraq, nor does it make a difference if we were lied to about the reason for going to Iraq. The important issue is what are we going to do from now forward? I have pondered whether we should send additional troops to Iraq and have come to the conclusion that this decision depends upon another more critical decision. I think the question should be do we pull out of Iraq immediately and leave the Iraqi people to fend for themselves or do we support our troops currently in Iraq?
I believe the honorable thing to do is finish the job in Iraq and not betray the Iraqi people. While much has been made of the internal strife, the majority of the people in Iraq are much like those here in the United States; they want to live in peace. Much of the violence is coming from non Iraqi people coming from Syria and Iran and the weapons are coming from these nations. A total withdrawal of troops will only open the doors for more violence against the Iraqi people.
Additional troops will provide a greater security for our current troops based in Iraq and thus they should be safer while stationed in Iraq. If for no other reason we should support the troops in Iraq and provide them more safety. Some may argue that we should withdraw troops slowly, but under the current circumstances a slow withdrawal of troops will only place our service men in greater danger. Will we be placing more men at risk, maybe, but we will also be providing greater strength to those already under fire and that should also cause a reduction in risk.
Here are some questions to ponder:
Why do the same liberals support the killing of millions of unborn babies but oppose war and the killing of war? During the Viet Nam war the liberal cry toward soldiers was “baby killers”, but somehow it was okay to have abortions?
Why do many of the same liberals go off to other countries to adopt unwanted foreign children but are willing to withdraw the troops in Iraq and let the Iraqi women and children die or be enslaved?
Why has the media and liberal left created a no win situation for our troops in Iraq? We have placed so many restrictions on our troops that in fact we have placed them in greater danger. Our troops not only risk their lives but are also constantly second guessed as to their treatment of the enemy. They often are placed in a greater risk because they fear being imprisoned for a war crime.
Why is it okay for the enemy to purposely kill and maim innocents all the time and yet our men in service face trials back home for minimal killing of innocents?
Even an idiot can occasionally make right choices when using hindsight. I think the real question facing our Nation is, are we Honorable, can we do our Duty and do we love our Country? I suggest that many Americans have a greater self love than a love for their country.
It really doesn’t make a difference if we should not have gone to Iraq, nor does it make a difference if we were lied to about the reason for going to Iraq. The important issue is what are we going to do from now forward? I have pondered whether we should send additional troops to Iraq and have come to the conclusion that this decision depends upon another more critical decision. I think the question should be do we pull out of Iraq immediately and leave the Iraqi people to fend for themselves or do we support our troops currently in Iraq?
I believe the honorable thing to do is finish the job in Iraq and not betray the Iraqi people. While much has been made of the internal strife, the majority of the people in Iraq are much like those here in the United States; they want to live in peace. Much of the violence is coming from non Iraqi people coming from Syria and Iran and the weapons are coming from these nations. A total withdrawal of troops will only open the doors for more violence against the Iraqi people.
Additional troops will provide a greater security for our current troops based in Iraq and thus they should be safer while stationed in Iraq. If for no other reason we should support the troops in Iraq and provide them more safety. Some may argue that we should withdraw troops slowly, but under the current circumstances a slow withdrawal of troops will only place our service men in greater danger. Will we be placing more men at risk, maybe, but we will also be providing greater strength to those already under fire and that should also cause a reduction in risk.
Here are some questions to ponder:
Why do the same liberals support the killing of millions of unborn babies but oppose war and the killing of war? During the Viet Nam war the liberal cry toward soldiers was “baby killers”, but somehow it was okay to have abortions?
Why do many of the same liberals go off to other countries to adopt unwanted foreign children but are willing to withdraw the troops in Iraq and let the Iraqi women and children die or be enslaved?
Why has the media and liberal left created a no win situation for our troops in Iraq? We have placed so many restrictions on our troops that in fact we have placed them in greater danger. Our troops not only risk their lives but are also constantly second guessed as to their treatment of the enemy. They often are placed in a greater risk because they fear being imprisoned for a war crime.
Why is it okay for the enemy to purposely kill and maim innocents all the time and yet our men in service face trials back home for minimal killing of innocents?
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