"...Those on the right, who are opponents of the Left, have questions too: How is it possible for progressives to remain so blind to the grim realities their ideas have created? How can they overlook the crimes they have committed against the very poor and oppressed they set out to defend? How can they have learned so little..."
From the Pen of David Horowitz: December 26, 2009 | NewsReal Blog
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
"...We are creatures of grand and dazzling expectations. It is our glory and our weakness. It made us explore continents, fly to the Moon, defeat tyranny, create the greatest experiment with democracy ever embarked on. It also makes us vote for plausible idiots, marry people we think something they are not, pursue careers with no future, or imagine our darling children soldiers, poets, professors, evangelists or something else we aspire to for them..."
Retriever: We Had Expected More...
Retriever: We Had Expected More...
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Looks like these lovers of peace's woman are getting some good training here in upstate NY.
YouTube - New MOA Terror Training Video Exposed
YouTube - New MOA Terror Training Video Exposed
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
"... For myself, if the church splits, I neither want to join a communion that defines itself by its opposition to homosexuality nor stay with a group that's been high jacked by radicals now free to override every church tradition. And they have proved by their action that they will. I will probably be forced to find another denomination. I doubt I'll be alone".Andrew Klavan: Pride and Prejudice in the Episcopal Church - WSJ.com
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Big Hollywood Blog Archive ZINN 101: A Radical’s History of the United States
"...Yet Zinn’s book is as ubiquitous in high school and university classrooms as sexual tension. His website proudly asserts that “no other radical historian has reached so many hearts and minds.” Well certainly, no other has darkened as many young hearts toward America and clouded as many young minds with utter disdain for facts and objectivity. Like his fellow academic cult figure Noam Chomsky and President Obama’s former associate and ghostwriter, unrepentant-terrorist-turned-radical-educator William Ayers, Zinn’s world view is powered by a relentless and hateful leftist fantasy: that the American government is and always has been racist, oppressive, warmongering, and ruthlessly exploitative, and that it must be subverted. And that subversion begins in classrooms all across America, which is why the left has worked so hard over the decades to imbed itself in America’s educational system..."
"...Yet Zinn’s book is as ubiquitous in high school and university classrooms as sexual tension. His website proudly asserts that “no other radical historian has reached so many hearts and minds.” Well certainly, no other has darkened as many young hearts toward America and clouded as many young minds with utter disdain for facts and objectivity. Like his fellow academic cult figure Noam Chomsky and President Obama’s former associate and ghostwriter, unrepentant-terrorist-turned-radical-educator William Ayers, Zinn’s world view is powered by a relentless and hateful leftist fantasy: that the American government is and always has been racist, oppressive, warmongering, and ruthlessly exploitative, and that it must be subverted. And that subversion begins in classrooms all across America, which is why the left has worked so hard over the decades to imbed itself in America’s educational system..."
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Obama's School Tsar's recommended reading for K-6, 7-12, and for teachers.
Gateway Pundit
The list is divided into three main categories: books recommended for grades K-6; books recommended for grades 7-12; and books for teachers. (The books on the list span all genres: fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, even poetry.)
Out of curiosity to see exactly what kind of books Kevin Jennings and his organization think American students should be reading in school, our team chose a handful at random from the over 100 titles on GLSEN’s grades 7-12 list, and began reading through.
What we discovered shocked us. We were flabbergasted. Rendered speechless.
We were unprepared for what we encountered. Book after book after book contained stories and anecdotes that weren’t merely X-rated and pornographic, but which featured explicit descriptions of sex acts between pre-schoolers; stories that seemed to promote and recommend child-adult sexual relationships; stories of public masturbation, anal sex in restrooms, affairs between students and teachers, five-year-olds playing sex games, semen flying through the air. One memoir even praised becoming a prostitute as a way to increase one’s self-esteem. Above all, the books seemed to have less to do with promoting tolerance than with an unabashed attempt to indoctrinate students into a hyper-sexualized worldview.
Gateway Pundit
The list is divided into three main categories: books recommended for grades K-6; books recommended for grades 7-12; and books for teachers. (The books on the list span all genres: fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, even poetry.)
Out of curiosity to see exactly what kind of books Kevin Jennings and his organization think American students should be reading in school, our team chose a handful at random from the over 100 titles on GLSEN’s grades 7-12 list, and began reading through.
What we discovered shocked us. We were flabbergasted. Rendered speechless.
We were unprepared for what we encountered. Book after book after book contained stories and anecdotes that weren’t merely X-rated and pornographic, but which featured explicit descriptions of sex acts between pre-schoolers; stories that seemed to promote and recommend child-adult sexual relationships; stories of public masturbation, anal sex in restrooms, affairs between students and teachers, five-year-olds playing sex games, semen flying through the air. One memoir even praised becoming a prostitute as a way to increase one’s self-esteem. Above all, the books seemed to have less to do with promoting tolerance than with an unabashed attempt to indoctrinate students into a hyper-sexualized worldview.
Gateway Pundit
Gateway Pundit
Read all of this documented piece of the safe school czar's reading list.
The list is divided into three main categories: books recommended for grades K-6; books recommended for grades 7-12; and books for teachers. (The books on the list span all genres: fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, even poetry.)
"...Out of curiosity to see exactly what kind of books Kevin Jennings and his organization think American students should be reading in school, our team chose a handful at random from the over 100 titles on GLSEN’s grades 7-12 list, and began reading through.
What we discovered shocked us. We were flabbergasted. Rendered speechless.
We were unprepared for what we encountered. Book after book after book contained stories and anecdotes that weren’t merely X-rated and pornographic, but which featured explicit descriptions of sex acts between pre-schoolers; stories that seemed to promote and recommend child-adult sexual relationships; stories of public masturbation, anal sex in restrooms, affairs between students and teachers, five-year-olds playing sex games, semen flying through the air. One memoir even praised becoming a prostitute as a way to increase one’s self-esteem. Above all, the books seemed to have less to do with promoting tolerance than with an unabashed attempt to indoctrinate students into a hyper-sexualized worldview..."
Read all of this documented piece of the safe school czar's reading list.
The list is divided into three main categories: books recommended for grades K-6; books recommended for grades 7-12; and books for teachers. (The books on the list span all genres: fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, even poetry.)
"...Out of curiosity to see exactly what kind of books Kevin Jennings and his organization think American students should be reading in school, our team chose a handful at random from the over 100 titles on GLSEN’s grades 7-12 list, and began reading through.
What we discovered shocked us. We were flabbergasted. Rendered speechless.
We were unprepared for what we encountered. Book after book after book contained stories and anecdotes that weren’t merely X-rated and pornographic, but which featured explicit descriptions of sex acts between pre-schoolers; stories that seemed to promote and recommend child-adult sexual relationships; stories of public masturbation, anal sex in restrooms, affairs between students and teachers, five-year-olds playing sex games, semen flying through the air. One memoir even praised becoming a prostitute as a way to increase one’s self-esteem. Above all, the books seemed to have less to do with promoting tolerance than with an unabashed attempt to indoctrinate students into a hyper-sexualized worldview..."
Friday, November 27, 2009
WILL'S ODE TO THE TURKEY (a comment at One Cosmos)
I, TURKEY (a poem)
It was always there, this calm recognition
Of my destiny, the gentle tide that would sweep
Me across snowy fields and through the
Brittle thickets and tingling streams
To the moment of surrender in blinding light -
I seem to remember the angel's patient lecture,
His loving ministration that filled the hollow
Of my bones with grace and direction -
Oh, all the animals were there of course,
But it was I who truly understood
Better than even Cat and Dog, understood
The symmetry of service and sacrifice
Writ in nature's lineaments, there, I have said it –
I shall wrestle with the President of the United States
In the yearly photo-op!
And I shall lay down to die, over and over
Again and again across November,
My sleepy meat divinely distributed
Among earth’s Shepherds
And do enjoy the leftovers!
For this is my task and I fulfill
It in love and service –
Yet I rise again, Great God a’Mighty!
As will you, consumer of my flesh,
In your own alien way -
11/26/2009 12:23:00 PM
I, TURKEY (a poem)
It was always there, this calm recognition
Of my destiny, the gentle tide that would sweep
Me across snowy fields and through the
Brittle thickets and tingling streams
To the moment of surrender in blinding light -
I seem to remember the angel's patient lecture,
His loving ministration that filled the hollow
Of my bones with grace and direction -
Oh, all the animals were there of course,
But it was I who truly understood
Better than even Cat and Dog, understood
The symmetry of service and sacrifice
Writ in nature's lineaments, there, I have said it –
I shall wrestle with the President of the United States
In the yearly photo-op!
And I shall lay down to die, over and over
Again and again across November,
My sleepy meat divinely distributed
Among earth’s Shepherds
And do enjoy the leftovers!
For this is my task and I fulfill
It in love and service –
Yet I rise again, Great God a’Mighty!
As will you, consumer of my flesh,
In your own alien way -
11/26/2009 12:23:00 PM
Thursday, November 26, 2009
One Cʘsmos: President Calls for Fascist Theocracy
Thursday, November 26, 2009
President Calls for Fascist Theocracy
Charles the Queeg Johnson is right! This president doesn't even pretend to respect the Wall of Separation established for us by the modern Supreme Court:
I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.
And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth."
By the President: Abraham Lincoln
One Cʘsmos: President Calls for Fascist Theocracy
President Calls for Fascist Theocracy
Charles the Queeg Johnson is right! This president doesn't even pretend to respect the Wall of Separation established for us by the modern Supreme Court:
I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.
And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth."
By the President: Abraham Lincoln
One Cʘsmos: President Calls for Fascist Theocracy
George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation:
"Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor – and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.” Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be – That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks – for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation – for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war –for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed – for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions – to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually – to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed – to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord – To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us – and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789."
"Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor – and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.” Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be – That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks – for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation – for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war –for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed – for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions – to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually – to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed – to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord – To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us – and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789."
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
HT Vanderleun at American Digest:
"...Suppose Tim and I are having a debate. Tim already strongly dislikes me for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that in his mind he has categorized me as an evil conservative who stands in the way of his grand vision of society with my backwards, brainwashed ideas dicated to me by that religion that I don’t actually have.
It’s easy for that dislike to spill over into abject distrust. When I speak truth to him, he hears lies.
But the nice thing about the truth is that it’s true..."
How to Destroy a Liberal’s Worldview An Exercise in Futility
"...Suppose Tim and I are having a debate. Tim already strongly dislikes me for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that in his mind he has categorized me as an evil conservative who stands in the way of his grand vision of society with my backwards, brainwashed ideas dicated to me by that religion that I don’t actually have.
It’s easy for that dislike to spill over into abject distrust. When I speak truth to him, he hears lies.
But the nice thing about the truth is that it’s true..."
How to Destroy a Liberal’s Worldview An Exercise in Futility
Schools' Iran $$ pipeline - NYPOST.com: "Anti-Israel, pro-Iran university professors are being funded by a shadowy multimillion-dollar Islamic charity based in Manhattan that the feds charge is an illegal front for the repressive Iranian regime.
The deep-pocketed Alavi Foundation has aggressively given away hundreds of thousands of dollars to Columbia University and Rutgers University for Middle Eastern and Persian studies programs that employ professors sympathetic to the Iranian dictatorship.
'We found evidence that the government of Iran really controlled everything about the foundation,' said Adam Kaufmann, investigations chief at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office."
The deep-pocketed Alavi Foundation has aggressively given away hundreds of thousands of dollars to Columbia University and Rutgers University for Middle Eastern and Persian studies programs that employ professors sympathetic to the Iranian dictatorship.
'We found evidence that the government of Iran really controlled everything about the foundation,' said Adam Kaufmann, investigations chief at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office."
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
By Robin of Berkeley:
"When I was in college, I read a book that changed my life. It was Susan Brownmiller's tome, Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape, which explained rape as an act of power instead of just lust. What I found particularly chilling was the chapter on war -- how rape is used to terrorize a population and destroy the enemy's spirit.
While edifying, the book magnified the vulnerability I already felt as a female. Fear of rape became a constant dread, and I sought a solution that would help shield me from danger.
The answer: seek safe harbor within the Democratic Party. I even became an activist for feminist causes, including violence against women. Liberalism would protect me from the big, bad conservatives who wished me harm.
Like for most feminists, it was a no-brainer for me to become a Democrat. Liberal men, not conservatives, were the ones devoted to women's issues. They marched at my side in support of abortion rights. They were enthusiastic about women succeeding in the workplace.
As time went on, I had many experiences that should have made me rethink my certainty. But I remained nestled in cognitive dissonance -- therapy jargon for not wanting to see what I didn't want to see. . ."
SOUND FAMILAR? READ IT ALL.
American Thinker: The Wilding of Sarah Palin
"When I was in college, I read a book that changed my life. It was Susan Brownmiller's tome, Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape, which explained rape as an act of power instead of just lust. What I found particularly chilling was the chapter on war -- how rape is used to terrorize a population and destroy the enemy's spirit.
While edifying, the book magnified the vulnerability I already felt as a female. Fear of rape became a constant dread, and I sought a solution that would help shield me from danger.
The answer: seek safe harbor within the Democratic Party. I even became an activist for feminist causes, including violence against women. Liberalism would protect me from the big, bad conservatives who wished me harm.
Like for most feminists, it was a no-brainer for me to become a Democrat. Liberal men, not conservatives, were the ones devoted to women's issues. They marched at my side in support of abortion rights. They were enthusiastic about women succeeding in the workplace.
As time went on, I had many experiences that should have made me rethink my certainty. But I remained nestled in cognitive dissonance -- therapy jargon for not wanting to see what I didn't want to see. . ."
SOUND FAMILAR? READ IT ALL.
American Thinker: The Wilding of Sarah Palin
Monday, November 23, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
WHAT PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS BEEN UP TO:
Obama Warms to the Idea of an International Body Having Jurisdiction Over Americans NewsReal Blog
CHRISTMAS GIFT ITEMS TO CONSIDER:
Obama Mao T-shirts Banned in China, Popular in USA • Looking at the Left
AND FROM American Thinker: Obama's Mind Game
"...As soon as Obama came on the scene, the programming began. His face was plastered everywhere like Mao. In his speeches, Obama lulled audiences with a melodious voice and feel-good phrases repeated over and over. And he began inciting people with his charming smile..."
AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE ON OUR FIRST LADY'S FASHION SENSE
COURTESY OF GERARD VANDERLEUN AT AMERICAN DIGEST
Michelle Obama's Mirror's Blog: Pull The Drapes, and Pass the Ammunition
Obama Warms to the Idea of an International Body Having Jurisdiction Over Americans NewsReal Blog
CHRISTMAS GIFT ITEMS TO CONSIDER:
Obama Mao T-shirts Banned in China, Popular in USA • Looking at the Left
AND FROM American Thinker: Obama's Mind Game
"...As soon as Obama came on the scene, the programming began. His face was plastered everywhere like Mao. In his speeches, Obama lulled audiences with a melodious voice and feel-good phrases repeated over and over. And he began inciting people with his charming smile..."
AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE ON OUR FIRST LADY'S FASHION SENSE
COURTESY OF GERARD VANDERLEUN AT AMERICAN DIGEST
Michelle Obama's Mirror's Blog: Pull The Drapes, and Pass the Ammunition
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
"...Recently, one American born Islamic academic has been in the headlines, apparently connected to both Major Hasan and also to al Qaeda terrorists. Anwar al-Awlaki was born in New Mexico. He has lived in Yemen since late 2001 or early 2002, but possesses a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University, a M.A. in Education Leadership from San Diego State University..."
Family Security Matters Publications Exclusive: Who is Anwar al-Awlaki?
Family Security Matters Publications Exclusive: Who is Anwar al-Awlaki?
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Friday, November 06, 2009
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
"...In Gore’s telling, he was worried only about the planet, put meager investments into promising green companies, and then, given divine intervention, found himself worth perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars..."
Works and Days The Discreet Charm of the Left-wing Plutocracy
Works and Days The Discreet Charm of the Left-wing Plutocracy
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
It seems that the NEA has an interesting reading list. Another reason to home school.
National Education Association recommends Saul Alinsky “Rules for Radicals” – American Thinker Snow Report Blog
National Education Association recommends Saul Alinsky “Rules for Radicals” – American Thinker Snow Report Blog
Friday, October 30, 2009
YouTube - How to fold a tee-shirt perfectly
In my experience a man never folds a tee shirt at all but get them competing on this one and the results are quite excellent.
YouTube - How to fold a tee-shirt perfectly
YouTube - How to fold a tee-shirt perfectly
Blogger: One Cʘsmos - Post a Comment: "Anonymous Mind Parasites said...
" Whew, thank you from the depths of the horizontal/vertical axis!Like cockroaches and sunlight you've had us running for cover for years.
In the beginning we didn't mind surrendering a few of our more obvious brothers and sisters but lately you've been getting dangerously close to the queen mother.
Now that we have the government of the most powerful nation on earth run entirely by the Elders of The Parasitical Society we are quite content with your decision to take a long vacation.
Pretty soon, after the international meeting of the Global Elders of The Parasitical society, or what you know as the United Nations, our country will embrace Sharia law and you/we won't have to worry about your silly blog.
And to the blasphemer Petey and the notsofunny Dupree...we have a special place waiting for you!
Hey Van, jp,Will et. al.... we know where you pray.
Happily and sincerely,
The Local So-Cal Chapter of
MPCA
Mind Parasites Craving Anonymity"
10/28/2009 11:39:00 AM"
" Whew, thank you from the depths of the horizontal/vertical axis!Like cockroaches and sunlight you've had us running for cover for years.
In the beginning we didn't mind surrendering a few of our more obvious brothers and sisters but lately you've been getting dangerously close to the queen mother.
Now that we have the government of the most powerful nation on earth run entirely by the Elders of The Parasitical Society we are quite content with your decision to take a long vacation.
Pretty soon, after the international meeting of the Global Elders of The Parasitical society, or what you know as the United Nations, our country will embrace Sharia law and you/we won't have to worry about your silly blog.
And to the blasphemer Petey and the notsofunny Dupree...we have a special place waiting for you!
Hey Van, jp,Will et. al.... we know where you pray.
Happily and sincerely,
The Local So-Cal Chapter of
MPCA
Mind Parasites Craving Anonymity"
10/28/2009 11:39:00 AM"
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Letter from A Physician September 08, 2009
This letter is from Dr. Zane Pollard. He operates at Children's Health Care of Atlanta.
Google him, Snopes verified below. As my friend Joan would say, do I have to do everything for you folks? He pretty much confirms what many doctors that I have spoken with are saying about the unintended consequences of this bill the Obamamaniacs are trying to hurry through.
Friends: I have been sitting quietly on the sidelines watching all of this national debate on health care. It is time for me to bring some clarity to the table and, as your friend, by explaining many of the problems from the aspect of a doctor.
First off the government has involved very few of us physicians in the healthcare debate. While the American Medical Association has come out in favor of the plan, it is vital to remember that the AMA only
represents 17% of the American physician workforce.
I have taken care of Medicaid patients for 35 years while representing the only pediatric ophthalmology group left in Atlanta , Georgia that accepts Medicaid. Why is this? For example, in the past 6 months I have cared for three young children on Medicaid who had corneal ulcers. This is a potentially blinding situation because if the cornea perforates from the infection, almost surely blindness will occur. In all three cases the antibiotic needed for the eradication of the infection was not on the approved Medicaid list. Each time I was told to fax Medicaid for the approval forms which I did. Within 48 hours the form came back to me which was mailed in immediately via fax and I was told that I would have my answer in 10 days. Of course by then each child would have been blind in the eye. Each time the request came back denied. All three times I personally provided the antibiotic for each patient which was not on the Medicaid approved list. Get the point-rationing of care.
Over the past 35 years I have cared for over 1000 children born with congenital cataracts. In older children and in adults the vision is rehabilitated with an intraocular lens. In newborns we use contact lenses which are very expensive.. It takes Medicaid over one year to approve a Contact lens, post cataract surgery. By that time a successful anatomical Operation is wasted, as the child will be close to blind from a lack of Focusing for so long a period of time. Again extreme rationing. Solution - I have a foundation here in Atlanta supported 100% by private funds which Supplies all of these contact lenses for my Medicaid and illegal Immigrants children for free. Again waiting for the government would be Disastrous.
Last week I had a lady bring her child to me. They are Americans but live in Sweden as the father has a job with a big corporation. The child had the onset of double vision 3 months ago and has been unable to function normally because of this. They are people of means but are Waiting 8 months to see the ophthalmologist in Sweden . Then if the child needed surgery they would be put on a 6 month waiting list. She called me and I saw her that day. It turned out that the child had accommodative Esotropia (crossing of the eyes, treated with glasses that correct for Farsightedness) and responded to glasses within 4 days, no surgery was needed. Again rationing of care.
Last month I operated on a 70 year old lady with double vision present for 3 years. She responded quite nicely to her surgery and now is Symptom free. I also operated on a 69 year old judge with vertical Double vision. His surgery went very well and now he is happy as a lark. I have been told - but of course there is no healthcare bill that has been Passed yet - that these 2 people because of their age would have been Denied surgery and just told to wear a patch over one eye to alleviate the
Symptoms of double vision. Obviously cheaper than surgery.
I spent two years in the US Navy during the Viet Nam war and was well treated by the military. There was tremendous rationing of care and we were told specifically what things the military personnel and their Dependents could have and which things they could not have. While in Vietnam , my wife Nancy got sick and got essentially no care at the Naval Hospital in Oakland , California . She went home and went to her family's private internist in Beverly Hills . While it was expensive, she received an immediate work up. Again rationing of care.
For those of you who are over 65, this bill in its present form might be lethal for you. People in England over 59 cannot receive stents for their coronary arteries. The government wants to mimic the British plan. For those of you younger, it will still mean restriction of the care that you and your children receive.
While 99% of physicians went into medicine because of the love of medicine and the challenge of helping our fellow man, economics are still important. My rent goes up 2% each year and the salaries of my employees go up 2% each year. Twenty years ago ophthalmologists were paid $1800 for a cataract surgery and today $500. This is a 73% decrease in our fees. I do not know of many jobs in America that have seen this lowering of fees.
But there is more to the story than just the lower fees. When I came to Atlanta there was a well known ophthalmologist who charged $2500 for cataract surgery as he felt the was the best. He had a terrific reputation and in fact I had my mother's bilateral cataracts operated on by him with a wonderful result. She is now 94 and has 20/20 vision in both eyes. People would pay his $2500 fee. However the government came in and said that any doctor that does Medicare work can not accept more than the going rate (now $500) or he or she would be severely fined. This put an end to his charging $2500. The government said it was illegal to accept more than the government allowed rate. What I am driving at is that those of you who are well off will not be able to go to the head of the line under this new healthcare plan just because you have money as no physician will be willing to go against the law to treat you.
I am a pediatric ophthalmologist and trained for 10 years post college to become a pediatric ophthalmologist (add two years of my service in the Navy and that comes to 12 years). A neurosurgeon spends 14 years Post College and if he or she has to do the military that would be 16 years. I am not entitled to make what a neurosurgeon makes but the new plan calls for all physicians to make the same amount of payment. I assure you that medical students will not go into neurosurgery and we will have a tremendous shortage of neurosurgeons. Already the top neurosurgeon at my hospital that is in good health and only 52 years old has just quit because he can't stand working with the government anymore. Forty-nine percent of children under the age of 16 in the state of Georgia are on Medicaid so he felt he just could not stand working with the bureaucracy anymore.
We are being lied to about the uninsured. They are getting care. I operate on at least 2 illegal immigrants each month who pay me nothing and the children's hospital at which I operate charges them nothing also.. This is true not only on Atlanta , but of every community in America ..
The bottom line is that I urge all of you to contact your congresswomen and congressmen and senators to defeat this bill. I promise you that you will not like rationing of your own health.
Furthermore, how can you trust a physician that works under these conditions knowing that he is controlled by the state? I certainly could not trust any doctor that would work under these draconian conditions.
One last thing, with this new healthcare plan there will be atremendous shortage of physicians. It has been estimated that approximately 5% of the current physician work force will quit under this new system. Also it is estimated that another 5% shortage will occur because of decreased men and women wanting to go into medicine. At the present time the US government has mandated gender equity in admissions to medical schools. That means that for the past 15 years that somewhere between 49% and 51% of each entering class are females. This is true of private schools also, because all private schools receive federal funding. The average career of a woman in medicine now is only 8-10 years and the average work week for a female in medicine is only 3-4 days. I have now trained 35 fellows in pediatric ophthalmology. Hands down the best was a female that I trained 4 years ago - she was head and heels above all others I have trained. She now practices only 3 days a week.
Zane Pollard , MD
Attributed by Snopes: snopes.com : ObamaCare and Me - Dr. Zane Pollard
==============================================================================
The information contained in this message may be privileged and/or confidential
and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended
recipient or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the
intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution
or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by replying to this
message and deleting the material from any computer.
===========================
This letter is from Dr. Zane Pollard. He operates at Children's Health Care of Atlanta.
Google him, Snopes verified below. As my friend Joan would say, do I have to do everything for you folks? He pretty much confirms what many doctors that I have spoken with are saying about the unintended consequences of this bill the Obamamaniacs are trying to hurry through.
Friends: I have been sitting quietly on the sidelines watching all of this national debate on health care. It is time for me to bring some clarity to the table and, as your friend, by explaining many of the problems from the aspect of a doctor.
First off the government has involved very few of us physicians in the healthcare debate. While the American Medical Association has come out in favor of the plan, it is vital to remember that the AMA only
represents 17% of the American physician workforce.
I have taken care of Medicaid patients for 35 years while representing the only pediatric ophthalmology group left in Atlanta , Georgia that accepts Medicaid. Why is this? For example, in the past 6 months I have cared for three young children on Medicaid who had corneal ulcers. This is a potentially blinding situation because if the cornea perforates from the infection, almost surely blindness will occur. In all three cases the antibiotic needed for the eradication of the infection was not on the approved Medicaid list. Each time I was told to fax Medicaid for the approval forms which I did. Within 48 hours the form came back to me which was mailed in immediately via fax and I was told that I would have my answer in 10 days. Of course by then each child would have been blind in the eye. Each time the request came back denied. All three times I personally provided the antibiotic for each patient which was not on the Medicaid approved list. Get the point-rationing of care.
Over the past 35 years I have cared for over 1000 children born with congenital cataracts. In older children and in adults the vision is rehabilitated with an intraocular lens. In newborns we use contact lenses which are very expensive.. It takes Medicaid over one year to approve a Contact lens, post cataract surgery. By that time a successful anatomical Operation is wasted, as the child will be close to blind from a lack of Focusing for so long a period of time. Again extreme rationing. Solution - I have a foundation here in Atlanta supported 100% by private funds which Supplies all of these contact lenses for my Medicaid and illegal Immigrants children for free. Again waiting for the government would be Disastrous.
Last week I had a lady bring her child to me. They are Americans but live in Sweden as the father has a job with a big corporation. The child had the onset of double vision 3 months ago and has been unable to function normally because of this. They are people of means but are Waiting 8 months to see the ophthalmologist in Sweden . Then if the child needed surgery they would be put on a 6 month waiting list. She called me and I saw her that day. It turned out that the child had accommodative Esotropia (crossing of the eyes, treated with glasses that correct for Farsightedness) and responded to glasses within 4 days, no surgery was needed. Again rationing of care.
Last month I operated on a 70 year old lady with double vision present for 3 years. She responded quite nicely to her surgery and now is Symptom free. I also operated on a 69 year old judge with vertical Double vision. His surgery went very well and now he is happy as a lark. I have been told - but of course there is no healthcare bill that has been Passed yet - that these 2 people because of their age would have been Denied surgery and just told to wear a patch over one eye to alleviate the
Symptoms of double vision. Obviously cheaper than surgery.
I spent two years in the US Navy during the Viet Nam war and was well treated by the military. There was tremendous rationing of care and we were told specifically what things the military personnel and their Dependents could have and which things they could not have. While in Vietnam , my wife Nancy got sick and got essentially no care at the Naval Hospital in Oakland , California . She went home and went to her family's private internist in Beverly Hills . While it was expensive, she received an immediate work up. Again rationing of care.
For those of you who are over 65, this bill in its present form might be lethal for you. People in England over 59 cannot receive stents for their coronary arteries. The government wants to mimic the British plan. For those of you younger, it will still mean restriction of the care that you and your children receive.
While 99% of physicians went into medicine because of the love of medicine and the challenge of helping our fellow man, economics are still important. My rent goes up 2% each year and the salaries of my employees go up 2% each year. Twenty years ago ophthalmologists were paid $1800 for a cataract surgery and today $500. This is a 73% decrease in our fees. I do not know of many jobs in America that have seen this lowering of fees.
But there is more to the story than just the lower fees. When I came to Atlanta there was a well known ophthalmologist who charged $2500 for cataract surgery as he felt the was the best. He had a terrific reputation and in fact I had my mother's bilateral cataracts operated on by him with a wonderful result. She is now 94 and has 20/20 vision in both eyes. People would pay his $2500 fee. However the government came in and said that any doctor that does Medicare work can not accept more than the going rate (now $500) or he or she would be severely fined. This put an end to his charging $2500. The government said it was illegal to accept more than the government allowed rate. What I am driving at is that those of you who are well off will not be able to go to the head of the line under this new healthcare plan just because you have money as no physician will be willing to go against the law to treat you.
I am a pediatric ophthalmologist and trained for 10 years post college to become a pediatric ophthalmologist (add two years of my service in the Navy and that comes to 12 years). A neurosurgeon spends 14 years Post College and if he or she has to do the military that would be 16 years. I am not entitled to make what a neurosurgeon makes but the new plan calls for all physicians to make the same amount of payment. I assure you that medical students will not go into neurosurgery and we will have a tremendous shortage of neurosurgeons. Already the top neurosurgeon at my hospital that is in good health and only 52 years old has just quit because he can't stand working with the government anymore. Forty-nine percent of children under the age of 16 in the state of Georgia are on Medicaid so he felt he just could not stand working with the bureaucracy anymore.
We are being lied to about the uninsured. They are getting care. I operate on at least 2 illegal immigrants each month who pay me nothing and the children's hospital at which I operate charges them nothing also.. This is true not only on Atlanta , but of every community in America ..
The bottom line is that I urge all of you to contact your congresswomen and congressmen and senators to defeat this bill. I promise you that you will not like rationing of your own health.
Furthermore, how can you trust a physician that works under these conditions knowing that he is controlled by the state? I certainly could not trust any doctor that would work under these draconian conditions.
One last thing, with this new healthcare plan there will be atremendous shortage of physicians. It has been estimated that approximately 5% of the current physician work force will quit under this new system. Also it is estimated that another 5% shortage will occur because of decreased men and women wanting to go into medicine. At the present time the US government has mandated gender equity in admissions to medical schools. That means that for the past 15 years that somewhere between 49% and 51% of each entering class are females. This is true of private schools also, because all private schools receive federal funding. The average career of a woman in medicine now is only 8-10 years and the average work week for a female in medicine is only 3-4 days. I have now trained 35 fellows in pediatric ophthalmology. Hands down the best was a female that I trained 4 years ago - she was head and heels above all others I have trained. She now practices only 3 days a week.
Zane Pollard , MD
Attributed by Snopes: snopes.com
==============================================================================
The information contained in this message may be privileged and/or confidential
and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended
recipient or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the
intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution
or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by replying to this
message and deleting the material from any computer.
===========================
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Andrew Klavan on “How to Have Sex” – VIDEO � Snow Report Blog
Don't miss sex instruction by Andrew Klavan at
Andrew Klavan on “How to Have Sex” – VIDEO Snow Report Blog
Andrew Klavan on “How to Have Sex” – VIDEO Snow Report Blog
Breaking News | Latest News | Current News - FOXNews.com
KT McFarland spoofing playing Sec of Defense to President Obama and offering advice on how to get rid of Fox News. Get through the commercial - it's worth the wait!
Breaking News | Latest News | Current News - FOXNews.com
Breaking News | Latest News | Current News - FOXNews.com
Be sure to read the comments after watching Penn Jillette's honest and painful wake up call.
Penn Jillette -- "The Message Is the Message" @ AMERICAN DIGEST
Penn Jillette -- "The Message Is the Message" @ AMERICAN DIGEST
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Elites and Tyrants – by Walter Williams | FrontPage Magazine
"...The most authoritative tally of history’s most murderous regimes is in a book by University of Hawaii’s Professor Rudolph J. Rummel, “Death by Government.” Statistics are provided at his website: (http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/welcome.html). The Nazis murdered 20 million of their own people and those in nations they captured. Between 1917 and 1987, Stalin and his successors murdered, or were otherwise responsible for the deaths of, 62 million of their own people. Between 1949 and 1987, Mao Tsetung and his successors were responsible for the deaths of 76 million Chinese.
Today’s leftists, socialists and progressives would bristle at the suggestion that their agenda differs little from Nazism. However, there’s little or no distinction between Nazism and socialism. Even the word Nazi is short for National Socialist German Workers Party. The origins of the unspeakable horrors of Nazism, Stalinism and Maoism did not begin in the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s. Those horrors were simply the end result of long evolution of ideas leading to consolidation of power in central government in the quest for “social justice.” It was decent but misguided earlier generations of Germans, like many of today’s Americans, who would have cringed at the thought of genocide, who built the Trojan horse for Hitler to take over..."
Elites and Tyrants – by Walter Williams | FrontPage Magazine
Today’s leftists, socialists and progressives would bristle at the suggestion that their agenda differs little from Nazism. However, there’s little or no distinction between Nazism and socialism. Even the word Nazi is short for National Socialist German Workers Party. The origins of the unspeakable horrors of Nazism, Stalinism and Maoism did not begin in the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s. Those horrors were simply the end result of long evolution of ideas leading to consolidation of power in central government in the quest for “social justice.” It was decent but misguided earlier generations of Germans, like many of today’s Americans, who would have cringed at the thought of genocide, who built the Trojan horse for Hitler to take over..."
Elites and Tyrants – by Walter Williams | FrontPage Magazine
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Dr. Sanity
Okay, so I lied. It's not all, folks, there are some I know you will miss if I don't point you in the right direction. I insist that you read the whole thing. With love, natch!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
THE POSTMODERN NARCISSISTIC DILEMMA AND THE PRISM OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS: OR, How to Stop Thinking and Serve the Utopian Collective
Here is what kids learn today about Christopher Columbus:
Kids Study the Dark Side of Columbus
Jeffrey Kolowith's kindergarten students read a poem about Christopher Columbus, take a journey to the New World on three paper ships and place the explorer's picture on a timeline through history.
Kolowith's students learn about the explorer's significance — though they also come away with a more nuanced picture of Columbus than the noble discoverer often portrayed in pop culture and legend.
KEEP GOING - READ IT ALL - THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF!
Dr. Sanity
Sunday, October 11, 2009
THE POSTMODERN NARCISSISTIC DILEMMA AND THE PRISM OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS: OR, How to Stop Thinking and Serve the Utopian Collective
Here is what kids learn today about Christopher Columbus:
Kids Study the Dark Side of Columbus
Jeffrey Kolowith's kindergarten students read a poem about Christopher Columbus, take a journey to the New World on three paper ships and place the explorer's picture on a timeline through history.
Kolowith's students learn about the explorer's significance — though they also come away with a more nuanced picture of Columbus than the noble discoverer often portrayed in pop culture and legend.
KEEP GOING - READ IT ALL - THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF!
Dr. Sanity
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Hi Friends,
Because I started this blog to see if I could and because I wanted to boss around my friends and family and share with them read who I enjoy reading. All those links you see here are some of my favorite originals who can write, educate and make me laugh. If I don't link them all, they do. Pretty much you all know who to read if you are so inclined at this point, and if you don't , well, that is your loss.
Now seeing my dear Mom on her journey to the next world in New York.
As my friend Mizze sez, "That's all folks".
Love and Peace through Strength,
Gecko
Because I started this blog to see if I could and because I wanted to boss around my friends and family and share with them read who I enjoy reading. All those links you see here are some of my favorite originals who can write, educate and make me laugh. If I don't link them all, they do. Pretty much you all know who to read if you are so inclined at this point, and if you don't , well, that is your loss.
Now seeing my dear Mom on her journey to the next world in New York.
As my friend Mizze sez, "That's all folks".
Love and Peace through Strength,
Gecko
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Read all of Vanderleun's outrage brought on by the Hollywood consciousness and response to the capture of convicted rapist of a thirteen year old girl drugged and penetrated anally by film directer Roman Polanski thirty years ago:AMERICAN DIGEST Essays, News, Notes, and Quotes
and read this so you can see the links of the disgusting list of the rapists supporters at Pajamas Media.
Ed Driscoll Well, Glad We Cleared That Up — Updated
Hope you have a stronger stomach than mine.
and read this so you can see the links of the disgusting list of the rapists supporters at Pajamas Media.
Ed Driscoll Well, Glad We Cleared That Up — Updated
Hope you have a stronger stomach than mine.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams. --Augustine
"When the divine descent occurs, it's a little like putting seasoning into a pot of soup. Or maybe prozac into a skull full of neurons. That is, when you sprinkle salt into the soup, you can't just affect the beans but not the meat. Likewise, when you sprinkle an SSRI into a brain, it gets into everything, which is why the effects are nonlinear and unpredictable in their details. Also, it takes a while for the spices -- or the prozac -- or God -- to penetrate and macerate into the substance."
One Cʘsmos
"When the divine descent occurs, it's a little like putting seasoning into a pot of soup. Or maybe prozac into a skull full of neurons. That is, when you sprinkle salt into the soup, you can't just affect the beans but not the meat. Likewise, when you sprinkle an SSRI into a brain, it gets into everything, which is why the effects are nonlinear and unpredictable in their details. Also, it takes a while for the spices -- or the prozac -- or God -- to penetrate and macerate into the substance."
One Cʘsmos
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Go Nonie Darwish, brave warrior!
Michelle Malkin Former Muslims United speak out on eve of “Islam on Capitol Hill” march
Michelle Malkin Former Muslims United speak out on eve of “Islam on Capitol Hill” march
Your kids have been seeing this "harmless" environmental video in the class room for the last couple of years.
The Story of Stuff - Full Video | The Lonely Conservative
The Story of Stuff - Full Video | The Lonely Conservative
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Michelle Malkin � Who’s behind “Islam on Capitol Hill?”
"Attorney and “main organizer” of “Islam on Capitol Hill”, Hassen Ibn Abdellah is President of the Elizabeth, New Jersey Dar ul-Islam, Inc. Abdellah was, described October 25, 1993 by the New York Times, as the “most aggressively combative of the lawyers” representing the terrorists who staged the 1993 World Trade Center attacks. His client, the Egyptian-born Mahmud Abouhalima, was convicted of helping to manufacture and transport the bomb detonated in the 1993 attack and is now incarcerated in the Federal “Supermax” prison at Florence, Colorado."Michelle Malkin Who’s behind “Islam on Capitol Hill?”
Monday, September 14, 2009
Since Islam's goal is a world wide caliphate you should be aware of the gathering in Washington on Sept 25 ISLAM ON Capitol hill. I read with great interest about the choice of date for Hawaii's Islam Day HEREHawaii “Islam Day” secretly marks September 11 > Hawaii Free Press > Articles Mainand HERE at Creeping Sharia
Hawaii ‘Islam Day’ falls on Sept 11 of Julian calendar! Creeping Sharia
Hawaii ‘Islam Day’ falls on Sept 11 of Julian calendar! Creeping Sharia
Sunday, September 13, 2009
One Cʘsmos
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Talkin' Charles Johnson Paranoid Blues
Queeg has now banished PowerLine due to their well-known fascist associations. This follows such other smear merchants and fascist sympathizers as Ace of Spades... Iowahawk... Gateway Pundit... Jammie Wearing Fool... American Thinker... Who's left to sap and impurify Queeg's precious bodily fluids?
Find out at:
One Cʘsmos
Talkin' Charles Johnson Paranoid Blues
Queeg has now banished PowerLine due to their well-known fascist associations. This follows such other smear merchants and fascist sympathizers as Ace of Spades... Iowahawk... Gateway Pundit... Jammie Wearing Fool... American Thinker... Who's left to sap and impurify Queeg's precious bodily fluids?
Find out at:
One Cʘsmos
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The prolific Paul Johnson, author of "Modern Times"
and "A History of the American People" , and "ART" (and many others) reveals his secret:
Walking Our Way Out of Recession - Forbes.com
and "A History of the American People" , and "ART" (and many others) reveals his secret:
Walking Our Way Out of Recession - Forbes.com
Friday, September 11, 2009
Ever wonder why Bush and Clinton were hanging out? Learning something new every day:
YouTube - Agenda 21 For Dummies
YouTube - Agenda 21 For Dummies
Thursday, September 10, 2009
ALWAYS REMEMBER
The Missing
by Gerald Vanderleun
Their silence keeps me sleepless for I know:
Within that smoke their ash still falls as snow,
To settle on our flesh like fading stars
Dissolve into sharp sparks at break of day.
At dawn a distant shudder in the earth
Disclosed the flight of fire into steel,
The shaking not of subways underground,
But screams from inside flowers made of flame.
We stood upon the Heights like men of straw
Transfixed by flames that started in the sky,
And watched them plunging down in death’s ballet
Too far removed to hear their falling cry.
By noon that band of smoke loomed low
Upon the harbor’s skin and made us gasp;
A hand of smoke that in its curdled crawl
Kept reaching to extend its lethal grasp.
The harp strung bridge held up ten thousand souls
Who’d screaming run beneath the paws of death,
Like dusted ghosts that lived but were not sure
If they lived in light or only for a breath.
They’d writhed and spun within that storm of smoke
And stumbled out to light and clearer air,
To find upon the river’s further shore
No sanctuary other than despair.
The sirens scraped the sky and jets carved arcs
Within a heaven empty of all hope,
That marked its epicenter with one streak
Of black on polished bone where silver'd stood.
By evening all their ash had settled so
That on the leaves outside my window glowed
Their souls in small bright stars until the rain
Cleaned all of what could not be clean again.
We breathed that smoke that bent and crawled.
We learned to hate that smoke that lingered so.
We knew that blood could only answer blood,
And so we yearned to go but not to go.
Within the city shrines were our resolve.
We placed them where our grief would best anneal.
Upon our walls and trees their faces loomed
To gaze at us from time beyond repeal.
Their last lost summer faded into ash.
Their faces faded into name scratched stones.
Our years flowed into endless desert seas
Where warplanes prowl in search of bones.
In time their smoke and ash became but words
In stories told at dinner, told by rote,
Or in the comments made by magazines
For whom the "larger issues" were of note.
In time their faces faded with the rains,
The little altars thick with wax were scraped,
But still beneath clear plastic they endure
To remind us all that we have not escaped.
Their silence keeps me sleepless for I know.
Vanderleun : September 10, 09
The Missing @ AMERICAN DIGEST
The Missing
by Gerald Vanderleun
Their silence keeps me sleepless for I know:
Within that smoke their ash still falls as snow,
To settle on our flesh like fading stars
Dissolve into sharp sparks at break of day.
At dawn a distant shudder in the earth
Disclosed the flight of fire into steel,
The shaking not of subways underground,
But screams from inside flowers made of flame.
We stood upon the Heights like men of straw
Transfixed by flames that started in the sky,
And watched them plunging down in death’s ballet
Too far removed to hear their falling cry.
By noon that band of smoke loomed low
Upon the harbor’s skin and made us gasp;
A hand of smoke that in its curdled crawl
Kept reaching to extend its lethal grasp.
The harp strung bridge held up ten thousand souls
Who’d screaming run beneath the paws of death,
Like dusted ghosts that lived but were not sure
If they lived in light or only for a breath.
They’d writhed and spun within that storm of smoke
And stumbled out to light and clearer air,
To find upon the river’s further shore
No sanctuary other than despair.
The sirens scraped the sky and jets carved arcs
Within a heaven empty of all hope,
That marked its epicenter with one streak
Of black on polished bone where silver'd stood.
By evening all their ash had settled so
That on the leaves outside my window glowed
Their souls in small bright stars until the rain
Cleaned all of what could not be clean again.
We breathed that smoke that bent and crawled.
We learned to hate that smoke that lingered so.
We knew that blood could only answer blood,
And so we yearned to go but not to go.
Within the city shrines were our resolve.
We placed them where our grief would best anneal.
Upon our walls and trees their faces loomed
To gaze at us from time beyond repeal.
Their last lost summer faded into ash.
Their faces faded into name scratched stones.
Our years flowed into endless desert seas
Where warplanes prowl in search of bones.
In time their smoke and ash became but words
In stories told at dinner, told by rote,
Or in the comments made by magazines
For whom the "larger issues" were of note.
In time their faces faded with the rains,
The little altars thick with wax were scraped,
But still beneath clear plastic they endure
To remind us all that we have not escaped.
Their silence keeps me sleepless for I know.
Vanderleun : September 10, 09
The Missing @ AMERICAN DIGEST
This young mother Kirsten is paying attention, thank God.
Letter warns of terrorist ties to group | Fox10tv.com
Letter warns of terrorist ties to group | Fox10tv.com
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Blogger: One Cʘsmos - Post a Comment: Blogger Gagdad Bob said...
" I used to argue, but not anymore. There's no satisfaction in trying to explain things to someone incapable of understanding. I just let it go, unless I sense that the person is open and educable."
" I used to argue, but not anymore. There's no satisfaction in trying to explain things to someone incapable of understanding. I just let it go, unless I sense that the person is open and educable."
A Doctor's Plan for Legal Industry Reform - WSJ.com
By RICHARD B. RAFAL (WSJ)
Since we are moving toward socialism with ObamaCare, the time has come to do the same with other professions—especially lawyers. Physician committees can decide whether lawyers are necessary in any given situation.
At a town-hall meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., last month, our uninformed lawyer in chief suggested that we physicians would rather chop off a foot than manage diabetes since we would make more money doing surgery. Then President Obama compounded his attack by claiming a doctor's reimbursement is between "$30,000" and "$50,000" for such amputations! (Actually, such surgery costs only about $1,500.)
Physicians have never been so insulted. Because of these affronts, I will gladly volunteer for the important duty of controlling and regulating lawyers. Since most of what lawyers do is repetitive boilerplate or pushing paper, physicians would have no problem dictating what is appropriate for attorneys. We physicians know much more about legal practice than lawyers do about medicine.
Following are highlights of a proposed bill authorizing the dismantling of the current framework of law practice and instituting socialized legal care:
A Doctor's Plan for Legal Industry Reform - WSJ.com
Since we are moving toward socialism with ObamaCare, the time has come to do the same with other professions—especially lawyers. Physician committees can decide whether lawyers are necessary in any given situation.
At a town-hall meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., last month, our uninformed lawyer in chief suggested that we physicians would rather chop off a foot than manage diabetes since we would make more money doing surgery. Then President Obama compounded his attack by claiming a doctor's reimbursement is between "$30,000" and "$50,000" for such amputations! (Actually, such surgery costs only about $1,500.)
Physicians have never been so insulted. Because of these affronts, I will gladly volunteer for the important duty of controlling and regulating lawyers. Since most of what lawyers do is repetitive boilerplate or pushing paper, physicians would have no problem dictating what is appropriate for attorneys. We physicians know much more about legal practice than lawyers do about medicine.
Following are highlights of a proposed bill authorizing the dismantling of the current framework of law practice and instituting socialized legal care:
A Doctor's Plan for Legal Industry Reform - WSJ.com
"...Jamie Glazov’s recent dispute with feminist Naomi Wolf grew out of Wolf’s August 30th article in the Sydney Morning Herald, “Behind the Veil Lives a Thriving Muslim Sexuality.” In that piece, Wolf states that “[t]he Western Christian tradition portrays all sexuality, even married sexuality, as sinful.” She then informs us that Islam, by contrast, “never had that same kind of mind-body split” – and thus has traditionally allowed Muslims to “channel” their sexuality “into marriage and family life” in a manner that “is seen as a source of great blessing, sanctioned by God.”
This cheery view of the Muslim world, coupled with the dark depiction of the Christian West, is entirely a fabrication of Wolf’s imagination, an imagination whose musings are rooted in the leftist paradigm that divides the world ever-so-neatly between two distinct spheres: the evil West (especially America) on the one hand, and the far-more-noble, non-Western world on the other..."
Read it all:
America-Haters Like Naomi Wolf Judge the West by a Different Standard NewsReal Blog
This cheery view of the Muslim world, coupled with the dark depiction of the Christian West, is entirely a fabrication of Wolf’s imagination, an imagination whose musings are rooted in the leftist paradigm that divides the world ever-so-neatly between two distinct spheres: the evil West (especially America) on the one hand, and the far-more-noble, non-Western world on the other..."
Read it all:
America-Haters Like Naomi Wolf Judge the West by a Different Standard NewsReal Blog
Friday, September 04, 2009
Joan is right (we knew that) we have changed. You have a long weekend so check out these links:
Primordial Slack: Heh.
Barack Obama, Fabian Socialist - Forbes.com
Family Security Matters Blog Video: Utah Principal Shows Pro-Obama ‘I Pledge’ Video to Students
YouTube - More Obama Indoctrination going on in schools
Primordial Slack: Heh.
Barack Obama, Fabian Socialist - Forbes.com
Family Security Matters Blog Video: Utah Principal Shows Pro-Obama ‘I Pledge’ Video to Students
YouTube - More Obama Indoctrination going on in schools
Thursday, September 03, 2009
“A vital part of leftist thinking is the assumption that to be on the left is the only sensible/decent/principled position to hold and therefore cannot ever be wrong; and that is because to differ from the left is to be of ‘the right’, and the right is irredeemably evil. (The idea that to be opposed to the left is not necessarily to be on ‘the right’ or indeed to take any position other than to oppose ideology and its brutal effects is something that the left simply cannot get its head round). And so the true nightmare is that if ‘the right’ turns out to be actually right on anything and the left to be wrong, by accepting this fact the left-winger will by his own definition turn into an evil right-winger. His entire moral and political identity will crumble and he will grow horns and a tail. So to prevent any possibility of this catastrophe occurring, the opponent has to be eliminated.”
The Only Way To Defeat The Left NewsReal Blog
The Only Way To Defeat The Left NewsReal Blog
SOME POINTS TO PONDER ON THE ROAD TO HELL HEALTH CARE UTOPIA:
DR SANITY
" If the argument for a wholesale revamping of American healthcare depends on the large number of uninsured, typically estimated at 45 million (although a New York Times editorial elevated the number of medically uninsured and underinsured to over 100 million), then there had better be some plan that goes along with the reform to find the 25,000 to 50,000 new physicians that will be required. And by the way, since the number of physicians retiring in the next decade will be about 25,000 per year, you can see we have a bit of a problem."
DR SANITY
" If the argument for a wholesale revamping of American healthcare depends on the large number of uninsured, typically estimated at 45 million (although a New York Times editorial elevated the number of medically uninsured and underinsured to over 100 million), then there had better be some plan that goes along with the reform to find the 25,000 to 50,000 new physicians that will be required. And by the way, since the number of physicians retiring in the next decade will be about 25,000 per year, you can see we have a bit of a problem."
Check out "Rules for Radical Conservatives" written by Michael Patrick Leahy . I hope mine will arrive in time to read it this weekend. Meanwhile, here is the new A New Alinsky Rule – ‘Exploit the Children’ NewsReal Blog
Saturday, August 29, 2009
In case you missed David Horowitz's Cliff Notes on Alinsky, here is the link with links to Parts 1-V.
"Saul Alinsky came of age in the 1930s as a Communist fellow-traveler (as his biographer Sanford Horwitt tells us in Let Them Call Me Rebel), but his real social milieu was the world of the Chicago mobsters to whom he was drawn professionally as a sociologist. In particular he sought out and became a social intimate of the Capone gang and of Capone enforcer Frank Nitti who headed the gang when Capone was sent to prison in 1931. Later Alinsky said, “[Nitti] took me under his wing. I called him the Professor and I became his student.” (p. 20) While Alinsky was not oblivious to the fact that criminals were dangerous, like a good leftist he held “society” — and capitalist society in particular — responsible for creating them."
Post-modern leftism: Alinsky, Beck, Satan and Me, Part V NewsReal Blog
"Saul Alinsky came of age in the 1930s as a Communist fellow-traveler (as his biographer Sanford Horwitt tells us in Let Them Call Me Rebel), but his real social milieu was the world of the Chicago mobsters to whom he was drawn professionally as a sociologist. In particular he sought out and became a social intimate of the Capone gang and of Capone enforcer Frank Nitti who headed the gang when Capone was sent to prison in 1931. Later Alinsky said, “[Nitti] took me under his wing. I called him the Professor and I became his student.” (p. 20) While Alinsky was not oblivious to the fact that criminals were dangerous, like a good leftist he held “society” — and capitalist society in particular — responsible for creating them."
Post-modern leftism: Alinsky, Beck, Satan and Me, Part V NewsReal Blog
THIS WAS MADE PART OF THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD BACK IN 1963. I have posted it before, my Mom gave me the book, and if I had believed her I wouldn't have become friends with
Abbie Hoffman and his elk. It seemed like fun at the time. The road to hell etc. Check out how many of these goals have been achieved.
Communist Goals (1963)
Documention below
Congressional Record--Appendix, pp. A34-A35
January 10, 1963
Current Communist Goals
EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, January 10, 1963
Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America.
At Mrs. Nordman's request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following "Current Communist Goals," which she identifies as an excerpt from "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen:
[From "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen]
CURRENT COMMUNIST GOALS
1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.
7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.
9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.
10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces.(Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)
12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party
.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.
15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.
Reply »
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.
33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.
34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.
37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.
38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].
39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.
42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use ["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems.
43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike.
Abbie Hoffman and his elk. It seemed like fun at the time. The road to hell etc. Check out how many of these goals have been achieved.
Communist Goals (1963)
Documention below
Congressional Record--Appendix, pp. A34-A35
January 10, 1963
Current Communist Goals
EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, January 10, 1963
Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America.
At Mrs. Nordman's request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following "Current Communist Goals," which she identifies as an excerpt from "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen:
[From "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen]
CURRENT COMMUNIST GOALS
1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.
7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.
9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.
10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces.(Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)
12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party
.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.
15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.
Reply »
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.
33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.
34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.
37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.
38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].
39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.
42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use ["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems.
43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike.
Some Kennedy's were murdered, some got away with murder.
Mark Steyn: Things only a Kennedy could get away with | kennedy, ted, chappaquiddick, mary, senator - Opinion - OCRegister.com
Mark Steyn: Things only a Kennedy could get away with | kennedy, ted, chappaquiddick, mary, senator - Opinion - OCRegister.com
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Forget the recession and the “uninsured.” Obama has bigger fish to fry.
Obama and ‘Redistributive Change’ by Victor Davis Hanson on National Review Online
Obama and ‘Redistributive Change’ by Victor Davis Hanson on National Review Online
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Subject: HUGE NEWS FLASH...Cash For Codgers Program IN MY EMAIL:
Democrats, realizing the success of the President's "Cash For Clunkers"
rebate program, have revamped a major portion of their National Health Care
Plan.
President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Sen. Reed are expected to make this
major announcement at a joint news conference later this week. I have
obtained an advanced copy of the proposal which is named....
"CASH FOR CODGERS" and it works like this... Couples wishing to access
health care funds in order to pay for the delivery of a child will be
required to turn in one old person. The amount the government grants them
will be fixed according to a sliding scale. Older and more prescription
dependent codgers will garner the highest amounts.
Special "Bonuses" will be paid for those submitting codgers in targeted
groups, such as smokers, alcohol drinkers, persons 10 pounds over their
government prescribed weight, and any member of the Republican Party.
Smaller bonuses will be given for codgers who consume beef, soda, fried
foods, potato chips, lattes, whole milk, dairy products, bacon, Brussel
sprouts, or Girl Scout Cookies.
All codgers will be rendered totally useless via toxic injection. This
will insure that they are not secretly resold or their body parts harvested
to keep other codgers in repair.
Remember you heard it here first...
Democrats, realizing the success of the President's "Cash For Clunkers"
rebate program, have revamped a major portion of their National Health Care
Plan.
President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Sen. Reed are expected to make this
major announcement at a joint news conference later this week. I have
obtained an advanced copy of the proposal which is named....
"CASH FOR CODGERS" and it works like this... Couples wishing to access
health care funds in order to pay for the delivery of a child will be
required to turn in one old person. The amount the government grants them
will be fixed according to a sliding scale. Older and more prescription
dependent codgers will garner the highest amounts.
Special "Bonuses" will be paid for those submitting codgers in targeted
groups, such as smokers, alcohol drinkers, persons 10 pounds over their
government prescribed weight, and any member of the Republican Party.
Smaller bonuses will be given for codgers who consume beef, soda, fried
foods, potato chips, lattes, whole milk, dairy products, bacon, Brussel
sprouts, or Girl Scout Cookies.
All codgers will be rendered totally useless via toxic injection. This
will insure that they are not secretly resold or their body parts harvested
to keep other codgers in repair.
Remember you heard it here first...
Saturday, August 22, 2009
HT A Charmed Wife a great little blog with all sorts of useful tips for
ROFL with the most fun way of building strength at home.
YouTube - HOW TO WORK OUT FROM HOME
ROFL with the most fun way of building strength at home.
YouTube - HOW TO WORK OUT FROM HOME
Friday, August 21, 2009
"...The Borat-ish ‘burkini’ edict that’s currently causing ripples of concern in a handful of council-run leisure centres is undoubtedly going to provide a lot of challenging design opportunities for fashionistas. Officials are attempting to bar both Muslim and non-Muslim swimmers from entering pools in normal swimming attire during certain sessions unless they comply with strict ‘modest’ Islamic dress codes. Modest dress code dictates that women be covered from neck to ankle (with headscarf) and men from navel to knee. ‘What Not To Wear’ on the beach seems to have unwittingly overtaken global warming as the contentious topic of conversation this summer.
Across the Channel, France is also in sartorial turmoil. The country that fought hard to champion topless sunbathing in the late Sixties as a symbol of feminist rights (and has subsequently prided itself on being the world’s capital of seaside semi-nudity) is suddenly facing a bit of a bikini backlash. .."
The Spectator
Across the Channel, France is also in sartorial turmoil. The country that fought hard to champion topless sunbathing in the late Sixties as a symbol of feminist rights (and has subsequently prided itself on being the world’s capital of seaside semi-nudity) is suddenly facing a bit of a bikini backlash. .."
The Spectator
Post-modern leftism: Alinsky, Beck, Satan and Me, Part V NewsReal Blog
with links to the first four parts of the series:
"Saul Alinsky came of age in the 1930s as a Communist fellow-traveler (as his biographer Sanford Horwitt tells us in Let Them Call Me Rebel), but his real social milieu was the world of the Chicago mobsters to whom he was drawn professionally as a sociologist. In particular he sought out and became a social intimate of the Capone gang and of Capone enforcer Frank Nitti who headed the gang when Capone was sent to prison in 1931. Later Alinsky said, “[Nitti] took me under his wing. I called him the Professor and I became his student.” (p. 20) While Alinsky was not oblivious to the fact that criminals were dangerous, like a good leftist he held “society” — and capitalist society in particular — responsible for creating them..."
with links to the first four parts of the series:
"Saul Alinsky came of age in the 1930s as a Communist fellow-traveler (as his biographer Sanford Horwitt tells us in Let Them Call Me Rebel), but his real social milieu was the world of the Chicago mobsters to whom he was drawn professionally as a sociologist. In particular he sought out and became a social intimate of the Capone gang and of Capone enforcer Frank Nitti who headed the gang when Capone was sent to prison in 1931. Later Alinsky said, “[Nitti] took me under his wing. I called him the Professor and I became his student.” (p. 20) While Alinsky was not oblivious to the fact that criminals were dangerous, like a good leftist he held “society” — and capitalist society in particular — responsible for creating them..."
Thursday, August 20, 2009
"...She will not go away.
Sarah Palin is in their heads now and dancing around.
Now Palin is nailing thm on stimulus money that is being used to drill oil overseas.
Remember, President Obama is the same man who opposed any new drilling in the United States because of environmental issues. Apparently ripping up Brazil is OK by Obama..."
Don Surber Blog Archive Palin’s nailin’ ‘em on foreign oil
Sarah Palin is in their heads now and dancing around.
Now Palin is nailing thm on stimulus money that is being used to drill oil overseas.
Remember, President Obama is the same man who opposed any new drilling in the United States because of environmental issues. Apparently ripping up Brazil is OK by Obama..."
Don Surber Blog Archive Palin’s nailin’ ‘em on foreign oil
Sunday, August 16, 2009
In order to get rid of the coonfusion of your education:
One Cʘsmos
"...Speaking of which, I wanted to briefly mention a point. As you all know, I was once a leftist myself -- HEY, WHO ARE YOU CALLING STALIN?!!! -- which it is almost impossible not to be if you are as educated as I once was. You don't even have to think about it, because you simply pick it up through kosmosis by spending so many moons in the rarified error of that lunar 'batmosphere. Eventually your common sense is eclipsed.
It's not just that all of one's professors are explicitly liberal. It's the way they implicitly think about the world -- the problems they notice, the questions they ask, the topics they emphasize, the things they exclude or take for granted, the jokes they make, the things that cannot be joked about, etc.
But if you are intelligent, you don't just leave it at that. Rather, you want to dig a little deeper. This, I believe, is where the gnostic element of (-n) fits in. What makes human intelligence human (and often all-too-human) is our ability to see beneath the surface and unify phenomena on a deeper level. But obviously it is possible to not only get things wrong, but to do so in a systematic way, e.g., Islamism, scientism, atheism, phrenology, etc.
This I think is why leftists always believe such conspiratorial nonsense. In my case, because I knew that there was more to reality than met the eye, I began reading things by Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Edward Herman, Michael Parenti, Eric Hobsbawm, the Frankfurt School of psychopolitical loons, you name it. I didn't even know that these people were Marxists, nor would I have cared if you had told me. I subscribed to The Nation and thought it was actually "objective." I listened to Pacifica radio. I even contributed money to them! How will I explain this to God?..."
One Cʘsmos
"...Speaking of which, I wanted to briefly mention a point. As you all know, I was once a leftist myself -- HEY, WHO ARE YOU CALLING STALIN?!!! -- which it is almost impossible not to be if you are as educated as I once was. You don't even have to think about it, because you simply pick it up through kosmosis by spending so many moons in the rarified error of that lunar 'batmosphere. Eventually your common sense is eclipsed.
It's not just that all of one's professors are explicitly liberal. It's the way they implicitly think about the world -- the problems they notice, the questions they ask, the topics they emphasize, the things they exclude or take for granted, the jokes they make, the things that cannot be joked about, etc.
But if you are intelligent, you don't just leave it at that. Rather, you want to dig a little deeper. This, I believe, is where the gnostic element of (-n) fits in. What makes human intelligence human (and often all-too-human) is our ability to see beneath the surface and unify phenomena on a deeper level. But obviously it is possible to not only get things wrong, but to do so in a systematic way, e.g., Islamism, scientism, atheism, phrenology, etc.
This I think is why leftists always believe such conspiratorial nonsense. In my case, because I knew that there was more to reality than met the eye, I began reading things by Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Edward Herman, Michael Parenti, Eric Hobsbawm, the Frankfurt School of psychopolitical loons, you name it. I didn't even know that these people were Marxists, nor would I have cared if you had told me. I subscribed to The Nation and thought it was actually "objective." I listened to Pacifica radio. I even contributed money to them! How will I explain this to God?..."
Labels:
Gagdad's Pearls,
moonbat recovery,
One Cosmos,
the left
Friday, August 14, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Hot Air Blog Archive Tsongas: I won’t take ObamaCare because I have better options
"CONSTITUENT: My question to you, Congresswoman Tsongas, is that if this is such a great plan, why did you opt out of it when you took the vote [loud applause, standing ovation]?
TSONGAS: People often say why don’t the American people have what those of us in Congress have. [Audience erupts] Let me explain what I have. Let me explain what I have. What I have is a tremendous array — you know, last year when I went to a discussion — what I have is a tremendous array of choices. And I made a choice based on what I was willing to pay for and what made sense in terms of coverage for me and my family. [Audience shouts out: "We want choice! We want choice!] This is essentially what we are creating for the American people. We are creating greater choice."
If any of my eleven readers aren't about to read the health care bill of over one thousand pages scroll down at VAN's at http://blogodidact.blogspot.com/ where you will find that he has done the heavy lifting and linked many of the health plans for us regular folk so you can get an idea of what is in store for you.
"CONSTITUENT: My question to you, Congresswoman Tsongas, is that if this is such a great plan, why did you opt out of it when you took the vote [loud applause, standing ovation]?
TSONGAS: People often say why don’t the American people have what those of us in Congress have. [Audience erupts] Let me explain what I have. Let me explain what I have. What I have is a tremendous array — you know, last year when I went to a discussion — what I have is a tremendous array of choices. And I made a choice based on what I was willing to pay for and what made sense in terms of coverage for me and my family. [Audience shouts out: "We want choice! We want choice!] This is essentially what we are creating for the American people. We are creating greater choice."
If any of my eleven readers aren't about to read the health care bill of over one thousand pages scroll down at VAN's at http://blogodidact.blogspot.com/ where you will find that he has done the heavy lifting and linked many of the health plans for us regular folk so you can get an idea of what is in store for you.
Dr. Sanity is back with a great essay on the projection and paranoia of the left. It is another one to read again and again.
How I have missed her!
How I have missed her!
Sunday, August 09, 2009
COMPARE AND CONTRAST :
Michelle Malkin How to dress like an “authentic” grass-roots activist
NOW, GO CHECK OUT THESE MUSLIM WOMAN:
Glamorous Muslim Political Women :: Daniel Pipes
Michelle Malkin How to dress like an “authentic” grass-roots activist
NOW, GO CHECK OUT THESE MUSLIM WOMAN:
Glamorous Muslim Political Women :: Daniel Pipes
Thursday, August 06, 2009
'Ya add up two of us plus our twentieth century cars . . .
Cash for Codgers: a Practical, Final Solution to the Health Care Crisis
Cash for Codgers: a Practical, Final Solution to the Health Care Crisis
Monday, August 03, 2009
In case you are among my many friends and slackers who , like our Congress, have not had time to even glance at the Health Care Bill, here is a great place to catch up and redeem yourselves. Check it out, you may even link to the actual bill if you are so inclined.
Domestic Divapalooza
Domestic Divapalooza
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Ben Stein's Last Column...
How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World?
As I begin to write this, I 'slug' it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is 'eonline FINAL,' and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started. I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end.
It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world's change have overtaken it On a small scale, Morton's, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie. But Morton's is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again.
Beyond that, a bigger change has happened..? I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.
How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today's world, if by a 'star' we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails..
They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer. A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit , Iraq . He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.
A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad . He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him...
A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad .
The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists.
We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.
I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.
There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament..the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards.
Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero.
I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters This is my highest and best use as a human.. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin or Martin Mull or Fred Willard--or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald.. Or even remotely close to any of them.
But, I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms.
This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York . I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human
Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.
By Ben Stein
How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World?
As I begin to write this, I 'slug' it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is 'eonline FINAL,' and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started. I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end.
It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world's change have overtaken it On a small scale, Morton's, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie. But Morton's is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again.
Beyond that, a bigger change has happened..? I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.
How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today's world, if by a 'star' we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails..
They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer. A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit , Iraq . He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.
A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad . He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him...
A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad .
The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists.
We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.
I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.
There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament..the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards.
Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero.
I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters This is my highest and best use as a human.. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin or Martin Mull or Fred Willard--or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald.. Or even remotely close to any of them.
But, I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms.
This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York . I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human
Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.
By Ben Stein
Friday, July 31, 2009
You're cheating yourself if you don't absorb this post on July 31 from that genius with the word at One Cosmos. Read it all but here are some teasers:
"...What an excellent question asked by James Lewis at American Thinker, Why Isn’t the Whole Left Neoconservative? Leftism is such a discredited ideology, so intrinsically wrong, so at odds with higher human nature, so cruel and unworkable in practice, so retrograde in its results, that one can only wonder at the persistent hold it has on millions of minds around the world.
Some day Leftism will be rejoined with its twin ideology, fascism, which no one takes seriously anymore (consciously, anyway; as Goldberg demonstrates, the program of the left is indistinguishible from fascism). Why is that? In fact, fascism is not a “right wing,” much less “conservative” ideology, but a competing from of socialism. It was the communists who tried to discredit “national socialism” by labeling it “right wing” merely because it wasn’t what they wanted, which was international socialism. . ."
AtOne Cosmos Gagdad Bob goes on to offer a twelve step program:
haps we need a 12 step program for leftists, Apparatchiks Anonymous.
1. We admitted we were powerless over the intoxicating dreams of socialism, and that our lives and governments had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a power far greater than our own omnipotent little egoic fantasies of total control could restore us to true liberalism.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the Creator and Guarantor of our Liberty.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of the well-intentioned failures and frank evils of socialism.
5. Admitted to the Creator of our Liberty, to ourselves, and in a live phone call to C-SPAN, the exact nature of socialism’s wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have the Creator of Our Liberty remove all these defects of ideology.
7. Humbly asked Him to cancel our subscription to the Times.
8. Made a list of all races, genders, and classes our government programs had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all by realizing that these constructs of race and gender are irrelevant to begin with.
9. Made direct amends to such people by switching parties.
10. Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were again tempted to abuse ideology for the purposes of blotting out reality, promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer, meditation, and listening to Rush Limbaugh, to improve our conscious contact with the Source of our Liberty, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other Leftists, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
"...What an excellent question asked by James Lewis at American Thinker, Why Isn’t the Whole Left Neoconservative? Leftism is such a discredited ideology, so intrinsically wrong, so at odds with higher human nature, so cruel and unworkable in practice, so retrograde in its results, that one can only wonder at the persistent hold it has on millions of minds around the world.
Some day Leftism will be rejoined with its twin ideology, fascism, which no one takes seriously anymore (consciously, anyway; as Goldberg demonstrates, the program of the left is indistinguishible from fascism). Why is that? In fact, fascism is not a “right wing,” much less “conservative” ideology, but a competing from of socialism. It was the communists who tried to discredit “national socialism” by labeling it “right wing” merely because it wasn’t what they wanted, which was international socialism. . ."
AtOne Cosmos Gagdad Bob goes on to offer a twelve step program:
haps we need a 12 step program for leftists, Apparatchiks Anonymous.
1. We admitted we were powerless over the intoxicating dreams of socialism, and that our lives and governments had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a power far greater than our own omnipotent little egoic fantasies of total control could restore us to true liberalism.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the Creator and Guarantor of our Liberty.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of the well-intentioned failures and frank evils of socialism.
5. Admitted to the Creator of our Liberty, to ourselves, and in a live phone call to C-SPAN, the exact nature of socialism’s wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have the Creator of Our Liberty remove all these defects of ideology.
7. Humbly asked Him to cancel our subscription to the Times.
8. Made a list of all races, genders, and classes our government programs had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all by realizing that these constructs of race and gender are irrelevant to begin with.
9. Made direct amends to such people by switching parties.
10. Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were again tempted to abuse ideology for the purposes of blotting out reality, promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer, meditation, and listening to Rush Limbaugh, to improve our conscious contact with the Source of our Liberty, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other Leftists, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
"Scolding Americans for our various sins is proving popular among an elite group of self-appointed moralists.
Take well-meaning environmentalists who warn us that our plush lifestyles heat up and pollute the planet. To listen to former Vice President Al Gore or New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, we must immediately curtail our carbon emissions - or face planetary destruction..."
RealClearPolitics - Our Angry Aristocracy
and after you have read Hanson (or before), check out Vanderleun's take with pictures at"The gall of these non-elected, self-selected nattering flatulators is without limit."
Thomas Friedman: Fatter Footprint Than Al Gore @ AMERICAN DIGEST:
Take well-meaning environmentalists who warn us that our plush lifestyles heat up and pollute the planet. To listen to former Vice President Al Gore or New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, we must immediately curtail our carbon emissions - or face planetary destruction..."
RealClearPolitics - Our Angry Aristocracy
and after you have read Hanson (or before), check out Vanderleun's take with pictures at"The gall of these non-elected, self-selected nattering flatulators is without limit."
Thomas Friedman: Fatter Footprint Than Al Gore @ AMERICAN DIGEST:
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
"The gall of these non-elected, self-selected nattering flatulators is without limit."
Thomas Friedman: Fatter Footprint Than Al Gore @ AMERICAN DIGEST:
Thomas Friedman: Fatter Footprint Than Al Gore @ AMERICAN DIGEST:
Monday, July 27, 2009
American Thinker: Impersonating a Victim
"...The Gates arrest fiasco has put into sharp focus the difference between class and race in America. It has also contrasted the pseudo victimhood of Gates with the legitimate victims of Jim Crow. His defenders try playing the tattered race card but it doesn't work this time. "Black men are arrested in greater proportion than whites", they squawk. If Gates is indicative, now we know why.
We have now all heard the verbal abuse Gates hurled at the officer -- who was called to protect his property. Gates theatrical reaction to the situation: "This is what happens to a black man in America!" What? Returning to your posh residence from your trip to China and having a neighbor look out for you by reporting suspicious behavior in your upper-crusty neighborhood and having a white public servant come check on your place for you -- is that what "happens" to you in America, Dr. Gates? Swing low sweet chariot..."
"...The Gates arrest fiasco has put into sharp focus the difference between class and race in America. It has also contrasted the pseudo victimhood of Gates with the legitimate victims of Jim Crow. His defenders try playing the tattered race card but it doesn't work this time. "Black men are arrested in greater proportion than whites", they squawk. If Gates is indicative, now we know why.
We have now all heard the verbal abuse Gates hurled at the officer -- who was called to protect his property. Gates theatrical reaction to the situation: "This is what happens to a black man in America!" What? Returning to your posh residence from your trip to China and having a neighbor look out for you by reporting suspicious behavior in your upper-crusty neighborhood and having a white public servant come check on your place for you -- is that what "happens" to you in America, Dr. Gates? Swing low sweet chariot..."
Friday, July 24, 2009
Billions To Stimulate Criminality
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Thursday, July 23, 2009 4:20 PM PT
Corruption: A nonprofit group committing a crime conjures up images of terrorist fundraising. But $8.5 billion in taxpayer money may go to specialists in political terror: the tax-exempt scam artists of Acorn.
Read More: General Politics
Did Democrats come to their present dominance of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington thanks in large part to a "syndicate of tax-exempt organizations" that "has coordinated and implemented a nationwide strategy of tax fraud, racketeering, money-laundering and manipulating the American electorate"?
The reams of evidence provided by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ranking Republican Darrell Issa of California and his GOP colleagues on the panel strongly suggest so.
Their more-than-80-page report charges that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (Acorn) uses "a complex structure designed to conceal illegal activities" — 361 different entities in 120 cities, 43 states and the District of Columbia, amounting to a "shell game" that "diverts taxpayer and tax-exempt monies into partisan political activities."
The group has over the last 15 years received in excess of $53 million in federal funds. Moreover, as the report warns, "under the Obama administration, Acorn stands to receive a whopping $8.5 billion in available stimulus funds."
Acorn's improprieties, of course, are not news. As Issa's report notes, a third of the 1.3 million voter registration cards the organization solicited and presented in 2008 ended up being null and void; the group has been investigated for voter registration fraud in places such as Connecticut, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio.
A decade ago, an Acorn operative in Arkansas was arrested for falsification of voter registration forms. Soon after that, Philadelphia officials discovered hundreds of Acorn's falsified registration forms. In 2007, the state of Washington filed felony charges against several Acorn employees and supervisors for submitting more than 1,700 fraudulent voter cards.
Just last fall, federal agents raided Acorn's Nevada offices and in May of this year Nevada officials charged the organization and its state personnel with voter fraud. That was soon followed by seven Acorn officials in Pittsburgh being charged with voter fraud. Acorn has been accused of presenting at least 2,100 fraudulent registration forms in Lake County, Ind.
Superimposed upon these offenses are the alleged embezzlement practices of Dale Rathke, brother of the organization's founder, Wade Rathke, who apparently used a financial management company to "loan" himself over $948,600 in Acorn funds.
For eight years after the incident, Acorn kept him in its employ and failed to notify its board of the money grab. Acorn board members Marcel Reid and Karen Inman were actually kicked off for trying to investigate the Dale Rathke cover-up, and for seeking financial transparency within Acorn.
Inman's response to her removal last fall was to ask: "Why would you want us not to clean up things? Why would you not want to do your own investigation instead of bringing in the sheriff?"
Perhaps because a cleaned-up Acorn would not be able to operate effectively. Even the left-friendly National Public Radio has reported that the organization's financial sleight of hand "essentially gives them a cloak that prevents people from seeing really how they're spending money that comes, in some cases, from the taxpayers, in other cases, comes from members of their organization who pay dues."
Yet this corrupt outfit has actually been signed up as a national partner with the U.S. Census Bureau to help recruit the nearly 1.5 million workers who will count and classify our 306 million population for 2010. It's like getting a car thief to manage a parking garage.
As the Capital Research Center's Matthew Vadum has documented, $3 billion from the stimulus package, another billion dollars from HUD, and $4.5 billion in Community Development Block Grants look set to come Acorn's way for a total of $8.5 billion.
The Issa report further charges Acorn with submitting false filings to the IRS and the Labor Department, and violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and the ERISA law.
Amidst all this apparent illegality, the campaigns of President Obama, disgraced ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, are among the beneficiaries of financial contributions from Acorn and its affiliates.
"These actions are a clear violation of numerous tax and election laws," the Issa report charges.
Issa called it "outrageous that Acorn will be rewarded for its criminal acts by taxpayer money in the stimulus and is being asked to help with the U.S. census." He says the organization "cannot and should not be trusted with taxpayer dollars."
Don't hold your breath for justice. No doubt Attorney General Eric Holder will soon be too busy hounding former Vice President Dick Cheney — for his forceful effort in waging the global war on terror — to probe the shady outfit that helped elect his boss president.
Read all of this article here:
IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- Billions To Stimulate Criminality
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Thursday, July 23, 2009 4:20 PM PT
Corruption: A nonprofit group committing a crime conjures up images of terrorist fundraising. But $8.5 billion in taxpayer money may go to specialists in political terror: the tax-exempt scam artists of Acorn.
Read More: General Politics
Did Democrats come to their present dominance of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington thanks in large part to a "syndicate of tax-exempt organizations" that "has coordinated and implemented a nationwide strategy of tax fraud, racketeering, money-laundering and manipulating the American electorate"?
The reams of evidence provided by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ranking Republican Darrell Issa of California and his GOP colleagues on the panel strongly suggest so.
Their more-than-80-page report charges that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (Acorn) uses "a complex structure designed to conceal illegal activities" — 361 different entities in 120 cities, 43 states and the District of Columbia, amounting to a "shell game" that "diverts taxpayer and tax-exempt monies into partisan political activities."
The group has over the last 15 years received in excess of $53 million in federal funds. Moreover, as the report warns, "under the Obama administration, Acorn stands to receive a whopping $8.5 billion in available stimulus funds."
Acorn's improprieties, of course, are not news. As Issa's report notes, a third of the 1.3 million voter registration cards the organization solicited and presented in 2008 ended up being null and void; the group has been investigated for voter registration fraud in places such as Connecticut, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio.
A decade ago, an Acorn operative in Arkansas was arrested for falsification of voter registration forms. Soon after that, Philadelphia officials discovered hundreds of Acorn's falsified registration forms. In 2007, the state of Washington filed felony charges against several Acorn employees and supervisors for submitting more than 1,700 fraudulent voter cards.
Just last fall, federal agents raided Acorn's Nevada offices and in May of this year Nevada officials charged the organization and its state personnel with voter fraud. That was soon followed by seven Acorn officials in Pittsburgh being charged with voter fraud. Acorn has been accused of presenting at least 2,100 fraudulent registration forms in Lake County, Ind.
Superimposed upon these offenses are the alleged embezzlement practices of Dale Rathke, brother of the organization's founder, Wade Rathke, who apparently used a financial management company to "loan" himself over $948,600 in Acorn funds.
For eight years after the incident, Acorn kept him in its employ and failed to notify its board of the money grab. Acorn board members Marcel Reid and Karen Inman were actually kicked off for trying to investigate the Dale Rathke cover-up, and for seeking financial transparency within Acorn.
Inman's response to her removal last fall was to ask: "Why would you want us not to clean up things? Why would you not want to do your own investigation instead of bringing in the sheriff?"
Perhaps because a cleaned-up Acorn would not be able to operate effectively. Even the left-friendly National Public Radio has reported that the organization's financial sleight of hand "essentially gives them a cloak that prevents people from seeing really how they're spending money that comes, in some cases, from the taxpayers, in other cases, comes from members of their organization who pay dues."
Yet this corrupt outfit has actually been signed up as a national partner with the U.S. Census Bureau to help recruit the nearly 1.5 million workers who will count and classify our 306 million population for 2010. It's like getting a car thief to manage a parking garage.
As the Capital Research Center's Matthew Vadum has documented, $3 billion from the stimulus package, another billion dollars from HUD, and $4.5 billion in Community Development Block Grants look set to come Acorn's way for a total of $8.5 billion.
The Issa report further charges Acorn with submitting false filings to the IRS and the Labor Department, and violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and the ERISA law.
Amidst all this apparent illegality, the campaigns of President Obama, disgraced ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, are among the beneficiaries of financial contributions from Acorn and its affiliates.
"These actions are a clear violation of numerous tax and election laws," the Issa report charges.
Issa called it "outrageous that Acorn will be rewarded for its criminal acts by taxpayer money in the stimulus and is being asked to help with the U.S. census." He says the organization "cannot and should not be trusted with taxpayer dollars."
Don't hold your breath for justice. No doubt Attorney General Eric Holder will soon be too busy hounding former Vice President Dick Cheney — for his forceful effort in waging the global war on terror — to probe the shady outfit that helped elect his boss president.
Read all of this article here:
IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- Billions To Stimulate Criminality
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Singer, composer, veteran and all around good guy Lloyd Marcus now writing at American Thinker:
American Thinker: At the NAACP, Obama Removes His Mask of the Great Unifier
American Thinker: At the NAACP, Obama Removes His Mask of the Great Unifier
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
GAGDAD'S PEARLS:
"... I repeat: even if Jesus had not lived, I would still "believe in him," because I believe man is fashioned in the image of the Absolute, and it is only this fact that allows us to stand up to tyranny in a manner that is simultaneously objective (true) and righteous (good). Yes, you might well get streamrolled like Sarah Palin in the process, but you have every cosmic right to hold up a cross in the face of His Smugness and say, "stop! That is not permitted here!" Yes, the world will do to you what it did to Him. Goes with the terrortory.
Again, our freedom is a cosmic right. It is only ratified by Jesus' saving presence. You can only not know this if you have ceased being American, and are instead a "world citizen" or some other such nonsense.
"World citizenship" (not to mention "international law") is a lie, since it is not based upon any interior reality. Rather, it is something invented by tyrants for purposes of crowd control. It is one of the pillars of the criminal organization known as the UN, which does not promote the natural law, to put it mildly. "International law" is simply "man's law" writ large, and therefore cosmic lawlessness.
This is one of the reasons why they love "global warming," as it will allow them to extend and legitimize man's law (which is tyranny) in an unprecedented manner. It's bad enough that Obama can reach into our pockets. With crap & trade, dictators from all over the world can do so as well..."
"... I repeat: even if Jesus had not lived, I would still "believe in him," because I believe man is fashioned in the image of the Absolute, and it is only this fact that allows us to stand up to tyranny in a manner that is simultaneously objective (true) and righteous (good). Yes, you might well get streamrolled like Sarah Palin in the process, but you have every cosmic right to hold up a cross in the face of His Smugness and say, "stop! That is not permitted here!" Yes, the world will do to you what it did to Him. Goes with the terrortory.
Again, our freedom is a cosmic right. It is only ratified by Jesus' saving presence. You can only not know this if you have ceased being American, and are instead a "world citizen" or some other such nonsense.
"World citizenship" (not to mention "international law") is a lie, since it is not based upon any interior reality. Rather, it is something invented by tyrants for purposes of crowd control. It is one of the pillars of the criminal organization known as the UN, which does not promote the natural law, to put it mildly. "International law" is simply "man's law" writ large, and therefore cosmic lawlessness.
This is one of the reasons why they love "global warming," as it will allow them to extend and legitimize man's law (which is tyranny) in an unprecedented manner. It's bad enough that Obama can reach into our pockets. With crap & trade, dictators from all over the world can do so as well..."
"It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American descent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed........... The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more than another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Weimar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.” - Editorial by Pravda (Russia’s largest newspaper) April 27, 2009".
If there was any doubt that the House Democrat Health Care plan would be anything but full-blown, single payer, socialized medicine it has now been cast aside with the release of the 1,017 page bill this week. The bill has already passed two of the three committees to which it has been referred to in the House. Not a single Republican voted for it in either committee, so any pretext of bipartisanship should also be cast aside. The bill will be debated on the House floor in about 10 days, so we will have more time when those days come to discuss just how extreme this thing is. But let me give you a few HIGHLIGHTS:
It makes it illegal to purchase your own private health insurance after the bill is enacted and will transition virtually everyone to government care within 5 years. (Found on page 16 of H.R. 3200)
The bill raises taxes on "the rich" but also creates new taxes on small businesses and individuals who do not have health insurance. After the tax increase, the top tax rate for a resident of California will be over 57%, which makes it the highest income tax rate in the industrialized world (Sweden is 56%).
It will increase the overall cost of health care in the country by trillions of dollars. Even the Democrat appointed head of the Congressional Budget Office had to admit that there is no evidence that the plan will lower the cost of health care as the President has asserted.
Current estimates project that there will be nearly 5 million additional jobs that will disappear nationwide, as a result of the plan.
As many as 114 million Americans could lose their current coverage under the bill, according to non-partisan actuaries at the Lewin Group.
Doctors, hospitals, and other medical providers will be paid even less than they are currently being paid by Medicare or Medicaid, which will bankrupt many.
A government "Institute of Comparative Effectiveness" will determine whether you are allowed to receive treatments or medicines, and sometimes, as happens in other socialized countries, whether you are allowed to live or die.
It does not deal with the bankruptcy of the Medicare system or Social Security so those problems continue, but the taxes said to balance them will have been spent on this.
And, it will not even cover everybody with insurance, so it won't even fix what it is supposed to fix.
This is without question, the single worst, and most dangerous piece of legislation I have seen in my 9 years of public service. Under this plan, prison guards in California will make far more money than doctors, and to quote one of my colleagues, we will all be forced into government health care with the compassion of the IRS and the efficiency of the Post Office.
Patient's Choice Act: If there is bipartisan agreement on health care, it is that the current system needs reform. The reform measure that I think is best has been introduced byCongressmen Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Devin Nunes (R-CA) called the Patient's Choice Act. It is directionally opposite of the plan proposed by the Obama regime. Instead of putting government in charge of the system, this plan largely removes the failed portions of government involvement, and puts each individual in charge of their own health care plan and decisions. Here are some bullet points on this plan:
The plan eliminates the employer deduction for health insurance and the system of direct payment of health costs under Medicare and Medicaid, and replaces them with a $2,300refundable tax credit per individual which must be used for health care costs. Therefore, everyone, whether they are young, senior citizens, or indigent, will be covered under a private plan of their own choosing. And you no longer have to get the plan from your employer, but will have a number of options to get your own and keep the same plan as you move from job to job. Senior plans would be further subsidized by the Medicare system but still allowed to choose their own plan.
Currently as a Californian, you can only buy a health insurance plan approved by the state of California. Under the Patient's Choice Act, you would be free to pick from any of the over 1,300 medical insurance plans offered around the country. State based insurance exchanges will make sure that you cannot be cancelled for illness and that pre-existing conditions will not interfere with our choices in the same way that fire insurance is available to those who live in high fire risk areas today.
Basically this legislation will allow unlimited contributions to a health savings account so that Americans can save for their own health care costs on a pre-tax basis.
Litigation costs are a huge driver of medical costs. This bill would replace the court system with state based dispute resolution mechanisms for most claims thereby saving a great deal of money in the system.
Creates transparency through a public/private partnership to disclose cost, quality, and outcomes of various plans and providers.
It also instills accountability into existing federal wellness and prevention programs to encourage more disease prevention activities and thereby lower costs.
This bill will cost a grand total of $0 and will increase taxes by $0. It is revenue and cost neutral to the current system.
This is also a large bill which has many details I have not outlined here. But the difference is clear. There is an Obama/Pelosi socialized proposal that increases costs, lowers quality, raises taxes, increases the deficit, doesn't fix the problem, and literally leaves your life in the hands of Washington bureaucrats. Or there is a plan that costs nothing more, will lower costs and improve quality, and put YOU in charge of all of the decisions about YOUR health care.
The battle lines are drawn. And this is one we have to win.
I remain respectfully,
Congressman John Campbell
Member of Congress
If there was any doubt that the House Democrat Health Care plan would be anything but full-blown, single payer, socialized medicine it has now been cast aside with the release of the 1,017 page bill this week. The bill has already passed two of the three committees to which it has been referred to in the House. Not a single Republican voted for it in either committee, so any pretext of bipartisanship should also be cast aside. The bill will be debated on the House floor in about 10 days, so we will have more time when those days come to discuss just how extreme this thing is. But let me give you a few HIGHLIGHTS:
It makes it illegal to purchase your own private health insurance after the bill is enacted and will transition virtually everyone to government care within 5 years. (Found on page 16 of H.R. 3200)
The bill raises taxes on "the rich" but also creates new taxes on small businesses and individuals who do not have health insurance. After the tax increase, the top tax rate for a resident of California will be over 57%, which makes it the highest income tax rate in the industrialized world (Sweden is 56%).
It will increase the overall cost of health care in the country by trillions of dollars. Even the Democrat appointed head of the Congressional Budget Office had to admit that there is no evidence that the plan will lower the cost of health care as the President has asserted.
Current estimates project that there will be nearly 5 million additional jobs that will disappear nationwide, as a result of the plan.
As many as 114 million Americans could lose their current coverage under the bill, according to non-partisan actuaries at the Lewin Group.
Doctors, hospitals, and other medical providers will be paid even less than they are currently being paid by Medicare or Medicaid, which will bankrupt many.
A government "Institute of Comparative Effectiveness" will determine whether you are allowed to receive treatments or medicines, and sometimes, as happens in other socialized countries, whether you are allowed to live or die.
It does not deal with the bankruptcy of the Medicare system or Social Security so those problems continue, but the taxes said to balance them will have been spent on this.
And, it will not even cover everybody with insurance, so it won't even fix what it is supposed to fix.
This is without question, the single worst, and most dangerous piece of legislation I have seen in my 9 years of public service. Under this plan, prison guards in California will make far more money than doctors, and to quote one of my colleagues, we will all be forced into government health care with the compassion of the IRS and the efficiency of the Post Office.
Patient's Choice Act: If there is bipartisan agreement on health care, it is that the current system needs reform. The reform measure that I think is best has been introduced byCongressmen Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Devin Nunes (R-CA) called the Patient's Choice Act. It is directionally opposite of the plan proposed by the Obama regime. Instead of putting government in charge of the system, this plan largely removes the failed portions of government involvement, and puts each individual in charge of their own health care plan and decisions. Here are some bullet points on this plan:
The plan eliminates the employer deduction for health insurance and the system of direct payment of health costs under Medicare and Medicaid, and replaces them with a $2,300refundable tax credit per individual which must be used for health care costs. Therefore, everyone, whether they are young, senior citizens, or indigent, will be covered under a private plan of their own choosing. And you no longer have to get the plan from your employer, but will have a number of options to get your own and keep the same plan as you move from job to job. Senior plans would be further subsidized by the Medicare system but still allowed to choose their own plan.
Currently as a Californian, you can only buy a health insurance plan approved by the state of California. Under the Patient's Choice Act, you would be free to pick from any of the over 1,300 medical insurance plans offered around the country. State based insurance exchanges will make sure that you cannot be cancelled for illness and that pre-existing conditions will not interfere with our choices in the same way that fire insurance is available to those who live in high fire risk areas today.
Basically this legislation will allow unlimited contributions to a health savings account so that Americans can save for their own health care costs on a pre-tax basis.
Litigation costs are a huge driver of medical costs. This bill would replace the court system with state based dispute resolution mechanisms for most claims thereby saving a great deal of money in the system.
Creates transparency through a public/private partnership to disclose cost, quality, and outcomes of various plans and providers.
It also instills accountability into existing federal wellness and prevention programs to encourage more disease prevention activities and thereby lower costs.
This bill will cost a grand total of $0 and will increase taxes by $0. It is revenue and cost neutral to the current system.
This is also a large bill which has many details I have not outlined here. But the difference is clear. There is an Obama/Pelosi socialized proposal that increases costs, lowers quality, raises taxes, increases the deficit, doesn't fix the problem, and literally leaves your life in the hands of Washington bureaucrats. Or there is a plan that costs nothing more, will lower costs and improve quality, and put YOU in charge of all of the decisions about YOUR health care.
The battle lines are drawn. And this is one we have to win.
I remain respectfully,
Congressman John Campbell
Member of Congress
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