Michael Jackson Super Star

By Barbara Sowell

Death takes us all, and most often not by surprise. Today it’s best just to say a prayer for his departed soul as we are not in a position to judge. But I wonder if in death Super Stars are forever bound to this earth by the gravity of fame and the perils of fortune; living on in memory as long as money flows into the hands that weave the myths. Those greedy hands that now heap praise will tomorrow leak sordid details, true or not, with no aim beyond financial gain.

There will be time enough to dissect his life and the post mortem will go on for what seems like an eternity until another generation has lost the memory and no one sings the songs, and no one knows the dance.

Glorified, mummified, vilified, novelized, categorized, and then forgotten – it’s the long road from memorial to oblivion.

Visions of the forever youthful Peter Pan merged with the dying and disfigured Dorian Gray are too painfully real; too complex.

Those Faustian tempters, vultures of industry and media, sealed the deal long ago and now present us with that pristine portrait. The Picture of Dorian Gray is forever beautiful, enticing, and so very comforting.

And we will keep hiding his tortured existence and dusty end from the puppets, from the pretenders, and from the dreamers, until another idol comes to take his place.

 

Technorati Tags: Michael Jackson,Dorian Gray,Super Stars,poetry,poem,novels,music,media,Thriller

Obama's Real Connections to Venezuela's Chavez

Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media has provided an in-depth look at Obama's real connections to Venezuela's communist thug, Chavez. This is a stunning, horrifying read, and reveals the true danger posed by our Leftist lunatic "President," aka "The One."

What we are really dealing with in Obama and his cabal is nothing less than a communist coup, brought to us through a stolen election, aided and abetted by a complicit press and a Corrupt, fellow-traveling Congress. Believe it. Something MUST be done, and there is precious little time left. The cartoon below should give you a cynical chuckle, if you can still laugh after reading Cliff's piece.

Palin continues to confuse her enemies

By James H. Shott

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin continues to confound political observers. The woman whose sudden entrance onto the national political stage so badly confused the liberal machine last fall has just as suddenly announced her departure, unexpectedly announcing her resignation as Governor last Friday, less than three years into her term.

You can evaluate Mrs. Palin’s political effectiveness by looking at how people reacted to her. The barrage of gutter-level personal attacks after Sen. John McCain chose her as his running mate was swift and vicious. So badly flummoxed was the opposition that they stooped to personal attacks that targeted the Palin children, which successfully demonstrated the lack of class and civility of the attackers, and actually helped Gov. Palin.

This strategy found a new low when comic David Letterman suggested that Mrs. Palin’s 14 year-old daughter had had a sexual encounter with a baseball player during a game at Yankee Stadium. He then made disparaging remarks about the Governor’s appearance.

Is this the best the left can do?

This behavior epitomizes the undisciplined mind of fringe liberals, who are so hypnotically linked to their ideology that they cannot accept the idea that everyone doesn’t agree with them, and when people don’t agree with them, they lose control.

Gov. Palin’s enemies in Alaska pursued ethics charges against her that lacked merit, but were expensive to defend, and proved to be a substantial distraction. Politics can often be a dirty game.

The Democratic National Committee committed an unforced error with this reaction: "Either Sarah Palin is leaving the people of Alaska high and dry to pursue her long shot national political ambitions or she simply can't handle the job now that her popularity has dimmed and oil revenues are down. Either way – her decision to abandon her post and the people of Alaska who elected her continues a pattern of bizarre behavior that more than anything else may explain the decision she made today."

Even if every slam against Mrs. Palin in that statement was true, you’d think the DNC would be happy that its enemy is stepping down. Message to the DNC: Sometimes it’s better to just keep quiet.

What millions of Americans like about Mrs. Palin is her basic “normalness”: She is one of us. An attractive wife and mother, college educated, a church-goer, a person with a simple lifestyle, a woman who willingly gave birth to a Down syndrome child instead of aborting it … she could be our next door neighbor. And that is what freaked out the opposition so effectively. Her broad, “normal American” appeal presented an image contrary to everything the radicals believe in, and the only way they could neutralize that appeal was to attack her personally and try to belittle her. But that tactic failed.

Would Sarah Palin have been a good Vice President? Like everyone else, she has weaknesses, and despite her natural appeal didn’t always come across as someone that could run a country. She isn’t a polished and eloquent speaker, but then, consider Joe Biden’s frequent gaffs. She doesn’t have foreign policy experience, but then neither does Barack Obama. However, unlike Mr. Obama, Mr. Biden and Sen. McCain, she does have executive experience as a mayor, the head of a state commission, and a governor. And she has proven that she will take on entrenched political factions and win.

So the jury is still out on that question. But the opposition must have been worried, given its frenzied attack strategy.

Suddenly stepping down as governor in mid-term, however, has everyone wondering what is going on, including her supporters. Even the most positive evaluations say this move is risky if Mrs. Palin hopes to have a future in politics. With the decision to walk away, she has branded herself a “quitter,” despite whatever good reasons she may have for stepping down. And, predictably, her enemies are having a field day playing guessing games.

She’s fed up with the pettiness of her opposition and with the nastiness of politics, and the toll her sudden prominence has taken on her children, who are supposed to be off limits from the normal sewer-tactics of the political game. In her statement last Friday, she said: “Political operatives descended on Alaska last August, digging for dirt. The ethics law I championed became their weapon of choice. Over the past nine months I’ve been accused of all sorts of frivolous ethics violations – such as holding a fish in a photograph, wearing a jacket with a logo on it, and answering reporters’ questions. Every one – all 15 of the ethics complaints have been dismissed.” But there are still hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills to pay. Who could blame her for wanting to escape that?

But maybe there is something ugly lying beneath the surface yet to be discovered, an actual scandal, instead of a made-up scandal. Right now, nobody knows for sure, and until something substantive actually comes to light, everyone would be well advised to keep quiet, behave themselves, and make an honest effort to be mature, responsible adults.

There is a strong feeling that those expectations are too high.

Cross-Posted from Observations

Half of America is Roiling with Anger!

Is Hate Growing in America?
By: J. D. Longstreet

***************************

From Rasmussen Reports: “Fifty percent (50%) of Americans believe hate is growing in America in the wake of the murders of a doctor who performed late-term abortions and a military recruiter and a shooting incident at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in which a guard was killed. … Since much of the criticism after the shooting incidents was directed at conservative talk radio and television, it’s not surprising that 52% of Democrats blame radio, TV and Internet rhetoric for increased hatred, while a plurality of Republicans (44%) feel the opposite way. Adults not affiliated with either party are almost evenly divided on the question.”
You may read the entire article HERE.

So far no surprises. It was, OF COURSE, those mean ole CONSERVATIVES stirring people up over such paltry things as the hijacking of our democracy and replacing it with a socialist form of government. The wanton disregard of the constitution by the left, and conservatives having the temerity to actually speak aloud about such things as our religion which tells us, flat-out, that certain behaviors are unacceptable in the eyes of God and are heinous sins and blasphemous crimes against God. So, yes, I suppose conservatives did upset some people.

It is always upsetting when someone holds a mirror up to a society and allows the members of that society to see the evil rampant in one’s own society and yes, even in one’s own life. Yeah, it can be expected that will cause some uncomfortable moments for our friends on the left side of the political spectrum.

Raised as an evangelical I was taught to ”Love the sinner and hate the sin.” But, I have to tell you, it is getting far more difficult these days to not carry that hate for the sin over to the sinner, as well- especially when the sinner is constantly in your face, flaunting his crime against God in the face of a society he knows does not approve of his acts. It has also become uncommonly trying on those conservatives when they know they are being deliberately singled out in an attempt to cause them to break and react in a manner which may reflect hate rather than love.

Now, let’s understand one other very important thing, too. Not ALL conservatives are church going, bible reading, Christians. It is not required that a conservative to be a Christian.

One other thing we need to be clear on. There is a double standard in America for Conservatives and Leftists. Things the left routinely gets away with, a conservative would be crucified for. Just as an example - adultery is one of the biggies.

According to the same Rasmussen Report: “Fifty-three percent (53%) of Americans said the United States should refrain from banning so-called “hate speech” in a survey a year ago. Twenty-eight percent (28%) favored banning hate speech, which is loosely defined as comments intended to put down or incite violence against people on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation and other legally protected categories.” Am I the only commentator out here who sees this as what it is – a clear violation of the First Amendment?

I am convinced the sole purpose of the Hate Speech Ban is to silence Conservatives. There is absolutely no other acceptable explanation for it. Conservatives who spout the truth are a real and present danger to the political left. I mean, the left cannot allow conservatives to refer to as them socialists! That’s what they are, but they don’t want to hear you actually SAY IT! And – they fear you hearing it. They fear that if you do come to suspect that the current government in the United States is controlled by socialists you just might take the time to do a little light research and learn what a socialist REALLY is - and that would scare you to death! Conservatives, of course, WANT you to do that research and learn for yourself who is actually pulling the strings in your nation’s capital.

According to Rasmussen: “seventy-four percent (74%) of voters believe that with the Internet, cable networks, satellite radio, newspapers, radio and TV, it is possible for just about any political view to be heard in today’s media.” So, what’s wrong wit that? Nothing I can think of. Where the problem arises is when one side or the other tries to shut everybody else up! And THAT is exactly what leftist the world over, and especially in America, tries to do every time they come to power. As an example, I offer the Fairness Doctrine. The left in Congress has not given up their goal of the reinstitution of that hellish piece of legislation. Oh, they will title it something else, but it will BE “the Fairness Doctrine.”

To answer the question in the title to this commentary, I’d reply that no, I do not believe hate in America is getting any worse. However, when you stifle a once free people, it has the same effect as screwing the valve down tight on a pressure cooker. Sooner or later, something is going to explode.

Today America is that pressure cooker. Our leftist/socialist leadership is screwing the valve closed at an ever-increasing speed and the pressure within is building to dangerous levels. They are doing exactly what we predicted they WOULD DO once in power. They are over-reaching. They do it every time! It seems they simply cannot help themselves. They become inebriated on power, and their drunkenness affects their judgment – or so it seems.

No, in my opinion, hate is not growing - but flat out, old fashioned, country style ANGER IS GROWING!

I don’t know about you – but I am mad as hell! I’m mad at what has been done to my country! I’m mad as hell at the folks who have done it and continue doing it! I’m mad as hell at the folks who sit on the sidelines and bitch and moan and won’t get in the arena and fight for what they KNOW is right! I’m mad as hell at the political party that KNOWS what it takes to win and throw the Socialist and Marxists out of Washington, and still refuse to do it! That is utter insanity and the GOP is as mad as a hatter!

America is becoming an armed camp. If our public education system was worth anything at all, Americans would know what is happening. To get a grasp of it, all that is required is a look at what happened in this same country from about 1820 until April of 1861. We are repeating the same mistakes we made then. May God have mercy on us if we do not wake up and get hold of ourselves and stop the insanity in our government before half of this country decides it no longer wishes to be associated with the other half.

One thing is certain. We cannot continue on the course we have set. If we do, the United States of America will cease to exist in a very short time.

J. D. Longstreet

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Conservative+Socialism+Marxism+Anger+American+War

Americans Continue Stocking Up On Firearms And Ammo.

Americans Continue to Arm Themselves
A commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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Here’s some information I picked up from Rasmussen the other day:

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Americans say gun sales are up in the United States because of a fear of increased government restriction on gun ownership.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 23% say gun sales have risen because of a fear of increased crime. Twenty-one percent (21%) are not sure.

Sixty-three percent (63%) of men say the threat of more gun control is behind increased sales, compared to 51% of women. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of whites agree, while African-Americans are more closely divided on the question.

You may read the entire article from Rasmussen Here.

It is good to know that 75% of Americans believe the constitution guarantees the right to own a gun. A whopping 92% of Republicans say the Constitution guarantees their right to own a gun, compared to 64% of Democrats and 71% of adults not affiliated with either of the major political parties.

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The amendment is part of the Bill of Rights.

Gun control advocates have argued that the Second Amendment refers to the arming of a militia for the common defense and is not a guarantee of an individual’s right to own a gun. The National Rifle Association and numerous political leaders, both Democrat and Republican, among others, disagree.

Now we have Judge Sonia Sotomayor, nominated for the US Supreme Court by President Obama, with a record on the 2nd Amendment which is troublesome to gun owners – and that is putting it mildly. US Senators are being urged by their constituents to carefully question Judge Sotomayor about her position and her rulings on cases having to do with the second amendment.
Take a look a portion of Sotomayor’s record on gun rights:

Sotomayor ruled in United States v. Sanchez-Villar (2004) that "the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right."

She was part of a three-judge panel earlier this year which ruled in Maloney v. Cuomo that the Second Amendment does not apply to the states.

Fox News reported back in May that in her senior thesis at Princeton University, Sotomayor wrote that America has a "deadly obsession" with guns and that the Second Amendment does not guarantee an individual right to firearms ownership.

I ran across an interesting article on a site called “The Patriot’s Mind” a few days ago. The title of the piece is: “What the Media won’t tell you about Judge Sotomayor.” You will find it HERE.

And we must not forget the new Obama Attorney General, Eric Holder, who is reportedly not, shall we say, a keen supporter of gun rights.

Americans continue to practically run to gun shops to purchase weapons. They are buying ammunition, semiautomatic sport-utility rifles, and handguns, and shotguns. (Shotguns are a bit easier to employ for the beginner. You just point it in the general direction of your target and pull the trigger. There’s a pretty good chance you’ll get a piece of your intended target.)

The plain truth - is Americans are afraid this new government is going to disregard the constitution and take away their guns and/or make it nearly impossible for them to purchase ammunition for their weapons. That is one reason Americans are buying guns. The other is, or should be, self-explanatory.

From the mouth of, quite likely, the 20th century’s worst dictator, Adolph Hitler, is the most important reason Americans should never give up their 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Here is what Hitler said: "The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing."-- Adolph Hitler, Hitler's Secret Conversations 403 (Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens trans., 1961)

Now compare that to what Thomas Jefferson said to John Cartwright in 1824. Jefferson said: "The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."

When Americans survey the political landscape in Washington DC today one cannot escape the feeling that powers are gathering to strip Americans of a cherished right - the right to keep and bear arms.

Americans have almost instinctively understood that it was the gun that secured our freedom from Great Britain and it was the gun that has kept us free ever since.

James Madison had this to say in The Federalist Papers, No. 46 about American’s gun rights:

“The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”

And finally, Patrick Henry, that fiery Founding Father had some strong words about the people resisting the abuse of power by their government. Henry said this:

“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.”

Through lips curled into a sneer Patrick Henry said this:

“O sir, we should have fine times, indeed, if, to punish tyrants, it were only sufficient to assemble the people! Your arms, wherewith you could defend yourselves, are gone...Did you ever read of any revolution in a nation...inflicted by those who had no power at all?”

Americans must, must, remember, that without the right guaranteed us by our Founding Fathers in the 2nd Amendment, we would have NO WAY to secure all the other rights. Somewhere along the way, over the past 233 years we seem to have forgotten that.

With our guns we are citizens. Without them, we will fairly quickly become slaves.

J. D. Longstreet

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Conservative<+Gun+Rights+Constitution+Sotomayor+Obama

“…Men Shall Cry: Peace! Peace! But There Will Be No Peace.”

"…Men shall cry: Peace! Peace! But there will be no peace.”

A commentary by J. D. Longstreet

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It bothers me when I hear politicians, and former politicians, call for a lasting peace in the Middle East… especially a Southern politician, a Baptist, at that, and… a former President of the US.

I am referring, among others, to former “horrible” President Jimmy Carter of Plains, Georgia.

Now, let me see if I can explain this a bit:

It is always difficult to “unmix” politics and religion; at least it is for me. I really like to keep them separate, as much as I can… with the knowledge that each will, most certainly, intrude on the other… and there is no way to stop that. Not in a free society, anyway.

I was raised Southern Baptist. I left the Baptist church when I was in my mid-twenties and became a Lutheran. I felt the Lutheran church offered me something I could not find in my former denomination. Today that offering has been revoked and I find myself a “non-practicing” Lutheran.

Experience in the Baptist church taught me many things. One is that the policy Mr. Carter is suggesting, a “Lasting Peace in the Middle East”, is certainly not what the Baptist church teaches... at least they didn’t when I was a Baptist. In fact, it taught just the opposite… that there would be no peace, whatsoever, in the Middle East, until the return of Christ and the great battle of Armageddon.

So, you can imagine how my jaw dropped when I read Carter’s article in the Washington Post. You can find it HERE.

What’s going on here? Has “Jimma” finally gone round that bend he has been approaching, rather rapidly, of late? Or, has the Baptist church changed its stance on Peace in the Middle East? I simply don’t know. But, knowing the Baptists, as I do, (there are a number of my family, including my brother, who are Baptist ministers) I cannot believe the church has changed its teachings to reflect modern, secular, politics (I expect I’ll hear from a Baptist, or two, about this! Fine people, those Baptists!! How’s that for “sucking-up?”).

The last I heard, (and I have some friends who travel to Georgia, fairly often, and attend church at Carter’s church… and even attend the Sunday School class he teaches, or did teach.) the Baptist Church had not changed it’s teaching on “End Times”, Armageddon, or the Rapture. So, I have to wonder how other Baptists, members of one of the most conservative denominations on the earth, feel about this prominent Baptist misrepresenting their belief.

Carter’s association with the Baptists and his obvious break with them concerning Israel, and the Middle East, is a puzzlement. But then, politicians, who wear their religion on their sleeves, have always raised my eyebrows.

There is a distinct difference between wearing one’s religion on one’s sleeve, and practicing one’s religion, as that worthy adversary, Democrat Senator Joe Lieberman, does. I do not question his faith. He lives it.

Seems to me America would be a much better place if our politicians would LIVE their religion rather than publicly touting it as so many do.

Am I guilty of judging others by going against the biblical precept, “Judge not, that ye be not judged”? Of course I am! Christ himself said: “Ye shall know a tree by the fruit it bears.” I’m just examining the fruit! I’m kind of a “fruit inspector”, if you will.

I suggest we ALL begin examining the fruit we’re being offered much more closely than we have in the past. All the evidence we need to convince those among us who STILL need convincing has been splattered all over the media lately.

J. D. Longstreet

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Conservative+Religion+Politics+America

A Republic… IF We Can Keep It!

A Republic… IF We Can Keep It!
A commentary by J. D. Longstreet

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The story is told that when Ben Franklin emerged from the Constitutional Convention an anxious lady asked him what kind of government they had given us. His famous reply was: “A republic, Madam… if you can keep it.” And, for the most part, we Americans have been trying to keep it. But “change” is in the air.

Have you noticed how the Democratic Party has stopped denying its socialist tendencies?

Months ago, as I began to write about the dangers of socialism to America, (and how the Democratic Party has become a sort of Democratic/Socialist party) I was stunned when they, the democrats, did not refute it! See, I had expected democrats to deny any connection to socialism. But they didn’t. It was then that it struck me… they don’t deny it because they can’t. Apparently, they have embraced socialism.

You must forgive me if I get a bit wound-up when socialism is the topic. I have watched that “destroyer of nations” reap its harvest for many, many, decades. It is, in my opinion, the greatest threat to democracy on the planet. I see socialism as presenting an even greater threat than the Islamofacist terrorists! I will never be comfortable with a socialist government in America. We can argue “degrees” of socialism all day and it won’t matter. As the expression goes: “a little leaven leavens the whole loaf.”

As Independence Day rushes toward us, I think it is pure irony that now, as a “near” socialist nation, America can celebrate an event named “Independence Day” with a straight face!

As I write, in the year of our Lord 2009, Americans are anything but independent! We are fat, and lazy, and dependent on our new “near” socialist government for far too much and we are begging them to take on more of our care through a National Healthcare System that at least some of us recognize as socialized medicine and which has been dubbed “ObamaCare.” There is very little “independent” about Americans today. In less than six short months of the Obama regime we have gone from “King of the Hill” to just another member of the “mediocrity pack” of nations.

I know this is difficult to swallow. You can’t know how much pain it cause me to write these words. I have stood on the ground where the Wright brothers took their first flight launching America into the space age. They had no idea that their short flight would end up taking man to the stars, but of course, it did. I have trod the ground from which our astronauts blasted off to land and walk upon the surface of the moon. I have witnessed America claw her way to the top through sheer willpower and determination to be the best. And now, as I approach the autumn of my life, I am watching the decline and fall of that same America. Do you really think I don’t feel a copious amount of pain? I think I must now know what the ancient Romans felt as they watched the greatest civilization in history, to that day, decline, crumble, and fall in ruins around them.

“Oh,” but you say, “… socialism is the only way to go. Everyone will be equal! No class, no class warfare…” and such.

Well, let us see if we can break it down so that even those of you in love with the “cancer of nations,” socialism, can understand it.

The story is told of an economics professor at a small college who made a statement that he had never failed a single student before but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan.” All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride, too, so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Socialism will brung the end to private enterprise. Just think: under socialism there would be no small businesses, none of those Mom and Pop stores we are so fami,liar with in America. There would be no entrepreneurs. Socialism calls for the redistribution of wealth. Broken down, that simply means taking the money you earned and giving it to those you feel did not earn it. Socialism demands that all wealth in a nation, and that includes yours, will be controlled by the government. In other words, you will own nothing --- not even your own money. The government owns everything and everyone is given only what it takes for that person to survive. Socialism celebrates the lack of an upper class and a lower class. Under socialism there is only one class. And in THAT class all people suffer equally.

Americans have made an awful decision. They have decided to give up. Freedom is just too hard. It requires entirely too much work and effort on the part of the individual. It is much easier to sit back, relax, and allow the government to take care of us. Look, folks, birds locked in a golden cage are just as much a prisoner as those locked in a rusty old quarter-inch mesh wire cage. A prison is a prison and man is quite capable of creating his own.

Americans remind me today of the little granddaughter of a friend. He tells me she just recently went through the stage all parents are familiar with called…”potty training.” When she finished her business she would sit patiently on the porcelain throne, and yell her head off, until someone appeared to take care of that most important chore – the hygienic cleansing of the recently employed lower sphincter. (The vernacular is much more colorful and maybe a bit more descriptive, but, at the risk of creating a pun here, I wanted to keep it clean!) The child’s actions sound so much like what Americans are doing today, sitting on the porcelain throne yelling our heads off while waiting for someone to come take care of the last, but important, chore. The government will take care of it, but there is a price to be extracted from each of us. The price is the loss of our freedom.

They say that Satan’s greatest trick is convincing mankind that he doesn’t exist. It may be his best trick but it doesn’t hold a candle to the trick socialism has played on America.

J. D. Longstreet

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Conservative+Socialism+Republic+Government+America

I Miss America! ... J. D. Longstreet

I Miss America, Already!
By: J. D. Longstreet

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With the 4th of July, celebrated as Independence Day in the United States, fast approaching, scribes all over the nation are dutifully dipping their quills into their inkpots to scribble the obligatory few lines on the topic: “What America Means to me”, again this year, as in every year since, well, since there has been an America, I suppose.

But, I must confess, I am having difficulty this year. Each time I pull up to the keyboard, and type those few words, my eyes want to tear up and I get that lump in the throat that I used to associate with singing the national anthem and watching the flag march by, proudly held aloft by a veteran of the US Armed Forces. It is a common trait among those of us who have worn our nation’s uniform.

Ah, but this year, this year, the would-be tears are not only for those who have paid the price of our freedom with their body and blood - and sometimes even their sanity, it is for what we, as Americans, have lost in just the first five short months of the new presidential administration’s reign.

Near the top of my list of things we Americans have lost is PRIDE. Pride at being an American. Pride that was earned - that was paid for by the men and women who went before me into the jaws of hell and back to free a people in a country the name of which some of them could not even pronounce. It was pride earned because Americans were a people who would lend a hand to their fellow man, far away, who yearned to be free from a brutal dictator.

America used to be thought of as a “can-do” nation. It didn’t make a lot of difference what needed doing, America could, and would, do it. It never occurred to us we could fail. I mean, after all, we were AMERICANS! We DON’T FAIL!

It was confidence. Self-confidence, if you will. We were a nation of rugged individualists who did not rely on government for a damned thing. As a matter of fact, the less government we had - the better.

The nation, itself, was founded largely by the outcasts of other nations. Occasionally, other nations would send their criminals here as punishment. I know that is difficult to believe but it happened! They were people who had nothing to lose, with their backs against the wall they had one way to go and that was straight ahead - and the devil take the hind most! Those were the people who formed the bedrock foundation of the people the world would come to know simply as “AMERICANS.” Unique in the history of the planet - there had never been a nation made of people like those Americans. They were different. They knew it and they loved it.

They were a people who wanted their freedom - and so they took it – and they took it from a world superpower, no less. They created an experimental system of government called a representative republic and made it work! Some 80 years later they fell out, over state’s rights, and split into two separate countries and went to war against each other. The War for Southern Independence was unlike anything the world had seen before and since. They went at killing each other with workman like precision. On more than one occasion soldiers would cheer and applaud the other side’s bravery in the midst of the battle! More Americans died in that war than in all the wars America has been involved in added together. Some say the way that war ended has much to do with where America finds herself today. I cannot disagree with that. As a result of that war’s ending we stand today as one nation containing two countries made up of 50 separate and sovereign states. At some point it is bound to unravel.

America’s downfall came quickly once it began in the early 1990’s.

I have concluded ignorance is the cause of America’s downfall. We Americans are, as a whole, stupid. We are the least educated, dumbest, society on earth. How else can you account for the people we elected to lead the nation? I mean… just LOOK at that bunch! Now… look at what they have done to the country in less than six months! There is no easy way to say this – the election of Obama was a huge triumph for ignorance in America. If you STILL do not believe me, stick around for oh, a year, maybe eighteen months, or so, and watch what is going to happen and THEN tell me I am wrong.

Come on folks! Look at the fare on your TV. Most of it is insulting to anyone with a slightly above average IQ. You must understand the comprehension level of the average adult American today is around that of a third grader, or below. The people who produce the garbage on TV have to dumb it down so the average American can understand it! How else are they going to be able to sell it to the networks as vehicles for their commercials?

Our public school system (the government schools, as many now refer to them) is absolutely pathetic. It is a colossal failure. The curriculum has been dumbed down so that we are graduating kids who can barely function in a world that will surely pass them by. We know what is wrong with our schools and we know how to fix them - but we won’t. You must understand that for the government (we now have in America) to continue to control the reins of power they need MORE dumb Americans - not less. Our cookie-cutter schools are turning them out by the millions every year.

So, if you say America has passed her zenith, I certainly would not argue with you. Today’s America is but a caricature of the real America. And I really, really, miss America!

J. D. Longstreet

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Conservative+America+Education+government+Dumb

Whatever Happened to the Kang Nam?

A note from Radarsite: Despite its being at least as dangerous, in its global implications, as the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and despite the fact that, according the rather ambiguous Korea Herald report quoted below, this looming maritime crisis still remains factually unresolved, we hear no more about it. Did the Kang Nam really turn around and head back home without discharging it deadly cargo? Did Kim Jong Ill really blink? Or as one skeptic suggests, did it already offload at some unknown port? Either way, thanks to the overwhelming event of Michael Jackson's demise, and various other more important stories, it seems that the Kang Nam crisis is no longer deemed newsworthy. It's off the front page. But it's not off our radar screen. Did the world just avert a major catastrophe? Or has the world just decided to look the other way?

We will follow up on this. - rg

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From the Korea Herald

Kang Nam may be heading back home

The Kang Nam, a North Korean ship suspected to be carrying illicit weapons or related material, may be headed back home, according to diplomatic sources here.

"The ship is near our waters. That is about all I can say," said one diplomatic source on the condition of anonymity.

Experts said this could mean that the ship is on its way back to North Korea, indicating that the latest United Nations Security Council sanctions are taking a toll on the reclusive communist state.

"If the ship is on its way back, it would mean that Resolution 1874 is taking effect and causing the North to retreat," said Kim Tae-woo, vice president of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.

It has been almost two weeks since the Kang Nam set sail on June 17, but Seoul has claimed it has no information on the whereabouts of the ship.

The Kang Nam is the first North Korean ship to come under international scrutiny since the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1874 that strongly recommends member states to help search and ground North Korean ships suspected of carrying illicit weapons or related material.

Some observers said the Kang Nam may have already unloaded such items, but others said the North would wait until the last minute, as the weapons and materials constitute a vital source of funds for the impoverished regime.

Myanmar, the alleged destination of the Kang Nam, has recently told the foreign press that it would not allow the ship to disembark if it is found to be indeed carrying such items.

The government of Myanmar already has an idea of the items on the ship as the Kang Nam must declare them in advance, according to Foreign Ministry officials.

"The fact that the Myanmarese government has spoken out, if it has as some of the news reports claim, it indicates that the resolution is working," said one Foreign Ministry official.

The Myanmar Embassy here said it had no comment.

A United States destroyer - USS John McCain led by Capt. Jeffrey Kim - is reportedly close on the Kang Nam's tail. But the destroyer is not authorized to forcefully search the North Korean ship.

Due to these limits, critics have said the resolution needs to plug the loopholes by allowing such actions by the member states.

(jemmie@heraldm.com)


By Kim Ji-hyun