Commentary by James H. Shott
Even after last month’s election people still try to downplay the scope of the tea party sentiment and its acceptance by the American people. Critics either don’t understand the movement, or just can’t bring themselves to admit that a majority of Americans disagree with the direction the so-called “progressives” have taken the country. And they have mobilized to elect people they think will work to change that direction.
The majority plainly objects to the degree to which the federal government has grown in size, power and scope, and realizes that the general trend of government and some specific actions are dangerous to our way of life, and are not unlike the actions that drove our ancestors to risk everything in a fight for independence and to establish a limited government that would for the most part leave them alone to live their lives as they saw fit.
The list of abuses is long, and includes such things as the EPA rescinding mining permits already issued and dragging their feet on new permits in West Virginia, and the unjustified banning of oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore, which in both cases jeopardizes the economies of those states without justification, and furthermore hampers our quest for energy independence. The federal government has ignored its responsibility to secure the southern border from illegal immigration and its dangers, and then has taken legal action against Arizona when it tried to protect its own citizens from the resulting consequences.
This problem transcends mere two-party politics. It is a breach of the 221 year-old contract between the now-fifty states and the federal government, the Constitution of the United States.
Author Thomas E. Wood, Jr. goes to great lengths in his new book, “Nullification: How to Resist Tyranny in the 21st Century,” to show that after the Revolutionary War, while the debate over the pros and cons of the proposed constitution raged prior to its ratification, Virginia put forth vigorous opposition to the wording of the document because it did not strongly enough spell out the limitations on the federal government’s power. Patrick Henry raised the concern, for example, that the term “general welfare” could be expanded and exploited by “ambitious politicians.” Today we can plainly see that Virginians were correct to worry about such expansions of power.
Mr. Wood shows, in fact, that contrary to the way most Americans understand things today, the states did not give up their individual sovereignty to the federal government when they ratified the Constitution, but retained control of all but a few specific areas.
As Federalist Edmund Randolph explained during the ratification debate, if Virginia ratified the Constitution it would do so with the understanding “that all authority not given, is retained by the people,” and “that no right can be cancelled, abridged, or restrained, by the Congress, or any officer of the United States,” and further that “we should be at liberty to consider as a violation of the Constitution, every exercise of a power not expressly delegated therein.” (Emphasis added)
Thomas Jefferson wrote that the individual states “entered into a compact by which they agreed to unite in a single Government as to their relations with each other, and with foreign nations, and as to certain other articles particularly specified. They retained at the same time … the other rights of independent government, comprehending mainly their domestic interests. …” (Emphasis added)
Hence, if a coal mining state like West Virginia or an oil producing state like Louisiana is put in economic jeopardy by the federal government exceeding its authority, or the safety of the citizens of Arizona is put in jeopardy by the federal government’s interference with Arizona’s efforts to protect them, the federal government’s behavior is unconstitutional.
When the government exceeds its limited authority through the passage of laws by Congress, or the imposition of regulations by an administrative agency, affected states are within their rights and obligated to ignore those laws and regulations and formally protest. It was the prospect of this sort of behavior that prompted the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.
As Kentuckian John Breckenridge said when his state took issue with federal abuses, when the federal government passes laws that are unconstitutional, the states must “make a legislative declaration that, being unconstitutional, they are therefore void and of no effect.”
The many abuses and excesses of the federal government are harmful and dangerous to the states; they run counter to the intent of the Constitution to establish a federal government with limited and enumerated powers and to the ideal of self-government by the states which ratified it; and they are the antithesis of what the citizens of many states have chosen for themselves through their duly elected state governments.
The process of identifying and voiding unconstitutional behavior by the federal government is known as nullification, and there are many examples of states nullifying federal actions throughout the nation’s history. We can see nullification at work in the formal actions of several states in response to the healthcare reform plan.
But healthcare reform is but one of a myriad of federal excesses and abuses that must be nullified.
Cross-posted from Observations
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Remembering Pearl Harbor And America's Rise And Fall Since
"Remembering Pearl Harbor And The Rise And Fall of America Since."
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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Today marks another anniversary of the Japanese SNEAK Attack on Pearl Harbor. Yes, I said: “sneak attack”! Political Correctness has no place here! When the smoke cleared, on that Sunday morning, 2,335 military and 68 civilians lay dead.
There were: 4 battleships sunk, 4 battleships damaged, 3 cruisers damaged, 3 destroyers sunk, 2 other ships sunk, 188 planes destroyed, and 155 planes damaged.
And the United States was at WAR.
There was no waffling, no doubt, and no demonstrations in the streets in favor of the Japanese. No, Americans still understood what was at stake; freedom… and they went at saving it with all their collective might.
Unlike today, Americans didn’t give a damn whether the Japanese understood us or not! It was enough to know that the nation of Japan wanted to inflict harm on our people, to take away our freedom, and enslave our families. Exactly the same thing the Islamofacists want today.
Young men couldn’t wait to be drafted! There were long lines, sometimes reaching for blocks in our cities, of young American men trying to sign up for the US military in order to fight for their country. Back in my day that was called Patriotism! It was also the considered the “manly” thing to do!
During the darkest days of the war, when America was losing battle after battle, Americans didn’t flinch. They strove even harder to produce the military material needed, so desperately, by our military to fight, and win, that war. They understood that those brave fighting men were the only thing between them and death, or slavery.
America soon became one huge manufacturing machine. Production records were set and others broken by factories turning out war goods. It was a joint effort of the civilian population and the military. Everybody had a part to play in winning victory and everybody accepted his or her part with gusto.
America soon became one huge manufacturing machine. Production records were set and others broken by factories turning out war goods. It was a joint effort of the civilian population and the military. Everybody had a part to play in winning victory and everybody accepted his or her part with gusto.
The American soldier did not have to wonder if America was backing him! He knew it! He might wonder if his sweetheart was remaining true to him, but he had no worries about the American people.
Men marched into battles in which thousands of Americans were killed. Single battles claiming thousands of lives. They knew the cost and yet… they marched straight ahead into the face of the enemy… because… that enemy had to be stopped to secure freedom and safety for their families.
And… America won the war (with our allies, of course!) and SAVED THE WORLD!
Compare the America of today. Need I say more? America, today, is pathetic… compared to the America of 1941! We are but a shell of our former selves.
Want to know why I’m distressed? Because I saw it all happen! I watched as my wonderful country went from a giant, astride the globe, to a quivering mass of fat, lazy, slothful, unpatriotic, uncaring perpetrators of sedition and treason who have absolutely nothing they feel is worth sacrificing and even dying for…nothing, not even their own freedom, which was bought and paid for by the blood of better men than they’ll ever be… even in their dreams!
As I watch America imploding in upon itself, I think, now, I understand how some of the ancient Romans must have felt as they watched, perhaps, the greatest civilization in the history of the world, up to that time, imploding and caving in upon itself. The pain I feel in my heart, for my dying country, must be akin to that of the ancient Romans.
Today as we remember the Japanese SNEAK Attack on Pearl Harbor, remember this: if you live between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Coast of America, today, and you speak English instead of Japanese… thank a Veteran! If you live between the Atlantic Coast and the Mississippi River, today, and you speak English instead of German, thank a Veteran.
In closing this commentary … may I suggest Americans begin to brush up on Arabic, Persian, and Farsi languages... because the brave men who stood between the Japanese and the Germans, and America… are nearly gone now, and there are not nearly enough around today, like them, to save us again!
J. D Longstreet
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(Note from Editor: For more thoughts on remembering Pearl Harbor we urge you to read a piece by Alan Caruba entitled: "A Date That Will Live In Infamy". You will find it HERE.)
(Note from Editor: For more thoughts on remembering Pearl Harbor we urge you to read a piece by Alan Caruba entitled: "A Date That Will Live In Infamy". You will find it HERE.)
Monday, December 06, 2010
The Fires Are Out!
By Findalis
The Recriminations Begin.
Already the finger pointing and blame games have begun. The fire that raged for 84 hours is still smoldering, yet the government officials are pointing their fingers at each other.
Jewish National Fund
Friends of Israeli Firefighters (FIF)
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Orthodox Union
Israeli Leadership Council (ILC)
The Recriminations Begin.
Already the finger pointing and blame games have begun. The fire that raged for 84 hours is still smoldering, yet the government officials are pointing their fingers at each other.
Millions of Israelis breathed a collective sigh of relief on Sunday after firefighters from here and abroad succeeded in overcoming the worst fire disaster the country has known, which killed 41 people, destroyed at least 50,000 dunams of Carmel forestland, damaged 250 homes, and caused over NIS 200 million in damage, according to initial estimates.If you wish to help the victims of this fire, here are a few sites to donate to:
A number of small fires remained active in the Mount Carmel region, and the fleet of international fire planes that proved decisive in putting an end to the fires on Sunday, including a Boeing 747 supertanker leased by the government from a US company, remained on standby as night fell.
Weather forecasters said rain would likely help put out the remaining fires overnight.
“From our point of view, the danger has passed for all the places that were evacuated,” fire official Boaz Rakia said.
The relief quickly gave way to mourning, as 24 fire casualties – 22 Prisons Service staff and two policemen – were buried on Sunday.
As smoke rose from the smoldering forests of the Carmel, public pressure on the government and anger mounted over decades of neglect of the Fire and Rescue Service.
State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss said he would soon publish a “grave” report on the shortcomings that led to the present state of the service. He was “only sorry” that warnings about the dangers that became evident in recent days had been disregarded by the authorities.
Magen David Adom officials said 33 people suffering from fire-related injuries were evacuated to hospitals during the four-day blaze.
Three of the injured – including Haifa police chief Asst.-Cmdr. Ahuva Tomer – were in critical condition, while three others were moderately hurt and the remainder lightly hurt.
Prof. Avi Perevolotsky, a senior researcher at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Organization, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that it would take around 40 years for the Carmel forests to recover.
All of the estimated four to five million trees incinerated in the inferno will be replaced naturally, Perevolotsky said, due to a fire-coping mechanism evolved by trees over millions of years, such as seeds that take flight during blazes and survive the flames, and underground branches that can also survive. But, he stressed, it will take decades for the forests to regain their natural heights.
“It will be a long time before the view we were used to in the Carmel will return,” Perevolotsky said.
“Experts knew that this was the most likely area for a fire of this type,” he added.
At 5 p.m. on Sunday, police notified residents of the worst-hit area that they could return to their homes in Nir Etzion, Ein Hod, Ein Hud and Kibbutz Beit Oren.
Emergency officials said 250 homes suffered extensive damage, mostly in Ein Hod and Beit Oren. Live TV broadcasts carried images of shocked residents returning to Ein Hod and inspecting blackened homes.
The government has estimated that around 70 homes will have to be torn down and rebuilt, and allocated funds for mobile homes for displaced residents.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu placed a two-month time limit for the reconstruction process.
U.S. Ambassador Greets Flights with Anti-Fire Chemicals
Meanwhile, Israel Police Insp.- Gen. David Cohen paid tribute to Lior Boker and Itzik Melina, the two police officers who died trying to rescue a burning bus of Prisons Service staff on Thursday, and who were buried on Sunday.
“They were esteemed and loved officers who left their mark on the Northern District through years of achievement and contribution,” Cohen said. “We all salute them.”
Cohen added that “the Israeli people are all praying” for the wellbeing of Haifa police chief Tomer, who was “still fighting for her life.”
Also on Sunday, the Haifa Magistrate’s Court extended the custody of two teenage brothers from Usfiya who were arrested Saturday on suspicion of having started the massive fire through negligence during a family outing in the forest.
The suspects’ father said, however, that the boys were wrongly accused.
“We won’t allow two good kids to be framed with this case.... They had nothing to do with the fire, they didn’t even know about it.
One of them was sleeping and the other was in school,” he said.
The investigation will continue in the coming weeks.
Some Druse leaders have expressed anger over what they described as attempts to scapegoat members of their community for the disaster
Jewish National Fund
Friends of Israeli Firefighters (FIF)
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Orthodox Union
Israeli Leadership Council (ILC)
Nullifying ObamaCare?
Nullifying ObamaCare?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
Prior to the American “War Between the States,” the southern states began to nullify those laws passed by Congress they felt were overbearing, or would harm the people of the states in any way. It was a legal approach toward a too powerful federal government, which was created by the states to act as an agent of the states and not as the master of the states.
We don’t see much of that today. The federal government has had a great deal of success through their government run schools of re-educating the citizenry that the states are subservient to the federal government.
There are some reports that at least ten states are currently, or soon will be considering nullification laws in their sovereign states that would make ObamaCare illegal with their borders. Fourteen other states are suing in the courts in an effort to have ObamaCare overturned and tossed out. We wish them all good luck.
If a new bill, which has already been filed in Texas ahead of the 2011 session of the Texas state legislature should pass it would nullify Obamacare. The bill provides penalties of up to $5,000 in fines and up to five years in jail for anyone guilty of the "felony" of attempting "to enforce an act, order, law, statute, rule or regulation" of ObamaCare.
The bill was pre-filed by Leo Berman, a Republican, from Tyler, Texas. It is House Bill 297 in case you would like to look it up.
The bill would simply nullify Obama’s federal health care law in the state of Texas. Texas HB 297 says that federal health care legislation is invalid in the state of Texas, is not recognized by the state of Texas, is specifically rejected by the state of Texas, and is null and void and of no effect in the state of Texas. The bill explains: “The federal Act is not authorized by the United States Constitution and violates the Constitution’s true meaning and intent as expressed by the founders of this country and the ratifiers of the Constitution.”
Just so everyone knows the bill is serious it says, plainly and simply the following: “"a person who is an official, agent, or employee of the United States or an employee of a corporation providing services to the United States commits an offense if the person enforces or attempts to enforce an act, order, law, statute, rule, or regulation of the United States in violation of this chapter." The bill goes on to say: “assumption of power by the federal government in enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590; Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872; Pub. L. No. 111-152) interferes with the right of the people of this state to regulate health care as they determine is appropriate …”
Understand this: This nullification of a federal law within a state is legal. It is well within the scope of all the sovereign states. In fact, James Madison often praised as the writer of the Constitution, but undeniably one of those who did said that the states have a duty to assert their power as a sovereign state when the federal government oversteps its authority. Madison had this to say in the Virginia Resolution of 1798: “That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the federal government, as resulting from the compact, to which the states are parties; as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument constituting the compact; as no further valid that they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; and that in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them.”
Somewhere along the line, Americans have forgotten that the states are sovereign. They are separate countries with their own governments elected by the people of those states. We have forgotten the formation of the federal government was an act of the states, not to create their own master, but to create a servant of the states.
I suspect many of the leaders of the various states are frightened witless that should they buck the federal government, the same thing will happen to them as happened to the southern states when they asserted their right to secede from the union and form their own country over their dissatisfaction with a federal government that had grown, even at that early stage of American history, into a near tyrannical regime. They fear the revenge with which the federal government savaged the southern states. It was called “Reconstruction” and it was damaged the southern states even more than the shooting war.
As a southerner, I am convinced the current federal government has stepped way across the line with ObamaCare and deserves to be confronted with nullification laws in as many states as believe it to be the act of a federal government grown intoxicated with power and intend to use that power to force their will on the people of the states who want no part of the takeover of a huge chunk of the US economy and intervene directly into the lives of Americans who do not want them there.
The states have a right, AND the DUTY, to say no. We will not bow to the will of an out of control federal government that has over-stepped its constitutional restraints.
ObamaCare is a slap in the face to freedom loving Americans across this great land. The states must band together to stop it and destroy it.
J. D. Longstreet
NOTE: Two articles you might enjoy reading on this same subject can be found at:
Tenth Amendment Center
And theWorld Net Daily
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
Prior to the American “War Between the States,” the southern states began to nullify those laws passed by Congress they felt were overbearing, or would harm the people of the states in any way. It was a legal approach toward a too powerful federal government, which was created by the states to act as an agent of the states and not as the master of the states.
We don’t see much of that today. The federal government has had a great deal of success through their government run schools of re-educating the citizenry that the states are subservient to the federal government.
There are some reports that at least ten states are currently, or soon will be considering nullification laws in their sovereign states that would make ObamaCare illegal with their borders. Fourteen other states are suing in the courts in an effort to have ObamaCare overturned and tossed out. We wish them all good luck.
If a new bill, which has already been filed in Texas ahead of the 2011 session of the Texas state legislature should pass it would nullify Obamacare. The bill provides penalties of up to $5,000 in fines and up to five years in jail for anyone guilty of the "felony" of attempting "to enforce an act, order, law, statute, rule or regulation" of ObamaCare.
The bill was pre-filed by Leo Berman, a Republican, from Tyler, Texas. It is House Bill 297 in case you would like to look it up.
The bill would simply nullify Obama’s federal health care law in the state of Texas. Texas HB 297 says that federal health care legislation is invalid in the state of Texas, is not recognized by the state of Texas, is specifically rejected by the state of Texas, and is null and void and of no effect in the state of Texas. The bill explains: “The federal Act is not authorized by the United States Constitution and violates the Constitution’s true meaning and intent as expressed by the founders of this country and the ratifiers of the Constitution.”
Just so everyone knows the bill is serious it says, plainly and simply the following: “"a person who is an official, agent, or employee of the United States or an employee of a corporation providing services to the United States commits an offense if the person enforces or attempts to enforce an act, order, law, statute, rule, or regulation of the United States in violation of this chapter." The bill goes on to say: “assumption of power by the federal government in enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590; Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872; Pub. L. No. 111-152) interferes with the right of the people of this state to regulate health care as they determine is appropriate …”
Understand this: This nullification of a federal law within a state is legal. It is well within the scope of all the sovereign states. In fact, James Madison often praised as the writer of the Constitution, but undeniably one of those who did said that the states have a duty to assert their power as a sovereign state when the federal government oversteps its authority. Madison had this to say in the Virginia Resolution of 1798: “That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the federal government, as resulting from the compact, to which the states are parties; as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument constituting the compact; as no further valid that they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; and that in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them.”
Somewhere along the line, Americans have forgotten that the states are sovereign. They are separate countries with their own governments elected by the people of those states. We have forgotten the formation of the federal government was an act of the states, not to create their own master, but to create a servant of the states.
I suspect many of the leaders of the various states are frightened witless that should they buck the federal government, the same thing will happen to them as happened to the southern states when they asserted their right to secede from the union and form their own country over their dissatisfaction with a federal government that had grown, even at that early stage of American history, into a near tyrannical regime. They fear the revenge with which the federal government savaged the southern states. It was called “Reconstruction” and it was damaged the southern states even more than the shooting war.
As a southerner, I am convinced the current federal government has stepped way across the line with ObamaCare and deserves to be confronted with nullification laws in as many states as believe it to be the act of a federal government grown intoxicated with power and intend to use that power to force their will on the people of the states who want no part of the takeover of a huge chunk of the US economy and intervene directly into the lives of Americans who do not want them there.
The states have a right, AND the DUTY, to say no. We will not bow to the will of an out of control federal government that has over-stepped its constitutional restraints.
ObamaCare is a slap in the face to freedom loving Americans across this great land. The states must band together to stop it and destroy it.
J. D. Longstreet
NOTE: Two articles you might enjoy reading on this same subject can be found at:
Tenth Amendment Center
And theWorld Net Daily
Friday, December 03, 2010
40 Dead, Dozens Wounded, With A Hint Of Arson Too Boot!
By Findalis
For most in Israel Chanukah is a time of joy with games, presents, good food and fun. But for 40 families, there will be no joyful Chanukah this year.
Today is a National Day of Mourning for Israel. Prayers for the Dead, for the Firefighters and for very much needed rain are being said.
Some time during today please say a prayer for Israel and the brave men and women fighter this battle.
For most in Israel Chanukah is a time of joy with games, presents, good food and fun. But for 40 families, there will be no joyful Chanukah this year.
Dozens of security personnel, many from the Israel Prisons Service, perished in the fire that has been raging on the Carmel Mountain since Thursday morning. Twenty two people were confirmed dead by 7:00 PM Thursday and 14 more bodies were reported found shortly after 10:00 PM. The total number of dead is estimated at 40.If proven to be arson, then this will be the worst terrorist attack in Israel's history. As I am writting this, 15,000 residents have been evacuated from Haifa, every firefighter in the country is working to fight this fire including members of the IDF, the nations of Britain, France, Romania, Greece, Egypt, Turkey,Jordan, Cyprus, Spain, Croatia, Azerbaijan and Russia are sending help. The Mayor of New York City is sending fire retardant chemicals, while President Obama sent his condolences to the families.
36 out of the 40 victims were IPS cadets, most of them Druze, who were in their 20's. They were being transported on a bus after assisting in the evacuation of the Damon Prison. At a certain point the fire began spreading at great speed – covering a mile in five minutes, according to a firefighting officer – and the bus was caught in the flames with no chance of getting out.
The names of seven of the cadets were released early on Friday morning:
* Topaz Even Chen Klein (29) from Rechovot
* Maor Ganon (29) from Gan Yavne
* Kfit Ohana (30) from Ofakim
* Siyum Tzagi (31) from Netivot
* Yakir Swissa (28) from Dimona
* Hagai Jorno (28) from Kiryat Gat
* Oshrat Pinto (26) from Tzfat
Their funerals will take place on Friday.
Two policemen, a volunteer firefighter and another man were killed in the blaze as well. Among the people who were injured in the blaze is Lt.-Col. Ahuva Tomer, Commander of Haifa Police, who is in serious condition in Rambam Hospital after suffering burns.
Early on Friday morning it was confirmed that the process of notifying the families of the victims has been completed. Concurrently, the process of identifying bodies continues at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir.
This is the largest and deadliest fire since Israel's founding in 1948, and possibly also the worst terror attack in its history, if suspicion of arson is confirmed. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday evening that the fire on the Carmel range is "a disaster of a scope that we are not familiar with."
Conflicting reports
Minister of Public Security Yitzchak Aharonovich said Thursday evening that the fire is under “currently under control,” but Fire Services Spokesman Hezi Levy said the opposite. The fire, he said, is out of control and is raging in three major locations: the Druze village of Usefiya, Beit Oren, and Nir Etzion.
Residents of religious kibbutz Nir Etzion, the Ein Hod artists' village and the nearby Arab village Ein Hud have been instructed to leave their homes, after it was determined that the fire might reach the communities.
The residents of Kibbutz Beit Oren and Usefiyeh were evacuated earlier in the day, as were the students of Haifa University, which is somewhat further away. Several homes in Usefiya have been burnt to the ground. Haifa University has been closed down until further notice.
The Brosh neighborhood in Tirat HaCarmel and a mental health hospital in Tirat HaCarmel were also evacuated. Early on Friday morning, several streets in the Haifa neighborhood of Denia were also evacuated due to concerns that the flames would reach the neighborhood.
A resident of Beit Oren told Channel 2 news that several homes in the kibbutz burned down. Firefighters' spokesman Levy called Beit Oren "the former kibbutz of Beit Oren" in an evening interview, and said most of the homes in the comnmunity had been damaged.
Arson likely
Channel 2 reporter Yossi Mizrachi said that the way in which the fire spread indicated that the blaze erupted from three locations simultaneously -- making arson a likely possibility.
The fire broke out around 10:00 AM this morning in an illegal garbage dump in the Carmel Mountains.
Ongoing rescue and fire-fighting efforts are said to be nearly impossible given the physical conditions of the mountains, smoke, dry conditions and winds.
The trapped bus is said to have departed from the Damon Prison, apparently as part of the attempt to evacuate the prison in the face of the fast-spreading fire.
The Damon jail mostly holds Arabs who were caught illegally entering Israel from the Palestinian Authority. According to IDF Radio, however, the bus was "not a prisoner bus."
Today is a National Day of Mourning for Israel. Prayers for the Dead, for the Firefighters and for very much needed rain are being said.
Some time during today please say a prayer for Israel and the brave men and women fighter this battle.
Dem’s Tax Cut Sham: “Chicken Crap”
Dem’s Tax Cut Sham: “Chicken Crap”
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
That is not a bad description of the democrat’s childish maneuver in the US House of Representatives yesterday. It was all a sham. It was just a democrat attempt to get the GOP on record as having voted against a tax cut. (This is the sort of thing we refer to when we say Washington is in need of adult leadership.)
The republicans were right to vote against this political ploy by the democrats. It was nothing more than a playground tantrum by the less than adolescent liberal-socialists known as democrats. It was a “middle finger salute” to the incoming new speaker and new conservatives sent to Washington by an enraged electorate.
Ohio Rep. John Boehner, the presumptive speaker of the new Congress, called the Democrats' maneuver "chicken crap." Boehner went on to say: "We are 23 months from the next election and the political games have already started, trying to set up the next election."
It was a pathetic show of impotence on the part of the democrats. It is just another reason to be ashamed to be a registered democrat.
Oh, well, a few adult republicans in the US Senate should be able to send this bill to its grave with a filibuster.
If allowed to pass it will decimate small businesses across the nation -- worsening the economy. More jobs will be lost driving up unemployment. Even a fool knows this… but, somehow, the ruling elite of the liberal-socialists seem to have missed it, or, and this is not much of a stretch, it is a part of their grand strategy to collapse the US economy and give birth to an American socialist state conceived in the ashes of freedom.
Look, nobody can be THAT stupid… EXCEPT ON PURPOSE! And I have become convinced, over the past two years, that there IS, in fact, a purpose, A GRAND PURPOSE, to their assault on America.
The democrat’s behavior is studied behavior, studied and well thought out behavior. I have concluded the purpose is just as I posited above … to bring America down, to collapse the economy, to crush our liberty and freedom, and remold American in the image they desire. That image, I am convinced, is, again as we said above, a socialist state. They have demonstrated that desire, their goal, since 2006 when they took the reins of power in the Congress.
There are reports that the GOP plans to introduce legislation early next year to re-instate the Bush Tax cuts – for everyone -- and make them retroactive. That would trump the dem’s tax cut bill should it, somehow, pass the US Senate and make it to the President’s desk.
Oh, well. We conservatives have known, all along, the next session of Congress will be a gutter fight. The democrats will do everything in their power to drag the GOP down into the political gutter where they live. Conservatives throughout the hinterlands (anywhere outside the Washington beltway) must take every opportunity to bolster the spirits and the spines of conservative representatives in the House and in the Senate. They will need our continued support. When the knuckle fest evolves into gridlock, we need to insist that the GOP hold its ground, and not compromise. That is the reason we placed the power of the House in conservative hands.
We need to stop our runaway government in its tracks. Call it gridlock, if you will. It is sort of like changing the direction of travel of a train, you have to bring it to a stop – first!
When it happens, the state media, commonly referred to as the mainstream media, will cry: “FOUL!” They will scream bloody murder from their liberal-socialist editorial pages and their broadcast anchor desks. Never forget: The MSM is the propaganda machine of the liberal-socialist Democratic Party. Its what they do.
Conservatives should not allow it to deter us from the goal of retaking the US Senate and the office of the President in 2012.
The democrats will assist us in reaching that goal. All doubt was removed when the kamikaze democrats elected Nancy Pelosi as their minority leader. It proved, beyond doubt, that they don’t give a fig what YOU want. It is what THEY want that matters. They have amply demonstrated they don’t mind trampling on the constitution to get their way. All one has to do is consider the actions of Obama’s czars and the agencies and departments that take their orders from our first socialist president, Obama.
Consider the anti-freedom actions by Obama’s FCC (just recently), or Obama’s Justice Department, or the Environmental Protection Agency, just to name a few. When one considers all of this -- one MUST conclude there IS A GRAND DESIGN to all of it. A design that culminates in a new America, a “fundamentally changed” America,, a SOCIALIST America.
The coming fight in Congress is not for the weak of heart. It will be long and white-hot. The democrats will sacrifice even more of their political careers to the effort to transform America into a socialist shantytown.
Remember Patrick Henry’s battle cry: “Give me liberty, or give me death!” For those of you educated in “government schools” – well, you may have to google “Patrick Henry.”
To the presumptive Speaker, Mr. Boehner, we say: It is time to take the battle to the democrats -- with no quarter.
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
That is not a bad description of the democrat’s childish maneuver in the US House of Representatives yesterday. It was all a sham. It was just a democrat attempt to get the GOP on record as having voted against a tax cut. (This is the sort of thing we refer to when we say Washington is in need of adult leadership.)
The republicans were right to vote against this political ploy by the democrats. It was nothing more than a playground tantrum by the less than adolescent liberal-socialists known as democrats. It was a “middle finger salute” to the incoming new speaker and new conservatives sent to Washington by an enraged electorate.
Ohio Rep. John Boehner, the presumptive speaker of the new Congress, called the Democrats' maneuver "chicken crap." Boehner went on to say: "We are 23 months from the next election and the political games have already started, trying to set up the next election."
It was a pathetic show of impotence on the part of the democrats. It is just another reason to be ashamed to be a registered democrat.
Oh, well, a few adult republicans in the US Senate should be able to send this bill to its grave with a filibuster.
If allowed to pass it will decimate small businesses across the nation -- worsening the economy. More jobs will be lost driving up unemployment. Even a fool knows this… but, somehow, the ruling elite of the liberal-socialists seem to have missed it, or, and this is not much of a stretch, it is a part of their grand strategy to collapse the US economy and give birth to an American socialist state conceived in the ashes of freedom.
Look, nobody can be THAT stupid… EXCEPT ON PURPOSE! And I have become convinced, over the past two years, that there IS, in fact, a purpose, A GRAND PURPOSE, to their assault on America.
The democrat’s behavior is studied behavior, studied and well thought out behavior. I have concluded the purpose is just as I posited above … to bring America down, to collapse the economy, to crush our liberty and freedom, and remold American in the image they desire. That image, I am convinced, is, again as we said above, a socialist state. They have demonstrated that desire, their goal, since 2006 when they took the reins of power in the Congress.
There are reports that the GOP plans to introduce legislation early next year to re-instate the Bush Tax cuts – for everyone -- and make them retroactive. That would trump the dem’s tax cut bill should it, somehow, pass the US Senate and make it to the President’s desk.
Oh, well. We conservatives have known, all along, the next session of Congress will be a gutter fight. The democrats will do everything in their power to drag the GOP down into the political gutter where they live. Conservatives throughout the hinterlands (anywhere outside the Washington beltway) must take every opportunity to bolster the spirits and the spines of conservative representatives in the House and in the Senate. They will need our continued support. When the knuckle fest evolves into gridlock, we need to insist that the GOP hold its ground, and not compromise. That is the reason we placed the power of the House in conservative hands.
We need to stop our runaway government in its tracks. Call it gridlock, if you will. It is sort of like changing the direction of travel of a train, you have to bring it to a stop – first!
When it happens, the state media, commonly referred to as the mainstream media, will cry: “FOUL!” They will scream bloody murder from their liberal-socialist editorial pages and their broadcast anchor desks. Never forget: The MSM is the propaganda machine of the liberal-socialist Democratic Party. Its what they do.
Conservatives should not allow it to deter us from the goal of retaking the US Senate and the office of the President in 2012.
The democrats will assist us in reaching that goal. All doubt was removed when the kamikaze democrats elected Nancy Pelosi as their minority leader. It proved, beyond doubt, that they don’t give a fig what YOU want. It is what THEY want that matters. They have amply demonstrated they don’t mind trampling on the constitution to get their way. All one has to do is consider the actions of Obama’s czars and the agencies and departments that take their orders from our first socialist president, Obama.
Consider the anti-freedom actions by Obama’s FCC (just recently), or Obama’s Justice Department, or the Environmental Protection Agency, just to name a few. When one considers all of this -- one MUST conclude there IS A GRAND DESIGN to all of it. A design that culminates in a new America, a “fundamentally changed” America,, a SOCIALIST America.
The coming fight in Congress is not for the weak of heart. It will be long and white-hot. The democrats will sacrifice even more of their political careers to the effort to transform America into a socialist shantytown.
Remember Patrick Henry’s battle cry: “Give me liberty, or give me death!” For those of you educated in “government schools” – well, you may have to google “Patrick Henry.”
To the presumptive Speaker, Mr. Boehner, we say: It is time to take the battle to the democrats -- with no quarter.
J. D. Longstreet
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Socialist Regime Moves For Control of The Internet
Socialist Regime Moves For Control of The InternetFCC will take first steps to control the Internet
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
It’s called “Net Neutrality.” Sounds fair, right? I mean -- that’s what the liberal-socialist democrats are all about, right? Fairness is their utmost priority, right? Why, they’d never do anything to limit the freedom of Americans … riiiiight?
If you believe all that, then prepare yourself for a rude awakening.
When a political movement intends to takeover a nation’s government, one of the very first things it absolutely MUST DO … is take control of that nation’s communications networks. It must be able to control access to communications if it expects its efforts to be successful.
I began warning readers that the Obama Regime would make an effort to take over the Internet from the early days of the Obama reign. It was as plain as the nose on my face that to make the fundamental change in America that Obama swore he would make, then he would have to gain control of the nations communications. There have been very few successful revolutions in modern history in which the broadcasting stations, networks, and newspapers were not first compromised, or taken over completely by the revolutionaries -- or just shut down.
The Internet is a “thorn in the flesh” of the liberal-socialists in the current American government. It gives them NIGHTMARES!
Conservative bloggers have been the cause of great consternation in the White House and the West Wing and even to those liberal-socialist senators and congresspersons on The Hill. They have been seething with anger at the ability of conservatives to get disseminate their message of Obama’s shadow government and his sub-rosa strategy to convert America to a European style socialist state, not only to Americans, but around the globe -- at the click of a mouse.
Their embarrassment when confronted by fellow socialist leaders in countries they favor, such as Venezuela and Cuba, is overwhelming. And they can bear it no longer!
So, they have decided they must make the initial step to grab control of the Internet and bring it to heel as a servant of the socialist regime of Obama.
Never mind that the courts have already told them the Federal Communications Commission has no authority to regulate the Internet. They are going to do it anyway. This is typical of the socialist Obama Regime. They have been ruling against the will of the American people since day one.
The National Journal reports, in an article by David Hatch and Eliza Krigman, the following: “The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission unveiled a new initiative today he said would preserve the openness of the Internet but that critics attacked on two fronts, with watchdog groups saying it watered down the Web's egalitarian roots and conservatives saying it opened the door to excessive regulation.”
The report goes on to say: “The proposal split the agency along party lines, with the five-member commission’s two GOP members quickly condemning it and setting the stage for a partisan vote that could draw a backlash next year from the GOP-controlled House.
“I strongly oppose this ill-advised maneuver. Such rules would upend three decades of bipartisan and international consensus that the Internet is best able to thrive in the absence of regulation,” wrote Robert McDowell, the FCC’s senior Republican.
GOP member Meredith Attwell Baker warned: “We do not have authority to act. The new majority of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has asked the commission not to circulate this order, and a clear majority of all members of Congress has expressed concern with our Internet policies. Whether the Internet should be regulated is a decision best left to the directly elected representatives.”
The report continues: “The fight over “network neutrality” has been brewing for years and has divided much of the telecom industry and Congress, with many conservative Democrats joining Republicans in opposition. While the topic may seem technical and obscure, it boils down to a question of whether the Internet remains an open platform in which every website is on equal footing, or whether fast lanes are established that grant priority treatment to websites and online services willing to pay for such privileges.” (You may read the entire article (HERE).
I am convinced this is the “foot in the door” for which the Obama Regime has been searching.
But it is all about “fairness” ... right? Allow me to ask this: How are conservative bloggers going to feel when they are ORDERED by the FCC to place links to opposing viewpoints, espoused by some left-wing socialist, on their blogs? Oh, its coming if the new Congress doesn’t bring the FCC to heel … and fast!
We suggest the US House of Representatives shut off all funding to the FCC until they back off their socialist scheme to control this nation’s communications via the Internet. Plus, we ask for a bill to be introduced in the House to make it unlawful for the FCC, the FTC, or any other government agency, to regulate the Internet.
It is time to speak up for freedom of speech, once again. It is time to defend the Internet from those who intend to take it over and, ultimately use it to champion socialist, left wing causes and spread their liberal-socialist venom into practically every home in America.
As in every war victory comes by winning one battle at a time. Do not deceive yourself. We are at war for the freedom of Americans. One of our most effective weapons is the Internet. We cannot allow it to be taken from us. I am convinced that is exactly what the FCC, under the Obama Regime, intends to do.
To the barricades! The war continues!
J. D. Longstreet
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
“The Dream Act” = Amnesty For Illegal Aliens
“The Dream Act” = Amnesty For Illegal Aliens
Undocumented Aliens = Undocumented DEMOCRATS!
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
***********************
Well, the dems are at it again. You simply have to give them an “A” for effort.
I recall a TV game show where the booth announcer would enthusiastically shout: “Come on DOWN” to those chosen as contestants on the show. The chosen contestants would rush to the stage expecting instant riches to await them there.
It seems to me there is something similar going on at the southern border of the US. I visualize democrats standing along the border gesturing to the would be illegal immigrants on the Mexican side to: “Come on OVER!” And, boy, they are coming – in DROVES. The illegals climb the fence, go under the fence in tunnels, around the fence, and, quite often, through the fence, all the while, expecting great riches awaiting them on the American side including free healthcare, free education, welfare payment checks each month and a guarantee of citizenship -- if their numbers become great enough to swing the elections in the democrats favor -- all of this as a result of breaking the US laws and becoming criminals.
Do not be fooled by all the denials from the democrats. Amnesty for illegal aliens is all about power for the liberal-socialist democrats in the US government. They, rightfully, see the gigantic influx of illegal aliens as a power source that will, if they can pull it off, guarantee victory at the polls, election cycle after election cycle, effective smothering their opposition and, eventually, securing them an uncontested lock on the US government forever.
So, if you liked the way the democrats have ruled under the democrat liberal-socialist control of the Congress and the socialist Obama Regime, then you are going to absolutely LOVE the socialist state the Hispanic vote will allow them to force on the American people. Very soon America will resemble nothing more than a banana republic with a socialist dictator in the mold of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela – or -- the Castro brothers of Cuba.
I hope that is a sobering thought for Americans. Here is another one. We are losing our country and the passage of The Dream Act will be the last nail in the coffin of a constitutional republic in the United States.
I have lost count of the many times the democrats have endeavored to pass bills for amnesty for illegal aliens in the past few years. It seems that every session of Congress they try again and again to ram it through. They change the name, add a few more freebies, and twist arms of reluctant senators and congresspersons and generally increase the pressure on those hapless lawmakers to a near unbearable level. Still, somehow, we have managed to hold them off… until the next time.
Now the Obama Regime is claiming immigration reform is an emergency and the Congress must act to pass The Dream Act during the ongoing lame duck session of Congress which has a little less than 18 days to finish their work before it disbands and heads home until the first of January.
Many of the current supporters of Immigration Reform (another title for Amnesty for illegal aliens) will not return in January having been unceremoniously thrown out of office by voters angry at their efforts to “fundamentally change America” into their version of a socialist utopia.
Amnesty for illegal aliens is not the least of the actions of the defeated democrats to anger Americans who DO understand we are losing our constitutional representative government and being yoked with oppression from a socialist elite who are working maniacally to turn off the lights of that fabled “Shining City on a Hill" and replace the hill, upon which it sat, with a dung heap.
The Dream Act must be stopped in its tracks -- and it must be stopped NOW! It will be nothing short of a disaster for America if it passes.
I simply do not think something this important to the very existence of America should be brought to the floor of the Congress during a lame duck session. As we said above, many of the democrats who will be supporting the bill have already been relieved of their office come the first of January. They have nothing to lose and they certainly do not have to fear a backlash from their constituents back home. Some might even feel a little revenge is in order for their having been dumped by their constituents in the Mid-Term Election back in November.
I repeat: The Dream Act, though artfully camouflaged, is nothing more than amnesty for illegal aliens and should NEVER come up for a vote in the Congress.
We all would do well to write, phone, e-mail, fax, send a telegram, or in some way not included here, contact our Senators and Congresspersons and tell them to vote NO on AMNESTY for ILLEGAL Aliens, otherwise known: “The Dream Act. We need to do it right NOW!
The Dream Act MUST BE STOPPED!!!
J. D. Longstreet
Well, the dems are at it again. You simply have to give them an “A” for effort.
I recall a TV game show where the booth announcer would enthusiastically shout: “Come on DOWN” to those chosen as contestants on the show. The chosen contestants would rush to the stage expecting instant riches to await them there.
It seems to me there is something similar going on at the southern border of the US. I visualize democrats standing along the border gesturing to the would be illegal immigrants on the Mexican side to: “Come on OVER!” And, boy, they are coming – in DROVES. The illegals climb the fence, go under the fence in tunnels, around the fence, and, quite often, through the fence, all the while, expecting great riches awaiting them on the American side including free healthcare, free education, welfare payment checks each month and a guarantee of citizenship -- if their numbers become great enough to swing the elections in the democrats favor -- all of this as a result of breaking the US laws and becoming criminals.
Do not be fooled by all the denials from the democrats. Amnesty for illegal aliens is all about power for the liberal-socialist democrats in the US government. They, rightfully, see the gigantic influx of illegal aliens as a power source that will, if they can pull it off, guarantee victory at the polls, election cycle after election cycle, effective smothering their opposition and, eventually, securing them an uncontested lock on the US government forever.
So, if you liked the way the democrats have ruled under the democrat liberal-socialist control of the Congress and the socialist Obama Regime, then you are going to absolutely LOVE the socialist state the Hispanic vote will allow them to force on the American people. Very soon America will resemble nothing more than a banana republic with a socialist dictator in the mold of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela – or -- the Castro brothers of Cuba.
I hope that is a sobering thought for Americans. Here is another one. We are losing our country and the passage of The Dream Act will be the last nail in the coffin of a constitutional republic in the United States.
I have lost count of the many times the democrats have endeavored to pass bills for amnesty for illegal aliens in the past few years. It seems that every session of Congress they try again and again to ram it through. They change the name, add a few more freebies, and twist arms of reluctant senators and congresspersons and generally increase the pressure on those hapless lawmakers to a near unbearable level. Still, somehow, we have managed to hold them off… until the next time.
Now the Obama Regime is claiming immigration reform is an emergency and the Congress must act to pass The Dream Act during the ongoing lame duck session of Congress which has a little less than 18 days to finish their work before it disbands and heads home until the first of January.
Many of the current supporters of Immigration Reform (another title for Amnesty for illegal aliens) will not return in January having been unceremoniously thrown out of office by voters angry at their efforts to “fundamentally change America” into their version of a socialist utopia.
Amnesty for illegal aliens is not the least of the actions of the defeated democrats to anger Americans who DO understand we are losing our constitutional representative government and being yoked with oppression from a socialist elite who are working maniacally to turn off the lights of that fabled “Shining City on a Hill" and replace the hill, upon which it sat, with a dung heap.
The Dream Act must be stopped in its tracks -- and it must be stopped NOW! It will be nothing short of a disaster for America if it passes.
I simply do not think something this important to the very existence of America should be brought to the floor of the Congress during a lame duck session. As we said above, many of the democrats who will be supporting the bill have already been relieved of their office come the first of January. They have nothing to lose and they certainly do not have to fear a backlash from their constituents back home. Some might even feel a little revenge is in order for their having been dumped by their constituents in the Mid-Term Election back in November.
I repeat: The Dream Act, though artfully camouflaged, is nothing more than amnesty for illegal aliens and should NEVER come up for a vote in the Congress.
We all would do well to write, phone, e-mail, fax, send a telegram, or in some way not included here, contact our Senators and Congresspersons and tell them to vote NO on AMNESTY for ILLEGAL Aliens, otherwise known: “The Dream Act. We need to do it right NOW!
The Dream Act MUST BE STOPPED!!!
J. D. Longstreet
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