RECOVERING AMERICA - What Will It Take Get Our Republic Back?

It will be no surprise to anyone who has been paying the least attention since January 20th, 2009, when I say that our country has been diverted from the path of the Democratic Republic upon which it was founded. The left-wing loons would even have to admit that their Messiah has hijacked our country, and is leading it down the "yellow brick road" to Socialism.

Perhaps I have an over-simplified opinion of what it would take to return our nation to the destination which our founding fathers originally intended, but...

It is much easier to stop a runaway train, than it is to reconstruct it after the wreck, and that is exactly what we have going on here - a train wreck in progress. I'm beginning to wonder if Barack Obama is the reincarnation of Erich Weisz (better known as Harry Houdini). David Copperfield must be quite envious of the skills which Obama has demonstrated in misdirection, sleight of hand, and the use of smoke, mirrors and trap doors! "The Great and Powerful Oz" is quite the showman, and that is exactly what he is - a showman - nothing more, nothing less. Obama is all show and no personal substance. He has no accomplishments in his life that are not products of his ability to BS other people into doing his will. He has never - not one day in his entire life - labored for wages... yet he claims to be the champion the working man and our corrupt labor unions. And (this is the truly amazing part) they believe him! But, I digress.

How do we stop this runaway train called the USA Express before it is destroyed? There are only two options -ballots or bullets. Ballots are certainly the preferred method of correcting our course before we are completely derailed, the question is do they truly work for us?

There was that strange bit of business with "chads" in Florida during the 2000 election, compounded by the Electoral College deciding what "We the People" really wanted, even though the popular vote didn't support that EC decision. The Electoral College serves no useful purpose, and should be done away with. The only purpose it does serve is to insure that, if the will of the people goes against that of "The Great and Powerful Oz" (the behind-the-scenes power brokers), the will of Oz prevails through the auspices of the Electoral College. Am I the only person who sees a problem with that arrangement? The term "electoral college" does not appear in the Constitution. Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment refer to "electors," but not to the "electoral college." The EC had no official, documented recognition prior to 1845 when the EC was included in federal law and, until that time, it apparently functioned primarily upon a knowing wink and a friendly nudge.

For the sake of argument, let us assume that the ballot box does actually work for us. How do we correct our course? We vote the incumbents out of office!
We work especially hard to remove those who voted in support of legislation that brought us to this point, and replace them with true conservative traditionalists. The hard part will be discerning between the genuine conservative traditionalist candidates, and the IndePubliCrats. We have only two means of discernment available to us - record and instinct. A record will exist only for those who have a history of "public service" and that allows us to use both means. A political newcomer will have no record available for our review, and we will be forced to rely on "gut instinct" - that nagging feeling one gets when they sense that something is not quite right about what they are seeing or hearing. (We also have to keep in mind that candidates for elected office tend to tell each audience that which they believe that particular audience wants to hear, but in vague, non-specific and wishy-washy general terms which they can weasel out of later.)

At best our election process is flawed and imperfect, but at its worst it is still better than most processes of establishing a government. It is the best of that which is available. A "One World Government" would only rate about a half-point above a global dictatorship.
Bullets become a possibility when the will of the people is repeatedly thwarted by "the powers" - either those elected or those behind-the-scenes. It has been almost 150 years since the "Civil War" (aka: War Between the States), and the thought of Americans once again taking up arms against one another is abhorrent to most of us. However, 224 years ago, when our ancestors were ruled by that British tyrant, George III, they took up arms against the "government" to free themselves and created the Democratic Republic now known as the United States of America. Those who would rule us, rather than govern a free people, should remember that lesson from history, before they are doomed to repeat it. I don't believe that we have become so used to our freedom - because we have known nothing less - that we take it for granted. Are we so complacent in the assumption that no person living within our borders would wish to eliminate those freedoms, that we are no longer vigilant against internal threats? If we were to look closely at the "third world" countries, we would quickly realize that there are tyrants in the world today. Those who would rule their subjects rather than govern their citizens.
Awaken America! Awaken and understand that not all our enemies are foreign, nor are all those within our borders our friends. Our immigration policies - or lack thereof - have made it quite easy for those who wish us harm to locate themselves in our heartland. Case in point: Major Nidal Malik Hasan, United States Army Medical Corps, on November 5, 2009 murdered 13 people and wounded 29 others - ON AN ARMY BASE! Then there's Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, who tried unsuccessfully to blow up an Amsterdam-to-Detroit-bound commercial airliner carrying 300 people on Christmas day. Then we have the several hundred illegal aliens from Mexico, who now occupy our prisons for attempted murder, murder, multiple murders, serial murders, and other assorted "capital offenses". But... at least so far, none of the imprisoned, illegal Mexican nationals has been charged with acts of terrorism. I guess that's a point in their favor...
The politically correct "head in the sand" posture does not make threats disappear, it just makes them unseen. That hungry lion will still eat the ostrich, the ostrich just won't be able to see it coming. Have we become a nation of ostriches? We are faced with not just one... but several hungry lions! Ignoring them won't make them go away, it will just reduce the ostrich population. The leftists are a cancer upon America - and, if that cancer is not excised, it will continue to grow until it consumes us. Most of Europe, and all of the third world nations, would like nothing better than to see the USA fail. They would gladly sacrifice the foreign aid we provide them to see us reduced to their condition.

WE NOTICED!!

INDEED WE DID! I received this email today, and on the chance that some of you may not have been lucky enough to get it, I thought I'd post it here. It pretty much says it all...

_____________________________________

Snopes says: "We Noticed" is commonly attributed to Sherry Hackett, the widow of comedian Buddy Hackett.

We doubt that attribution is correct because the piece originally circulated without attribution, and versions identifying Sherry Hackett as its author did not appear until well after the text had been widely spread across the Internet.

Gil says: I don't care who wrote it - it was written and needed to be said! Sooooo...

This was written by "Sherry Hackett, Buddy Hackett's widow"........

"WE NOTICED"

President Obama:

Today I read of your administrations' plan to re-define September 11th as a National Service Day. Sir, it's time we had a talk.........

During your campaign, Americans watched as you made mockery of our tradition of standing and crossing your heart when the Pledge of Allegiance was spoken. You, out of four people on the stage, were the only one not honoring our tradition.

YES, "We noticed."

During one of your many speeches, Americans heard you say that you intended to visit all 57 states.
We all know that Islam, not America has 57 states.

YES, "We noticed."

When President Bush leaned over at Ground Zero and gently placed a flower on the memorial, while you nonchalantly tossed your flower onto the pile without leaning over.

YES, "We noticed."

Every time you apologized to other countries for America's position on an issue we have wondered why you don't share our pride in this great country. When you have heard foreign leaders berate our country and our beliefs, you have not defended us. In fact, you insulted the British Crown beyond belief.

YES, "We noticed."

When your pastor of 20 years, "God-damned America " and said that 9/11 was " America's chickens coming home to roost" and you denied having heard recriminations of that nature, we wondered how that could be. You later disassociated yourself from that church and Pastor Wright because it was politically expedient to do so.

YES, "We noticed."

When you announced that you would transform America, we wondered why. With all her faults, America is the greatest country on earth. Sir, KEEP THIS IN MIND, "if not for America and the people who built her, you wouldn't be sitting in the White House now." Prior to your election to the highest office in this Country, you were a senator from Illinois and from what we can glean from the records available, a very unremarkable one.

YES, "We noticed."

All through your campaign and even now, you have surrounded yourself with individuals who are basically unqualified for the positions for which you appointed them. Worse than that, the majority of them are people who, like you, bear no special allegiance, respect, or affection for this country and her traditions.

YES, "We noticed."

You are 9 months into your term and every morning millions of Americans wake up to a new horror heaped on us by you. You seek to saddle working Americans with a health care/insurance reform package that, along with cap and trade, will bankrupt this nation.

YES, "We noticed."

We seek, by protesting, to let our representatives know that we are not in favor of these crippling expenditures and we are labeled "un-American","racist", "mob". We wonder how we are supposed to let you know how frustrated we are. You have attempted to make our protests seem isolated and insignificant. Until your appointment, Americans had the right to speak out.

YES, "We noticed."

On September 11, 2001 there were no Republicans or Democrats, only Americans. And we all grieved together and helped each other in whatever way we could. The attack on 9/11 was carried out because we are Americans.

And YES, "We noticed."

There were many of us who prayed that as a black president you could help unite this nation. In six months you have done more to destroy this nation than the attack on 9/11. You have failed us.

YES, "We noticed."

September 11 is a day of remembrance for all Americans. You propose to make 9/11 a "National Service Day". While we know that you don't share our reverence for 9/11, we pray that history will report your proposal as what it is...a disgrace.

YES, "We noticed."

You have made a mockery of our Constitution and the office that you hold. You have embarrassed and slighted us in foreign visits and policy.

YES, "We noticed.."

We have noticed all these things. We will deal with you. When Americans come together again, it will be to remove you from office.

Take notice.

It IS a VERY SMALL WORLD!

Now this is an interesting story! Last year, on my motorcycle ride from Grants Pass OR to West Point/Clinton/Roy Utah, I spent the night in Winnemucca NV, as I always do. Shortly after checking into the Motel 6 I met a visitor from Finland, named Juha Lyytikainen, who was vacationing in the States with his wife and sister-in-law in a motorhome. As Juha was a motorcycle enthusiast, we shared some motorcycle stories, and just generally had an enjoyable evening. Inasmuch as I had a long ride ahead of me the next day, I excused myself at about 8:30pm to retire for the night. At 3am the next morning I departed to finish my ride, and that was the last I saw of him.

Today, June 27 2009, I attended a bike show at the Riverside Park in Grants Pass. I was wandering around with a couple of fellow riders, when one of them decided to take a seat at a picnic table in the shade. So the three of us sat down for some relief from the 99ºF heat. As we were sitting there, I noticed a couple sitting at the other end of the same table, were speaking a foreign language, but it was not one with which I was familiar. After a few minutes, the man turned and introduced himself as being from Finland. He said he was a mechanic and welder in his home country. I said, "Last year I met a man from Finland who was traveling with his wife and sister-in-law who was a welder and mechanic in Winnemucca NV." His eyes got big, and he said "That was ME!" I was dumbfounded... we were both dumbfounded. Imagine our surprise at meeting the same people we had met a year before, in an entirely different state. We shared another hearty handshake, and spent the rest of the afternoon visiting, listening to the band, and swapping motorcycle stories like long-lost friends.

Juhan and his wife, Piaive (my spelling is probably wrong, but her name is pronounced like Pie-avey) are lovely people, and we had a great visit. They came over to the house, and Juhan and I continued our visit until almost 11pm, while his wife slept in the motorhome. We're going to breakfast in the morning, and we will probably visit some more during the day.

I'm still amazed at the coincidence. If Roger hadn't decided to sit at that table, we never would have met again - even though we were within 20 feet of each other - after being half a world apart for almost exactly one year!

Gimme A Large Order of FREEDOM, And A Side of INDPENDENCE... TO STAY!

I was checking my email this morning when I noticed somebody had sent me a link to a YouTube video. My curiosity bested me, and I clicked on the link. The production was made in 1948, but it is SO TODAY! I thought to myself, "Everybody in the country should see this!" It impressed me enough to post the link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3U_5lqKh4U (you will probably have to copy & paste the URL into your browser, since the link is not underlined or in blue)

There are some things in this world which appear to be timeless. This little video is one of those timeless things, and it's still appropriate 61 years later. Even more appropriate on our U.S. Memorial Day than most other days.

Expectations And Disappointments

For those of you visiting my blog for the first time, and for those of you who may not have figured it out yet, I offer the following caveats:

1. I do not create the news of the world. I do, however, live in the world.
2. I try not to repeat unsubstantiated rumors I may have stumbled upon.
3. As a sentient being, I do observe and analyze many of those things that happen in the world which I inhabit.
4. Through this blog, I do offer my analysis and opinions freely, and without reservation or apology.
5. As a rule, I try to present what I see as both sides of a given situation... whenever I can see a reasonably believable second side. And when I can't see one, I'll probably tell you why also.
6. Unfortunately, probably 95% of our mass media is slanted to present the publishers' political views ("You work for me, and you'll report what I tell you to report and how I want it reported."), and that's where our news comes from.
7. I do tend to be conservative, because I'm a product of a conservative culture... which was the USA of 60+ years ago.
8. I do not rewrite history - that which was, was. I accept history as mostly factual.
9. If you find my observations interesting and/or thought provoking, please leave a comment. If you don't find them interesting, remember this - nobody forced you to come here. Have a chuckle at what you may see as my naiveté (or even blind stupidity) as you leave.

I hope you enjoy your visit!

Outrageous Taxes Levied on Smokers and Drinkers

As of April 1st, 2009, Oregon State taxes on cigarettes increased by 59¢ per pack, and Federal taxes added another $1.01 per pack! This means that a pack of cigarettes will have a median price of about $6.00 per pack. Federal taxes on loose bulk tobacco, the kind used by the "roll your own" crowd, jumped from $1.09 per pound to $23.48 per pound! Statistically, this will create a new "class" of person. The working-class, low-income person is, statistically, far more likely to be the user of tobacco products, than are the middle- and upper-income persons. Assuming that "statistic" (I have not heard an exact percentage) is accurate, the new class will be the "well-to-do" working-class, lower-income person, who, regardless of the cost will refuse to surrender their tobacco habit, thereby making him or her the envy of his or her working-class neighbors. There's also an additional 50¢ per bottle tax on alcoholic beverages. This has been referred to as a "sin tax" for years, but it is, in fact, a pleasure tax. Tax those things that people enjoy, and you will reap greater profits for the Government than if you taxed things like cauliflower, vasectomies, or root canals! Certainly not everyone enjoys either or both of the aforementioned "sins", but enough people do enjoy them to make it very profitable for the Government. "So what?" you say "I don't smoke or drink, so it's no skin off my nose!" Well what do you enjoy? Fishing? Already taxed via "license fees". Boating? Already taxed via "registration fees". If you look at it from a practical standpoint, permits and fees are nothing more than a means of taxing people who enjoy certain activities. The "bowling fee" is probably coming soon, along with "golf permits", "softball licenses" and "Frisbee fees". Neither the Federal nor State Government "owns" the wild game of the USA, but the State sells you a "hunting license". Suppose that deer you just shot wandered over from one of the neighboring states just this morning? Does Oregon have the right to charge you a license fee to shoot a non-resident animal from the state of Washington or California? It's not like Oregon had anything invested in the maintenance of that animal. It's wild game! "Wild" implies that it belongs to nobody... "hunting license" is just a Government euphemism for another tax. And those "game tags"... one more tax!

The Obama administration seems to believe that we can be taxed into prosperity by adopting a more European tax standard - like 40+%. If that works so well, why are the Europeans experiencing the same kinds of difficulties the USA is having? We are not the Europeans!!
We are the United States of America, and there is no apology necessary for our ability to succeed in a free-market economy or to overcome adversity! Most Europeans envy us our successes, many resent us - not because we acted "superior", but because they felt inferior after we saved their collective asses in WWII. Yet even those that resent us still respect American technology, American creativeness, Americas willingness to help, and our military power.

Personally, I refuse to support his taxes, and smoked my last cigarette at 2pm, on April 3rd 2009! So far, so good.

There's an outside chance that I could be wrong about this... about the same chance that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has of becoming the Grand Ayatollah of Iran!

Is Barack Obama the USA's Robert Mugabe?

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the name Robert Mugabe, he has been the leader of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) for almost three decades. Although his early history shows him as a "freedom fighter" for the rights of native black Africans, and a relatively 'good shepherd' of his flock, his most recent actions show him to be an incapable administrator, dictatorial in his governance and oblivious to international concerns over the direction in which he has taken Zimbabwe.

After the recent fraudulent Zimbabwean Presidential election - in which Mugabe was defeated - he simply refused to vacate the office of President or surrender control of the government. He demanded a unity government, and got it. He creates Zimbabwean "law" on the fly, and ignores international law and the needs of his people.

By now you may be wondering, "What does this have to do with any behavioral relationship to Barack Obama?"

1. At the time of Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, slightly over 45% of Zimbabwe's arable land was owned by approximately 6,000 (primarily white) farmers. Zimbabwe was productive and considered to be the "breadbasket of southern Africa". Zimbabwe was a major exporter of agricultural products. Life was good, and it remained so for the better part of 20 years.

2. In April of 2000 the Zimbabwean constitution was amended in such a fashion as to allow the government to confiscate white-owned land for redistribution to black "farmers" without compensation. Almost immediately, self-styled "war veterans" began invading white-owned farms. Those owners who did not leave voluntarily were often tortured and sometimes killed. One was forced to drink diesel fuel as a form of torture.

3. This redistribution of wealth resulted in the collapse of Zimbabwe's agricultural industry, and the destruction of their economy. Zimbabwe now depends on food programs and support from outside to feed its population. A third of the population depends on food supplies from the World Food Program to avoid starvation.

4. The daily inflation rate in Zimbabwe is slightly more than 98%, which equates to an annual inflation rate of 516 quintillion per cent. Based on my comments in my most recent previous posting I understand how difficult that number is to really understand. It is the number 516 followed by 18 zeros. This figure is totally unfathomable as a concept of quantity or anything else! It is, most probably, the highest inflation rate any sovereign country in the world has ever experienced.

5. Mugabe said the unity government will continue to push for a majority stake of "at least 51%" in companies operating in Zimbabwe, to be controlled by dubiously qualified indigenous black Africans ... including banks. (Nationalization of private businesses by government. How is this different than our Democratically-controlled government becoming invested in the banking, housing, and the automotive industries?) Mugabe was recently quoted as having said:

"In the areas of mining, agriculture and manufacturing, a methodological and systematic identification of areas in which the state and indigenous entrepreneurs can participate, is being carried out, in line with the Indigenous and Empowerment Act."

The nationalization law, which Mugabe signed a few days before last March's general election, seeks to transfer majority control of foreign firms, including mines and banks, to indigenous blacks.

In the long term, no good has come to Zimbabwe as a nation - or the average Zimbabwean - as a result of Robert Mugabe's reign. If you observe Zimbabwe, you will get a preview of what's in store for the USA if our current government does not change its course. (My guess is that Mugabe, as with most dictators, suffers from a serious mental illness ... similar to a Messianic Complex.)

There is the remote possibility that I could be wrong about this ... but I'm NOT!