Hate-filled vitriol on parade right now...

Since the hospitalization of Rush Limbaugh, within the last few minutes:

@Tyler_Durden209: @chillydog61 Hey douche-bag how does Rush Douchebag's dick taste like? All that #tcot semen in ur mouth turns u on. #p2 #topprog #tlot #420

@malthusiandrill: @Leo_Pusateri not as sorry as that dead racist,who basked in the suffering of the dead and paralyzed! how's oxycontin treatin ya now rush?

@johndracula: #RUSHLIMBAUGH YOURE GOING TO DIE SOON, YOUR HATEFUL SMALL DICK LIFE WILL END AND YOU WILL BE ENGULFED IN THE ETERNAL VOID #tcot

@eddiescorz22: Having a heart attack does not change the fact Limbaugh is a racist, homophobic bigot. #tcot #tlot #teaparty #p2 #hcr

@nostromosil: All these do goody mommas boys saying how awful it is about the Rush hate, STFU grow a pair, go play in your sandbox, RUSH #FAIL #p2 #tcot

Yeah. Class.

Wednesday Hero Blogburst 12-30-09

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Olga Elliott


Chief Warrant Officer 2 Olga Elliott, a Multi-National Corps-Iraq human resources technician, poses with MNC-I Command Sgt. Maj. Frank Grippe after finishing the Bobby Crim 10-Miler Aug. 22, at Camp Victory in Baghdad. Elliott, a San Diego native, finished the race in 1 hour, 9 minutes, 57 seconds, earning her top female honors.

Photo Courtesy United States Army

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Congressman Rogers (R-MI) Nails it on Obamacare

A guy's gottta ask: Why?

A new hat has been thrown into the ring to challenge Michele Bachmann for her 6th CD seat:

Sartell resident Troy Freihammer has filed his paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Congress. Freihammer, who works in the Stearns County environmental services department, is running as an independent. To qualify for the ballot, he must get 1,000 signatures from 6th District voters duriing the filing period between July 6 and 20. If he gets on the ballot, he would be joined by U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, a second term Republican from Stillwater, and either state Sen. Tarryl Clark of St. Cloud or Maureen Reed of Grant, who are battling for the DFL spot. Bob Anderson, who ran on the Independence Party ticket and got 10 percent in 2008, is considering a second run.

Freihammer includes the following on his platform:

Our nation is at a precipice, being led there by two political parties whose differences have become superficial. The outcome is larger federal government, financial crisis, war, and loss of our liberties. Their only considerations for the Constitution are the claims of how the other party is not adhering to it.

He calls for the end of the Federal Reserve, the end of the federal income tax, the end of foreign aid, free-trade agreements and for an elimination of many federal regulations.

I guess the next question one must ask Freihammer: Why?

Congresswoman Bachmann is quite possibly the most conservative member in the U.S. House of Representatives. She has often criticized her party for overspending and other issues. Ms. Bachmann is a staunch supporter of the Audit-the-Fed movement.

I could see if the MN 6th CD was inhabited by the likes of a big spending RINO, but Bachmann is anything but.

Since Freihammer's candidacy can only draw votes (however few those may be) from Bachmann, one is then left with one of two possibilities:

1. Freihammer is an egomaniac

or

2. Freihammer is a plant.

Exclusive: Rumors of lack of RNC support for Scott Brown may have been greatly exaggerated..

Jules Crittendon (quoting an article from the Boston Herald, and echoed by Ed Morrissey), has reported that Massachusetts GOP Senatorial Candidate Scott Brown has received little support, and may have actually been written off by the RNC.

Having just gotten off a blogger conference call with Mr. Brown, I can categorically state that Brown denies any lack of support for his campaign by the RNC. In fact, in the call Brown stated that his campaign has received "..everything from the RNC that we have asked for."

It would appear that the story from the Boston Herald was designed not to report on the status of, but rather to outright sabotage the momentum of Brown's Senate campaign.

Regardless, Brown did state that he looks forward to donations from every corner of the country, since his election would assist not only the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but the entire nation.

Indeed, Brown's election would break the stranglehold majority that the DNC has on the U.S. Senate, and it would be nearly axiomatic that Obamacare, at least in its current form, would not see the light of day in a final Senate vote.

In fact, it is very likely that the election of Scott Brown to fill the seat of Ted Kennedy may be our last hope in evading what could be a very dark chapter in America's history.

If you are so inclined, please donate to Brown's campaign here.

Who Are You, And What Have You Done to the Chicago Tribune?

As a child growing up in the Chicago area, the Chicago Tribune arrived on our doorstep every day. My grandmother, who lived with us, was an avid reader of the Tribune. In fact, I can attribute the Tribune to fostering my ability to read at a very early age, because they used to have features that promoted phonics education lessons that parents could use with their children. During my growing up years, the Chicago Tribune, then dubbing themselves, "The World's Greatest Newspaper," (A moniker from which the call letters for WGN Radio and then WGN-TV were derived) was pretty much considered the more conservative paper of record in the Chicago area (about as conservative a paper can be, at any rate).

As the 80s and 90s went on, however, the Trib eventually followed the primrose path of the New York Times, LA Times and other organs, and eventually turned into nothing more than just another statist liberal mouthpiece.

That's why I was so taken aback when I read this editorial today:

Not good enough. Time to silence the Illinois Lullaby and get on with dramatic changes to how Illinois government treats the people of this state. . . . From now on, let's judge our elected officials by their effectiveness or impotence at delivering reform. Enough with "effort." Illinois needs results.

Illinois needs results. We intend to live by that credo in an effort to rehab Illinois during 2010. In the months since those words appeared, Illinoisans have watched their politicians resist aggressive reforms, both to how Illinois is governed and to how state and county governments spend money: Many politicians have jealously protected their power while overcommitting taxpayers to more missions than we can afford.

As a result, this state is impoverished in spirit. And it is too impoverished financially to pay its bills for services already delivered to the disabled, the sick, the most vulnerable among us. Yes, recklessly growing state government at double the rate of inflation for two decades has brought devastating consequences to Illinois.

This confluence of man-made miseries menaces Illinois.

So, whom will we elect to right Illinois?

-- -- --

This editorial launches our pre-primary push to answer that question. Subsequent editorials will explore how a reconstituted Illinois can confront three mighty challenges:

--The wreckage from current spending and borrowing -- and the taxing to pay for it all.

--The need for ethical reforms to better curb corruption and to reduce the concentration of power in the hands of those Illinois oligarchs.

--The disturbingly low level of job creation here as state government policies nudge employers to locate and expand elsewhere.

Be assured, how candidates for the Feb. 2 primary propose to address these challenges figure heavily in the Tribune endorsements that will appear as early voting begins in January. We're looking especially hard at how incumbents have demonstrated their effectiveness or impotence at delivering reform.

Calendar 2010 really does need to be different. Forgive and forget? Not this time.

Next Sunday: Illinois' hazardous fiscal triathlon -- spending, borrowing, taxing.

Read, as they say, the whole thing.

Imagine that... From the same state and municipality that gave us Barack Obama.

Has Chicago's prodigal son finally seen the error of his erstwhile ways, finally returning to its honorable history as a credible source of news and commentary?

If so, There may be hope for our ailing nation, yet.

(h/t Gary Gross)

Credit Where It's Due...

Former U.S. Senator and democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton has admitted some difficulties in dealing with an alcohol problem and with depression.

If it was any other politician, I would score this as a politically-motivated spin at damage control to quell and/or even capitalize on rumormongering.

But it's not any other politician. It's Mark Dayton.

Let me explain. Back when the Red Bulls were in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, awaiting their nearly two-year deployment in Iraq in 2006, they had a going away party that was attended by many dignitaries. Among the attendees was Mark Dayton. Not only did then-Senator Dayton attend the affair, but he was working, serving steaks to our soldiers who would soon be placed away from their families in harm's way, in what was then extremely hostile territory.

If it was any other politician, especially any other democrat politician during a time when out-and-out sedition was quite fashionable among the ranks in the democrat party, I would have again chalked it up to a photo op; cheap electioneering on the part of another politician trying to gain favor among the "support our troops" crowd.

But it wasn't any other politician. It was Mark Dayton.

You see, at the time of the troop sendoff, Mark Dayton had already announced that he would not seek re-election.. He wasn't running for anything. He was just being there, working the steak line, serving, chatting with, and honoring our troops.

Despite the fact that Mark Dayton and I didn't agree on a thing that came out of his office in terms of fiscal or domestic policy, I have always respected him, because he is a genuinely nice guy. What you see is what you get. Even when Dayton drew fire for closing his Senate office for fear of security issues, there wasn't any political calculation in that decision. He was trying to protect his staff.

Mark Dayton was the only democrat politician of any stature at the time that never spoke ill of the mission of our soldiers during the height of the Iraq war. In fact, Dayton's words and actions served only to genuinely honor our troops.

That was enough to earn and keep this blogger's respect.

We all have our personal demons that we need to wrestle with. I wish Mr. Dayton well, and pray for his continued recovery.

Godspeed, my friend!

Liberal Road to Hell On Parade...

Detroit is a veritable museum of societal decay imposed by liberalism:



Make no mistake: This is Obama's & the rest of the democrats' vision for our nation.

This about sums it up...

Today Barack Hussein Obama and his willing dupes in Congress, with the help of thirty pieces of silver given to Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska), thumbed their collective noses at over 60 percent of the electorate who wanted no part of the "health care reform" shit sandwich.

Nothing left to say, except that today will mark the day that Harry Reid, Ben Nelson, and the rest of the democrats fell on the political sword, and sold out the security and liberty of their fellow countryman to lay their political and our fortunes at the altar of the grand and glorious mystic ruler, pubah, and bottle-washer, Barack Hussein Obama (D, Mm Mm Mm).

Well.. isn't that special.

On Life Imitating Art...

Click on the above photo, taken in May, 2008, in Bozeman, MT, to view it in full size. Pay special attention to Obama's book of choice in the inset. The name of the book is "The Post-American World," by Fareed Zakaria, who also happens to be the editor for Newsweek International (of the fatal Koran Flushing Non-Incident Incident fame).

And what, pray tell, is the subject matter of the "Post American World?" In part,

Zakaria describes with equal prescience a world in which the United States will no longer dominate the global economy, orchestrate geopolitics, or overwhelm cultures. He sees the "rise of the rest"—the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil,...

Is Obama's choice of reading material in the picture any coincidence, given that Barack Obama is the only president in my lifetime who has never spoken of America's greatness, nor advanced the ideal of American exceptionalism? Is the choice any coincidence, given that Barack Hussein Obama chose for two decades to attend a church whose pastor regularly engaged in anti-American rants?

Is his reading material of choice truly a mere happenstance, given that in his lifetime Obama chose to associate himself with terrorists who loved their country so much they decided it was best to literally blow up its institutions with impunity?

Most important of all, is our President's choice of reading material in the photo really any coincidence, in light of Barack Obama's perpetual apology tours, a domestic spending agenda and a "climate change" agenda that will surely bankrupt us for generations to come, not to mention the recently proposed windfall transfer of wealth to third world tinhorn dictatorships? For that matter, Obama's feckless, half-hearted attempts to de-nuclearize Tehran speaks volumes, especially given his declaration in his much vaunted Cairo speech that "...No single nation should pick and choose which nation holds nuclear weapons."

In summary, one could certainly argue that the President's agenda, nay, his very upbringing, breadth of experience and associations have rendered him a tailor-made instrument that would bring Zakaria's vision of a "Post American World" into reality. As a matter of fact, given his choice of reading material, it's not that much of a stretch to infer that it is Obama's very intention that Zakaria's vision of a neutered, feckless America, no longer a leader on the world stage, is nothing less than a foregone conclusion.

Death by firing squad, or death by 1000 paper cuts, it's still death..

Representative Thad McCotter (R-MI) wrote,

“In this giving season, let’s see what the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats have voted to stuff in Americans’ stockings this year:

1. Americans got higher unemployment, taxes and deficits;
2. Seniors got half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts;
3. Terrorists got new rights, trials and cells on American soil; and
4. Government bureaucrats got raises.

“As these Lefty heavy hitters race around their bases,” said McCotter, “Americans can but conclude: ‘Democrats: too costly, too crazy, too quickly.’”

While I agree with nearly everything McCotter wrote, I think the phrase, "too quickly" is understated and perhaps misplaced.

Not to take anything away from McCotter's resolve, but even if this agenda was moving along at a snail's pace, it would still be moving too quickly in my book.

Their agenda is so poison-filled, to say that it is moving too quickly implies that it would be somehow more palatable and/or maybe even okay if it were moving more slowly. A parasite, even if it feeds slowly, will eventually greatly weaken and/or outright kill its host. Better to get rid of the parasite entirely so that it feeds not at all.

Any part of their agenda that is moving quicker than "dead" is still "too quickly," IMO.

This jockeying by well-intentioned republicans and blue-dogs to re-make or put lipstick on the putrid pig of legislation currently moving through congress will kill us just as surely in the long run as the original bill would promise to do in the short run.

The Gipper, with a Dire Warning...

This appears to be even more true today than it was in 1961...

Erick at Red State's Call to Action...

Senate Republicans, take heed:

FIGHT

Days That Will Live in Infamy

The following post has been re-released from December 7, 2007...

I thought it still fitting, today:

It was the attack that sounded the clarion call; that the United States could no longer stand idly by while evil elements made their insidious trek across the globe.

It was the decisive moment that provided Americans with the righteous indignation that would be required to sustain them in fueling their eventual victory over the then-axis of evil; Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan. No longer would that generation stand on the sidelines, waiting for someone else to take up that mantle; nor would they pass the burden for future generations to bear.

This was their moment. Their cup of suffering did not pass, but neither did their sacrifices fail to bear the fruits of liberty for future generations; not only of the United States of America, but of the entire global community.

_________________________________________

Fast forward to another day that will continue to live in infamy:
This, my dear readers, is our generation's clarion call. The time when history asks us to step up to the plate to fight a global evil.

Will we follow the brave example of what up til now had been our greatest generation? Will we now take up the mantle to fight the forces that threaten liberty, and portend doom upon our way of life, if not our very existence?

Or, will we instead squander the fruits of the sacrifices that followed that fateful day in December of 1941; opting rather to play on political expediency; hoping against hope that the unthinkable will not occur. Or if it does, that it will do so long after our generation passes; leaving our progeny to live their lives in slavish dhimmitude, if at all.

My dear readers, History today calls upon us to answer the call of defending liberty.

The question that is yet to be answered is thus: Will we utilize the clarion call put forth by the events on September 11th, 2001 as a source of righteous indignation to persevere in the cause of freedom? Or will our generation be the one that allowed government by the people, of the people, and for the people to perish from the earth?

I shudder to think about the looming answer to that question.

And, for that matter, today is no exception.

Livin' High on the CO2 Hog in Copenhagen

Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, hypocrisy:



Like I keep on saying-- the whole global warming scam has everything to do with making a few people rich at the expense of the economic suffering of billions.

They are the worst kind of hypocrites. They should all be jailed for FRAUD.

A Little Late to the Party, but...

You gotta read this...from my friends at the MoxArgon Group--

Feinstein & Durbin to Bloggers: No Shield For YOU!

A bill pending in the U.S. Senate to provide shield protection to journalists who choose to protect their sources leaves out one very important part of journalism. I don't usually go to Daily Kos for my information, but a tweet pointed me here:

But those two troublemaking Dems, now identified as Sens. Feinstein (CA) and Durbin (IL), are back again, introducing an amendment to be debated tomorrow that would essentially strike the language above:

AMENDMENT NO.__ Calendar No.__

Purpose: To appropriately limit the protection from compelled disclosure.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES—111th Cong., 1st Sess.

S. 448

To maintain the free flow of information to the public by providing conditions for the federally compelled disclo-sure of information by certain persons connected with the news media.

Referred to the Committee on ___ and ordered to be printed Ordered to lie on the table and to be printed

AMENDMENTS intended to be proposed by Mrs. F EINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. D URBIN )

Viz:

In section 10(2)(A), strike clause (iii) and insert the following:

(iii) obtains the information sought while working as a salaried employee of, or independent contractor for, an entity—

(I) that disseminates information by print, broadcast, cable, satellite, mechanical, photographic, electronic, 1or other means; and

(II) that—

(aa) publishes a newspaper, book, magazine, or other periodical;

(bb) operates a radio or television broadcast station, network, cable system, or satellite carrier, or a channel or programming service for any such station, network, system, or carrier;

(cc) operates a programming service; or

(dd) operates a news agency or wire service;

In section 10(2)(B), strike ‘‘and’’ at the end.

In section 10(2)(C), strike the period at the end and insert ‘‘; and’’.

In section 10(2), add at the end the following:

(D) does not include an individual who gathers or disseminates the protected information sought to be compelled anonymously or under a pseudonym.

Basically, Feinstein and Durbin want to restrict shield law protections for those who are either salaried employees or contractors of big media. If not, it's basically fuck you.

Mind you, this is KOS, going after two huge liberals in the Senate.

The First Amendment, of course, reads as follows (emphases added):

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

So.. just who is the press?

When James Madison penned the First Amendment, did he intend to extend and relegate freedom of the press to only the few newspapers that were around at the time? Or did also he mean to include the independent pamphleteers, which were by far more ubiquitous than the established newspapers of the day? Since freedom of the press and freedom of speech are inextricably intertwined, it would be my contention that the original intent of the First Amendment as penned by Madison and approved by the Constitutional Congress meant the inclusion of both under its protections. Bloggers, by extension, are certainly the modern-day counterparts of the pamphleteers who thrived at the time of the Revolution.

There is no doubt in my mind that this amounts to a protectionist measure by the established dead-tree and dinosaur media, along with their willing accomplices in Congress, against its competition in the new media.

As Markos stated,

This isn't a partisan issue, it's one between those who are so stuck in the past, that they can't fathom a more diverse and expansive media environment -- one that is no longer dominated by the NY Times and the TV networks.

If you are represented by one of the senators on the committee, please give them a call and ask them to oppose this measure. Again, this shouldn't be a partisan issue, so calling your Republican senator (for once) might actually make a difference. Committee members are:

Patrick Leahy (Vermont)
Herb Kohl (Wisconsin)
Dianne Feinstein (California)
Russ Feingold (Wisconsin)
Chuck Schumer (New York -- he's kosher on this)
Dick Durbin (Illinois)
Ben Cardin (Maryland)
Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island)
Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota)
Ted Kaufman (Delaware)
Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania -- also kosher)
Al Franken (Minnesota)
Jeff Sessions (Alabama)
Orrin Hatch (Utah)
Chuck Grassley (Iowa)
Jon Kyl (Arizona)
Lindsey Graham (South Carolina)
John Cornyn (Texas)
Tom Coburn (Oklahoma)

Note -- this isn't about me. I'm a salaried writer. This amendment wouldn't exclude me. This is about most of you, and countless bloggers and writers who do their own brand of journalism because they believe in their cause, not just because it's a gig.

I'm glad that Markos has seen the light; hopefully this will serve as a wakeup call to Markos and others on the left to the fact that statist-inspired intrusion is a bane to everyone's freedoms, and touches every aspect of everyone's lives.

Wednesday Hero Blogburst 12-2-09

Spc. Michael P. Garton & Spc. Rolando R. Flores


Spc. Michael P. Garton, a gunner with the Personal Security Detachment, with the 36th Sustainment Brigade out of Temple, Texas, and a Texarkana, Texas, native, relaxes on a Humvee and shares a laugh with Spc. Rolando R. Flores, a gunner with the PSD and a San Antonio native, during a break in preparations for a mission Nov. 23 in the maintenance yard at Contingency Operating Location Adder, Iraq.

Photo Courtesy U.S. Army

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Steve Gottwalt on Minnesota's $5.4 Billion Shortfall

In an email to his constituents, SD 15-A representative Steve Gottwalt had this to say:

We received the latest budget forecast information today and it indicates Minnesota faces a projected $1.2 billion shortfall for the current two-year state budget, and a $5.4 billion deficit for the next biennium.

This is tough news, and underscores the need for even greater state fiscal restraint. Minnesotans want state government to live within its means instead of raising taxes on families and businesses. Small businesses create the vast majority of new jobs, and they have told us loud and clear they cannot afford more government. We must rein-in state government spending and focus on sustainable reforms that boost our economy. That is the "goose" that lays Minnesota's "golden eggs."

In the 2010 Legislative Session, we need to confront reality and adopt meaningful structural reforms to solidify our economic future. State spending must be brought in line with revenue received, as families and businesses must do. Hard-working taxpayers cannot continue to pay for backward thinking where the state spends money before it knows what’s in the checkbook. Minnesotans expect state government to live within its means.

We cannot tax our way out of this deficit! Tax increases will kill the jobs we need to turn around our economy and state revenues. We have a spending problem; not a revenue problem: Government spending in Minnesota has grown by 140 percent since 1992, and we have seen numerous proposals in the last few years for billions of dollars in new tax increases. We must set good priorities, and live within our means
instead of raising taxes on struggling families and businesses.

Liberals propose “tax increases only on the wealthy.” However, most of the so-called “wealthy” are small businesses filing through individual tax returns - the same small businesses we need to help grow more jobs for a sustainable economic recovery. The top 10 percent wage earners in Minnesota already pay 57 percent of all personal income taxes, and 38 percent of all taxes in our state. Even if we raised their
tax rate a full 10 percent, it would generate only $381 million toward our persistent deficit.

We cannot tax our way to prosperity while families and businesses are battling to make ends meet with less in these tough economic times. Increasing the tax burden would drive out the jobs and revenue we need to turnaround Minnesota’s economy.

The Legislature’s top priority in 2010 must be creating sustainable jobs in the private sector by reducing tax and regulatory burdens. I will continue working to kick-start Minnesota's job market by promoting an environment that supports business growth!

Of course, Mr. Gottwalt speaks nothing but sense here. To tax the bejesus out of the job creators will not create any more taxpayers than depriving a garden of its water will grow more produce.

The crappy part about it is that Margaret Kelliher, Tarryl Clark, Larry Haws, Larry Hosch, and the rest of the tax-n-spend DFL'ers will wail, moan and gnash their teeth, saying the "evil rich" aren't paying their fair share;, when it is the "evil rich" (as Gottwalt stated, the Mom & Pop concerns) that create the very jobs that render a vibrant economy that sustains both economic prosperity and, of course, tax revenue for governmental functions.

And look for Tim Pawlenty, in one of his last acts in office, along with the Minnesota House Republicans to once again play the adult.

Look for yet another infantile show down by the DFL this coming budgetary cycle.

Amazing What They'll Admit When They're Among Friends...

Howard Dean, in France

As I've always said, if it walks, talks and quacks like a duck...

Just When You Thought Common Sense Had a Chance.

Just when you thought one might be able to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The 60 votes aren't there any more.

With the Senate set to begin debate Monday on health care overhaul, the all-hands-on-deck Democratic coalition that allowed the bill to advance is fracturing already. Yet majority Democrats will need 60 votes again to finish.

Some Democratic senators say they'll jump ship from the bill without tighter restrictions on abortion coverage. Others say they'll go unless a government plan to compete with private insurance companies gets tossed overboard. Such concessions would enrage liberals, the heart and soul of the party.

Yep... Just when you can see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Just when you thought that there may be an end to the madness...

In come the RINOs to really muck things up. You see, it seems that instead of killing the bill at the onset, the GOP brainiacs in the Senate, like the proverbial dog showing a thief where the best silverware is, are trying to "improve" the bill so as to leave it less palatable to invoke a filibuster!

Erick Erickson at Red State has the gory details:

Having started from the presupposition that the health care legislation is going to pass, the GOP seems to be signaling it will work to “improve” the legislation just enough to overcome a filibuster.

The legislation has 57 votes already. The GOP does not need to offer amendments to improve the bill — they need to bring it to a vote and kill it. Preening for cameras and favorable press coverage is going to get the bill to 60 votes and a signing ceremony.

What a bunch of numb-nuts. Could the Senate GOP get any more of a tin ear? One commenter on RedState said it best, when he invoked Sam Adams:

“If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams

Indeed.

May God have mercy on our nation, for miserably squandering the gift of freedom He so graciously bestowed, giving away our children's birthright with the nonchalance of a Hennepin Avenue streetwalker.

As Ronald Reagan famously stated, freedom is only a generation away from extinction. And it appears that our generation is hellbent on making Ronald Reagan's maxim a reality.

A request for prayer...

I just received this from one of my Patriot Guard brethren:

We are new to the patriot guard sa of last summer. We bought our bike for the tribute to the troops ride.
We went on that ride and the flag line ride. Then Tim started not feeling well after that. We found out last saturday that he har prostate cancer spread to the bones and the lymph nodes. Please send out our request for Prayer. The patriot guard means so very much to us and we need him to recover so we can participate more. Please pray for us

Tim and Vickie Johnson

Any prayers you can offer will be greatly appreciated...

Bambi & Thumper... in reality.

Once in awhile, it's good to lighten things up a bit.

Reportedly taken in a back yard in Alberta, Canada, I received these photos in an email, and thought it too neat to pass up:

Global Warming: Will the last believer in the room please turn off the lights?

Every global warming bromide, put to rest by the application of real science-- A long video, but definitely worth watching if you want to really be informed:

Hide the Decline

This is great!



Via Minnesotans for Global Warming (h/t Gary Gross)

Wednesday Hero Blogburst 11-25-09

Rear Adm. Ned Deets


Rear Adm. Ned Deets speaks with Frank Chebatar, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, at the conclusion of the base consolidation ceremony. The two bases consolidated to form Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Fort Story.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Jack Webb Schools "The One"

This is nothing less than classic:

Indoctrinate U-You Will Be Assimilated!

So say the Stalinists at the University of Minnesota, according to Katherine Kersten:

In a report compiled last summer, the Race, Culture, Class and Gender Task Group at the U's College of Education and Human Development recommended that aspiring teachers there must repudiate the notion of "the American Dream" in order to obtain the recommendation for licensure required by the Minnesota Board of Teaching. Instead, teacher candidates must embrace -- and be prepared to teach our state's kids -- the task force's own vision of America as an oppressive hellhole: racist, sexist and homophobic.

Read the whole thing. And while you're at it, if your insides can take it, read the document upon which Kersten's article is based.

While matriculating at the School of Arts & Sciences back at UW-Eau Claire in 1988, there was a mandatory prerequisite for graduation called, "Human Relations." True to liberal doublespeak form, rather than being a class that centered on how relationships are formed, it was a wall-to-wall, semester-long diatribe about how whitey was oppressing everyone else. Every week, a guest speaker from the "victim group" du jour would walk into class, grab the podium, and bash every white male student in the room as to how they were oppressing the victim class, simply by breathing.

The only saving grace regarding the "Human Relations" course was that when you were done with all the nonsense you could go about your life and leave the hoop behind. Back then, they didn't actually demand an oath of loyalty to that rubbish as a prerequisite to earn a livelihood.

To wit:

The first step toward "cultural competence," says the task group, is for future teachers to recognize -- and confess -- their own bigotry. Anyone familiar with the reeducation camps of China's Cultural Revolution will recognize the modus operandi.

The task group recommends, for example, that prospective teachers be required to prepare an "autoethnography" report. They must describe their own prejudices and stereotypes, question their "cultural" motives for wishing to become teachers, and take a "cultural intelligence" assessment designed to ferret out their latent racism, classism and other "isms." They "earn points" for "demonstrating the ability to be self-critical."

The task group opens its report with a model for officially approved confessional statements: "As an Anglo teacher, I struggle to quiet voices from my own farm family, echoing as always from some unstated standard. ... How can we untangle our own deeply entrenched assumptions?"

And what of those who resist? Well, as they, as they say, "Haff ways..."

The task group has Orwellian plans for such rebels: The U, it says, must "develop clear steps and procedures for working with non-performing students, including a remediation plan."

I wonder if the "remediation" plan includes being sent to a 're-education' camp.

And what of the great unwashed who managed to escape the ivory tower all-seeing eye of the diversity police at U of M in past years without the benefit of their all-knowing indoctrination?

"Requir[e] training/workshop for all supervisors. Perhaps a training session disguised as a thank you/recognition ceremony/reception at the beginning of the year?"

Well Komrades, nothing left to do now but cue the music!!

In the Belly of the Beast...

It has been said, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." In that spirit, I attended an Education Minnesota political action workshop in St. Paul this weekend. To say that I felt like a fish out of water would be a gross understatement. To be fair, a number of my colleagues were there, whom I consider to count as friends and good people. But (not surprisingly) despite claims of nonpartisanship, the proceedings were anything but. The keynote speaker of the event was none other than Congressman Tim Walz. (click here for the entire speech)
Basically, it was a boilerplate stump speech, but since Mr. Walz considered himself among friends, he probably said a few things he many not have otherwise said.

A former social studies teacher himself, Walz stated that he began his teaching career teaching in the People's Republic of China (for reasons I'll explain later, I'm not surprised). Walz spoke of the impetus for his running for Congress. Specifically, he told of a time when he took two of his students to meet President Bush in Washington. Walz stated that his two students were not allowed to see the President because one of them had a John Kerry for President sticker. He related that he immediately called his wife and told her that he wanted to run for congress.

With respect to Obamacare, Walz first proclaimed "There are no death panels." Walz then went on to explain how his vote for Obamacare was a "proud vote" and an "easy vote" to cast. He went on to rail against the Tea Party movement, saying he was relieved to finally speak in front of a group "that wasn't swearing at (him)" He described the Tea Party movement as motivated and organized, but motivated "for the wrong reasons." He stated, dripping with condescension, that he was "amazed" at how many people had become "Constitutional scholars" during the month of August. Walz proclaimed that the Tea Party folks were "motivated to use the Constitution as a wall." (well, Congressman, that's exactly what the Constitution is, is a wall of protection of the people and limits the powers of government). With regard to the "Read the Bill" signs, Walz stated he read the bill," and that a Tea Party attendee then stated, "It's over 2000 pages," to which Walz reportedly retorted, "So I guess the Berenstain Bears are superior to The Grapes of Wrath, because it has fewer pages."

To me, it was amazing that a guy who served over 20 years in the National Guard could so cavalierly speak of the document which he swore an oath to protect. Walz also didn't miss the chance to take gratuitous swipes at Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, as well as at his predecessor, Congressman Jim Ramstad. Walz did state that he felt that the governor's race was the most important race in Minnesota, and that he would release his entire campaign staff to work to have the endorsed DFL candidate elected governor.

After Walz spoke, it was off to congressional-district breakout sessions, where attendees were shown the DFL caucus process, and how attendees could get themselves elected as delegates. They stated that although they were cough non-partisan, they chose the DFL process because there were reportedly no Republican candidates who bothered to fill out the Ed MN candidate screening form.

I must say, however, that all was not lost. The next morning there was an outreach session held to accommodate the few Republican attendees at the convention. During that session (which was attended by some democrats, as well) an Education Minnesota Republican Caucus was formed, with around 30 signatories, including myself (there were between 300 and 400 total attendees to the convention proper). The stated aim of the caucus is to bring education issues to the Republican party. But again, one of the session organizers, who I believe was himself a fairly liberal democrat, brought up the issue of getting rid of Charter Schools and Home Schools (which I happen to be for; as I believe competition to be an important factor in increasing the quality of education), and exhorted us to bring the issue to the Republican platform.

Yes, I'm a public school educator. But I'm first and foremost an American, and I realize that not everything that is in the self-serving interest of public school educators is compatible with what is in the interest of America as a nation. I just wish the union and educators in general would recognize that, as well.

Well, Rome wasn't built in a day. The educational agency for which I work didn't organize into a union until just over a year ago. While I was against joining a union, as long as it was going to be thrust upon me, I decided that if I was for all intents and purposes going to join a union, I would have a say in how it's run. I therefore became our local's vice president last year, and I am secretary this year.

As I always say, the future belongs to those who show up. One could sit and whine and complain until the cows come home. But it is the one that becomes involved that can ultimately actually make a difference. Since we ultimately have a stake in the outcomes in terms of how traditionally liberal leaning organizations operate, it is our duty as conservatives to take a seat at the table once in a while and say, "Not so fast, here!"

I hope that more conservatives will consider getting involved, as well.

Wednesday Hero Blogburst 11-18-09

Staff Sgt. Dennisur Thompson


Staff Sgt. Dennisur Thompson, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, overcompensates a left turn while on a driving simulator as a part of the Save a Life Tour in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

And You Trust These Buffoons With Your Health Care?

If you go to Recovery.gov. you will see the wonderful contributions you as a taxpayer have made to the betterment of our economy. Like all the wonderful contributions, for example, made to the 57 congressional districts here in the great State of Minnesota:

(click on pic for full size)

So, how's that "57th" Congressional District in Minnesota doing? Or for that matter, the "00th" district?

That's a pretty neat trick by the Obama administration tallying up all those jobs saved.

Given, of course, that Minnesota is home to only 8 congressional districts. Unless, of course, the Obama administration was actually referring to the fabled 57th state.

And you want to trust these incompetent boobs to handle your healthcare?

Congressman Mike Rogers on Obamacare

Mr. Rogers certainly hit the nail on the head with this one:

As A Matter Of Fact, I Believe He Does...

Some of my liberal counterparts had near apoplectic responses to John Hinderacker's article entitled, "Why does he hate us?" In it, Hinderacker highlights his compatriot Paul Mirengoff's article in The Examiner, an excerpt of which follows:

In the area of foreign and national security policy, however, Obama can operate largely unchecked. And a weak, guilt-ridden policy toward our foreign adversaries is almost certain to produce grave consequences.

To some extent, we have seen this act before. The damage of just four years of Jimmy Carter's America-effacing presidency included Soviet expansion, communist inroads in Latin America, the replacement of a friendly government with a virulently anti-American theocracy in Iran, and a prolonged hostage crisis that came to symbolize the new American impotence.

But although Carter was ambivalent about America, his efforts to promote democracy abroad showed that he thought we had something to offer t[he] world. Obama will not grant America even that.

Emulating Carter the ex-president, rather than President Carter, Obama has shown essentially no interest in human rights or democracy promotion. His belated support of the Iranian protesters following this summer's election could hardly have been more lukewarm.

It seems that, in Obama's view, all we have to offer the world is our non-interference in its affairs, except perhaps when it comes to bullying our allies.

This led one of my liberal acquaintances to retort:

Sorry, but the "facts" in the article simply do not lead to the conclusion that constitutes the assertion in the title.

So, Does Barack Hussein Obama really hate America? Consider the following:

In his formative years, young Barry Soetoro hung out with the likes of Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers, who loved America so much they decided to bomb the living crap out of it.

The guy sat in a church for 20 years listening to a guy screaming "G-d Dmn America!"

Barack Hussein Obama, himself, in his own words, said the Constitution was a flawed document because it did nothing to 'spread the wealth.'

Obama never misses an opportunity to apologize for what he feels to be American 'arrogance.' (yet he himself, is the paragon of arrogance).

Rather than speaking of American greatness, Obama speaks only of its perceived flaws. Rather than build on the principles that made America great, he seems to feel that it is his job to single-handedly correct what he believes to be over two centuries of wrong-minded policies, and to turn America and its founding principles on its head as a means to weaken and humble our nation in the process.

Barack Hussein Obama never speaks of a strong America; he never speaks of America being a leader for freedom; but instead he speaks of America as a nation in need of neutering, one to be relegated to be on equal footing (or lower) with even the most rogue of nations. Rather than the Monroe, Truman, JFK, Reagan, and Bush doctrines, which each recognized the greatness of America and sought to protect and champion the cause of freedom and liberty around the globe, Obama's is the new doctrine of "American moral relativism;" rather than being clothed in Old Glory, we are now bathed in sackcloths and ashes, being beaten down and forced to atone for what in Obama's mind are past and unforgivable wrongs. Rather than stand up to tyrants, dictators, and monarchs, he bows before them in supplication. Rather than representing America in strength, he cowers in his own fecklessness.

In an effort to hasten his remaking of America, Obama has even cheapened the very structure, fidelity and integrity of governance, appointing a wide variety of tax scofflaws, avowed communists, and innumerable unelected, unaccountable 'czars' to carry out his policies.

I would therefore submit that, taking into account how he chose to spend his developing years and as is certainly evident in the intent of and in the way he conducts policy, it most veritably can be inferred that Barack Obama isn't necessarily a fan of that for which America has traditionally stood.

In fact, to make the inference that Barack Hussein Obama loves America and all for which it has traditionally stood is certainly more of a stretch of inference than is its corollary.

For Whom The Bell Tolls...

As many of my readers know, I'm a proud member of the Minnesota Patriot Guard. When I came across this story, to say that I was touched by this man who has invested so much time and treasure in honoring the fallen, well, to say that I was touched was an understatement:

Is the Crap & Trade Party Over?

Noel Sheppard has just reported that the thugs who are to soon meet in Copenhagen finally got some pangs of self-interest as they have now thought twice about signing any binding climate change legislation at the upcoming conference:

The decision represents a huge setback to the Obama administration's goal of passing a cap and trade bill this year, which conversely is great news for virtually every company in America that has been worried about the higher cost of doing business that would come from the enactment of such legislation.

As the New York Times reported moments ago:

President Obama and other world leaders have decided to put off the difficult task of reaching a climate change agreement at a global climate conference scheduled for next month, agreeing instead to make it the mission of the Copenhagen conference to reach a less specific "politically binding" agreement that would punt the most difficult issues into the future. [...]

Obama, of course, was going to use agreements made in Copenhagen as a justification for passing the onerous "cap and trade" legislation, that, in his own words, would necessarily "..make the price of energy skyrocket."

This, of course, is yet another political setback for the Obamateur, who will no likely have to kiss a little more ass and bow a few more times to get other world leaders to do his bidding.

Saturday Night at the Funnies...

If I laugh, tis so that I may not weep...Alas,when the world is such, I turn to no one other than the Stooges...

Part 1:



Part 2:

The "Oba-Mao-ssaiah?"

Obamamania has spread to Communist China:

The Chinese have learned English from his speeches and celebrated the way he rolls up his sleeves. Now President Barack Obama is finally coming, and he's being greeted with "Oba Mao" T-shirts and a statue of him that bursts into flames.

Sunday's arrival of a U.S. president admired for his charisma is already a source of profit and brief fame for some Chinese.

Strangest is the burning Obama, tucked away in a Beijing warehouse. Artist Liu Bolin hopes Obama can take time from his visit to drop by.

"He's so hot right now, so I wanted to translate that through my work," said Liu, who was inspired by the idea of the first black U.S. president.[wonder if Liu lit up a cigarette after that--ed.]

I guess hero worship on the part of the Chi-coms for Obama should be no surprise, as the President knowingly appointed a number of Mao worshippers to his own cabinet and cadre of uber czars, so I guess turnabout is fair play.

Oh yeah.. about that flaming Obama statue:

The bronze Obama bust is modeled on Time magazine's "Man of the Year" cover and is speckled with holes for gas that ignites every couple of minutes.

Of course, the true Obama is much the same way. Only most of the 'gas' bloviating from him emanates from his piehole.

And Another One's Under the Bus...

Yes, I know, any news over 24 hours old in the blogosphere is old news. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity brought by the 'resignation' of Anita Dunn to do this song parody:

(image via Scott Thong)

Another One's Under the Bus by Barack Obama
(with apologies to Freddie Mercury)

The Maoist walks up to the podium with the mic pulled way down low
Fawning press thrown at her feet, the presser's ready to go!
Are you ready? Hey, are you ready for this?
Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?
Gonna wage war on ol' Fox News, they'll go down in defeat!
But
Thump-thump-thwump Anita's thrown under the bus..yeah
Thump-thump-thwump And Anita Dunn's under the bus!
And another one gone
And another one down
Another one bites the dust
Hey, Obama's gonna get you too
Another one's under the bus!

How's Obama gonna get along without you when you're gone?
You gave him everything that you had but he kicked you out of his home
Is he happy? Is he satisfied?
How long can he stand the heat?
Out of the bus another corpse slips to the sound of the beat (Look out)
Thump-thump-thwump Another one's under the bus..yeah
Thump-thump-thwump Another one's under the bus..
And another one down
And another one gone
Another one's under the bus!
Hey, Obama's gonna get you too
Another one's under the bus!

HEY
Oh, it's crowded
Bite the dust
Under the bus yeah

Hey
Another one bites the dust
Another one's under the bus, oh
Another one bites the dust, hey, hey
Another one's under the bus, heeeeey
Oh, shoo 'em out!

There are plenty of ways you can hurt a man and throw him to the lost n found
You can ask Jeremiah you can ask Van Jones
Even Grandma hit the ground!
But I'm ready, yes I'm ready for you
I'm standing on my own two feet, but
Out of the doorway another corpse slips, repeating the sound of the beat. Oh yeeeah
Thump-thump-thwump Another one's under the bus!
Thump-thump-thwump Another one bites the dust
And another one down
And another one gone
Another one's under the bus
Hey, Obama's gonna get you too
Another one's under the bus
Shoot it
Hey
Alright

For the Veterans...

My unending gratitude toward those who met the calling. Thank you.

A patriotic Canadian friend of mine, now deceased, used to love this poem:


In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Camille Paglia Hits It Spot On.

Camille Paglia is no conservative. In fact, Camille Paglia is no Republican. Camille Paglia is, in fact, a feminist Democrat. That’s why I found her latest piece at Salon.com so fascinating.

When I first saw the article, entitled, “Pelosi’s Victory for Women,” I thought, “Okay, here we go–another Nancy Pelosi mindless puff piece.”

The first two paragraphs certainly did not disappoint:

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi scored a giant gain for feminism last weekend. In shoving her controversy-plagued healthcare reform bill to victory by a paper-thin margin, she conclusively demonstrated that a woman can be just as gritty, ruthless and arm-twisting in pursuing her agenda as anyone in the long line of fabled male speakers before her. Even a basic feminist shibboleth like abortion rights became just another card for Pelosi to deal and swap.

It was a stunningly impressive recovery for someone who seemed to be coming apart at the seams last summer, when a sputtering, rattled Pelosi struggled to deal with the nationwide insurgency of town hall protesters — reputable, concerned citizens whom she outrageously tried to tar as Nazis. Whether or not her bill survives in the Senate is immaterial: Pelosi’s hard-won, trench-warfare win sets a new standard for U.S. women politicians and is certainly well beyond anything the posturing but ineffectual Hillary Clinton has ever achieved.

Yep, just a run of the mill flaming lib, blindly singing the phrases of another flaming lib.

But the following paragraph (and thereafter) blindsided my expectations:

As for the actual content of the House healthcare bill, horrors! Where to begin? That there are serious deficiencies and injustices in the U.S. healthcare system has been obvious for decades. To bring the poor and vulnerable into the fold has been a high ideal and an urgent goal for most Democrats. But this rigid, intrusive and grotesquely expensive bill is a nightmare. Holy Hygeia, why can’t my fellow Democrats see that the creation of another huge, inefficient federal bureaucracy would slow and disrupt the delivery of basic healthcare and subject us all to a labyrinthine mass of incompetent, unaccountable petty dictators? Massively expanding the number of healthcare consumers without making due provision for the production of more healthcare providers means that we’re hurtling toward a staggering logjam of de facto rationing. Steel yourself for the deafening screams from the careerist professional class of limousine liberals when they get stranded for hours in the jammed, jostling anterooms of doctors’ offices. They’ll probably try to hire Caribbean nannies as ringers to do the waiting for them.

Read, as they say, the whole thing.

If a feminist liberal democrat like Camille Paglia gets it, are the rest of her liberal cohorts that brain-dead? Or are they merely blinded and necromanced by the promise of a socialist utopia, even if they have to destroy an entire nation to achieve it?

Maybe Bill O'Reilly Will Learn Something From This

They say that if one has too open of a mind, eventually, one's brains will fall out.

Bill O'Reilly says he's fair and balanced one minute, yet also says that he operates the "No Spin Zone" the next.

Bill O'Reilly will often ignore readily available contrary evidence and will himself engage in and/or humor liberal spin in an effort to appear "even handed." For example, O'Reilly will tell you that, despite evidence to the contrary, global warming is real. He will also tell you, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, that Barack Hussein Obama is no socialist.

But when Bill O'Reilly entertained the state-run media notion that Hassan merely snapped "from the weight of bullying and possible deployment," Col. Ralph Peters would have nothing of it:

Note how toward the end of the interview, O'Reilly was backpedaling like a unicyclist at the Ringling Brothers circus trying to evade an escaped lion.

Good on you, Col. Peters!

(Via Newsreal)

What a bunch of INGRATES!

20 years ago, the Berlin wall was torn down; soon before, President Ronald Reagan exhorted Gorbachev to "Tear down this wall!"

It was the genius of Ronald Reagan's policies, coupled with Maggie Thatcher and Pope John Paul II that fostered the conditions that allowed the two Germanys to unite, as East Germany, which was run like a prison by Michael Gorbachev himself, was under the thumb of communist rule.

But what do these low-life scum do as a "thank you" to Ronald Reagan?

They honor another wad of scum, Gorbachev himself:

It was the finale to a day of memorial services, speeches and events that attracted leaders from around the world, including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Merkel and 78-year-old Gorbachev stood shoulder to shoulder as they crossed a former fortified border crossing point between East and West Berlin to cheers of "Gorby! Gorby!" bring this up to the first reference to gorby.

[snip]

Merkel, who was one of thousands to cross that night, recalled that "before the joy of freedom came, many people suffered."

She lauded Gorbachev, with whom she shared an umbrella amid a crush of hundreds, eager for a glimpse of the man many still consider a hero for his role in pushing reform in the Soviet Union.

"You made this possible — you courageously let things happen, and that was much more than we could expect," she said.

Even our supposed President, Barack Hussein Obama, gave absolutely no props to Reagan:

In a video messaged screened at the main event, President Barack Obama paid tribute to the dissidents and demonstrators who ushered in the fall of the wall 20 years ago.

"Let us never forget Nov. 9, 1989, nor the sacrifices that made it possible," Obama said to applause and cheers.

Not one mention in the article about Reagan or Thatcher. Not. One.

And don't count on our Alzheimer's-laden secretary of state to recall the real reason for the fall of the Wall & the opening of the Brandenburg Gate:

Clinton paid tribute Germany and other countries who shook loose communist binds.

"We remember the people of the Baltics who joined hands across their land ... we remember the students of Prague who propelled a dissident playwright from a jail cell to the presidency," she said. "And tonight we remember the Germans, and especially the Germans in the East who stood up to say 'No more.'"

Not one mention of Ronald Reagan. Not. One.

Ungrateful. Bastards.

As an Aside..

There will be much speculation and wringing of hands in the State-Controlled media as to what drove the scumbag who greased 12 soldiers and wounded 31 others do what he did. The apologists at the New York Slimes already are making Hasan out as the victim.

What the MSM will never point out, however, was that Nidal Malik Hasan was a devout Muslim. And like any devout Muslim, he apparently had his proclivities and a soft spot in his heart for suicide bombers. From a post of his on Scribd:


(Click for full size)
So was it really angst over possible deployment that made the scumbag closet jihadist Malik Nidal Hasan decide to off 12 innocent soldiers and wound 32 others, or was it rather a secret penchant for 72 virgins and a sudden desire to scream, "Allah Akhbar!" as he performed his evil deed?

AP reports are now saying that Hasan is alive.

It seems that the pathetic jihadist loser couldn't even do suicide right.

Do the Math.

$60 BILLION dollars in Medicare FRAUD every year, vs. $8 billion dollars in insurance profits per year.

Follow the money.

Any wonder why Obama & Company want to expand government control over your health care?

Wednesday Hero Blogburst 11-4-2009

I just got done volunteering at "Monte Carlo Night" at our local St. Cloud V.A. I had a great time interacting with the guys, and they seemed to have a great time, as well. As the proceedings ended, they all thanked us for volunteering; that it meant a lot to them.

You could have knocked me over with a feather. Here were a bunch of guys, many who have been mentally and physically scarred for life in the service of our Country, and they were thanking me, for spending some time with them.

After the SSgt Mike Mills award ceremony last night, I been thinking, and I have found an important common thread. In giving the full measure of their devotion, American veterans would and should not be expected to give any more. They have given until it literally hurt. No one would begrudge their taking it easy, getting on with their lives and pursuing their own interests. But whether it's the American Legion, the Patriot Guard, the VFW, or what have you, one thing I have found about these heroes who have already given a true measure of devotion, is that they keep on giving.

With that thought, I leave you with this week's Wednesday Hero:

Spc. Justin Slagle


Spc. Justin Slagle returns to Forward Operating Base Lane in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter after an air assault mission in the Zabul province of Afghanistan, Oct. 15, 2009. Even as leaders in Washington struggle with the next steps in Afghanistan, troops there are moving to better protect the Afghan people by separating them from Taliban influence and intimidation.

Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Honoring A Hero Tonight...

I had a very distinct honor and privilege tonight. As you may have noticed on the side bar of this blog, I have maintained a link to and have written about SSgt Mike Mills.

Mike Mills, who was severely wounded in Iraq from an IED in 2005, has not only made a remarkable recovery, but has since dedicated his life to helping other veterans navigate the maze of bureaucracy and paperwork needed to access services in making the transition back to civilian life.

That's why I immediately thought of Mike when I heard about the American Patriot Project, headed by Wes Hazlett. If you haven't heard of Wes Hazlett, it's because he keeps a very low profile. Since this past June, he's put in countless hours, and has donated nearly all his savings (including selling his car and moving into a small apartment) in getting this project off the ground. Hazlett, a former professional baseball player, felt a calling to honor those who have sacrificed so much so that we can live our lives in peace. Hazlett (who until recently co-owned a successful baseball bat manufacturing firm) utilized his connections with the baseball community to build a link between America's pastime and America's heroes, awarding such luminaries with items such as custom bats, opportunities to throw ceremonial first pitches, and baseball tickets.

When I informed Hazlett of Mills, he was immediately interested, and brought Mills' story to the rest of the nominating committee. The rest, as they say, is history.

Mills is the first Minnesotan to receive this honor, and one of only eight people to receive the award across the nation. When I nominated Mills for the award, little did I know that I would have the honor and privilege of actually helping to present the honor to him.
I presented him (and his family) with special T-shirts made only for award recipients
Also on hand were the mayor of Freeport, who declared November 11, 2009 "Mike Mills Day" in Freeport. Governor Pawlenty also wrote a proclamation of support for Mills, and Tara Westby, on behalf of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, read a wonderful proclamation made by Bachmann on the House Floor, to be entered into the Library of Congress.

Bert Blyleven sent this Mills this autographed photo:

Mills also received a special "Patriot" St. Paul Saints jersey, as well as other team jerseys.

Mills, his wife Sukki, and his family were all overcome with emotion, as was I.

I was humbled to have been a part of bestowing this appreciation for the sacrifices that SSgt Mike Mills has and continues to make on behalf of his country and his fellow brothers- and sisters-in-arms.

It was an evening never to be forgotten.

As Wes Hazlett wrote,

Preserving Dignity and Honoring Sacrifice
Wes Hazlett

It is imperative at this critical time for all American's to unite in a most humble and sincere solidarity in honoring our American Veterans who are giving their lives toward our Nation's freedom.

If American citizens were to live with the code of honor and acceptance of the creed and call of duty that our America soldiers live by, there would be no way on God's green earth our enemies would see us as a divided Nation.

We need to fight as citizens for our soldiers in preserving the dignity of our heroes.

We need to be diligent in telling our children what our soldiers are courageously doing in our stead while we partake of the fruits of liberty.

We need to remember the families with sincere admiration for raising their children up as men and women of strong character to defend our American States.

If we do not support and defend the honor of our Veterans from our World War heroes to our Afghanistan war heroes we are going to face a horrendous future in this Nation.

We must not ever become a people who dismiss those who have fought, bled, and suffered great physical and emotional trauma in the defense of America. We must look upon our Soldiers as a testament of our resolve as a people to earnestly defend this Country as a force for good in this world because our founding fathers penned it such.

These American soldiers, many who have who have paid for our freedom with blood, deserve every single American to look them in the eyes with admiration, gratitude, and hospitable grace.

What these few have done for all of us, for our liberty, in these United States, must not ever be discounted and it must never be lightly esteemed.

We must honor our American soldiers and it is our duty and charge to do so because we are American's.

God forbid the alternative.