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Welcome to EDDIE'S RANTS & RAVES A Digest of News & Commentary  Inveighing Against Coercive Busybodyism, Socialism, Greenism, and Big Government Tyranny & Injustice Generally  "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely!"   ~ Acton "Giving money and power to politicians and bureaucrats is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys"  ~ P. J. O'Rourke more or less weekly ArchivesLinks  Banner Ads Leave Comments, Questions, or Rude Remarks Please Make a Contribution to Support this Site Books

Beijing Intensifies Crackdown on Internet Use
Control over peoples' lives is the name of the game under socialism.

Law & Order Actress Dares Disagree with Obama, the Anointed One
She will incur the wrath of the hateful Hollywood Left.

House Passes "Climate" Bill
211 Democrats and 8 quisling Republicans voted for this job-killing monstrosity.  The eight Republicans who sided with Nancy Pelosi on this bill were:  Mary Bono (Calif.), Michael Castle (Del.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Leonard Lance (N.J.), Frank LoBiondo (N.J.), John McHugh (N.Y.), David Reichert (Wash.) and Christopher Smith (N.J.).  Remember those names when their election cycle comes up again.

Nine Dead In Metro Train Collission
Is Atlas Shrugging?
 

Iran is a powder keg in a region which is a cauldron of irrationality, religious superstition, tribalism, and authoritarianism. From what I have read, the mullahs -- the ruling witchdoctor class there -- are the ones who pick the few who are allowed to be on the ballot, who can "run" for election and who cannot. It seems to me that until and unless the mullah ruling class is rejected and overturned by the people, there will be little real progress in Iran politically. The extreme version of Shia religion has been in control of Iran for at least 30 years.

The Middle East is a region which seems dominated by rigid mystic superstitions and religious beliefs, including those beliefs in "prophecy" which many want to help fulfill at any cost. It seems to me the ruling mullahs are kept in authority by the supposed widespread belief in the religion of Mohammedanism, specifically of Shia. As the people lose faith in that bundle of superstitions or as the current dominant religion is supplanted by something else (perhaps Zoroastrianism), the mullahs will eventually lose control. But that could take time; meanwhile, the current regime could continue to wreak much havoc in that region and in the world. The Shah, far from perfect, was probably the closest thing Iran ever had to a "libertarian" government, given the nature of its culture. And Kissinger and Carter pulled the rug out from under him while the Marxists and the Mullahs agitated for his removal from power. The Ayatollah Khomeini was 1,000 times more statist than the shah ever had been; yet, when I asked Libertarian Party presidential candidate Ed Clark in 1980 what he thought of Khomeini's rise to power in Iran, he said it was a step in the right direction!  How naive, I thought!  This was said at a time when "revolutionary" firing squads were shooting to death anyone considered anathema to the new ayatollah dictatorship.

Today, thirty years later, we see the increasing discontent of the people of Iran finally erupting into protests and demonstrations against the ruling junta -- and the attempt by those in power to suppress those demonstrations with brute force.  Although western news networks report only 17 dead so far in the Iranian regime's attempts to crush pro-freedom demonstrations there, unofficial reports from inside Iran put the number at more than a hundred deaths.  One such victim was Neda, a16-year-old girl who was shot to death by a military sniper.  the murder was captured by video camera.

The political authorities in Iran have attempted to keep what is going on from reaching the outside world, but even though major trunks feeding the Internet have been shut down by the government, news is finding its way out by use of modern technology.  It is capitalist technology to the rescue.  With cellular phones, digital camera phones, and access to alternative communication networks, the people of Iran are able to bypass regular channels to get their messages out. By use of Facebook, Twitter, and other web-based technologies using proxy servers with ever-changing IP addresses, those who would resist the tyranny of the mullahs have not been silenced.  Despite its best efforts, the current regime cannot keep the truth from leaking out of Iran to the world beyond its borders.  This is at least a partial victory over mullah control.

Many people in Iran, seeing the admittedly imperfect examples of liberation from tyranny in Iraq and Afghanistan, have been emboldened to think it could happen in Iran as well.  Hopes are soaring.  What the outcome of all this will be is unclear, but it seems possible that a spontaneous popular uprising that began as a protest against a rigged "election" has grown into a full-scale revolution which may overthrow the current reactionary regime.

Meanwhile, as I long predicted, the U.S.'s attempt to placate the Communist regime of North Korea has always been a failure. Give credit where it is due: Carter, Clinton, Allbright, Bush, and Rice. That is coming back to bite us in the buttocks more and more. Our only possible sanction in the real world is the hope that our fledgling missile defense will be adequate. But of course both presidents Clinton and Obama have shelved further missile defense work. (Thank goodness President Bush kept it alive and at least deployed it on a small scale.) I look for Japan to adopt its own missile defense and possibly even reverse its constitutional ban on the development of nuclear weapons. As America's "nuclear umbrella" wanes under the current Democrat regime, Japan will increasingly have to rely on its own defenses in its own national interests.  Can you blame them?

Where have all Obama's records gone?
Footprints of president's own history either vanish or remain covered up

Rush Limbaugh Receives Freedom of Speech Award
Rush:  "They won't silence us."

Obamacrats Release Secret Nuclear Details by Accident
Can these people be trusted with national security matters?

U.S. blabocracy makes intelligence sources clam up.by Deroy Murdock

The 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre
The memory of that slaughter is something that the Beijing bureaucrats are trying to cover up.

The military state of North Korea under communist dictator Kim Jong Il is gearing up to transfer power over to Kim's youngest son, Kim Jong Un.  This announcement follows several days of missile tests and inflammatory propaganda messages against South Korea and the United States.

In its own self defense, Japan plans to use satellite in an early warning system for detecting North Korean missile launches.  (A year ago Japan dropped its previous ban on the use of space for military purposes.)

Former Vice President Cheney reiterates position that "gay marriage" is a state, not a federal, issue; explains why Gitmo was necessary as a way to deal with most dangerous terrorists.

"American decent into Marxism is happening with breath-taking speed," says Russia's Pravda.   I cannot vouch for the authenticity of this article, but it looks legit.

Newly published articles by John Hospers

MAY 31, 2009

KILLING THE GOLDEN GOOSE OF CAPITALISM

It was capitalism, the market economy -- especially the freedom to become wealthy, save and invest in the hope of future returns -- that made economic growth, jobs, technological advancements, and progress possible. This was the source of a higher general standard of living in the U.S. and in the West generally.  By trying to "punish the rich" and direct the economy by political programs, the Obamacrats are attacking the source of progress.

The Obama regime represents an order-of-magnitude increase in statism over all previous administrations, a huge quantum leap backward for America.  In the name of reviving an economy already burdened with socialistic and fascistic regulations and taxes and social programs, the Obamacrats may kill what is left of American free enterprise.  They are like six-year-old boys playing with matches in a room full of dynamite sticks.  If the investment markets are destroyed, where will funding come from for new growth and innovation?  When the U.S. dollar is destroyed by the federal debt and the Fed's unrestrained depreciation policies, who will invest in the U.S. economy?

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Democrat Lite a Big GOP Tent Does Not Make -- David Limbaugh

The Housing Boom and Bust -- Walter E. Williams

Obama Offers Prime Posts to Top Campaign Contributors

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MORE REACTION TO THE SOTOMAYOR NOMINATION

The same left-wing partisans who crucified the brilliant jurist Miguel Estrada (the first Hispanic to be nominated to the Supreme Court) are now enthusiastically supporting Sotomayor, whose record as a judge is far from impressive.  The same megastatists and prevaricators who were involved in the nasty smears of justice Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearings are now championing Obama's selection for the Supreme Court.  Those who now posture as the friends of minority groups and make so much of Sonia Sotomayor being a Latina are the same people who viciously opposed black libertarian judge Janice Rogers Brown when she was picked by President Bush for the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Early questions raised by Judicial Watch

Ann Coulter's take on Sotomayor

America's Piñata Strikes Back: We Won't Shut Up on Sotomayor

Too Many Washington Republicans Seem Perfectly Content as Losers

OBAMA NOMINATES ANTI-WHITE RACIST
TO REPLACE SOUTER ON SCOTUS

Democrats and those who call themselves "liberals" and "progressives" tend to think in terms of groups, of collectives -- race, sex, ethnicity, class, and so on -- rather than in terms of individuals and individual freedom.   In their distorted "politically correct" catechism, everything is seen through the template of trying to "balance" specially-designated groups against each other, and especially against Caucasian and Asian Americans and others (including most Hispanics) who work, produce, save, and invest (and thereby make progress possible).  It is not surprising that the Democrat administration and its choir of news media promoters focus primarily on the fact that Sotomayor is Hispanic or Latino rather than on her actual decisions as a judge.  They seldom look past skin color or ethnic background.  It is much more important to the Left that she is a daughter of a Puerto Rican family than if she is really qualified to serve on the highest court in the country.  Conservative Republicans, on the other hand, will be questioning her consistency with the Constitution, the logic (or lack thereof) in her judicial decisions, and whether her personal racial and sexual prejudices will dictate her judgments in cases that come before her.

Sotomayor versus the Rule of Law by David Limbaugh

Sotomayor's Court Record: Controversial or Just Lame? by Jillian Bandes

KLAN-TYPE GROUP SUPPORTS SOTOMAYOR NOMINATION

The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to be one of the nine justices on the Supreme Court has been enthusiastically endorsed by the notoriously racist group National Council of La Raza ("The Race") whose motto is:  "FOR THE RACE....EVERYTHING!  FOR OTHERS,....NOTHING!"!

It is not too clear to me what "race" this group thinks is numero uno.  Latino is not a race as far as I can tell.  Nor is Hispanic.  Many people speak Spanish who may be ethnically different from each other.  Perhaps La Raza members see themselves as descendants of the Spanish conquistadors and they wish to claim the southwestern states of the U.S., from Texas to California, for Spain, then make Spanish the official language, and force everybody to watch bull fights instead of football.  That wouldn't be so terrible, I suppose.  But, if they brought back the Inquisition and began torturing and burning folks alive for not believing in the "true faith" (some version of Marxism-Leninism), that would not be so nice.  Of course, one could speculate that it is just another Marxist front group used to propagandize non-gringo groups against the U.S. and the allegedly evil gringos, sow seeds of mistrust and resentment against others, and stir up friction between people inside the United States to further an agenda of its own.

As a member of La Raza, Sonia Sotomayor would appear to share its psychoceramic racism and anti-American activist agenda.  Let's turn it around.  Consider, for a moment, what would be the uproar if a Caucasian male had been chosen for a spot on the Supreme Court and it was revealed that he was or had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan or the National Socialist White Peoples Party, and had made statements that he believed that a white male would make better judgements than a Puerto Rican female.  You would not hear the end of it in the media.  Yet, we hear nothing about Sotomayor's sordid background from the New York Times or Washington Post, which are just doing puff pieces on Sonia and her mother instead of focusing on the nominee's views, political activities, and judicial decisions.

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KIM JONG IL'S RED FASCIST REGIME THREATENS WAR AGAINST SOUTH KOREANS AFTER SUCCESSFUL UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR TEST

North Korea Issues War Threats
Whether these statements are mere propaganda bluster or serious threats, these developments cannot be ignored by South Korea, Japan, and other countries threatened by the mad little communist dictator's growing military menace.  How much is directed by Beijing and how much is at the orders of Kim Jong Il is anybody's guess.  Meanwhile, will the Japanese government decide to go nuclear in self defense?  Has it already embarked on a secret program? Meanwhile, let's all give a round of applause to the Carter/Cliinton/Albright deal which helped Pyongyang advnace its nuke program!

Secretary of State Albright with Kim Jong Il, Oct 23, 2000

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AS USUAL, LEFT-WING TYRANTS DESIRE TO CRUSH
FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND COMMUNICATIONS

Venezuela police raid opposition broadcaster

Obama Set to Create Internet Czar

MAY 24, 2009

AN AWESOME ACHIEVEMENT IN SPACE
A PERFECT LANDING ENDS A DANGEROUS
BUT HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL HUBBLE REPAIR MISSION
BY AMERICA'S SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS CREW

The Hubble Space Telescope lifted out of the payload bay of Atlantis moments before it is
released into space following the successful repair/upgrade mission of STS-125

U.S. astronauts and the NASA team are to be congratulated by all rational beings for their stunning high-tech accomplishments this week in earth orbit during a very challenging mission to do extensive repairs and upgrades on the amazing Hubble telescope.  The 13-day space mission extends the Hubble telescope's life for at least another five years ( perhaps much longer) and the improvements made will allow us to see even further out in space and further back in time than ever before -- and perhaps to unravel more of the secrets of the universe. The lessons learned from this space mission will shape future space exploration.

From left are specialist astronauts Michael J. Massimino and Michael T. Good,
pilot Gregory C. Johnson, commander Scott D. Altman, specialist astronauts Megan
McArthur, John M. Grunsfeld, and Andrew J. Feustel. (NASA photo)

Hubble repair mission showcases the value of human space flight -- Houston Chronicle

Space Shuttle Atlantis reaches orbiting Hubble telescope - UK Telegraph

STS-125:  The Final Hubble Repair Mission
It's a mission to once more push the boundaries of how deep in space and how far back in time humanity can see. It's a mission to again upgrade what already may be the most significant satellite ever launched.

Special danger posed by satellite debris in a cluttered orbit

VIDEO:  STS-125 launch

MAY 21, 2009\

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY EXPLAINS THE REALITIES OF TERRORISM TO BARACK

VIDEO:  Excerpt from Cheney remarks

VIDEO:  Dick Cheney on anti-terrorist interrogation policy

Full text of Dick Cheney's Speech

MAY 19, 2009

Democrat fundraiser finally convicted of corruption
Yet Bill and Hillary and Sandy Berger still remain free.

MAY 15, 2009

MORE LIES FROM NANCY PELOSI

According to intelligence officials and other congresscritters, Speaker of the House Pelosi was fully briefed on interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, several times in the period 2002 to 2003 -- and that she at least tacitly endorsed the use of those measures, but she is still pretending to the world that she was never told.  An independent investigation should be initiated to determine and demonstrate just what did she know and when did she know it.  If it is confirmed that she is now lying, Pelosi should step down as Speaker and resign her seat in Congress and return to San Fransicko in disgrace.  She has already shown herself to be incompetent and dishonest in other matters and is clearly out of her depth when it comes to U.S. foreign policy or American national security issues.  She apparently assumes the Democrat-controlled network media will cover up for her as usual, but that is no longer possible because she has made serious charges of illegality -- that the intelligence community and the military misled Congress -- and such charges are too serious to be ignored.  For the good of the nation she should finally do the right thing and leave the House of Representatives to someone more responsible.

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"YOU MAY BE TALIBAN IF ..."

 1. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to beer.

 2. You own a $3,000 machine gun and $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can't afford shoes.

 3. You have more wives than teeth.

 4. You wipe your butt with your bare hand, but consider bacon "unclean."

 5. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.

 6. You can't think of anyone you haven't declared Jihad against..

 7. You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry explosives in your clothing.

 8. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.

 9. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least one.

 10. You've always had a crush on your neighbor's goat.

Rush on Principled Conservatism versus the so-called "Moderates" and RINOs (Specter, Gergen, et al)
Specter has been a Democrat at heart all along; now it's just official.

In the past, the hope of the world has been based on two things: Market capitalism and U.S. military strength. It was capitalism (to the extent it was allowed to exist) that rescued hundreds of millions of children from short miserable lives and death by starvation or malnutrition. It was capitalism that brought England and America out of pre-industrial squalor to advanced economic status with improvements in life for the majority of people.  It was U.S. military strength that liberated the world from Hitler's national socialism and Tojo's imperialist Japan, rescued millions from slave labor and death camps, helped South Korea to remain free from communist invasion from the north, and it was U.S. strength (especially when Reagan was President) that at least pushed back the advance of communist imperialism and helped to quicken the fall of the Berlin Wall and the independence of countries once under Soviet control. It was U.S. military capability that dragged the brutal dictator Saddam Hussein off the backs of the people of Iraq.  People around the world at least began to hope that more freedom and economic opportunities would be possible.

Unfortunately, what is left of true market capitalism in America has been undercut by many decades of government regulations, controls, monetary manipulations, taxation, and various socialistic programs. America has been coasting on the momentum from its past more-free days when it was closer to being a pure capitalist economy. The heavy burden of socialism is catching up to us now. The new president, Barack Obama, is doing his best to destroy what is left of market capitalism in America and will likely destroy the U.S. dollar completely in the next few years. This will mean economic disaster for the people of the world as well as Americans here at home.

Meanwhile, President Obama is reducing spending on military defense and is pursuing a foreign policy that kisses up to tyrants and in effect tells oppressed people to go to Hell -- that he will do nothing to help them while he pals around with socialist thugs and bows to fascist dictators. If America's strength is allowed to wane significantly, this will certainly encourage a resurgence of both communist imperialism and jihadist terrorism around the world. I predict terrible times ahead for the people of the world as a result of these policies. And Americans will be increasingly targeted by their envious enemies. I wish I could be more optimistic. The world will be a much less safe place now that the U.S. has a socialist cult leader as President.

Despite all the socialistic programs and interventions that have been piled on top of the U.S. economy over the past several decades, it is surprising that it is still within the top ten most economically free countries. Sadly, with the Obamacrats now in full control of the economy, I predict that the United States will fall below the top ten most free countries in the next year or two.

I do not think it is a coincidence that at least 7 out of the top 10 most economically free nations were British colonies at one time or another: Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom itself. (See the current Index of Economic Freedom). Where there is capitalism there is hope and progress.

It is also no coincidence that the main troublemaker regimes in the world today are among those countries with the least amount of economic freedoms (see near bottom of list), including mainland China, Russia, Syria, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea.

It is a shame that instead of the U.S. and U.K. becoming more free and less socialistic, we seem to be following the failed policies of the loser countries now under full socialism. At least that is what the election of Obama and the Democrats portends here in the United States.

Increasing the top marginal tax rates on income (the rich folks) does not really hurt the wealthy people, but makes less capital available for funding business starts and economic growth and results in fewer jobs and fewer economic opportunities for regular people like myself who are just struggling to pay bills. Yet, the Obamacrats continue to use the "soak-the-rich" mantra to fool their gullible followers. As an American, I apologize to the people of the world for the election of Barack Obama and for the current backward regime.  It's high time for a pro-capitalist, pro-American backlash but no one knows when that will come.

The Housing Boom and Bust by Thomas Sowell
What really caused the mortgage mess?  Nothing inherent in the capitalist system.

Those whom the establishment media refers to as  political "liberals" and "progressives" are really welfare-state fascists and socialists who want to impose their schemes on the rest of society and spend other peoples' money and run other peoples' lives.  The Nancy Pelosis, the Ted Kennedys, the Harry Reids, the Barrack Obamas, the Rahm Emanuels.  But, under the original American Republic people believed that peaceful adult citizens have a right to run their own lives, spend their own money, and pursue their own private plans and dreams -- and that government has no legitimate role in trying to impose any central plan on everybody or in redistributing wealth from those who have earned it.

Those whom the establishment media and the Obamacrats call "right-wing extremists" are those Americans who. like the founding fathers, favor a constitutional government of limited scope, controls on federal spending, lower taxes, much fewer regulations over our lives and business enterprises, freedom for domestic oil, coal, and nuclear energy, and a pro-American foreign policy.  The Obamacrats make it very clear that if Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine, and John Adams were here today, they would be classified as right-wing extremists and considered subversive to the current regime.
 

We're in good company!

Confirmed:  The Obama DHS hit job on conservatives is real
by Michelle Malkin

Tax Day Tea Parties Prepare for Leftist Media Smear Campaign

How the tea parties could change American politics.

U.S. Navy Rescues Hostage from Somali Pirates
But Americans expect to be increasingly targeted now that Obama is President.

APRIL 13, 2009

REPEATING THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST

This is a cartoon from the 1934 Chicago Tribune.

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What real economic recovery would require -- and why the Obama "stimulus package" will not succeed but in fact makes things much worse

Environmentalism's Malaria Holocaust The suffering and death of millions of children are on the bloody hands of the green fascists.
by Dr. George Reisman, Pepperdine University.

The dignity and prestige of the office of U.S. President continues to be undermined by the new chief executive.  Although the White House spinmeisters are denying it was an actual bow, it certainly looks as if President Obama briefly bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia.  You be the judge by watching the video.

Overall, the president's lavish tour of Europe, which failed to net any substantial gains for the U.S., has to be ranked as one of the most embarrassing series of presidential events for the United States since the scandals of the Clinton administration.  Obama is being made fun of not only in the Turkish media, but also by many others in Europe and even by some outlets which would ordinarily be his political allies.

In England his tacky wife did not know any better than to put her arm around the Queen, violating protocol.  (Can you just imagine the enormous uproar and stink the media would have stirred up if Sarah Palin had done this?)

Congressman Paul Ryan presents Republican alternative to Obama's unprecedented red-ink-forever spendathon
What is needed to stop the advance of socialism is to freeze federal spending and then start abolishing whole agencies and departments to roll back fedgov to something closer to its legitimate functions.  We cannot reasonably expect to reverse over night several decades of the growth of Big Government and its multitude of political interventions which have distorted our nation's economy.  This plan at least would be an initial step in the right direction IF the Republicans could get some cooperation from their Democrat colleagues to pass this proposal instead of the Pelosi/Reid/Obama monstrosity.  The Democrat politicians need to put forth a more bipartisan spirit of cooperation to get this alternative budget passed..

The GOP's Alternative Budget — It’s Like George Washington vs. Che Guevara -- Peter Ferrara
A brief comparison with the Obamacrat spending-and-tax scheme.

Gingrich Warns GOP to Shape Up and Return to Principles or conservative third-party efforts might siphon enough votes away to help re-elect Dems in 2012.

MEP Hannan Rebukes PM Gordon Brown to His Face
We need some Republicans like him to do the same to the Democrat crooks in control.

War of the Words -- IBD
Under President Obama's new Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano the word "terrorism" is to be replaced with the phrase "man-caused disaster" and the war on terror will now be called "overseas contingency operation."  But reality does not go away or change by renaming it no matter what words are used.  This is part of a long political tradition, especially among Democrats, of playing word games -- such as calling their massive expenditures of taxpayers' money "investments" instead of grand legal robbery.

Obama’s Remarkable 9/11 Blindspot -- John Ziegler reacts to Command-in-Chief Obama's incredible doubletalk, hypocrisy, and ignorance about terrorism and the facts about the attacks of 9/11/01.

Obama was totally wrong about what happened to those who committed the 1993 WTC bombing-- but, of course, he was never called on this by the DNC's kept news media.  Here is a short excerpt from Blocking The Path to 911 which exposed Democrat Party censorship of one of the most important documentaries since 9/11/2001.

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American Tea Party Anthem 2009

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 There was a Pied Piper who said, "We live in the greatest country in the world.  Help me change it!"
And the people said, "Change is good!"

Then he said, "We are going to tax the rich fat-cats,"  And the people said "Sock it to them!"

"-- and redistribute their wealth."
And the people said, "Show me the money!"

And then he said, "Redistribution of wealth is good for everybody."
And Joe the plumber said, "Are you kidding me?"

And Joe's personal records were hacked and publicized.
And one lone reporter asked, "Isn't that Marxist policy?"

And she was banished from the kingdom!
Then someone asked, "With no foreign relations experience, how will you deal with radical terrorists?"

And the Pied Piper said, "Simple.  I'll sit down and talk with them and show them how nice we really are and they'll forget that they ever wanted to kill us all!"

Then the Pied Piper said, "I'll give 95% of you lower taxes."
And one lone voice said, "But 40% of us don't pay ANY taxes."

So the Pied Piper said, "Then I'll give you some of the taxes the fat-cats pay!"
And the people said, "Show me the money!"

Then the Pied Piper said, "I'll tax your capital gains when you sell your homes!"
And the people yawned and the already slumping housing market collapsed further.

And he said, "I'll mandate employer-funded health care for EVERY worker and raise the minimum wage."
And the people said, "Gim'me some of that!"

Then he said, "I'll penalize employers who ship jobs overseas."
And the people said, "Where's my rebate check?"

Then the Pied Piper actually said, "I'll bankrupt the coal industry and electricity rates will skyrocket!"
And the people said, "Coal is dirty!  Coal is evil  No more coal!  But we don't care for that part about higher electric rates."

So the Pied Piper said, "Not to worry.  If your rebate isn't enough to cover your expenses, we'll bail you out.  Just sign up with ACORN and your troubles are over!"  Then he said, "Illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted.  Let's grant them amnesty, Social Security, free education, free lunches, free medical care, bi-lingual signs and guaranteed housing."
And the people said, "Olé! Bravo!"  And they made him King!

And so it came to pass that employers, facing spiraling costs and ever-higher taxes, raised their prices and laid off workers.  Others simply gave up and went out of business and the economy slowed even further.  Then the Pied Piper said, "I am the Messiah and I'm here to save you!  We'll just print more money so everyone will have enough!"  But our foreign trading partners said, "Wait a minute.  Your dollar isn't worth what it was.  You'll have to pay more."
And the people said, "Wait a minute. That's not fair!"

And the world said, "Neither are these other, idiotic programs you've embraced.  You've become a Socialist state and a second-rate power.  Now you'll play by our rules!"
And the people said, "What have we done?"

But it was too late.
If you think this is a fairy tale, open your eyes and ears. It's happening RIGHT NOW!
Did you know the president's name is really an acronym.

One Big Astounding Mistake, America!

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Kathleen Stewart sings "It Ain't Your Money to Spend!" -- a message to the politicians in the District of Corruption

As I tried to point out years ago, I intend one day to write a book or at least an essay titled None Dare Call it Bullshit.

I do believe in the existence of political conspiracies, of course, but I have seen over the decades how "conspiracy theory" can be abused and how some good folks on the constitutionalist Right can be misled and distracted by false conspiracy theories and dysinformation originating from the Left.  Preoccupation with "conspiracy" can be a neutralizing factor as far as effective activism against the ultrastatist agenda of the Left is concerned.  Those who place their guesswork about "the conspiracy" above keeping their eyes on the real "eight ball" of ideology (sound principles) can easily be misled into populistic or other left-wing dead ends or even suckered into supporting a left-wing agenda which actually serves the conspiratorial aims they believe they are opposing.  One of the problems of those of us on the pro-freedom Right has been that the Left has made inroads with populist propaganda and phony conspiracy tales to confuse and mislead those who would otherwise be more consistent in opposing the left-wing agenda.  One of these days I will elaborate.  Until then, an excellent book that exposes many examples of the way the Left-"Liberal" Establishment practices precisely the kinds of tactics that they routinely accuse conservatives of committing is the latest best seller by Ann Coulter:  Guilty.  The hyperhypocrisy of the partisan establishment news media is particularly revealed.  I recommend the book highly as well as the author's regular columns.

MARCH 9. 2009

Milton Friedman versus "liberal" fascist Phil Donahue:  A Blast from the Past if capitalism is based on selfishness, is socialism based on envy?

Capialism.net:  The Intellectual Voice of Capitalism on the Internet -- personally created by Dr. George Reisman

The Capitalism Issues Site

"You're a smart guy, Mr. President.  You've debated the best. You are one of the most gifted public speakers of our age.  I would think you would jump at this opportunity. I'm offering the biggest audience in radio to a Democrat who happens to be President of the United States for fairness and balance -- all without needing the Fairness Doctrine or government mandates."  -Rush Limbaugh

Rush to Obama:  Debate Me

Rush's nationally televised CPAC speech!

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Rush's Advice to new RNC Head Michael Steele

All of the Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against the colossal porkulus package pushed so hard by the Obamacrats and their media shills.  I salute them.  The House Republicans, being in the minority, did not have enough votes to stop this unprecedented attack on the American economy, but at least each and every one of the Republicans there stood firm against it.  Speaker Pelosi cannot credibly pretend this to be a bipartisan measure.  The Repubs refused to give Pelosi and her Democrat cleptocrats any of the political cover they were looking for.  The House Republicans deserve popular approbation from their district constituents and indeed all Americans for their bold attempt to stop this destructive nonsense.

The U.S. Senate, traditionally the weaker sister of the two legislative houses, passed its version of the massive Democrat payoff package by a slim margin of 61 to 37.  All Senate Republicans voted against the unprecedented monstrosity except for three RINO (Republicans In Name Only) quislings -- Arlen Specter (RINO -- Pennsylvania), Olympia Snowe (RINO - Maine) and Susan Collins (RINO - Maine) -- who have a history of caving to their Democrat colleagues instead of standing on principle and defending the rights of the American people.  The bill could have been stopped in the Senate had Specter, Snowe, and Collins not voted with the Democrats. These three should hear sharp protests from the American people, while the real Republicans in the Senate should receive praise and support for their stand against the Obama porkulus scheme.

Three RINOs Help Senate Dems Pass Porkulus Package
All other Senate Republicans voted against this monstrosity.

Obama's Failed and Tired Ideas From the Past -- American Spectator

but Republicans refuse to grant them political cover for this monstrosity.  Still think there's no difference between Republicans and Democrats?  Think again.  The battle now goes to the U.S. Senate.

VIDEO:  Sen. David Vitter Speaks Out Against the so-called "stimulus" bill and denounces Obama and the Democrats for seeking to channel billoins in political payoff money to their buddies in ACORN, under investigatoin for massive pro-Dem voter fraud and one of the key culprits in the banking and mortgage mess. Obama is planning to give $5.2 Billion dollars of "stimulus" money to the ACORN crooks!

JANUARY 23. 2009

Rush Limbaugh's third hour
Rush gives his reactoin to a controversial poll supposedly of GOP base.

Rush's first hour          Rush's second hour

Judge Obama on Performance Alone  -- Juan Williams
It is evident that far more people voted FOR Obama because of "skin color" than who voted against him for that reason.

"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiently or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else."

~Theodore Roosevelt

Who Elected Obama? -- Mark Alexander

CNN Exit Poll Analysis for 2008 Presidential Election
While one must be careful in drawing conclusions from exit polls, and there are good reasons to be suspicious of the accuracy of exit polls in general and CNN's in particular, they can still give us a general bird's eye view of who voted for whom.   It looks as if those ethnic groups which have long been targets of leftist propaganda efforts showed the most dramatic percentages.  According to national exit polls, Obama received 77% of the votes cast by Jewish voters and 95% of the votes of Negro voters. But most in these groups had long ago sold their souls out to the Democrat Party and these numbers should come as no major surpirse.

VIDEO:  Economist Dan Mitchell on Keynesian fiscal policy and the attempt to "stimulate the economy" by massive government spending -- a clear explanation and refutation

The Real Reason NBC and the Democrats Want to Ban Ann

Government Regulaitons Instill a False Sense of Security  -- John Stossel
He's right, of course.  He cites the Madoff con job as an example.

Outgoing President Bush Admits "I chucked aside my free-market principles"
Caving in to the Bailoutocrats was a major mistake.

Atlas Shrugged After 52 Years -- Wall Street Journal
There are two categories of people in the Universe:  those who have read Atlas Shrugged and those who have not.

Media Malpractice:  Excerpts from John Ziegler's video interview with Gov. Sarah Palin on Media Bigotry in the 2008 Election Campaign

Franken's Funny Business Exposed -- Morris & McGann

On the last day of the year 2008 plain-speaking George Mason University economist Walter E. Williams, beloved by millions of Americans, again guest hosted for Rush Limbaugh on his award-winning nationally syndicated radio talk show (heard weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to noon Pacific Time).  Whenever Dr. Williams does so, tens of millions of listeners are exposed to this scholarly man's patient refutations of the fallacies of socialism and "liberalism" and his clear explanations and cogent defenses of individual liberty, market economics, and constitutional government of limited scope.   When Professor Williams is on the air, it is the premier pro-freedom media event of the year.  Nothing else comes close.  Walter Williams is the real deal, folks.  We thank Rush Limbaugh, who is deservedly Numero Uno in talk radio, for making this possible.

The Official Walter E. Williams Website

Republican National Committee draft resolution to censure President Bush for embracing socialist policies -- Washington Times
I say good for them!

Republican Party officials say they will
try in January to pass a resolution
accusing President George Bush
of embracing socialistic policies.

*   *   *

Barack, The Magic Negro?  Do Democrats believe in magic?  Is Obama really magic?
Even though Barack Obama is of mixed race, liberal Democrat writer David Ehrenstein, an African-American gay activist, called him the "Magic Negro" in the Los Angeles Times  and a parody song based on that Times nickname has become controversial in some circles.  Judge for yourself by listening to the "Magic Negro" song.

Scientist Fired by Gore Calls Warming Fears ‘Mistaken’
Another scientist dares to point out that emperor Albert has no clothes.  How many gullible people still believe in Gore's global warming folly?

Arrogant Conceit-- John Stossel
Ignoring the lessons of both history and economics, the Obamacrats will make things worse, not better.

DECEMBER 18. 2008

Greed, Gullibility, and Group Identity Syndrome Contribute to Global $50-Billion Affinity Scam
Lessons:  Avoid stupid greed, Ponzi schemes, and belief in ethnoreligious identities or tribalism as a basis for trust and confidence.

Rahm Emanuel Caught Talking to "Blago" 21 Times about Obama's Senate Seat Replacement -- Chicago Sun-Times
It looks like the Obama regime will rival Clinton-Gore as the most corrupt administration since FDR.

The Black Hand:  New Book Exposes Wide Influence of Mexican Mafia

News Video:  Anti-Bush Reporter Throws Shoe at President, Misses

Growing Grassroots Resistance Says "No!" to Obama Agenda

A Real Hero: Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus
A man who lived through the tyranny of Soviet Communism speaks out against the latest threat to our freedom.

This is really nothing new, but just seems more obvious in the 2008 presidential election.  Sooner or later the more ignorant majority was bound to prevail.  Those who voted for Obama were found to know nothing about his associations or background and what little they knew about McCain and Palin were almost exclusively DNC talking points and media propaganda from Saturday Night Live.

How Obama Got Elected
Watch the video!

Republicans Successfully Block Bailout for Auto Makers/UAW
Using the filibuster in a right way.  Congressional Republicans have been in open revolt against Bush and Paulson over bailouts.  Good for them!

Five Short Economics Lessons For the Age of Obama -- John Hawkins

Big Three Auto Makers Hand Keys over to Government -- Don Lambro

Stop ACORN

Neal Boortz Reiterates his Book Recommendations for Veterans Day:
    The Law by Frederic Bastiat
    Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
    Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell\
    Economic Facts and Fallacies by Thomas Sowell

More Book and Audio Recommendations

Obama's Phony Selective Service Registration

Inside a U.S. hostage rescue mission -- U.S. Army Times
Since the New York Times has "spilled the beans" on such covert rescue ops, shouldn't people be told of the success stories?  The Army thinks so!  Now it can be told.

Red Hot Lies:  How Global Warming Alarmists Use Threats, Fraud, and Deception to Keep You Misinformed by Christopher Horner

More Evidence Pours in that Albert Gore is Wrong about Global Warming

Obama to Expand the Bush-Democrat Mega-Bailout Folly
Good money after bad.

Georgia Congressman Warns of Obama Dictatorship

NOVEMBER 10. 2008

Liberal Censorship and its Roots -- David Limbaugh

Mortgage Crisis Culprits Chosen by Obama for his Regime
Instead of being sent to prison, the corrupt CEOs of Fannie Mae, Jamie Gorelick and Rahm Emanual, are being rewarded by Obama..  A Cabinet of crooks?

Loose Lips & Treasonous Leaks:  The New York Times Again Undermines the War on Terror by Aiding the Enemy
Where are the indictments?

Franken Trying To Steal Senate Seat Election in Minnesota
Nasty, bitter leftist is sore loser and will cheat if he can get away with it.

NOVEMBER 6. 2008

Tuesday evening was a sad night for America (at least for the 56 million people who did not vote for Barack Obama), a very bad setback politically in which the party/faction most responsible for undermining those values and principles which once made America a great nation stacked up many electoral wins, not only in the presidential campaign, but also in both the House and Senate, adding to their already-existing majorities in Congress.  There is no sugar coating of this:  This bodes bad for America's future.

Obama cult followers are ecstatic in the wave of media euphoria pouring down in the wake of the election.  I have been mentally prepared for this for a long time.  Considering how close the last two presidential elections were, I was not at all surprised that the Dems won this time around.

The U.S. economy, historically at least, provided more opportunities for more people than any other system in the history of the world because it approached (but never achieved in full measure) laissez-faire capitalism.  It was the most moral and efficient economic system in human history.  To the extent that it still exists, it is capitalism -- the system of private ownership and the freedom to save, invest, market, and trade -- which made American economic advances possible.  And it is capitalism -- to the extent it is still allowed to exist -- that is the powerhouse behind America's military strength and national security.  To the extent that that system has been undermined by taxes, regulations, controls, judicial restrictions, and the ever-increasing burdens of government spending programs, to that extent America's national health and success have been increasingly undermined and are at risk of being destroyed.

As a result of the election of Barrack Obama as President and the clear majorities controlled by the Democrat Party in Congress, we can expect several deleterious consequences over the next several months and years.  We can expect the new regime to do as much as it can to consolidate its power and try to prevent losing it ever again.  I expect the Senate will propose new legislation for federal government censorship of talk radio programs with which it disagrees.  Anyone in talk radio who dares to voice disagreement with the Obama regime will be attacked as "racist" or "reactionary" and steps will be taken by the new government to drive them off the air.

The U.S. economy, already burdened by financial crises brought on by previous programs of government meddling, could become stagnated into a long-lasting depression under the new Democrat power monopoly in Washington.  These politicians are like four-year-old kids playing with matches in a room full of dynamite sticks.  Of course the partisan "news" media networks will help the Democrats blame any problems on the other party and the supposed demon of free enterprise -- even though America has been taken a very long way from its free-market roots.  Like the communists, American Democrats, both in and out of the media, are brilliant propagandists and always accuse their opponents of what they themselves are guilty of.

In foreign affairs, we can expect appeasement and concessions to America's enemies and potential military adversaries -- from Russia's Putin to Red Beijing to the ayatollahs of Iran.  Because of Obama's perceived weakness and inexperience, he will be "tested" by a revival of Russian socialist imperialism in Georgia and the Ukraine.  Also, mainland China, still under communist control, will continue its massive military buildup, and take an increasingly adversarial stance with respect to the United States.  To prove to the world that he is tough after all, Obama may overreact during a military crisis and wind up making it much worse than otherwise.  America will move closer to war under Obama while the relative freedom achieved over the past two decades in some parts of the world will begin to slip away once more as socialist imperialism renews its deadly march.

Depending on whether Obama is a one-term or two-term President, he will have opportunities to appoint the most left-leaning (ultra-statist) judges to the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court.  The salutary appointments made by President Bush of Roberts and Alito cannot be reversed, but Obama will try to create a permanent Democrat majority on the high court and continue the Clinton administration's practice of packing the federal judiciary with partisan Democrats.

What should freedom-loving Americans do?  Resistance!  This is not the time for cooperation and conciliation.  This is the time to continue to build resistance to these advances in socialist tyranny.  Now, more than ever. I predict that secessionist movements may see a revival in Texas, Alaska, and elsewhere.  Those who support the Ninth and Tenth Amendments in the U.S. Bill of Rights must work to restore their legal force.  And our Second Amendment rights as armed citizens must be preserved at all costs, else none of our other rights will be secure.

If the Republican Party is to become a viable vehicle to retake America, its leadership must change and it must be better prepared to wage ideological battles with its political adversaries in the Democrat Party, a party that has moved further and further in the direction of the totalitarian left in recent decades, so much so that the Communist Party no longer runs candidates for President.  Given the way the political system works in the U.S., third party efforts are doomed to fail on the national level.  What is needed is not a third party but rather a new second party.  Before we can take back America, we must first take back the Republican Party which all too often has included politicians guilty of ideological "me-tooism" and collusion with the Democrats.  What America needs is a choice, not an echo. Republicans must learn that trying to out-promise and out-spend the Democrats is futile and is politically counterproductive.  A better job must be done in counteracting left-wing propaganda which has been all too successful in misleading and confusing many good Americans and even in exploiting divisions within the population and within the conservative movement.

If 9/11/01 was America's wake-up call about terrorism, 11/04/08 was a final political wake-up call for many Americans who have been complacent and out of touch with what has been going on for the past several decades in the struggles for power in the national political arena.  If nothing else, at least one good thing came from this presidential campaign:  the national news services (with the possible exception of Fox News) were so blatantly obvious in their pro-Democrat anti-GOP partisan bigotry in their coverage that only morons who were not paying attention could fail to notice, if they had not figured it out before now.  With its credibility shattered (at least among intellectually honest thinking people), the leading wire services, TV networks, big newspapers, and national slick magazines (especially Time, Newsweek, U.S,. News) showed themselves to be unofficial spokespersons for the DNC.  If American patriots and conservatives are ever going to recapture their country and get Big Government under any kind of control or limitation, talented conservatives and libertarians must get into the news media and in academia.  Americans must find alternative venues for news and analysis -- and reject the superficial "liberal" talking points offered up as conventional wisdom by the television networks and other organs of the drive-by media.

The U.S. will survive the Democrat Party tantrum of 2008 -- but only if enough good people take action over the next few years to reverse statist encroachments on our liberties.  Get informed and inform others -- and stop watching network television!  Those on the pro-freedom Right must cooperate as never before against the common enemy of Obama's Evil Establishment.  Conservatives must recapture control of the leadership of the Republican Party away from the "moderates" who have betrayed the base.  To that end I offer the following observations and suggestions:

1. Electoral pacifism -- staying home on election day -- only leaves the field to those who choose to vote. If all the good people -- conservatives and libertarians and patriots -- took that position and stayed home on the grounds that voting is a dirty business, all that would accomplish would be to relinquish the political arena to our enemies and make it easy for them to take over. It is sort of like being locked in a room with a madman and there is a gun on the floor between you and him, and you elect to allow him to get the gun and shoot you with it because of your abhorrence of guns. Voting against bad propositions or bad candidates is a righteous act of self defense and pacifism/passivism only encourages the worst power lusters to gain control; it does not discourage the use of organized violence (contrary to what some misguided "anarchists" may believe).

2. Third party efforts on the national level appear to be futile -- given the way our electoral system operates today and the news media refusal to cover small-party candidates for national office while focusing on only the major candidates. At most, in a very close election between the two major parties, a third party candidate could conceivably divert enough votes away from one of the major candidates and thereby allow the other major candidate to win. What we need is not a third party but a new second party which can provide a true choice in distinction to the socialist/welfare statist party of the "Democrats" and their partisan allies in the media.

3. Do not be naive about the Democrat Party agenda. It is fascism and they will move to consolidate their power and try to make it impossible for them to lose national power ever again in the future. They will demonize anyone whom they spot as a potential opposition leader, as they have been doing already for a long time. This smear campaign will be ramped up now more than ever. They will try to enact national censorship legislation to quash anyone who disagrees with their policies or agenda. They will target talk radio and try to force off the air anyone who dares to voice criticism of their programs and plans. They have long targeted Rush Limbaugh with their politics of personal destruction. I predict that will escalate even beyond their previous efforts. The Democrats will try to reinterpret talk radio -- broadcast speech -- as "pornography" as a pretext for banning views which they dislike. This must be opposed on all levels.

4. Reality is not on the side of Obama and the Democrats. After he takes office as President, Obama will finally have to start making some tough decisions about what to do on several problematic fronts. He can no longer hide behind glittering generalities or nice sounding rhetoric. We know that the "solutions" he has advocated during his campaign -- to the extent he could be pinned down in terms of specific policies -- have been tried and failed in the past in other countries. Socialized health care and redistribution schemes do not enhance a nation's wealth or well being. Will President Obama really risk destroying the U.S. economy in the name of fighting Albert Gore's "global warming"? Will he really sit down with terrorists and terrorist-sponsoring regimes? If he does some of the things that he has suggested, his popularity will fall as low or lower than that of the current President as Obama's dreamy nostrums will be revealed as the nonsolutions they surely are. Conservatives, libertarians, constitutionalists, and patriots must articulately explain to their fellow Americans why the Obama policies are failing and offer the pro-freedom alternative to those failed socialistic policies.

*   *   *

Related Articles

NO REALIGNMENT -- Robert Novak
No mandate for Obama, no lopsided Congress

NEVER GIVE IN -- Jerry Bowyer

Media Bias in Electoin 2008

Propaganda Redux-- ION MIHAI PACEPA
High-ranking Soviet defector recounts successful dysinformatoin strategy

The Reign of Lame Falls Mainly on McCain -- Ann Coulter
Ann wanted more of a choice, not an echo.  What a concept!

NOW IS THE TIME -- Rich Galen
"Yes we can!  The reestablishment of principled conservative opposition begins today. McCain did everything the Wizards of Smart on our side told him to do, and he failed. Moderate Republicanism lost. Conservatism didn't." -- Rush Limbaugh

Voter registration drives have been ubiquitous this election cycle. These efforts, however, could have a pernicious effect on the country and Americans’ understanding of the duties of citizenship.

Consider the ‘Rock the Vote’ campaign. Begun in 1992, Rock the Vote “uses music, popular culture and new technologies to engage and incite young people to register and vote in every election.” If you visit the Rock the Vote website, DJ Diplo will e-mail you a copy of your state’s voter registration form. Bloggers rave about Diplo’s work at registration events, noting that his music is so loud that groupies “can still feel the dull throb of the speakers blasting full force” 24 hours later.

Not to be outdone by Diplo, Bothervoting.org offers prospective voters maps to the polling places and runs an aggressive advertising campaign. One of the ads features a blond bombshell salaciously whispering “I just can’t picture myself sleeping with a non-voter.” Not only can you help solve the country’s problems by voting, you might get lucky too.

With all the commotion about voter registration, one would think that barriers to registration abound. This is not the case. Since 1995, state governments have been required to provide uniform registration services through drivers’ license registration centers and government offices offering public assistance benefits. The states also must permit citizens to register using mail-in forms. Or they can choose the old fashioned way and go to the local voter registration office to fill out the necessary paperwork.

Participation in local, state, and national elections is not something Americans should take lightly. In our system of government, the people are recognized as the ultimate sovereigns and exercise their power in special conventions (such as the conventions that ratified the Constitution) or during elections when they vote for representatives, and, in some states, for various ballot initiatives. In 1776, the General Court of Massachusetts summed up popular sovereignty as follows: “It is a maxim, that, in every government, there must exist, somewhere, a supreme, sovereign, absolute, and uncontrollable power; But this power resides, always in the body of the people, and it never was, or can be delegated, to one man, or a few.” Thus, elections should be viewed as bulwarks of our Republic.

But for elections to serve this lofty purpose, the people must be informed. In recognition of this, the First Amendment was added to the Constitution, in part, to ensure the free flow and availability of information regarding public concerns. Because an informed electorate is a prerequisite to an intelligent exercise of the franchise, the Founding Fathers, in the words of James Madison, viewed the dissemination of information as “the only effectual guardian of every other right.” An ignorant public exercising the franchise was seen as inimical to a free society.

Today’s mass voter drives stand this notion on its head. Because it is already so easy to register without the aid of Rock the Vote or Bothervoting.org, one must wonder what sort of person the mass voter-registration drives are reaching. Obviously not people who take their citizenship seriously enough to register without the assistance of DJ Diplo or the enticement of a “party-on” atmosphere.

Although the First Amendment is still in place and information is readily available, an intellectual laziness has crept into much of society. Recent polls show that when asked to name two of Snow White’s Seven Dwarfs and two of the nine U.S. Supreme Court Justices, 77 percent of those polled were able to identify two dwarfs, while only 24 percent could name two Supreme Court Justices. Regarding the basic structure of our government, only 42 percent of Americans could name the three branches, whereas 73 percent could name all of the Three Stooges.

If Rock the Vote and Bothervoting really wanted to contribute to solving the problems facing our country, they would focus less on numbers and more on knowledge.

An ignorant voter is more dangerous to the Republic than a non-voter. Unfortunately, the registration movement teaches citizens that an uneducated vote is better than no vote at all. Such a lesson is pernicious and could have lasting effects on the electorate.

[Note: Following are excerpts from this edition of The Ayn Rand Letter, written in the summer of 1972 when George McGovern was running for president on the most extreme liberal agenda ever mounted by a Democrat since FDR… some of the points raised by Ms. Rand are especially relevant in today’s Presidential campaign]

… Mr. McGovern announced that he proposes a “redistribution of wealth.” That term has been bandied about for some time by the intellectual Establishment, as a dreamily sloppy metaphor. Mr. McGovern adopted it as an explicit political program.

If a man proposes to redistribute wealth, he means explicitly and necessarily that the wealth is his to distribute. If he proposes it in the name of the government, then the wealth belongs to the government; if in the name of society, then it belongs to society. No one, to my knowledge, did or could define a difference between that proposal and the basic principle of communism. It might be said, perhaps, that communism is more practical and less cruel, at least in theory: a communist government takes over an entire economy and forbids men to act, but assumes the responsibility of providing for their livelihood. Mr. McGovern’s proposal is closer to the theory of fascism: it leaves to individual men the responsibility to production and of struggling for existence, but lets the government assume the power to dispose of anything they produce.

No one, to my knowledge, has asked the only relevant question: By what right? [emphasis added]

This proposal is not aimed at the very rich, because it would not expropriate what one owns already, but only what one earns…. The McGovern plan would stop everyone on whatever level he has happened to reach and forbid him to rise. It would freeze the nation into economic castes and destroy one of the country’s best features, the hallmark of economic freedom: upward mobility…

It is against this class – and its symbol: the self-made man – that the McGovern proposal is directed…

The Democratic Party has gone past the middle and reached the dead end of the welfare-state road, which it has spent forty years denying: expropriation and confiscation.

*   *  *

Let Them Fail
By Amit Ghate

Everywhere today politicians are blaring that they must save America’s financial institutions, alleging catastrophic risk to the economy were any to fail. Paulson and the entire Bush administration, in a discernible panic, are now pouring $700 billion into the big banks, having already bailed out AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Bear Stearns to the tune of $300 billion.

Capitalism doesn’t work, they declare, but fortunately the government is here to rescue us.

Sadly, they have it all backwards. The credit crisis is just more evidence that whenever the government supplants the free market and attempts to “manage,” i.e., control, the economy--disaster ensues.

Overlooked here is that in a free market business failures are not just normal, they’re crucial for the best products and ideas to emerge. Most restaurants fail in their first three years because customers have other preferences. Many mom-and-pop grocers go out of business because Walmart offers better selection and lower prices. Even whole industries--think typewriters, 8-tracks and horses and buggies--vanish because new inventions and competitors arise.

None of these failures are a problem, nor do they threaten the system. On the contrary, they are an inherent part of the progress which only capitalism makes possible.

So why would failures in the financial industry be any different?

Typically, the answer given is also the one used to rationalize the creation of the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the FSLIC and any number of other government agencies and regulations intended to “manage” the banking system: financial firms carry systemic risks for the nation’s economy and therefore can’t be allowed to fail. As evidence, bank failures from 1870 to 1913 (pre-Fed) are cited, followed by the assertion that their number was simply “unacceptable.”

But every business forms part of the economic system and thus has “systemic” impact. If Microsoft were to fail, thousands of suppliers, customers, and workers would be affected, as would their customers, suppliers, workers, etc. Yet this would be no reason to bail them out. We know that new businesses would arise to fill the void, better for having learned from Microsoft’s mistakes.

And as a historical fact, the U.S. economy during the period 1870 to 1913 grew significantly faster than it did after the Fed was established. True, there were many bank failures in this period, but there were also many business failures in general: banks were actually less likely to fail than were other businesses. The number of bank failures speaks to the dynamism of the period, not to anything fragile in the financial system. Precisely because market mechanisms were permitted to work, depositors, creditors and counterparties all kept a close eye on banks, monitoring leverage and withdrawing funds at the first sign of problems.

When the free market functions--and failure is allowed--people become viscerally aware of risk, with the result that they voluntarily assume less of it.

Conversely, when the government tries to “manage” the economy--when the consequences of risky behavior are shifted from self-interested actors to taxpayers, as was done by the creation of the Fed and its various insurance programs, or when weak financial firms are propped up rather than being allowed to fail--people take on risks they would not otherwise. Banks are less careful, depositors no longer evaluate their institutions, and risks are concealed and amplified until they become catastrophic.

So pre-Fed we had runs on banks, some undoubtedly severe--but with the Fed we’ve had the Great Depression, the S&L meltdown and now perhaps the greatest worldwide credit crisis ever.

An analogy may be helpful here. Historically certain types of forests naturally experienced frequent, but small, wildfires. Because their frequency kept deadwood at a minimum, the fires never grew into large conflagrations. However, when government forestry services instituted fire suppression policies, they eliminated most small fires, but caused deadwood and other fuel to accumulate. When at last a fire came that could not be suppressed, it grew into a devastating inferno.

Learning from their errors, forestry services have abandoned fire suppression policies.

It’s time for our government to do likewise. First, by immediately abandoning its bailout binge, and then by phasing out all of the economic controls by which it attempts to “manage” the financial system--from the FDIC to the Federal Reserve itself. Nothing less can reestablish the freedom essential for a sound and vibrant economy.

Amit Ghate is a guest writer for the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. The Ayn Rand Center is a division of the Ayn Rand Institute and promotes the philosophy of Ayn Rand, author of “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead.”

*      *      *
U.S. Deaths in Iraq Plunge to Wartime Low
[It's more dangerous to live in Chicago!]
Friday, October 31, 2008 4:30 PM

BAGHDAD -- U.S. deaths in Iraq fell in October to their lowest monthly level of the war, matching the record low of 13 fatalities suffered in July. Iraqi deaths fell to their lowest monthly levels of the year.   Eight of the 13 Americans died in combat, most of them in northern Iraq where al-Qaida and other Sunni insurgent groups remain active. The U.S. military suffered 25 deaths in September and 23 in August.

The sharp drop in American fatalities reflects the overall security improvements across the country following the Sunni revolt against al-Qaida and the rout suffered by Shiite extremists in fighting last spring in Basra and Baghdad.

But the decline also points to a shift in tactics by extremist groups, which U.S. commanders say are now focusing their attacks on Iraqi soldiers and police that are doing much of the fighting.

Iraqi government figures showed at least 364 Iraqis killed in October _ including police, soldiers, civilians and militants.

Balance of article at:
http://newsmax.com/international/ml_iraq/2008/10/31/146436.html

Pro-Obama ACORN gang members tied to election crimes

Wackonomics -- Dr,. Walter E. Williams
A great economist challenges some common assumptions about the way things work.

I strongly oppose the superficially "libertarian" positions expressed in the media against California Proposition 8 which would ban same-sex marriage; and although I am in favor of Prop 8, I am nevertheless disappointed and unpersuaded by the conservative and religious arguments for it.

The conventional libertarian argument against ballot initiatives and laws which ban same-sex marriage is that the state should not have anything to do with sanctioning marriage in the first place.  However, this would lead to an expansionist libertinism where politicians would be continually seeking new constituencies to provide sanction for marriage, not limited government libertarianism. To resolve this problem a bright line first needs to be drawn between what is expansionist versus limited government with regard to marriage.

The arguments in favor of California Prop 8 are overly defensive, conjectural, seemingly discriminatory and wrongly moralistic. Concern over a speculative future harm to children as the weakest members of society will not likely overcome the perception of actual discrimination against gays today in the eyes of much of the liberal public.

Conversely, the arguments against Prop 8 on the basis of injustice and unfairness and the unhappiness and social stigma inflicted on gays by denying them the sanction of marriage equally miss the mark.  The social status of gay couples is no different than that of anyone else who lives in an unmarried status, including widows.

The utopian notion that progressive “change” will overcome the “centuries long struggle for civil rights” for gays is historically myopic. The past Progressive reforms of busing in our public schools (“white flight”) and recent reform of affordable housing credit as a civil right (“sub-prime” loan foreclosures and investor wipe-outs) are tragic cases of the unintended consequences of the misguided quest for “civil rights.”

The word “marriage” comes from the Latin word “mater” for mother. And “mater” is what matters in marriage. Marriage is unavoidably built around female sexuality and procreation. Marriage can only concern a relationship to a woman for procreation. Marriage is the opposite of concubinage, which is an involuntary relationship with a man of higher status in a traditional society.

Civil libertarian and feminist philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote "over one's mind and over one's body the individual is sovereign."  A social order that doesn’t protect a woman from rape or incest or concubinage can’t give women freedom to control who the father(s) of their children are, or their own bodies, or even their own health. Marriage is the structure of this freedom of choice for women in a modern society.  Women’s freedom to control access to their body is what marriage is all about. Without that there is no legitimate societal basis for laws to protect marriage, including gay marriage.

Feminists are essentially right about marriage but not same-sex marriage. Defining marriage down to a mere contract between companions or non-procreative sex partners will only end up harming all women for if everyone can marry, no one needs to and it becomes meaningless. Women will ultimately suffer most. Gay marriage robs something that belongs exclusively to women. Man-woman marriage is not anti-gay, it is pro-feminine. Same sex marriage is anti-feminist.

Modern society has no legal basis to sanction same-sex marriage because there is no procreation, no need for protection and safety and no need to preserve freedom and choice for women.

Same-sex marriage is expansive, not limited government.  If we grant rights to one group - gays - we will find it politically impossible to deny marriage rights to others scripted with their own resumes of "victimization."

Traditional society is about fate; modern society about choice.  Modern marriage isn’t a conspiracy of patriarchs, straights, or the respectable capitalistic bourgeoisie class.  It is about the sovereignty and choice of individual women.

The only basis for government to sanction marriage is to preserve freedom for women not to elevate the status of a few famous elite gays. This transcends the politics and religion of Left and Right. Even though I am disappointed with the arguments of the proponents for Prop 8, I nonetheless urge you to Vote Yes on Prop 8 as the libertarian option.

Wayne Lusvardi is a Pasadena resident.

OCTOBER 22, 2008

The Myth that Laissez Faire Is Responsible
for Our Financial Crisis -- Dr. George Reisman

Was the Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis Caused by Lack of Regulations? -- William B. Conerly

Another "Deregulation" Myth:  A cautionary tale about financial rules that failed  -- WSJ

Hawaii ending universal child health care program -- Breitbart.com
The budget-busting scheme failed after only seven months.

Lessons from the Bailout -- Dr. Walter E. Williams

The Deregulation Mantra? -- John Stossel
Blame "deregulation"?  What "deregulation"?

The Betrayal of America  -- Edward Cline

Hugo Chavez calls Bush a "comrade" in socialism:  "Bush is to the left of me now!"
Whether mockery or not, Chavez is correct, unfortunately.

Karl Marx Wanted Poster

ACORN is an important issue now because of at least two reasons:  it was a significant factor in causing the current mortgage financial crisis, and it has been involved in massive voter registration fraud on behalf of their favorite presidential candidate (Barack Obama) and other Democrat politicians.  There is an election coming up soon in all 59 states (as Obama would put it) and the world is also currently reacting to the financial crisis triggered by the mortgage mess which ACORN helped to precipitate.  I can think of no more relevant an issue for the American people to be aware of  than ACORN, its history, nature, and connection to current events.  Crooked political oafs from corrupt ACORNs grow.

ACORN members have staged demonstrations in lobbies of banks and S&Ls, deliberately obstructing foot traffic and trying to intimidate customers from doing their business.  ACORN has had its people get in lines at banks and other lending institutions with jars of pennies just to hold up the line while the tellers count out the pennies and give them bills in exchange -- then they get back in the same line again to make change.  Over and over, continually, to slow and disrupt business until the bank or S&L capitulated by agreeing to make their demanded quota of low-income home loans on high-risk terms.  This kind of pressure coupled with the push during the Clinton Administration by Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd, Nancy Pelosi, et al for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make even more such high-risk, uneconomic loans to officially designated "minorities" and others were behind the bubble of bad loans which led to the current mortgage crisis.

It was coercion, both the coercion of government intervention in the housing market and also the coercion of criminal gangs like ACORN that led to the current Dodd-Frank mortgage mess.  Many of the same culprits are now involved in massive voter fraud in several states trying to fix the election in favor of the Democrat Party.  This is something that I think people should know about.

The "mainstream" media support Obama and are not likely to tell much if any of the truth about ACORN and its connection to the current presidential candidate.  Obama's website denies he worked for ACORN either as an attorney or as a trainer, but ACORN officials brag that he not only worked for ACORN as a lawyer but also was involved in their annual training sessions.  Here is a picture of Mr. Obama at just one of those ACORN training sessions:~SW

Barack Obama's Involvement with ACORN Unearthed, Missing Article Recovered

While Barack Obama's connection with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has not gone entirely unreported, it has not been fully explained. Most media background pieces simply note Obama's involvement in a 1995 lawsuit on behalf of ACORN. Obama's own website, as well as most major media, fail to reveal the full depth and extent of his relationship with the organization.

Attempts to hide evidence of Obama's involvement with ACORN have included wiping the web clean of potentially damaging articles that had appeared, and were previously publicly accessible. Unfortunately, those behind the attempted cover-up failed to realize that in today's day and age, nothing disappears forever. There also exists another layer of the web, the hidden web, which is full of information included in proprietary scholarly databases where these very same "missing" articles can be easily uncovered.

Obama's campaign website states:

Fact: Barack was never an ACORN trainer and never worked for ACORN in any other capacity.

Is that really a FACT, or just another lie? Let's take a look at a quote from a 2004 article - Case Study: Chicago- The Barack Obama Campaign - written by Toni Foulkes, a Chicago ACORN Leader, which was published in the journal Social Policy. Did we mention that Social Policy recently pulled this particular article from their website, while leaving links to all other articles up?

"Obama took the case, known as ACORN vs. Edgar (the name of the Republican governor at the time) and we won. Obama then went on to run a voter registration project with Project VOTE in 1992 that made it possible for Carol Moseley Braun to win the Senate that year. Project VOTE delivered 50,000 newly registered voters in that campaign (ACORN delivered about 5,000 of them).

Since then, we have invited Obama to our leadership training sessions to run the session on power every year, and, as a result, many of our newly developing leaders got to know him before he ever ran for office. Thus it was natural for many of us to be active volunteers in his first campaign for State Senate and then his failed bid for U.S. Congress in 1996. By the time he ran for U.S. Senate, we were old friends."

Not only does Foulkes boast of Obama's ACORN leadership training, but also makes it clear that Obama's post-law school organizing of "Project VOTE" in 1992 was undertaken in direct partnership with ACORN. The tie between Project VOTE and ACORN is also something that Obama and others have attempted to disprove in recent weeks as ACORN has come under fire for allegations of voter registration fraud.

As recently as March 2008, the Los Angeles Times also made reference to Barack Obama's involvement with ACORN:

"At the time, Talbot worked at the social action group ACORN and initially considered Obama a competitor. But she became so impressed with his work that she invited him to help train her staff." (LA Times, March 2, 2008)

All this information was easily pulled up with minimal time investment. It took less than thirty minutes to find, despite attempts by some to bury the truth. If I could find this with little effort, imagine what could be dug up with a serious, in-depth investigation. Scary, isn't it?

Nevertheless, Barack Obama's campaign website continues to lie and deny the truth about his involvement and association with ACORN. No matter how many times you say it, it does not make it true. The facts do not lie, Senator Obama. It's time to come clean and tell the truth, and it's time for the American people to demand it.

***Update: A person who left a comment on the story below (thank you) has notified us that the Obama website has changed. We have done a follow up story that can be read following this link Here is our follow up story:

http://www.Cleveland.com/node/7231 ***

OCTOBER 10, 2008

ACORN: A Clear and Present Danger
by Burt Prelutsky

As you may have noticed, left-wingers really hate to lose. That’s why, even eight years after the fact, they are still wringing their hands over the 2000 presidential election. They still insist that George W. Bush and the Republicans swiped it, even though several objective sources have since confirmed that, chads or no chads, Bush carried Florida, and that Sandra Day O’Connor, otherwise a heroine to leftists, was one of the Supreme Court justices who ruled against Al Gore, the candidate who couldn’t even carry his home state. Which is reason enough all of us should be forever grateful to the voters in Tennessee.

The idea that the Democrats have been crying “Foul!” for eight long years should appeal to everyone who appreciates irony. For it is those on the far left who have done everything in their power to corrupt the election process. One of their chief means of doing so has been through the activities of a group known as ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). With approximately 175,000 dues-paying members, they own TV stations, businesses and periodicals, and have offices stretching from Canada to Peru, with over 80 offices in the U.S.

To give you some idea how all-encompassing the group is, they have schools where the children of leftists are trained in class-consciousness; they run boot camps for training street activists; and, like Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition, they extort money from banks and other businesses by threatening racial violence and trumped-up civil rights charges. One can almost imagine Marx, Lenin and Stalin, shaking their heads in admiration and hoisting their glasses in toast.

Apparently, the members of ACORN have gained control of the New York City government, resulting in a rollback of welfare reform; the appointment of a politicized Civilian Review Board, empowered to prosecute police officers and ban racial and ethnic profiling in the city that experienced 9/11 firsthand; raise corporate taxes; and is attempting to prevent any corporation from fleeing the city without obtaining an “exit visa.” Even before Berkeley got around to having its own foreign policy, New York’s City Council, by a 31-17 vote, passed a resolution condemning the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

For several years, the leadership covered up the fact that Dale Rathke, the brother of Wade Rathke, who co-founded ACORN, had embezzled nearly a million dollars from the organization. Once the theft finally came to light, the excuse given for not informing the authorities was that those of us on the right would use it as an excuse to attack the group. That of course is an obvious lie. Those of us on the right have far better reasons than financial skullduggery to attack ACORN. In fact, I, for one, regard Dale Rathke as something of a folk hero. I say it was far better that he squandered his ill-gotten gains on wine, women and song, than that the group got to spend it subverting the democratic process.

These people, self-proclaimed defenders of freedom, liberty and the working man -- or, more often, non-working man -- devote most of their energy and resources to making sure that they fix elections in much the same way that crooked gamblers fix fights. During the 2004 election cycle, ACORN ran a “voter mobilization drive” that resulted in countless allegations of fraudulent voter registration, vote-rigging and vote-for-pay scams. One of their specialties was registering convicted felons. Attorney generals in many states filed charges against several members of the group, charges that included voter-intimidation, vandalism and the destruction of voter registration forms.

What I have not been able to figure out is why the leaders of the group have not been indicted under RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) for taking part in an ongoing criminal organization. The only logical reason that the feds have backed off is because of ACORN’s close ties to organized labor. Tragically, in 2008 America, it’s not only individuals who are easily intimidated, but the government itself.

It’s no surprise that Barack Obama is ACORN’s choice for the White House. ACORN, after all, was created by those who subscribed to Saul Alinsky’s left-wing belief that class warfare is the only war worth fighting and that in order to win it, the ends always justify the means. And however much the left has recently attempted to pass off “community organizer” as a Christ-like vocation, everyone in his right mind knows that these days it’s code for Communist activist.

To my way of thinking, as catastrophic as it would be if Sen. Obama were to wind up in the White House, it would be far worse if he were to be elected because he and his colleagues had stolen the election.

An acorn, as we all know, is a nut. ACORN, however, home to 175,000 nuts, are the seeds, not of mighty oaks, but of political stinkweed, and the sooner they’re eradicated, the better.

The Audacity of Socialism -- Investors Business Daily
An exploration of the record of Barack Obama

*   *   *
OCTOBER 9, 2008

 Lessons From the Bailout
More on the Dodd-Frank Mortgage Mess
by Walter E. Williams
Wednesday, October 08, 2008

In my more cynical moments, I think that we Americans deserve what we get from our politicians, many of whom can be generally described as nothing less than loathsome. You say, "Williams, that's a pretty heavy putdown." My question to you is how else would you describe these congressmen who are now blaming the financial mess on the failure of the free market? Starting with the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, that was given more teeth during the Clinton administration, Congress started intimidating banks and other financial institutions into making loans, so-called subprime loans, to high-risk homebuyers and businesses. The carrot offered was that these high-risk loans would be purchased by the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Anyone with an ounce of brains would have known that this was a prescription for disaster but there was a congressional chorus of denial.

Five years ago, Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) vouched for the "soundness" of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and said, "I do not see any possibility of serious financial losses to the treasury." In 2004 congressional hearings, where the Bush administration sought greater oversight over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said, "We do not have a crisis at Freddie Mac and particularly at Fannie Mae," adding that "the GSEs have exceeded their housing goals." Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) said, "There's nothing wrong with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." In these hearings Barney Frank said that he doesn't see "anything in the reports that raises safety and soundness problems." Earlier this year, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) praised Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for "riding to the rescue" to help people get home mortgage loans, adding that they "need to do more" to help high-risk borrowers get better loans.

The financial collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is not a failure of the free market because lending institutions in a free market would not have taken on the high-risk loans. They were forced to by the heavy hand of government. The solution is not a taxpayer-financed bailout. The solution is to let them fail and allow the people who invested in them, as well as the people who purchased homes they couldn't afford, suffer the losses. Of course that takes a level of political courage that is in short supply. There are other measures that should be taken as part of a second-best solution.

In 2002, when the Enron and WorldCom scandal broke, the Congress held hearings and some chief executives were jailed. Who did what was the big story in the major news media almost every night. Congress rushed to enact the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002. The act placed unnecessary, onerous and costly accounting standards on American businesses. The Enron and WorldCom debacle is a drop in the bucket compared to the financial mess that Congress has created through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in the name of "affordable" housing. Have you heard Congress calling for hearings? They haven't called for hearings because many of them, both Democrats and Republicans, receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars, were in cahoots with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If Americans are going to be on the hook to bail out these government-sponsored enterprises, at the minimum congressional hearings ought to be held to find out who did what and when.

Corporations employ accounting practices promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) that established Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and government agencies have accounting practices that don't come close to, and never did, the honesty of private accounting practices. Accounting fraud and deception are the dominant features of government agencies. If a private business kept and cooked the books, like government agencies do, the top executives would go to jail. Shouldn't the accounting standards businesses have to meet be applied to Washington? My answer is yes and if a congressman says no, I'd like for him to tell us why.

    *   *   *

BARNEY FRANK'S BOYFRIEND WAS KEY FANNIE MAE DIRECTOR -- PUSHED POLICIES THAT LED TO MORTGAGE MELTDOWN

    *   *   *

Bush called for reform of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae 17 times -- but was ignored by Democrats in congress
It is too bad that Bush and other Republicans did not call for abolition of Fannie and Freddie and repeal of CRA and other interventionist legislation.  Too often when Republicans manage to get into a political majority in Congress and the Presidency they do not get rid of programs already established in the past by Democrats and RINOs; so, instead of rolling back previously established socialistic progrms, too often they accept them as the status quo.  The GOP is not nearly as "right wing" as the Democrat Party is left wing.   If the Bush administration had really managed to get deregulation of the housing industry -- as the Democrats incredibly claim -- perhaps the mortgage crisis could have been averted or resolved more quickly and permanently so it would not happen again.  Instead, the crisis was temporarily patched over and the problem kicked down the road by the Democrat-controlled Congress and a timid Bush administration.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2008

Summary of the Development of the Financial Crisis
How the Fuse Was Lit
by "Progressive" Legislation

Henry Lamb
  From World Net Daily
Posted: September 27, 2008

The meltdown in the financial markets has caused the finger of blame to spin like a weathervane in a hurricane. The underlying cause of the debacle, however, has been largely ignored. Driven by "progressive" Democrats and Republicans, the cause is the relentless shift from a free market economy to a socialist economy.

Until the Roosevelt era, the responsibility and privilege of having a home was left solely to the individual. Few people realize that Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) was created in 1938 by FDR, to provide a federal guarantee for home loans extended by local banks.

Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) was created in 1970, during Nixon's reign. Both were designed to buy mortgages from local lenders as a way to insure an adequate supply of money for local lenders. These "secondary" mortgages were packaged into "bundles" of securities that were traded among an array of financial institutions.

During the 1960s, the United Nations produced the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Article V(e)(iii) proclaimed that all people had a "right" to housing. Both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations supported the treaty, but it was not ratified until the Clinton administration, Nov. 20, 1994. No one noticed or connected the dots to the emerging socialist, communitarian concept called "sustainable development." Grass-roots organizations across the nation were deeply involved in preventing ratification of another U.N. treaty, the Convention on Biological Diversity, which was also under consideration at the time.

To meet its obligations under the U.N.'s Racial Discrimination Treaty, the Clinton administration instructed Fannie Mae to expand loans to low-income borrowers, according to Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman. Thus, the "sub-prime" market was born, and government guaranteed-loans were extended to millions of families who could not qualify for a mortgage in a free market economy, but easily qualified under the new socialist scheme.

In 2005, Republican senators saw the danger and tried to reform these institutions with the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulator Reform Act (S.190), but Democrats blocked the bill.

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were institutions that were neither purely socialist, nor purely free market – a blend that is best described as communitarian, in that they allowed private investors to buy and hold shares in the corporations, but were also guaranteed by the federal government. That is, until recently, when the federal government took over both institutions. Now, the federal government essentially owns all those properties – a result that is as socialist as had the government nationalized those properties by force.

AIG, the international insurance giant, and other Wall Street and international financial institutions bought the bundles of mortgage securities that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offered. Everybody involved made a ton of money, and housing for low-income families expanded exponentially – just as the Treaty on Racial Discrimination and the proponents of sustainable development had predicted. With all the new loans being made, the home building industry flourished, the real estate industry flourished, all industries related to housing flourished – until the market became saturated.

Home values stopped rising. Housing inventories began to rise. Home values began to decline. Foreclosures began to rise. Homebuilding slowed, housing-related industries began to lay off workers. Energy prices began to rise. Paychecks fell short of family needs. Foreclosures skyrocketed. Suddenly, there was little or no value in the bundles of security Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had packaged. Financial institutions found themselves in possession of massive "assets" that had no value. Creak, crumble, crash! The financial markets came tumbling down.

The piper must be paid. The question is whether to do it now – and let the chips fall where they may, or, to kick the can down the road and pay the piper later. The answer, of course, is to kick the can into the next generation, with another leap toward socialism. The bailout plan – whatever the particulars – is nothing short of a government takeover of the financial industry. The next president will have to sort it out and build the road toward future recovery or final disaster.

Barack Obama's incessant drumbeat about the failure of the economic policies of the last eight years is either gross ignorance or, more likely, political blame shifting. The cause of the current meltdown is clearly the Democrat's insistence upon giving federally guaranteed mortgages to people who could not afford them. Even now, Democrats insist, not on the minimum government involvement possible, but on adding all sorts of give-away ornaments on the bailout Christmas tree. Obama is also promising to take over the energy industry, the health industry, and to give tax credits and even refunds to some people with money he shamelessly takes from others. This is redistribution of wealth – pure socialism.

McCain may be only marginally better, but any deterrent to the Democrats' determined transformation of America to unabashed socialism should be welcomed. Despite the U.N.'s declaration to the contrary, no person has a "right" to housing. If Democrats prevail and continue their pursuit of the U.N'.s goal of universal socialism, America can expect to experience the same total collapse experienced by the Soviet Union.

Ultimately, the piper must be paid.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=76302

SEPTEMBER 27, 2008

The Betrayal of the American Taxpayers
by Sam Wells

It's pretty clear that the ONLY people in Washington that are going to bat for the American taxpayers are the conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives.  They are like the little Dutch boy holding his finger in the dike.  They are the only ones opposing this outrageous bailout proposal from Secretary Paulson (and which they trotted President Bush out to support on TV the other night).

The Democrats and the Bush Administration are trying to push this outrageous corporate welfare bailout scheme down the throats of American taxpayers.  The only real opposition is coming from the pro-freedom minority in the House of Representatives.  It's the conservative Republicans in the House on one side versus  the House Democrats, the Senate Democrats, the Senate Republicans, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Chairman, and the President of the United States on the other.  The House Repubs are the good guys --  the ONLY ones standing up for capitalism and the American taxpayers at this point!  The House conservative Repubs  need to get some positive feedback -- to hear applause and support from Americans.  They are the only heroes in Washington and they may not hold out much longer.

Meanwhile, here is my alternative proposal to Paulson's bailout scheme:

1.  Abolish the capital gains tax.

2.  Defund ACORN.  No more taxpayer money to groups like ACORN!  And repeal the Community Reinvestment Act and all other such legislation.

3.  Sell off Fannie and Freddie assets to highest bidders.  Let prices fall to whatever is necessary to clear the market.

4.  Frog march the following crooks and culprits to federal lockups:  Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelick, Christopher Dodd, Barney Frank, Charles Schumer and initiate an independent investigation of all those individuals who served as officers or board members on, or had any supervisory or oversight responsibilities over, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

5.  No bailout money from taxpayers.  Let the hammer fall!  Clear the unsound politically-induced investments and loans.

6.  Forbid the federal government from ever again getting involved in the mortgage industry or housing market.  We don't need government's reverse Midas touch meddling in the marketplace.

What about those brokers and lenders who made fat fees and bonuses off the bad loans and deals?  Of course, many gladly cashed in on and took advantage of the politically-induced, "politically correct" pressures to make the bad deals and get fees for them --  but it can also be argued that many were coerced/blackmailed into doing it by the federal government agencies and groups like ACORN.  They were not all fully willing accessories to the unsound mortgage practices.  One of the greatest evils of government meddling in the market is that it blurs the distinction between the good and moral on one side and the evil and immoral on the other, and it is sometimes virtually impossible to practically separate the villains from the victims.  In an avalanche, no single snowflake feels responsible.  But I hold those who actively and deliberately created the agencies and interventionist context which led to the (easily predictable) crisis to be most culpable.

From left: Christopher Cox, Henry Paulson,
Harry Reid, Richard Shelby, Nancy Pelosi,
Chris Dodd and Ben Bernanke.

Economists such as Walter Williams and George Reisman and Milton Friedman, as well as a few conservative Republicans in the House, all warned of this long ago.  If such financial crises are to be avoided in the future, their warnings should be heeded instad of being ignored.

By repealing the Community Reinvestment Act signed by Carter and all the legislation that created Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and all the other government involvements in the housing industry as well as the antidiscriminaiton legislaiton, we could go to a true free market in housing and this would make certain that this kind of mortgage crisis could not occur again in the future.  Of course, initially the housing bubble artificially blown up by political involvement would collapse, and prices would fall to their true market levels.  That is a necessary corrective.

But, even if a fully free market were to be established today -- right now -- even the free market could not completely reverse or undo all the malinvestments, resource misallocations, and all the harm done as a consequence of the interventionism of the past.  Again, one of the worst evils of legislation like the Community Reinvestment Act and Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other forms of government intervention in the economy in general is that it blurs the distinction between good and evil and often makes anything close to accountability and perfect justice virtually impossible to achieve.  So, even if America were politically ready to go to a fully free market economy, there would be, I am sure, many malefactors who would never get their comeuppance.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

Continuing to demonstrate why he is still Numero Uno in talk radio, El Rushbo explains why the Democrats are so politically vulnerable on the issue of the economy, particularly the mortgage crisis which they set into motion and presided over, as well as the issue of American access to energy.  Is McCain savvy enougn to run with these issues that are falling right into his lap?

Even Robert Reich admits that Democrats caused the mortgage mess.
The culprits include Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, Chris Dodd, Barney Franke, Chalres Schumer, Frank Raines, Jamie Gorelick, et al.  Why aren't the Republcans calling for a special prosecutor to investigate these Clinton-era crooks and demanding that they repay the millions they raked off for themselves?

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

Rush correctly identifies government intervention as the cause of the mortgage industry debacle and warns us not to let "free market capitalism" (which has not existed in the housing market) take the blame for what the liberal-left politicians and bureaucrats have done.  Rush explains the real roots of this financial crisis:
Capitalism isn't the problem -- it's the solution!

Listen to Rush's entire program:

First Hour           Second Hour           Third Hour

SEPTEMBER 13, 2008

Charlie Gibson's Gaffe:  In trying to trip up Gov. Palin with a trick question, Wilson exposed his own ignorance and partisan prejudice.  "Bush Doctrine" is a media term and has been applied to several policies of the Bush Administration.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2008

Capitalism versus Terrorism by Jerry Bowyer
America's strong defense and survivability depends on market capitalism (what's left of it).

*   *   *

Despite our several strong disagreements with much of what President Bush has done (and not done), it is only right that we give him his due.  September 11th  is an appropriate date on which to do that, and Ann Coulter does it here:

Bush 7, Terrorists 0
by Ann Coulter

Morose that there hasn't been another terrorist attack on American soil for seven long years, liberals were ecstatic when Hurricane Gustav was headed toward New Orleans during the Republican National Convention last week. The networks gave the hurricane plenty of breaking-news coverage -- but unfortunately it was Hurricane Katrina from 2005 they were covering.

On Keith Olbermann's Aug. 29 show on MSNBC, Michael Moore said the possibility of a Category 3 hurricane hitting the United States "is proof that there is a God in heaven." Olbermann responded: "A supremely good point."

Actually, Olbermann said that a few minutes later to some other idiotic point Moore had made, but that's how Moore would have edited the interview for one of his "documentaries," so I will, too. I would only add that Michael Moore's morbid obesity is proof that there is a Buddha.

Hurricane Gustav came and went without a hitch. What a difference a Republican governor makes!

As many have pointed out, the reason elected officials tend to neglect infrastructure projects, like reinforcing levees in New Orleans and bridges in Minneapolis, is that there's no glory when a bridge doesn't collapse. There are no round-the-clock news specials when the levees hold. You can't even name an overpass retrofitting project after yourself -- it just looks too silly. But everyone's taxes go up to pay for the reinforcements.

Preventing another terrorist attack is like that. There is no media coverage when another 9/11 doesn't happen. We can thank God that President George Bush didn't care about doing the safe thing for himself; he cared about keeping Americans safe. And he has, for seven years.

If Bush's only concern were about his approval ratings, like a certain impeached president I could name, he would not have fought for the Patriot Act and the war in Iraq. He would not have resisted the howling ninnies demanding that we withdraw from Iraq, year after year. By liberals' own standard, Bush's war on terrorism has been a smashing, unimaginable success.

A year after the 9/11 attack, The New York Times' Frank Rich was carping about Bush's national security plans, saying we could judge Bush's war on terror by whether there was a major al-Qaida attack in 2003, which -- according to Rich -- would have been on al-Qaida's normal schedule.

Rich wrote: "Since major al-Qaida attacks are planned well in advance and have historically been separated by intervals of 12 to 24 months, we will find out how much we've been distracted soon enough." ("Never Forget What?" New York Times, Sept. 14, 2002.)

There wasn't a major al-Qaida attack in 2003. Nor in 2004, 2005, 2006 or 2007. Manifestly, liberals thought there would be: They announced a standard of success that they expected Bush to fail.

As Bush has said, we have to be right 100 percent of the time, the terrorists only have to be right one time. Bush has been right 100 percent of the time for seven years -- so much so that Americans have completely forgotten about the threat of Islamic terrorism.

For his thanks, President Bush has been the target of almost unimaginable calumnies -- the sort of invective liberals usually reserve for seniors who don't separate their recyclables properly. Compared to liberals' anger at Bush, there has always been something vaguely impersonal about their "anger" toward the terrorists.

By my count, roughly one in four books in print in the world at this very moment have the words "Bush" and "Lie" in their title. Barnes & Noble has been forced to add an "I Hate Bush" section. I don't believe there are as many anti-Hitler books.

Despite the fact that Hitler brought "change," promoted clean, energy-efficient mass transit by making the trains run on time, supported abortion for the non-master races, vastly expanded the power of the national government and was uniformly adored by college students and their professors, I gather that liberals don't like Hitler because they're constantly comparing him to Bush.

The ferocity of the left's attacks on Bush even scared many of his conservative allies into turning on him over the war in Iraq.

George Bush is Gary Cooper in the classic western "High Noon." The sheriff is about to leave office when a marauding gang is coming to town. He could leave, but he waits to face the killers as all his friends and all the townspeople, who supported him during his years of keeping them safe, slowly abandon him. In the end, he walks alone to meet the killers, because someone has to.

That's Bush. Name one other person in Washington who would be willing to stand alone if he had to, because someone had to.

OK, there is one, but she's not in Washington yet. Appropriately, at the end of "High Noon," Cooper is surrounded by the last two highwaymen when, suddenly, his wife (Grace Kelly) appears out of nowhere and blows away one of the killers! The aging sheriff is saved by a beautiful, gun-toting woman.

SEPTEMBER 10, 2008

Top Al Qaeda Operatives Killed in Pakistan
As the U.S. Steps Up its Attacks
Click here for full story.

North Korean Communist Dictator:  Sick or Dead?
But No Clear Sucessor Yet

SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

Anti-Palin Lies Pushed By the Left Are Debunked One By One...

» Read It! False Internet Claims, Rumors Fly About McCain's Running Mate
» Sarah Palin's Expenses As Governor...80% Lower Than Her Predecessor's!
» Kirsten Powers: Obama Pays Price for Bungled Attacks on Palin
» Was Joe Biden Referring to Sarah Palin's Child?
» Hillary Backers Defend Sarah

 Rush Limbaugh:  "I can't be around this pessimism and defeatism of conservatives saying, 'What are we going to do?' when they're not doing anything, except whining. You're falling prey to the age-old belief that the media and the Democrat Party are invincible. I have no patience for it." (Rush 24/7 Members: Listen Here)

The Truth About Freddie & Fannie
...The fact that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were private sector entities is a joke because the federal government always had partial ownership.  These were private sector entities with federal government involvement.  Well, right there, when they admit that, they admit that they do not have a private sector entity, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae have always been government entities.  But here's the thing, here's the thing.  The people who destroyed the housing market, the people who destroyed the mortgage industry are now running it, and everybody is going, "Yay, all right, all right, all right."  The socialists around the world are beside themselves, world stock markets through the roof over the news that the US government is taking over the mortgage industry.  ...The very thing they told us they were doing to save and protect and keep this mortgage industry aboveboard is what destroyed it!  And the truth be known, these two things have just been little playthings of the Democrats..... Full remarks.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2008

The Coming War Against Sarah Palin

I am writing this newsletter from St. Paul, MN, where Alaska Governor Sarah Palin electrified the crowd at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night. And I think it's safe to say she showed the entire country a fresh new face of conservative reform.

There was a lot of build-up to Governor Palin's speech, both in the media and among the professional Republican political class. Everyone was telling us that the speech was the Governor's big moment; if she could perform well Wednesday night, she would break free of the despicable, sustained partisan and personal attacks being leveled at her by everyone from the left-wing blogs to the elite media.

But the pundits and the consultants were wrong. Palin's success last week doesn't mean the left-wing is going to give up attacking her.  Palin's success means that now the left really has to destroy her.

Why? Because she's proved that she is an intelligent, articulate and mortal threat to the left's claim that it is the sole, legitimate voice of women and blue-collar, working Americans.

Sarah Palin is a mother of five who is also an accomplished woman. She is a lifelong member of the NRA who is also an intelligent, articulate professional.
She is pro-life in her words and in her deeds, and she controls an $11 billion budget and 15,000 Alaska state employees.

Simply put, the left has a greater vested interest in destroying her than any presidential or vice presidential candidate the Republican Party has nominated in the last fifty years.  The media will try to downplay her accomplishments as when Ron Allen of MSNBC tried to get me to accept that she had too little experience.

Echoes of the Clarence Thomas Nomination

We've seen this kind of desperation before, of course. Those of us who lived through the effort by the elites to destroy Clarence Thomas when he was nominated to sit on the Supreme Court by George H. W. Bush have an unsettling idea of the fight that lies ahead.

The left and the elites regarded Thomas - an African-American who is also a conservative - as a threat to their ability to be the arbiters of what African-Americans and other minorities should believe.

Allowing Thomas to ascend to the high court would show that skin color does not dictate political affiliation - just as allowing Sarah Palin to become vice president would show that being a woman and a blue-collar American does not dictate political party.

So they threw mud at Thomas. They called him ... (continued below) a traitor to his race.  Just like what's happening now with Governor Palin. We've seen this before.

If Palin's Still Standing in November, Republicans Will Win the Election

The road ahead promises to be bumpy. But the good news is that if Governor Palin survives the next few months as a national figure of competence and reform, then the left suddenly has a tremendous problem.  It's a problem that is bigger than just losing the election for them (which is what will happen if she is a star in November).

The left's problem will be that, at 44, Sarah Palin represents potentially 30 years of Republican Party leadership and transforming the party and America. The stakes are high, and the race is on.  It's time to brace ourselves for the coming war against Sarah Palin - and its time to win it.

~Newt Gingrich

SEPTEMBER 5, 2008

\
Sarah Palin of Alaska
(a lot better than Lieberman!)

The Best Man Turned Out to Be a Woman! by Ann Coulter
But is Palin prepared for the onslaught from the Democrats' liberal smear machine?

Vice President Cheney slams Russia over war against Georgia
I don't care if he is a member of the CFR; I still like Cheney.

UK Environmental Minister Denounces Global Warming Hysteria as "Pseudo Religion"

White House Disputes Woodward's Election-Season Book as Partisan Political Propaganda

Bill Maher Mocks Sarah Palin's Down Syndrome Child
In bad taste.  How low will this unfunny comedian go in his leftist partisan pique?

Victory in Iraq!  Why Big Media is burying the story of the year

Partisan Bias:  Oprah Declares Her Refusal to Interview Palin
This is hardly a surprise.  Oprah had no problem supporting pro-communist California congresscritter Barbara Lee, friend of Huge Chavez and Fidel Castro, and one of the most corrupt and virulently anti-American politicans in D.C.

Sarah Palin - Acceptance Speech - Republican National Convention (09/03/08)

SEPTEMBER 1, 2008

O = ZERO
Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler
Thursday, 05 June 2008

The O-man, Barack Hussein Obama, is an eloquently tailored empty suit.  No résumé, no accomplishments, no experience, no original ideas, no understanding of how the economy works, no understanding of how the world works, no balls, nothing but abstract empty rhetoric devoid of real substance.

He has no real identity.  He is half-white, which he rejects.  The rest of him is mostly Arab, which he hides but is disclosed by his non-African Arabic surname and his Arabic first and middle names as a way to triply proclaim his Arabic parentage to people in Kenya.  Only a small part of him is African Black from his Luo grandmother, which he pretends he is exclusively.

What he isn't, not a genetic drop of, is "African-American," the descendant of enslaved Africans brought to America chained in slave ships.  He hasn't a single ancestor who was a slave.  Instead, his Arab ancestors were slave owners.  Slave-trading was the main Arab business in East Africa for centuries until the British ended it.

Let that sink in:  Obambi is not the descendant of slaves, he is the descendant of slave owners.  Thus he makes the perfect Liberal Messiah.

It's something Hillary doesn't understand - how some complete neophyte came out of the blue and stole the Dem nomination from her.  Obamamania is beyond politics and reason.  It is a true religious cult, whose adherents reject Christianity yet still believe in Original Sin, transferring it from the evil of being human to the evil of being white.

Thus Obambi has become the white liberals' Christ, offering absolution from the Sin of Being White.  There is no reason or logic behind it, no faults or flaws of his can diminish it, no arguments Hillary could make of any kind can be effective against it.  The absurdity of Hypocrisy Clothed In Human Flesh being their Savior is all the more cause for liberals to worship him:  Credo quia absurdum, I believe it because it is absurd.

Thank heavens that the voting majority of Americans remain Christian and are in no desperate need of a phony savior.

Obama is a Zero.  There is nothing really there.  O=Zero.  You can get a O=Zero bumper sticker for your car, a O=Zero t-shirt, encourage your friends to do the same, and get the message out there:

That his candidacy is ridiculous and should not be taken seriously by any thinking American.

http://www.tothepointnews.com/content/view/3227/44/\

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AUGUST 15, 2008

Nevada's Interesting GOP Primary
The conservatibvd base will be heard!

Georgia Under Cyber Attack As Well As Russian Military Invasion

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San Fran Nan Pelosi Is Our Neville Chamberlain
 Neville Pelosi: dangerously inept and naive

By Ronald Kessler

With her trip to Syria, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi achieved two things: She undercut her own credibility in Washington, and she spotlighted what is wrong with the Democrats’ approach to national security.

The spectacle of Pelosi making nice with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Damascus and accepting at face value his claim that he is ready to “resume the peace process” with Israel had a large portion of official Washington tittering.

At the same time, Syrian authorities were telling the local press that there had been no change in its position. And Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Pelosi that “a number of Senate and House members who recently visited Damascus received the impression that despite the declarations of Bashar al-Assad, there is no change in the position of his country regarding a possible peace process with Israel.”

Pelosi’s Charade

Moreover, Pelosi misrepresented Israel’s position to Assad, announcing that she had delivered a message from Olmert that “Israel was ready to engage in peace talks” with Syria. Olmert quickly issued a statement denying that.

Even the Washington Post saw through the charade.

“Ms. Pelosi not only misrepresented Israel’s position, but was virtually alone in failing to discern that Mr. Assad’s words were mere propaganda,” an editorial in the paper said. The editorial added that “Ms. Pelosi’s attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.”

While that is certainly true, the specter of Pelosi naively chatting with Assad and announcing that she had helped achieve a diplomatic breakthrough also highlights all that is wrong with the Democrats’ approach to foreign police today.

Syria hosts the exiled leadership of Hamas, as well as other Palestinian radical groups, and is a major supplier of funds to Hezbollah. Syria is also believed to be involved in the assassination of Lebanese political figures and allowing its territory to be used by jihadists fighting against the United States-led coalition and the coalition-backed government in Iraq.

History Repeats

Pelosi’s willingness to undercut the president and accept the word of the chief of state of a sponsor of terrorism is on a par with the Democrats’ effort to set a timetable for fighting the war in Iraq. It brings to mind the efforts of Joseph P. Kennedy, the founder of the Kennedy dynasty, to appease Adolf Hitler.

As ambassador to the Court of St. James, Joe Kennedy met on June 13, 1938 with Herbert von Dirksen, the German ambassador. The two got along famously, and Dirksen later reported on the conversation in great detail to Baron Ernst von Weizsacker, the German state secretary.

According to that report, Kennedy confided to the German ambassador that Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister, was anxious to have some sort of settlement with Germany. By saying this, he undercut Great Britain’s negotiating position with Hitler. Moreover, Kennedy said President Roosevelt was not anti-German and wanted friendly relations with Hitler. However, no European leader spoke well of the Germans because most of them were “afraid of the Jews” and did not “dare to say anything good about Germany . . .” Kennedy stated.

Even as the two met at the German embassy in London, Hitler was planning to gobble up most of Europe and exterminate the Jews. The following year, World War II began after Hitler invaded Poland.

“Speaker Pelosi is the Neville Chamberlain of our time,” said Brad Blakeman, a Republican strategist who was an aide in the Bush White House. “Cowering to and appeasing the dictator of a terrorist state was a disgrace to the high office she holds. The Syrians used this visit to validate their bad behavior by propagandizing the whole visit and her anti-war stance.”

The Pelosi visit underscores that, when it comes to dealing with our enemies, the Democrats live in a dream world. Yet when another terrorist attack occurs in the U.S., they will be the first to say President Bush did not do enough to protect the country.

___________

Ronald Kessler writes the Washington Insider column for NewsMax Magazine.

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