“Emergency fuel waiver for affected states Aug 30 - To help meet emergency demand in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, EPA will temporarily allow refiners, importers, distributors, carriers and retail outlets to supply gasoline and diesel fuels that do not meet standards for emissions. This waiver is effective immediately and will continue through Sept. 15, 2005.” (EPA)

This was just expanded to all other 46 states and territories of the Union as of 2pm EST 08/31/05. Finally, someone has seen the light. We may very well have just taken the steps necessary to avoid a gasoline crisis.

I’m sure the environmentalist movement will fight this tooth and nail, but I remind any that read this and digest the significant impact of this action; whose regulations put us in this position to begin with? Who put us into a situation where the EPA had to suspend rules to keep our nation afloat? That is when you may begin to wake up to the illogical agenda of the environmental movement.

"Seems like everything is President Bush's fault. One day after Katrina hammered the Gulf Coast, German commentators are laying into the US for its stubborn attitude to global warming and Kyoto." (Spiegel Online)

"As Hurricane Katrina dismantles Mississippi's Gulf Coast, it's worth recalling the central role that Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour played in derailing the Kyoto Protocol and kiboshing President Bush's iron-clad campaign promise to regulate CO2." (Huffingtonpost)

Is this a joke? The deep south is reeling from catastrophe, and these guys are saying that Bush's and/or a Mississippi Senator's environmental policy is to blame? If the religious right in this country were to say something of this ilk about the tsunami or this hurricane, there would have been a global uproar against it, yet this goes unnoticed?

The thing that makes me the maddest is that right now, Germany should be offering aid, but instead, they are offering unfounded and undue criticism for environmental policy as if the last 6 years have made the difference. In 1969 Camille packed winds at a whopping 190 miles per hour and ripped the Louisiana coast, and 1992's Andrew is on record as the costliest Hurricane ever. Were those also our environmental policy?

The extreme Liberal Left has proven again they will use anything to push their agenda. Hurricanes happen. Worse have happened, and more will happen. To try and lay this disastrous event at the foot of a single person or to imply that any policy is to blame is absolutely shameful at best. I can only hope that someone will confront these people in the public eye. This needs to be exposed.

God blesses us in small ways. This afternoon, my neighbor and I cut apart a pear tree next to my house that blew down. I live in northeast Alabama. We had 30-40mph winds and some heavy rain. When I found out that the tree had blown down, my immediate reaction was to pity my own luck in having this chore I was heading for immediately after work.

As I began working away with my hand saw (I have no chainsaw, and know no one with a chainsaw either), I started deploring the task ahead of me. Then my father-in-law shows up with a brand new chainsaw he had just gotten to help me with my tree. His response was “I’d probably need it soon anyway.”

That is when it occurred to me just how self centered, and how selfish I was being. There are hundreds of thousands that don’t even have a house to come home to. There are people floating dead in the flooded streets of New Orleans and Mississippi. Yet here I am in my own pity party worried over spending three hours cutting up a blown down tree.

While so many suffer, I am ashamed of myself for the moment of selfishness, but find comfort in the fact that I have realized this, and found some compassion.

Please keep those in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in you prayers and in your thoughts as you conquer the “little” struggles of life.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Monday his government plans to sell as much as 66,000 barrels per day of heating fuel from its U.S. Citgo refinery to poor communities in the United States. (Breitbart.com)

Regardless of his motives, it is sad that his country is the only to try and extend a helping hand to us after this devastating disaster.

We helped Iran after their earthquake, we helped SE Asia after the Tsunami. We may not need the help (a testimony to our own nation), but our allies and "Friends" should be offering any assistance. Saudi, you have any special oil deals for us?

Another installment from Michael Yon’s experience in Iraq. To see what combat operations in Mosul are like, from first hand experience, read his newest post “Gates of Fire”.

We constantly hear about soldiers abusing terrorists, how strong the insurgency is, and how much we need to get out of Iraq. This journalist goes out with units on raids and other missions. In this story, he very nearly broke the law as he found himself in a position where he became a combatant. As before, its not pretty, but it is a very good read. It is a long piece, so give yourself about half an hour.













Wounded, LTC Erik Kurilla continues shooting at insurgents inside a shop just before Michael decides to pick up a weapon.

Beirut?

















Iraq?













No, New Orleans.




Katrina devastated our Gulf Coast. If you can help, please do so. Keep these people in your prayers, and feel good that our nation is strong enough to recover from this disaster.

One Clinton jets to Alaska and Iraq with Republicans, and enthusiastically sponsors legislation with GOP lawmakers who impeached her husband. The other plays golf with former President Bush and accepts assignments from the current one. (AP)

As crazy as it sounds, maybe Hillary knows that Dems are not going to take back the White House unless they move back to the center. Maybe she realizes that moving further left, and demonizing the right will not win any more votes than Kerry got, which were not enough. Maybe a small number Washington Democrats (and Republicans) realize that working together is the only way we can move America in a positive direction.

Mr. McCain and Mrs. Clinton are both getting “traitor” calls from the hardliners in their respective parties. This might be because neither of them consistently tows the party line, thus is a danger to the special interest groups that currently run American politics.

While the AP and other "Mainstream" press outlets rabidly try to find Hillary’s new found motivation for unity (they assume Presidential posturing), they seem to ignore that she and John McCain are increasingly working as a team on legislation and policy statement. Would America embrace the thought of a two party administration unifying the country after the past 6 years of bitter partisan conflict?

This wasn’t what we wanted to hear. Everyone was looking forward to the probable post-Labor Day gas price drop. Instead, Katrina seems to be ensuring that prices will remain high, and even go higher.

With about ¼ of the US oil supply coming from Gulf Drilling, imagined shortages are in effect with the platforms shutting down and bracing for possible damage. However, the real problem is the refineries that are dotted along the Gulf coastline. They will be shut down during the hurricane, and if flooding occurs at their locations, it could be weeks before they are operating again.

Oil spiked more than $4 a barrel since Friday, and now sits at about $70.80 in futures trading.

Price gouging will not be the problem here. We need to increase our refinery capacity in the United States as soon as possible to ensure this situation doesn’t present itself again.

“Bush supporters gathered for an event marking the culmination of the "You don't speak for me, Cindy!" tour, which started last week in California. The crowd of about 1,500 chanted, "Cindy, go home!"” (MyWay)

Now that they have tripled the population of Crawford, at what point will someone back down and end this? It has gone too long too far. The media has made Cindy Sheehan into an exhibit, and Bush supporters have drawn their line in the sand vowing not to let a repeat of Vietnam era protests rule the day.

There looks to be no recourse in sight. Both sides are now fueled with the idea they their side is “winning”, when in reality, this has only distracted all of America from the real issues at hand.

Iraq needs some strategy changes. The situation has changed some, but our tactics are still trying to maintain a political correctness that may jeopardize the mission. We don’t need to pull out, we don’t need to cut and run… AGAIN! But we cannot delude ourselves. A success in Iraq would mean a devastating blow against global Islamic radicalism. It would upset the power base by establishing a solid pro-US democracy, something virtually non-existent in the Mid-East now.

Both sides, to me, are wrong. Anti-Bush groups don’t see the world picture. They see their narrow political picture of trying to win the next elections. They will use anything (including a vulnerable mother) to discredit Bush. They do not care what ramifications it has on the US image, or the US security. They are willing to create a bigger mess in the world now with the hope that they will be able to clean it up. Make no mistake, this is costing lives.

Pro-Bush groups don’t see the world picture. They don’t understand that this level of support for the administration tells the President that we will accept anything they choose to do, regardless of result. The administration has allowed military decisions on strategy and tactics to be overshadowed by PR and press advantages. This works in Washington but not on the battle field. We cannot have troops dying because they are in amphibious assault vehicles (on dry land) instead of a tank. Make no mistake, these policies are costing lives.

The Crawford Peace House, established as a headquarters for protestors to Bush in 2003, was about out business. They had $3 in the bank, the phone was cut off, and the mortgage was due…

Then came Cindy Sheehan. More than $150,000 in donations have poured in to the Peace House since, which has become Sheehan's headquarters. Now they are about to pay off the mortgage, and now the phone is turned back on, and ringing off the hook with people wanting to know where to send money.

But this whole thing is about Bush and the war, not the money…
Story from AP

Update:
Another local station (ABC7News) has tracked the money. The financing goes deep and long, as well as the PR staff and schedualed "grief" moments for the TV cameras. This excerpt is pulled from the article. Worth reading for some insight into what is going on.

"Karen Meredith, Gold Star mother: "Sometimes things don't feel quite right to me. They don't feel wrong, but maybe that's how they do it in the marketing business."
ABC7's Mark Matthews: "You feel you're part of a marketing business?"
Karen Meredith: "Possibly. Yeah I think so."

Dont Worry Karen, thats just your conscience and pride messing with you. Keep on spreading TRUTH!

While there are real-world events going on (China, Iran, Iraq, Darfur, Bush, Dean, Sheehan, McCain, Clinton, etc...) the mainstream media seems obsessed with ensuring that we the people are on constant alert for the next natural disaster, kidnapped family member, or serial killer.

This lack of real news gives us a very limited prospective of sensationalized issues, that in my opinion, are meant to keep us addicted to the news channel to see what next horror will befall us.

Irregular Joe has done a post (its where I got the graphic) on this. He has an obsession with "Scarborough Country" (the MSNBC News Magazine), but this post has a good insight into the "news".

The other side of the figures they dont tell you:

"Sixty percent of respondents say American troops should remain until Iraq is stable, a figure that has not changed significantly despite a well-publicized anti-war protest by the mother of a dead soldier, Cindy Sheehan." (AP)

Now, why do I have to go search this stuff out?

Tehran does not fear the threat of U.N. Security Council action if it continues activities linked to uranium enrichment, the country's top negotiator said Friday. Ali Larijani said "With the power it enjoys in the region, there is no way that Iran can be worried about the threat of the Security Council.”

This is coming after an announcement that the IAEA will deliver a report on Sept 19th about Iran’s experiments with plutonium.

China, which views Iran as a key supplier of oil, and Russia, whose economic interests in the country include development of the Bushehr nuclear reactor, have opposed U.S. calls to haul Tehran before the U.N. Security Council.

Anyone else wonder why Iran wouldn’t be scared of the UN???
Information from AP

“Since late 2001, economies in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries - Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia - have soared, with stock markets up a collective 400 percent. […]Most of the credit for the wealth influx here is due to the near-tripling of oil prices since 2001 to current levels of more than $67 a barrel.” (AP)

Super, I am so glad that they countries that spurned this evil are profiting so well from it. Now, if we would just believe them that “Moderate Muslims” don’t support this violence, maybe their markets would do even better!

YUMA, Ariz.
Illegal immigrants threw rocks at a Border Patrol helicopter, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing when one of the rocks damaged the rotor, the agency said. (Breitbart.com)

If Mexicans with rocks can do this, I wonder what a terrorist with a gun could do? This is the question we Americans need to shove down the throat of our Politicians. Both the elephants and the asses have political reasons to not close our borders, but we the people have every reason in the world to do it now. Immigration reform is needed, but solid control of our own borders is needed first. This isn’t just honest people wanting opportunity to work anymore. We need to wake up before something tragic happens.

Democrat or Republican, make your candidates face this issue and promise to resolve it. Tell them your vote depends on it.. because they work for you!

Washington (CNSNews.com) - The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the current home of hundreds of wounded veterans from the war in Iraq, has been the target of weekly anti-war demonstrations since March. The protesters hold signs that read "Maimed for Lies" and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton."

Disgusting! This is why the Left won’t win elections. This is vitriolic hatred that dishonors the troops in the worst way for petty political agendas of these “peace” organizations. If you are against the war, fine. If you wish our troops were home, fine. But this is over the line. Free speech all you want, but Democrats, look at your party. This is why you loose elections, not because of “voting irregularities.”

(AP) So far this year, a strong economy has generated an average of 191,000 new jobs per month, better than last year's average of 183,000. Employers created 207,000 jobs in July, which helped to keep the unemployment rate at a low level of 5 percent.
Many analysts believe that the overall economy, which grew at an annual rate of 3.4 percent in the spring, is powering ahead at an even faster pace above 4 percent in the current July-September quarter.

Jobless claims dropped another 4,000 to bring the current unemployment rate to its lowest point in four years.

This doesn’t sound like a struggling economy to me, so which economy is the left talking about ?

A federal judge said environmental groups and four U.S. cities can sue federal development agencies on allegations the overseas projects they financially back contribute to global warming. (Breitbart.com).

Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and the cities of Boulder, Colo., Santa Monica, Oakland and Arcata, California will all jump in, under the legal council of Ronald Shems in Vermont.

Outstanding! Now, the environmentalist movement has a sure foothold to use financial blackmail on major pillars of the US economy!

Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the Export-Import Bank of the United States, government agencies that provide loans and insure billions of dollars of U.S. investors' money for development projects overseas, most of which are power plants; will now have to pay the piper… at least to the tune of the environmentalist movement.

Lets all give U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of northern California a big round of applause. This legal precedent will wreak financial havoc on the United States economy, and insure no US affiliated agency will every again venture into giving the gift of power production to anyone overseas.

You think gas prices are high now, wait until this really gets rolling.

UPDATE:
This guy was nominated by Bush... hows that for irony?

Aside from Howard Dean and others on the Left, the Iraqi Draft constitution appears to have provisions in it to protect, if not establish many of the rights and freedoms they claim will be denied so many.

I have pulled excerpts from the Draft for review. This is not an in-depth analysis, and the entire document was not reviewed. Source was from Washingtonpost.com

From the Preamble:
We the people of Iraq, newly arisen from our disasters and looking with confidence to the future through a democratic, federal, republican system, are determined - men and women, old and young - to respect the rule of law, reject the policy of aggression, pay attention to women and their rights, the elderly and their cares, the children and their affairs, spread the culture of diversity and defuse terrorism.

From Article 1
This constitution guarantees the Islamic identity of the Iraqi people and guarantees all religious rights; all persons are free within their ideology and the practice of their ideological practices.

Article 5
Power is transferred peacefully through democratic ways.

From Article 7
1. Any organization that follow a racist, terrorist, extremist, sectarian-cleaning ideology or circulates or justifies such beliefs is banned, especially Saddam's Baath Party in Iraq and its symbols under any name. And this should not be part of the political pluralism in Iraq.
2. The government is committed to fighting terrorism in all its forms, and works to protect Iraqi soil from being a center or passage for terrorist activities.

Article 35
_ a. Human freedom and dignity are guaranteed.
_ b. No person can be detained or interrogated without a judicial order.
_ c. All kinds of physical and psychological torture and inhumane treatment are prohibited, and any confession is considered void if it was taken by force, threats and torture. The person who was harmed has the right to ask for compensation for the financial and moral damage he/she suffered.

Article 36
The State guarantees:
1. Freedom of expression by all means.
2. Freedom of the press, printing, advertising and publishing.

Article 37
Freedom to establish political groups and organizations.


Article 39
Iraqis are free to abide in their personal lives according to their religion, sects, beliefs or choice. This should be organized by law.

I don't know about everyone else, but this sounds like a sincere effort to ensure that Iraq can become the most progressive and fair democracy in the Arab region.

More Media Doom and Gloom

In two stories today, the AP finds a way to prove itself, well, just foolish.

One story tells us “Some rare good news on oil pushed stocks higher Wednesday after the government reported increasing stockpiles of heating oil and other distillate fuels.” (AP)

While in another story “The run-up in crude oil prices already has sent gasoline prices to record levels nationwide and will likely lead to a spike in home heating costs. […] A recent report from the U.S. Department of Energy indicates that home heating fuel prices could rise as much as 21 percent this winter.” (AP)

Now which one should I believe? The one that says the stock market took notice of an unexpected surpluse in the nations heating oil reserve. Or the story that tells me about Cindy Workman from Omaha getting all the wood she can from a cleared plot of land, for her cast iron stove because “[she] dreads seeing what the heating bills are going to be”

Maybe the AP can let me know which of these stories to believe. We’ll know soon when the mainstream media picks out the version of reality they would like us to swallow.

What will get you kicked out of the UK (concerning radical Islam)?

“those who foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence; seek to provoke terrorist acts or crimes; or promote hatred between communities. He said the action was taken to meet a "real and significant threat" of terrorism.”

Secretary Charles Clark announced today the criteria for deporting extremists from his country. "Individuals who seek to create fear, distrust and division in order to stir up terrorist activity will not be tolerated by the government or by our communities," Clark said reinforcing the British government’s position.

Amnesty International is condemning the new measures, saying “the vagueness and breadth of the definition of 'unacceptable behavior' and 'terrorism' can lead to further injustice and risk further undermining human rights protection in the U.K." Amnesty International is worried that deported individuals will be subject to torture and imprisonment in their home countries.

So, Amnesty International thinks the UK should risk its own well being because another country might torture these people? I think they are barking up the wrong tree here. They need to protest those countries that will torture them, not the UK.

And as a side note, criteria in the US for deporting radical extremists: You have blow something up or kill someone, because anything else is “Free Speech.”

(AP) Full Article can be found by clicking title.

The UN is once again saving the world from crisis… currently in North Africa.

As Nigeria faces potentially catastrophic food shortages (well, that’s what Annan wants us to think), Kofi said "We are determined to work with the government, with our NGO (non-governmental organization) partners and all the U.N. agencies here to ensure that all of those in need do get the help,"

However, Nigeria’s President Tandja says the world body, aid groups, and opposition parties are exaggerating his country's problems for political and economic gain… Surely not the UN! (Oil for Food anyone?)

As a side note, in case anyone forgot this other monumental achievement of the UN: In Darfur, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan handed over a list of 51 war crimes suspects toThe Hague tribunal… now that’s how you stop the killing!

Yet our political left, and the “world body” want the US to continuously surrender more of its foreign policy decision making over the whims of this body?

A caravan of supporters, under the movement name of “You don’t speak for me Cindy” ran into Iraq War protestors while winding their way towards Crawford. In Sacramento, the caravan ran into a group chanting for Bush to bring home the troops.

One protestor waved a sign reading “Death is not Support” while heckling an organizer of the pro-Bush/War group during her speech.

"You are ruining the morale over there," responded Greg Parkinson, a Bush supporter.
The Pro-Bush tour plans to rally in several California towns on its way to Crawford. More is sure to come.

(AP) Click Title for full article.

USSURIISK, Russia (AP) - In the mosquito-infested fields of Russia's Far East, Chinese pick tomatoes. In the markets, they sell cheap jeans and backpacks and fix shoes. At construction sites, they rebuild cities. As China and Russia embark on a new stage of cooperation by holding joint military exercises launched from the Pacific port of Vladivostok, the Chinese presence is growing in this hardscrabble region thousands of miles from Moscow.

Well well well… what do we have here? I have talked about how the Chinese and Russia are getting a little too cozy. I have talked about how Putin would love a return to the glory days of a socialist republic. I have talked about them making a strategic partnership. Usually folks ignore that kind of talk (including all of Washington). Read the rest of this article, and other posts I’ve made to see really how foggy my crystal ball is.

George, really, its time to get back to work.

The past weeks have been a flurry of protest against the President. While on vacation in Crawford, Cindy Sheehan started Camp Casey in protest against the Iraq War. Hundreds of protesters around the nation have joined in with what has become a solid movement. There are limited protests in support of the war, but they are not attracting as much attention.

How much longer is Bush going to inflame the situation and test his declining support with continued outings of biking, boating, chopping wood, or whatever else crosses his mind... WHILE ON VACATION!

Michael Graham, fired from WMAL in Washington about two weeks ago for calling Islam a “terrorist organization” and then refusing to apologize, was recently hired by KFI-AM in Los Angeles.

Graham was fired due to a strong complaint campaign organized by CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), who has had known documented ties to terrorist organizations.

KFI-AM says they offered Graham a stand-in position because they “still support free speech.”

Its good to know that some media outlets still do.

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson has suggested that American agents assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to stop his country from becoming "a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism." (AP)

Roberts was quoted saying “"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," among other provocative comments Monday on the “700 Club”.

While this stance is not very surprising to hear from the conservative side of political thought; it is very disturbing to hear a religious and Christian leader actually ask for the murder of another nation’s leader. Geopolitical ideologies aside, the “700 Club” has long been an inspiration for Christians around the world, and to me there is no room for a leader in that organization to take an openly un-Christian stance towards the life of another human.

The real problem is that Pat Robertson is talking in a religious format, about political activities that deviate from the common moral standard. In this sense, his comments are more like something you hear at a radical Muslim Mosque than in a Christian News Magazine.

With Streisand's Stranger in a Strange Land debuting Tuesday, the Rolling Stones attacking the Administration in Sweet Little Neo-Con, and Joan Baez singing to crowds at Camp Casey; the “hippy” generation from 40 years ago is reinvigorated and back on the move.

However, this time they face staunch opposition from Americans that are not ready to throw in the towel on the war itself, and are not ready to begin the anti-military sentiments from the Vietnam era.

A caravan proclaiming support for the war, Bush, and the troops started through California Monday in route to Crawford to counter Cindy Sheehan’s Camp Casey. Already, another group has staged Fort Qualls (in memory of LCpl Qualls killed in Iraq last fall) to counter the war protestors.

The war protestors coming out today will face a far different America than they did before. The only question is if the result will be different now in 2005.

AP is reporting high tensions in Gaza after the Israeli pull-out. Three groups: Hamas, ruling Fatah movement, and Islamic Jihad gunmen are all running around with guns in the streets. Each claiming they deserve more credit for Israel leaving Gaza, and therefore deserve more control.

It wont be long before the beleaguered Palestinian Authority cannot keep the heavily armed groups from resorting to open conflict against each other.

The New York Post has obtained secretly recorded conversations of New York Gov. George Pataki, former Republican Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, and Tom Doherty; the once chief scheduler and patronage guru for Pataki who's now involved in the Pataki-connected consulting firm Mercury Public Affairs.

The most egregious thing that the tapes reveal is “patronage hiring” for key positions. But the type of language used, and the selfish tirades of Gov Pataki’s wife (due to her lack of photographed publicity and many “small scale” event commitments), will make Pataki, and Republicans in general a tough sell in the upcoming elections.

The tapes were delivered anonymously, Tom Doherty is the only member present in all conversations.

Gas Prices Rising... While Bush shows us riding bikes is the answer, Jay Leno has another...

Video



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A new camp is named "Fort Qualls," in memory of Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Wayne Qualls, who died in Iraq last fall, has sprung up across from "Camp Casey." A caravan of soldiers parents supporting the war, and the President has left California this morning in route to Crawford.

What should be interesting is how much press coverage this group of grieving parents get versus Cindy Sheehan. We will be watching for developments.

In 2004, which one do you think this guy voted for: Kerry or Bush?

Stones decided not to play their “Sweet Little Neo-Con” song at Boston concert Sunday. Left media outlets have hyped this song, trying to highlight that the Rolling Stones are anti-Bush.

Jagger has made repeated attempts to say the song is not about the current administration (although there are many similarities). This latest omission of the song may bode that the Stones do not want the political attention sought out at first.

-Might be because half of remaining audience are now Republicans?

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb) says Iraq looking like Vietnam on ABC’s “This Week.”

He comments that the longer things drag on, the more similarities will be found between the two conflicts. While Hagel is certainly posturing for upcoming political battles, this split in a notably solid GOP front will surely embolden the anti-war effort sponsored by the Left.

China, Russia Begin More Military Drills (AP)

…9,000 soldiers from the two countries began the second stage of their historic first joint military exercises, news reports said. […] The exercise Saturday on the Shandong peninsula, which juts into the Yellow Sea, was meant to simulate landing a joint force to stabilize a fictional country.

I wonder how much that fictional country resembles Taiwan? When are we going to start putting Aruba, gas prices, Sheehan, and other things second? We need to focus on China now, not when they finally make their move.

President Bush and Lance Armstrong display the Administration's plans to help with current high gas prices. Unnamed sources (i.e. fiction) quote the President as "Riding bikes is hard.... its hard work, but if thats what it takes to lower our gas prices, then we will not relent until the mission is accomplished"
Anyway, just having some fun at "Dub-yeahs" expense.

San Francisco Shuns Retired USS Iowa (BREITBART.com)

"The USS Iowa joined in battles from World War II to Korea to the Persian Gulf. It carried President Franklin Roosevelt home from the Teheran conference of allied leaders, and four decades later, suffered one of the nation's most deadly military accidents."

But that’s not good enough for the Left Coast…

"But city supervisors voted 8-3 last month to oppose taking in the ship, citing local opposition to the Iraq war and the military's stance on gays, among other things."

Yet every member of the Liberal Left will swear that they support the troops… yeah right!

Australia GIs Trained to Withstand Torture (AP)

Elite troops in Australia are undergoing training that includes being stripped naked and threatened with dogs to prepare them to withstand torture if they are captured by enemy forces, the government said.

But why, Australia and the US are allies, and isn’t the US the ONLY country that tortures its prisoners? And doesn’t US torture mean that they will play loud music and put woman’s panties on your head? How will being stripped and threatened with dogs help against these horrid acts of American soldiers?

Just ask the Ted Kennedy and his willing accomplices the mainstream media, they will tell you all about it at Gitmo.

Aug 19 5:22 PM US/Eastern
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats turned up the heat on the White House on Friday to act in the face of record-high U.S gasoline pump prices.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Friday said the Bush administration should require U.S. oil companies to disclose their fuel pricing policies and production costs.

I Read this story as follows:

Democrats, long entrenched with the environmentalist movement act to deflect attention from the strangle hold policies (harsh restrictions and expensive permit waits) they have enforced on refinery operations and refinery construction.

These policies have lead to the point in which we now face steep increases in refined fuel prices regardless of crude supplies. However, in order to not diminish the impact environmentalists have on American politics, fingers will start being pointed at the oil industry itself by implying price gouging and unfair price setting in hopes that Americans feeling the pain of high gas prices will empower the government to “price fix” gasoline.

Between the DNC, and every other group that stands to profit from diminishing what is being done in Iraq, and what the troops really feel, its hard to tell anymore if the war is:

A) Supported at home
B) Having any positive effect in Iraq
C) Supported by the Troops abroad.

If you are expecting the AP or national press conglomerates to fill you in on the truth, think again. However there are some journalists that are actually going out with the troops, doing everything they can to capture the real stories and report back what is going on. I would suggest that anyone who wants to see what a day in the life of a U.S. soldier in Iraq really feels like, read this post

It was written by a man named Michael Yon, who is currently with “the two four” in Mosul, Iraq. It will be like nothing you will see on CNN, Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, or any of the AP leeched news papers. It will be graphic, it will be intense, but it will also be the Truth. Enjoy.

Well, as Sheehan and the other "Bush is evil" and "Cheney is the Devil" sheep in the Democratic Party continue to blame "voting irregularities" and corporate greed on their election failures, we have a nice movie clip to remind us that things come and go.... and come again.

Enjoy:

Video

The New York Post has a story calling out Cindy’s specific agenda, and how it has become unrelated to her son anymore. They point out that she is “a fully fledged member of the Michael Moore wing of the Democratic Party. She rails about how terrorism could be ended if only Israel would "get out of Palestine" — and compares Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to "Hitler and Stalin."

While she is welcome to her politics, using her son’s death as a spring board on these issues is pretty off mark.

But no worries, because Cindy also has unkind words for the Media as well. She says that they have transformed her quiet protest into something that “got out of hand and just turned into a media circus.” Wile I agree with her that it is out of hand, I think she is mistaken over who has spun the woman who “came out here and sat down on a lawn chair” into an international political fundraising gala. Even Democratic candidates from Minnesota are on their way to “show their support.”

By the time it is all done, she will be used, spent, and thrown away by the very groups funding her. When this new opportunity for fund raising is over, and the ratings start falling, the Media and the Liberal groups leeching off of her will disappear. She will be left as it started, alone in a lawn chair. Her son will still be dead. Bush will still be President. The war in Iraq will still be going on. Cindy will still feel the hurt of loss, but will no longer have the sympathy of the nation.

Thanks Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, CodePink and TrueMajority, you have served Cindy Sheehan so well.

“A joint Chinese and Russian military exercise set to begin tomorrow is meant as a political signal to the United States, in addition to helping Moscow showcase its weapons for sale to China, U.S. defense and intelligence officials said yesterday. "For the Chinese and the Russians, this is a message to the United States," one U.S. official said. "They want to see our bases in Central Asia and presence in Asia cut back." The fact that the United States was not invited to observe the war games is a sign of the anti-U.S. nature of the exercises, said several officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.” (Washington Times)

Um, you think? But again, this story isnt important. Sheehan, she’s important, but the looming issue with China? Naw, we can ignore them. When will our country wake up? Will it be too late?

No matter how you feel about Cindy Sheehan, and her hyper-political agenda, you cannot support this idiot:

This idiot drove his truck over wooden crosses set up as a protest memorial carrying the names of fallen soldiers from Iraq. Here is a quote from The Smoking Gun

"A row of the memorial crosses, which carry the names of U.S. soldiers killed during the Iraq war, were destroyed when Northern, a Waco resident, allegedly drove his truck (which was dragging a pipe and chains) over them."

The Bush administration is objecting to the creation of a .xxx domain, saying it has concerns about a virtual red-light district reserved exclusively for Internet pornography.(CNet News)

Um, why? Because if we don’t have a special domain, then porn doesn’t exist? This is the single most effective way to eliminate unwanted visiting of porn sites.

I smell lobbyists at work here.

Howard Dean was on Face the Nation Sunday (Aug 14, 2005). One particular part of his interview stuck out to me. After talking about the president needing a plan, Schieffer asked Dean if he had a plan. Deans response:

“Well, Bob, the president of the United States is commander in chief. It is up to him to come up for a plan. You can’t expect a congressman and senators who don’t have the same access to intelligence as the president does to come up with a plan to withdraw our troops from Iraq. […] What we need is a plan from the president of the United States. You can’t expect a particular senator or particular congressman to have a plan. Only the president can do that.”


WHY NOT? If you thought you were ready to be President of the United States, why can't I expect you to have a plan?

Now, I don’t know how much more clear it can be, but this is the root problem with the Democratic Party right now. They have no ideas, and no solutions. They have plenty of criticism, but no plans. Until this changes, Republicans will continue to win elections.

ROME (Reuters) - Italy has arrested 141 people in a security swoop following the bombings in London and Egypt last month and remains at high risk from an attack by Islamic militants, the Interior Ministry said on Monday. Italy, the subject of several Internet threats from purported Islamic militant groups, said it had begun expulsion procedures against 701 people.

Well, maybe if enough of Europe does it, we will catch on too? How many other “enlightened” nations have to realize the threat that overdoing multiculturalism represents to them before we stop squabbling over things like bag searches in the subways?

Even though 2008 is still in the foggy distance, events today give us “red herrings” on what may likely be key issues in the upcoming Presidential contest.

The war in Iraq, economic boom, economic uncertainty, gas pump woes, and illegal immigration are catching the head lines right now; but how will they impact campaign platforms and Presidential promises?

“Mainstream” America (a term grossly overused) does not usually consider the greater good or “global” issues when considering a candidate. Red card and blue card voters will vote their party line regardless of the issues, but the rest of us (thankfully), in the greater majority of the voter base, will actually be interested in the ideas presented to us by the political hopefuls.



1. Oil Supplies and Gas Prices – While people always wring their hands over “dependence on Mid-East oil,” what they really see, and really care about are gas pump prices. Inflation adjusted prices have still managed to stay below record highs seen in March of 1981 (adjusted record of $3.12), but people are seeing the effect in their pocket books. With alternative fuels being a long term issue, voters will want short term fixes to the groans of car’s on empty.
2. Economic Stability – During the Clinton years, domestic economy surged. In the first years of Bush’s term (9/11 playing a big part), recession reared it head. Coupled with large exposure corporate scandals, a dark cloud came over people’s impression of the American economy. Although the last 2 years have shown impressive economic development, the clouds of doubt remain. Our economy has a tendency to swing back and forth between “boom” and “recession”. Stabilizing the economy will be a key issue. Slow steady growth is better for everyone instead surging and receding.
3. National Security – The Iraqi war has worn down peoples will to support aggressive foreign policy, but protecting our people, and our interests around the world will always be important. Even more so with the idea of global terrorism and the specter of a powerful communist China moving onto the world’s stage. No candidate will be able to down size the military anytime soon without loosing a massive amount of voter support.
4. New Deal Reform – People are beginning to realize the importance of reform in the areas of Social Security, welfare, Medicaid, etc… Although many disagree with the Bush plan for Social Security reform, Pandora’s Box has been opened, and voters will not sit ideally by and keep futile hope that Social Security can maintain itself.
5. Faith and Values – No matter how many atheists you hear about trying to remove “Under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance; religion and the importance of acknowledging it in our laws and society will continuously be a quiet mainstay of Mainstream America. People know, and want to maintain that our country was established on the basis of Judeo-Christian values. The recent struggle to remove all religious references from our governmental operations has only heightened this issue.

Most people know the strong points for each Party on the issues mentioned above. I will attempt to detail each Parties weak points that we, as voters, should begin seeing political maneuvering on.

1. Association with Oil companies has made
them extremely weak on this issue. No one will trust that Republicans will
actually attempt to reduce oil costs.
2. While the tax cuts instituted by Bush have helped the economy grow,
the deficit maintains to be a weight holding the American economy back.
The reasoning is, while Republicans have cut taxes, they have increased
spending… bad combination.
3. Illegal Immigration. This one factor has the majority of blame on the
shoulders of business interests (usually closely affiliated with the Right).
Unless Republicans begin taking this issue seriously, they will loose their
National Security creditability.

4. From Social Security to Tort Reform, Bush has talked a lot, and produced very little.
This will be a serious issue for a Republican candidate to overcome.
5. Mainstream America agrees that we should not abolish religion acknowledgement from our Government, but they do not agree with the increased integration of the two proposed by proponents on the far right.

Democrats:

1. Vegetable oil fueled busses and “buy a Hybrid like me”
activism does nothing for the short term. Environmentalists are fighting
the building and construction of new refineries and alternative energy (nuclear)
sources. This leaves them with no short term plan to help consumer’s pump
costs.
2. Democrats will face a serious problem selling tax increases after the
last run of lower taxes. People will not agree that their taxes need to be
increased to account for increased spending. A usual tactic of Democrats
will be seen as a serious flaw in the Left’s economic plans.
3. Democrats will need to change their stance (usually related closely to the anti-military
crowd). A draw-back in our current military forces and/or our military
weaponry will not be accepted easily by the American Mainstream.
4. Democrats haven’t actually produced a comprehensive plan that doesn’t involve socializing
our medical system or solve the failing Social Security.

5. Democrats will not be able, with high visibility religion is getting right now, to quietly ignore that factions of their party are trying to abolish all religious acknowledgement by our Government

BUSH PROTESTING MOM CALLS FOR 'ISRAEL OUT OF PALESTINE'; VOWS NOT TO PAY TAXES

Anti-war protestor Cindy Sheehan, whose soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq, is calling for Bush's "impeachment," and for Israel to get out of Palestine! "You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism," Sheehan declares.

"My son was killed in 2004. I am not paying my taxes for 2004. You killed my son, George Bush, and I don't owe you a penny...you give my son back and I'll pay my taxes. Come after me (for back taxes) and we'll put this war on trial." (Drudge)

This has become something like a bad Moore “documentary”.
Everyone gave her the benefit of the doubt with the questionable recollection of her Bush visit in 2004. Everyone gave her the benefit of the doubt when her family said she was out on her own, pushing an agenda.

Now, I retract my benefit of the doubt. Upset over the loss of your son is one thing. To blame the President is one thing. To claim you wont pay your taxes (like Bush gets that money is his account?), for the loss of your son is something different. So, is she saying her son is worth one year of taxes? Is she saying that anyone who looses a child or spouse shouldn’t owe taxes for that year? This is a PR grab with low moral ethics, at best, and now she really is dishonoring the memory of her son.

And Israel out of Palestine? What has THAT got to do with Bush or her son? While everyone that questioned her motives were given the old “shame on you” speech, now they have be proven at least partially right. The press should be asking these questions now, instead of goading her on.

I was visiting a Left blog (DaileyDissent.org) today, and I stumbled upon a comment to a post that really hit me between the eyes. While the post was what I expected it to be (bashing the current administration for anything right of Ted Kennedy), the comment this guy (his posting name was "Mark") made was nothing more than cut and paste quotes from some politicians and news media folks.

The catch is, all of these quotes came during the time President Clinton was committing our troops to Bosnia. While we can debate the morals and politics of which war was more just, instead, I focused in, not only on the names, but the content of these quotes.

What you will see is almost an exact parody of what the critics of Bush and the war are saying today. Even more striking, is the very people that said some of these quotes, are trying to defend the things they criticized back then.

"You can support the troops but not the president."--
Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years."--
Joe Scarborough (R-FL)

"Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?"--
Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/6/99

"[The] President . . . is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy."--
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

"American foreign policy is now one huge big mystery. Simply put, the administration is trying to lead the world with a feel-good foreign policy."--
Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy."--
Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W Bush

"I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning . . I didn't think we had done enough in the diplomatic area."--
Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)

"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today"--
Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."--
Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)

Partisan politics at its best. Then it was Republicans chewing at Democrats, today it’s the Left chomping at the Right… who will have the ball next, and who will be lining up to shoot em down? Next, on Election ‘08

The nation desperately needs a breath of fresh air. Where it will come from I dont know, because obviously Washington is nothing but smog.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Sept. 11 commission knew military intelligence officials had identified lead hijacker Mohamed Atta as a member of al-Qaida who might be part of U.S.-based terror cell more than a year before the terror attacks but decided not to include that in its final report, a spokesman acknowledged Thursday.

This just gets ugly now. I have disagreed with pointing fingers on this stuff, but what irks me the most is that I am not seeing this or hearing it in the news. The fact of the matter is that Jamie Garelic has real culpability in this because it was her policies that put the “wall” in place making it illegal for the Pentagon to transfer this information to local domestic authorities.

While I say hindsight is 20/20 here, and it is armchair quarterbacking to try and blame her in retrospect; it is another matter all together that this information was known to the 9/11 commission and omitted for the bad PR value it would hold for the commission itself.

I am also annoyed that the Media will run the Rove story past its natural life cycle, but hasn’t touched this one since it became apparent the blame couldn’t be laid at the foot of the Pentagon.

A little boy goes to his dad and asks, "What is politics?"

Dad says, "Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I'm the breadwinner of the family, so
let's call me capitalism. Your Mom, she's the administrator of the money, so we'll call her the
Government. We're here to take care of your needs, so we'll call you the people. The nanny, we'll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we'll call him the Future. Now, think
about that and see if that makes sense,"

So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what dad had said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents' room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed.

The next morning, the little boy says to his father, "Dad, I think I understand the
concept of politics now." The father says, "Good son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about." The little boy replies, "Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep, the People are being ignored and the Future is in deep poo."

Now that is humor! Credit for this one goes out to my wife.

Maybe I spoke too soon. Maybe Hillary won’t be the savior of the Democratic Party. In a recent attempt to please the Democratic base, she blasted the current administration in comments to the HOUSTON CHRONICLE claiming “Irreparable Harm” is being done to the nation. Also claiming that "[they want] to undo the New Deal," (i.e. social security and welfare).

While to Republicans this will appear to be nothing more than a text book political move, many Americans on the left will see this as another scare tactic leaving a bad taste in their mouth.

While the Democrats have shifted further left, Hillary has attempted (until now) to bring them back towards center. Some Democrats realize this is a key reason they continue to loose elections.

Yet potential Presidential nominees feel the need to pander to the far left, as seen in these comments.

This will come back to bite her. She will, as every Democrat in the last 6 years, be seen as a wishy-washy, no core values politican.

She may even be in a race for her Senate seat next, but that is a story for another post.

Drudge had this one first

GENEVA (AFP) – “Summer temperatures have risen sharply in most west European capital cities over the past 30 years, adding to evidence of the accelerating impact of climate change, the environmental group WWF said. […]Between 2000 and 2004, average temperatures in 13 of the 16 cities surveyed were at least one degree Celsius higher than during the first five years of the 1970s, the environmental organization said.”

Here come the bullet holes in their myth:

1.) How exactly are we only warming up certain parts of the world? Would this effect the entire globe at once? If not, then China MUST be about 10 degrees warmer than everywhere else right?
2.) If we are as powerful as the WWF would have us think, explain how we would warm up, or cool down the atmosphere if we wanted to. If we can do it by accident, surly there is a proven method to do it intentionally.
3.) We have made it for the last 100 years of industrial and transportation emissions, but right NOW, the world is close to ending.
4.) What do they really want to do? Do they really want the world back to horse and buggies? Now THAT would be some pollution… horse manure everywhere.

The point of all this is that this “sky is falling” doomsday prediction stuff is to generate funds from contributions. To think we actually impact the environment so quickly is more than egotistical and pretentious, it is down-right ludicrous.

Our most powerful and destructive weapon was used in Japan 60 years ago. This was worse than a million SUVs running full bore for a year. Guess what: Japan is still there, they still have an atmosphere, and life still thrives there. We need to get over ourselves.

U.K. to Deport 10 Foreign Terror Suspects (AP)

“The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that one of the 10 was Abu Qatada, a Palestinian cleric described by British officials as Osama bin Laden's "spiritual ambassador in Europe."

But in New York, the NYCLU (ACLU affiliate in NY) is suing to try and stop bag searches in subways.

What kind of warped world do we live in where a group supposedly defending the constitution is doing everything possible to put it in jepordy?

Today: August 10, 2005 at 14:0:41 PDT
(AP)
"With United Nations inspectors watching, Iranian officials removed U.N. seals that had been placed voluntarily on equipment at the facility eight months ago when Tehran agreed to freeze most of its nuclear program. [...] Iran has rejected European proposals to limit its program in return for economic incentives and shrugged off threats of U.N. sanctions."

Well well well, maybe they arn't as serious about talks as we thought... wait, I've seen this one before, but I dont want to be a spoiler.

US Border Patrol Agent Arrested in Connection With Illegal Immigrant Smuggling (Washington Times)

Here is the catch… he was an illegal himself!

Our tax dollars at work, the US Border Patrol hired an illegal Mexican… AS A BORDER AGENT!

Yet, Republicans and Democrats alike claim that the Minutemen that volunteer to patrol our borders are acting as vigilantes. They both claim that we should allow the authorities to handle it.

Are you sure about that?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- When the Enola Gay took off en route to Hiroshima, Japan, 60 years ago, Col. Paul Tibbets sat at the controls carrying a few cigars and his favorite pipe. (CNN)

Why does the US media, full of the self-loathing that has become a pandemic among the Liberal Left, constantly try to paint our country in a bad light.

While the sixty year anniversary of Hiroshima has come, our Media has non-stop coverage of how much damage, how many dead, and how much suffering WE caused. Yet hardly a report is released about how many American Lives were saved. That’s right, American Lives were saved.


How many of our youth heard about the sixty year anniversary of the Bataan Death March that began at Mariveles on April 10, 1942. It was a series of marches, which lasted from five to nine days, in which the Japanese marched the Filipino and American Bataan defenders (POWs), 55 miles to San Fernando, Pangpanga. Several thousand men died on the "Death March". Many died, because they were not in any physical condition to undertake such a march. Once on the march, they were not given any food or water. Japanese soldiers killed many of them through various means. Also, POWs were repeatedly beaten them and treated inhumanely, as they marched.

This doesn’t include anything of what happened to them once they arrived at the POW camp. Approximately, 1,600 Americans died in the first forty days in Camp O'Donnell. Almost 20,000 Filipinos died in their first four months of captivity, in the same camp. The healthier prisoners took turns burying their comrades into mass graves, just as they, themselves, would be buried, days or weeks later.

But how many “Anniversary” stories do we see of this? How many articles finding survivors, investigators, documentaries, or any other main-stream media coverage of these events do you see?

The answer is hardly any. Why? Because this does not put America in a bad light. This story, and the countless others like it show just cause, not only for Hiroshima, but also for the brutal and destructive undertakings that are part of war.

The same idea is present today. Our Media is feeding off of Iraq right now. The coverage is overwhelmingly about car bombs and suicide bombers. Overwhelmingly they have told us about the questionable rationale for going to Iraq, the mis-conduct of OUR troops, and the world opinion AGAINST us.

Yet they fail to cover the Iraqis that are happy with our presence, the clear evidence that Iraq was a potential future threat, the incidideous nature of the enemies we face, or the world opinion FOR us.

We hear about underwear on the head, men chained to the floor, and fake menstral blood by our troops, yet no stories are published about the absolute atrocity of cutting off someone’s head while chanting “God is Great!” and then video taping the entire saga for an intentional web cast.

Fox news is called a soap box for the Bush administration. While their news coverage may at times lean towards supporting the President, is this such a bad thing? Why has our country become so wrapped up in self-hate and self-blame as to think that supporting OUR nation’s objectives means you are a “sell-out” or "brain-washed"?

We hear the expected arguments from the politicians are about mythical burdens on the poor, and unfair breaks to the rich; but the real reason Washington opposes HR-25 (and any reform for that matter) is the control factor they loose. Not real control over your life, but control over your vote, and over the monetary flow of their lobbyists.

However, the only persuasive arguments against it, with some merit, are actually coming from the grass roots Right. The “Constitutionalists”, the “Libertarians”, and/or the “Constructionists” are stumping that this initiative will actually surrender yet more control to the Government. For much more information, visit JPFO’s website for an article against it, or an Outstanding Post by “John” on able2know.com. It goes into detail, and contains links to other articles about this point of view. I have pulled out a few quote from this information (in case you don’t want to read it all), that highlight their argument.

First, there are some hard numbers (finally) against what HR-25 proposes for revenue neutrality:

“If the federal budget is $2.399 trillion (that is the best number I could find) and the resultant tax rate is 30% (.30) then the dollar amount of goods and/or services sold would have to be $7.999 trillion. Since the consumer would have to pay for BOTH the good and/or the service AND the tax itself, the total cash outlay would be $10.399 trillion. If you divide $10.999 trillion by the (rounded up) number of Americans 300,000,000 you get $34,663.78 per person. Or put differently each and every single person in the United States would have to spend $34,663.78 each and every year for the Fair Tax to work.”

Second, they contend that as long as the 16th Amendment remains part of our Constitution we WILL be subject to an income tax in the future. Now, I think this could just be added to HR-25, then the problem is solved no?

So as not seem partial, I can give some prospective on where most of these people stand, I have pulled out a couple more quotes that show the potential paranoia of the dissenters.

“I believe that this bill penalizes individuals and families that do not"register" with the Social Security Administration. Therefore, any personthat does not have a social security number, hence, a national ID number,will not receive the proposed rebate. This discriminates against those that do not wish to be tracked by the government.” (Um, I dont think they care about YOU that much)

“In addition, the plan includes a monthly "prebate" check that will be sent to each taxpayer via direct deposit whenever possible. We will then have a captive nation--everyone dependent on the government for a monthly check--a nation under complete control of its federal government. One word of dissent and the monthly check can mysteriously stop, and the direct deposit account can be locked "by mistake." (Right, and then they will get their satellites tracking on you... TRUST NO ONE!)

But, I finally found some argument against the Fair Tax. I am leaning more towards it. If nothing else, I see this as a potential stepping stone to achieve real tax equality.

NEW YORK — One of the targets of the Oil-for-Food investigation, Alexander Yakovlev (search), on Monday pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering charges for taking bribes during his work at the United Nations (Fox News)

A Quick Line-up of, as they used say, “The Usual Suspects”






Kofi Annan: The U.N. secretary-general is near the center of the Oil-for-Food investigation because of his role leading the world body







Benon Sevan: The former head of the Office of the Iraq Programme who was in charge of overseeing the Oil-for-Food program










Kojo Annan: The son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Kojo Annan used to work for the Swiss-based company, Cotecna, which is also at the center of the Oil-for-Food probe for its oversight of Iraq's humanitarian contracts.








Jacques Chirac: The president of France, was a staunch opponent of the U.S.-led war in Iraq. He is of interest to Oil-for-Food investigators because of suggestions that French businessmen and politicians with close ties to Chirac may have received bribes from Saddam




Now, why would anyone in the US have reason to question the UN?.

While proponents of the Fair Tax plan have said that costs will remain close to the same since the “imbedded” taxes will be removed from the cost of production, what about the costs of buying supplies for production.

This seems like a circular argument, but at some-point, someone is paying more for supplies, for production. If I am buying the wood to build a house, I have to pay the new and improved sales tax on the wood. Now shouldn’t the wood cost more because the saws and chemicals used to make the finished lumber cost more? And shouldn’t the saws used to cut the wood down cost more to make since raw ore and machining equipment will now also have a 23% sales tax on them?

My question is where exactly is the embedded taxes that are going to be removed, at the beginning of the production chain (think food chain), that will keep all the costs down until we get to final consumer (end game)?

If I dont get an answer from anyone here, I will be forced to actually research this on my own. I dont want things to come to that point. Comments welcome and encouraged.

Drudge has a developing story about the dead Iraqi War Vet's Mother protesting outside of Bush’s Ranch. Apparently, she has had a complete change of heart about how she feels towards her son’s death, the President, and exactly what transpired when the President came to visit her a year ago.

In 2004, she said “I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis,' Cindy said after their meeting. 'I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith.[…] 'That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together”

2004 Article: “For a moment, life returned to the way it was before Casey died. They laughed, joked and bickered playfully as they briefly toured Seattle”


Now, in 2005, she says “It was -- you know, there was a lot of things said. We wanted to use the time for him to know that he killed an indispensable part of our family and humanity. And we wanted him to look at the pictures of Casey. He wouldn't look at the pictures of Casey. He didn't even know Casey's name. He came in the room and the very first thing he said is, 'So who are we honoring here?' He didn't even know Casey's name. He didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear anything about Casey. He wouldn't even call him 'him' or 'he.' He called him ‘your loved one’. Every time we tried to talk about Casey and how much we missed him, he would change the subject. And he acted like it was a party.”

“Yes, he came in very jovial, and like we should be happy that he, our son, died for his misguided policies. He didn't even pretend like somebody...”

Now, I have not lost a child in war, and I have not personally met the President, but to me, there is something drastically different in these two accounts…

Where is the line between real emotion and feelings, and political statement? What would make someone change the way the feel this drastically in a year?

Will Conservatism break the foundations of our nation?

To look into this aspect of a political theory, we need to define conservatism, and show the difference between a Conservative, and a Republican. While most of the Republican Party is associated with the term Conservative, the two are not synonymous.

From the GOP:
“The Republican Party was born in the early 1850's by anti-slavery activists and individuals who believed that government should grant western lands to settlers free of charge […] abolishing slavery, free speech, reducing the government, streamlining the bureaucracy, returning power to the states and women's suffrage. These are all stances the Republican Party, in opposition to the Democratic Party, adopted early on… [we are] committed to keeping the nation strong and secure through strengthening our military, deploying a missile defense system, strengthening the NATO alliance and supporting military families and veterans.”

From the National Libertarian Party
Libertarians believe the answer to America's political problems is the same commitment to freedom that earned America its greatness: a free-market economy and the abundance and prosperity it brings; a dedication to civil liberties and personal freedom that marks this country above all others; and a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade as prescribed by America's founders."

Again, these two statements look very similar. Both seem to say: smaller government, equal rights, and strong defense. However, a closer look shows us some real differences. For one example (one I use to highlight the point of this post) lets look at their policy on taxes and governmental social programs.

The GOP preaches a philosophy of lowering taxes, and trying increase an ownership society. They appreciate the need for welfare reform, so as not to punish the achievers of our nation by placing the burden of non-achievers on their backs.

On a different tract, Conservatives believe that taxes, and the social programs supported by them are fundamentally wrong. “Instead of tending to the basics, government has grown into a bloated conglomerate of political services that gets larger every year with no end in sight […] It is time to recognize that welfare cannot be reformed: it should be ended. We should eliminate the entire social welfare system. This includes eliminating AFDC, food stamps, subsidized housing, and all the rest. Individuals who are unable to fully support themselves and their families through the job market must, once again, learn to rely on supportive family, church, community, or private charity to bridge the gap.” (NLP)

The flaw in this mentality is that it assumes that we as people do not have any social or moral value to the betterment of society. It assumes that the sole reason for success in the nation is due to individual ability, and therefore, no responsibility for others is necessary.
The Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution have been the founding documents that allowed our nation to become the most powerful, and successful nation in modern (Industrialized) history. Yet a “Conservative”, by definition believes that success is only from personal labor and talent, not from the society as a whole. They do not feel that they owe this country (not the notion, the people) any debt for the incredible opportunities they have been afforded. For a simplistic example, a true conservative believes that if they are to go through school, finish college, and amass great wealth, they owe no debt to the countless others that helped along the way (bus drivers, day-care workers, trash men, etc…).

While most Republicans believe that welfare, while flawed, has a purpose that cannot be ignored, Conservatives believe that it, along with most other social programs, should be abolished.

Republicans once stood for "Free soil, free labor, free speech, free men..." under John C. Fremont, yet the conservative movement that owns it today has driven these basic values of compassion out of the Party.

Where this leads us to is back to the premise of the question. Will Conservatism squeeze the morality of our people so tight as to break the foundations of our nation? We have always been a nation of immigrants. Generous and giving; and always willing to lend a helping had to a fellow citizen in need. If this changes, we loose the ability to inspire the world.

Is Liberalism destroying our Republic?

The first part of this topic will address defining Liberalism. For the last 30 years, the Democratic Party has increasingly become associated with the “Liberal Left”. However, I contend that Liberal and Democrat are not the same. I contend that, while a liberal movement has entrenched itself in the Democratic Party, that all Democrats are not Liberals.

First, we will look at mission statements:

From the DNC
“For more than 200 years, the Democratic Party has represented the interests of working families, fighting for equal opportunities and justice for all Americans.Today, Democrats continue that fight with a firm commitment to the values that we all share as Americans: a secure nation that leads in the world, strong economic growth and new jobs, affordable health care for all Americans, and a better education for our children.”

From the ACLU
“We work also to extend rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including Native Americans and other people of color; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; women; mental-health patients; prisoners; people with disabilities; and the poor.”

While both statements say similar things, a closer look reveals some differences. Per their mission statement, Democrats fight “…for equal opportunities and justice for all Americans.” The ACLU (the most visible “liberal” organization today) says they “…work to extend rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights…”

While Democrats say they are fighting for all of us, the ACLU says they are in fact, only fighting for what they view as oppressed people. While this in itself is a noble undertaking, it deserts a significant majority of the population.

When our nation was founded, it was under the theory that none of us were more valuble than the Republic. None of our personal wants and/or desires were to be put above the welfare of the Union.

As defined by the dictionary, -Liberalism is a political theory founded on the natural goodness of humans and the autonomy of the individual and favoring civil and political liberties.

This has developed into a philosophy that our Government must try to meet the needs and desires of all people. However, “to say that individuals have the right to pursue their own happiness implies that they are not obliged to pursue the happiness of others. Put differently, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness implies that people are not obligated to serve the needs, concerns, wishes and wants of others. This doesn’t mean that everyone has to be selfish. It does imply that everyone has a right to be selfish.” -(Debate Central)

I contend that Liberalism has inferred the Declarations of Independence statement “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”, to mean that our Government must give these to all people, not that it must only afford the opportunity to pursue them.