Laughing at yourself

Soemtimes we are our funniest subjects!

And really.... if you can't laugh at yourself, you're missing out on a lot of rich comedy gold!

One of the funniest things is when Christians pray in public. Some people are very, very skilled in this department. Others... not so much.

So what? God knows your heart. Still... I bet he gets a good chuckle out of us.

Here's Johnny and Chachi with some "Killer Prayer Tips" to help us all improve our prayer life!

Word of warning:

Don't try the Miracle Position without a spotter!!

Palin said "target"...

... and the Left is running around with their dresses pulled over their heads, screaming about "incendiary language".

I recall Obama during the campaign telling his supporters to "Get in their faces."

I also recall him saying (in Philadelphia... you know The City of Brotherly Love) that "If they bring a knife to this fight, we'll bring a gun."

Politics has been called "War by Another Name". There are all sorts of war-related metaphors tossed around. There have even been political shows on TV like Firing Line and Crossfire.

(Please note: Firing Line never used a real "firing line" on that show. Crossfire did not include actual gun battles.)

It's just natural to talk about targeting your opposition and getting your troops out.

When Palin says to target these districts and Congress-people, she doesn't mean to line them up in the crosshairs of your real gun and shoot them. She means to target them for defeat in the November elections.

And I don't literally mean that Leftists and Democrats are running around with dresses pulled over their heads. I mean they are calling attention to their fake outrage in order to make a political point, and to distract from the real and substantive criticisms of the bill they've just passed.

After all, it's far easier to demonize your opposition than to argue with, and actually rebut, his positions.

It's easier to call your opposition "inciters of violence" or "racist" than to debate the issues of debt, higher taxes, and mandatory insurance.

Want to see REAL incendiary language...and pictures? Want to see real hate speech, and incitement of violence?

Look again at the top of this post.

That's President Bush being assassinated.

It's from a REAL mock-documentary film called "Death of a President".

It was produced by the Left. Again, it's a real, actual film promoting and depicting violence.

Or here's John Kerry to Bill Maher, from an October 2006 interview:

Maher : You could have went to New Hampshire and killed two birds with one stone.

Kerry : Or, I could have gone to 1600 Pennsylvania and killed the real bird with one stone .

Very nice. America really dodged a bullet when he was defeated for President. (Oops... dodged a bullet... we might have gotten shot or something!)

Take a look at this website, if you have the stomach for it. You'll see what the Left really thinks about violence and incendiary language.

"George W. Bush must die!"

I'm shedding no tears (real or crocodile) over the Left's phony outrage at our anger over this healthcare bill.


And just to clarify: The anger is real. Humans don't shed actual "crocodile tears". That's a euphemism for "phony, fake tears".

"He lived like a young monarch...

... and listened to the voice of the young."

Careful people. My generation really IS in charge now.

There has never been a more narcissistic generation in American history.

Here's a movie trailer about us:



"I've been under the care of an LSD therapist."

Sad, but true, I'm afraid.

Lots of "crazy pills" being prescribed to the public these days.

Patiently Waiting for November 2

I REALLY love this photo.

It was taken about a year ago at a Tea Party. This was at the start of the Tea Party Movement.

This little girl's face says it all.

She's looking at the camera and thinking to herself:

"Just who do you think you are? You think you have the right to spend money you don't have on YOURSELF and make ME pay the bill? No way, Mister. Me and my Mommy and my Daddy, and my Grandparents are gonna take care of you."

Ok... so I'm reading her mind. You can't prove she's NOT thinking that!

Chances are, her Mom and Dad sat her down and explained what was going on, and why they were going to this big Tea Party. It is, after all, simple enough for a child to understand.

For some reason though, lots of adults don't get it.

Promising to buy stuff for people using other people's money is wrong, but it's just either too difficult a concept to grasp, OR they just don't want to accept it.

After all... this IS the generation of adults that's always gotten everything they wanted... WHEN they wanted it. "Live within your means"? What's up with that? That's for losers.

Lots of people said the Tea Party Movement would fizzle out. It hasn't. It's grown, and is growing. Republicans, Democrats, Free-Thinkers from all walks of life.

The Tea Party Movement is fueled by disgust from good folks who know that making promises with other people's money is wrong, and that spending money on junk you want, but have to buy with borrowed money that your kids have to repay, is not just politically corrupt... it defies common sense and common morality.

No, the Tea Party Movement is here to stay.

It will be portrayed as racist and violent by its political opponents.

That's OK. That will just fuel even more growth. People are smart enough to see the agenda behind that lie.

It will be portrayed the same way by the Lapdog Media.

Again, OK. The Watchdog Media will report the truth.

That will fuel even more growth, for both the Tea Parties and for the Watchdog Media... Fox, Rush, the Breitbart empire, etc.

The same people who believed the Tea Party Movement would fizzle out probably believe we'll lose our intensity before November 2.

They think we'll forget about the millions of little girls and boys like this who are counting on us to NOT make them slaves to our debt. They think we won't turn out in numbers big enough to shake the foundations of this attempted Socialist takeover of the Free Enterprise System.

Not a chance.

This little girl is too precious.

Princess Leia

From HillBuzz.org:

There will be millions of Leias created by Democrats’ actions today.

More than a few Han Solos and Luke Skywalkers, too.

Because today is the day when any excuses many people use while trying to defend Democrats die — exploded by the ramifications of what the Red Queen is doing in passing a destructive bill that should have been scrapped, a bill Americans do not want. After Democrats pass this monstrosity, there is absolutely no more defending these people. The Rationing Bill is pure socialism. Democrats pushing it are in fact Communists. There is no way to ever undo the damage passage of this bill will do to the Democrat Party

Thank you Hillbuzz! Could NOT have said it better myself.

But wait...there's more:

Politics in America changes today for good.

The mask Democrats have tried to wear since the 1990s, the mask of moderate centrists, is removed today — and much like the gruesome, scarred, bloated face of Darth Vader, Americans are not going to like what they see.

We don’t know how independents, moderates, and conservatives ever trust Democrats with elected office again — not after they’ve passed a bill that’s so blatantly unconstitutional and against public opinion.

P.S. The guys at Hillbuzz are gay Democrats from Chicago. They know Chicago politics like the back of their hand. They know Obama personally, know his friends, and detest him as a scammer and Marxist.

Who am I to argue? They know him better than me.

Cable Network Rankings

Fox News Channel cleans up.

This really doesn't surprise me, for two reasons:

1. Americans are hungry for hard news with MORE depth and LESS ideology.
2. Americans don't like to be insulted and talked down to.

This leads to the following recent Neilsen results for Prime Time:

Fox News Channel: #2
MSNBC: #26
CNN: #32

See it all here Click on "Fullscreen" to enlarge

If you've watched "Special Report" on Fox News Channel, you know there is NOTHING like it on any news hour... cable or network.

Because Fox delivers such high quality, in-depth reporting on Special Report, viewers keep viewing Fox on into the Prime Time lineup.

Then, opinion pretty much takes over.

The Prime Time is basically "opinion-driven", and Fox cleans up big time there.

It's definitely got a Center-Right perspective, and since this view is very mainstream and given short-shrift by Establishment Media, Fox attracts viewers who can't find this view respectably presented anywhere else.

Very smart "niche marketing".

And (to make it even smarter) Left-wing viewpoints are given full opportunity alongside the Center-Right. Americans are fair. They want alternative views represented.

Seems like this butt-kicking by Fox would cause CNN and MSNBC to catch on. They're just too ideological, it seems, to even tolerate strong-minded conservative views on their shows.

Oh... one other thing to note:

Cartoon Network is #13 in Prime Time.

Watch at your own risk

WARNING:

Watching this video by the band Grizzly Bear will likely cause this pop song to embed in your brain for a few days.

I saw it last summer, then heard the song on a VW commercial recently.

The video is great, and the song is one tight little gem of pop.

You've been warned...

Obama upside-down

Look at this graph from Gallup:

Uh-oh...bad trend Mr. President

Shows Obama's Approval at 46% and his Disapproval at 47%.

This is a 3-day rolling average.

Exactly 1 year ago his numbers were:

Approval about 68%
Disapproval about 10%

As the saying goes: "The trend is your friend."

Or not!

Americans are smart. They can see through smoke and mirrors, through blather and bluster.

Snake oil only sells for so long. "Dr. Utopias" typically get run out of town once the townsfolk figure out they've been had.

Look for charges of raaaacism to start popping up soon.

Big Government + Big Business =

Big Trouble!

I thought the collusion of "The Bigs" in selling global warming was bad, but this drive for government to take control of the nation's health care system is "Big Trouble" taken to a new level.

The MAJOR "red flag" for me in the entire man-made global warming fiasco has been the coincident agendas of the "Bigs" - in this case Big Government, Business, Media, Academia. They all marched in lockstep to foist a belief system on us "rubes".

Since they control the levers of information and power, they have been able to promote their agenda while minimizing any opposition to it. That's all unraveling now, but still...a LOT of damage has been done, and a lot of propaganda has been successfully embedded in many minds.

Well...here we are again, but this time with 1/6 of the American economy. This is a disaster being crammed down our throats by a political party that has no intention of following the will of the American people.

The Democrats have a majority so they can do as they pretty much wish, especially if they decide to flout long-established Senate parliamentary rules. I expect them to do so, and reveal themselves as the "little dictators" they so want to be.

America was established as a republic, NOT a democracy. The reason? Because democracies are run by majority rule, and the people voting as a majority will eventually vote themselves so many entitlements that they vote their government out of its ability to function. This opens the door for dictatorship to come in to save the day.

This is exactly what's happening.

What happens is that "Two Sets of Rules" become the norm. These are unspoken, but real nonetheless.

Read this and see if you agree this is happening now:

"The American people have a clear understanding of this. Seventy percent believe that government and big business tend to work together against the rest of us and there is a sense that there are two sets of rules. There is one set of rules that most Americans play by, small businesses, churches, community groups, that has a lot of accountability, and then there is a whole separate set of rules for a political and corporate elite that doesn't want to be bound by such petty things as accountability."

And does this sound familiar?

...the traditional understanding is that a business that does well by serving its customers prospers, while the business that doesn't, goes out of business. But when the political and business elites get together, they use tax dollars to bail out failing businesses and establish regulatory regimes to prop them up, keep out competitors, and insure continued revenues.

That way, the political elites get more power and jobs, while the corporate elite gets more income and "market stability." Another word for this arrangement is spelled C-O-N.

Read the short article here

We are being CONNED by an aggressive, hand-in-hand relationship between Big Government and Big Business.

They've got incredible power. They control MUCH of the mass communications industry, so they can get their message out in the most positive "spun" form possible.

They can use this power to attack dissenters, and paint them as extremists and "divisive". (Someone needs to shoot that word, please.)

When a blogger or talk radio host, or Fox News, points out a downside or threat from this collusion of "The Bigs", they become target #1. Many fall for it and "attack the messenger".

And many of those who fall for it are the same people who came of age in the 1970's and rooted for Luke and Han against the Empire, or cheered as Mike Wallace used a "whistleblower" to expose corruption.

They used to not trust "The Man". Now they cheer for and protect "The Man". Sheesh.

I don't know what happened, but this collusion between Big Government and Big Business is not the Founders' intention. They knew that power corrupts.

Perhaps we just seek Security now, above Freedom.

I hope not. We can still stop this thing.

America's Credit Rating

Just a quickie here...

Check out this article from today's Financial Times (London):

AAA rating in doubt?

A few paragraphs:

Moody’s Investor Service, the credit rating agency, will fire a warning shot at the US on Monday, saying that unless the country gets public finances into better shape than the Obama administration projects there would be “downward pressure” on its triple A credit rating.

And this:

Pierre Cailleteau, head of sovereign ratings at Moody’s, said: “The size of debt makes the US vulnerable to an interest rate shock . . . but the level of fiscal ambition is not one that secures for sure the [triple A] rating.”

Moody’s worries that the government will struggle to get political agreement either to raise tax revenues significantly from their current low of 14.8 per cent of national income, or to cut federal spending far from its high of 25.4 per cent of national income.

If you are the least bit sanguine about this, my prediction is this: You don't have kids. Otherwise, you would be shell-shocked with outrage at the prospect of condemning them to a future of debt.

Proverbs 22:7 says "The borrower is servant to the lender."

Servant = Slave.

Is this what we want for our kids? Are we clueless enough about economics and debt to believe it can be otherwise if we continue current spending and borrowing, which is based on creating more and more government programs?

What happens if America's debt goes from AAA to AA?

Interest rates go UP. Housing values FALL. Inflation heats up, eroding purchasing power. Interest payments on the national debt go UP, eating away more and more of our dwindling "discretionary" income.

Ultimately, our kids get to work 6 months a year just to pay their tax bill to Uncle Sam.

Fight now.

As I read recently...

"Be heard, or be herded."

The Global Warming Fizzle

The narrative of man-made global warming is falling apart.

The latest polling shows that 55% of Americans no longer believe that humans are responsible for the earth's warming; that any warming is the result of either natural planetary factors or some "other than human" cause.

Click for latest poll

What's caused this growing awareness by Americans?

Certainly not the Establishment Media, which has under-reported the skeptic side of the argument for a decade now and that (here in America) has barely covered the East Anglia CRU email scandal that broke last November. That scandal, as you now know, revealed that the scientists promoting AGW had distorted data, suppressed dissent, and defied Freedom of Information Act requests in the UK.

It's now revealed U.S. scientists did the same here in America, with NASA stonewalling FOIA requests.

The news IS getting out in Anti-Establishment Media and, since Americans are paying more attention now to alternative sources of information, the narrative is falling apart... and deservedly so.

There have been skeptical scientists all along. They have been considered "Heretics" to the orthodoxy propagated by the pro-AGW scientists.

Most Americans haven't heard of their efforts, but they've been around for years. Check out this petition of over 30,000 scientists who have signed their name to their skepticism:

Global Warming Petition Project

Here is the "Purpose of the Petition":

The purpose of the Petition Project is to demonstrate that the claim of “settled science” and an overwhelming “consensus” in favor of the hypothesis of human-caused global warming and consequent climatological damage is wrong. No such consensus or settled science exists. As indicated by the petition text and signatory list, a very large number of American scientists reject this hypothesis.

(my "bolds")

Go read the whole thing. Click on the links. Check out the numbers of highly qualified scientists who have put their names and reputations on the line to dissent from the "Establishment" view.

They've been derided and called "deniers" and anti-science.

Really? Anti-science? Check out these qualifications from the petition signers:

The current list of petition signers includes 9,029 PhD; 7,157 MS; 2,586 MD and DVM; and 12,714 BS or equivalent academic degrees. Most of the MD and DVM signers also have underlying degrees in basic science.

All of the listed signers have formal educations in fields of specialization that suitably qualify them to evaluate the research data related to the petition statement. Many of the signers currently work in climatological, meteorological, atmospheric, environmental, geophysical, astronomical, and biological fields directly involved in the climate change controversy.

Seems the pro-AGW "scientists' would rather shut down debate than engage other scientists.

The actual anti-science people are those scientists who politicized science and used it in ways to promote an agenda.

Let me repeat, and emphasize...

If a scientist does NOT follow established science protocols, and then uses his unproven hypothesis to make unfounded claims, to promote an agenda, and to shut off dissenting scientists... he or she is anti-science.


Since I am a lover of science, I am disgusted by this corruption of science.

I'm happy to say I was a denier when denial wasn't cool, but...

... I actually prefer the term "Climate Realist".

Surfing's Maestro: Tom Curren.

Put a gun to my head and force me to choose, and this is my favorite surfer of all time.

Probably a majority of surfers my age (45+) would agree. Slater is the best surfer of all time. Plenty more radical surfers today. They all owe a debt to Curren.

Super radical but stylin' the whole way. You can watch him surf and feel every bottom turn..the way he draws it out, delays it, snaps under the hook, pulls into the tube, gets deep. He's just the total package.

A lot of modern surfing leaves me cold. It's incredible - technically. Artistically, it leaves me empty. Too many gyrations and unnecessary actions. Too much emphasis on "maneuvers" as opposed to surfing the entire wave to its maximum potential.

Most of this video is in black and white. I like this as it lets me focus in more on his technique and the way he fits his body into what the wave is calling for.

Surfing is such a visually beautiful sport that the beauty can be distracting when watching the surfing itself!

Curren was born to surf. See for yourself.

Zinnsane American History

There's a fight right now over the content of textbooks used to teach American History in Texas schools.

And in related news... Howard Zinn recently passed away.

Hopefully his influence dies with him. Texas has a good chance right now to deliver a "kill shot".

This cartoon depicts the America portrayed by Zinn in his widely used textbook "A People's History of the United States".

Zinn's America is a place of oppression and imperialism. Of racism and bigotry. Of exploitation by the moneyed classes.

Read this about Zinn from The History News Network:

If you’ve read Marx, there’s really no reason to read Howard Zinn. The first line of The Communist Manifesto provides the single-bullet theory of history that provides Zinn with his narrative thread— “The history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggle.” It is the all-purpose explanation of every subject that Zinn covers.

Howard Zinn's Biased History

Here's Zinn himself on his view of his role as a "Historian":

“I wanted to be a part of history and not just a recorder and teacher of history. So that kind of attitude towards history, history itself as a political act, has always informed my writing and my teaching.”

In other words, Zinn's approach has been to write history in a way that tells a narrative about America from his own viewpoint. His view is Marxist, so his narrative is one of class warfare.

In Zinn's America, we find that all American wars were fought over money and profit.

We don't find The Gettysburg Address, or Reagan's speech at The Brandenburg Gate.

We don't learn of the Wright Brothers, or Jonas Salk, or Alexander Graham Bell. (but we do learn of Joan Baez and the Berrigan brothers).

Makes you consider the very real possibility that educators endorsing Zinn are trying consciously to both "dumb-down" American students AND give them a deep sense of antipathy to the United States.

What's that about?

Geniuses like Matt Damon now carry on the work of Zinn.

Marco Rubio

I saw Marco Rubio speak this morning. There were about 300 of us in attendance.

I was impressed with everything he said. He is a great example of what's happening in our "body politic" right now, which is that...

... the antibodies are starting to fight back and defend the "body" against its attackers!

There are "Marco Rubios" all over the nation running for public office at all levels of government. There are also bloggers and other "alternative" sources of information getting in the game... many for the first time.

It's a very good sign. I think people realize this 2010 election is more important than any they've ever lived through. If we didn't know it before, the last year has brought that into crystal-like clarity.

I was hoping and believing it would.

You can tell a LOT about someone from the little moments. Two things stood out for me about Rubio.

1. He opened it up to Q and A, and his answers were unscripted, thorough and detailed, AND perfectly in sync with rock-solid conservative (Originalist) principles. Watching someone think so well on their feet, and articulate such deeply developed answers is impressive and very heartening. It's easy to tell this is WHO he is; it's not just platitudes served up to cater to an audience.

2. The other insight was his calling out of President Obama for his very revealing and different treatments of Iran and Honduras in the last year.

In Iran, Obama ignored the human rights uprising that took place last Spring, giving it no moral support at a time when American support could have helped them take major steps towards liberating themselves from a tyrannical regime.

In Honduras, Obama threw his support behind Zelaya's attempt to usurp the Honduran Constitutional process and hold on to power in dictatorial fashion.

So... in BOTH cases, Obama supported dictators at the expense of the people.

This is a real-world case study of Obama, and says all about him we need to know.

Thank you Marco Rubio for highlighting this when others aren't!

I encourage all of my Florida readers to vote for Marco Rubio.

Warren Zevon

I'm a big Warren Zevon fan going back to my college days in the mid 70's.

He wrote some truly great songs, and looked at the world in a kind of twisted, bemused way that was sort of a combination of loving the world and life, being po'd at it, and being in pain and sadness from it.

One of my favorite Zevon songs is "The Ballad of Bill Lee". It's a super simple tune. A piano and harmonica tribute to Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee, who refused to think, play or talk by the "rules".

Check out these lyrics:

You're supposed to sit on your ass
And nod at stupid things;
Man, that's hard to do.
But if you don't, they'll screw you.
And if you do they'll screw you too.

When I'm standing in the middle of that diamond all alone
I always play to win when it comes to skin and bone

But sometimes I say things I shouldn't, like....
Sometimes I say things I shouldn't, like....

My take: 90 seconds of wisdom wrapped up in a sweet little tune, great instrumental, and reminding me to...

Speak up... you'll be criticized if you do or if you don't, so might as well speak up and take action. Regrets in life are almost always over what you didn't do than what you did do.

Play to win... everyone's "standing in the middle of that diamond all alone". Throw your heart over the bar. What's a little skin and bone?

Have a sense of irony... being a player in the game means you're gonna make errors. Sometimes you'll say things (or do things) you shouldn't. That's part of being human. Have a sense of irony about it, and keep moving.

And don't just automatically do what you're "supposed to".

R.I.P. Warren!

Tea Partiers and Contracts

Read and meditate upon this, from the original Tea Partier, Sam Adams:

“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, not your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”

–Samuel Adams, 1776


If you don't "get" people demanding limited government, personal liberty, and a return to Constitutional principles... keep meditating upon the above quote.

Tea Partiers are NOT political partisans. They are normal people who abide by contracts in their personal conduct, and simply demand that the nation live by its contract - the Constitution. It's not complicated or sinister.

Do you demand that the contracts you enter into be honored? Would you - for example - accept your mortgage company changing the terms of your contract, and simply notifying you that the new contract was a done deal, after the fact?

Of course you wouldn't. That's a ridiculous thought, and you'd have none of it!

And that's the Tea Party in a nutshell. Government is limited by its contract. "Enforce the contract!" say the Tea Partiers. "Live by what you promised, Mr. Government."

But it's more than just another contract. It's THE contract. It's the revolutionary moment in all of mankind's history when the people asserted their liberty, and put it in writing.

So... if people get upset at its violation, well, it's understandable. In fact, it's normal and healthy to be upset at the violation of contracts.

Where will this lead politically. Not sure yet. Tea Partiers are BOTH Democrats and Republicans.

That said, the Tea Party movement IS much more naturally inclined to vote Republican.

Why?

Because the Republican Party has a platform that is more closely aligned with the Constitution.

Simple as that. No nefarious scheme.

The Founding Fathers were genius. They limited the power of government by stating in writing what it could do. They then gave powers to different branches so that competing power would be another layer of "limit" on the power of government.

The ultimate limit on power? The people. It's our government.

The Tea Parties is how we're reminding Mr. Government that he works for us.

There's still a LOT of American DNA in our people. It's the hard-wiring of Americans that make us unique in the world and that attracts other Americans to emigrate here from around the globe.

That "hard wiring" lights up when it's suggested we exchange Liberty for Security. Or as Sam Adams put it so well, when we value...

...the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom.

EX-liberals

I used to be a liberal. Way back. Even voted for Leftist Barry Commoner for President (1980).

Subscribed to one magazine: Mother Jones.

Good grief.

Ronald Reagan cured me. God bless that man!

So... it's been a few decades, but I still remember the mindset. (This is something I'll flesh out later.)

The point of this post is to say "I really enjoy EX-liberals!". They are my kindred spirits.

They are always interesting and passionate. I think their passion comes from the fact that they understand intimately and personally the destructive nature of liberalism.

I compare it to being an "ex" anything... for example: ex-smoker.

Aren't ex-smokers more anti-smoking and pro-clean air and lungs than people who never smoked at all?

Or ex-atheists. Aren't they more anti-atheism and pro-God than people who never made that journey?

I know (because I travelled the path) that it has everything to do with this fact: changing your beliefs is a BIG DEAL, and only comes through a process of consciously analyzing those beliefs, and honestly dealing with their shortcomings.

If you do that and find serious flaws, then the next step is one of intellectual honesty and personal integrity. You change your worldview to reflect the truth you have found.

This is why I like ex-liberals. I find them refreshingly honest and principled. And their principle comes not from some assumed, unexamined set of beliefs about reality, but from a sort of "forging" process by which their old beliefs were burned away (often painfully).

The new beliefs that result are steel.

That said, go read some "neo neocon" linked at the right. She's a hard-core ex-liberal who came to conservatism after decades spent assuming the "truths" of liberalism. Read her story and you'll see it was a thoughtful, purely rational, process. Typical of the process, actually.

Also, go to the American Thinker link and search for "Robin of Berkeley". Another ex-liberal, living in THE liberal center of the American universe. Both she and neo neocon are psychologists with really special insights into the psychology of liberalism and why it can be so appealing.

I should also link Tammy Bruce. Her site is TammyBruce.com. She's a self-described conservative. She's a lesbian feminist. (Yes... conservatives are feminists, maybe the truest ones of all.)

She's also the Ex-President of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization of Women (N.O.W.). Talk about a hard-core EX-liberal!

Tammy is especially hard on liberalism because from her experience liberals are not interested in solving the problems they address. Solving them, after all, means their liberal services are no longer required! Because of this, Ms. Bruce makes no bones about her anti-liberalism. She finds it dishonest and self-serving at its core.

Then there's Ann McElhinny. She's an ex-liberal who did a documentary film on global warming called "Not Evil, Just Wrong". The film was the result of her and her partner studying the issue in hopes of adding to the "truth" of man-made global warming.

Here's a link to the film.

What they found shocked them, and cured them of their liberalism.

Watch her speak for 8 minutes here. She's from Scotland. Sometimes it takes a foreigner to remind an American of how awesome America is! This is her on the film Avatar, and on the indoctrination of our kids going on in public schools today:

Blessing from a Quadripedic Comedian

A friend sent me this video. Wow, it's funny... and oh, so touching.

Some classic lines:

"Hey Mister...what happened to your face?"

"Boy, I'll bet that hurts!"

"We're gonna have to immobilize that finger."

"By golly...where did you go to medical school?"

"I always ask her 'Is this gonna hurt?'"

Unfortunately, we all need a reminder now and then to be grateful. Maybe you need a reminder today. If so, here you go:

Ridiculing the ridiculous

As a general rule, "ridicule" is to be avoided. "Ridicule for ridicule's sake" is, quite bluntly, a way of hating your neighbor. This is NOT what we are called to do!

Ridicule is, however, a powerfully effective tool for exposing those things that are ridiculously destructive. If something works against human flourishing, it should be fought against. Ridicule is simply a tool used in that fight.

Political cartoons are one of those "Tools of Ridicule". There is a caveat, however... or a "Double Caveat":

They must be funny.
They must be true.

Combining the two can result in very effective ridicule of that which is destructive.

The above 2 cartoons are great examples. Both funny, both true.

It's also why I have a link on the side to Chris Muir's "Day by Day" cartoon. Check it out!

Chris is kinda the "Anti-Doonesbury". He comes at life from a libertarian/conservative perspective and has a cast of characters who are thoroughly those things.

They also defy the stereotype of conservatives. Muir's characters are hip, sophisticated, well-informed, and broad-minded. They are tolerant of different views, and INtolerant of the intolerance of the Left.

They are professional, well-educated people.

"Day by Day" is effective because those are TRUE traits of the large majority of conservatives.

By nature and through their principles, they are actually MORE tolerant and broad-minded than those on the Left... and have a greater diversity of views.

After all, their emphasis is on the individual... NOT the collective. People who emphasize the collective think in terms of groups, not individuals. Their views are shaped by "group-identity think". More on this in another post.

In short, conservatives/libertarians live out their diversity... and Muir showcases it.

More cartoons to come.

After all, if this destructive ideology of the Left is to be destroyed it will take every tool in the arsenal.

But of course some will still think the real threat is those Tea Bagg... um... Partiers.

You may have heard of them from Establishment Media? You know who they are...

They are those racist, Nazi, FOXagandists...

Smoking Guns

Since November 2009, there have been a lot of revelations about the either poorly-done or fraudulent science used to support the "narrative" of man-made global warming (AGW).

Whether intentional or not, AGW science has been corrupted and politicized to promote an agenda. Reasonable people can argue over why that has occurred. What they can't argue with is the fact that the skeptics are bringing up real, undeniable issues and problems with the science and the projections of the scientists.

One real problem is "information overload". Another problem is the lack of reporting in American "Establishment Media" about these problems. (Media in the UK have done an excellent job.)

The lack of reporting is easy to see.

The "information overload" boils down to this: there are so many problems and issues with the theory... and so many things occurring that contradict it... that it's really difficult to keep track!

Here's a pretty handy reference to a list of "Smoking Guns" the skeptics have uncovered. More are sure to come.

Climategate's Smoking Guns

If this flawed and completely UNPROVEN theory wasn't such a threat to human flourishing all over the world, no biggie. But it is a threat, and I'm not into ignoring threats brandished by ideological zealots using that threat to bash me for my rationality. I'm supposed to just "go along" with Western Civilization undermining itself because we might be warming the planet?

Right. I'll get back with you on that one.

And these are often the same people who SAY they believe in evolution... I guess man can't adapt to a warmer planet. Hmmm... I'm just too logical to bob my head knowingly at this inanity.

My "feelings" aren't what control me. I'm not easily frightened by demagogues who live their own lives one way, then tell the rest of us how to live. (Al Gore, Thomas Friedman, seemingly every Hollywood actor/actress).

Do you like other people telling you how you have to live? Especially when those who tell us how to live DON'T live that way themselves. What??! We're supposed to go along with that?

Are we also supposed to Baaa-Baaa like the sheep they must think we are?

Many politicians seem to need to keep us in a constant state of alarm. It sets them up as our "Protectors"; as the only force standing between us and catastrophe. Very self-serving.

I guess I'm supposed to feel confident about the ability of lawyers in DC to "protect" me from life? They seem more of a threat than a savior. Their track record has borne that perception out...

Prove man-made global warming, then we'll talk. In the meantime...

I'm too much of an optimist to let you alarmists scare the crap out of me.

So... a trillion here, a trillion there...

...pretty soon, we're talking some real money.

Ever think about how big a number "One Trillion" is?

You can think of it in math terms, but most people "see" things in pictures. Math as a "picture" doesn't really compute, or have much impact.

I read this from the economist Thomas Sowell recently:

Since many people have trouble grasping what a trillion means, one way to visualize it is that a trillion seconds ago, no one on this planet could read or write. The ancient Chinese dynasties and the Roman Empire had not yet come into being. None of the founders of Christianity, Judaism, or Islam had yet been born. That was a trillion seconds ago -- and we are talking about trillions of dollars.

Holy smokes! That brought it to life for me.

That's not a trillion minutes ago, or hours ago....that's seconds. A second is virtually nothing, but a trillion of them added together going back in time takes us to the days of pre-writing and pre-reading mankind.

Cripes!

So let's take the next step...

Apply that "trillion visualization" to our national debt. Here's the U.S. National Debt Clock, in real time:

(WARNING: Do not click if you are easily outraged and driven to murderous thoughts when pondering your kids' future!)

U.S. National Debt Clock

THIS is why folks like me are compelled to drive this nation BACK to its founding document and principles. Limited government is the only solution... period.

3 things must be done. ALL must be done or we have disaster looming.

1. We're gonna have to CUT tax rates across the board in order to grow the economy. This will fuel prosperity and INCREASE revenues to the Federal Government.

2. We're gonna have to CUT spending across the board at the Federal level. This, coupled with the higher tax revenues from increased prosperity, will bring us back from annual deficits into surplus territory.

3. That surplus then MUST be used to pay down debt. If not, we're back in the same "debt boat" before we know it. (This will take fiscal discipline our current politicians don't have... a BIG pile of $$ sitting in D.C. is too tempting. Vote 'em out.)

More on this topic later.

For now, though, beware of this temptation:

Many politicians will say we have to "raise taxes on the rich". Their definition of "rich" is subjective, but that's not the main point...

The main point is this: At some point the rich get up and leave. They take their "wealth" and stop using it to produce. This then ripples through the economy, destroying prosperity.

Raising tax rates on the rich is a surefire way to destroy American prosperity.

Politicians who advocate this are either ignorant or have decided to play the "Class Warfare Game" to get elected and stay in office.

It's tempting, I know, but don't fall for it. "Class Warfare" is a fool's game.

It may feel good, but it won't solve the problem... and that's the Multi-Trillion Dollar bottom line.

Cults

Go back in time to just over a year ago.

Remember the Obamaphiles' almost worshipful evocation of the name "Obama"?

Recall the "cult of personality" that turned Hope and Change into semi-religious chants and mantras?

It made my stomach turn then and still does today. Here's a reminder (context in a moment):



The woman who made this video (and others) is Annabel Park, a filmmaker and founder of what she calls the "Coffee Party Movement"...now 50,000 friends strong on Facebook.

She claims to be in sync with the Tea Partiers (whom she has called Tea Baggers) and wants to promote "civility" in our political discourse.

(Note: "Tea Baggers" is not a civil term. In fact, it's a blatant and obscene insult. MAJOR clue as to her true intention.)

The New York Times did a news story on her that depicted her as a concerned, interested political voice. Her concern is about issues and tone, so the NYT reports.

In 2008 Ms. Park said this: "I found that people have little understanding of the change that Senator Barack Obama is advocating." This lack of understanding is what compelled her to do pro-Obama videos.

2 questions:

1. Does the video above enlighten anyone in any way possible that will promote greater "understanding" of the change Obama advocates?

2. Could it be, Ms. Park, that many of us understood perfectly well what the change was that Obama was advocating, and that's why we voted against him?

More info can be found here at Legal Insurrection

Creepy stuff, really.

You said a mouthful, VDH!

Victor Davis Hanson says more in one column than I could come up with in a year (maybe that's not sayin' much, but I mean it as a compliment!).

Seriously.... brilliant, spot-on, grounded in the long view of man 's history. Reading VDH makes me feel new brain synapses being formed. Here's his latest:

Obama Fatigue

Here's just ONE paragraph:

5) The “Bush Did It” whine is over: Why? Two reasons: 1) Obama has copied Bush on almost all the anti-terrorism protocols that worked, such as tribunals, renditions, Patriot Act, Iraq, Afghanistan, Predators, wiretaps and intercepts. And to the extent he has not — a trial for KSM in New York, a witch hunt against the former CIA interrogators, Miranda rights for the would-be Christmas Day bomber, proposed closing of Guantanamo — the people wonder: what in the hell is this guy doing?

2) Obama turned Bush’s misdemeanors, like deficits, borrowing, and new government programs, into felonies. So in comparison, Bush doesn’t look quite so bad now: next time Obama plays the “Bush Did it” card, the public will think either “Thank God” or “Yeah, but not as badly as you did”.

My take:

In virtually every speech and major statement, Obama plays the "I inherited this mess from Bush" card. Maybe the President has been sequestered all his life, but that's simply how the world works - we ALL "inherit" situations from predecessors.

HOW we respond is OUR imprint, not theirs. How we respond is what establishes OUR legacy.

Obama inherited challenges. ALL Presidents do. No one forces anyone to run for President. Don't run if you're gonna complain about the challenges you face...

... especially if many of those challenges were created by YOU as a member of the Democrats' Congressional Majority put in place in 2006.

Suck it up and do your job. Complainers get tiresome quickly.

Read all the VDH column!