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Please, Mr. Obama, think before you sign!!!!!

Posted by Lucky1346 on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 12:00:00 AM
I hope there was paper in the White House fax machine this morning:
 
February 10, 2009
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington DC
 
To President Barack Obama,
 
We know you’re trying to do something, anything to save the United States from an economic “catastrophe,” but you are listening to the wrong voices in Congress, the wrong voices in your inner circle of advisors.

If you want to be remembered as a great president, you MUST step back and read more about what happened to the US and Japan when the Government just threw money at the problem. 

This country became as great as it is (for all Americans) because of capitalism and letting the free market work. WHY DON’T YOU SEE THAT??? If you continue down this path of giving away money to entities who don’t know how to take care of it you’ll have them hanging by your door forever, waiting for more hand-outs.

That’s MY money you’re throwing at these problems, and MY money you’re letting Congress hand out to feather their political beds – and don’t kid yourself, 46% of the country’s voters will remember that you patted the heads of your fellow Democrats and you lied when you said you were going to be everyone’s president. 

And, another thing, don’t kid yourself that just because you won the election that you won the hearts and minds of everyone. The hatred directed at Carter and George W. Bush could just as easily be re-directed at you if you don’t stop listening to the selfish voices in Congress who think you can “buy” your way out of this crisis. 

You don’t really believe in the American people and I get that, but there’s so much at stake that you have to start listening to more moderate voices, those who have some faith in us (the lower and middle classes) to try and fight for ourselves. Many of us have already figured out what we have to do to make ends meet. You have to listen to those people and do some research on your own about our economic history. You will not be the savior of anything if you keep people waiting for more hand-outs. Eventually they will try and bite the hand that is feeding them.

Please use your new-found status and encourage Congress to make it JUST A STIMULUS package and take out everything that isn’t immediately necessary. We’re reading the bill out and 46% + of us are scared to death that you will let this happen.

Dianne Mueller
5430 Pleasant Street
North Ridgeville OH 44039

CC: Senator Sherrod Brown, Senator George Voinovich, Congresswoman Betty Sutton
 America C2C, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Sun Newspaper, Townhall.com, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Bill Bennett, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Mark Levin, etc.

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Q: Are you your brother's keeper? A: Always

Posted by Lucky1346 on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 11:12:21 AM
Please take a few minutes to read this story and think about what you can do. I like to think I am my brother's keeper.
 
Bay City Electric & Light Restricted Power To Man's Home After Not Paying Bills
POSTED: 2:20 pm EST January 26, 2009
UPDATED: 6:56 am EST January 27, 2009
 
BAY CITY, Mich. -- Officials in central Michigan say a 93-year-old man who owed more than $1,000 in unpaid electric bills froze to death inside his home -- where the municipal power company had restricted his use of electricity. Neighbors and friends of Marvin Schur want answers as to how this could happen.
 
“Now that we do know it was hypothermia, there’s a whole bunch of feelings that I’ve got going through me,” said Jim Herndon, a neighbor of Schur’s.
 
“There’s anger, for the city and the electrical company.” Bay City officials said changes are on the way in an attempt to not let another instance like this happen again.
 
An autopsy determined Schur, 93, died from hypothermia in the home he lived in for years. Bay City Electric Light and Power sent Schur a shutoff notice through the mail a few weeks ago. Then crews placed a shutoff notice on his front door. A few days later, Schur was found by neighbors.
 
Bay City Electric Light and Power, which is owned by the city, said a limiter was placed on Schur’s electrical line. The device limits the power that reaches a home, and it blows out like a fuse if power consumption rises past a set level.
 
The manager of Bay City said the limiter was tripped sometime between the time of installation and the discovery of the man's body. The city manager said city workers keep the limiter on a house for 10 days, then shut off power entirely if the homeowner hasn't paid utility bills or arranged to do so.
 
A medical examiner who conducted the autopsy on Schur told TV5 and WNEM.com that Schur died a painful death due to the hypothermia. Dr. Kanu Varani has done hundreds of autopsies, and he said he’d never seen a person die of hypothermia indoors.
 
A neighbor who lives across the street from Schur is angered that the city didn’t personally notify the elderly man about his utility situation.
 
Schur’s neighbor, Herndon, said Schur had a utility bill on his kitchen table with a large amount of money clipped to it, with the intention of paying that bill. Right now the city said the situation is still under investigation.
 
Marvin Schur was a World War II veteran. A memorial service for him will take place Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. at the Gephart Funeral Home in Bay City.
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A Country even more divided

Posted by Lucky1346 on Friday, November 28, 2008 9:21:06 PM
Funky Winkerbean/Tom Batiuk  - November 28, 2008
Charlie:  "Mr. President.  It's been rumored that the CEO of the Westview Band Boosters could walk away from the collapse of the band boosters Rainy-day fund with a golden bumbershoot.  Do you think that the band booster bailout needs some form of congressional oversight?"
 
GWB:  "There's already been too much oversight, Charlie...   I mean this whole crisis was an oversight by my administration from the get-go."
 
Doonesbury / Garry Trudeau - November 28, 2008
B.D.:  "Palin can be tutored, Boopsie - She's got lots of time to prepare!"
 
Boopsie: "It's not an SAT test, B.D.  You can't just spend the first 40 years of your life being woefully ignorant of the world and how it works... and then suddenly announce you're prepared to become president because someone crammed you with bullet points!"

B.D.:  Why NOT?  Bush did!
 
Boopsie:  "Take a few seconds with that one.  I can wait."
 
 
BOSTON LEGAL - tv drama
Then there was the recent, post-election, "Boston Legal" episode on TV, in which the attorneys agreed to defend a woman who was fired because she voted for John McCain.  Turns out that the boss, the guy who fired her, also voted for McCain but he felt that the woman employee needed to be fired not because of her vote but because she was stupid.  The woman wasn't smart enough to articulate her reasons for voting for McCain, other than she liked Sarah Palin.   The boss was made to appear boorish and self-righteous, while the woman he fired was portrayed as ignorant and flighty.  Of course, the viewer had to feel sorry for the law firm staff forced to defend these indefensibly pathetic drones of the right-wing. 
 
There's a disturbing pattern emerging from the opposition, these same Bush-haters who should be grinning from ear-to-ear, happy as larks, in a permanent state of joyful delirium are, instead, burning to destroy the losers. 
 
I wrote about this last week, but these examples, plus the vicious attacks by commentors on news blogs, concern me even more.  How are we supposed to co-exist with people who hate us? 
 
Gees, that sounds eerily familiar, doesn't it?  The plea for "Can't we all just get along?" is falling on just over half the country's deaf ears. 
 
When president-elect Barack Obama said that he will be president of all the people, I wonder if he realized that he has inherited the loyalty of millions of people who let their irrational hatred of George W. Bush blossom into a maniacal and unfettered loathing for anything non-liberal or non-Democratic - or anyone who didn't vote for Obama. 
 
Obama will not only have to figure out how to handle the enemies abroad, like Ahmadinejad, Zawahiri and Chavez, but he'll need to deal with those Americans who are avowed enemies to 46% of U.S. voters, the people who wanted John McCain as the president.
 
I've experienced the vitriolic hostility myself and it was scary.  It was as though they felt justified in their vengeful brutality, as if I was a serial-killing child-molester who deserves to be hung.
 
And I don't think they're all secular people who are hating us.  I spent the evening with a woman who also loathes Bush and I think she is religious; she began dinner by saying a Thanksgiving prayer.
 
How do we communicate with people like that, for example, who have apparently abandoned their values and are no longer motivated to treat their fellow human beings with compassion? 
 
How many church-goers will justify spewing hateful invectives at someone sporting a McCain/Palin t-shirt?
 
We're living in a hostile atmosphere, a place that is new to me, a very uncomfortable place, to be sure.  I can think of one analogous historical similarity, though, like the Jews living in Europe in the 1930's, or the Jews living almost anywhere outside the U.S. today.  Blacks living in the old South would understand the feelings of hostility.
 
Am I exaggerating?  Blowing this out of proportion?  I don't think so.  But our new watchword should be vigilance.  Harder still because the enemy looks a lot like us.
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Tom Brokaw and his vicious friends

Posted by Lucky1346 on Sunday, November 23, 2008 12:37:23 PM
I watched Tom Brokaw on "Meet the Press" this Sunday morning and heard him remind independent Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman of the "attacks" he made on Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.   Then to substantiate his claim of these apparent attacks, Brokaw ran a piece of film in which Lieberman said that Obama was a good guy and will be valuable in the future, but he that he didn't have a record. 
 
There was another question-and-answer and Brokaw followed that up by asking when Lieberman was going to apologize for something he said during the campaign. 
ATTACKS???    APOLOGY???
 
Who in their right mind would accuse Joe Lieberman of such tactics? 
 
It's a sickening end to an otherwise apparently distinguished career, Mr. Brokaw, yet viewers are going to buy it because, after all, you're Tom Brokaw, world famous tv news anchor. 
 
But Tom Brokaw is just one of the many so-called "legitimate" faces of the media surrogacy for an otherwise vicious pack of animals.  Okay, calling them "animals" isn't very flattering to our furry four-legged friends.  
 
But let's not forget:  Almost half the country is being subjected to the Democratic/Liberal spin machine that is trying to annihilate their Republican counterparts, the Losers in this most recent campaign.  
 
Why wasn't winning enough for them?   It appears that these Liberals and Democrats, they apparently won't be truly content until the Republicans have been drawn and quartered and then their memories obliterated from the book of decent Americans who dared to run against them. 
 
What kind of person feels the need to paint their competition, (in this case the Republicans) as vile and despicable, the kind of people you wouldn't cross the street to spit on even if they were on fire.  
 
Certainly no one deserving of my respect.
 
Why would one American do that to another American?  It's barbaric and they need to be called on it.  These Dems and Liberals show no shame or remorse for these acid campaigns and we need to let them know that there's nothing legitimate in this behavior, that this brutality is un-American and will not be tolerated. 
 
My conservative mentors and icons would, no doubt, say, "Now, come on, you don't really want to sink to their level, to bash them the way they're bashing conservative Republicans.  You're insinuating that they're evil.  That's beneath you, and won't help in the long run."
 
Maybe.  But I say that sometimes you have to fight back.  Sometimes war is the answer.  I do not intend to lose sight of the real battle that's ahead of us, but I'm not afraid to get my hands bloody in these little side skirmishes.  
 
No apologies.  No fear.  The truth is my call to arms, and it should be yours. 
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Are you as smart as a third-grader?

Posted by Lucky1346 on Saturday, November 22, 2008 1:16:17 PM
I wish I had the hind-sight of someone who has been paying attention for a lot longer than I have.

For example, a third-grader who has just finished reading a Harry Potter book will probably know more about magic than what it's going to take to improve the U.S. economy.

June 5, 1723-July 17, 1790Now, if that same third-grader had just read Adam Smith's ground-breaking book "The Wealth of Nations," they would understand more than most Americans about Capitalism and macro-economics, but that same hind-sight might be skewed because of the generation gap. Smith's book was published in 1776.

The Library of Economics and Liberty wrote:   "Today Smith’s reputation rests on his explanation of how rational self-interest in a free-market economy leads to economic well-being. It may surprise those who would discount Smith as an advocate of ruthless individualism that his first major work concentrates on ethics and charity."  (http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Smith.html)
The point is that it takes more than reading one newspaper column or listening to one TV news report to become knowledgeable on the machinations of the global economy.

Only a fool would open their mouth and express an opinion on something they know nothing about. Just because you have a checking account it doesn't make you an expert on banking, and because you drive a car it doesn't make you an expert on U.S. auto makers.

There is one area, however, where Americans can instantly become experts and that's the arena of b-llsh-t. But even that will take some effort in that one has to have an open mind - and even then it's not quite that simple.

Just know that whatever you feel about the current economic conditions in the country you know only enough to get yourself dressed in the morning and fix your own breakfast.

Or am I assuming too much here?

The "economy" is a very personal thing. Your dad will have one opinion and your mom could have another one. Your best friend might feel differently than you do, but one thing is for sure, you probably know just enough to use an ATM machine and then spend that money at the local convenience store or The Gap.

No one likes to admit they know diddly squat about a subject, but Americans from one coast to the other will begin to regain some respect for themselves when they finally do come to grips with that.

There no shame in acknowledging that you don't know it all. Congressmen and some of the media pundits have yet to learn that lesson. The shame is in pretending you know something you don't.

Even the experts often disagree with each other, which is why it's even more important that individual Americans learn something about the economy, if for no other reason than we are less likely to bamboozled by someone who knows just as little as we do.
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Ask not what you can do for your country.... and other inspirational bed-time stories for liberals

Posted by Lucky1346 on Saturday, November 15, 2008 6:24:54 PM
Barack Obama just won the November 4, 2008 election.  And in the November 12 edition of my local North Ridgeville Press & Light newspaper a guy wrote in his letter to editor,
"... Finally, we once again have a man who has inspired young people and many other groups who have felt ignored for far too long in the political process of this country... " 
I can't help but wonder how many millions of American voters feel the same way, that they have been ignored or what's that other word they used extensively in the 2000 and 2004 elections?  Ah, yes, that word was "disenfranchised."   I can't say I'm okay with my party losing the election, but that's another blog entry for another day.  Today's subject is all about personal responsibility, the one a U.S. citizen is supposed to live up to in a democracy. 
 
Apparently the author of that letter to the editor has felt ignored since John F. Kennedy was president, at least to hear him tell the story of the last time he was actively involved in a presidential campaign.  What the heck has this person been doing since the 60's?  Personally I would be too embarrassed to admit that I've been sitting around since college just waiting for someone to inspire me to get involved in the political process. 
 
Another thing, I'm still trying to figure out how those "disenfranchised" voters across the country allowed themselves to be intimidated into giving up their right to vote.  (Now, I do remember the time when I was ten or eleven and a girl who was a few years older than me threatened to beat me up if I tried to leave her back yard.  I was scared, I'll admit, but years later when I realized that a bloody nose would have healed, I felt ashamed that I let fear stop me from breaking free of her.)
 
I just want to know why so many millions of people think that the Government is supposed to reach out to them.  Do they have any idea just how many people that would involve?  How many people would be phoning their home to ask,
"How's everything going with you, Mr, So-and-So?   I'm just calling to ask if I'm doing everything here in Washington D.C. that you want me to do."  
Let's see, we have at least one senator, and a couple of Congressmen and that's just on the federal level.  Can't forget about the local and state level, too.  Conservatively we're possibly talking about twelve people phoning you once a month? 
 
How many times were you called these past couple of months by a McCain or Obama campaign volunteer, or by one of those automated recorded phone bank calls that encouraged you to vote for their candidate?  And just how irritated were you after the fifth or sixth call?   
 
And how much mail did you get during the campaign season from all your local political candidates?  Did you read it all or did it go right into the trash.  How much other mail do you get now that you don't read?  Imagine reading the newsletters, or surveys, from those twelve people.  I know I don't read it all.  I don't even like getting those little membership cards in the mail after I made a contribution.  I wish they had saved the money and used it on TV or radio spots.
 
Yet this guy, this 60+ year-old guy, has been sitting around for 40 years just waiting for someone in the Government to inspire him.  Inspire him to do what? 
 
I'll bet it's not inspiration this man has been waiting for, he's been waiting for a freebie, some pork perhaps, or a concession, a bit of "good news" in the form of a tax rebate - or maybe a tax cut - that he's been waiting for.  Now he's probably chomping at the bit to see how much more he'll get in his social security check. 
 
Or is it caring he's looking for?  What form of  "caring" could he be looking for, other than those mentioned previously.  My parents cared about me, my spouse cares about me and my kids care about me - I need all those people I vote for to show their concern by doing the job I hired them for, such as keeping their campaign promises, governing with integrity, not stealing from me, and protecting my rights under the Constitution.
 
We live in a Republic, a participatory form of governance, one in which we trade our vote for service.  If we have discovered that we don't like the service we got, then we don't vote for the same people again. 
 
I suggest that it is our responsibility to do the inspiring, not the other way around.  Perhaps our elected officials could use some inspiration.  Imagine their surprise when they hear from us!!  Or they experience the novelty of communicating our displeasure when it's not an election year. 
 
What's wrong with us calling them?  Or writing them with our concerns or complaints.  I write all the time, I blog a lot, I even faxed the president when I really wanted to make a point.  I remember the time I drew a picture on a piece of paper to demonstrate my point then faxed it.  I phoned, I wrote, I communicated with all my elected officials.  That's probably why our elected officials list every possible way of reaching them through their offices, by letters, newsletters, web sites, from local to federal, and even in the telephone book.
 
In his letter to the editor this old guy also referred to the "hope" that Obama constantly claimed to offer the American people.   I hope the old guy, the one with time on his hands now that he's retired, will make some contribution to the country other than whining about what the country can do for him - or has he forgotten that plea from one of his other heroes, JFK?
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How many bail-outs does it take to change a country?

Posted by Lucky1346 on Saturday, November 15, 2008 4:41:16 PM
We don't argue too much, Hubby and I - at least not about the big things - because I trust his judgment and his perspective on things economic and, in general, historic. He's been paying attention to the world longer than I have so it makes sense to listen when he speaks.

It started when I said I didn't want to see another bail-out package, this one designed to help the car companies. You could put my sympathy for U.S. car manufacturers in a thimble and there would be room left over for a little finger. FORD, GM, CHRYSLER have all seen the TOYOTAS, HONDAS, SUBARUS landing in the American markets for years now and had lots of time to figure out how to fight off these competitors. Why hasn't it worked? Are their marketing people asleep? What kinds of surveys have they done to shine a light on what Americans really want in a car?

The bottom line (literally, not figuratively) is that most Americans never give much thought to what it's really going to cost them to have in a car what they think they want, like big, comfy, Corinthian leather, super speakers, speed, and they have no problem with Italian names - like "Prius." We're pretty much impulse shoppers no matter what the item.

This time it's more about the unions and how greedy they have become. How much more it costs to support a U.S. unionized worker ($30-40 more an hour with all the benefits they get). Sure there was a time when we were rightfully grateful for the unions stepping up to the plate and facing down the corporate giants of their day and getting for our workers (our fathers and grand-fathers and even great-grandfathers) employment considerations that we take for granted now: a decent, living wage, a 40-hour work week, an-OSHA planned environment where safety is an issue, limitations on child labor... you get the idea.

It took fearless men to threaten those corporate giants and force them into submission until demands were met. These were powerful and ruthless men who had a loyal following of other fearless men and women. How many of us would be willing to face a huge guy wielding a billy-club, threatening to beat our heads in if we spoke "union"? When your family faces starvation, how many of us would have taken $4.00 an hour over nothing per hour because you have no job?

These fearless Union men took the adulation of their now-unionized workers, their grateful adoring throngs, and unfortunately took advantage of them, perhaps felt they were entitled to a bigger piece of the union dues pie for all they had done for the little worker bees. (I think my father would have taken a bullet for Jimmy Hoffa, one of leaders of the Teamsters, a union ("...one of the largest labor unions in the United States. The name and logo of the union reflect the origin of the union as a craft union when founded in 1903. A teamster was originally a person who drove a team of oxen, a horse or mule-drawn wagon, or a mule train; but the word currently refers to professional truck drivers. [1] "))

The unions have done their good deeds but now they're doing harm in making U.S. auto makers less competitive against those foreign-government subsidized auto makers. We live in a different world now.

One more thing aggravates Hubby and that's the premise that Honda cars made in the United States are really American-made. Yes, technically they are made in America (like at the plant in Marysville, Ohio) but, as the Hubster properly points out, the Honda profits go back to Honda headquarters in Japan. So much for helping the U.S. economy, and damn the trade deficit.

I'm still not crazy about the government spending more of our money and bailing out the U.S. car makers but it's going to take smarter, not to mention more fearless, people than me to get Americans to understand how and if it will work for the country in general.

I need to hear more from Hank Paulson how this additional bail-out is going to stop the bleeding in our economy, and get the creditors, the bankers who just got their billions, to let loose of some of that new cash. I guess I've heard too much talk lately about too many billions of dollars.

I'm open to a more in-depth explanation of why it would be good for our country. I'm not really interested in any more history lessons. I'm ready to hear a more detailed plan, in something more than three pages and preferably less than five hundred.

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Obama Appoints Fairness Doctrine Backer

Posted by Lucky1346 on Monday, November 10, 2008 8:42:01 PM

 

Newsmax article: 


Monday, November 10, 2008 10:41 AM
By: Jim Meyers

President-elect Barack Obama has designated former Federal Communications Commissioner Henry Rivera to head the team that will select the next FCC chairman — an Obama move that bodes poorly for conservative talk radio.

That’s because Rivera is widely believed to support the reinstitution of the so-called Fairness Doctrine. <more...>

 
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Disgraceful treatment of President Bush

Posted by Lucky1346 on Monday, November 10, 2008 7:42:27 AM
From the WSJ on line: The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace , Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
 
"Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.  ...
 
This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust. 
Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties... "
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"The Radio Equalizer"

Posted by Lucky1346 on Monday, November 10, 2008 7:31:33 AM
If you're concerned about the Un-Fairness Doctrine, keep an eye on this blog:  "The Radio Equalizer," Brian Maloney's blog .
 
"If talk radio is now somehow irrelevant, then why are nervous liberals watching its every move?

Yes, once again, our "progressive" friends want to have it both ways: as they argue that it no longer matters, they want the medium shut down through the imposition of a Fairness Doctrine...."
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Thank you, Sarah Palin!

Posted by Lucky1346 on Monday, November 10, 2008 7:27:09 AM
I plan to write Governor Palin and thank her for her service to our country and our conservative cause by running for VP.  If you would like to write to Governor Palin she can be reached at these locations. 
 
Juneau Office
Alaska State Capitol Building
Third Floor

P.O. Box 110001
Juneau, AK 99811-0001

Phone (907) 465-3500
Fax (907) 465-3532

State Info (907) 465-2111

Anchorage Office
550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 1700
Anchorage, AK 99501

Phone (907) 269-7450
Fax (907) 269-7461

State Info (907) 269-5111
 Fairbanks Office
675 7th Avenue, Suite H5
Fairbanks, AK 99701-4596

Phone (907) 451-2920
Fax (907) 451-2858

Washington DC Office
444 North Capitol NW, Suite 336
Washington, DC 20001-1512

Phone (202) 624-5858
Fax (202) 624-5857
 Kenai Office
11312 Kenai Spur Hwy, Suite 2
Kenai, AK 99611

Phone (907) 283-2918
Fax (907) 283-3037
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The more I hear...

Posted by Lucky1346 on Sunday, November 09, 2008 12:00:00 AM

... the less hope I have for the future of America.

Pollyanna is dead. Put a fork in her, she's toast. I'll go so far as to say that I can count on one hand the number of Republican Congressmen who will have the guts to stand up and say to the new president Obama, "All the problems in this country were NOT caused by George W. Bush, so get over yourself, get off the campaign soapbox, and get busy trying to 'stay in the center' of your political policies - a new and no doubt uncomfortable position for you." You'll get used to it, though, with the adoring throngs tossing rose petals before your feet and dousing your chair in the Oval Office with talcum powder.

The phoney-ness of the Obama rhetoric still rings in my ears. Didn't all you Clevelanders hear it? Silly me, how could you over the "O-BA-MA, O-BA-MA, O-BA-MA" chanting. I'm talking about the 99+% Cuyahoga County and Cleveland precincts that produced Obama-only votes. There were some precincts (I don't remember how many exactly now) who had Zero votes for John McCain.

Cut the crap! The race was about RACE and there's no way to cover that up. The B-S that Obama represented 'hope' and 'change' was just outright code for
"We have finally have a black candidate running for President of the United States and there's no way we're going to let his training, his education, his community activism, his church affiliations, his professional and personal associations, his anti-white, anti-American .... in general, anything suspect in Obama's past, make any difference in our voting preference."
Nobody cared about the rest of us who wanted to see a black become president. They just wanted THIS guy. There were other good black pols to run, but maybe they weren't as pliable as this one.

You who voted for him just drank the Obama Kool-aid. I will have just as much sympathy for your post-Obama experiences as you will for mine.

You Bush-haters, you who couldn't bother educating yourselves about the dangers of electing a severely liberal person to the presidency of the United States will be dragging me down with you. Don't cry for me, Cleveland! You will have been delivered by your own folly.

"Obama represents the future," as a reason to vote for him, says "stupid" on so many levels I can't even begin to count them. Let's start with: William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, the ghost of Saul Alinsky, FL-D Lewis, Sean Penn, Khalidi, Reszko, none of them could touch the O-Man, couldn't make the light to shine upon him and make him legit.

None of you cared. This is what happens when you smoke whatever it is you smoked before you pulled the lever, poked the chad, touched the screen.

I'll bet someone's been tapped to design a new American flag, one with orange lines instead of red-and-white strips, and 57 stars on a blue background, with one over-sized white star... why, here's an example, my rendition of the new U.S. flag. (Don't snark, People, the Muslims re-did the American flag for their October 12, 2008 parade in NYC!)

I have never been accused of being the shiniest pebble on the beach (deservedly so) but I have been doing my homework. I read, listened to Obama speak - didn't need Fox News or ABC News to parse his words, either - then I read some more, listened again, and voila! My choices became clear: Vote for the guy wants to transform America, or the guy who wanted to fix what was wrong. (I've never before voted against someone, but I did this time. Sorry, Senator McCain.)

As soon as Obama took center stage, early in the campaign, when it looked like he was going to be pitted against Hillary Clinton, I could tell that he was being supported, encouraged and lifted up, Yea, Lifted up! on the shoulders of Teddy Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi and maybe even Harry Reid. Obama came out of the blue of Illinois, a pretty face, with a golden sing-song voice, and all the radical training that's needed to convince people that they were really suffering under the uncaring, unsympathetic and greedy Republicans (again, thanks to Saul Alinsky) and the Demo-Extreme-Makeover squad knew they had a RobO-Bama, someone they could manipulate, an empty suit that they could fill up with just enough pandering platitudes to soothe the ignorant masses.

I wish I could say that venting like this makes me feel better. It doesn't. It does, however, serve to remind me that the mission is just beginning.

All over Europe (if you read about Europe, that is) they are preparing to go on, move on, trade on, defend on, without the United States.

Europe sees the hand-writing on the wall, even if liberals Democratic party doesn't.
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Apathy is such an old concept

Posted by Lucky1346 on Saturday, November 10, 2007 7:53:29 AM

My grandmother, Florence Burlingame Taylor, was a gifted writer, and poetess.  Poetry was popular back in the old days and Gramma was never without poetic thoughts on hundreds of subjects.

But her poetry that means the most to me are the sometimes angry and often soothing rhymes about her soldiers off fighting the German and Japanese war machines in World War II.  

Her poem "Apathy" could have been written today.

Gram was one of those women in the 40's who left the home to go and work in the factory to help with the war effort.  She was one of the most sincere patriots I ever knew and it shows in her poetry.

I know Gr T would be pleased to know that I am sharing some of her poetry with you.  (If you want to read more, Gram is published at http://www.rufusputnam.com/byways/poems.html).

God Bless our Troops!!


 

  Apathy
11/11/43

Pearl Harbor is slipping too far out of sight
In the softening mists of time;
The cries of the innocent at Lidice
Fall on dull ears - accustomed to crime.

We're smug, with our jobs, and a fat pocket- book,
Home cooking and fireside ease;
The freedom to go to a game or a show,
Or to do just about as we please.

While our boys were dying in strange Sicily,
I witnessed - with burning shame
Some husky young men in a perky war plant
Camouflaging a poker game.

A woman - without any hostage to give -
Was decrying a pay check too lean,
And threatened to make all her drill pieces scrap
'Til they'd give her a lighter machine.


Yes, freedom for all has always been bought
By a few - in this land of the free;
But DON'T LET OUR PRECIOUS BOYS BE CRUCIFIED
ON THE CROSS OF OUR OWN APATHY



 

For Memorial Day - KEEPING FAITH
5/28/42

Across the years we are calling back to the "Minute Men" at Lexington,
To the gallant souls at Bunker Hill, who lost the fight, but laurels won
To the ragged men at Valley Forge, whose bloody footprints in the snow
Are crystallized into marble steps that lead to Freedom's high chateau. -
To all who died in order that a fine, free nation might have birth:
We promise you we'll keep intact the greatest nation on this earth.

To those who clashed at Gettysburg the men in blue, and men in gray:
Because you fought a noble fight, the Union stands like rock today.
To those who sank with the big ship, "Maine;" to those who lie in Flanders' Field:
We must justify your sacrifice. To a ruthless foe we will never yield.

To the Kiski boy, whom Saltsburg loved - whose watery grave is far away:
We cannot - will not - let you die in vain. This is our pledge today. -
And may the Everlasting arms safe-guard your brother - where he be.
God comfort Kenneth Woodle's folks - That gallant flyer - lost at sea.

Behold the heroes of Bataan! Corregidor! And the Coral Sea!
They have carried high bright Freedom's torch - For all the wondering world to see
We have kept the faith. We will carry on. We will cast our all into this fray.
With faith undying we'll keep flying the flag you loved, and love today.

Florence B. Taylor

 

SILVER STAR FOR PRIVATE PAINTER
3/22/45


The portals of Heaven stand open these days -
So steady - so terribly steady -
The march of young feet - in the mud-laden boots -
And the beat of brave hearts.
Lord, make ready

Your worthless mansions on Liberty Hill,
"With good hunting and fishing, (for zest).
And please give Harry V. Painter, dear Lord,
One of your biggest and best.

"He that loseth his life... shall find it again" -
In that Land where the blessed are,
Since he hurried away, with no thought for himself,
We are shipping his Silver Star. - Florence B. Taylor

(Cleveland Ohio)

  

Red Cross
3/8/45


Red should mark initial letter -
Emblem color of Red Cross;
D for dollars given gladly.

Counting selfish gain but dross,
Ravaging the shot and shell fire
Over in the battle zone,
Send the Red Cross to our wounded;
Save their lives. We must atone.


By Florence Burlingame Taylor, Cleveland Ohio

  
G.I. Christmas
12/9/43


Dear Mother and Dad:

It is late Christmas Eve. I've been to the U.S.O.,
Where we sang all the carols -
and Finklestein's Band put on a wonderful show.
But I hurried back to my own little bunk - to the annual rendezvous
With old Santa Claus - when we hang up our socks -
just as you did, and taught us to do
There's no open fireplace, no chimney for Nick,
no mantel to pin to at all;
But just for old times' sake I've pinned my big socks -
G.I. socks - up here on the wall
They look funny now - almost like bags
- disconsolate, empty you know;
But tonight, as I dream my pet dreams -
for you folks, and the Christmases of long ago,
They'll fill up to bursting, and then overflow,
transforming our bare barracks room
To a real Christmas wonderland -
two thousand miles from the war and its grimness and gloom.

The very first Christmas that I can remember
- lolly pop down in the toe;
A shiny blue ball - and a fuzzy wee dog,
who yipped when I squeezed him - so.
The next year a Ford truck in miniature;
a red fire engine following soon.-
The compass, the Ingersoll watch - Boy Scout knife
(then and now such a wonderful boon).
These were but the tangible tokens, of course,
that were seized upon with avid glee-
But now I look back - and I realize all
those Christmases stored up in me;
The hush of the twilight, the lights on the snow,
and the story of Jesus' birth;
The light in your eyes as you tucked me in bed
- and the carolers' song, "Peace on Earth",
My storehouse of happiness - hedged all about by your love,
and the lessons you taught;
The Sunday School stories, the sermons, the prayers;
of these my bright armor is wrought.
When I feel rebellious, disgruntled, fed up -
or sometimes spirits get low-
I think of George Washington at Valley Forge -
without socks in the snow
I'll draw from my storehouse of dreams, Dad and Mom
- from out of the lush year of the past:
I want you to know that you gave me the gifts of the spirit -
that surely will last
Through this hideous war - and the lean years to come;
and remember, when I'm far away,
No matter what happened, away down inside, I'm the boy that you raised.
I'm 1-A!


By Florence Burlingame Taylor, Cleveland Ohio

  TO OUR BOYS IN THE SERVICE
10/21/43

Across the miles - to your training base,
Or across the vast, deep sea, -
To the ice-bound hut, or the tropic swamp;
To the gates of the enemy. -

To the farthest outpost we stretch out
Our hands, to draw you home;

Our hearts reach out, to bring you cheer -
No matter where you roam.

As God - with sacrificial love -
Gave us His Prince of Peace,

So you make untold sacrifice,
That war and hate may cease.


We'll keep our Christmas candles lit
And think of you with pride;
With hope that you will bring world peace
Before next Christmas-tide.


----- As you sort all the much-looked-for
letters from home
To the boys and the men "over there,"
We hope you discover this message for you -
For it's letting you know that we care,


So here's to a home-loving boy far away;
And though we are oceans apart,
We know you will hear our sweet Christmas bells ring,
For Christmas is found in the heart.


----- In the hot desert sands of our Valley of Death
Our Bill meets the grueling best.

Of all the fine lads in our wonderful church
He is certainly one of the best.

This training is foreign to his gentle ways;
Such orders we long to revoke, -
But, dear Bill, 'tis the lash of the wind and the storm
That develops the sturdiest oak.

Christmas Greetings and love from .....



By Florence Burlingame Taylor, Cleveland OH

  
The Casualties are Light
7/8/43

"The casualties are light," the news line reads,
As blazoned headlines tell of allied victories -
"The beginning of the end," our President
And others say; the cynic disagrees.


"The casualties are light," a mother reads -
Then meets the dreaded knock at her front door -
"The War Department... (steady now!) ... regrets ..."
The morning sun is dimmed ... forevermore.


"My son a 'casualty'? He is our world -
His father's radiant sun ... my star of hope ...
The bright fulfillment of our earthly dreams.
How dare the god of War thus interlope!"


Dear God in Heaven, take him safely home,
While outraged comrades carry on the fight, -
While every man and woman, youth, and child
Work valiantly - to keep the death list light.



By Florence Burlingame Taylor, Cleveland Oh

  
Priorities
5/7/42

There are priorities on steel
And many other metals;
No chromium for gadgets, nor
Aluminum for kettles.

We must use rubber sparingly;
'Tis allocated for
Air bombers, tanks, and trucks, and ships
The instruments of war.

We ration sugar, limit tea,
And save our precious wool
For soldier's blankets, uniforms, -
Our silk for rip-cord's pull.

In time of war, in time of peace
There is no priority
On kindness; no one holds on grace
A sure monopoly.

We need not allocate good deeds -
The steps in Heaven above;
There is no limit put on faith,
No rationing of love.




By Florence Burlingame Taylor, Cleveland Oh
http://www.rufusputnam.com/byways/poems.html


 

 

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A Dirty Little Secret

Posted by Lucky1346 on Wednesday, November 07, 2007 8:02:52 AM
We all keep secrets of one kind or another.  There are good secrets and bad secrets. 

The example of a good secret might be not telling your sister-in-law that she’s no longer built to wear shorts. 

A bad secret to keep could be that you saw one of her kids stealing money out of her purse.
 
Your poor sister-in-law would be embarrassed and possibly hurt if she heard you say, “You’re too fat to wear shorts,” or “Your kid’s a thief.” 

Keeping secret #1 is probably going to be easier than secret #2 because you figure no one will get hurt if she wears shorts, but the thieving kid’s behavior could escalate and land them in jail or worse, they could get themselves shot in the commission of a burglary.  It’s a judgment call than no one likes to make.  Who wants to get on the bad side of their sister-in-law?  Your brother, her husband, might never speak to you again, and a family feud will be spawned  - like the Hatfields and the McCoys, one of the best-known family feuds in the U.S.; that feud went on for generations.
Fortunately for you and I this isn’t going to be a problem, right?  We’re not into hurting people’s feelings or policing other people’s kids.  

But what about that dirty little secret only you know about yourself, the one you would prefer that the neighbors didn’t know, that you’re a bigot.  Let's examine the following scenarios:

-    If there was only one seat left on the bus and it was next to a black person, you would find a reason to stand all the way home instead of taking that seat.

-         If your boss handed you expensive theater tickets to see “Schindler’s List” you would graciously decline them because you don’t believe six million Jews were killed in the so-called holocaust and you don’t need to some Jew-controlled Hollywood studio production to try and convince you otherwise.

-         You want your kid to play on a different baseball team because he’ll never get to play since the coach has all those other bigger black kids to put in the games.

I could go on with plenty of other examples of how you hide your prejudice and only let it out when you’re among your own kind, that is, people who feel just like you do.  You feel safe because you think that no one can tell you’re a bigot; it's not like you get an obvious rash, or a pronounced limp.   And, of course, no one knows that your heart skips a beat or two when you think one of “them” is getting what’s coming to them.  

I’ve got news for you, Bunky, you’re not kidding anybody.  I know your dirty little secret and if I get the chance I’m going to blab it all over the place.  My dirty little secret is that I’m going to enjoy turning you in and watching you squirm in front of all those other people who think you’re a good and decent person.  

Bigotry is a cancer.  It’s an ugly tumor that, instead of being excised, usually gets fostered and fomented and even encouraged to grow.  If you have this cancer, this bigotry, please get some help for yourself.  Just like you quit smoking or looking at dirty magazines when no one is home, you can become a whole human being, one worthy of being made in God’s image.

But if you think there’s nothing wrong with you just remember that you are trying to keep your bigotry a secret for a reason.  Just like a thief or a pedophile doesn’t want anyone to know what they are really like and what they'll likely do when nobody is watching you will do what you have to do to keep your dirty little secret. 


I remember the time I told a friend that I was prejudiced, that I didn't like stupid people.  Said friend called me a snob.  That bothered me for a while but then I realized that I had made a conscious decision to be offended by stupidity, and even embarrassed when it's my own. 

I'll grant you that it's a judgment call but one of the responsibilities of being a member of a society is to police one's own behavior and, if need be, the behavior of other members.  And, yes, it is my job to pass judgment.  Does it bother me sometimes?  Sure it does, but I didn't say it was going to be easy.  

The good news is that you can kick the bigotry habit if you want to.  You can train yourself to look at others the way you want them to see you, as a blood-and-bone human being. 

The real secret is that - except for your bigotry - you're just like everyone else.    
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What IS in a name?

Posted by Lucky1346 on Wednesday, November 07, 2007 7:59:28 AM
Pretty cocky, you say, calling my new blog "The Patriot."  And you might be right except that on September 12, 2001, I made the decision to take my country more seriously.  I also decided that I would never forget the murderous acts of those 19 radical Islamist hijackers. 

So many people have forgotten that "they," the Islamo-fascists are really out to get us, to kill us (never mind that crap about converting to Islam, that's not what they want, anyway).  And then there's those other chowderheads who believe that the twin towers were brought down by our own government henchmen, and  Flight 93 that forced to crash into a field in Pennsylvania by our own U.S. jets.  Don't forget about the mystery photos of the rocket that tore up the Pentagon in Washington D.C.  

My theory about this selective forgetfulness and belief in conspiracies is that it's easier and safer to blame someone (or some thing) that you know won't hurt you, won't come knocking on your door in the middle of the night with AK-47's to roust you and your defenseless family out of a sound sleep and drag you all off to be interrogated.  If these Conspiracists really believed the crap they spew they would all be signed up for concealed carry permits and have some nice automatic weapons on order, just to protect themselves from the Big Bad American Soldier men.

The radical Islamists bragged about committing the murders on 9/11 and even their deliriously giddy video-taped confessions have not been enough to convince the Unbelievers that it wasn't the U.S. government who did this to us.  I have come to expect this anti-government rhetoric out of the U.S. Congress, so why should I expect anything different from others.

There's another reason behind my decision to call it The Patriot.  I was talking to a thirty-something the other day about the presidential debates and asked this guy which candidate appealed to him.  Not surprising that he's leaning toward a very liberal guy, whose initials are John Edwards and boy!  he wishes Al Gore would run.  My "What the hell?" moment came - incredible as it seems - when I learned he docked a candidate who over-used the phrase "9/11."  They also got black marks against them if said how much they love this country.  He said, "I'm tired of hearing it!"  I guess anyone showing their patriotism by wearing an American flag pin on their lapel is a no-goodnik, too. 

I would have expected a kid, someone in their teens or 20's to say something like that, nix the "I love America" speak, but not someone nearly forty years old.  I don't know who to fear more, people like this or the Islamo-fascists.  One would think that a someone that old would be embarrassed to admit how little they know, and what they do know they got from Bill Maher, Bruce Springsteen, Rosie O'Donnell and maybe even Jimmy-the-Despicable-Carter.  Admittedly, I've done a LOT of reading, and listening, since 9/11 because I thought it would be a good idea to know something before I opened my mouth.  I guess not everyone feels the same way about learning.  I guess not everyone believes that truth is important.

I told this guy that anyone who was too embarrassed to proclaim their love for this country isn't anyone I would ever want to see in the White House.  You've got to be a little nuts to want that job, anyway, but if you can't even cross your heart and sing along during the national anthem you'll never have my vote, my respect, or my support.  I can see myself becoming a conscientious objector if someone like that ever ended up as president of the United States.

Here's a news flash:  The more I learn the more I love this country! 
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