The Page – by Mark Halperin – TIME
Utter nonsense, period. That man is a racist, that played the racist card for years so that he could profit from the hate that spewed from his pulpit. Blacks will never get ahead in life or society as long as they continue to feed from the trough of despair that people like this pastor hand out.
This is a very good piece on economics. A must read for the blithering idiots that are so in love with collectivism and authoritarianism.
The wages of sin
by Bill Bonner
Capitalism is a panacea, after all. It cures symptoms of affluence as well as poverty.
We file this report, coincidentally, from Manchester…where, according to legend, the industrial revolution began. Modern tools, steady money, and fossil fuel were put together, creating so much gas, it lifted mankind out of the mud of the Middle Ages and carried him aloft. Thrifty Scottish economists – notably Adam Smith and Adam Ferguson – saw what was happening and took note of the moral lesson: by foregoing the satisfaction of current consumption, savings could be invested in factories, machines, and new discoveries that increased the output from human labor.
In the same amount of time, thanks to his new tools, a workingman could produce more things. And, soon, the things made him rich. According to MeasuringWealth.com, during the second half of the 18th century, the typical British workingman earned about 60 pounds per year. It took only 4.25 pounds sterling to buy an ounce of gold, so he earned the equivalent of 14 ounces of gold, which is worth about 6,622 pounds sterling at today’s rates. A century later, in 1971, to be exact, his earnings had risen to the equivalent of 49 ounces of gold per year – or about 23,000 pounds sterling at today’s rate.
(Readers who are good at math will already be asking questions. The average wage in Britain today is only 23,177. In terms of gold, wages have gone nowhere for the last 37 years.)
But whatever wonder James Watt and the people of Britain’s industrial heartland wrought, their descendants in America have worked another one; in the midst of the greatest financial and technological boom ever, they have managed to actually reduce the value of their own labor.
Yes, dear reader, this week we turn our weary eyes away from the poor, the weak, and the huddled masses struggling to keep up with the price of rice…and focus on people who are struggling to keep up with their credit card payments. Here is a group of people upon whom nature piled so many blessings, she crushed the wit out of them. And, their wealth is being squeezed out too.
The United States of America has rich farmland, from sea to shining sea. Still, it is a net importer of food. In fact, it is a net importer of practically everything that can be moved. Every day that goes by it receives about $2 billion more of these moveable objects than it sends out in exports.
Prior to the Nixon administration, such an imbalance could not persist for very long; but however much God blessed America – with her purple mountains majesty and her fields of golden grain – was nothing compared to the way she was favored by the post-1971 monetary system.
“As ye plant, so shall ye reap,” it saith in the Bible. But in the period from 1997-2007, Americans could reap without planting. They could consume without earning. They could invest without saving, and spend as much as they wanted without running out of money. They were the world’s luckiest people – they had the world’s reserve currency…and access to the whole world’s credit.
The miracle that fundamentally altered the world monetary system happened on August 15, 1971, when Richard Nixon “closed the gold window,” at the U.S. Treasury. Before then, every nation’s currency was anchored to gold. Governments settled their imbalances in yellow metal; since each unit of paper currency represented an option on the treasury’s gold, it forced officials to be wary of issuing too many. But after August, 1971, the world’s monetary system upped anchor and sailed with the tide. Now, it all floats on a sea of paper money – and no one knows what’s beneath the dark ocean surface.
The Chinese merchant who sold widgets and geegaws to spendthrift Americans could not use dollars to pay his wages. He needed local currency. So he traded his dollars for yuan. And where did the Central Bank of China get enough yuan to buy up trillions of dollars? It had to create them. All over the planet, as the world’s stock of dollars rose…so did its inventories of local currencies. And then, what could it do with its dollars? Before 1971, it would have presented them to the U.S. Treasury and received one ounce of gold for every 41 paper dollars. In order to protect the nation’s gold, central bankers would have taken away the punch bowl and turned out the lights. Rates would have gone up; foreigners would have been encouraged to hold dollars (rather than exchange them for gold); Americans would have been discouraged from spending dollars – effectively stifling U.S. consumer spending and bringing the current account back into balance.
Then, in 2001, the U.S. financial authorities, led by Alan Greenspan, thought they faced a crisis. They panicked – giving Americans even more credit rope. With nothing to stop it, the supply of cash and credit rose at an even faster rate. And thus it was that Americans wrapped their good fortune around their necks like a noose. Instead of practicing the virtues that had made them rich – saving money, building new factories and learning new skills – they borrowed even more heavily than before.
And now their houses are being foreclosed and their bills are coming due. Worse, the value of their most important asset – their time – is being marked down with the dollar. According to our source, the typical American workingman in the late 19th century was already earning considerably more than an Englishman – 25 ounces of gold per year, rather than 14. He, too, became much richer as the industrial revolution progressed. By 1971, he was earning the equivalent of 82 ounces of gold, worth $76,000 today. But then he forgot his lessons. He stopped saving…his income fell…and his dollar dropped. Adjusting the average hourly wage for consumer price inflation, he earns slightly less today than he did during the Carter administration. Adjusting his wages to the fall of the euro, we find the average American earns less than the average Frenchman. And adjusting his wages to gold and we see he has lost a half century of wage progress. Today, he earns only the equivalent of 40 ounces of gold – or only about $38,000.
Hat tip to Shooterman http://amcon.proboards99.com/index.cgi?board=trs&action=display&thread=422
Some time ago a contributor here got mad because I told him to do his own research about Obama. I do things like that from time to time, especially when I have previously posted, with citation. See, there is this old Irish theory about learning that says that what you earn, as in work for, stays with you longer.
Now, I stated that Obama hung out with gangsters. What was the rage a short time ago? Tony Resco, that’s what. I said that Obama attended a racist church. What blew across the newswaves? His pastor, and that’s still going on. I stated that he was a socialist. Whats all across the web now? Obama the collectivist, that’s what. I also said trhat he is anti second amendment, and low and behold. He tries acting like he is a supporter of the Constitution, and it is blowing up in his face.
What got me onto the Obamination early? Well, that can best be summed up over at Make-A-STATEMENT.org.
The Essence Of Obama by Jim Cash
First, Obama refused to display the American Flag on his lapel. Then, he refused to distance himself from his America hating, racist, and self promoting minister, the despicable Reverend Wright. Now, he is giving some lame excuse for not respecting and following proper protocol when our National Anthem is played.
That lame Obama excuse is, “as I have said before, I do not want to be perceived as taking sides”. Further, he says, “There are a lot o people in the world to whom the American Flag is a symbol of oppression. And, the anthem itself conveys a war-like message. You know, the bombs bursting in air and all. It should be swapped for something less parochial and less bellicose. I like the song—I’d like to teach the World to Sing—If that was our anthem, then I might acknowledge it”. I would sure like to know who he is afraid to take sides with.
This is the man who wants to become the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, leader of the free world, and role model to our children.
Please allow me to share with you the level at which our flag and anthem is honored on all our military bases. First, the flag is never displayed at night unless properly lighted. Early in the morning after sunrise, every military installation in the nation has a ceremony as the flag is hosted. Prior to sunset, a similar ceremony is performed where the flag is brought down, and folded with great care, then stored for the night. It is never allowed to touch the ground. These ceremonies are conducted by impeccably dressed uniformed personnel and accompanied by appropriate music. During the ceremony all traffic on base is brought to a halt, again, in honor of the flag. When the flag becomes old and faded, it is retired with ceremony, and burned. Military personnel love the flag, as it is a symbol of our country, and that is what they have taken an oath to defend—to their deaths.
Military personnel, both active and retired, stand and salute the flag as it passes by. I have seen wheel-chair bound vets struggle to stand when the flag passes by. The same respect is paid when our National Anthem is played. Sometimes, I wonder if our military members are the only America loving group left in this country. Berkley, you should truly be ashamed!!!!
I am sure you can imagine how veterans feel when an America hating, low life individual is allowed to burn the flag, or spit on it, or stomp on it with dirty feet. But, can you imagine how they will feel watching their Commander-in-Chief degrade it, refuse to honor it, and even change our National Anthem to, “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony”???
How can we justify supporting a man who has spent over two decades attending a church, whose minister instead of proclaiming, “God-Bless America” in front of our children, shouts, “God-Damn America” over and over. Does anyone out there really believe that Obama did not know what was going on in that church? TO DENY IS TO LIE!!! Both right and left all know deep down that he is very good at that.
Never in my life did I think I would look at Hillary Clinton with any kind of positive thought. However, it appears that there is a group of people in this country so ill informed, so blinded by charisma, so deaf to nonsense, that they will support a far-left, anti-American, silver-tongued, foolish man with a Socialist agenda like Barrack Hussein Obama. He makes Hillary Clinton appear angelic. I realize that she is obsessed with winning and totally self-serving also, but I have never heard her say, or do, anything that leads me to believe she hates this country, or openly displays obvious racist tendencies.
However, I have heard Obama say several times that, “We live in the greatest nation in the world, and I am going to change it”. Again, my question is, “what does he mean by change? What is he going to change it to?”
I somehow understand the youth of America being taken in by a young, black, silver-tongued, motivational speaker. Their experience is limited, and their attitudes will change as their life progresses, and they feel the sting of a burn or two. However, I have no patience at all with mature Americans who seemingly cannot think their way out of a paper bag. I am speaking of those who go to rallies and act like groupies, applauding Obama when he blows his nose. FOLKS, WE MUST WAKE UP!!!!! There are good people out there who understand what I am talking about here, but they are remaining far too quiet.
It is time for these Americans to stand up for their Country, their Religion, and their Rights. No other nation on earth supports the standard of living that we experience in America. Every living, breathing, citizen of this country should say a little prayer each night recognizing how fortunate they are to have been born here. If we lose that standard, it will be lost because of the apathy of the American people.
George Bush has many faults, and has made many mistakes. However, it defies gravity to me that the far-left can profess such hate for Bush, and then show strong support for the likes of an Obama. Folks, if you think about it long, hard, and with focus, two plus two will normally make four. Another way to look at it is, if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it probably is a friggin’ duck.
Jim Cash
B/G, USAF, Ret.
Nobody Listening To The Goracle « Bob’s Bites
All Gore is whining. Why? Maybe because real hard science has shown him and his cult of followers are just plain wrong. Al, the polar ice cap is expanding. There are more Polar Bears now that at any time in recorded history. The biggest “green house” gas, is water, and the cause of warming on the earth is the same as it always has been, the Sun.
This worldwide hysteria has led to an impending world food crisis via crop diversion to produce ethanol and a host of other problems that are just to numerous to list.
Pasture rats are diease spreading vermin that are a danger to livestock and humans. Furthermore they are in no way any where close to being endangered.
Please Make Plans to Attend
Prairie dog hunting generates significant revenues used for general wildlife management as a result of hunting license sales and Pittman-Robertson excise taxes on ammunition, firearms and other equipment purchased by sportsmen. This ban will put an end to this essential stream of revenue and detrimentally affect the management of deer, elk and other species. In addition, Colorado attracts hunters from around the country who generate significant economic activity that benefits the rural communities that need it most.
The Colorado Wildlife Commission will be meeting at the Holiday Inn on 755 Horizon Drive, Grand Junction, CO 81506 on May 1 and May 2 starting each morning at 8:30am.
Please attend these meetings and voice your support of all hunting in Colorado. It is critical that sportsmen show that the radical anti-hunting lobby is in the minority by significantly out-numbering them at the meeting. If you are unable to attend, please call the Colorado Wildlife Commission at (303) 297-1192 and inform them that you are strongly opposed to any attempt to ban prairie dog hunting in Colorado.
source: http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?id=3842&issue=
The PICEANCE BASIN, my stomping grounds. That is where I learned to hunt branch antlered Mule Deer and Rocky Mountain Elk, the hard way. During the seemingly never ending drought years, and later during years when multiple Doe Deer tags were available in an attempt to keep the deer from eating themselves out of house and home.
It is the place where I learned that a flat shooting 280 rifle was plenty enough to bring home the venison, and that shoulder canons just cost more money. I’ll cover that at a later time in more depth.
It is where the last energy boom brought the boom / bust cycle back to an area that was only to familiar with those economics. Oil shale was going to save us all. Not…
Then the development had little negative impact on the land that I could detect. That was also a different type of mining though. I have been privileged to draw more than one license for the Forrest of the Bear, Bosque Del Oso State Wildlife Area near Westcliff, Colorado. The area is covered with natural gas wells, and the deer and elk don’t seem bothered by them in the least. Nor do the Wild Turkeys that abound there. The noise from them is something else though, you have to hear it to understand what I mean though, as words simply cannot convey what it is like to put a good sneak on a big tom then to have your nerves suddenly shattered by the load screech from a nearby well…
I have no idea what the impact on the Sage Grouse will be, as noted below, the species is under review for EPA protection as endangered. If those birds are endangered it is because no one actually went out and took a look for them, perhaps with the help of a good flushing dog. Find the right pockets, and you will be into thousands of those birds. Hint* Ryans Gulch, go to the top of the hill heading west from Piceance Creek road. Park, and hike due west. You will find birds…
WILDLIFE RESEARCHERS TURN ATTENTION TO ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN PICEANCE BASIN
Energy experts say Colorado’s Piceance Basin is one of the largest natural gas reserves in North America. Biologists, conservationists and sportsmen value the Piceance Basin because for its incredible diversity and abundance of wildlife. As the energy industry makes a move to tap the gas resource, wildlife experts are examining ways to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts to wildlife and habitat.
The Piceance Basin is home to one of the largest migratory mule deer herds in the nation. It winters thousands of elk. The basin is also home to a high-elevation population of greater sage-grouse, Colorado River cutthroat trout, and numerous other species, both rare and common.
Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) researchers are working with the energy industry and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to study ways to reduce and mitigate the impacts that thousands of gas wells may have in the Piceance Basin. The DOW’s Central Piceance Basin Project brings together a strong team of researchers that will implement a comprehensive, multi-species, landscape-based approach to understanding the success of existing mitigation efforts and helping to craft new mitigation strategies.
“We’re looking for solutions,” explained Ron Velarde, northwest regional manager for the DOW. “We want to advise energy companies on ways to minimize their impacts. As a wildlife agency, our role is to make sure that the wildlife resource survives and thrives while this work is occurring and after the gas is gone.”
Collaboration
The Central Piceance Basin Project is one of the largest comprehensive energy and wildlife studies proposed to date, with an estimated cost of more than $1.3 million dollars a year over the next five to ten years. Initial support for the project is strong.
“As an agency, we stepped out on a limb and hired researchers to conduct the studies, but we aren’t going to get the work done without help,” added Velarde. “It isn’t just money. We’re asking companies, conservation groups and other agencies to work with us by providing things like volunteers, expertise, permission to access land, and agreements to allow habitat manipulations that might be outside of the norm.”
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the agency that regulates drilling activity in the state, has contributed $150,000 towards the research project. The Colorado Mule Deer Association has made a $100,000 pledge to support deer research in the Piceance Basin. The national Mule Deer Foundation has also contributed $15,000. BLM is requesting $100,000 a year for five years through their budget process to support this project.
Three natural gas industry leaders – EnCana, Shell and Williams – have committed to assist with the project. In addition to pledging significant financial support, the companies have agreed to allow researchers to access thousands of acres of land the companies own in the research area.
EnCana, one of the largest natural gas firms operating in western Colorado, has pledged $900,000 in financial support for the research effort.
“Supporting a program that will ultimately inform our industry about additional ways to minimize the impacts to wildlife and their habitat while still providing a much needed clean-burning resource is an important part of doing business in Colorado,” said Byron Gale, North Piceance Team Lead, EnCana Oil & Gas (USA). “As a community, we all enjoy what this great State has to offer – we want to preserve its great landscape and heritage for the generations that will follow.”
Williams, another large producer in the region, has committed $550,000 to the project.
“Williams is committed to working in partnership with DOW, BLM and other agencies to conduct ground-breaking research that will provide critical data concerning Colorado’s wildlife,” added Rob Bleil, Williams’ principal environmental specialist.
While not producing large quantities of natural gas in the Piceance, Shell is actively researching oil shale possibilities in the basin and has pledged $325,000 to the Piceance wildlife research thus far.
“We especially appreciate the cooperative and collaborative approach taken by DOW to develop real partnerships that will benefit wildlife and habitat but also accommodate the development and production of the energy Colorado needs,” commented Terry O’Connor, Manager of Government Affairs for Shell Exploration and Production Company. “We plan to continue to partner with the DOW and others to develop the knowledge, understanding and expertise to not only minimize impacts to wildlife but make real improvements in management and recreation related to wildlife in Colorado.”
It isn’t just large companies that are supporting the effort. Delta Petroleum has pledged $25,000 over the next five years to help fund the research.
Another critical show of support for the DOW research project has come from the BLM, the federal agency that manages the majority of land and wildlife habitat in the Piceance Basin and oversees federal oil and gas leasing.
“BLM looks forward to working very closely with the Colorado Division of Wildlife and industry partners in developing these research proposals for the Piceance Basin,” said Kent Walter, Field Manager for the BLM’s White River Field Office. “Close coordination from the beginning and continued flexibility from all partners will ensure this research provides the most useful information to best minimize future impacts to wildlife and wildlife habitat.”
Assistance for the project has also been provided by environmental consulting firm Buys and Associates. Dave Diss with Buys and Associates has donated considerable time and effort to coordinate communication efforts with the dozens of energy companies operating in the region.
“The energy industry understands that better science helps everyone,” explained Kim Kaal, DOW energy liaison for northwest Colorado. “This research is designed to educate all of us on how development can occur while impacts are minimized or eliminated, and that’s something everyone seems willing to support.”
Mule deer and elk
Big game hunting is a critical part of the tradition and the economy of many western Colorado counties. A 2002 economic study commissioned by the DOW found that big game hunting contributes more than one million dollars annually in direct expenditures to the economies of Mesa, Garfield, Rio Blanco and Moffat County. Hunters are generally from outside of the area and, unlike other revenue streams, hunters’ activities generate revenue year-after-year without burdening government services or infrastructure.
Thousands of deer utilize the Piceance Basin during the year. In the winter, this critical area becomes home to even more deer as herds from the surrounding mountain areas move into the lower parts of the basin in search of food and relief from the snow.
“Our study is designed to examine mule deer response to positive changes in development practices and habitat enhancement projects,” explained Chuck Anderson, DOW mule deer researcher.
To assess deer benefits, researchers will monitor factors including over-winter fawn survival, over-winter body condition of does and fawns, movement patterns and deer densities over time. The study will utilize GPS and radio telemetry collars to monitor and track the deer.
In addition to the deer population, biologists estimate that about 9,000 elk call the Piceance Basin home year around. Thousands more elk winter in the basin’s lower elevation lands before returning to higher ground for the summer.
Greater sage-grouse
The greater sage-grouse has become a key focus for state and federal wildlife agencies, ranchers, energy companies and environmentalists as the bird undergoes a new review for potential inclusion under the protection of the federal Endangered Species Act.
“Ultimately, it is in everyone’s best interest to do everything possible to keep populations healthy and avoid a listing,” said Velarde. “Scientific data is needed and that’s what the research aims to provide.”
Avian researchers involved in the Piceance Project are starting with a project to generate detailed seasonal habitat-use maps for greater sage-grouse to help industry avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts. Researchers hope to assess sage-grouse response to removal of pinyon-juniper that has encroached into former sage-grouse habitat.
“We’re also hoping to continue and expand existing greater sage-grouse monitoring efforts,” explained researcher Brett Walker. “We’ll be monitoring changes in survival, reproduction, habitat use and movement.”
Much of the monitoring work is being done with permission on private land owned by energy companies. The companies own hundreds of thousands of acres of land and without access to these large sections, the research effort is much more difficult.
Habitat
Ask any real estate professional the three keys to real estate investing success and they’ll tell you “location, location, location”. It a similar story when you ask about wildlife. The three key things for wildlife to thrive are “habitat, habitat, habitat”.
DOW Researcher Danielle Johnston is taking a comprehensive look at habitat factors in the Piceance Basin.
“We want to examine ways to promote restoration practices that most benefit wildlife,” Johnston said. “Beyond the area around well pads, we’re also interested in assessing weed control, soil manipulation and herbicide use as they apply to pipeline reclamation success.”
Major pipelines crisscross the Piceance Basin with several future pipelines in the planning stages. While these pipelines raise concerns, they also provide an opportunity to determine what reclamation efforts are best in the dry, high, sage lands of the West.
Conclusion
While researchers have already begun radio-tracking sage-grouse and mule deer in the Piceance Basin, the DOW continues to meet with potential donors to raise the remaining funds necessary for the project. Groups or companies interested in partnering on the research should contact Kim Kaal, DOW energy liaison for northwest Colorado at kimberly.kaal@state.co.us.
Ask any of the ranchers who call the Piceance Basin home and they can tell you that the area has changed dramatically in the last five years. Not many of them would hazard a guess as to what the basin will look like in another thirty years. But if a team of wildlife researchers are successful, the area’s abundant wildlife resource will stand witness to a unique collaborative research effort.
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The Colorado Division of Wildlife is the state agency responsible for managing wildlife and its habitat, as well as providing wildlife related recreation. The Division is funded through hunting and fishing license fees, federal grants and Colorado Lottery proceeds through Great Outdoors Colorado.
Editor’s note: Photos to accompany this story are available using the following links. Photo credit: Colorado Division of Wildlife
Photo 1: A drainage in the Piceance Basin shows the intermix of sage and agricultural lands http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/3822.jpg
Photo 2: A deer fawn wears a radio collar as part of Division of Wildlife efforts to track the animals in the Piceance Basin http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/3823.jpg
Photo 3: Pipelines, roads and well pad in the Central Piceance Basin Study area http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/3824.jpg
Photo 4: A gas well in the Central Piceance Basin Study area http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/3825.jpg
Photo 5: Deer from the Piceance Basin gather on sagebrush winter range
http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/3826.jpg
For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.
Be sure to click on the photo links! Great work! 🙂
Microsoft is wanting to phase out support for XP and are pushing Vista very hard…
There is a petition to Microsoft telling them to continue support for XP, if you are interested, please sign the petition…
Story Here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24070867/
Petition Here: http://reg.itworld.com/servlet/Frs.frs?Context=LOGENTRY&Source=entdesk080102&Source_BC=13&Script=/LP/80276783/reg
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Courtesy of http://TexasFred.net
April 15th, tax day for yet another year! I knew that everyone would be happy about that. How do I feel about taxes? Well that would probably best be summed up by a quote that I found;
“The war against illegal plunder has been fought since the beginning of the world. But how is… legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime. Then abolish this law without delay… If such a law is not abolished immediately it will spread, multiply and develop into a system.” —Frederic Bastiat
Our Constitution is pretty blunt about taxation, at least in the beginning it was. Now, after several generations of politicians have tweaked it, and such. We have an income tax, a this tax, a that tax, then there is the seemingly ever broadening base of state and local taxation. Is there a perfect answer? I seriously doubt that there is one.
The “Flat tax” is a step in the right direction but really has very little support in the places where it counts. Pretty much the same for the other tax theories that I have heard about.
One thing is certain though. As the tax burden grows constantly, the already existent black market will expand tremendously, along with the resultant crime that follows. That will be something that affects people on an everyday basis, not just in mid-April. It certainly is sad that in “the land of the free” you can buy a full auto AK47 for less, substantially less, than the legal semi-automatic version. That cargo theft is one of the fastest growing crimes, with cigarettes and booze being the most targeted goods. Those just happen to be things that are heavily restricted, and in many places taxed at outrageous levels. But, when you have a government that has to add “explosives” to the name and duties of a rogue agency that fairly regularly killed Americans for practicing their rights what can you expect?
For those among us that are collectivist’s and think that Free market Economics are a pipe dream, think about this: Aesop’s fable about The Goose that laid the Golden Egg.
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CHARISMA WITH FLUFF AND ILLUSION By: Tom Rose |
This past week my wife and I drove from Mercer, Pennsylvania, to attend a meeting at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where presidential candidate Dr. Ron Paul was invited to speak. It was a round trip of 170 miles or so, and it was very worth while to hear what he had to say. It was also very worth while to note the warm charisma he expressed in his freedom-oriented message that positively motivated his eager audience.
While there we met many down-to-earth people who expressed thorough disgust with the political leadership of our country. Not one person in attendance mentioned the media-spread lie that America is a “democracy;” but in contrast we often heard reference to America’s being a constitutional republic! “Freedom really works, if we will but give it a chance!” was an oft-repeated point that Ron Paul made during his talk.
Who was there? The auditorium was almost completely full [capacity about 450], and it was made up of:
1. Young students – from many walks and orientations of life, who are on fire in their search to restore the many freedoms that were once enjoyed in America by their parents;
2. Democrats – who are so disappointed in the lack of quality in the presidential candidates being offered by the Democratic party, that they had switched political parties in order to vote in the Pennsylvania primary election on April 22, 2008. [Some states allow cross-voting in primary elections, but Pennsylvania does not.] The persons we spoke to expressed strong support for Ron Paul and the principles of freedom he stands for, but expressed deep disappointment with the specious messages and dubious characters of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
3. Republicans – who are absolutely revolted by the Republican presidential candidate John McCain. Some had learned of his reckless and careless destruction, in five separate instances, of five airplanes on different aircraft carriers, causing loss of life of innocent sailors. Others also knew that McCain, while a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, was referred to by his fellow POWs as ” Songbird” because he colluded with the enemy to escape the torture that his fellow prisoners suffered.
4. Independent-minded farmers – who have grown tired of the many socialist/fascist government programs that destroy farmers’ freedom to produce goods for the free market.
5. Ordinary workers – who have watched government programs and subsidies to business destroy America’s once-great industrial capacity, and who have seen their lost jobs transferred overseas.
6. Retirees – who are “young-enough-at-heart” to hope that America’s historic freedoms can be restored by electing a real believer in constitutional rule to the presidential office. Some in this category mentioned their hope for passing a better America on to their children and grandchildren.
7. Enthusiastic young people – who passionately want to opt out of the government-organized “robbery” they consider the Social Security tax to be.
8. Military members or their families – expressed strong support for Ron Paul because he believes that America should go to war only through appropriate constitutional action by the vote of Congress. In his talk Dr. Paul stressed that our country has troops stationed in over 130 foreign countries, and that this needless expense is bankrupting America!
It was truly a wholesome experience to meet and talk with so many like-minded people from different walks of life. Many had traveled long distances, and all, in one way or another, expressed their strong desire for less government intervention in their business and personal lives, as well as a deep passion to live as free and self-responsible individuals. The military are 100% in accord with presidential candidate Ron Paul when he suggests that it’s time “to try freedom” for a change!
It was very evident to everyone that Ron Paul speaks from his heart, which is what makes his political platform so winsome! It amounts to “Charisma with substance!” His consistent message of practical and workable freedom in economic matters, in social organization, and in political rule, all applied according to the binding limits of the Constitution, brought out repeated outbursts of enthusiastic applause and acceptance from the audience. There was no false fluff or clever illusion in his talk at all, like we hear in the talks given by the other candidates. The mainstream news media have readily touted the fluff and illusion so often spouted by other presidential candidates, but the media have done their best to establish a total news blackout concerning the meaningful messages of Ron Paul.
It is clear that Ron Paul has deeply touched and won the heart of those Americans who have heard his message; but the mainstream news media continue working feverishly to ignore Dr. Paul because they, and the special-interest groups with which the media collude, truly fear his workable freedom message, which carefully adheres to the role of limited government expressed in the United States Constitution. It is high time for the American public to wake up and see the civil and economic destruction which threatens our nation if we don’t turn from our current socialist/fascistic governmental rule and turn towards the rule of law that made America the envy of the world.
Since Dr. Paul was first elected to the U. S. House of Representatives in the 1970’s, he has faithfully upheld the Constitution against overwhelming odds – so much so as to have earned for him the enviable title of “Mr. No” because of his consistent vote against any bill that goes counter to the Constitution, which is true of most bills!
In closing his talk, Dr. Paul strongly emphasized, “I am not giving up!” He made it clear that he was going all the way to win the presidential nomination at the Republican convention in September! The news media have been ultra silent on the wonderful progress Dr. Paul’s grass-roots supporters have made in gaining needed delegate slots for his nomination at the Republican convention.
~snip~
SOURCE: http://etherzone.com/2008/rose041108.shtml
As noted elsewhere on this blog. Ron Paul has some good ideas. He also has some ideas that are absolutely insane!
Open fire … LMAO!
A recent advertisement by Swedish vodka maker Absolut has left the company shaken after causing quite a stir. The Mexican ad depicts a map of North America with pre-1848 borders. The southwestern U.S. (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California and portions of other states) is shown as part of Mexico, beneath the slogan “In an Absolut World,” part of the company’s advertising portfolio illustrating “ideal” scenarios. After calls from U.S. citizens for a boycott, the vodka maker offered a limp-wristed faux apology: “In no way was it meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues.” It concluded by saying, “This is a genuine and sincere apology.” El contrero, Absolut. When you have to say an apology is “genuine and sincere,” it’s pretty much guaranteed that the opposite is true.
source: Patriot Post
I like the “limp wristed” part, it is about the only thing that I had not heard about this so far! 🙂
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