Rambling on American Conservatism

I think I figured out why Jeremy Boreing's "Conservatism / American Liberalism" point of view gets under my skin so much.

Jeremy once decried the 'groypers' who trolled 'conservatives' over homosexuals. In doing so, he said "American Conservatives want to conserve American Liberalism". This is a callback to the foundations of the Republican party where they were considered the liberals of the day.

Which is why many modern 'liberals' claim there was a Party-Switch™. (Spoiler: there was none.) The Republicans were pro-abolition and pro-human-rights and were for the government helping those who needed help. These were seen as 'liberal' for the day.

Modern 'liberals' call this 'big-government' and equate it to FDR-style programs. (It isn't.) But the original Republicans definitely did NOT believe in what Jeremy calls 'American liberalism'.

One HUGE proof that early Republicans were not no-government libertarian types was when they had the federal government enforce abolition on the southern states against their will. If I recall, they were kind of forceful about it.

"I guess it’s popular on the right these days to decry libertarians anytime you don’t like one of the many consequences of freedom." - Jeremy

Consequences of freedom can be ugly. This is why we are not a democracy, but a republic. It's for the protection of the minority group.

"Do you believe this is the same culture it was ten or fifty or a hundred years ago?" - Jeremy

Surprisingly, it's not that different. It's just people keep redefining terms (like 'conservative').

I've been putting scare-quotes around 'liberalism' because they're not really liberal. They're authoritarian progressives. And many 'conservatives' are actually libertarians or even anarchists.

Which is why we have such trouble discussing EVERY issue. Words should have meanings.

Jeremy says we "cannot and should not" use government to enforce morality. Then he says we can on abortion because: reasons.

While I agree on abortion, it's the same on any cultural issue. What people do affects society, so society has a stake in what people do.

Progressives laugh when we discuss 'slippery-slopes' in every argument. And within only a couple of years, every slippery slope has occurred and we have to fight the same battles again.

But if we had only used politics and government to regulate this before, we wouldn't have to.

Saying politics will change if we change our culture ignores the fact that culture unbridled will change our politics whether we want it to or not. It's they tyranny of the majority and the tragedy of the commons, wrapped into one disaster.

And then people like Jeremy say, "but Conservatism is American Liberalism" while the circling of the drain continues.

Schadenfreude is not a german dog breed

I know most of you think I follow politics WAY too much. But what I do is research items I hear in the news, usually making me mad that the news was not entirely truthful. What I don't do is watch politics and politicians.

But today, at lunch, I turned on the television, and it happened to be on a channel carrying Trump's press conference. And I was actually enthralled. Not because I'm some devotee of his, but because what I saw was the press trying their best to hurt the President of the United States. Even more, I saw Trump deftly parrying each thrust and turning the dagger back on the press.

The press wants to know if Trump is working with Russia, but in the same breath wants to know if he is going to address Russia's overt hostile acts. (How can they be hostile and cooperative?)

So Trump tells them that being friendly with a foreign country is not a bad thing. And then he turned the blade. Why, he asked, was the press fawning over Hillary's failed "Russian Reset" (complete with fake plastic button)? Why did the press say nothing when Hillary arranged a deal to provide uranium by the ton to Russia?

Why are they against working with Russia only now?

I couldn't look away. It was like watching a street thug take on an MMA fighter. It was almost unfair.

To paraphrase Sidney Morgenbesser, it was unfair because he beat them over the head but not unjust because he beat ALL of them over the head.

#Schadenfreude


https://youtu.be/W5FRUM-AK9k

President-Elect Donald Trump acceptance speech

"Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division, have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people."

"Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream. I've spent my entire life in business, looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world."

"Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals."

"No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach. America will no longer settle for anything less than the best. We must reclaim our country's destiny and dream big and bold and daring."

"So it's been what they call a historic event, but to be really historic, we have to do a great job, and I promise you that I will not let you down. We will do a great job."

"And I can only say that while the campaign is over, our work on this movement is now really just beginning. We're going to get to work immediately for the American people, and we're going to be doing a job that hopefully you will be so proud of your President."

- President Donald Trump

49 abominable facts about Hillary the media won't tell you - Re-Blog

If you listen to the news, the only real reporting being done about Hillary Clinton has to do with her email scandal. Even though she violated the Espionage Act, the FBI refused to prosecute. Her family’s foundation is under heavy scrutiny. But did you know these other important points about Hillary’s life-long run to the White House?

Saul Alinsky

1. During her college years at Wellesley, Hillary Clinton formed her political ideology as a close friend and confidant of Saul Alinsky, the Marxist firebrand who resurrected the “Communist Manifesto” and urged young liberals to agitate and create unrest to establish communist ends.
2. Hillary Clinton’s senior thesis at Wellesley College was locked at her husband’s request during his time as president. The 92-page thesis was about Alinsky, with whom Clinton shared a mentor/apprentice relationship.
3. According to NBCNews, David Brock called Hillary “Alinsky’s daughter” in his 1996 biography, “The Seduction of Hillary Rodham.”
4. Hillary Clinton wrote in her thesis, “Much of what Alinsky professes does not sound ‘radical.’” This, coming from the man who dedicated his book, “Rules for Radicals” to Lucifer, “the first radical.”
5. To read a more in depth article about Hillary and Saul Alinsky, read, “Alinsky’s Daughter: Here’s the truth about Hillary the media won’t tell you.”

Leftist Law Firm

6. After college, Hillary searched for a leftist “movement” law firm and secured a spot at Treuhaft, Walker and Burnstein.
7. Treuhaft was a former Communist Party member who defended the Black Panthers and other radical leftist groups.
8. Walker was an avowed Communist until the day she died, and was notorious for successfully defending Angie Davis, a California Communist, on conspiracy murder charges. Davis purchased two firearms two days prior to an armed takeover of a county courthouse. While governor, Ronald Reagan barred Davis from teaching at any California University because of her militant communist beliefs. Walker made a living defending Communists against the Smith Act.
9. Burnstein was a defender of leftist radical protesters, taking the side of the Communists in Vietnam.
10. Hillary claimed to work on a child custody case only at the radical firm, but others recall differently. “We did a lot of conscientious-objector work,” during the Vietnam War.
11. Why did Hillary go to Treuhaft, Walker, and Burnstein? Carl Bernstein quoted Treuhaft as saying, "The reason she came to us, the only reason I could think of because none of us knew her, was because we were a so-called Movement law firm at the time.

Israel

12. As a college student, Hillary embraced the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and admired its leader Yassar Arafat, once defending him as a “‘freedom fighter’ trying to free his people from their Israeli ‘oppressors.’”
13. In her run for senator from New York, Hillary claimed she had Jewish roots by bringing up her grandmother’s remarriage to a Jewish man.
14. In reaction to seeing a menorah in a friend’s home, Hillary wouldn’t get out of her car, and friends heard Bill explain, "I'm sorry, but Hillary's really tight with the people in the PLO in New York. They're friends of hers, and she just doesn't feel right about the menorah."

Whitewater Scandal

15. As partners in the Rose Law Firm, Hillary, Bill, and Jim and Susan McDougal participated in a pyramid scheme that used fraudulent real estate loans involving inflated appraisals to circumvent federal law. By the time the FBI investigated, every single person involved was indicted or destroyed except Bill and Hillary. Power Line reported in March 2015:

1. Clinton, working with Webster Hubbell and Vince Foster, stole hard copies of the billing records of the Rose law firm where they were partners. They erased the electronic version of these records. One set of these documents was later found in the White House, just outside Hillary’s private office, by an employee. Another set was found in Foster’s attic by his widow, some years after he committed suicide. Clinton’s time sheets (handwritten, as was the practice back in the day) were never found.

Fighting for Women

16. While an attorney in Arkansas, Hillary defended a child rapist, knew he was guilty, but impugned the character of the 12 year old victim anyway, which would send the now-52 year old woman on a path to a life of drugs and crime. Hillary claimed the girl actively sought out “older men,” and had a reputation as a liar. In an interview, Hillary talked about having the rapist take a lie detector test, which he passed, and laughing, Hillary said, “Which forever destroyed my faith in polygraphs.”
17. Hillary successfully defended a 300 lb man who obviously beat his girlfriend, and got the case thrown out on a technicality.
18. Juanita Broaddrick claimed she was raped by Bill Clinton, Paula Jones won a $850,000 settlement when she accused Bill of sexual harassment, and Kathleen Willey accused Bill of sexual assault. In each of these cases, and many more, Hillary hired private detectives to dig up dirt on Bill’s accusers in order to destroy their stories, and keep Bill on his path to the White House, as told by biographer Carl Bernstein, former aide George Stephanopoulous, and former Clinton aide Dick Morris.

Black Lives Matter

19. Hillary has said that white people have to, “recognize our privilege and practice humility.”
20. To BLM rioters she said, “We need you. We need the promise of a rising generation of activists and organizers who are fearless in your advocacy and determination.”
21. The Black Lives Matter founder from Worchester, Massachusetts, once complained to Hillary, “Until someone speaks the truth to white people in this country so that we can actually take on anti-blackness as a founding problem in this country, I don’t believe that there is going to be a solution. What in your heart has changed that’s going to change the direction of this country?” Hillary responded, “I don’t believe you change hearts, I believe you change laws. You change allocation of resources. You change the way systems operate,” indicating that she would change government to implement BLM’s demands.

Muslim Brotherhood

22. Hillary backed the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Mursi. Incidentally, on the way to meet with Mursi, Hillary, was pelted with tomatoes while the Egyptians chanted, “Monica, Monica!”
23. Hillary’s top aide, Huma Abedin, has well-established ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
24. Hillary sided with the second official-of-record of the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya and discussed what could be done to hamper Qaddafi. “Hillary’s war,” as identified by U.S Navy Rear Admiral Charles Kubic, ended in destabilizing Libya and enhancing the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS.

Gun Control

25. Hillary believes that Second Amendment proponents are a “minority” of people, and that their viewpoint is “terrorizing” the American people.
26. Hillary not only wants to make gun ownership illegal for many, but would allow gun manufacturers to be sued by those who have been shot by a legally owned gun. This would include those committing crimes on private property.
27. Hillary said that the Supreme Court is wrong about the Second Amendment, referring to District of Columbia v. Heller, which struck down the D.C. gun ban and ruled that individuals have a fundamental right to gun ownership under the Second Amendment.

The First Amendment

28. Hillary has condemned the Citizens United court ruling and wants a constitutional amendment to overturn it. The Citizens United case hinged on the right to free speech and censorship of opposing views. Justices looked at the FEC ban as akin to book burning, and the court ruled that the FEC could not limit political speech.
29. After four American lives were lost in Benghazi, Hillary Clinton blamed Nakoula Basseley Nakoula for a film he made about Islam. Hillary further falsely claimed the attack was in response to said film. To Charles Woods, the father of one of the deceased at Benghazi, Hillary said, “We will make sure that the person who made that film is arrested and prosecuted.” Nakoula was immediately jailed for over a year.
30. She has every intention of using the full power of the federal government to snuff out religious liberty.
31. Hillary has a long history of faulting or trying to ban movies, music, and video games for the actions of criminals.

Abortion

32. Hillary’s view is that people’s religious beliefs have to be changed when it comes to abortion. “Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will,” she explained. “And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.”
33. Hillary believes that an unborn child — just hours before delivery — has no constitutional rights, i.e., no right to life.
34. Hillary praised her husband Bill for vetoing a partial birth abortion ban. Partial-birth abortion is exactly what it implies, a child is pulled feet-first out of the mother's womb past the navel and the abortionist punctures the skull of the baby, inserts a powerful vacuum, and suctions the baby's brains which collapses the skull and the child is pulled the rest of the way and discarded. At the time of the veto, the Clintons claimed it was a procedure to protect the health and life of the mother, but a prominent abortion advocate said at the time that the information given to the public was intentionally misleading.
35. Hillary wants more funding to go to the abortion giant and butcher shop, Planned Parenthood.
36. Hillary wants to overturn the Hyde Amendment, which is intended to ban government funding for abortion.

Immigration

37. Hillary’s voter registration leader for her campaign is an illegal immigrant.
38. Clinton wants to increase Syrian refugees coming into America from 1,500 to 65,000.
39. At the Univision Democratic debate in March, Hillary said, “I am committed to introducing comprehensive immigration reform and a path to legitimate citizenship within the first 100 days of my presidency.”
40. Hillary would allow illegal immigrants to obtain health insurance under Obamacare.

Much More

41. Hillary’s first solo legal case was in defense of a canning corporation when a man found the back end of a rat in his pork and beans. Affectionately known as the “Rat’s ass case,” Hillary claimed it would be considered food in some countries.
42. Grateful for Hillary’s help in his presidential run, President Jimmy Carter put her in charge of Legal Services Corporation, a federally funded nonprofit, whose budget under Hillary would swell from $90 million to $321 million. Investigators from the General Accounting Office found that during her leadership, those involved with the LSC were, “uniquely reprehensible.”
43. In 1978 and 1979, Hillary turned a $1,000 investment into $98,540 in less than one year trading cattle futures under the guidance of a Tyson Foods outside attorney. Tyson Foods, under state law, was supposed to dispose of its chicken manure properly, but the state’s governor, Bill Clinton, never enforced the law. Five years later, seepage from the waste contaminated a community’s drinking water and made people sick. It took Bill Clinton 15 months to declare the town a disaster area.
44. In two years, 2013-2015, Hillary made $2.9 million in speaking fees from large corporations including $675,000 from Goldman Sachs.
45. In her commencement speech at Wellesley, Hillary quoted her mother as saying, “You know I’ll always love you but there are times when I certainly won’t like you.” In 1993, in an interview with the New York Times, Hillary attributed that exact quote to her father instead.
46. Hillary was “the first presidential spouse to be subpoenaed. Bill and Hillary Clinton are the first and only first couple to be fingerprinted by the FBI.”
47. Hillary was at the center of “Travelgate” during her time as first lady. The controversy surrounded seven people who were fired in the office and replaced with her cronies.
48. Hillary claimed she came under sniper fire during a trip to Bosnia. That claim was easily debunked by Sharyl Attkisson who was accompanied Hillary’s trip as a member of the press. Hillary twice tried to make the silly suggestion stick before the media caught up with her.
49. Hillary hailed the television channel Al Jazeera and said its viewership was going up in the U.S. “’because it’s real news. You may not agree with it, but you feel like you’re getting real news around the clock.’ She said it was ‘changing peoples’ minds and attitudes. And like it or hate it, it is really effective.’ U.S. news, she added, was not keeping up.”

Hillary is a radical's radical, a compulsive liar, and is intoxicated by the accumulation of wealth and power. Her Marxist ideology and belief that destroying this nation from within is what has motivated and propelled her to become president of this nation. Anyone considering voting for this destroyer should have their heads examined.

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source:
49 abominable facts about Hillary the media won't tell you - By Jen Kuznicki - September 03, 2016

liberal media collusion

"Perhaps most startling of all, Mr. Brock dismisses or rationalizes the sometimes powerful evidence that Hillary Rodham Clinton has lied -- about everything from her successful commodities trading to her role in the travel office firings -- by invoking a relativism rooted in Republican precedents." - NYT review of David Brock's "The Seduction of Hillary Rodham" 1996

"Mr. Brock has also said that he knowingly lied in an article he wrote for The American Spectator in 1992 that raised doubts about the credibility of Ms. Hill. The article formed the basis for a later book about Ms. Hill, whose charges of harassment almost derailed Clarence Thomas's appointment to the Supreme Court." - New Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right

"Brock countered them with a permanent organization, which eventually turned into Media Matters. Hillary, meanwhile, 'sprang into action,' inviting Brock to pitch her Senate fund-raising council and speak at a dinner for donors in her Chappaqua home." - NYT review of David Brock’s ‘Killing the Messenger’

David Brock founds "Media Matters for America" to act as a "counterweight to the conservative Media Research Center. It is known for its aggressive criticism of conservative journalists and media outlets, including its 'War on Fox News.'"

"He’s even constructed for Hillary her own personal media watchdog, Correct the Record, which tracks and instantly zaps any negative stories about her." - NYT review of David Brock’s ‘Killing the Messenger’

"I spoke w Arianna [Huffington] abt PMUSA [Progressive Media USA] Board and will send her more info. She is enthusiastic abt the project but asks if she's more useful to us not being on the Board and, instead, using Huffpo to echo our message without any perceived conflicts. She has a point." - Susan of Messageinc.com to David Brock and John Podesta of the 2008 Democrat presidential election

"Progressive Media USA, the group organized to be the main soft-money advertising vehicle for Democrats in the fall, will dramatically scale back its efforts in deference to the wishes of the party’s presumptive nominee [Barack Obama]." - Huffington Post 5/23/2008

"Progressive Media will serve as a communications and messaging nerve center for the progressive movement. We will create a robust echo chamber with messaging that spans from independent groups, to progressive partisans, to grassroots organizers, to the netroots. We will align messaging across broadcast and cable TV, radio, print, Internet, single-issue and advocacy organizations, progressive media, surrogates and new media." - Wikileak Draft launch statement 'PROGRESSIVE MEDIA'

"He [Brock] launched another nonprofit that exists to churn out a steady stream of lawsuits accusing Republicans of ethics and campaign finance violations. Then Brock announced that he was starting yet another liberal super PAC that pushes the boundaries of election law by coordinating directly with the Clinton campaign to respond to attacks against the candidate." - LA Times article 'David Brock, a Clinton enemy from the '90s, is now integral to Hillary's run'

"In his current role, Brock now works on what he calls the 'coordinated' side of the Clinton campaign. His group, Correct the Record, raises unlimited funds outside the regulated campaign finance system. But since it does not pay for advertising advocating her election, he says he can continue under current rules to talk to her, and her campaign staff about strategy, while deploying the unregulated money he raises to advocating her election online, through the press, or through other means of non-paid communications." - TIME article 'Hillary Clinton’s Bulldog Blazes New Campaign Finance Trails'

Put up a fight dammit

I get flustered and come off brash. In crude terms, I can be an asshole. But it comes from a good place, out of compassion, I believe.

I so often talk to people who have set their minds to an idea, and they spend all their energies trying to reinforce those ideas, even when logic and all sense defies it. I try, even if I fail, to present them with reasons why they may be wrong. And I eagerly await their counterpoint because I don't believe that I'm right just because I believe something. I humor myself with a paraphrase Socrates (a la Plato) that I know more than most because I know that I know nothing. That's why I spend so much of my personal time looking into facts and figures; so when I see misinformation or plain ignorance, I have the opportunity to bring these people toward their own knowledge.

And I possibly get more flustered with someone of higher intelligence and education, as I hold them to a higher standard than I do most. I know they have the ability and capability to reach their own conclusions based on logic, reasoning, research, and facts. I recognize that may be unfair, but as someone once said, it may be "unfair, but not unjust." (Sidney Morgenbesser said this about the police hitting him while protesting the Vietnam war. It was unfair that he was hit, but not unjust as they hit everyone.)

More to the point, when I see someone of their obvious ability make such statements (as "Trump is clearly racist") but this conclusion appears based on bad data (in my opinion, of course), I feel obligated to challenge that belief. And too often, the response is self-reinforcing or attempts to twist logic to reinforce the original idea. You see, if I believed they lacked the ability to provide point-counterpoint, I wouldn't confront their ideas with as much vehemence.

For instance, when I pointed out the logical fallacy of "Trump's a racist", they do not immediately provide any evidence of their own. They often attack the logical fallacy. While I give them points for style, they get no credit for addressing the issue. When they do provide evidence, they come from a place of "My assumption is Trump's a racist. From that we can prove..." That is bad form and horrible logic.

So, if they say, "supporting Trump is to support racism," they have already implied that Trump himself is racist and will promulgate racist ideology. I then am forced to go through the assumed litany of charges against Trump which I assume are their arguments (since they did not provide their own). The charge of Trump's racism often stems from his position on illegal immigration. So, I address that his position is little different than those of Bill Clinton 20 years ago. Also, Trump's position on Middle Eastern refugees is often a source of accusation; so I addressed that. And so on. If I can show that Trumps political positions are not racist nor motivated by racism, then the support of those who are racist will have no sway over his policies.

If they do not present their own argument, I have to assume their arguments for them. That's not the way I like to have discussions. But if they only argue semantics and not facts, I have little other choice.

And I will not apologize for my brash tone or my offensive manner. I want them to get upset. I want them to convince me. I want them to bring their best reason and logic. But most of all, I want facts. And if they cannot provide those, I will continue to challenge their assertions.

Flip the "switch"

A history of legislation, the Republican party, and racism:

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Republican party was founded in 1854 as the anti-slavery party.
Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1866 as a pro-slavery, pro-segregation, and white power organization. (Coincidence?)

Founded in 1866, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) extended into almost every southern state by 1870 and became a vehicle for white southern resistance to the Republican Party’s Reconstruction-era policies aimed at establishing political and economic equality for blacks. - History Channel

The Dred Scott decision was in 1857. President-elect Buchanan (a Democrat) wrote to Supreme Court Justice John Catron (a Democrat) about settling the case before his inauguration. Chief Justice Taney (also a Democrat) delivered the Court's opinion that a slave could not be a citizen of the United States.

The Republican Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1861.

Ferguson's night of broken glass

is this going too far?... or not far enough?

there is a man, a rabbi, who has made the assertion that the riots in Ferguson and beyond are similar in many ways to Kristallnacht in Germany... on the face of it, it's absurd to equate the two.

isn't it?

let's set the stage and see who the performers are.

circa 1920 Germany.

• one portion of the population was being demonized... the reason?... the Jew was seen as traitorous to the German state.

• the armistice of 1918 was propagandized as being wrought by the "November Criminals" who stabbed Germany in the back by overthrowing the government, thus creating the Weimar Republic.

• many WWI military commanders blamed businesses for turning their backs on the war effort, allowing profits to come before patriotism.

• the focus of this ire specifically fell to the Jewish businessmen, with the thought being they could not be patriotic Germans and also Jews.

• the Jews in the military were seen as profiteers, spies, or demoralizing agents.

• the Jews were falsely tied to communism, attempting to paint them as having designs on world domination.

• one well-known author later charged, "[Communism was] Jewry's 20th century effort to take world dominion unto itself."

• additionally, the Germans were propagandized as being betrayed by the socialists among them, saying they had not done enough to overcome the communists and Jews.

• the socialists seek to unify Germany by focusing on race and a state controlled economy.

circa 2014 United States of America.

• the wealthy and the business owners are being demonized... why?... the poor are told they are being stolen from; not being given their "fare share".

• the faceless "Illuminati" are seen as seeking world dominion... they are, of course, bankers and businessmen.

• some would even go so far as to attack those who support the nation of Israel as being part of this conspiracy.

• communism is no longer the adversary... capitalism is.

• instead of businessmen turning their backs on war efforts, the war mongers are seeking to foment war for their own profit.

• the socialists among us are doing everything they can to overcome these forces.

• there is great division among the races; some seeking their own national identity.

• the people want businesses to have less power, therefore they seek to have the government reign in, in some cases rule, businesses and their "obscene" profits.

November 7, 1938 - Herschel Grynszpan, German-born Jew, shoots Ernst vom Rath, German diplomat, over the deportation of his Polish-born parents.
November 9, 1938 - Kristallnacht,

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August 9, 2014 - White policeman, Darren Wilson, shoots black man, Micheal Brown, suspecting him of a strong-arm robbery minutes before.
August 10, 2014 - The beginning of looting of businesses and the targeting of white people, especially business owners, for violence. This violence has ebbed and flowed for the last two months.

so... does Rabbi Lapin have the right performers for his modern Kristallnacht play?... or is he reading from the wrong script?... there are extreme voices on each side... but is this a tipping point from which there is no return?

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November 12, 1938
"I have received a letter written on the Führer's orders requesting that the Jewish question be now, once and for all, coordinated and solved one way or another... I should not want to leave any doubt, gentlemen, as to the aim of today's meeting. We have not come together merely to talk again, but to make decisions, and I implore competent agencies to take all measures for the elimination of the Jew from the German economy, and to submit them to me."
- Hermann Göring

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source:
Rabbi Lapin on Ferguson Riots: Liberalism’s ‘Twisted Pathology … It’s Kristallnacht in Germany’

so much for principles

"Just this week, we learned that one of the largest groups paying for these ads regularly takes in money from foreign corporations. So groups that receive foreign money are spending huge sums to influence American elections, and they won't tell you where the money for their ads come from. So this isn't just a threat to Democrats. All Republicans should be concerned. Independents should be concerned. This is a threat to our democracy. The American people deserve to know who's trying to sway their elections." - President Obama, Oct. 7, 2010, Bowie State University

HOWEVER... in other news:

Barack Obama's reelection campaign will begin using administration and campaign aides to fundraise for Priorities USA Action, a super PAC backing the president.

Two Obama campaign aides confirmed that senior campaign and administration officials who participate at fundraising events for the president's campaign will also appear at events for Priorities USA Action, the PAC supporting Obama.

yeah... and raising the debt ceiling was "Unpatriotic" until Obama wanted to do it.

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source:
RealClearPolitics - Obama's Speech at Rally For Gov. O'Malley - Oct. 7, 2010

Update: Fundraisers encouraged to raise for PACs Obama once denounced - CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin - Feb. 7, 2012

Obama campaign to support super PAC fundraising - Feb. 7, 2012

Why Attack Religion!

Dear Comrades,
Comrade Aldred’s reply to the somewhat stale exhortation conveyed under the above query leaves little to be desired. It so happens that the Neue Zeit for August 4, contains an article by a German comrade (H. Salzmann) on the same subject, and to much the same effect. There seems to be a growing sentiment in the German Party that the favourite “tag,” that “religion is a private matter,” will have to be taken with a very considerable grain of salt, The phrase undoubtedly often covers an unworthy and somewhat hypocritical shirking of a necessary question – and, moreover, for the most part a perfectly useless one. In spite of the attempts sometimes made, no-one is really deceived into thinking that Socialism is compatible with any of the traditional systems of dogma termed religions. Thus, the old “tag” is in short a conventional lie, and surely the of these conventional lies we can do with the better When we find persons calling themselves Socialists like Mr. Ramsay MacDonald trying to make themselves “practical,” with Nonconformist voters and the like, by protesting their zeal for the “religious” indoctrination of children as an apology for their advocacy of secular education, I think it is about time for the thorough-going Socialist or Social-Democrat of the S.D.F to think twice before entrenching himself on the “Why attack religion?” attitude. Modern religion, like modern politics, is a part of the modern capitalist system – one of the wings of the vampire (cf. Walter Crane’s well-known cartoon).
Yours,
E. Belfort Bax

yes... why attack religion?... because attacking religion is the best way to destroy Conservative politics and Capitalist economics... they knew this over 100 years ago in Germany... and yet, we let it happen again.

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source:
E. Why Attack Religion! by E. Belfort Bax - Justice, 25th August 1906, p.6. (letter) - Marxists Internet Archive

time to go; where's the handbasket?

Just 14% of Likely U.S. Voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, July 31. That finding is the lowest measured since November 2, 2008, just before Barack Obama was elected president.

Right Direction or Wrong Track - Rasmussen Reports™

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I been in the wrong place
But it must have been the right time
I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong song
I been in the right vein
But it seems like the wrong arm
I been in the right world
But it seems wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
...
I'd a took the right road
But I must have took a wrong turn

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amen, Dr. John... amen.

you kicked the can, now go get it

while the feud between the Rep. Schultz (D-FL) and Rep. West (R-FL) is of little concern to me, the facts over which they argue is a major concern... the National Debt... while i leave it you for to work out the background and history of these two, i do want to point out (once again) simple facts which seem to be glossed over by those who support President Obama's (and by proxy, the Democrat's) plan for debt reduction.

In just two and half years, [Democrats have] increased federal spending a trillion dollars. It took George W. Bush, the largest spender since President Johnson, eight years to accomplish this.

The national debt stood at $10.6 trillion when Barack Obama became president. Now, two and a half years later, it's at $14.3 trillion -- a 40-percent increase.

Today 1.5 million less Americans are working than when Barack Obama became president and unemployment stands at 9.2 percent.

West's gentlemanly behavior | CURE - Star Parker

now, i'm sure there are those who will blame this on G.W.Bush... but at some point, Democrats have to take ownership... and the proposed debt reduction put forward by the Democrats must definitively prove it's viability... ten-year plans are not what we need... that is simply "kicking the can" to another generation... it kicks it past the election in 2012, 2016, and 2020... the political party which holds office and power now needs to form a plan for now... half-measures and rhetoric will not do.

so, the Democrats can continue to blame Republicans for failures... and they probably will... but there is no excuse for their own lack of leadership.

and this, like nothing else, will be remembered.

know when to say Wynn

CEO Stephen Wynn discusses why Obama and the debt ceiling are preventing economic recovery:

Well, here's our problem. There are a host of opportunities for expansion in Las Vegas, a host of opportunities to create tens of thousands of jobs in Las Vegas. I know that I could do 10,000 [square feet of meeting space] more myself and according to the Chamber of Commerce and the Visitors Convention Bureau, if we hired 10,000 employees, it would create another 20,000 additional jobs for a grand total of 30,000. I believe in Las Vegas. I think its best days are ahead of it. But I'm afraid to do anything in the current political environment in the United States. You watch television and see what's going on, on this debt ceiling issue. And what I consider to be a total lack of leadership from the President and nothing's going to get fixed until the President himself steps up and wrangles both parties in Congress. But everybody is so political, so focused on holding their job for the next year that the discussion in Washington is nauseating. And I'm saying it bluntly, that this administration is the greatest wet blanket to business, and progress and job creation in my lifetime. And I can prove it and I could spend the next 3 hours giving you examples of all of us in this market place that are frightened to death about all the new regulations, our healthcare costs escalate, regulations coming from left and right. A President that seems -- that keeps using that word redistribution. Well, my customers and the companies that provide the vitality for the hospitality and restaurant industry, in the United States of America, they are frightened of this administration. And it makes you slow down and not invest your money. Everybody complains about how much money is on the side in America. You bet. And until we change the tempo and the conversation from Washington, it's not going to change. And those of us who have business opportunities and the capital to do it are going to sit in fear of the President. And a lot of people don't want to say that. They'll say, "Oh God, don't be attacking Obama." Well, this is Obama's deal, and it's Obama that's responsible for this fear in America. The guy keeps making speeches about redistribution, and maybe we ought to do something to businesses that don't invest or holding too much money. We haven't heard that kind of talk except from pure socialists. Everybody's afraid of the government, and there's no need to soft peddling it, it's the truth. It is the truth. And that's true of Democratic businessman and Republican businessman, and I am a Democratic businessman and I support Harry Reid. I support Democrats and Republicans. And I'm telling you that the business community in this company is frightened to death of the weird political philosophy of the President of the United States. And until he's gone, everybody's going to be sitting on their thumbs.

[emphasis added]
Wynn Resorts' CEO Discusses Q2 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript

i'm going home and taking my toys

"Eric, don't call my bluff," Obama said according to Cantor moments before storming out of the meeting. "I'm going to take this to the American people."

i guess Obama isn't going to have the "adult conversation" he so dearly wanted... but if he's going to walk out on the discussion, i hope he has a good reason... and not some political passing of the buck... we're running out of bucks to pass, literally.

quiet on the left

i really hate getting my news from the Conservative media... places like HotAir.com and FoxNews give you an obvious slant... but when main-stream refuses to report news, what else is there?... like when NOW supports misogyny:

Women Dems turned on by Rep. Anthony Weiner's politics are disgusted by his sexting antics

"I wasn't happy to discover that my congressman is a 14-year-old boy, but he happens to be one of the best politicians out there, so we're in a bad position. We're trying to give him the benefit of the doubt." - Julie Kirshner, president of the Brooklyn NOW chapter

i'd really like to find some other sources talking about this... so sad that MSNBC, CNN, and the rest of the networks just turn a blind-eye... just like when NOW supported Clinton and his extra-marital affairs while President.

two words - Chris Lee

Anthony Weiner Admits Sending Racy Pictures, Refuses To Resign

i hear "libs" say Weiner shouldn't resign... that's BS... if it had been a conservative, the same people would lust for his blood!... several have resigned in shame over the years... but, somehow, if you're a liberal, you are not held to the same standard.

one of the arguments is, "conservatives are hypocrites, claiming they run on platforms of family values; while liberals don't claim this, so aren't held to that standard"... so, if i run on a platform of anti-baby-rape, and you don't, then it's by default okay for you to rape babies... that's not just illogical, it's plain stupid.

let's accept the "hypocrisy" argument... does it really make this right?... of course not... one thing that makes this so wrong is it calls to question the man's judgement... can we expect this person to make the right decisions in the legislature when he makes poor decisions in his personal life?

but, this isn't the worst of it... what are the implications of a Congressman making these poor decisions and a foreign entity finds out about it?... and what happens when that entity then blackmails the Congressman for certain favors or access?... for example, if John Edwards had won the Presidency a few years ago, only to have his extra-marital affair to be disovered by a Mexican drug cartel?... would a bill which increased Border Patrol funding ever get past his desk?... can you think of worse scenarios?... i know i can.

the point is simple... it doesn't matter what your political affiliation, your philosophy, or your platform... when you are given power as a representative of the people, what you do in your private life matters.

Flaming Slacks (or "pants on fire")

I rise today to talk about America's debt problem.

The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies.

...

And the cost of our debt is one of the fastest growing expenses in the Federal budget. This rising debt is a hidden domestic enemy, robbing our cities and States of critical investments in infrastructure like bridges, ports, and levees; robbing our families and our children of critical investments in education and health care reform; robbing our seniors of the retirement and health security they have counted on.

Every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to investment in America's priorities. Instead, interest payments are a significant tax on all Americans--a debt tax that Washington doesn't want to talk about. If Washington were serious about honest tax relief in this country, we would see an effort to reduce our national debt by returning to responsible fiscal policies.

...

Our debt also matters internationally. My friend, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, likes to remind us that it took 42 Presidents 224 years to run up only $1 trillion of foreign-held debt. This administration did more than that in just 5 years. Now, there is nothing wrong with borrowing from foreign countries. But we must remember that the more we depend on foreign nations to lend us money, the more our economic security is tied to the whims of foreign leaders whose interests might not be aligned with ours.

Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that "the buck stops here." Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America's debt limit.

(emphasis added)
Sen. Barack H. Obama
INCREASING THE STATUTORY LIMIT ON THE PUBLIC DEBT -- (Senate - March 16, 2006)
Congressional Record - 109th Congress (2005-2006) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)

---

yes, Senator Obama... once again, you and i are in complete agreement.

---

Obama Regrets Vote Against Raising Debt Limit

Obama "thinks it was a mistake," presidential spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. "He realizes now that raising the debt ceiling is so important to the health of this economy and the global economy that it is not a vote that, even when you are protesting an administration's policies, you can play around with."

---

DAMMIT!!!

there is nothing more to say

Obama secretly accepts transparency award - The Hill

i dare you to find something more revealing, more ironic, more humorous, more sarcastic, or more accurate than this... go on... i dare you!

meet the new boss

BEFORE:

We cannot drill our way out of our addiction to oil : Audacity of Hope
Drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution : Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama
(emphasis added)

HOWEVER:

Drill, Brazil, Drill!

• "We want to help you with the technology and support to develop these oil reserves safely. And when you're ready to start selling, we want to be one of your best customers."

(emphasis added)

NOW:

Obama's Goal: Cut Oil Imports By One-Third : NPR
Obama Lays Out Plan to Cut Reliance on Fuel Imports : NYT

• "Meeting this new goal of cutting our oil dependence depends largely on two things: finding and producing more oil at home, and reducing our dependence on oil with cleaner alternative fuels and greater efficiency."

(emphasis added)

ALSO favorite "blast from the past":

We Can't Drill Our Way Out of Our Energy Problems : Van Jones

• "The people who told us they could bomb and torture our way to a peaceful world, they had their turn. It's our turn now. People who say we could drill and burn our way to a good environmental and energy outcome have had their turn. It's our turn now. The people who say they could borrow and spend their way to a healthy economy, they had their turn."

(emphasis added)

so, what are we doing now?... bombing, drilling, and borrowing.
this is the "Change" you can believe in?

"Some trips are longer, lonelier, and darker than others."

a Republican Congressman explains why he voted against a spending reduction bill... i respect his motives, but disagree in principle.

Heading Off The Cliff
by Congressman John Campbell (R-CA)

Excerpts (emphasis added) and commentary:

Many of my colleagues who have been around much longer than I have remind me that it is a huge shift to talk about how much we are going to cut instead of how to slow the rate of increase. I get that. But, if you are in a car heading for a cliff, it is not enough to apply the brakes if that braking is insufficient to keep you from going over the cliff. You must brake hard.

i'm with him up to this point... there must be a will to stop the increases... moreover, they need the will to reverse away from the edge... while i disagreed with many of his methods, President Clinton actually (briefly) brought the run-away spending to a stop... President Bush put that car back in gear, and President Obama has mashed the gas to the floor.

The vote was 235-189. Every Democrat voted against it...
I was one of 3 Republicans to vote no. We all voted no because it did not reduce spending enough. I thought there might have been a few more to join our little band of rebels.

here's where we differ... when you're heading toward the cliff, not pressing the brake enough will doom you... but not pressing it at all is just as sure to fail... doing too little and doing nothing both send you off the edge.

An amendment offered by Jim Jordan (R-OH) and cosponsored by yours truly would have reduced non-security spending to 2008 levels. It failed by a vote of 147-281, meaning that some 40% of Republicans in addition to all Democrats opposed it. This cost saving measure had nothing to do with security. It is not a big stretch to ask the government to spend at levels spent just 2 years ago when there has been little intervening inflation.

again, i'm in agreement... but there is some hypocricy creeping in, too... if you vote against doing too little before, why vote for 2008 spending levels?... in 2008, Congress was already spending like a drunken sailor... that's not slowing... that's not even a serious attempt at fiscal responsibility... however, it is better than doing nothing... you know... the same nothing you proposed earlier.