Friday, April 17, 2009

A Letter about the Tea Parties

As I have blogged, I am now becoming much more involved and trying to make a difference. Blogging is not enough. I feel I must act. The first thing I am doing is writing letters to my representatives.

Here is a letter I wrote to ALL of my representatives about the Tea Parties and what they REALLY meant. If you want, borrow some of it or all it. Send it to ALL your representatives.


Here is the letter:

After reading and watching news reports, it is quite obvious that the media did not understand why a solely grassroots protest of nearly a milllion people at over 1,000 Tea Parties gathered all over our nation on April 15th. I want to be sure you do, because it was a peaceful, distinct message to you.

The message was NOT about taxes. This is NOT about Democrats or Republicans. This is NOT about Liberals or Conservatives. This is DEFINITELY NOT about Bush or Obama. The message was that the People, who possess the power of our Republic, are not pleased with how the government (local, state, and federal) is over reaching their power.

The People see the government at all levels not doing what they are permitted to do according to their governing Constitutions or Charters. The People are now exercising their natural rights to employ their power of their own governance. The People run the government, not the government running the People.

This over reaching of power has been slowly going on for decades. We, the People, have been upset about this encroachment of our rights and a growing powerful government, and the tipping point has been crossed. The People are now expressing their disdain for ridiculous, wasteful spending, inevitable high taxes that are on the horizon, unconstitutional laws, out of control governmental agencies, inapt government programs, and on and on.

These feelings are not new and are not Party or ideology centered, but just recently have reached a point that has united the nation. The nation is now motivated to do something about these issues that have always troubled many citizens for decades and have nothing to do with who is leading our government.

Politicians have wanted to unite the divisions in America and the government has just done that with their actions. The People are now united against the government's new soft tyranny and over reaching power. We don't want more government, but less of it intruding to every aspect of our lives. Please take note that this movement is not going away. The People are exercising their natural right to defend their Life, Liberty, and private property.

Please take note that this movement is because of how the government at all levels has over stepped their bounds defined in our Constitutions and Charters. Please revisit what these boundaries, values, and principles are and return to them. The People will appreciate respecting the law and principles of Liberty and America. We, the People, will reward those who express and honestly return to these American principles and admonish those who do not.

The Tea Parties were only the first step. There is much more coming on the horizon. The grassroots groups are forming to take back our Republic. Find the right one that fits you and support them. There groups are going to take back our country from the Left and return it to the "center."

A Letter about the Home Land Security Memo

I have been quite busy writing letters lately. This is letter I wrote to my Congressmen about the Home Land Security memo that we are all aware of. Please borrow some of it or all of it. Write your representatives and tell them how you feel. It really makes a difference.

Here it the letter:


I have read the memo from Home Land Security and I am APPALLED! The government is calling its own citizens "radicals" and "terrorists." The same government that won't call fundamentalist Muslims terrorists are now calling their own People terrorists. They won't call the Taliban terrorists, but they will call my family, church members, friends, fellow workers, neighbors, and ME a "radical" and "terrorist." What makes this even more disgusting is that the memo insults our soldiers who fought for our country, liberty, and freedoms.

Now, where is the outrage from you, sir? This memo makes great men like Madison, Jefferson, Lincoln, Reagan, FDR, Eisenhower, Truman, Jackson, Kennedy, Franklin, Adams, and so many others who believe in the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence out to be "radicals." The same people that have read Tocqueville, Locke, Hume, Plato, Aristotle, and other philosophers are now enemies of the State. We and they are not "radicals." Sir, we are Americans. We are free and have the right granted by Natural Law or our Creator to express our views, especially if they differ from the tyranny of an unjust government and stand up for our freedom and liberty. It is the People's responsibility and duty to do so. It is yours as well.

So, I wonder where your outrage about such statement made by Home Land Security is? There is no other statement acceptable from you other than outrage. There is nothing that can be said by you or anyone from the Executive Branch to defend such outrageous statements of calling American soldiers and citizens "radicals" and "terrorists" for certain political views which are our right to have. It should not matter that these views are from the Left or the Right. We are free to believe what we will as long as it does not infringe on others' rights. The views discussed in the memo do not infringe on anyone rights. What these groups are exposing are American values and principles, not radical or terrorist views. Keep in mind, if the statements in the memo attacked your views you should be outraged, so why anyone else are's any different. According to the Constitution, they are not and you swore to uphold it.

Please stand up for the People and their right to express themselves without the fear of the tyranny of government power.

We need to tell these hubris politicans how we feel about what they are saying and doing. We have the natural right. It is our responsibility as citizens. This is the People's Republic, not the government's.

A Great Site to Find your Representatives

I have been not blogging as much lately, because I have been concentrating my energy elsewhere for the Cause, our Republic and Liberty. I have begun a concerted effort to do more for our Cause and blogging is not enough.

I have heard so many asking what can WE do. I will be covering what I am doing along with other Conservative principles for now on.

The first thing I am doing is writing ALL my representatives, local, state, and federal. I found this site: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ where I can easily find and contact all my representatives at all levels. Check it out!

It is real easy to write one letter about an issue and send it to everyone it pertains to quickly. All I do is change certain segments of the letter to fit who I am addressing to.

This site also has listed the pending legislation. You can track how certain representatives vote. Finally, you track certain issues and how others are discussing them. This is a great tool to communicate with others and your representatives.

They do read your letters and track them. Recently, I heard a county council was going to bar their county employees from carrying firearms and disallowing them to have them in their cars before and after work. The county had some lame excuses why. The county residents rose up and called, faxed, and email their council members. The ordinance was removed from consideration and was never voted on. This occurred in one day!

We, the People, hold the power. We just need to employ it. We have the natural right to. We have a responsibility to employ this power.

Remember outside Independence Hall when the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ended, Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, "A republic, if you can keep it."

Well…it is out time to keep it.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Obama Bullies Congressman DeFazio

"Don't think we're not keeping score, brother." That's what President Barack Obama said to Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) in a closed-door meeting of the House Democratic Caucus last week, according to the Associated Press.

This must be what Obama meant by bringing a new kind of politics to Washington. Between this intimidating quip along with “We won” and “I would not be listening to Rush Limbaugh,” Obama is expressing a new politic is Washington. It is thuggery. It is intimidation. It is new in Washington.

Is this the “change” you voted for?

What is amazing is that all DeFazio, a Democrat, did to receive the ire of Obama was to vote against the stimulus bill. This bullying was not needed since Obama had all the votes he need for it pass.

So, why would he be concerned about a Congressman from Oregon? It is strange unless you don’t read between the lines. Remember Obama is a narcissist. Think how Nixon or Clinton handled traitors like this. A narcissist won’t tolerate dissension within their ranks. The narcissist must control of everything and everyone and have everything meet their reality.

So, Obama and others will be attacking anyone who dissents from the Democrat’s Marxist agenda. Party affiliation is irrelevant. They will not tolerate it. They are arrogant and drunk with power and want complete assimulation of everyone to thier backward idelogy.

Along with this direct intimidation, the Democrats are working with many Leftist groups to attack their own along with the GOP. Obama is using the tactics of Mussolini, Hitler, and Lenin to keep everyone on the Party line. He has his “brown shirts” pushing his agenda all over the country. If one must use this much muscle to promote an agenda to convince its citizenry, then there must be something wrong with it, especially when after all this thuggery, the People still are not convinced and are against it.

According to Karl Rove in WSJ:

“Senior presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett and her chief of staff, Michael Strautmanis, are in regular contact with MoveOn.Org, Americans United for Change and other liberal interest groups. Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina has collaborated with Americans United for Change on strategy and even ad copy. Ms. Jarrett invited leaders of the liberal interest groups to a White House social event with the president and first lady to kick off the lobbying campaign.”

Obama is still campaigning and pushing his agenda, because no one is buying it. Reagan and G.W. Bush did not have “brown shirts” or did not have to do all this propaganda. The People are not “drones,” lemmings, or disciples. This is why the Founders gave us the power and not a few elitists. It is quite evident with the Tea Parties and the polls.

The citizenry are awakening and are taking back out country from the Marxists

Democrats Disorts Firearm Stats to Ban Assault Weapons

Holder and Clinton in the past few weeks have brought up reinstituing the assault weapon ban. They are using the violence on the border that they have ignored for years until now, because they can use it for their political advantage.

They claim that U.S. are at fault for this violence and that weapons are coming from the U.S. A statistic has been floated that 90% of Mexican weapons come from the U.S.

Again, in order for the Left to have reality fit in their ideology , they must lie and distort facts. Actually, the fact is, only 17 % of guns found at Mexican crime scenes have been traced to the U.S.

They are making this crisis up just as an excuse to take the citizens’ firearms.


Here is the story from Fox News. Also, hat tip Conservative Scalawag.

Illegal Immigrants are Counted in the Census

Democrats have pushed illegal immigration without any thought of what is does to our infrastructure and public services. Illegal immigration is bankrupting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. It is overwhelming our schools, healthcare systems, and judicial systems. At times, it seems the Left has promoted illegal immigration as a weapon against the American culture that they hate to purposely destroy it.

But, now it now has become apparent why the Democrats have been doing everything they can to encourage illegal immigration and protect them after they get here. In the census, illegal immigrates are included. Yes, that is right, they count and can without being here being a legal resident and can affect how Congressional districts are proportioned.

This redistricting can affect how the party strongholds are divided and can affect Congressional policy. Illegal immigrants can benefit themselves by simply being here and be counted.

To make this even more outrageous, the census bureau is not only going to use ACORN but also other “community organizations” to assist them to properly count everyone. I bet they will be fair and be sure it is done correctly.

Here is another reason we need to fix illegal immigration. We need to enforce the current laws, which we are not. We need to patrol to border, which they do not have enough resources. We need to change the law, so that if you are born here from illegal immigrants you do not become a citizen. We need to deport all violators. It is that simple.

We do this to protect our culture, our society, our citizens, and our nation before it is all gone.

Here is the story from CNSNews.com.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Conressman Wants to Raise Taxes on the Middle Class

Let’s go back to the election. Remember when Obama said that no one below $250,000 would see a tax increase. Then, it was said no one below $200,000. Then, $150,000. Well…now it is $104,425. At this rate, by the end of the year, every one will have a tax increase.

If you don’t say it, then I will. WE TOLD YOU SO!

Here is more of that wonderful “change” that these Obama voters wanted.

Here is the story from CNSNews.com:


(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal tax law, is seeking a vote this year on legislation that would increase the income tax rates on some Americans who earn as little as $104,425 per year.

The bill, which Baucus introduced Thursday, would fulfill many of President Barack Obama’s promised tax changes, including making most of the tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush permanent while raising taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 per year.

But those making more than $250,000 per year would not be the only ones to see their taxes go up if Baucus’s bill becomes law.

The proposed legislation would raise the rates on the top two income brackets, from the current levels of 33 percent and 35 percent respectively, to 36 percent and 39.6 percent. The new rates would become effective after 2010.

The increase in the rates for these two brackets will affect all taxpayers who fall into these two brackets regardless of their filing status, according to Heritage Foundation Senior Policy Analyst Curtis Dubay, who reviewed the legislation.

That means some taxpayers earning as little as $104,425—far less than half the $250,000 threshold President Obama set for raising income taxes—would see their income tax rate increased.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, the second highest income bracket—currently set at 33 percent—kicks in at an income level of $104,425 for a married person filing separately; $171,550 for someone filing as a single person; $190,200 for someone filing as a head of household; and $208,850 for a married couple filing jointly. Under Baucus’s proposal, the tax rates for all these people would jump to 36 percent.

The highest income bracket—currently 35 percent—kicks in at an income level of $186,475 for a married person filing separately; and $372,950 for all other filing statuses.

After studying the bill, Dubay of the Heritage Foundation told CNSNews.com that unless Congress changes the income levels that the top two tax rates kick in for each filing status, taxes will be increased on many more Americans than previously indicated by the Obama administration. (A spokesman for Baucus confirmed to CNSNews.com that the tax proposal does not change the taxable income levels of each filing status--it raises the two top tax rates across the board.) For a chart showing the current tax rates and income brackets for all filing statuses in 2009 click here. The income levels in question are indexed to inflation--meaning they will almost certainly be slightly higher by the time the new tax rates take effect in 2011 if Baucus’s bill passes. Since 2007, the income level for a married person filing singling in the 33-percent tax bracket has gone up only $6,500, from $97,925 to $104,425

Obama's Spending Nearing the U.S. Total GDP

Tax and spend Liberals are living up to their name. On Bloomberg.com, there is a story, “Financial Rescue Nears GDP as Pledges Top $12.8 trillion”, that shows that Congress and Obama has spent $12.8 trillion this year. THIS YEAR!

I, as mentioned in Obama is Worried about Deficits NOW? , the obligated debt is going to be $65 trillion. This exceeds the WORLD’s GDP. The $12.8 trillion they have spent this year is just shy for our total GDP or $14.2 trillion for last year.

One problem. Obama has not finalized his budget. The Congress Budget Office (CBO) said the Obama budget will generate deficits that are “unsustainable.” In that budget, he wants universal healthcare, cap and trade, and other spending programs. At this rate, they will surpass our total GDP for next year. That is like you walking into Wal-Mart and spending more than your yearly pay in one visit, thinking it will help help you get out of debt.

What does this mean? Well, this spending destroys our economy. It destroys the value of the dollar. It destroys our interest rates. It destroys the fabric our financial system. These outrageous deficits will, not may, WILL generate massive inflation and destroy our country.

This spending is not just irresponsible and dangerous, but Un-American.

This is all intentional. The inflation is not that is just the unintentional consequence that Liberals cannot and will not see. The reason for this spending is to create programs and massive debt, so that the government will never be able to cut taxes or lesson its size and therefore its power.

After the People become intoxicated from all these entitlements and the nanny state, the government will be able to do as it wishes, since the People will only want to end their handouts from the State.

Unknowingly, the People in order to have their entitlements, they must give up freedoms, liberties, and property for them. As Benjamin Franklin said, “When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”

We must stop this intoxication with educating these lemmings that do not understand the ramifications of handing over so much power to the State. The power given to the State is almost impossible to take back, so we cannot give it to them in the first place.

Geithner May Fire more CEOs

On CBSNews, there is a story, “Geithner On Ousting CEOs, Reviving Economy,” says that other CEOs firing could be coming.

Now, I am reading my Constitution and I cannot find anything in Article I, which sets up the Executive branch, that says that the they can fire CEOs of companies or corporations.

Geithner has asked for more power from the Congress, which would require legislation, and they are even wary of this power.

If they allow him the power to fire CEOs of banks and car companies, then who is next? Where does this march toward Marxism end?

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

China Develops Missile to Destroy Aircraft Carriers

On the U.S Naval Institute site, there is a story, “Report: Chinese Develop Special "Kill Weapon" to Destroy U.S. Aircraft Carriers,”that reminds us how dangerous our world is and that our enemies are adapting and improving their military.

While the Democrats cut military spending and programs, China, our largest adversary, enlarges their military and creates systems that can destroy their enemies, our allies and us. China assaults our computers with cyber-attacks. They, also, perform clandestine espionage that steals are most protected secrets.

Instead of admonishing this enemy for these actions, we beg them to buy our debt and continue to trade heavily with them. We ignore their civil rights violations and their atrocities for economic reasons.

Outrageous!

Congress is Derelict in Duty on the Border

From Breitbart.com, there is a story, “Guard needs more money to send troops to border,” that discuss that National Guard needs funds and troops to patrol the border.

After Congress spent trillions on banks, car companies, paying off their special interest groups, and entitlement programs, the National Guard does not have enough resources to protect our nation. Apparently, the Congress has its priorities backwards.

Congress has enumerated powers stated in the Constitution:


1: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

12: To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

16: To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress” --Article 1, Section 8, Clauses 1, 12, 15, 16

Congress has directly stated responsibilities to protect the nation from invasions. Mexican drug cartels and military crossing into our country and kidnapping and/or killing Americans are invasion. Congress is in dereliction of their duty to protect the citizens.

Instead, they sit in Washington debating about AIG, GM, and Freddie and Fannie. They spend our taxes dollars on wasteful projects and entitlements that not their top priorities.

Jefferson said:

"Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated." --Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Albert Gallatin, 1817

So, Congress needs to get their priorities straight and protect our nation and the citizens. They need to fund and provide National Guard troops for the border and stop wasting our money and resources on stimulus bills, banks, car companies, unions, ACORN, and all their other Liberal programs.

Taliban Threatens to Attack Washington

Obama changed the name of “terrorists.” Obama changed the name of the “War on Terror.” Obama changed the name of “terrorist attack.” The enemy not only did not get the memo, but they directly threatened the U.S.

However, this time it was neither Iran nor Al-Qaeda. It was the Taliban.

The same Taliban that Obama want to negotiate with and discuss concessions. Obama wanted to talk with the “moderate” Taliban. One problem. The naïve, inexperienced Obama did not know that there aren’t any “moderate” Taliban. In order to part of the Taliban, one must be a radical Muslim, like the ones that murdered innocent Afghans and support Al-Quaeda.

So, the leader of the Taliban said, "Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world."

Now, that sounds like moderate Muslim that can be talked with.

This threat is nothing new from these radicals. It is new for Obama, and, hopefully, the Administration handles these threats effectively for our sake.

This does show that no matter what you call it our enemies are still at war with us. This, also, shows you cannot talk to them or use any sort of diplomacy. These enemies must be destroyed. Hopefully, Obama starts to take this war seriously and stop playing the name game and take the fight to them before we lose a city to a “TERRORIST ATTACK.”

Here is a story from Fox News:



The United States has put a $5 million bounty on his head, and he says militants under his control are planning a terrorist attack in Washington that "will amaze everyone in the world."

And he isn't Usama bin Laden.

Baitullah Mehsud, commander of the Taliban in Pakistan, told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that his group was responsible for Monday's attack on a police academy in his country that killed seven police officers and injured more than 90 others.

He also said, chillingly:

"Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world."

In an interview with local Dewa Radio, which was obtained by The Associated Press, Mehsud identified the White House as one of the targets.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko told FOXNews.com that the bureau is not aware of a specific or imminent threat to the United States. He added, without elaborating, that Mehsud has made similar threats to the U.S.

But terrorism experts call Mehsud a "rising young star" who is linked both to the December 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the bombing last September that killed 54 people in the Marriott hotel in Islamabad -- and they say his threat to carry out an attack in Washington should not be discounted.

"It should be taken seriously because [Mehsud] has ordered the deaths of many Pakistanis and Afghans and has a close alliance with Al Qaeda," said James Phillips, a terrorism expert and senior research fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Heritage Foundation.

"It's not too much of a stretch to think he might be involved in an attack on the U.S. if he's able to get his followers inside the United States. He's a militant extremist whose threats cannot be ignored."

Mehsud, 35, is the senior leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban, or the Taliban Movement of Pakistan, and is a key Al Qaeda facilitator in the tribal areas of South Waziristan in Pakistan, according to the U.S. State Department. A $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction was announced just last week.

"He has conducted cross-border attacks against U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and poses a clear threat to American persons and interests in the region," the State Department wrote in a March 25 release.

Phillips said Mehsud is less of a direct threat to the U.S. than bin Laden in an ideological sense, but his influence in Pakistan could allow him to tap into existing networks within Al Qaeda or among Afghan Taliban militants to achieve his goals.

"The U.S. government and other allied governments cannot afford to ignore this threat because [Mehsud] has acted on targets in the past," Phillips said. "Because he has a relatively secure base of operations in South Waziristan, he has been able to extend his influence throughout the border region and even into Pakistani cities."

Steve Emerson, executive director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism, said that of the many terrorists who have issued "blustery threats" in recent years, Meshud is considered a "rising young star" among militants.

"He's a dangerous guy," Emerson told FOXNews.com. "It just reaffirms the fact that Washington is a major target.

"He seems to be a pretty bloody, bold guy who is not afraid to have a marker on himself and knows how to exact publicity ... The real issue is what U.S. intelligence knows."

Malou Innocent, a foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute, said Mehsud's attacks have "significantly altered" the political dynamics in Pakistan and provide a major test for President Asif Ali Zardari. But any direct threat Mehsud poses to the United States will be through his link with Al Qaeda, she said.

"If he did have the reach, it would be because of Al Qaeda," she said. "This is more posturing on his behalf."


Mehsud, who denies involvement in Bhutto's assassination and the Marriott Hotel bombing, is a diabetic who was reportedly called a "good Taliban" in 2007, when the Pakistani army struck a peace agreement with him that was later aborted.

Mehsud has said he's not concerned with the bounty on his head, telling The Associated Press, "I wish to die and embrace martyrdom."

"That shows that he is adamantly committed to his extremist goals and is unlikely to be brought to justice by law enforcement actions," Phillips said. 'It will take a war to defeat him in South Waziristan, and I think that shows that the term War on Terrorism remains applicable there."

A State Department spokeswoman, Megan Mattson, declined to comment on Mehsud's threat.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Gitmo Detainess Could Be Jailed in Virginia

It is apparent that Obama is making preparations to close Gitmo. It was discussed that some of the detainees will be released into the U.S. Now, it is being planned that 460 inmates will be moved to a maximum security jail in Virginia.

This is a huge problem. Gitmo was created to keep the enemy combatants away from American soil and the civilian court system. At the time, U.S. Supreme Court precedent was that if the prisons were not in the U.S. then the civilan courts did not have jurisidication.

The Court changed that but it is still a debate if they can bring their cases in civilan courts. If these terrorists are housed in our prisions, then the debate is mute and they can began filing cases in our court system.

Why is this a problem?

They were captured in war. They have been questioned under the rules of war. These are different that criminal cases. Most of the evidence used in a war tribunal would not admissible in our criminal courts. In other words, we could not present a case to detain or jail them. They could possibly go free and then go back to the battlefield or worse stay here.

Here is a story from Fox News:

A Virginia jail could be the next home for Guantanamo Bay inmates.

The maximum security jail in Alexandria, Va. -- home to approximately 460 inmates -- is under contract to take federal inmates who are tried at the courthouse just a few blocks away.

Among them could be former Al Qaeda operatives detained in Guantanamo Bay like Abu Zubaydah, Al Qaeda's operations chief, or Abd Al-Nashiri, the alleged planner of the U.S.S. Cole attack, Alexandria sheriff Dana Lawhorne told FOX News.

"We are a maximum security jail, so the answer is yes," Lawhorne said when asked about the possibility that Gitmo detainees could be transferred to the jail.

Lawhorne said that although most inmates are booked at city jail on local charges, Al Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui was detained there in a separate unit on the third floor for five years.

Lawhorne said he and his team were given specific instructions for Moussaoui's imprisonment, which included no contact with television, radio, or other inmates.

"He had to be isolated. He could not be within earshot -- of television, radios, and other people. It takes a lot of space to accomplish that," Lawhorne said.

The jail, built in 1987, is surrounded by condominiums, government offices, and a luxury hotel just a few hundred feet from the courthouse door.

In a letter sent to Attorney General Eric Holder two weeks ago, Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf, a Republican, inquired about the housing and handling of detainees at Alexandria's jail because he said all signs indicate that Gitmo detainees will be transferred there.

Holder's office has not yet responded, according to Wolf.

Conservative Congressmen Push for Parental Rights Amendment

It is sad that in the United States our Congress must waste their time, trying to pass an amendment protecting parental righst, but it is true. With Senate Democrats pushing the UN treaty for Children’s Right, Republicans have no choice but to take this route.

The UN treaty would do the following:

“[T]he treaty, which creates "the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion" and outlaws the "arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy," intrudes on the family and strips parents of the power to raise their children without government interference.”

Between the Democrats and the UN, our liberties, freedoms, society, and economy is under attack. Now they are attacking our families.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C).and Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich) are attempting to protect parental rights with a Constitutional Amendment. Good Luck to them!

Here is a story for WorldNet Daily:

Though efforts to pass a constitutional amendment protecting parental rights have failed in the past, two U.S. legislators are preparing to reintroduce the idea this week; and this time, they say, the effort is backed by more than 60 congressional members.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., who introduced a parental rights amendment by himself last year, told the Agence France-Presse that he will be joined by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., on Tuesday as they renew the fight.

According to a statement released to AFP by Hoekstra's office, the amendment "would clearly outline in the U.S. Constitution that parents, not government or any other organization, have a fundamental right to raise their children as they see fit."

"At a time when government at every level seems to encroach upon the ability of parents to choose the best for their children," Hoekstra writes on his website, "it is important to preserve parental rights into the Constitution."

Discover the mindset behind the establishment of today's system of mass education, and where has it led us as a society with "The Little Book of Big Reasons to Homeschool."

Last summer Hoekstra introduced H.J.R. 97, proposing a constitutional amendment stating that the liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and
education of their children is a fundamental right that cannot be infringed upon by federal, state, or international treaty law without demonstrating government interest "of the highest order." Hoekstra asserts that legitimate cases of abuse and neglect fall under the "demonstrated government interest" clause.

Without any co-sponsors, however, H.J.R 97 died in committee.

According to ParentalRights.org, an organization dedicated to seeing the amendment passed, this year's effort, in addition to senatorial
support from DeMint, has recruited 65 U.S. representatives who have committed to joining Hoekstra in co-sponsoring a parental rights amendment.

As WND reported, the president of the world's premier homeschool advocacy organization made a case for the amendment in a Washington Times commentary published last year:

"Few dispute the vital role of parents in raising the next generation, but, regrettably, few recognize that the fundamental role of parents is under direct attack," wrote J. Michael Smith, president of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association.

Smith pointed to the U.N.
Convention on the Rights of the Child, an internation treaty approved by the Clinton administration but stalled by opposition in the Senate, as one example of governmental attempts to infringe on parental rights.

"It's possible that in the near future, the United States may significantly weaken the rights of parents to raise their children," Smith wrote. "Crucial decisions that parents are accustomed to making, such as what our children read, who they associate with, what kind of discipline is used, whether we take them to church, or whether we homeschool, all become decisions for the state if the United States ratifies the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child."

He continued, "By allowing the government to define and determine what is in the 'best interests of the child,' outside the context of abuse and neglect cases, the UNCRC in effect diminishes the parental role, replacing it with government supervision."

As WND reported, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., last month urged a hurry-up timetable for adoption of the UNCRC.

"Children deserve basic human rights ... and the convention protects children's rights by setting some standards here so that the most vulnerable people of society will be protected," Boxer said, according to Fox
News.

Critics like Smith, however, argue the document, which creates "the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion" usurps the role of parents in directing their children's upbringing.

Opponents of the amendment, such as
those that opposed a Colorado state version proposed in the 1990's, argue that the measure would protect child abusers, make public schools a battleground for parents' ideological issues and prevent teenage students from receiving sex education and family planning services through their schools.

Rob Boston, assistant director of communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State argued against the amendment
in a blog post last month, making many of the same arguments lodged against the Colorado initiative.

Boston also argued that the amendment is a back door approach to mixing public education dollars and religion, claiming through the amendment "states would be forced to give parents
tuition vouchers for private and religious schooling since the right to direct a child's education would be enshrined in the Constitution."

Sen. DeMint, who will join Hoekstra in offering the amendment, has been involved in similar legislation in the past. DeMint was a co-sponsor of the Parents' Rights Empowerment and Protection Act of 2007, which required schools to obtain written parental permission before teaching children about sex or sexuality.

DeMint's bill, like Hoekstra's in 2008, never made it out of committee.

To succeed, the amendment Hoekstra and DeMint plan to introduce Tuesday will need to pass in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate by two-thirds majorities each, then win ratification by three-fourths of the states.

Obama Acts like a Marxist

After watching Obama fire the CEO of General Motors, the first thing that needs to be asked is where did he acquire the power. Flipping through the Constitution, that particular power is not there for the Executive Branch. It is not in the Legislative either. So, it is safe to say Obama violated the Constitution when he fired Rick Wagoner.

However, what is lost in the debate is what is really going on. The government just told Chrysler to work a buyout with Fiat and fired the CEO of GM. This is unprecedented overreaching of authority, which no one in government has. The government is telling banks what to do. They are controlling insurance companies. The question must be asked what is Obama, Congress and Democratic Party doing. Is there so motive to why they are moving so fast and attacking the liberties they are attacking.

Obama has been called a Marxist. You get a great lesson from the American Thinker. This is based on what he is saying and the policies he is supporting and that are passing in Congress. Since becoming President, the government has attacked the following rights:

1st Amendment with suggesting the Fairness Doctrine
2nd Amendment with suggesting the assault weapon ban and many other regulations
4th Amendment with attacks on privacy and probable cause
9th Amendment with everything they are doing
10th Amendment with the passing of the Stimulus Bill that tells states what to do and rewrites their Constitution
13th Amendment with the passing to Obama Youth Bill (GIVE Act). It amounts to slavery

And…the list goes on and on…

When the actions of the government in the last 50 some days are presented this way, it obvious they are trashing the Constitution and the People’s liberties. But, what is their plan. I have been saying that Obama is following a playbook. Whose could be debated.

But…I present for your review the Party’s plan:


JOBS AND ECONOMIC SECURITY

-Support the Employee Free Choice Act to allow workers to gain union representation without harassment or recrimination.

-Create living wage, union jobs with a massive program to rebuild the bridges, schools, water treatment plants, and parks of our nation, while sending funds to cities and states to fully staff education, childcare, health care and other peoples’ needs.

-Special measures for federal spending and job creation in the African American and Latino communities where jobless rates are up to twice as high because of overt and institutional racism.

-Expand aid and job creation in rural areas with disproportionately high unemployment.

-Protect family farmers with price supports and no curtailment of subsidies.

-Expand federal funding of youth jobs, vocational and apprenticeship programs and higher education especially geared toward low income and racially oppressed youth.

-Raise the minimum wage to living wage standards taking into account cost of housing and other essentials.

-Provide adequate federal funding to cities and towns for first responders and emergency personnel.

HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE

-Access to reproductive health care for young women. Expand funding for HIV/AIDS prevention programs.

-Equal, Quality Public Education

-Enact the DREAM Act and Student Adjustment Act to increase access to education for immigrants.

-Increase Pell Grants. Repeal provisions that deny funds to students with drug convictions.

-Social Safety Net

-Extend unemployment compensation to include entire time without a job.

-No privatization of Social Security or Medicare. Use the Social Security surplus to increase benefits instead of funding the Bush tax cuts and war in Iraq. Protect retirement funds.

-Restore and expand the social safety net for women and children and victims of economic dislocation. Emergency measures to end child poverty.

-Expand Section 8 and other affordable housing measures. Federal funding of construction and maintenance of housing for working class families.

END RACISM, DISCRIMINATION AND BIGOTRY – FOR FULL EQUALITY

-Enforce and expand affirmative action to end racism and achieve equality in jobs, housing, health care, education (including university admissions), and all areas of life.

-Outlaw racial profiling. Enact federal hate crime legislation.

-Alternative sentencing for non-violent crimes. Abolish the death penalty.

-Enact the SOLVE ACT (HR 4264/SB 238)to fulfill the goals of the Immigrant Workers

-Freedom Ride including a clear path to citizenship, equal rights on the job and civil liberties protections.

-End the wage gap for women. Equal pay for equal work. Reject efforts to repeal Roe V. Wade which would restrict women’s reproductive rights.

-Reject the Bush proposed Marriage amendment to the Constitution which would prohibit gay marriages. End discrimination because of sexual orientation.

PEACE AND FOREIGN POLICY

-Bring the troops home from Iraq. US out, UN in. Full funding for veterans benefits.

-Support HR 690 for a full investigation into prison abuses in Iraq, especially at Abu Ghraib.

-End the policy of pre-emptive war, war without end and world domination and occupation. Foreign policy based on cooperation and negotiations utilizing the United Nations.

-Stop procurement and testing of nuclear weapons. Stop deployment of nuclear weapons to outer space.

-End the harmful buildup of the military budget. Transfer funds to human needs.

-Repeal NAFTA and negotiate enforceable labor and environmental rights into the body of all new agreements.

-Support Department of Peace as cabinet level position.

-Remove military recruiters from public schools and campuses. Require parental agreement before students names are given to the military.

-End the policy of promoting regime change in Cuba, Venezuela and other countries. End support for repressive governments around the world.

PRESERVE AND PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT

-Protect our natural resources. Repeal the Healthy Forests and Clear Skies acts. Prosecute corporate polluters.
-Develop renewable clean energy alternatives.

-Support the Apollo Project of labor and environment organizations to create environmentally friendly jobs in transportation and infrastructure.

-Enact energy price controls and public ownership with investment in renewable and sustainable energy.

-Ratify the Kyoto Treaty.

DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

-Repeal the USA Patriot Act, which limits constitutionally guaranteed rights to free speech and dissent.

-End appointments of right-wing, extremist judges to Federal Courts.

-Funding for enforcement of the Voting Rights Act to ensure that no voters are denied their rights. Restoration of Voting Rights to ex-felons in every state. Same day voter registration to allow for the largest turnout.

-Pass the Voter Confidence And Increased Accessibility Act of 2003 to require a verifiable paper trail for every electronic voting machine. (HR 2239)

-Publically financed elections to take big money influence out of politics.

-Expand opportunities for minority candidates by replacing the “winner take all” election system with Instant Runoff Voting and Proportional Representation which allow voters to rank candidates by choice and elect the candidate with the most overall support.

-End monopoly control and censorship of the media.

TAX THE RICH

-Repeal Bush tax cuts for the rich.

-Restore tax rates on the rich and corporations to 1970 levels.

-Restore and increase federal funding for human needs. Enact a refundable child tax credit.



Scary isn’ it! So, this is the Party’s plan, but it is not the Democratic Party’s. It is the Communist Party’s plan. The scary thing is you cannot tell the difference between their platforms anymore.
It is so obvious that they want to destroy the fabric of American society and create chaos by unraveling our economy.

Now, if you review the Communist Manifesto written by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx in 1848, you can see what they have implemented and what could be on the horizon.


10 Conditions For Transition To Communism

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.

6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equal distribution of the population over the country.

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production


When you look at the centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly and the centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State, you see what they just did with the banks and car companies.

So, we can see whose playbook the Democrats are using. The Communists! Karl Marx's! You can find comparisons with countless Democratic policies and these platforms.

We are at a crossroads in history where are society and freedoms are under assault like no other time in our history from the enemy within. We must not go into that that darkness of Marxism, Fascism, and tyranny. We must stand up and pronounce we, the People, have the power and not the government before we no longer can.

Monday, March 30, 2009

North Korea's Missile Launch Could Be Plans for an EMP

On NewsMax, there is an incredible story, Newt Gingrich: A Single Nuke Could Destroy America, that discusses the seriousness of North Korea’s plan missile launch. The same launch that Gates stated on Fox News Sunday that they would not do anything about.

North Korea’s missile launch is serious, because if they can develop technology to put a satellite in orbit, then they can launch intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). This would give the ability to hit the U.S. mainland. North Korea seems quite unstable compared to the U.S.S.R. and less likely to negotiate as well. I really cannot see Kim Jong-il sitting with Obama at Reykjavik, Iceland and chatting by the fire.

The story from NewsMax discusses another terrifying possibility. It is not a coincidence that Iran supposedly launched a satellite recently and that North Korea is now. They did get their nuclear technology from the same network.

Remember the Khan network from Pakistan that was giving nuclear technology to Iran, Syria, North Korea, Libya, and Iraq. The same network that would not have been revealed, if not for the invasion of Iraq and the uncovering the documents linking them all together.

It is not a coincidence that Venezuela, Russia, Iran, and North Korea have been posturing together or doing so many similar things. This missile launch by North Korea is just a link in a long string of events that shows our enemies are gathering and positioning themselves.

Consider Russia using air bases in Cuba and Venezuela. Look at Iran launching a satellite and working with Russia on nuclear weapons. Then, there is Russia trying to become part of OPEC. Venezuela marching toward Fascism and supporting Socialist regimes is South America. This goes on and on.

Gingrich mentions that North Korea’s missile launch reminds us about threat of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) pulse. Iran has the ability to long range-nuclear-tipped from their ships. Iran could use ICBMs. Soon, North Korea will have the same ability with their ICBMs.

An EMP would fry anything that would have electronics, such as cars, computers, electrical grids, phone systems, etc…It would make all of the inoperable. Our ability to do anything would be impossible. The government claims that governmental and military facilities are prepared, but civilian facilities and equipment are not. In an instant, we would be plunged into the Dark Ages without an immediate solution.

The real threat is not nuclear fallout in a major city. This is not to downplay a direct hit on New York or Los Angeles, but an EMP over the Midwest would wipe out the entire regions ability to do anything. The real threat is an EMP pulse. By destroying our electronic technology, an EMP impacts an entire region and not just one city and has a longer affect than a direct hit by a nuclear weapon.

The one main way we can defend ourselves is with a missile defense system. The same one that Obama wants to cut funding to and not deploy to Europe. Gingrich makes valid points on why are we spending trillions in stimulus but not defending our nation.

I remember after 911 everyone screamed that no one connected the dots before the attacks. Well…here we go again. The dots are blinking red and our naive President is cutting defense spending and military projects. Obama is willing to sit and talk with our enemies while they scheme and put their plans in place.

All you have to do is look back to Pearl Harbor and see how our enemies use diplomacy as a weapon against the U.S. The Japanese were in talks with the U.S. just prior to the attacks. They used the talks to stall the U.S. and try to get diplomatic concessions prior to their planned attack.

Our enemies want to destroy us to create their new world order, as in the 1940s. An EMP is just one way they can attempt to accomplish their goals and North Korea and Iran are on the doorstep to have that capability.

Here is the story from NewsMax:


There is a sword of Damocles over our heads. It is a threat that is real but has been all but ignored.

On February 3rd, Iran launched a “communications satellite” into orbit. At this very moment, North Korea is threatening to do the same. The ability to launch an alleged communications satellite belies a far more frightening truth. A rocket that can carry a satellite into orbit can also drop a nuclear warhead over any location on the planet in less than forty-five minutes.

Far too many timid or uninformed sources maintain that a single launch of a missile poses no true threat to the United States given our retaliatory power. A reality check is in order and must be discussed in response to such an absurd claim:

One small nuclear weapon, delivered by an ICBM can, in fact, destroy the United States by maximizing the effect of the resultant electromagnetic pulse upon detonation.

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a by-product of detonating an atomic bomb above the Earth’s atmosphere. When a nuclear weapon is detonated in space, the gamma rays emitted trigger a massive electrical disturbance in the upper atmosphere. Moving at the speed of light, this overload will short out all electrical equipment, power grids and delicate electronics on the earth’s surface. In fact, it would take only one to three weapons exploding above the continental United States to wipe out our entire grid and transportation network. It might take years to recover from, if ever.

This is not science fiction. If you doubt this, spend a short amount of time skimming the Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack from April 2008. You will come away sobered.
Even as the new Administration plans to spend trillions on economic bail outs, it has announced plans to reduce funding and downgrade efforts for missile defense.

Furthermore, the reluctance by the United States to invest in a modern and credible traditional nuclear deterrent is a serious concern. What good will a bailout be if there is no longer a nation to bail out?

Fifty years ago it was not Sputnik itself that sent a dire chill of warning around the world; it was the capability of the rocket that launched Sputnik. The rocket that lofted Sputnik into orbit could also serve as an ICBM.

Yet for all its rhetoric, the Soviet Union was essentially a rational power that recognized the threat of mutual destruction and thus never stepped to the edge.

The world is different today. Intercontinental range missiles tipped with nuclear weapons in the hands of leaders driven by fanaticism, leaders that support global terrorism, leaders that have made repeated threats that they will seek our annihilation. . .can now at last achieve their dream of our annihilation in a matter of minutes.

Those who claim that there is little to fear from Iran or North Korea because “at best” they will only have one or two nuclear weapons, ignore the catastrophic level of threat we now face from just “a couple” of nuclear weapons.

Again: One to three missiles tipped with nuclear weapons and armed to detonate at a high altitude—to achieve the strongest EMP over the greatest area of the United States—would create an EMP “overlay” that triggers a continental-wide collapse of our entire electrical, transportation and communications infrastructure.

Within weeks after such an attack, tens of millions of Americans would perish. The impact has been likened to a nationwide Hurricane Katrina. Some studies estimate that 90% of all Americans might very well die in the year after such an attack as our transportation, food distribution, communications, public safety, law enforcement and medical infrastructures collapse.

It is a blow we most likely would never recover from.

Two things need to be done now and without delay.

Make clear in the strongest of terms that if a rocket is launched by either Iran or North Korea on a trajectory headed towards the territory of the United States, we will shoot it down. The risk of not doing so is beyond acceptable. And if they construe this as an act of war, so be it, for they fired the first shot. The risk of sitting back for thirty minutes and praying it is not an EMP strike is beyond acceptable, beyond rational on our part.

Funding for EMP defense must be a top national priority. To downgrade or halt our missile defense program, which after twenty five years of research is at last becoming viable, would be an action of criminal negligence.

Surely, with such a threat confronting us, a fair and open debate, with full public access and the setting aside of partisan politics, is in order. In the meantime, a policy must be stated today that we will indeed shoot down any missile aimed towards the United States that is fired by Iran or North Korea. America’s survival, your survival, and your family’s survival might very well depend on it.

Obama Has a New Radical Spiritual Adviser

Obama has been President for over 50 days, and he is proving that his associations with known radicals, like Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, Frank Marshall Davis, etc, is the basis for his world-view and political views. Now, you would think, as President, he would be careful whom he would associate with to dispel the rumors from the Right that Obama is a Socialist.

Obama is displaying his narcissism again. Obama is openly seeking spiritual guidance from Jim Wallis, who is the founder of Sojourners. Wallis claims to be moderate, but as most Leftists radicals from the 1960s, this is only a charade to mask their Communist tendencies. It still amazes me how these radicals have to lie about who they are and Conservatives have no problem expressing who they are and what they stand for, but I digress.

A story on FrontPageMagazine.com, Barack Obama’s Newest Spiritual Advisor, explains who Wallis is and is a serious eye opener on his appalling Leftist views. It amazes me how arrogant Obama is in seeking Wallis’s guidance as President, knowing people are going to investigate Wallis. This, also, shows that Obama is comfortable with associating with Communists. He obviously doesn’t have a problem with it until the media does, such as Rev. Wright.

This brings up Black liberation theology, again. Wallis embraces this Leftist religion that pushes Socialism, class warfare, and racism, i.e. Rev Wright’s now famous sermons. So, Obama threw Wright under the bus after the media finally exposed him, but then he chooses another Leftist spiritual advisor who endorses those same views. This is quite different from Ayers and Wright situation. Obama could make so many excuses for them. Obama really cannot here. Obama cannot say he doesn’t know Wallis’s views. They are all over his magazine. Obama cannot say he wasn’t there for his sermons, because Obama asked for his advice.

I guess this just shows Obama is not afraid to show who is. It is just the mainstream media won’t expose the radical side of our own President. I guess talk radio, bloggers, and others are going to have to drag them kicking and screaming to the truth again. I would think this is newsworthy, since our President is seeking guidance from a known and admitted Communist, during a time when some many are saying that our country is being dragged to the Left and to Socialism.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

The Gettysburg Address and my Son

You can call me a geek if you want, but my son and I had a moment that really opened my eyes about being a Conservative, an American, my responibilities. My son is getting real interested in Social Studies. He is doing real well in it, so I took this moment to teach him a real life lesson.

They are going to start the American Civil War next week. So, I got out the of the library an American history book for his age. When I showed it to him today, his face lit up and he grabbed it. He turned the book directly to the Civil War.

Soon, we were sitting on the coach. He was reading about one of our most crucial moments in history and I was reading my book. Then he got to the Gettysburg Address. We discussed the battles that led to Gettysburg and Gettysburg itself. Then, without any prompting, as if he knew how important these words are, he began to read:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
”—Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863


At the end, my son emphasized and repeated, “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

When you think what happened at Gettysburg and during the Civil War, it really brings to light how fragile our nation and freedom really is. After nearly 150 years, these revered words by such a great President still mean so much and are still so fitting.

We now find ourselves in such precarious times and events where our liberties and freedoms seemed threatened once again. To hear such words read by such an innocent voice underscores what is at stake and what is important.

As Lincoln understood, he was the steward of our nation and principles, as we are today. We are to pass down to the next generation this nation, hopefully better than we received it. We are to pass down the values, principles, and the way of life. We are to stand up and fight for our freedoms and liberties for us and future generations. We are to educate the next generation so they understand where America came from and why and how we are here. We are to insure we do not perish.

Ronald Reagan said in his California Gubernatorial Inauguration Speech in 1967, “Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.”

After this enlightening moment, I believe it is time to talk to him about our founding and have him read some of the Declaration of Independence. It is time to introduce him to Jefferson, Washington, and the other Founders. It is time to educate so that our fragile nation shall not perish.

Germans, Spaniards Act More Free than Brittan, France

I am currently looking for the rabbit hole that I just fell through. I just read a story, Brown snubbed over tax, which said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel does not want to back Brittan’s spending stimulus plan. Spain agrees with the Chancellor while French Prime Minster Sarkozy backs Brittan.

So, France and Brittan is all for Socialism. They want to increase government spending past what they can afford and attempt to stimulate Europe’s economy. The same plan Obama used that failed. The same plan FDR used in the 1930’s that failed.

Germany and Spain have said no. They don’t back this plan. Merckel believes the market can stabilize itself. That sounds like free market principles to me?

Now, this is some historic irony. In the 1940s, Hitler ruled Germany, and Franco ruled Spain. They were fascists and had Socialist economies. Now, it is 2009 and Germany and Spain support free market principles by saying no to a huge global Socialist movement in Europe and the United States.

All we need now is for China and Russia to warn that this Socialist road that the U.S., Brittan, and France want to try is a bad idea to complete this paradox.

Oh that’s right, they already did!

Again, I am looking for that lost girl in a blue dress and tardy rabbit to lead me back to reality.

Here is the story from Times Online:


GORDON BROWN’S carefully laid plans for a G20 deal on worldwide tax cuts have been scuppered by an eve-of-summit ambush by European leaders.

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, last night led the assault on the prime minister’s “global new deal” for a $2 trillion-plus fiscal stimulus to end the recession.

“I will not let anyone tell me that we must spend more money,” she said.

The Spanish finance minister, Pedro Solbes, also dismissed new cash being pledged at Thursday’s London summit.

“In these conditions I and the rest of my colleagues from the eurozone believe there is no room for new fiscal stimulus plans,” he said.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, has insisted that “radical reform” of capitalism is more important than tax cutting.

The attacks on Brown’s ambitions for the G20 to inject more money into the world economy come at the end of a week where the prime minister has travelled to three continents to build support for his proposals.

The likely deadlock at this week’s meeting will kill any remaining hope that Alistair Darling’s April 22 budget will offer significant tax cuts.

The assault by European Union leaders also represents a defeat for President Barack Obama, who is desperate for other big economies to copy his $800 billion stimulus plan.

“There will be a very long communiqué, but there won’t be much in it,” said a Washington economist.

Adding to the disarray, a draft of the agreement Brown hopes to secure was leaked to a German news magazine, prompting suggestions of “dirty tricks” by Berlin.

The draft stated that Britain wanted a “$2 trillion” global fiscal stimulus. However, the figure appeared only in brackets, indicating agreement on the package had yet to be reached.

The stimulus would boost world growth by 2% and employment by 19m, the draft said. The rest of the document was mainly general pledges.

“We believe that an open world economy, based on the principles of the market, effective regulation and strong global institutions, can ensure sustainable globalisation with rising well-being for all,” it said.

A No 10 source expressed “disappointment” at the leak and insisted the $2 trillion figure was not new money but an expression of the total tax and spending packages already pledged by G20 members.

Privately, government officials admit that no further fiscal stimulus will be announced this week, although there will be a $250 billion package for the International Monetary Fund to help rescue struggling poor nations.

Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, said he sympathised with the concerns of demonstrators planning to disrupt the London summit. “There is understandable frustration and some anger. The global economic systems has stalled and what we have got to do is get it started.”

George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, yesterday warned Brown against further tax cuts in the budget. “When it comes to your plans for a second fiscal stimulus, I say this Gordon Brown: enough is enough,” he said in a speech. “We will not let you play roulette with the public finances yet again.”

UK officials have not given up on the idea there could be agreement on a fresh boost for the world economy later in the year. “It is likely that there will be another heads of government meeting probably in Asia in the autumn,” said an official.

“This will be the forum where the next round of stimulus will be discussed.”

Brown still hopes to establish the IMF as an informal referee for international tax cuts. The plan is that the Washington-based body could advise on the timing of any future cuts.

Merkel’s criticism drew an angry response from Labour MPs. Denis MacShane, the former Europe minister, said: “Who does Mrs Merkel think is going to buy Mercedes and BMWs if she . . . says putting demand into the economy is a bad thing?” Another Labour MP said: “One has to ask who had something to gain from the leak of the communiqué. This feels like a dirty trick.”

There are growing fears that protests at the summit venue, the ExCeL centre in London’s Docklands could be marred by violence. Scotland Yard will be deploying specialist officers trained to use 50,000-volt Taser stun guns.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Democrat Admits Cap and Trade Intentionally Increases Energy Prices

Democrats are now so bold that they just utter their Socialist agenda without hiding it. Before they would create some program with an alternative agenda, but now they just tell us what they are going to do. It is arrogant and tyrannical. There is a bright side. At least, they are being more honest.

For example, the Democrats presented the “Spendulous” Bill as a stimulus when in actuality it did not stimulate anything. It was political pay offs to Liberal cronies, like unions and ACORN.

Now, a Congressman has just spelled out what Cap and Trade is really for, to drive up energy prices and force Americans to choose green energy. We knew that! But, it is nice to see that they are being honest about it now.

One problem. The green technology to replace our current energy, coal and natural gas, is not viable yet. Wind, solar, and geo-thermal is neither as efficient nor cost effective enough yet. In many areas, it is not even available and may not be able to be available.

So, the government is intentionally driving the price of energy up to compel us to other energy alternatives that do not work and may not exist. This is typical of government, no clue about unintended consequences. It is obvious Liberals cannot see past the end of their noses.

This is not going to drive Americans to alternative energy. It is going to drive the cost of energy, such as natural gas, coal, electricity, gasoline, heating oil, diesel, jet fuel, etc. This is going to drive the cost of everything up. Not only will we have to pay exorbitant taxes, but this policies is going to cause inflation, since energy prices directly affects products and services.

Now, the wealthy and a few others will be able to handle this excessive taxation and costly changes; however this directly negatively affects the poor, working class, minorities, and others who voted for Democrats.

I will say it again. Is the “change” you voted for?

Here is the story from CNSNews.com:


(CNSNews.com) - Government policy should be crafted to raise the price of carbon-emitting energy sources so consumers are compelled to choose alternative energy, House Democratic Conference Chairman John Larson (D-Conn.) told CNSNews.com on Thursday.

Larson agreed that such a policy would likely result in higher electricity prices for consumers but said this is needed to protect the environment from the possible “catastrophic results” of not implementing a pro-green energy policy.

Some Republicans who spoke with CNSNews.com at the Capitol agreed that electricity prices would go up, and they dismissed President Barack Obama’s cap-and-trade plan as little more than a large tax on energy producers, the cost of which is passed onto consumers.

With cap and trade, the amount of carbon an energy company can emit is capped. If it exceeds that limit, the company can purchase credits (“trade”) that would go towards investment in green or alternative energy firms.

“I think the government should serve as an impetus to do so, because as I said at the outset, not doing anything -- the catastrophic results that can come from that – are what drives this issue,” Larson told CNSNews.com when asked if boosting electricity prices through government policy to drive consumers to green energy was a good idea.

“We ought to do it in a way that both enhances our economy and our economic opportunity and also preserves the universe and the earth,” said Larson.

At a press conference Tuesday, Obama told reporters that a good cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions should be designed to “protect consumers from huge spikes in electricity prices.”

"I think cap-and-trade is the best way, from my perspective, to achieve some of those gains, because what it does is it starts pricing the pollution that's being sent into the atmosphere,” Obama said.

"The way it's structured, it has to take into account regional differences. It has to protect consumers from huge spikes in electricity prices. So there are a -- a lot of technical issues that are going to have to be sorted through," he added.

But in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle back on Jan. 17, 2008, then-candidate Obama said his plan for cap and trade would tax every unit of carbon emitted, which would in turn create an expanded market for new technologies.

“I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap-and-trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter,” said Obama.

“That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year.”

Eventually, these taxes would ruin the U.S. coal industry, added Obama. “So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can,” said Obama. “It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted.”

Republicans said that Obama’s plan to cap and trade carbon emissions would result in a massive tax hike on the companies and American consumers who have to pay for energy to heat and light their homes, and drive their cars, and to run myriad aspects of their daily lives.

“Of course” Obama’s plan will drive up energy costs, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told CNSNews.com. “The president’s proposal is unacceptable, because it’s just being used as a source of revenue.”

Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) told CNSNews.com: “Of course the cost is going to rise. When people think of cap and trade, they are going to think of a giant tax increase.”

Larson also said he is concerned about “what happens down the food chain.”

“My concern specifically is what happens down the food chain, so to speak, to the consumer who ultimately bears the cost,” he said. “I think that no matter what we do, I have to be in favor of a carbon-tax approach, because I think that it just levels with people right from the outset. But I believe completely in passing the savings back down the stream to have an impact on the consumer.”

Wonder Woman Joins the Celebretard Parade

Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Women, said the Right, us, spread “hate” in an interview by CNSNews.com.

So, it “us” who spread hate. I listen to talk radio. I watch FoxNews. I read Conservative blogs. I read Conservative news sites. I read Conservative books and magazines. In all of that, I cannot find hate anywhere.

Now, I can name countless movies, books, songs, TV, celebrities, news media, and on and on that spew hate of Conservatives, religious leaders, the wealthy, and others.

What a hypocrite for a Liberal to call Conservatives haters, when all we do is promote equality, liberty, freedom, and moral values. She supports a President and a party that promotes the disparaging of the wealthy and others.

Just look at what has happened to the AIG executives and Rush Limbaugh.

Here is the story:


(CNSNews.com) - Actress Lynda Carter, best known for her role as Wonder Woman on television, said that while there always is a loyal opposition to the party in power, the political “right wing” in America is “spreading hate.” Carter, who spoke with CNSNews.com at an event to raise awareness about mental illness, also said “it’s pathetic that we don’t do more” for the homeless in America.

“You know, the last eight years I was the loyal opposition and now there’s another loyal opposition,” Carter told CNSNews.com at the Green Door gala. “The only problem I really have is the spreading of hate by right wing, you know, super right – the spreading of hate, I don’t get it. I don’t understand it.”

“It’s inexplicable to me – not to just want people, you know the best for people, and hey, you know, disagree politically – but you know I think it’s really, really bad for mental health to listen to hate 24-7 about something that, you know, give the guy [President Obama] a break,” said Carter.

Carter, a Democrat who comes from a family of Republicans in Arizona, also said that President Obama is “not blundering through his presidency” and that she is happy with the job he has been doing. “I think that he’s an inspiration,” said Carter.

“I think that he supercharged a whole generation of people, and I like that. Whether or not you like him or you don’t like him, he really is, he’s really an interesting guy, and he’s smart. Now, will he make mistakes? I’m sure he will, but he’s not blundering through.”

Carter performed cabaret style songs before speaking with CNSNews.com at a gala sponsored by Green Door, a community program that prepares women and men with mental illnesses to work and live independently in the District of Columbia. She said she did not know about Green Door until some of her close friends asked her to be a part of the gala.

“They are really great friends of mine, you know, Republicans too,” she said. “I’m not. I just said yes before I even knew anything about it, because these women are important to me in my life, and of course, as I came to understand what Green Door does, it is just phenomenal.”

“We have just neglected these people for so long and people, you know, you want to ignore the homeless people on the street or the mentally ill, you steer clear of when you walk by them, and it’s in a nation like ours, it’s pathetic that we don’t do more,” said Carter. “And that it is a private organization and private money that is doing it. You know, shame on us.”

Carter also said homeless people with mental illness should not be institutionalized by the government.

“It’s very frustrating when we don’t take care of our own people and warehousing them – no,” she said.

“We don’t want to warehouse people. We just want to give them the medications that they need,” she said. “We want to try to help them in any way we can.”

Friday, March 27, 2009

California Regulates Tire Pressure

After yesterday’s story (h/t Moonbat) from the land of fruits and nuts that California is banning black cars, this story from NewsMax is no surprise. Big Brother is now forcing mechanics to check air pressure in tires.

Thanks to Obama’s ignorant statement during the campaign, California thinks if they make it mandatory to check tire pressure it will save gasoline. What is amazing is that they have actual statistics proving this asinine law. I have one question. How is government going to reinforce this? I just saying.

So, in California you will no be able to drive black cars and have flat tires. The intrusion of the government is now just absurd. I feel so much better that the nanny state is looking out for my fellow comrade and me. I just hope my state government has more important things to do than to worry if I have proper air pressure in my tires and what color my car is.

Here is the story:


SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California officials have decided to require auto repair shops to check tire pressure; a move they say will save millions of gallons of gasoline.

The state Air Resources Board on Thursday adopted a resolution requiring repair shops to check tire pressure whenever they perform maintenance, oil changes and smog tests, beginning in July 2010.

Regulators hope the idea spreads to other states. The U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that proper tire inflation can boost gas mileage by about 3.3 percent.

President Barack Obama suggested during his campaign that proper tire inflation should be part of an energy-conservation plan. Republicans mocked him, but GOP candidate John McCain later agreed that tire maintenance is a good idea.

North Dakata Floods and Global Warming

On The Great Illuminator, there is a great story on how Obama blames the floods in North Dakota on Global Climate Change.

There is a slight problem with this theory. First, the planet is cooling. This, of course, is because of the sun and that is not emitting as much energy. This is proven since the all the planets are cooler and from countless other measurements, but I digress.

The best part of this whole premise is that Global Climate Change is causing it and it is our fault that the flooding is happening now. But, it happened there before. Actually, it happened in recent memory as early as 1997. What is amazing is this link that shows pictures of floods in 1897, 1945, 1950, 1979, 1997, 2001, and 2007.

"They" call it a historic flood. Strange, there is a history of flooding and this particular flood does not look unusual at all. I bet you if you could ask the Indians that lived before us there; they would say the area floods, as well.

This simply shows the climate is cyclical. It is so complex that we cannot even predict the weather for next week alone for the next decade. These floods have nothing to do with a few hubris humans that occupy the planet at this time. It has everything to do with Nature and it doing what it does, if we understand it or not.

A Conservative Brit that Get's It, Daniel Hannan

Daniel Hannan has become quite popular in the U.S. for his speech in British Parliament. He criticizes the Prime Minister, but that is not what is making him popular. This man understands fiscal conservatism and explains it perfect. The American GOP should take notes or see if he can run for office in the U.S.


Obama Wants to Release Gitmo Detainees into U.S.

Obama has renamed the enemy combatant. He has renamed terrorist attack. He has renamed the War on Terror. He has closed Gitmo. Now…he wants to release some Gitmo detainees into the U.S. and give them “assistance.”

First, what kind of assistance are they talking about? So, we are going to give taxpayer’s money to terrorists to start a new life in country they want to destroy.

That is irony. This is just wrong.

Just when we thought the government had gone to far and we were furious, they do this. The Tea Parties just took on a whole other dimension.

Next, the Administration claims these are terrorists that have been cleared but cannot find countries to take them. First, that is lie. Ireland and some other European countries have agreed to take some. One of the groups that Obama says is safe are 17 Chinese Uighurs.

Who are Uighurs? They were mostly new recruits at the time of their capture. They are all affiliated with and/or members of a designated terrorist organization, received training at a training camp in the al Qaeda/Taliban stronghold of Tora Bora, and have admitted that two known terrorists trained them. And, on top of that, the group that trained them threatened to attack the Olympic Games in China last year. Sound safe to you?

If Obama claims they are safe, who else are they releasing into the U.S. and giving them our money?

Here is the story from Breitbart.com:

President Barack Obama's intelligence chief confirmed Thursday that some Guantanamo inmates may be released on US soil and receive assistance to return to society.

"If we are to release them in the United States, we need some sort of assistance for them to start a new life," said National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair at his first press conference.

"You can't just put them on the street," he added. "All that is work in progress."
Bottom of Form

Obama has vowed to close the controversial prison camp by next January and has ordered individual reviews for cases against each of the over 240 remaining prisoners.

Blair told reporters that the review of Guantanamo cases was still underway, and that the government was "building dossiers on each of the detainees."

The Obama administration is currently evaluating what could be done with the prisoners, he said, but pledged that if they are sent to another country, "we have to be sure that that country will treat them in a humane fashion."

Twenty men detained at the remote US naval base at Guantanamo Bay in southern Cuba have been cleared of terrorism charges, including 17 Chinese Uighurs ordered released by a US court in June, seven years after their arrest. But the US says they may face persecution if returned to China.

In an executive order signed days after he took office in January, Obama also promised to uphold the Geneva Conventions for the remaining prisoners until the detention center is closed.

Blair touched on the controversial interrogation techniques used on terror suspects under the administration of president George W. Bush, saying that those methods -- including waterboarding, or simulated drowning -- would not be used under his tenure.

But Blair, a retired US admiral, added that his team was examining other "enhanced interrogation techniques" for high-value detainees that comply with international conventions on prisoners of war.

He did not elaborate on what methods would be used, but said such interrogations should be carried out by "government employees; they shouldn't be contractors; they should be highly trained, very supervised."

Thursday, March 26, 2009

North Korea Tests Clinton and Obama with Missile Launch

North Korea is saber rattling again. This is nothing new for them and shows it doesn’t matter who our President and Secretary of State is. This rogue regime (a term Obama no longer uses) is going to test the U.S. and the U.N. at every turn.

North Korea “says” it is launching a satellite. Regional powers, South Korea, Japan, and others, say North Korea is testing a long-range ballistic missile.

One problem here is that no one knows what the truth is, because North Korea has lied in the past when they tested missiles. So, no one knows what they are doing. This shows how limited our intelligence capabilities are.

As a side note, this is why a missile defense system is so imporant. We need it to defend us and our allies from rogue regimes like this.

Now, this shows that you cannot negotiate with rogue regimes. They will always test other until they are defeated, not negotiated with. We have tried to talk to North Korea, since the Clinton administration about their nuclear program and technically have not ended the Korean War, which hostilities ended in 1953.

North Korea said if the U.N. uses sanctions for the missile test they would restart their nuclear program. Since they now have the nuclear program, they can use it as leverage. This is what Syria and Iran are trying to do.

North Korea has all this negotiating leverage with a nuclear program. They will now always use it to get what they want until someone calls their bluff or destroys it.

This is a huge test for Obama/Clinton on how to deal with North Korea. North Korea did this to Bush and would have done this no matter who is our President.

What is important to see is if Obama/Clinton has the diplomacy savvy to deal with North Korea. The Left criticized Bush on North Korea no matter what he did. I will hold mine to see how Obama deals with them.

This serious though. Japan is “freaking out!” The missile trajectory goes directly over them and everyone is worried about what is on top of the missile. Obama/Clinton has their hands full with North Korea and the region as tensions rise.

We really need to stop catering to these regimes. North Korea has all this leverage from the mistakes for Carter and Clinton. We need to stop sitting down with them and talking. It just empowers them. You set our demands and conditions. Give these regimes these conditions to talk and deal with us. Then, go from there.

But, this is not how the Left uses diplomacy. You do the opposite of what Obama has done with Iran. You don’t lend a hand to our enemy to talk. You are in a position of weakness then. When they say no, which is what they did, you are now compromising your leverage and look weak. The Left’s diplomacy capitulates and shies away from confrontation. It shows weakness, which is not what the United States stands for.

Here is the story from Fox News

Obama Renames War; Does not Change Anything

On NewsMax, there is an interview with Former top military commander General Richard Myers. Myers served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2001 until September 2005.

His interview gives an unusual insight on the issue that faced Bush and what faces Obama now. He says mistakes were made, which happens and are understandable, especially dealing with an enemy like terrorism.

The one thing he reiterates is that the enemy is ruthless and wants to end our way of life and will use a WMD when they get one.

It doesn’t matter who the President is. It doesn’t matter what we do. It is not our foreign policy in the Middle East or our support of Israel. It is “our way of life.” We are Christian and free. Islamofascist terrorists want us dead, because we of that and no other reason. They distract the discourse with other issues, but it comes down to freedom and our belief in God.

We could leave them along and they will still come for us, because we, America, represent the land of free and the brave. We are the shining city on the hill. The world looks to us as the example of freedom. As long as we exist, the world has something to aspire to and an antidote to the oppression of the Islamofascist.

Our terrorist enemies and their allies know in order to win the war and create a global caliphate, we must be defeated. So, we must be relentless and not capitulate. We must keep fighting and destroy them, or they will destroy us. That is what is at stake and rename it doesn’t change a thing.

Here is the article and the interview has even more:


Former top military commander Gen. Richard Myers tells Newsmax that America’s enemies in the war on terror are “ruthless” and “relentless” and will not hesitate to use nuclear or biological weapons if they obtain them.

“They want to do away with our way of life,” Myers tells Newsmax TV’s Ashley Martella. “They could bring great harm to this country and our friends and allies.”

Myers, who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2001 until September 2005, tells Newsmax that the U.S. focused too narrowly on tactical battles and failed to develop a long-rang strategy to battle terrorism.

“After 9/11 we had some things we had to do right away,” said Myers, author of the new book, “Eyes on the Horizon: Serving on the Front Lines of National Security.”

“Afghanistan was one of them. Then we went into Iraq. But the development of a strategy to deal with the whole issue of violent extremism — we didn’t take the time to do that because we were so busy with the day to day.

Myers said the further America gets from the events of 9/11, the more complacent it gets, and the more danger the country is in.

“I’m not an alarmist but I did spend four years right after 9/11 looking at all this intelligence from violent extremists,” he says. “ They could [attack America] through biological weapons. God forbid if they get their hands on nuclear materials, they could do it that way as well. And they’re ruthless so we know they’d use them.”

Martella asked Myers about a new official British government report warning that the threat of a terrorist attack using a weapon of mass destruction, such as a nuclear or biological weapon, on a major city is higher than ever.

“I don’t see the intelligence on a daily basis anymore, but I do think the threat is very high,” Myers responded.

“It wasn’t that long ago, just a little more than a year ago, when that plot to bring airliners down over the North Atlantic [was thwarted]. I think there were 10 or 20 airliners involved in that plot. If that hadn’t been thwarted we’d be talking about 2,000 dead potentially from that.
“So like I said, they’re relentless, they’re ruthless. If they can get their hands on dangerous material, nuclear material, biological weapons, they wouldn’t hesitate to use them. They want to bring down the United States in particular and the West in general.”

Martella asked Myers for his assessment of the current situation in Iraq.

“I think things in Iraq are going extremely well right now,” said Myers. “But I think, as all the leaders in Iraq and General Petraeus himself say, it’s reversible…

“I think there is real reason for optimism. I think we have to be very careful, though. There are people who would like it not to be a success. The al-Qaida are part of that. They are pretty much decimated in Iraq, but they never give up.

“And there are other factions inside Iraq, and of course Iran. You never know exactly how they’re going to want to influence events inside Iraq.”

On the Iranian threat, Myers declared: “Any country that sponsors terrorism, which Iran does, that doesn’t believe in the existence of the state of Israel, that is aggressively pursuing nuclear weapons — this is not a good thing.”

Martella asked if it would be a mistake for the Barack Obama administration to abandon plans for a U.S. missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

“One thing is for certain: The only country in the world that can build an effective missile defense system is the United States of America,” said Myers, a former fighter pilot who also served as Commander in Chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

“Implicit in that is the obligation to at least offer our allies and our friends our ability to protect them from the rogue nations that can develop missiles now and could possibly threaten them.”

Martella asked: “With the every-escalating drug violence along the Mexican border, how do you feel about sending U.S. troops there?”


Myers responded: “Active-duty U.S. troops? I think it would have to get a heck of a lot worse before you’d want to send U.S. troops under congressional or presidential decree to go down there. U.S. troops are not trained for law enforcement action. That would be an extreme action.

“The other option is that you could send the National Guard. I know the Texas and Arizona governors have talked about that potential. They can go and act in a law enforcement capacity … If they need more manpower on the border the National Guard is an option. but active duty troops I think would be a big mistake.”