Friday, November 30, 2007

Sons of Confederate Veterans Responds to Romney's Comment About Confederate Battle Flag


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Romney Agitates Confederate Descendants
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Elm Springs, Columbia TN Nov. 29

Sons of Confederate Veterans leader Christopher M. Sullivan issued the following statement in response to the CNN Republican debate Wednesday 28 November.

"Mitt Romney proposes himself to be president of the United States but last night he clearly demonstrated not only his ignorance of American history but also his contempt for Southerners who love and respect their Confederate ancestors.

"Gov. Romney went way over the line when he attacked Southerners for respecting the historical significance of the Confederate flag. Perhaps the citizens of his state of Massachusetts still hate Southerners, but Gov. Romney should not expect us to accept his outrageous attack on Southern heritage."

Responding to a question about the Confederate flag, Romney said,
"That flag frankly, is divisive and shouldn't be shown. Right now with the kinds of issues we've got in this country, I'm not going to get involved with a flag like that."
"That's not a flag that I would recognize so that I would hold it up in my room."
"The people of our country have decided not to fly that flag. I think that's the right thing."

Sullivan went on to say, "We were not aware that the people of the country have had their First Amendment rights abridged as Mr. Romney seems to desire. Whether Gov. Romney likes it or not, Confederate flags are freely flown throughout the U.S. and in other countries as well."

"The Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. does not participate in partisan politics. We do speak out when anyone disparages the honorable service of Confederate soldiers and the symbols which identified them." Sullivan concluded.

END

Contact information:
J. A. Davis, SCV Public and Media Relations Committee 770 297-4788
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Sons of Confederate Veterans are NOT NEO-Confederates!

Sons of Confederate Veterans are NOT NEO-Confederates!
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I have a burr under my saddle and it is aggravating me to the point of flat out anger! So, I’m gonna spit it out... as forcefully as I allow myself to do on this site... in hopes of enlightening at least some of you folks who have no idea what the hell you are talking about!

The burr under my saddle???

Those of you who use the word “NEO”-Confederate when referring to a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, or to the organization as a whole, allow me to set you straight.

Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans are definitely not “NEO” (New) confederates.

In order to become a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans you must be a male descendent of a Confederate soldier. You must have the same DNA as your Confederate Soldier ancestor, the same blood must flow in your veins as it did in the veins of your Confederate Soldier ancestor.

No, the Sons of Confederate Veterans are certainly not NEW. And to refer to us as “NEO” is insulting and unworthy of an American citizen from either the north or south. It is, in my mind, justification for bringing back dueling!

Further, I will not have it on this site. If you wish to have your comments published here, you will refrain for using the word "NEO" when referring to the Sons of Confederate Veterans or you can forget ever being published on INSIGHT on Freedom!


Deo Vindice!


Longstreet
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No "Super Storms" This Year, Either! WOW!


No Super Storms This Year, Either! WOW!

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Today marks the end of the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season. We’re still standing. The continental US was barely touched by a single storm and it was certainly not a killer storm.

Now, if I was one of those who had warned of the super storms for the past two-years, I’d be hiding my face in shame. Those of us who live, and have grown up in “Hurricane Alley” know that only the dumbest of the dumb make such predictions and only those arrogant enough to believe they know what Nature is going to do verge on the insane!

Hurricane Katrina was blown all out of proportion by the press and those wishing to milk the US Treasury for every single dime they could get. Yes, Katrina did reach Cat 5 status… while at sea. Anyone familiar with hurricanes can tell you that is not uncommon. But by the time Katrina reached the mainland she came ashore as a Cat 3 storm! . But to read the reports in the media and the weeping and wailing and begging for money coming from the lost city of New Orleans you’d think they had been hit with Armageddon! Had that same storm struck the eastern seaboard, there would have been little if any whining about the “less than sterling” help received from the US government. You see, we KNOW it is not the government’s place to be first responders and we understand that, ultimately, it is we, ourselves, who are responsible for our own safety. Don’t believe me? Look at Mississippi. They were “slammed”, with equal vigor, by Katrina. Where was all the bitching, and moaning, and weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth about the federal government’s lack of enthusiasm in assisting Mississippi after the storm? You didn’t ear it because the good people of Mississippi took, and continue to take, responsibility for themselves. And that’s why they are back on their feet and doing business.

The “Greenies”, on the other hand, are continuing their scare! Why? Because their constant drumbeat of impending doom, much like water torture, wears a populace down, and, over time, weakens the will to resist, and makes it more receptive to their ridiculous ideas, theories, and hypotheses. Their never ending staccato of scare tactics, and Doom’s Day scenarios, eventually bring acquiescence and therein lies the real threat, the real danger, to a society. Acquiescence can only benefit those who wish to control a society with their ruinous ideas for a socialistic form of governing. We call it Socialism, for short. If history teaches us anything at all, it is… that Socialism fails every time it is tried. In the end, that is all the environmental movement, the global warming movement, and the “worship nature” movement is…. socialism.

Rational, lucid, people would take the past two hurricane season’s failure to comply with their predictions as indicative of the fact that weather does not comply with man’s rules, nor wishes, nor even predictions. If anything, weather refuses to do any of those things. The only constant about weather is… change. In order to continue to ignore nature’s non-compliance, and continue to preach the doom of the planet, by the hands of man, requires a religious fervor. And that is exactly what the World Wide Green Movement has become… a Godless, pagan, religion. Further, in my opinion, it has become blasphemy and people of the Judeo-Christian faith should have nothing to do with it for it is in direct conflict with our stated beliefs.

Next year’s hurricane season may see Hurricane Alley get slammed, and slammed again, by hurricanes. If so, those of us who live here understand that it is nature at work. We also understand there is absolutely nothing we can to do to prevent it, or to lessen, or increase, the intensity of the storms. We understand that when the storms come, if we choose to stay in their path, we can depend upon no one for help except our God, and ourselves. We prepare for the worst and pray for the best.

Come next Spring, we’ll update our hurricane kits, replenish our battery supplies, test our electricity generators, and refuel them, and stock up on food stuffs that won’t spoil and lay in a fresh supply. We do this because we know the storms will come. Some years they come often and with great intensity. Other years they are less frequent in their visitations and less powerful. We also know that no matter the pattern from year to year, trying to draw conclusions about the frequency and intensity of hurricanes is akin to herding cats. It is hopeless… and… ultimately… useless. Unfortunately, those who have chosen Nature as their God instead of Nature’s God haven’t learned that… yet.

I have walked in the eye of hurricanes more than once. To experience the perfect weather, in the eye, after having experienced hours of lashing, roaring, winds and rain… and to view the damage around you, is awesome. The knowledge that even though you are walking in a docile atmosphere, at the moment, and in a few minutes you will be hit with the howling backside of the storm will make you skin prickle and the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. You thank God you have made it halfway through… and then; you take cover… and you await the second assault.

Hurricanes are a way of life here. They are a fact of life. We take them seriously. We always try to overestimate them. Underestimating the power of a hurricane will get you killed. We learned, long ago, to ignore most of what we hear coming from “the experts”, most of whom have never, in their entire lives, had to hunker down as a screaming, roaring, monster of a storm shreds the world around you while you cower in the total darkness of a night gone berserk. It is the stuff of nightmares. Until “the experts” have done this as often as I, and my fellow residents of Hurricane Ally, have, then guess whose knowledge of hurricanes I will bet my life on?

2008 will bring a whole new season of storms. This time next year we will be running the totals to see how we faired. Thus, it has always been. Thus, it will always be.

Longstreet





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Thursday, November 29, 2007

No State for Palestine… Not in 2008...Not Ever!


No State for Palestine… ever!
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First, lets understand this is all a ruse at Annapolis. I am being generous to suggest it is a formality the Bush Administration feels it must go through as the administrations before it have done. (As I said... I'm being generous!) The simple truth is, there should be no Palestinian state and there is no reason, today, to think there will be anytime in 2008.


Did you know that the area and the people, erroneously called Palestinians, were offered a state of their own back in the 1930’s? Bet you didn’t know that.

It seems we have to go over the history of the rejected Palestinian state over and over... and I can only surmise the Public School System, and the university and college systems, in the US simply don’t teach it!

Look, the plain truth is… the people, calling themselves Palestinians, have been offered a state of their own a number of times since the 1936 Arab revolt. They have flatly turned it down every time! Yes! The first offer made by the Peel Commission in the 1930s offered them a vast piece of real estate much larger that that offered to the Jews and … they turned it down!

UN Resolution 181 passed soon after the Second World War gave Israel 55% of the so-called Palestine and the Palestinians 45%. The Jews accepted and in doing so recognized that Palestine would become a state next door to them. They accepted that. But the Arabs rejected it, flat out, and started another war against the Jews, which... they promptly lost.

It has been 60 years now and the whining and moaning is still coming from the “woe is me” crowd who called themselves Palestinians.

The problems between Israel and the Palestinians are not because Israel has settled on some disputed land. No! The cause of all the trouble in that “center of the earth” strip of land is due entirely to the Arabs refusal to accept the existence of a Jewish state called Israel, or called anything else, for that matter. That is the crux of the problem.

“Right of Return” is far more dangerous to The State of Israel than an all out attack by their Arab neighbors. You’re going to hear more and more about the Palestinian's demand for a Right of Return. So what is the Right of Return? “The idea of the right of return is to demand that Israel allow the decendants of the 750,000 Palestinians who were displaced in 1948 and their families (which now stands at almost 4 million) back into Israel and give them full compensation for their troubles. Even if only half of these Palestinians returned, it would alter Israel's identity as a Jewish state and effectively create a second Palestinian state. One assumption made under the right of return is that the all the Arabs which lived in Israel proper were forcibly expelled from their homes in 1947 and 48. This is a myth. While historians know for a fact that a small number of the 750,000 displaced Arabs were forcibly expelled by Zionist militias (a famous example being Deir Yassin), honest and impartial historians also know that a large number of this 750,000 strong population left on their own, either to avoid an upcoming war between the Zionists and the Arabs, or to join the Arabs in the fighting against the newly established state.” (From:
http://www.themiddleeastnow.com/nopalestinianstate.html )

Now, understand… the Annapolis Peace Conference is doomed to failure. In my opinion it should never have been held, in the first place. The Palestinians will obfuscate, and delay, and continue to carry on their war to wipe Israel from the face of the map. They will use any means to do it. The Annapolis Peace Conference is simply another tool in their arsenal to use against Israel.

As a conservative, I believe in “peace through victory”. To take that a step further, I believe we ought to unleash Israel and let them do whatever they find necessary to eradicate the Palestinian problem on their borders. Afterwards, the conferences like the one in Annapolis will no longer be useful as a propaganda tool of the Arabs.

But, as we view the Annapolis Peace Conference today, we can see that the Bush Administration, and the US State Department, have been “snuckered” again!

If the world truly wants peace in the Middle East, especially that portion we erroneously call Palestine, then get out of the way and allow Israel to take care of business.

Longstreet

A reminder: "Anonymous" Comments Will Not Be Published!



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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Never Learning from the Past ... by Alan Caruba

Never Learning from the Past
By Alan Caruba

The libraries of the world are filled with books devoted to history and new ones are published on any almost daily basis, but if their lessons are ignored, it condemns nations and the peoples of the world to horrors that increase with the evolving technology of death.

A book that should be mandatory reading for all the current and aspiring leaders of the world is David A. Andelman’s “A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today.”

“If there was a single moment in the twentieth century when it might have been different, this was the moment.” The gathering in Paris that followed the end of World War I and the defeat of Germany, the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires did not merely fail to insure peace; it set in motion the events leading to World War II, the conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and the tinderbox that is today’s Middle East.

Most Americans, if they know anything about the last century, may associate the event that brought together the United States, England, France, Japan, and representatives of colonial and emerging nations with President Woodrow Wilson’s dream of creating a League of Nations. It was his dream to create an organization that would enforce international laws. WWI was to be “the war to end all wars.” With the exception of the hapless Herbert Hoover, the U.S. has not had such a dangerously naïve, arrogant, and failed presidency until Jimmy Carter.

Following the end of World War II, another such effort was made with the establishment of the United Nations. It has proven to be every bit the failure as the League and infinitely more corrupt. It took only twenty years for Germany, joined by fascist Italy and imperial Japan, to plunge the world into war again. That is failure on a spectacular level.

Specific to both the League and the UN is the fact that both were structured to insure that the world powers then and now, would hopefully control their own worst instincts and those of other nations. Just as the handful of men who shaped the Versailles Treaty sought to serve their nation’s self-interests and set the stage for their dominance of world affairs, the UN Security Council serves this same purpose today.

Despite the UN, only the muscular U.S. determination to keep Korea from total Soviet domination insured its division between the insanely dangerous North and the astonishingly prosperous South, but it was the foolish U.S. assumption of France’s colonial control of Vietnam that would lead to the military and political defeat of the United States that still influences current foreign policy.

In the early decades of the 1900s, the enemy was Bolshevism, the global ambitions of Marxist Communism that was being played out in the former czarist Russia by Lenin and Stalin. At the meeting in Paris, this threat to the West, combined with the desire to divvy up Germany’s colonial possessions and the Ottoman Empire, dominated the proceedings. Nations were created in Europe as a buffer against the emerging Soviet Russia. Men who knew little or nothing of its history or population created other nations in the Middle East.

Today Soviet Russia is a failed state and many of its satellites in Eastern Europe have joined the European Union and even NATO. Even avowedly communist nations like China practice capitalism in recognition of the failure that communist and/or socialist economic policies invariably produce. Until that change, however, millions died.

The new threat to the world is Islamofascism and, thanks to the decisions of 1919, its locus is in nations such as Iraq, Lebanon, the former Palestine protectorate, and Iran. It had been funded by Saudi Arabia and led by a former Saudi, Osama bin Laden, despite the threat it poses to their obscene wealth. The Saudis fund other fundamentalist organizations that have been identified as supporting terrorism.

The gathering in Paris virtually ignored Feisal ibn Hussein, a Bedouin sheik who allied himself with the British in order to secure all of Arabia. His advisor, the famed Lawrence of Arabia, would betray Feisal to further Britain’s plans for the region and accommodate France’s intention to retain and expand its colonial interests there.

Chaim Weizmann, who had devoted his life to the creation of Israel, also attended the Paris conference. Having secured the support of the British, a Palestinian protectorate based on the Balfour Declaration, became part of the conference’s legacy. With extraordinary prescience, Lord Peel noted that, “an irrepressible conflict has arisen between two national communities within the narrow bounds of one small country. There is no common ground between them. Their national aspirations are incompatible.” To this day, Israel’s Jews have been unable to find peace with the descendents of the Palestine Mandate’s Arabs.

Peoples of different ethnic, religious, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds were simply thrown together by the great powers of 1919. In the Depression that followed, the efforts to contain Communism, and the desire for self-determination by a polyglot of peoples in Europe, Russia, Asia, and the Middle East were put on a course that would erupt into World War II and the wars that have been fought since.

Emerging out of both great wars, the United States became the acknowledged superpower, both economically and militarily. It is now engaged in a largely unilateral war in the Middle East to contain and destroy Muslim ambitions that rival those of the Communists.

The divisions between liberal and conservative political leaders in the United States oddly resemble those of the idealistic, but failed dreams of Wilson, and the vastly expanded federal government of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They compete with those of the Bush administration that favored military intervention, the expansion of FDR’s centralized government powers over those of the states, and the embrace of international organizations.

Reality has intruded on both political factions, neither of which appears to have learned anything from the failures and horrors that proceeded from the Versailles Treaty. Diplomacy still does not hold much promise in the face of fanatically held beliefs. The brutality of war, however, does impose a peace of sorts, if only for a short while between new conflicts.

Alan Caruba writes a weekly column, “Warning Signs”, posted on the Internet site of The National Anxiety Center, http://www.anxietycenter.com/. His daily blog is posted at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com/.

© Alan Caruba, November 2007

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Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Another Two-Fer Presidency? Saints Preserve Us!

Another Two-fer Presidency? Saints Preserve Us!
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Another co-presidency is just what this country needs! Riiiiiiiiiight! I have barely gotten over the first Clinton Co-Presidency. I STILL have not gotten over the scandals and, worst, the shame they brought to the White House.

And America is about to do it again!

Never allow any one to tell you that Americans are not gluttons for punishment. We LOVE pain and disgrace! We lap up shame with the gusty of a hound dog! How else to explain the strong likelihood that Mrs. Bill Clinton (Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton) will be elected (re-elected?) to the office of President, returning her “skirt-chasing husband”, Slick Willie” to those once hallowed halls. There is no other explanation.

How will we ever know who is making the decisions? It would be absolutely foolish to believe anything either one says, as they are both renown for their skill at prevarication. “Double Talk” is their FIRST language. Bill is without doubt the ultimate politician. He has learned to fake sincerity. Hillary is not that accomplished... yet. Returning the Clintons to the White House is the equivalent of returning Nero to the Rome. And yet… it is looking more and more as if America is going to do exactly that.

I really feel for the Secret Service detail assigned to the Clintons. The horror stories from Slick Willie’s reign began, some time ago, to become public… and suddenly… they were cut off. How a Secret Service Agent could, in good conscious, stand guard outside the door of a room where the President is “entertaining”, or being “entertained” by, a female guest other than his wife, is beyond me. There’s something morally wrong about that. I don’t envy the Secret Service assigned that detail.

There is something deeply, deeply, wrong with a society…any society… that celebrates a lifestyle, such as that of the Clintons, enough that that society is willing to install “those people” as the nations leaders. It is a fatally flawed society.

Our nation has taken the low road often enough now that, apparently, the majority of us see nothing wrong with following a couple of people who exemplify the lowest common denominator among us.

My mother had a word for people whose lifestyles mirrored those of the Clintons. She would refer to them as “common”. Translated… that meant the lowest of the low.

In the meantime, I must make a note to myself to make sure my dues to the “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy” are paid in full!
There is a bit of good news to report, however, Reuters is reporting there is a new Zogby poll out today showing Clinton trails top 2008 Republicans. You'll find the article on it at:

Longstreet

Monday, November 26, 2007

Supreme Court Decision Could Spark Armed Conflict Within the US!



Supreme Court Decision Could Spark Armed Conflict Within the US!

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I don’t think the gravity of what has just happened, with the Supreme Court agreeing to hear the DC Gun case, has been realized yet. I have come to believe that the power players in the government, and the press, are so completely out of touch with their fellow Americans that they have no idea what we feel, or think, or how we react to certain things. In this case… how US citizens would react to an order to turn in our guns.

For that reason, we’re going to look closely at what MAY happen in this country if the Supreme Court rules in favor of Washington, DC, and determines that the citizens of this country have no individual right to “keep and bear arms”.

There will, in all likelihood, be armed conflict between the citizens and the US Military.

Why?

Because to begin with, local law enforcement agencies will not have the manpower, or the firepower, to enforce the law against citizens who refuse to comply. Only the US Military will have both the manpower, and firepower, to do that. Which begs the question… will individual soldiers of the US Military take up arms against fellow Americans? Not to mention the “Posse Comitatus” law will have to be repealed.

See? This is HEAVY STUFF!

Now, for you folks, of the liberal persuasion, who feel all you have to do is get a ruling from the Supreme Court and armed citizens will stand in line to comply with a law to turn in their guns… THINK AGAIN! It AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN! Just the opposite, in fact, will happen. Caches of weapons will be located all over the swamps and woodlands of the South and the West. We are simply not going to turn in our weapons. Only a very few of our weapons are registered… in anticipation of just such a move by the government. Only token weapons will be turned in. The vast bulk of our arms will be hidden in places known only to God and us.

If you think the government sieges at Ruby Ridge and Waco, Texas, with the subsequent deaths of American citizens at the hands of government agents, were something… again…you ain’t seen nothing yet.

It is not far-fetched nor outside the realm of possibility, that in case such a scenario comes to pass, there is the better than even chance the US will not survive as a single nation.

I honestly do not think the “air-headed” Gungrabbers have any idea of the hornets nest thy have just stirred up. If there is any single issue, which will draw a line in the sand of the country called America, attempting to take away American’s guns is it! They haven’t the common sense to understand they have just lighted the fuse to the largest keg of powder in the arsenal!

And… what to do about the several states, which have gun rights clauses in their state constitutions? There are 40, some odd, states that protect the rights of their citizens to keep and bear arms. Take a look at the list below. Determine if your state is among them, read the guaranteed gun rights from your state:

ALABAMA "That every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state."Ala. Const. Art. I, Sect. 26




ALASKA "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The individual right to keep and bear arms shall not be denied or infringed by the State or a political subdivision of the State."Alaska Const. Art. I, Sect. 19 [second sentence added Nov. 1994]




ARIZONA "The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the State shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an armed body of men."Ariz. Const. Art. 2, Sect. 26




ARKANSAS "The citizens of this state shall have the right to keep and bear arms for their common defense."Ark. Const. Art. II, Sect. 5




COLORADO "The right of no person to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall be called in question; but nothing herein contained shall be construed to justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons."Colo. Const. Art. II, Sect. 13




CONNECTICUT "Every citizens has the right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state."Conn. Const. Art. I, Sect. 15




DELAWARE "A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and State, and for hunting and recreational use."Del. Const. Art. I, Sect. 20




FLORIDA "The right of the people to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves and of the lawful authority of the state shall not be infringed, except that the manner of bearing arms may be regulated by law."Fla. Const. Art. I, Sect. 8




GEORGIA "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, but the General Assembly shall have the power to prescribe the manner in which arms may be borne."Ga. Const. Art. I, Sect. I, para. VIII




HAWAII "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Haw. Const. art I, Sect. 15




IDAHO "The people have the right to keep and bear arms, which right shall not be abridged; but this provision shall not prevent the passage of laws to govern the carrying of weapons concealed on the person, nor prevent passage of legislation providing minimum sentences for crimes committed while in possession of a firearm, nor prevent passage of legislation providing penalties for the possession of firearms by a convicted felon, nor prevent the passage of legislation punishing the use of a firearm. No law shall impose licensure, registration or special taxation on the ownership or possession of firearms or ammunition. Nor shall any law permit the confiscation of firearms, except those actually used in the commission of a felony."Idaho Const. Art. I, Sect. 11




ILLINOIS "Subject only to the police power, the right of the individual citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."Ill. Const. Art. I, Sect. 22




INDIANA "The people shall have a right to bear arms, for the defense of themselves and the State."Ind. Const. Art. I, Sect. 32




KANSAS "The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security; but standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not be tolerated, and the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power."Kansas Bill Of Rights, Sect. 4




KENTUCKY "All men are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inherent and inalienable rights, among which may be reckoned: .... Seventh: The right to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state, subject to the power of the general assembly to enact laws to prevent persons from carrying concealed weapons."Ky. Bill Of Rights, Sect. 1, para. 7




LOUISIANA "The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged, but this provision shall not prevent the passage of laws to prohibit the carrying of weapons concealed on the person."La. Const. Art. I, Sect. 11




MAINE "Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned."Me. Const. Art. I, S16




MASSACHUSETTS "The people have a right to keep and bear arms for the common defense. And as, in time of peace, armies are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be maintained without the consent of the legislature; and the military power shall always be held in exact subordination to the civil authority, and be governed by it."Mass. Decl. Of Rights, pt. I, art. XVII




MICHIGAN "Every person has a right to keep and bear arms for the defense of himself and the state."Mich. Const. Art. I, Sect. 6




MISSISSIPPI "The right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person, or property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, but the legislature may regulate or forbid carrying concealed weapons."Miss. Const. Art. 3, Sect. 12




MISSOURI "That the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or when lawfully summoned in aid of the civil power, shall not be questioned; but this shall not justify the wearing of concealed weapons."Mo. Const. Art. I, Sect. 23




MONTANA "The right of any person to keep or bear arms in defense of his own home, person, and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, but nothing herein contained shall be held to permit the carrying of concealed weapons."Mont. Const. Art. II, Sect. 12




NEBRASKA "All persons are by nature free and independent, and have certain inherent and inalienable rights; among these are ... the right to keep and bear arms for security or defense of self, family, home, and others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use, and all other lawful purposes, and such rights shall not be denied or infringed by the state or any subdivision thereof."Neb. Const. Art. I, Sect. 1




NEVADA "Every citizen has the right to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use and for other lawful purposes."Nev. Const. Art. 1, Sect. II, para. 1




NEW HAMPSHIRE "All persons have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, their property, and the state."N. H. Const. part 1, art. 2-a.




NEW MEXICO "No law shall abridge the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use and for other lawful purposes, but nothing herein shall be held to permit the carrying of concealed weapons. No municipality or county shall regulate, in any way, an incident of the right to keep and bear arms."N. M. Const. Art. II, Sect. 6




NORTH CAROLINA "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; and, as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they shall not be maintained, and the military shall be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. Nothing herein shall justify the carrying of concealed weapons, or prevent the General Assembly from enacting penal statutes against that practice."N. C. Const. Art. I, Sect. 30




NORTH DAKOTA "All individuals are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inalienable rights, among which are ... to keep and bear arms for the defense of their person, family, property, and the state, and for lawful hunting, recreational, and other lawful purposes, which shall not be infringed."N. D. Const. Art. I, Sect. 1




OHIO "The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security; but standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not be kept up; and the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power."Ohio Const. Art. I, Sect. 4




OKLAHOMA "The right of a citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person, or property, or in aid of the civil power when thereunto legally summoned, shall never be prohibited; but nothing herein contained shall prevent the Legislature from regulating the carrying of weapons."Okla. Const. Art. 2, Sect. 26




OREGON "The people shall have the right to bear arms for the defence of themselves, and the State, but the Military shall be kept in strict subordination to the civil power." Or. Const. Art. I, Sect. 27




PENNSYLVANIA "The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned."Pa. Const. Art. I, Sect. 21




RHODE ISLAND "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." R. I. Const. Art. I, Sect. 22




SOUTH CAROLINA "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. As, in times of peace, armies are dangerous to liberty, they shall not be maintained without the consent of the General Assembly. The military power of the State shall always be held in subordination to the civil authority and be governed by it. No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner nor in time of war but in the manner prescribed by law."S. C. Const. Art. I, Sect. 20




SOUTH DAKOTA "The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be denied." S. D. Const. Art. VI, Sect. 24




TENNESSEE "That the citizens of this State have a right to keep and to bear arms for their common defense; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime."Tenn. Const. Art. I, Sect. 26




TEXAS "Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in lawful defense of himself or the State; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime."Tex. Const. Art. I, Sect. 23




UTAH "The individual right of the people to keep and bear arms for security and defense of self, family, others, property, or the State, as well as for the other lawful purposes shall not be infringed; but nothing herein shall prevent the legislature from defining the lawful use of arms."Utah Const. Art. I, Sect. 6




VERMONT "That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State - and as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to the civil power."Vt. Const. Ch. I, art. 16




VIRGINIA "That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power."Va. Const. art I, Sect. 13




WASHINGTON "The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an armed body of men."Wash. Const. Art. I, Sect. 24




WEST VIRGINIA "A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, and for lawful hunting and recreational use."W. Va. Const. Art. III, Sect. 22




WYOMING "The right of citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and of the state shall not be denied."Wyo. Const. Art. I, Sect. 24




Seven (7) states do not have a constitutional provision on arms: California, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin. [Source: U. Dayton Law Rev. v.15, pp. 84-89 (1989)]
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Now…If you find yourself STILL on the fence, on this issue, here are some facts you should know:

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.——————————




In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.——————————




Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated——————————




China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.——————————




Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.——————————




Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.——————————




Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million ‘educated’ people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.—————————–




Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.——————————




It has now been many months since gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results are now in:



List of 7 items:




Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent




Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent




Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)!
(In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns!)

While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past few months, since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.

There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the ELDERLY. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience and the other historical facts above prove it.

You won’t see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information.

Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.

Take note my fellow Americans, before it’s too late!
The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson: With guns, we are ‘citizens’.Without them, we are ’subjects’.

During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED!


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The Court’s decision, no matter what it is, is likely to come down a few weeks prior to the November election in 2008. Those of us who favor the right to keep and bear arms should insist that this issue become a prime part of the campaign of all candidates seeking the highest office in the land.

The erosion of American freedom not only continues, it has gathered speed.



Longstreet




Filed under:




Sunday, November 25, 2007

Thompson Tax Plan for New Economic Growth

Press release from Fred Thompson's Official Website: www.fred08.com/
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For Immediate Release
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Thompson Tax Plan for New Economic Growth
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New Options Move America Toward Fundamental Tax Reform
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McLean, VA - Senator Fred Thompson today unveiled his Tax Relief and Economic Growth Plan, which will encourage new economic growth and move America toward fundamental tax reform. Thompson's seven-point plan makes it easier for small businesses to invest and grow, it would incentivize large employers keep jobs in the United States and would give taxpayers the flexibility to pay a simplified, flat tax rate.
"The solutions to challenges in our economy are found in the homes and small businesses of ordinary Americans, not in the halls of Washington," Thompson said. "My plan allows Americans to have greater control of their own money."
America's economy has endured several challenges over the last several years. Fred Thompson believes it is time to move forward and enter a new era of economic security and prosperity. The Thompson Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth provides commonsense solutions to increase American competitiveness in the 21st century.
To accomplish these goals, Fred Thompson's Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth will:

o Permanently Extend the 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts. Unless action is taken, every American taxpayer will see a massive tax increase after December 31, 2010. This will impose an enormous financial burden on American families, slow economic growth, cost America jobs, and make it more difficult to address the country's long-term budget, economic, and security chal lenges. Tax relief enacted in 2001 and 2003 proved critical to generating a strong economy that has experienced growth despite the war on terror, the collapse in the housing market, and other economic challenges over the last six years. The Thompson keeps on the path to economic growth by ensuring the following:

§ Reduced individual income tax rates, saving every tax-paying family a minimum of $600.
§ Preserving the $1000 child tax credit, which was doubled from $500 per child.
§ Protecting Marriage penalty relief.
§ Retaining Education tax incentives, including Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, 529 college savings plans, and deductions for higher education expenses.
§ Reduced tax rates on capital gains and qualified dividends.
§ Increased expensing of investment for small businesses.

o Permanently Repeal the Death Tax. Current law provides death tax relief, but only through 2010. The death tax is inherently unfair. Under the Thompson Plan, the death tax would be permanently repealed, protecting millions of American families, including small business owners and family farmers, from double taxat ion at rates ranging as high as 55 percent.

o Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax. The AMT is a separate tax system created 30 years ago to ensure that a few high income Americans could not use deductions and credits to eliminate their tax liability. However, because the AMT is not indexed to inflation, it is penalizing Americans it was never intended to affect. The Thompson plan would index the exemption amounts annually so that millions of middle class families will not become subject to this tax.

o Reduce the Corporate Tax Rate. The United States has one of the highest rates of tax on businesses of the industrialized nations, second only to Japan. Studies suggest the U.S. Treasury is actually losing tax revenue by keeping the corporate tax rate so high. In order to increase the competitiveness of U.S. comp anies in the global marketplace, the Thompson plan would reduce the U.S. top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to no more than 27 percent, which is the approximate average of the world's leading economies. This tax reduction will promote U.S. competitiveness, encourage companies to keep their operations (and jobs) in the U.S., and spur continued economic expansion and growth.

o Permanently Extend Small Business Expensing. Small businesses create two-thirds of all new jobs in America, and employ nearly 59 million Americans - more than half of the nation's private-sector workforce. Women own a quarter of all small businesses, minorities are nearing the 20% mark, and Hispanic Americans are opening their own businesses at a rate thre e times the national average. Current law allows small businesses to write-off purchases of equipment of up to $125,000 per year, rather than depreciating those assets over time. Making expensing of equipment and other small business items permanent will encourage greater investment and growth.

o Update and Simplify Depreciation Schedules. The current depreciation schedules are outdated and in many cases do not reflect the realistic useful life of an asset. This is particularly true for investments in high technology. For example, computers must be depreciated over three years, even though they become ob solete in half that time. The Thompson plan would simplify and update these schedules to allow American businesses to make the investments they need to compete and create more high-quality jobs.

o Expand Taxpayer Choice. The Thompson plan would give Americans greater choice, by giving them the option of remaining under the current, complex tax code or opting for a simplified, flat tax code. The simplified tax code would contain two tax rates: 10% for joint filers on income of up to $100,000 ($50,000 for s ingles) and 25% on income above these amounts. The standard deduction would be more than doubled to $25,000 for joint filers and $12,500 for singles. The personal exemption amount would be increased to $3,500. Therefore, a family of 4 would be exempt from income tax on the first $39,000 of income. The simplified tax code would contain no other tax credits or deductions. It would also retain the 15% tax rate on capital gains and dividends. This approach would dramatically simplify taxes for tens of millions of Americans. This proposal would serve as a stepping-stone to fundamental tax reform.

Read Thompson's entire plan for Tax Relief and New Economic Growth here:
http://www.fred08.com/virtual/taxrelief.aspx

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Fred Thompson: “… I am committed to fighting for the rights assured to law abiding citizens under the Second Amendment."

Press Release from the Official Fred Thompson Website: www.fred08.com/

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Thompson Campaign Announces Sportsmen for Fred Steering Committee

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McLean, VA - Today the Fred Thompson campaign announced its Sportsmen for Fred Thompson leadership and steering committee. Iowa State Representative and NRA Board Member Clel Baudler, Gerald Stoudemire, Michael Bane, Bill Bunting, and Lee Ann Tarducci will serve as Co-Chairs of Sportsmen for Fred Thompson.



Clel Baudler has represented the 58th district of Iowa in the state legislature since 1998. He currently sits on the Judiciary, Natural Resources and Oversight committees and is the ranking member of the Public Safety Committee. A retired state trooper, State Representative Baudler also sits on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association.


"Fred Thompson has been an unapologetic supporter of the Second Amendment throughout his career and I am honored to be on his team. He is somebody that Second Amendment supporters, hunters, and sportsmen will have as an ally in the White House," said Iowa State Representative and NRA Board Member Clel Baudler. "He has the experience, commitment to conservative principles and understanding of the rule of law that we need leading this nation."



Gerald Stoudemire is a 15-year member and current President of the Gun Owners of South Carolina. The owner of a gun store in Little Mountain, SC, Stoudemire is a NRA Benefactor Member. He has served the Little Mountain community for over 40 years as a volunteer firefighter, including 22 years as the Volunteer Fire Chief.



"I am so pleased to be serving as Co-Chair of Sportsmen for Fred," said Gerald Stoudemire. "Fred Thompson can be trusted on the Second Amendment. He is the only candidate with a consistent record that reflects an understanding of the protection provided under the Second Amendment, and will go to the mat to defend it. I am pleased to offer my support to his campaign and will do everything I can to help Fred win."


Michael Bane is in his eighth season as the host of Shooting Gallery, one of the highest rated shows on the Outdoor Channel. He is the founder and executive producer of Down Range Television, the largest firearms-oriented community website that receives more than 250,000 individual viewers per month. The owner of the Michael Bane Blog, he is a contributor to Outdoor Life Magazine. Bane is the author of 21 books and has been chronicled in numerous publications including Men's Journal, National Geographic Adventure, and Men's Health.


"The so-called 'gun culture' is in fact the mainstream culture of America, and Fred Thompson is the only candidate who understands that simple truth," said Michael Bane. "Through our license fees, our purchases and our contributions, we represent billions of dollars in annual commerce; through our willingness to accept personal responsibility for our safety, we have seen our fellow citizens benefit as crime rates have fallen across our country; through our resolute belief in the Founders' intentions, we have moved toward a better, stronger America. Fred Thompson understands these things because he is more than a candidate...he is one of us."



"I am so honored to have the support of these leading 2nd Amendment advocates, hunters, sportsmen and gun collectors from across the country," said Senator Fred Thompson. "These folks know the real effect of gun control measures is to place onerous restrictions on law-abiding citizens who use firearms for legal activities such as hunting, self-defense, sport-shooting, and collecting. I am committed to fighting for the rights assured to law abiding citizens under the Second Amendment."


Senator Thompson visited with voters today (Saturday 11-24-07) at the Land of the Sky Gun Show in Ladson, South Carolina.

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The Sportsmen for Fred Thompson Steering Committee includes:



National Co-Chairs Clel Baudler (Iowa), Iowa State Representative and National Rifle Association


Board Member Gerald Stoudemire (South Carolina), President, Gun Owners of South CarolinaBill Bunting (Florida), Chairman, Governor Charlie Christ's Second Amendment Rights CoalitionLee Ann Tarducci (South Carolina), Board Member and Operations Director, Second Amendment Sisters of South CarolinaMichael Bane (Colorado), Host and Producer of "Shooting Gallery" on The Outdoor Channel
Members:
South Carolina Kirkman Finlay, Columbia, South Carolina City Councilman
New Hampshire Stephen Lee, Endowment Member of the NRA (18+ years) and member of Gun Owners of America Paul Erhardt, Firearm Industry Executive
California Wally Beinfeld, Shows Director, Beinfeld Productions MBJohn Bianchi, Author, Blue Steel and Gun Leather
Tennessee Ronnie Barrett, Founder, Barrett Firearms CompanyLt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, Tennessee Lieutenant Governor
Texas Jerry Patterson, Texas Land Commissioner
Arizona Scott Moore, Firearm Industry Executive
*Affiliations listed are for identification purposes only


Filed under:

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Showdown Coming Between the Gun Grabbers and the Gun Owners in America!

Showdown Coming Between the Gungrabbers and the Gun Owners!

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Mike Cox, the Attorney General of the state of Michigan has written a piece for the Wall Street Journal which is a MUST READ for all US Citizens who value their right to “Keep” AND “”Bear” arms. (Notice the difference between KEEP and BEAR.)

Understand, also, if you happen to be one of those clamoring for the government to take away citizen’s right to keep and bear arms, that 44 states have the right to keep and bear arms written into their state constitutions. The ruling the Supreme Court makes will not override those states rights! Don’t believe me? Take a look at the ninth and the tenth amendments to the constitution! (We already fought one war over states rights…. let’s not have another!)

Here is just a snippet of the article I’m recommending to you:



“One of the earliest scholars of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, confirmed this focus on individuals in his famous "Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States" in 1833. "The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms," Story wrote, "has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of republics, since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers . . ."



To read the entire article… go to:





Depending upon how the Court rules on this, we may well have reached a turning point in the history of this country. All freedom Loving Americans should stay abreast of this case as it moves through the Court. For one thing is certain… no matter how the Court rules on this… Americans are NOT going to give up their arms! American citizens reserve the right to defy a court ruling, or a government, in violation of the Constitution of the US.




Longstreet




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The State of "New Columbia"


Should the District of Columbia be given Statehood?

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The short answer is NO! The long answer is: NOOOOOOOOOO!

Washington is a city, a government compound, if you please; it is anything but a state! And it should never become a state… unless… the Nation’s Capitol is moved to a more centralized location in the US. Then, I would propose breaking the District up and returning those parts of the district which had formerly belonged to the neighboring states… if they will take it back, which, frankly, I doubt. That portion belonging to Virginia has already been returned. The remaining portion used to belong to Maryland.

George Washington, the nations first president, chose the spot, a swamp named “Foggy Bottom”, upon which to build the city. It was close to his home, don’t you see. Sadly, Washington never served as President in the city, which bears his name. Somehow, I suspect that given a look at what the city has become today, Washington would ask that his name be removed.

Not to worry, those pushing for statehood for the District already have a new name chosen: “New Columbia”. I’ve not heard whether the folks in the Old Columbia, which is the capitol city of South Carolina, would mind, or not. I dare say they haven’t been asked.

The city was created as a “municipal corporation” on February 21st, 1871. And it’s been nothing but trouble and a drain on the US Treasury ever since.

The rambling here is, hopefully, to establish a truth which seems to be very inconvenient for those who want statehood for DC. The truth is: Washington was conceived as a city within which to locate the seat of the US Government. It was not to be in a state, or any portion of a state. It was to be in a district… separate, and apart, from ANY state!

Another inconvenient fact is that statehood for DC would be unconstitutional. That’s right! Unconstitutional!

You see, The Constitution specifies “a federal district not exceeding ten miles square.” It is not to be a part of any state. Today the District is six times as large as the constitution stipulated at over 61 square miles

It is my personal belief that only a constitutional amendment can legally make a state of the District of Columbia.

Many disagree. A number believe that the government compound could be shrunk down to contain only those federal buildings, which are a part of the government and the remainder of that 61 square miles turned into a state.

The Democrats, especially, love the idea of statehood for DC. They know they would get three liberal democrat members of the Senate, and Congress, right off the bat. According to the 2000 census there are 343,312 Blacks in DC. Whites account for only 176,101. That’s 60% Black and 30% White. The median age is 34.6 years old.

Right now, when numbers mean so much for the Democrats, you can bet they are looking, and lusting after, the District of Columbia.

Why do I bring this up now? I refer you to the paragraph immediately preceding this one. You can bet that if the Democrats can figure out a way to get the job done, short of a constitutional amendment, they will see that DC becomes the 51st state of New Columbia ASAP. I mean, 93% of the voters casting ballots in DC in the last election, voted democrat. That fact alone should tell you all you really need to know about the “Statehood for DC” push.

So, if the Congress wishes to diminish the size of the District say, down to the constitutionally mandated ten square miles, that’s fine by me. But, I would insist that the remainder of the current District be returned to Maryland and/or any other state from which the land was originally appropriated.

The final answer, so far as I am concerned, is no statehood for the District of Columbia, no matter its size and population… ever.

Longstreet


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Friday, November 23, 2007

No LEADER in America!


AMERICA DESPERATELY NEEDS A LEADER!!!

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If you are concerned about the condition America finds herself in today… if you are concerned that America’s future is imperiled and we have no one to lead us out of the morass… if you completely discount the Democrat Party as a realistic player in American politics any more, and find yourself extremely concerned over the direction the GOP has taken, and continues to take, then we recommend this blog post to you.

Go to:

http://aussiethule.blogspot.com/2006/07/are-we-whistling-past-graveyard-of.html

Take a tip from Martin Luther and nail this blog post to the White House door and the door of Congress!!!

Thanks, Aussiegirl! You nailed it! You ARE NOT ALONE. Many of us are every bit as concerned, and every bit as anxious, about finding a leader for this great country. I scratch my head in wonderment, daily, as I watch the foolish antics in Washington. I wonder which world they are living in… because it bears little resemblance to the REAL WORLD!

I worry about the “shadow government” which really wields control of the government we see day in and day out. They are the people who, you rightly claim, choose our national leaders and then graciously allow us to think we are doing the choosing.

I, too, worry that America’s best days are behind her. We desperately need a leader for America. The two political parties, now in control, haven’t the power, anymore, to deliver such a leader as we need. Such a leader will, of necessity, come from the people.

Who will it be? I haven’t a clue. But, somehow, I must feel that one will emerge… and soon. The conservatives stand ready to flock to his side. We want to save this country. We want to do so NOW, while we still stand a sliver of a chance of success!

If you believe in prayer… now would be a REAL good time!!!

Longstreet
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Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving, All!

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Longstreet, and the lovely and gracious Mrs. Longstreet, are off to be with family today and enjoy the annual Thanksgiving Feast with the Grands!

Please remember your blessings today and take the time to offer thanks to God, the source of all those blessings.
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We Gather Together




We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;

He chastens and hastens his will to make known;

The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,

Sing praises to his name:

He forgets not his own.



Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,

Ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine;

So from the beginning the fight we were winning;

Thou, Lord, wast at our side, All glory be thine!



We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,

And pray that thou still our defender wilt be.

Let thy congregation escape tribulation;

Thy name be ever praised!

O Lord, make us free! Amen


--Traditional Thanksgiving Hymn (A translation by Theodore Baker: 1851-1934)


We leave you with this note from Ralph Waldo Emerson:



For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,

For love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.


--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

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We’ll be back in the trenches tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving all!



Longstreet



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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Thanksgiving Message from Fred Thompson


News release from Fred Thompson's

official Website: www.fred08.com/

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For Immediate Release

Thanksgiving Message from Fred Thompson

McLean, VA - Senator Thompson today released the following Thanksgiving message:

"Twenty-five years ago this week, in his Thanksgiving Proclamation, Ronald Reagan wrote that America was set apart from other nations in an uncommon way.

"He said that it was his belief that 'a divine plan placed this great continent here between the oceans to be found by people from every corner of the Earth, who had a special love of faith and freedom.'

"America's love of faith and freedom is as strong today as it was 25 years ago, or indeed 225 years ago.

"We are in a political season now, and sometimes it might feel that there is much that divides us. But as we give thanks this week, let us all remember that no matter your political views or affiliations, we are all Americans and we are united by our core beliefs.

"And let us also pause to give special thanks and praise to the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families, stationed across the globe. If you are home today with your friends and family, take time to pray for those in uniform, whose sacrifice for our nation is as boundless as our love of the freedoms they fight to protect.

"The Thompson family wishes you a safe and joyous Thanksgiving. God bless you and God bless America.
Thank you."
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