State of the DISUNION!

This should be the shortest State of the Union Address in the history of the country.

With 41 out of 45 Democrats in the US Senate voting against Sam Alito for the Supreme Court, you want to talk ABOUT union?

How about DISUNION!

“Disunion” is more like it. Disunion is a better description of this country today!

I’m sort of an amateur historian and I cannot remember a time, from my study of history, in which this country was as torn, as Balkanized, as it is today, except for the 1850’ and 1860’s. It took a war to solidify the union then... and even then, one half of the country had to be FORCED back into the UNION at bayonet point and held there, by the same, until their children, and their children’s children could be indoctrinated into believing that their ancestors were wrong, were traitors, were rebels, racists, bigots, and so on.

Now it’s no longer north and south at each other’s throats. It’s worse. It’s far more dangerous. It’s the red states against the blue states, and the blue states against the red states. And there is no end in sight.

There is only one way for this to be resolved. No one wants to think it, let alone say it out loud. We all know, deep down, what the answer is and someday, not in my lifetime I hope, the inevitable will happen and there will be two geographical countries within the current borders of the contiguous states of the so called UNITED States.

The bitterness only gets worse, day-by-day. We can’t even have a civil conversation without name calling, and baiting, and shouting those who disagree with us down. This is exactly the atmosphere, in the late 1850’s, which led to the calamitous war, which began in the spring of 1861.

Maybe the inevitable will release the pressure and let us live, at least, on the same continent without screaming and pointing fingers at each other. But, I doubt it.

Today the US Senate confirmed Sam Alito to the Supreme Court with a vote of 58 to 42. 41 of those 42 voting against Alito were Democrats. There is all the evidence one needs to see how far our country has sunk into the morass of mean spirited politics, and downright “hatred” for each other.

What a horrible situation we have created for each other. What a dangerous situation. What a fragile society we have created.

Longstreet

Iran... AGAIN!

For regular readers of this blog, you must be getting tired of my harping on Iran. Sorry, but there will be more… much more.

We are standing at the brink of a war with Iran. Anyone with an ounce of common sense does not expect the UN Security Coucil to do a single thing but delay the inevitable with Iran. They will threaten, approve resolution after resolution, and in the meantime, Iran will be building an atomic bomb as fast as they possibly can.

I do not see the US, nor Israel, standing by and allowing this to happen.

I am convinced that even now, the US military is preparing air strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Israeli air assets, backed up by US air forcres, may make the primary strike, or it could be a joint operation including Great Britain. But Iran is going to be hit. And hit hard. I expect a sustained air offensive lasting several weeks with possible ground operations with US air assets flying cover for them.

Look, we have a certifiable nut in charge in Iran. A guy who is convinced he is preparing the way for the Madi. He cares nothinmg for Iran, it’s people or anyone else, for that matter. He cares only to create the chaos necessary for the return of the Madi. He has been working toward that end even while he was mayor of Tehran. Now he is in a posiotn to use the assets of the entire country and he is doing just that.

Iran is the proverbial time bomb. And the fuse is very short.

Once again we will watch, in awe, as the American Left will come to the aid of America’s enemies. They will find every reason in he world why America cannot and should not use it’s Armed Forces against Iran. They know perfectly well we re going to have to attack Iran. They know perfectly well that if we had a Democrat Administration instead of a Republican, the Democrat administration would find it necessary to do the same thing. The difference? They would support the actions of the Democrat Administration.

All the while the “Euro-weenies” will stand on the sidelines jeering at the US as it does their job for them, again! Under their breaths they’ll be whispering a prayerful thank you, to God, for the American fortitude and bravery.

Once again, America is expected to save the world. It’s as though the entire world is a ward of the US.

I seem to remember that Rome had the same problem. At least Rome was able to collect tribute in the form of MONEY from those it protected beneath its umbrella of "Roman Might" (Pax Roma). The US spends it’s treasure, and it’s blood, in the service of the remainder of the world (Pax Americana). Maybe it’s about time we exact a bit of monetary tribute as well.

Longstreet

War With Iran Only Weeks Away?

Are we at war with Iran? Good question and one for which I believe the answer is yes, we are at war with Iran

It may be a few more weeks before the truth of our involvement on the ground in Iran makes it’s may into the media but, I am satisfied that we have Special Forces troops on the ground in Iran and we have had them there for several months.

We are quietly, but surely, preparing the battlefield for war.

Once again, the US will be going into to combat in a war we did not want, did not seek, and did not initiate. Nevertheless, we will approach the war with Iran in a workman like fashion and… we will prevail.

Iran cannot be allowed to possess the Atomic bomb. There is simply no way we can allow that to happen. It’s akin to allowing a 4 year old to play with a blowtorch. They’ll set everything in sight on fire. Hundreds of thousands will die; possibly even millions, and we cannot allow that to happen.

Again we will have to fight our own battles, here at home, when the opposition party finishes up their ideological battle over the confirmation of Sam Alito to the Supreme Court. The left’s usual suspects will trot out to preen and pose before the cameras and microphones to say that this President is taking us into another "illegal war", etc, etc… the usual mantra they normally spout when they suddenly realize they are way behind the curve, again, and have no way to catch up.

The President and the Secretary of State, Condi Rice, are trying to set the stage to fight the war with Iran by proxy. I do not think they will be entirely successful.. Neither does the Pentagon, or they wouldn’t have the special forces running rampant in Iran, preparing the battlefield for the, almost assured, invasion by the US military.

It will be, in some respects, a replay of the Iraq Invasion. Beginning with an air war. Iran’s nuclear facilities will be turned into rubbish heaps and those below ground will be shredded by new and improved Bunker Busting Bombs such as the world has never seen.

Granted, it would be nice, for a change, to see the Europeans step up to the plate and take their place at the point of the spear, but that just isn’t going to happen. The Europeans do not have the "warrior gene". It has successfully been bred out of them and they are, for all intents and purposes, at the mercy of any nuclear madman who happens to come along. Their only hope is the US Military. They know it. It is no secret.

Oh, they will gasp in horror and feign surprise when the first bombs begin to rain down on Iran. They will posture for the Media with bombastic broadsides fired at the "warmongers" in the US. All the while, they will secretly breath a huge sigh of relief that, once again, the US has saved their collective behinds.

About a year ago, I proposed the idea of the United States creating it’s own United Nations made up of nation states who are prepared to side with the US in situations such as the War on Terror. We have learned the United Nations is hopeless… and helpless. NATO is not much better, if at all.

Well, it now looks as if the proposal is being looked at seriously and we may see emerging a new coalition of Pro American countries. Among them, Great Britain, Australia, India, Japan, and a few others. These countries will become the nucleus of a new United Nations. The old UN can hand a "going out of business" sign on their front door in New York.

The US can no longer afford the luxury of whiling away our time with that crowd of con men, thieves, and all around brigands, which make up the organization today. This is a new age. An age, in which, war comes in an instant. We cannot dither. We cannot wait. We must act quickly and decisively.

The run-up to the Iran war is as good as it’s going to get in the future. Fortunately we have troops in theatre and stockpiles of equipment are already on site and ready for use.

The talking is almost over. We are now looking at weeks before the balloon goes up over Iran. Mid March seems about right for the initiation of the Iran war.

The mad mullahs and the fruitcake- in- chief, in Iran, had better get serious about dumping their plans for a nuclear weapon. As I don’t see this happening, the American people should become used to the idea of a second, or third, front in the War on Terrorism. This one in Iran.

Longstreet

Has "Teddy" Slipped a Cog? (Nothing much has changed in a year!)

This Post first ran in January of 2005!


Senator Ted Kennedy has really gone off the deep end this time. Earlier this week, Teddy, spoke to an audience at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. In his remarks he claimed the US was the problem in Iraq. He demanded the President bring our troops home now. He wants a withdrawal started immediately after the Iraqi elections.

Now, Teddy has made some blunders in his lifetime, (now, lets give him credit… a LOT of blunders). But, this ranks right up there with Chamberlain’s “Peace in our time” promise of the 1930’s. This is pitiful!

Another of Great Britain’s Prime Ministers, one with a heck of a lot more backbone, once said: “Appeasement is feeding the alligator… in hopes that he will eat you last”! Winston Churchill made that remark. He was “dead on”.

Now here comes Teddy offering to appease the terrorists, by cutting and running. How utterly Looney!

To desert our post now, would open the door to the entire Middle East for a complete takeover by the “militant Islamists”, and they would do it. Never mind the fact that they will continue their war against us, and all western nations, until the last man.

Kennedy’s remarks are a slap in the face to our armed forces, and especially to the families of those soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq.

The Senator’s idiotic demands are truly breathtaking! Has he lost touch, completely, with reality? Or, has he simply slipped his leash and his handlers have lost complete control of him.

Is Teddy just playing to his political base? Oh, sure! The left wing lunatics have taken complete control of the Democratic Party and are now driving it to Perdition. The left-wingers in Congress, who have been hiding behind “Moderate” facades, apparently feel it is safe for them to show their true colors now.

Teddy, as a "leading light" of the left, apparently feels free to make these wild, nonsensical demands of the current administration. His remarks demonstrate the reason a New Englander hasn’t the hope of a snowball in hell of getting elected with Southern votes! (Note to the Left…you can’t get elected without us! Don’t take my word for it. Just ask John Kerry. He thought he could, too!)

Thank God, President Bush will stay the course in Iraq (and Iran, soon.) Teddy can blow, and bluster, and postulate his air-headed defiance of common sense as much as he likes. I must say, it is great fun to watch him flail about as his party implodes upon itself. But, it does bother me to know that he is now doing for Al Qaida what Senator John Kerry did for the Viet Cong in Vietnam. Kennedy’s remarks this week make great propaganda for the morale of the Terrorists troops.

His performance this week was pitiful and pathetic. It resembled the last spasm of a dying dinosaur. Shameful. Absolutely shameful.

“Longstreet”

The Cost of Freedom!

This Post first Ran in June of 2005!

Freedom Is Not Free!

A few days ago, I had the great good fortune to have the opportunity presented to me to speak to a congregation of Southern Baptists on Memorial Day weekend. It was their annual Memorial Day Service, held each year on the Sunday closest to Memorial Day Monday.

It was a modest sized congregation with a very good representation of the community. At one point the pastor asked that all veterans stand and announce their branch of service, years served, and anything they’d like to say about their service.

That’s when the tears started.

Memories began to flood back into the minds of the veterans thru out the congregation. Veterans of the merchant Marine, the Army, The Navy, The Marines, the Air Force, the National Guard, and all the Reserves. As men remembered the sacrifice of their best buddy, a brother, a father, or even their own sacrifice, hearts were pieced with pain and the emotions would not be held back.

It quickly became clear that the memories so long buried were just beneath the surface. The passion men and women felt for the veteran was real, deep, and precious. The price wars have cost this nation is real and lasting. The scars are deeply embedded, oftimes, in our subconscious, but always there.

We’re a country of free people who know the cost of war. Yet, America will willing shed her blood and the treasure of her youth to secure freedom for oppressed peoples anywhere on earth.

Freedom is not free. As I sat listening to the other veterans tell of their sacrifices and the sacrifices of those from their families, the cost was brought home. The cost was high. Here, in this small farming community, in North Carolina, the pain was still there. And it will be there. Three young men rose and spoke of their service to their country in Gulf War One, and now the current Iraq War, and Afghanistan. More pain. More memories to be spoken of on Memorial Days in the future.

The thing that keeps coming back to me is the old time worn expression: “War solves nothing!” It is a lie. War does solve things. We’re a free people today as a result of several wars. War put Hitler away. War stopped the massacre of the Jews. War stopped the Japanese march across the Pacific enslaving people as they went. War maintained the freedom of the South Korean people by driving the North Korean army back across the 38th Parallel and stopped their allies the Red Chinese. The US still stands guard at that border to this day. War would have stopped the march of communism in Vietnam had the Mainstream Media, in this country, not whipped up anti-war fever in this country and played right into the hands of the communists in Southeast Asia. The US troops did not lose that war; they were not allowed to win it. And the blame is laid right at the feet of the American Left and their willing accomplices in the Mainstream Media.

You see, as hard as it is to grasp, there are people in this free country would feel that nothing is worth war. Those folks are free and kept free by better men than themselves. Men died to give them the freedom to protest the US involvement in wars of liberation all over the world. While they themselves refuse to understand that with out the freedom granted them by the US Soldier they would, this day, be living out their lives in slavery. They refuse to understand that freedom is not free. Somebody paid for it… and continues to pay for it. These are the people who would bow their heads and bend their neck to allow the chains of slavery to be fastened on them... rather than risk their lives to live free. Pathetic!

War does solve things. But, it brings pain, and sharp memories, which linger just below the surface in our hearts and minds.

Is freedom worth it? Of course it is! Man’s longing for freedom can never be quenched. This great experiment we call America was forged in war. The Revolutionary War and the War Between the States. War is a crucible. It will either make a nation, or break a nation. America is welded together from having been through that crucible.

Today we find ourselves as Americans caught up in another world war. For lack of a better name we call it the War on Terror. This is an open-ended war. No end is in sight; if ever there will be an end. You would be hard pressed to find the front lines. Today we are concentrated in the Middle East. That is the public war. The private war, or the war we don’t see, is all around the globe. Men with Presidential pardons, already secured, are hunting down the perpetrators of this war of terror and eliminating them, one at a time, in diverse places. For this is a war mostly fought in the shadows. It is a continuous search and destroy mission… search out the terrorists and destroy them wherever they are found.

Freedom is not free. It never has been. It never will be. America fights because she must. For America will be free! As President Kennedy said, “No matter the cost.” We have no choice. No choice, that is, if we hope to remain free.

“Longstreet”

Invade Mexico and Annex it to the US!

This Post first ran in February of 2005!

Is it time for the US to annex Mexico? You Bet!

Maybe the answer to the problem of illegals crossing the border, between Mexico and the US, is to permanently move the border…south to… say… the northern border of Guatemala and Belize?

Mexico is a strange country. Their government is in Mexico City and their people are in North Carolina…(and other states, of course). So, with this arrangement, who, exactly, is the Mexican government governing? Huh?

I’m just sorta looking for possible answers to this very serious problem.

We could send the Texas National Guard down, one weekend, to roll up Mexico and be done with it. Besides, they used to have some oil down there. Maybe we can tap into to that to offset our added expense of welfare to the remainder of the people in that country…make that “state”. Maybe we could make it a territory, like Puerto Rico? Heck, we can’t even get the Puerto Ricans to vote for Independence! Those government checks spend far too well, to give that up.

Look, we invaded, and conquered Mexico, in the 1840’s, (1846-1848) and then we invaded a few times prior to the First World War when some Mexican bandits began raiding across the border. Problem is, we gave it back every time we took it. Now they won’t stay home.

If we are going to have to support the country anyway, why not just take it in payment for services rendered?

The lefties won’t allow us to put up a fence, or a wall, or even put troops on the border to stop the illegal crossings. So, we need a different solution.

My suggestion is…Annexation! Right away! Unless, of course, they would agree to stay home if we gave them California back!

UPDATE: Want to see just how bad it has become since this post was originally written? Then go to "Newsmax" here:
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/1/26/152430.shtml?s=rss


"Longstreet"

Once again Kerry plays into Republican Hands

Kerry wants Filibuster of Alito Nomination!

Senator John Kerry, who led his Democrat Party to a crushing defeat in 2004, is calling for a filibuster of Sam Alito’s confirmation vote in the US Senate. He is backed-up by non other than, yep, you guessed it, Ted Kennedy.

Now, at first I thought this was a joke. (Well, I mean aside for the two jokes who are calling for the filibuster!)

Go here for details:
http://www.redstate.com/story/2006/1/26/165039/602

Once again, Kerry will lead his part to a crushing defeat! The Republicans will bring the hammer of the Constitutional Option down… hard… and completely, and utterly, crush, and devastate, the Senate Democrats once and for all.

And this guy, Kerry, still wants to be President? Oh, that brings on a belly laugh!

Do not think the American electorate is not watching the shenanigans of the Democrats in the Senate. They are and they are disgusted!

Our thanks again, to the Democrats, for securing the Republican hold on the Congress.

Longstreet

Brokeback Mountain

Have you seen Brokeback Mountain? Neither have I… and I don’t plan to see it.

Holly wood just continues to make these “trash art” films time after time, even after the public rebukes them and refuses to go see them. That’s what is happening to Brokeback Mountain.

But, it serves to push a cause the Hollywood left believes in, and that is, homosexuality and the “normalcy” of that lifestyle.

Now, before you start banging out that hate mail to me, understand, … I don’t care what you sexual preferences are. Just keep them out of my sight and do not insist that I agree, and support, your lifestyle.

Did you ever meet an honest to God cowboy? I mean a real live western, outdoorsman, replete with worn spurs and chaps and a beat up old Stetson, which looked as if it had been trampled by cattle… and probably had been.

I have.

The US Army saw fit to station me out west for while, many years ago. After service, I became an announcer for a Rodeo. A job, which I managed to hang onto for a couple of years. I met the real thing.

The cowboy is the standard American men aim for... as men. At least... it was for my generation. He was/is a no nonsense, right is right and wrong is wrong, type of guy, who minds his own business and wishes, with all his heart, that you’d mind yours. He doesn’t have much to say. As a result, when he does speak, you listen. It’s important.

He may indulge in alcoholic beverages (probably does), smoke cigarettes, and even chews a little tobacco… or a lot. But that’s his business and you are invited to stay out of it…. his business, I mean.

The American Cowboy is an American Icon. And that is the reason the Hollywood Left is going after him. It’s another attempt to “define deviancy down”.

Hollywood has much to answer for. They have been the root cause of more damage to American youth by setting life standards so low that one can casually reach them with no effort. The REAL standards of how one should live one’s life are unattainable, according to Hollywood; therefore... the standards they present on the screen are sold to our youngsters… as all they need. It’s pathetic.

And now, they are going after the last standard bearer for American men, the cowboy.

It’s deplorable, and it is repugnant!

Chuck Baldwin has something to say about "manly men" in his post at “The Conservative Voice”. I recommend that you go there and spend some time reading what Chuck has to say… and think about it. I mean REALLY think about it. I agree with Chuck, and the feminizing of men has been worrying me for sometime.

Read Chuck’s article: “Food for Thought: Whatever happened to Masculinity?”
You can find Chuck’s post at:
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/articles/article.html?id=11886

Longstreet

McCain Cannot Win!

A nationally syndicated columnist predicted in his column today that the Republican and Democrat candidates for President would be John McCain and Mrs. Bill Clinton, respectively.

I have no argument with Mrs. Bill Clinton as the Democratic candidate. As a matter of fact, we Republicans are counting on it. We can beat her handily, at the polls, without breaking a sweat. On the other hand, a sure way for Mrs. Bill Clinton to win, is for the Republicans to run John McCain as our candidate.

Here’s why:

Conservatives will not vote for McCain. The Republicans cannot win without the conservative vote…ALL the conservative vote.

Personally, I would have a terrible time convincing myself to vote for McCain even with the disaster of TSFNY, Mrs. Bill Clinton, staring me in the face. It may become a question of honor. Honor will win… if it comes to that. I will not support, nor will I vote for McCain.

McCain is not considered a Southerner, for starters. Even though the Territory of Arizona seceded form the US and fought with the Confederacy during the War for Southern Independence, McCain, himself, does not reflect the Southern values so highly regarded in my section of the country. It is a lost cause for him to even try it.

Southern Conservatives are sitting on the fence right now. We are angry with the current Administration because of their mangled immigration policies and their failure to secure our southern border. We are very close to taking matters into our own hands, along that border, and begin patrols of armed citizens. This is the single most serous concern, short of the war, the South has. We are being over run and we want that border closed and sealed. Frankly, we’re not likely to vote for any candidate who does not promise to close, and seal, the southern border.

That said, Republicans would be well, advised to begin looking among the southern governors for a successor to Bush. We’re not going to vote for McCain.

How about Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi? He’s a rock solid conservative Republican and he is as sharp as a tack. Why not Haley?

I’m serious here. The Republicans had better find a better candidate than McCain. That is, unless they want Bill Clinton back in the White House! Perish the thought!

……. Longstreet

"Book of Daniel" Closed... Hopefully Sealed!

It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to report that, according to news reports, NBC has dropped “The Book of Daniel” from its Friday night schedule. I have yet to see, anywhere, that NBC officials say the show has been officially “cancelled”. There is a difference between being dropped from the schedule for a particular night and being cancelled.

Go here for details: http://newsbusters.org/node/3744

There is the possibility that NBC could move the show to a cable channel and try to recoup some of its investment.

In my opinion after having seen the very first show, it was an abomination.

It is good to win one, every now and then. (If, indeed, we have won!)

Hopefully, the “Book of Daniel” is gone. Good riddance!

Longstreet

Another Liberal President Gone. One More To Go.

Well, the Left is mourning the passing of "West Wing", a liberal TV show about a Liberal President and a Liberal administration.

I have no feelings, one way or the other, about the show’s passing. I watched the first few minutes of the very first episode, saw that it was, by far, too liberal for me (anything with Alan Alda in it is TOO LIBERAL for me!) and changed channels.

In conservative circles the show was thought to be a joke. A pathetic joke. The joke was… that liberals couldn’t elect a liberal President so they invented one for television. Their liberal fantasies could be played out on TV, as the American public would not allow them to do for real.

Trying to swallow Martin Sheen, as President, was just entirely too much. His leftist leanings are too well known and too well documented. That was a fantasy too far. Now take another "arch liberal" and... cast him as a Republican and you have to know this show is no longer a “tongue in cheek” play, but a slap in the face to Republicans. The fact that Alda was cast in that role was an insult to Republicans everywhere.

The remaining “Liberal President show”, “Commander-in-Chief”, with Geena Davis as a female President, and meant to pave the way for the administration of Mrs. Bill Clinton, is weak in the ratings and rumors abound that it, too, will soon be canceled. I watched the first episode of that show, recognized it for what it was/is and have never watched another episode. Donald Southerland (another arch liberal) is in the role played by Alan Alda in West Wing.

Like the movie, “The American President” liberals are trying to create a President in their own image. They have yet to understand that a liberal president is repugnant to the American Electorate. Mrs. Bill Clinton’s husband took care of that for America. And she is much farther to the left than Bill ever was ...or is.

But, don’t expect the Libs to stop trying to drive their propaganda home with TV shows and movies. That’s all they have, now. Their hate, their rage at Americans for not realizing that liberal philosophy is so much better for America than conservatism, has nearly consumed them.

You know, if you find yourself in quicksand you should remain perfectly still. If you move about, and flail your arms about, you will sink. The Libs are in quicksand and they are flailing away.

Longstreet

The War on Wal-Mart

That sparkling jewel of capitalism, Wal-Mart, is being attacked, from the Left, with broadside after broadside today.

Why? What in the world did Wal-Mart do to upset the American Left?

Well, two things, really. They became wildly successful, making money hand over fist, and… they are not unionized. There you have it in a nutshell.

Of course, you can use the Health Insurance "thing" that Maryland is using to force Wal-Mart to leave the state and take the jobs of thousands of Wal-Mart employees, in the state of Maryland, out of that state. But that is only secondary, really. Maryland is a hard Democrat state and they want Wal-Mart gone. It makes the lawmakers of Maryland nervous to see such success, especially a successful business with its origins in the South and with its home base remaining in the South… to this day.

The Left does not understand business and... they simply don’t want to understand it. They see business, especially a "successful" business, as a cash cow. They will tax the living daylights out of a successful business. Then... they demand that that business, basically, give its profits away to its employees. That is not the way a successful business operates. Nor can it.

In the first place a business, any business, is not “in business” to do you, or me, a favor. They are there to make money, to make a profit for their owners and/or their stockholders. If, providing jobs for area workers helps the economy of the area, then well and good. But they have no responsibility to become the cash cow for that town, county, or state. Sam Walton knew that. All capitalists know that. Somehow, the socialists have missed that, or, choose not to understand it.

Wal-Mart does not want to unionize. Any business, in its right mind, is against a union. Unions are deadly enemies of business. So far, Wal-Mart has been able to forestall unionizing in its stores.

I have no use for unions. Some members of my family have been union members. One member of my family became the Vice-President of one of the largest Unions in the United States. The US Secretary of Labor attended his funeral. But, as for me, as I said, I have no use for unions. I have no use for collective bargaining. I have never understood why an individual cannot meet with a probable employer and come to an agreement with that employer as to pay per hour and benefits. No threat is involved… unlike the collective bargaining of unions.

Now, Wal-Mart certainly doesn’t need me to defend them. But, I will. Some have suggested that Wal-Mart move it’s stores just across the Maryland state line into Virginia and Delaware. Maryland would lose all that tax money and over 10,000 Maryland citizens would lose their jobs. At least that would make the point that Wal-Mart does fill a need in the state of Maryland.

There is much to dislike in the Big Box Stores. Their effect on small, Mom and Pop, businesses is devastating. But, hey, times are changing.

My small town has a Super Wal-Mart and it meets the needs of this community and then some. It draws many customers from the adjoining state of South Carolina. We are located approximately one hour from three large cities. Without a Wal-Mart here, we’d be forced to either drive to those cities, to shop, or do without.

Yes, Wal-Mart is welcome here. We are thankful for the variety of merchandise it has brought us, at affordable prices, and we are truly thankful for the jobs it has provided our people.

Long Live Wal-Mart!

Longstreet

Osama's Offer

So, we now know that OBL is alive. At least he was when the newest tape was made, sometime in December of 2005.

It was funny to watch the MSM salivating over OBL’s offer of a truce! Everyone was falling over everyone else to get to a mike and/or a camera to declare that we had beaten OBL and that he wanted a truce.

Not me. I saw something different in OBL’s words. Call it my paranoia if you must, but I saw “connivery”. (Is “connivery” a word? If it isn’t it ought to be!)

So, whom, exactly, was OBL addressing when he made his “offer” of a truce. Well, I think he aimed those words at two distinct groups… the Muslims, of the Middle East, and the Democrats, of the US. You see… he knows those are the only two groups who will believe his “offer”.

If you, Dear Reader, are like many “modern” Americans you know very little about history. If you DO, then you know this is one of the oldest tricks in the “art of war”. Divide your enemy and instigate a fight between them, within their ranks. It works… and it’s been working, here in America, for one reason… because so much of our ruling class has no background in history and the psychology of war.

OBL knew the Democrats, and the MSM, (one and the same) would jump on this offer of a truce for no other reason than to beat the President about the head and shoulders with it,. He further knows there are some "lunkheads" in America, who actually believe he is weak enough to make such an offer.

Look, OBL is not trying to negotiate from a position of weakness. No, far from it, If fact, it is just the other way around. He has the upper hand and he knows it.

Suppose the US decided to take him up on that “offer” of a truce. Who would sign the truce papers? Where would they meet? A nation can only sign agreements with other nations… not with individuals, and not with stateless groups.

Now, OBL knows this and, he knows, too, that we are not even going to consider such a madcap offer. So, it gives him more ammunition with the Muslims of the Middle East. He can now turn to them and say: "See, I offered a truce to the Americans and they shunned it. They do not want peace. They want war... and they want to destroy you.” And they will buy it!

In one hand, OBL held the ersatz offer of a truce, and in the other he held a threat of more lethal attacks inside the US.

So, which is it… a truce, or more death and destruction? The answer is a simple one. The conclusion takes no effort to arrive at: It is more death and destruction. We have no REAL choice.

We must keep the Predators flying and keep the pressure on OBL, and his henchmen, wherever they are in the world. We cannot let our guard down…not for one minute.

So the US must respond with a resounding “NO” to OBL and allow him to crawl back into his hole.

In the meantime, the war goes on.

Longstreet

The Left's Bitterness Toward Christianity.

What is it with all the bitterness towards Christians emanating from the Left in America?

I see a lot of it in the comments on this blog. Sometimes, the comments just reek with bitter bile toward Christians. And, they go after the Jews, too. I’m given to understand that “Neocon” is code, on the Left, for “Jew”.

The “American Thinker” has a terrific piece on this. I recommend my readers go here: http://americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=5181

Very interesting reading, indeed!

Longstreet

Election Day Becomes a Federal Holiday? Not Likely!

This Post first ran in February of 2005

Election Day becomes a federal Holiday? Nah, ain’t gonna happen!

A few days ago, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and the usual suspects, gathered for a press conference to which the Media Wing of the Democrat Party flocked, salivating, to receive the words from on high.

As usual the words from on high were empty, vacuous, and the renovations to the Election Process in America, which they propose, will never happen. And, they know it. It was simply another exercise in attempting to blacken the Republican Party’s name among the Democrat base. That alone is totally unnecessary. That crowd, their base, is hopeless. But I digress.

Two of their “bold” proposals were: Make Election Day, a National Holiday to entice more people to vote. And… allow convicted felons to vote.

Do you see the thrust here? You don’t have to have the IQ of a rocket scientist to figure this one out.

First: If Election Day is made a Federal Holiday, Federal (read Government) workers will have the day off. The vast majority of Federal workers are Democrats. They are Union Democrats. The theory is… this would help the Democrat ticket.

Now to the felons: Who do you think they’ll vote for, huh? ‘nuff said!

Frankly, it doesn’t have a prayer of passing the Congress, because it is so transparent.

On the other hand, I’m not sure making Election Day a Federal Holiday would do much of anything towards increasing the numbers at the polls. People, who want to vote, find a way. It would, however, present those not particularly interested in voting, anyhow, a shot at a relaxing day off from work…and nothing else. I do not believe they will stand in line to cast a vote for a candidate they probably know nothing about, anyway.

But, the Democrats, ever the champions of “appearance”, and of “slight of hand”, will use the fact that the Congress will turn this down, flat, as another opportunity to bash the Republicans and harangue their listeners, and the press, with choruses of “The Republicans don’t care about voters!” Same song…another verse.

Frankly, I don’t think we need to make voting any easier. If anything we need to make it harder to vote.

I think we should bring back voter testing. Can the voter read? Does the voter have an IQ above room temperature? That sort of thing.

A voter should have to prove he or she is a citizen of the US and a citizen of the state and/or city in which he, or she, is about to cast a vote. (Not by using the proposed Federal Driver’s license!) And… last, but not least, a voter should be able to prove he, or she, is not dead. That alone will cut down, tremendously, on the “Graveyard Vote”.

So far, nearly all the voter registration laws, such as “Motor Voting”, have backfired and more Republicans than Democrats have used it to register to vote. But, bless their hearts, those Dems keep trying!

You know, I expect that soon, they will have a voter registration form sent to young parents along with their new child’s Social Security Number.

Are they doing that already????

If not, watch for it. It’s coming!

Your Obedient Servant,

“Longstreet”

Has Hillary's Campaign Begun? Oh, Yes!

This Post First Ran on February 17th, 2005


We are delighted to see that Mrs. Clinton has begun her campaign for the ‘08 Democratic Presidential Nomination. We can only hope, against hope, that her party bestows it’s blessings upon her and gives her the much sought after nod as their candidate in ‘08 against, an as yet undeclared Republican candidate, … and winner.

Republicans are praying Hillary will be their opponent. We have no very strong candidate to run, at least… not at this time, so, we want, so much, for the democrats to run one we can beat right from the get go. If there was ever such a democratic candidate, it is Hillary.

Hillary, the far left winger, the feminist, the hate America cheerleader, the socialist, the, oh well, you get the picture. Over the years she has given the GOP all the ammo it needs and then some. Plus … her husband. Dear ole Bill. He’ll be back to grace the hallowed halls of the Whitehouse, and again, turn it into a whorehouse. There have been presidents who have made the Presidency a joke, but the Clintons made it a “dirty” joke.

So, we welcome Hillary to the contest. The bashing will begin immediately.

Now, if we can only get Howard Dean as the leader of the DNC! Wow, what a dream ticket… for Republicans.

Your Obedient Servant,

“Longstreet”

... And They're Off!

Well, the 2008 Presidential campaign began Monday, MLK Day, with Mrs. Clinton coming out of the starting gate at a full gallop. And, of course, the first thing she did was to stick her foot in her mouth, with her remarks calling the Republican control of the US House a "PLANTATION". With those few words she managed to lose the handful of votes she MIGHT have garnered from all of the Southern States. Without the South, she cannot win. That’s a fact. So, for all intents and purposes, her campaign is over... on the first day.

Just looking at the practicality of the political world, as it stands today, Mrs. Clinton will lose her bid for the Whitehouse. The Senate will remain in Republican hands and, barring some unforeseen calamity... not yet on the horizon, the House will also remain in Republican hands.

The American Thinker has a magnificent piece on this. I recommend you go to:

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=5166

Now, all things in politics are built on shifting sands, so the entire picture can change in the few months ahead. But, unless there is a HUGE change in the feelings of the American Electorate, by November 8th of this year, The Senate WILL remain in Republican hands.

There was no gasp of surprise, from the Republicans, at Mrs. Clinton’s playing of the race card. That’s what Democrats do. It was surprising, to some extent, that she played it this early.

Oh, and don’t buy the story that women will vote for her. Nah, ain’t gonna happen. Southern women, especially, dislike her. And that’s putting it mildly. Our Southern women did not earn the nickname of “Steel Magnolias” by being weepy wimps. They despise women like Mrs. Clinton. Hard, brassy, uncouth, women who have made their way in this world by tying themselves to the coat tails of their husbands are not looked upon as real women here in the South (Especially by GRITS... "Girls Raised IN The South").

The left-wing nuts that control today’s Democrat party, and think history started yesterday, don’t know this. That is to the GOP’s advantage.

So, no, we’re not afraid of Mrs. Clinton. I mean, after all, she and her husband have done more to aid the Republican Party than any person(s) alive today.

We are convinced that once she hits the campaign trail, she will give the GOP all the ammunition it needs, added to that already collected, to deflect any barbs she may send our way.

We’d like to express our deep appreciation for the Democrats selecting Mrs. Clinton as their Presidential candidate for the 2008 campaign. We could not have chosen a better example of why the American Electorate must vote for the GOP. And we don’t have to do a thing! Well, nearly “nothing”, anyway.

Longstreet

In Memory of Gen. Robert E. Lee on His Birthday

The Post today is dedicated to the memory of one of the greatest Americans to ever live: General Robert Edward Lee, CSA.

Gen. Lee was born January 19th, 1807, at Stratford Hall Plantation, in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

Lee was offered command of the US forces at the beginning of the Civil War, (April 18th, 1861). He refused. Saying he could not raise his sword against Virginia. He later came to command the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederate States Army.

Beloved of Southerners, then and now, Lee is an icon for all things honorable.

Below are some quotes attributed to the Great Man:

“With all my devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the Army, and save in defense of my native State, with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword...”

“So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I am rejoiced that Slavery is abolished. I believe it will be greatly for the interest of the South. So fully am I satisfied of this that I would have cheerfully lost all that I have lost by the war, and have suffered all that I have suffered to have this object attained.”

“There is no more dangerous experiment than that of undertaking to be one thing before a man's face and another behind his back.”

“You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do on every occasion, and take it for granted that you mean to do right.”

“What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world.”

“Get correct views of life, and learn to see the world in its true light. It will enable you to live pleasantly, to do good, and, when summoned away, to leave without regret.”

“They do not know what they say. If it came to a conflict of arms, the war will last at least four years. Northern politicians will not appreciate the determination and pluck of the South, and Southern politicians do not appreciate the numbers, resources, and patient perseverance of the North. Both sides forget that we are all Americans. I foresee that our country will pass through a terrible ordeal, a necessary expiation, perhaps, for our national sins.”

And finally, in the opinion of this writer, Lee may have saved the United States from becoming a “Balkanized” country with the war between North and South continuing ‘til this day.

About half an hour after signing the Surrender Documents he rode toward his lines. His men saw him and rushed forward to inquire what had transpired. Many shouted to know ”are we surrendered?”.

Reining in Traveler, the General replied: "Men, we have fought the war together, and I have done the best I could for you. You will all be paroled, so return to your homes and become good citizens. My heart is too full to say more." His eyes welled with tears and he choked out: “Goodbye”, and rode away. The next day he issued General Order Number Nine often referred to as “The Last General Order” or “The Last Order”:

GENERAL ORDERS No. 9.
HDQRS. ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,April 10, 1865.

"After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard-fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to the result from no distrust of them. But, feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that must have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen.

By the terms of the agreement officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed; and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection.

With an increasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous considerations for myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell."

R. E. LEE, General.


We humbly remember the "Great Man" today!

Deo Vindice ("God as our Defender,")
From the Great Seal of the Confederacy

“Longstreet”

Right vs. Left on the Blogosphere

I want to get something off my chest.

Since I began this blog and it began to get the exposure it needed to begin to register on the Blogoshere, I have been getting vicious, bitter, hate filled comments from readers, and 99.9% of it is from the Political Left in America.

It is as though they can hardly contain their hate for everything, and everybody, who does not share their socialist views of the US and the world. There is absolutely no room for discord, unbelief, or descent, among them. You must toe their party line, believe what they do or you are a fascist, a bigot, a racist, a homophobe, narrow-minded, close-minded, nazi, … and the list goes on (of bitter smears) they heap upon anyone who does not march in lock step with them.

If you dare point this out, as I do from time to time, an avalanche of hate mail is unleashed upon this lowly blog! I’m sure it’s the same way at other conservative sites.

Now, I’m no shrink, but I believe a shrink would say this bitterness and this lashing out, by the left, is a manifestation of his, or her, own self-hate and impotency.

Now, to the Political Right: You’re not vocal enough. Plainly and simply, you do not raise your voice often enough in defense of your beliefs and your right to be a conservative. You are, indeed, the "Silent Majority" President Nixon mentioned. And it is hurting the efforts of the Right in this country.

When you read a blog posting you happen to like, leave an encouraging comment. After all, the Right Wing bloggers are on the front lines of the battle with the Left. The left does not hesitate to excoriate the right wing bloggers, and those bloggers could certainly use your defense!

There is a war, in progress, in cyberspace, (especially in the blogosphere) between the political left and the political right. This is a war which will last well into the future. The Right wants to participate in the blogosphere, and the Left wants to control it.

The blogoshere is the new front lines. A new frontier, if you will, and whoever is there first, with the most, (Hat tip to General Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA) will recognize the rewards it can offer.

More and more people, the world over, are turning to the blogoshere for their news and information.

The Political Right needs to gear up, organize, and go after its share of the blogoshere right now. With an election coming this year, and a Presidential Election coming in 2 years, we need to get ready, right now, to ward off the attacks of the Left, which are sure to come. My guess is they have already laid out a strategy and are fine-tuning it now.

It took the Right 40 years to get itself together in order to gain control of all three branches of the US government. If we wish to maintain that control, we have to turn our attention to the blogosphere… right now!

I found an interesting post on "Opinionnation Times" I’d like to recommend to you. Go here:

http://fromopinionnation.blogspot.com/2006/01/liberalism-and-intolerance.html

Enjoy!

Longstreet

Coming Soon! A Free and Democratic Iran!

I’m revisiting the Iranian problem, today. Why? Because it is a very real… and a very pressing problem. Iran has the potential to change the world in a few seconds and they intend to do so. The US cannot allow that to happen.

Iran cannot be allowed to build an Atomic bomb. It’s as simply as that! The moment they complete a bomb, everything changes. That cannot be allowed to happen.

Look, Iran will give the bomb to the terrorists. An Atomic Al Qaeda? Yes! It’s that serious! Would you care to guess where the terrorist’s will place their bombs to set them off? You got it! The good ole USA!

After an atomic bomb explosion in America, everything changes; the America we have known will cease to exist with the first fireball. One bomb will make the Twin Towers look like a Sunday School Picnic! Dealing with the loss of life will be staggering enough, but what follows... will simply drive many Americans insane.

And then… there will be the governments reaction. If you thought the Patriot Act was/is bad, you ain’t seen nothing yet! “Martial Law”, or something very near it, will be imposed immediately. It will no longer be Big Brother looking over your shoulder; it will be Big Brother… with a gun!

Freedom of movement within the states will be halted. You and I will need a National ID card to be able to do anything. I mean anything. Just driving to work will be monitored and you will be asked to produce that card at nearly every stop during your day. And that’s just the little annoyances

We can, and we will, destroy Iran. I mean, utterly! As the first nation to use nuclear weapons against America, an example will be made of them. Their country will become a sea of molten glass.

The US is about to get that dreaded 911 call from the United Nations (again) and the European Union. In fact, I think the call has already been placed. Rumors abound that US military assets are being moved about and plans are being finalized with Eastern European nations to prepare them for the imminent military action against Iran.

Iran has pushed the envelope too far. Iran must know that If they continue to poke the tiger with their pointed stick, sooner or later, that tiger will get fed up and will attack and consume them. Iran is about to be consumed.

The world is quickly re-aligning itself. It appears, at first glance, the new coalition of nations will be the US, Great Britain, Japan, and India.

The correct Administration, is in place, to carry through on plans to neutralize Iran. The Bush Administration will not hesitate and they will not stumble. They will get it done! President Bush does not make idle threats, or empty threats. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t threaten at all. Iran has been warned.

Iran is mistaken if it believes it can hold the world hostage with its oil. If Iran goes up against the US, and it’s friends, it will lose not only it’s oil, but it’s country as well. Iran will be free and democratic, when the smoke and dust clears.

Longstreet

Advice to Al Gore: Be Sure Brain is Engaged Before Putting Tongue in Gear!

Thank Goodness for Al Gore! I mean, only God, in His wisdom, could hand the Republican Party a better "defender" than Howard Dean!

I must tell you, Dean and Gore sure do relieve a great deal of the burden on the GOP to defend it’s policies. The American public takes a look at Gore, and Dean, and shakes their heads in amusement. Throw into the mix, Kennedy, Kerry, Pelosi, Reid, Durbin, and the Republicans can relax.
Now, if we can only get them to continue this comedy act
until November, the GOP will pick up more seats in the Senate and the House! Right now, it sure looks good.

For a rundown and analysis of the Gore rant, check out “Opinionnation Times” at:

http://fromopinionnation.blogspot.com/2006/01/al-gore-attacks-president-bush.html

This is Just TOO good!

Longstreet

The Left and Evangelicals. Never the Twain Shall Meet!

The American Left is making a mistake that could easily keep them in the losing column in 2006 and 2008. Their mistake is so blatant that one would question whether or not it is intentional.

It might well be.

What is this mistake I’m rambling on about?

"Evangelicals".

Yes, America’s Evangelicals. They are a powerful force. An Evangelical force which believes, without a shadow of a doubt, that God is on their side and... they further believe it is their duty to vote against, what they perceive, as the "Godless Left" in America.

Now, you may agree, or disagree, with America’s Evangelicals, but it makes no difference. They are a force to be reckoned with. So far the Democrat Party is doing everything in their power to insure that Evangelicals do not support them... no matter how many telephone calls President Bush, and NSA listen in on.

Evangelicals can’t stand the thought of abortion.

Evangelicals believe the Bible condemns homosexuality and... that the scriptures state that homosexuals will not enter heaven.

Evangelicals support the war on terrorism, and the war in Iraq, as one and the same war.

Evangelicals believe in Creationism and Intelligent Design, which, so far as they are concerned, is one and the same.

Evangelicals believe “In God We Trust” should be on our money.

Evangelicals believe this is “One Nation under God” and that phrase should be in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Evangelicals believe this country was founded on Christian beliefs and that is why it is tolerant of other religions.

Evangelicals do not believe in the Constitutional separation of Church and State. They want the two seperated, but, they simply don’t see how, in a Christian nation, that is possible.

Evangelicals believe they have a God given calling to bar Godless Leftists, and Socialists, from the halls of Congress, and the Whitehouse, and the Supreme Court.

Evangelicals hate feminism. Many feel it is witchcraft. The biblical sentence for witchcraft, as with homosexuality, is death.

Evangelicals hate the “sin” and love “the sinner”. This is particularly difficult for the Left to wrap it’s collective minds around.

Evangelicals believe they are subject first to God’s Law and then man’s law.

Evangelicalism is the fastest growing of the Christian faiths in the United States. They have lots of power and they are not afraid to use it.

Your can quickly see why the American Evangelical movement sides with Republicans and works tirelessly against the American Left. It’s not so much that they love the Republicans, but it is that the Republicans do not condemn them and, do not talk down to them, and actually appreciates their support… and tells them so.

The American Left represents so much of what the scriptures define as sin and the scriptures warn all men not to participate in those sins.

To even begin to undertand Evangelicals, you must understand, first, they believe the Bible is the "Infallable Word of God". Every single word is inspired by God. They read, and, interrpret, the scriptures literally. (See the paragraph above.)

The American Left is preached against every Sunday from the millions of Evangelical pulpits. Don’t misunderstand… the preachers do not name the American Left and it’s platform, as sin, but the scriptures do… and the preachers preach from the scriptures. Unlike many mainline denominations, the Evangelical preacher does not champion secular causes, and push environmental concerns, and such, from the pulpit. They preach from the scriptures... and the scriptures, which the evangelical believes to be the infallible Word of God, rails against, and condemns, so much of the American Left’s platform.

The American Evangelical is taught to “Seek first the kingdom of heaven and all these (other) things will be added unto you”. In other words the scriptures tell the Evangelical to get his, or her, priorities right. God first… and everything else after that.
The American Left has come to represent all things ungodly, to the Evangelical, as well as a force of, and for, evil in the country and the world.

The power of Evangelicals can, and does, swing national elections.

Laugh if you must, make fun of them, if you must,… but , if you are a supporter of the American Left, remember this: the Evangelical will be choosing your President, and your Congressman, and your Senators. This is simply the way it is... and it isn’t going to change anytime soon. Any chance of that happening was cancelled out by the Clinton Administration. The current crop of “Lefties” is just sealing the American Left’s tomb.

Longstreet

World's Largest Deposits of Shale Oil in the US.

This Post first ran in
April, 2005.





Bought gas lately? OHWEE! That hurt!

Gasoline prices are soaring (again) at the pump and tempers are flaring as consumers become even more hesitant to drive that extra trip to the mall, or the grocery store, or the Big Box Shopping Center. The price on everything, on all the shelves, in all the stores, of any kind, is going up, and up, as the transportation and delivery services passes their increased “costs of doing business” on to their customers, the stores from which you buy. Ultimately, the consumer, that’s you and me, pay the full price of the increased prices on the goods we purchase in this country simply because the stores pass that increase on to us.

There is no end in sight. Yet.

The US has known for sometime that this country holds the world’s largest deposits of Shale oil. (Oil, which is a part of the shale rock.) It has been, until now, too expensive to squeeze out and process. Back when Oil was selling on the international market for $22.50 a barrel with the occasional spike to $25.00 a barrel, the cost of “squeezing” oil from Shale was at, approximately, $35.00 a barrel. It was just too expensive. Now that oil, on the international market has risen to $55.00 (Remember now, this post first ran in April of 2005!) a barrel plus the strong possibility that it will increase even more, shale oil production is looking very good… and much cheaper than oil from OPEC!

I don’t think there is any question the US is being gouged by the international oil bosses. Maybe it’s payback for Afghanistan and Iraq. No matter. It is still something this country struggles with every day.

The sooner the Congress gets off their duffs and clears the way for the wells in the Anwr, in Alaska, and off shore drilling along the entire coast(s) of the US, and clearing the way for Shale Oil production, the sooner we can invite the oil merchants in the Middle East, and elsewhere, to drink they own oil.

The American consumer will pay the higher pump price with less grousing if he knows the money is staying here, in the States, and will continue to circulate in our vast economy. American consumers will not like the increase in “at the pump prices” but we will, over time, accept it, and move on. However, if Opec and the other oil merchants continue their gouging, the American consumer is going to turn surly. It has, in fact already begun. A surly American populace is not, believe me, what the oil merchants need… or want. The Surly American is even worse than the Ugly American, and I’d remind those same merchants, the Surly American will soon begin to throw his considerable weight around. It could get a bit dicey!

Sooner, or later the US will have an alternative fuel. But not yet, and not for a few more years. But, that time is coming. When it does, we won’t need their oil, nor, for that matter, their so-called "friendship". What goes around… comes around.

“Longstreet”

It's God's fault!

This Post first ran on September 8th,
2005.





Ok, they’re going to have a commission, right? A commission to see who is at fault for the Hurricane damage in New Orleans… right? So we’ll spend several million dollars and give the Democrats a national soapbox to climb onto and bash the heck out of George W. Bush, whom they hate with all their being, and all the while we already know the answer to the question.

For the next few months we will all be treated to wall-to-wall coverage of “Get Bush” and “Get the Republicans” as the bitter bile of hate and roils up the throats of Democrats and is spewed upon our TV screens. The continual race baiting of the Left is bad enough, on any given day, but to take it to a level at which the American taxpayer has to pay for it, is even worse.

All we need is another “Investigation”… another “Special Prosecutor”, another “Special Commission”. We’ll appoint a bunch of has-been political hacks to go to Washington, put them up in plush hotels and feed them expensive meals and stroke their egos until they virtually burst the buttons off their shirts, and blouses, and wait, breathlessly, for their collective wisdom to tell us who is at fault. How ridiculous is this?

I am sick to death of hearing the whining and complaining coming from the political Left in this country. Their shrill carping, and teeth grinding has gotten onto my last nerve.

Look, you have a Democratic government, from the top to the bottom, in Louisiana. A Democrat paradise! Like the city of New Orleans it was an accident just .looking for a place to happen. Guess what? It happened! And they could not handle it. They folded! It is as simple as that. And, if we aren’t very careful… it will fold the next time a major storm comes ashore in New Orleans.

How difficult is it to understand that man is no match for Nature? How hard is that? Had that storm come ashore at any other spot on the US Coast the devastation would have been beyond belief. But it didn’t! It came ashore into the closet state to a welfare state we have in the entire Union. And Big Daddy wasn’t there to take charge. Big Daddy couldn’t get there! Why? Because of the storm! So, the thing we knew was going to happen… happened!

We humans failed… again. And we will fail again, and again, when we come up against the force of Nature. But, some among us, cannot face the fact that man can do little to stay God’s hand and must look for a scapegoat to make themselves feel less small, less impotent.

I seem to recall a story from the Bible about a group of people warned that an impending flood was coming and, out of all those people, only one family had the good sense to do something about it. They built a boat… and they survived.

Now, it you really, really, absolutely must, blame someone, then blame God. He’s big enough not to be intimidated by you shaking your fist in His face. Besides, the last time I dared look, He was the only one able to create a hurricane, direct a hurricane, and dissipate a hurricane. Anybody in Washington care to try his, or her, hand at that? Well, until you are, and can accomplish it, just shut the heck up!

“Longstreet”

Ugly as Home Made Sin!

Ok, let’s see if we can clear up something which, I believe, is a deliberate attempt, by the Lefties, to deflect guilt from their blustery, long-winded, Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee to a Republican Senator from South Carolina.

Now, first of all, Senator Lindsey Graham is NOT one of my favorite Senators. Although, he represents my native state, and we share the same political party, I have serious issues with his support of Senator John McCain. But, to accuse him of the heavy handedness, which had the end effect of causing Judge Alito’s wife to break down in tears and flee the hearing room Wednesday, is just flat false! I was watching the hearings and that is not, I repeat, NOT what happened.

In fact the good Senator, from SC, was making an attempt, as any Southern Gentleman in the same set of circumstances WOULD do, to sooth the troubled waters and spare the feelings of Mrs. Alito and her daughter. As a matter of fact, Senator Graham “teared up” as well.

Mrs. Alito had sat through three days of pure torture as she listened to the Senators from the all loving, all feeling, all tolerant, Left crucify her husband’s character on a cross of political expediency. They saw an opportunity to shred a good man’s reputation in order to gain, they thought, some political points with their base and they took it. It was shameful, it was disgusting, and it was, and is, unforgivable. It is the lowest form of skullduggery practiced by modern politicians, and the political Left, in America, has honed their skills at it to an art form. They are past masters at ruining good people. Their skill was on full display on Wednesday.

What was also on display was the death throes of a once great political party now ruled by far left socialists intent upon turning America into a giant collectivist society. In their view, of the American Utopia, all of us would suffer equally!

Those in charge of the Democrat Party today are ruling over its demise! In fact, they are killing what is left of a once great political party. Now they find they are uncomfortable in the corner into which they have painted themselves. Nevertheless, it is a corner with no exits, and one in which they will simply wither and die.

The antics by the Democrat Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee, this week, may well have cost the Democrats any gains they hoped to make in the election this November. Americans are simply not going to vote for, nor support, a party that cares so little for the American ideals of character, truthfulness, and just plain ole common respect for another human being. Their rabid attack on Judge Alito was a disgrace. It was embarrassing to Americans... and American voters will not forget it at the polls next fall.

All the shortcomings of the American Left were on display for the entire world to see and it was ugly! It was grotesque! The depth of their virulent hatred for Judge Alito, and all conservative Americans, was breathtaking and incredible.

There will soon be another opening on the Supreme Court, and again the Bush Administration will nominate a conservative. If there is anything left of the Democrat Party, by that time, let us pray they will have learned that hateful attacks on American citizens, even those being nominated to a seat on the Supreme Court, is totally unacceptable to the American people.

We have an expression, down here, in the American South, when something is so ugly it is nearly unbearable to look upon. We say: “It is as ugly as home made sin!” The performance of the Democrats this week fit those qualifications to a tee!

Longstreet

We're Staying!

I have read HR 3402 over, and over, and I do not see that it would be applicable to political blogs and blogs of political commentary. The law has to do with interstate stalking.

Here, on IoF, we stalk nobody. We make an effort to provide a place for concerned citizens to meet and discuss the political issues of the day and other interesting current events.

Due to the nature of the world we are faced with today, a world embroiled in a global war against terror, anonymity is a protection wisely used.

After much consideration, and debate, we have decided to continue as we have from day one. To present our opinions, on political issues, and current events, and allow our readers to agree, or disagree, with us as they choose.

Again, we remind “commenters”: no profanity is allowed and no threats are allowed. If you find you must do either, you are not welcome on this site. The rules are the same for those who blog anonymously or by name.

We, here at IoF, view the blogosphere as a safety valve. It allows those who participate to vent their frustrations. It is also the public soapbox from which we address our concerns about our government and the world in which we live.

So, as long as we are able, “INSIGHT on Freedom” will remain on the ’net offering our opinions… and listening to yours.

Longstreet

US Government Brings Blogosphere to Heel; Many Blogs to Shut Down!

Yes, our friends in the Federal Government have found a way, finally, to shut us up! Well, maybe not entirely, but the threat is keen enough to cause a Blogger, blogging anonymously, to be fearful of the heavy hand of the US Federal Government should he, or she, say something that might “annoy” someone else. Not only that, but those who write anonymous comments to a blog posting would also be liable under the same laws. You cannot write an anonymous “comment” which may “annoy” someone. As a friend of mine said earlier today, how in the world do you write a blog without annoying someone? Good question.

The law, signed into law by President Bush last Thursday, is HR 3402.

For more on this blatant attack on the First Amendment go here:
http://acepilots.com/mt/2006/01/10/shut-down-the-blogosphere/

This new law only hamstrings US Bloggers, as it has no effect on Bloggers of other countries.

Undoubtedly there will be a “test” court case of the law, which will, most likely, go to the Supreme Court. The thing is… none of us Bloggers wants to be THAT TRIAL CASE!

So, watch for a number of your favorite blog sites to go dark in the next few days.

Here at IoF we are still trying to assess how this new curtailment on our freedoms will affect us. It doesn’t look good.

Longstreet

Another Attack on the Christian Church in America

If you have not seen the new NBC TV show “The Book of Daniel”… don’t bother, especially if you are a subscriber to the Christian faith. It may seriously compromise your personal vows of morality, especially in so far as those vows affect your use of profanity. It is difficult to describe this show without the use of profanity. The show itself, in my opinion, is profane.

I waited until I had actually seen the show to make any remarks about it. Now I have seen it... and I am sickened by it’s message.

I found myself questioning the reason for airing such an abomination on the nation’s airways. I came up with only one conclusion. It is just another attack upon the Christian faith.

But what bothers me, even more than the show itself, is the lack of outrage by the Christian Community. Maybe the Christian Community has been cowed by the constant drumbeat of attacks. Is that it? Could it be that the Christian Community no longer has the courage of its convictions? I mean, Christ DID take a whip to the moneychangers in the Temple! Even He understood that we have only two cheeks!

You would think the Episcopal Church has enough problems of it’s own, currently, with it’s brothers and sisters in the worldwide Anglican community. You would think the ECUSA would rise up, in righteous indignation, and demand that this show be removed from the airways, or, at the very least, ask that it’s membership boycott the advertisers on the show.

Maybe this has happened and, somehow, I have missed it!(?) Somehow, I doubt it.

I have contacted my own local NBC affiliate and asked them to remove the program from their line up. I don’t expect them to do it, of course. Not so long as they have sponsors who are willing to spend good money to continue the attack on the Christian Church, that is. And there are a host of such advertisers available both locally and nationally.

Christians are such easy targets. We don’t fight back. And when we do manage a counter attack it is not a coordinated attack under the leadership of the mainline denominations. Oh, no. The mainline denominations apparently feel it is beneath them to defend the faith. And here, I always thought that was a part of being a Christian… to defend the faith, I mean.

Well, the Romans had the lions; the Americans have the TV networks and Hollywood! It is truly telling. The morality of America is roughly on a par with that of ancient Rome under Nero.

The Scriptures tell us “It is appointed unto man once to die and, after death, the judgment.” Well, yours truly has a lot to answer for. But one of the things I will NOT have to answer for... is allowing this attack upon the Christian Church to go unchallenged.

How about you?

Longstreet

The Battle for the Court Begins!

It appears the Democrats are trying to work themselves up into enough artificial courage to filibuster Sam Alto’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.

Truth be told, I sort of hope they do.

It’s time for a showdown in the Senate. For Republicans who want to learn, finally, if the people, we sent to the Senate, have the courage to do the right thing, for a change, and bring the hammer down on the Democrats in the form of the “Constitutional Option”. (Approving the President’s nomination by a simple majority vote of the Senate… that would restore a 214-year tradition of the Senate.) Frankly, a lot of Republican careers in the Senate depend on the way they vote when the “ship hits the sand”.

The Democrats have fallen all over themselves in an attempt to frighten the American public into believing Sam Alito is some sort of "far right monster", when he is nothing of the kind.

It is a sidesplitting comedy to watch their antics. It would be even funnier if the Republicans didn’t sit around, like sober judges, (no pun intended) and allow them to get away with their posturing, their blustering, and their embarrassing antics before the cameras and microphones of the nation and the world.

So much of the Senate hearings are a staged performance. The artificial respect each side has for the other, the over the top dignity of the Senators as they defer to each other, the introduction of the nominee, to the committee, by his home state senator, who does not want to see Alito confirmed and the other, a former Governor of Alito’s home state, who does.

It was particularly interesting to watch three “would be” presidential candidates carefully set out the platforms upon which they hope to rest their aspirations for the Presidency.

It is interesting to note the appearance of unshakable calm, of the nominee, who is tasked with sitting through three hours of pontification from 18 men and women who could not hold his coat in a battle of wits. Yet, he must bear their public display of arrogance and condescension, without flinching, and with notable humility. No matter that some senatorial presentations may, in fact, be designed to test his temperament and his control of that temperament.

The real battle begins today. The liberal Democrats will be out for blood and the conservative Republicans will be running interference for Alito and defending the President’s choice for the open seat on the Court.

If you’re into politics... it is great theatre. It isn’t much else. Unless there is a major, major, unveiling of some horrible wrong committed by Alito, he will be recommended to the full Senate for an up or down vote. And that’s where the real fight is most likely to take place.

Democrats having run, rough shod, over the weak Republican leadership in the Senate, are out for bear. They will attempt to intimidate the Republicans with their threats of a filibuster.

Conservative Republicans are hoping to bait the Democrats into doing just that, a filibuster. If they are successful they will push through the “Constitutional Option” and shut the Democrats down and reestablish themselves as “real leaders” in the eyes of their conservative constituency. This would also allow Senator Frist, the Senate Majority Leader to step down, at a high point in his career, and… allow Senate Republicans to install a powerful new Majority Leader and regain control of the Senate in time for the elections this November.

Then… we wait for the third opening on the Court. Some conservatives believe at least one liberal Justice will resign simply because of the new “conservative influence” on the Court. Should this happen, the President will answer with another Conservative nominee and the court will be safely in the hands of conservatives for at least a generation.

That is my hope. That is my dream. That is my prayer!

Longstreet

Where Were We? Creationism, Evolution, and Intellegent Design

I’m going to gingerly dip my toe into the stream of the debate on Creationism, Evolution and Intelligent Design. This is foray of mine is chancy and there is no hope of satisfying the majority of readers… so… I’ won’t try.

It will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog that I might, and do, have my own ideas about how man came to be on this planet and how the planet came to be, in the first place.

I cannot deny evolution. I have seen it at work and continue to see it working everyday. I cannot deny creationism, because I happen to believe that God did create this planet and everything upon it.

Intelligent Design?? Well, I see little difference between Intelligent Design and Creationism. There may be… I just don’t see it.

Along about the time I was in grammar school, I came to believe that, as the scriptures point out, a day is as a thousand years to God. With that in mind, it was easy enough for me to consider the teachings of evolution and discount that portion I did not buy into. If the Earth, and everything on it, was created in six days as Genesis says, then could that not just as easily have been six thousand years, or even six eons? Maybe not. But, that is my way of justifying those two stories, if you will, of Creation.

You know, the way I see it…if God chose evolution as His way to create man, and the animals, and the planet itself… that would be perfectly OK with me.

I am one of those weirdoes who accepts nothing at face value. I will consider it, investigate it, whatever it is, and then make a decision based on my own consideration and conclusions. Basically, I question everything.

A dear friend of mine, a minister, once told me that should I precede him in death, that upon his arrival in heaven he would have no trouble finding me, because I would be the one with my hand raised wanting to ask God a question! There is more truth to that than I am comfortable with.

Look, I am no divinity student, nor a minister. Only a subscriber to the Christian faith who makes an attempt at understanding God’s world and dealing with it the best I can with the understanding God has blessed me with. Even with a lifetime of scripture study, it is still difficult to maintain one's faith as a Christian. Martin Luther once said: “Of Course it is difficult. If it wasn’t, everybody would be doing it.” He was correct, of course.

First… we humans make a HUGE mistake when we attempt to examine the Bible as a history book. It is not. We cannot use the Bible to prove the creation story. If one believes the six-day story, then one must accept it on faith. Faith, as Saint Paul said, is the belief in things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). On the other hand science deals in things “seen”. You cannot, successfully, combine these two.

Evolution is a scientific theory (Note the first four letters of theory…THEO ...God.)

I happen to believe that God is the creator and... He did create the earth and everything upon it and gave it into man’s care. He made man stewards of his gift. He also told mankind to use it… and have dominion over all he had created for us. He left it in our care.

Granted, we have been lousy stewards. Even as badly as we have treated this earth, I cannot bring myself to buy into the theory that man will ultimately destroy the earth. I simply do not believe that man is capable of destroying something God created. I believe it to be the height of arrogance to believe that we can.

There is a passage in the Book of Job (Old Testament, by the way.) Which rattles man’s arrogance. So as we argue back and forth about Creationisn vs. Evolution... or any other theory, Might I suggest that we keep the following passage in mind:

Job 38:

Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind, 38:2 "Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge? 38:3 Brace yourself like a man, For I will question you, then you answer me! 38:4 "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding. 38:5 Who determined the measures of it, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it? 38:6 Whereupon were the foundations of it fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

The point of God’s questioning of Job drives home the point… we don’t know! We were not there!

So, as we ponder our origins on this earth and, indeed, the origin of the earth itself, we would do well to harken to God’s questioning of Job. Indeed, where were we when He laid the foundations of the earth?

Personally, I choose to believe that God is our creator and… evolution may, indeed, be His way of recreating us over, and over, and over, so that His creation survives, and thrives, in this garden we call Earth.

Longstreet