Why Democrats Hate “Fair And Balanced” News

Why Democrats Hate “Fair And Balanced” News
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Around two thousand years ago, a man said: “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” A relatively short while ago, someone added a few words to it and said: “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free – but first, it will pi*s you off!” That’s all you need to know about the democrats and the fair and balanced news channel – Fox News.

However, I still have blank paper to write upon and an ink cart not quite dry, so I shall plod on in the seemingly endless task of defining the love of democrats for the politically correct over fact and/or truth.

Facts and truth are two of the most stubborn things in existence. It does not matter whether you believe a fact, or refuse to accept a fact; it remains a fact, nonetheless. The same is true for the truth. It makes not one whit of difference whether you believe the truth, or not. It remains the truth – period.

On the other hand, politically correct facts and/or truth(s) can mean anything you want them to mean. Often they are based on fact or truth but, in reality, that is the only thing valid about politically correct fact and truth. To my way of thinking, a politically correct fact, or truth, is an oxymoron. In the southern vernacular: “There ain’t no such thang!”

The political left is entirely too emotional for me. It has often been said that if American political parties had gender, the democrats would be female and the republicans would be male. All one needs to do to see evidence of that is to observe the pathetic union demonstrations in Wisconsin and other states.

Those demonstrations are a public display of an emotion, called anger, because they lost control of the US government last November. It is the reaction that a child displays when a favorite toy is taken away as punishment.

The electorate sent the democrats to the woodshed, and they don’t like it, no, not even a little bit. They are P.O’ed and, like a child, they are throwing a tantrum.

When I “threw a fit,” as a child, my parents snatched my skinny butt up and applied a 2-inch leather belt to my gluteus maximus until my cerebral cortex sparked and my mind was changed, my attitude was adjusted, and my general demeanor was acceptable in polite southern society. Of course, that meant eating from the mantle board for a few days. (For those uneducated in southern colloquialism, that means: “eating while standing up.”)

Look. When grown people, adults, make fools of themselves, on purpose, normal people just have to wonder: “What ails those folks?”

OK, so it is just me. See, I have a heck of a time dealing with anyone having authority over me. While in the US Army, I was on “KP,” as punishment, 13 times in eight weeks, at Fort Jackson, SC, because I had a problem with authority figures. I simply do not like, and will not tolerate, anyone or anything having absolute control over me. It ain’t gonna happen. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not particularly proud of it – but neither am I shamed by it. It is the way I am wired.

(Stay with me – I am about to make a point – or, at least, TRY!)

Unions, and the Democrat Party, are all about control. I could never be a member of either. I tend to think for myself, indeed, I LIKE thinking for myself. I am self-motivating, and I darn sure don’t like some one trying to motivate me -- covertly or overtly. (Again – it is the way I am wired.) You can imagine – I was a pain in the collective posteriors of my former employers.

The communists used to refer to THEIR minions as “useful idiots.” They manipulated them anyway they wanted and those minions did the will of the Communist Party. Much like Pavlov’s dog, the party would ring the bell -- and the “little commies” would come running.

Now. Compare that to what you see in the union demonstrations. The unions ring the bell(s) and the union members come running. See? Understand? It is “conditioning.” It is “control.”

There would be a heat wave in Hades before I would stand in the snow and shout that a news organization, which actually makes an effort to present BOTH sides of an issue, is a liar – for anyone!
But, then again, they have been so conditioned by the union’s propaganda and the Democratic Party’s propaganda that they seem to actually have great difficulty discerning truth from fiction, fairness from partiality, fact from lie. Its called: “CONTROL.”

It is important that America understands that those “conditioned” union members and Democratic Party members are a prototype for a liberal-socialist Democrat Party/labor union controlled America. Should they ever gain total control of America – they will OWN you – much like the people of the old Soviet Union, only worse.

It would seem their problem with Fox News is – the truth. They can’t stand it. And since the truth remains – unchanged – they must attempt to divert America’s attention elsewhere. They try to besmirch the purveyors of the truth. If it were not so serious, it would be hilariously funny.

Don’t hate them. No. They are to be pitied. They can’t quite grasp the meaning of a representative republic. They seem to believe that socialism is not evil and will not lead directly to communism, and ultimately to slavery. Sadly, they don’t have a clue that they would be the very first targets their socialist masters would seek to round up and annihilate!

J. D. Longstreet

Greens lie, Africans die ... Paul Drisssen and Robert Novak

Greens lie, Africans die
Falsehoods about insecticides and bednets continue to leave a path of destruction and death
Paul Driessen and Robert Novak

Fina’s little body shook for hours with teeth-chattering chills. The next day her torment worsened, as nausea and vomiting continued even after there was nothing left in her stomach. Finally, her vomiting ebbed and chills turned to fever, drenching her body in sweat. Then more chills, fevers, nausea, convulsions, and constant, unbearable pain in every muscle, bone and joint.

She cried out, and tears mixed with sweat. But no one could help her. She had no money for doctors, medicines or a hospital room. She didn’t even have a mother or father to comfort her. All the orphanage school staff could do was caress her, pray and hope she’d get better – and wait for her to die.

And in agony that never stopped from the time the malaria first struck her down, Fina Nantume did die. So did 49 of her classmates, out of 500 students in the APEA Primary School for orphans in Kampala, Uganda, in 2005. Most of the survivors were also afflicted with malaria at least once that year. Some became permanently brain damaged. Others died in subsequent years.

Fina didn’t have to die. None of these spirited, beautiful young students had to die. None of them had to get malaria. The disease is preventable, treatable and curable.

Then why did they? Why does half the world’s population remain at risk of getting malaria? Why are some 250 million people infected annually – with 90% of the agonizing chills, fevers, nausea, brain damage and death occurring in sub-Saharan Africa?

It’s said malaria is a disease of poverty, and poor countries don’t have enough funds, doctors or medicines to treat the disease – or prevent it in the first place. True enough. But malaria is also, and much more so, a disease of callous, intransigent environmental extremism and wanton disregard for human life. A disease whose prevention is hampered, and actively thwarted, by pervasive opposition to mosquito-killing insecticides, and mosquito-repelling DDT.

Anti-pesticide activists say they support other interventions: education, “capacity building,” modern drugs and bednets. Indeed, international funding for malaria prevention and treatment has risen from perhaps $40 million in 1998 to almost $2 billion in 2010. Millions of women and children now sleep under insecticide-treated nets. Millions now get diagnosed quickly and receive decent care and medicines.

These anti-malaria programs “saved nearly 750,000 lives over the past ten years.” the World Health Organization enthusiastically asserts. “That represents an 18% reduction in child mortality, compared with 2000.” That’s wonderful news. But it’s not good enough.

We would never tolerate 18% as “good enough,” if American or European kids’ lives were at stake, or if a 70-90% reduction in disease, misery and death rates were possible. And it would be possible, if we could end the lies and obstructionism that restrict access to mosquito killers and repellants that can dramatically reduce infection rates and the need to treat a quarter-billion cases of malaria every year.

But the lies and obstruction are prevalent, and effective. Here are just a few of the most egregious.

“Nets are just as good as insecticides.” Prevention should always be the first line of defense. That’s why we chlorinate drinking water and vaccinate people against measles, mumps, polio and flu. Insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs) certainly help and should be used. But they are a supplement to, not a substitute for, larvacides, insecticides and DDT that kill mosquitoes and keep them away from people.

Bednets help if they’re used regularly and properly. They don’t help if they’re torn, people are working, there are only enough nets for a family’s small children and pregnant women, or it’s too hot to sleep under one. Indoor residual spraying (IRS) eliminates behavior as a consideration; it protects everyone in the house, 24 hours a day.

“Bednets are more cost-effective than indoor spraying.” This assertion is backed by several studies that anti-pesticide groups and ITN manufacturers allegedly financed. However, the studies compare bednets with IRS using pyrethroids like ICON, instead of DDT. Pyrethroids are far more expensive and must be applied more often than DDT, which raises IRS costs significantly. The studies also fail to include all the costs associated with manufacturing and distributing the nets. Independent analyses found that nets are actually four times more expensive than spraying the inside walls of homes with DDT.

Much more important, spraying DDT once or twice a year keeps 80% of mosquitoes from entering the home, irritates those that do enter, so they leave without biting, and kills any that land. No other chemical, at any price, has these repellency and irritation features. DDT helps doctors treat more patients with often scarce ACT drugs and dramatically slash disease and death rates – often by 90% or more.

“Mosquitoes will become resistant to DDT.” This is highly unlikely. DDT use today is restricted to disease prevention, whereas pyrethroids are used extensively in agriculture and ITNs, greatly increasing the risk of resistance to these DDT “alternatives.” Once that happens both non-DDT indoor spraying and bednets will become far less effective, and malaria rates could skyrocket. In addition, there is no evidence that mosquitoes have ever become resistant to DDT’s repellency and irritation effects.

Moreover, reliance on nets and pyrethroid sprays significantly reduces prevention and increases the need for treatment. This can stretch scarce hospital, medical staff and drug resources to the breaking point. It increases the likelihood that malaria parasites will become resistant to Artemisia-based drugs, especially monotherapies. And it magnifies the pervasive and growing problem of substandard and counterfeit drugs replacing scarce supplies of reputable ACT combination therapies.

“DDT has dangerous side effects.” Greenpeace, Pesticide Action Network, Environmental Defense, International POPs Elimination Network and affiliated radical groups love to say “some researchers think” DDT and its break-down byproduct DDE “could” inhibit lactation, “may” weaken immune systems and are “associated with” low birth weights in babies. Not only is this rank speculation, but malaria definitely has all these side effects; it also causes severe brain damage, an inability to work for weeks on end, and agonizing death. Opposing DDT use on the basis of bogus side effects is infinitely worse than opposing cancer-curing chemotherapy because of the nasty and very real side effects of vincristine, asperaginase, methotrexate and other chemo drugs.

“DDT will poison the global biosphere.” Anti-pesticide zealots claim even indoor spraying with DDT will “contaminate” soils and waters for decades and “damage entire regional environmental systems.” Baloney. IRS involves small amounts of DDT on walls. The chemical and its derivatives break down. Detection does not equal destruction. Our ability to detect chemicals at the equivalent of one second in 32 years does not equate with damage to any organism, and certainly not to entire ecosystems.

There is no magic bullet. We need every weapon in our arsenal to control and eradicate this vicious disease. DDT and insecticides aren’t necessary or appropriate in every case – but when needed health officials must be able to employ them, without recrimination or retribution.

The “net” effect of these bald-faced lies is that anti-pesticide zealots are perpetuating poverty, misery, disease and death in malaria-endemic regions all over the world. Safe in offices made malaria-free by the very chemicals, technologies and prosperity they deny to others, these baby killers and their financial benefactors are violating the most basic human rights of people in poor nations: the right of access to technologies that enhance and safeguard life.

Their reign of terror must end, before they usher in a disaster of truly epidemic proportions.
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Paul Driessen is senior policy advisor for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow and Congress of Racial Equality, and author of Eco-Imperialism: Green power - Black death. Robert Novak is professor of medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has devoted much of his life to combating malaria.

Using Fear to Ban BPA - The BPA File, Part Two

Using Fear to Ban BPA - The BPA File, Part Two
By Alan Caruba

Writing for Health News Digest.com in early February, Michael D. Shaw noted that bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical used to make polycarbonate plastics and an ingredient in the epoxy resin used as a protective coating in metal cans, “is one of the most heavily studied chemicals of all time. Indeed, there are more than 6,000 scientific papers devoted to this compound.”

That’s a remarkable amount of research. What’s more remarkable is that no peer-reviewed research has ever shown any harm to humans from BPA in normal consumer use. After a three-year study published in the Oxford journal Toxicological Sciences, even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that there is no threat from BPA.

Despite decades of studies that show no harm, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration still wants to take what it calls “reasonable steps to reduce human exposure to BPA in the food supply.” Yet it is BPA’s use in lining cans and plastic containers that reduces human exposure to botulism and other deadly food-borne illnesses.

What is “reasonable” about limiting something that protects public health and safeguards the American food supply?

Shaw called BPA the “perhaps the favorite target of fear entrepreneurial and ‘environmental’ fund-raising groups, even though there is not a scintilla of evidence shows harm to humans at any rational level of exposure to this chemical.”

Shaw’s observation is best illustrated by news stories promoting studies showing that BPA has been detected in the urine of more than 90 percent of Americans, but those same stories do not mention that BPA measured in human urine samples amounts to 2.6 micrograms per liter, which is 1,000 times less than the EPA reference dose.

If humans were exposed to massive amounts of BPA every day of their lives, they would still face no harm, but actual “exposure” is so small as to be virtually beyond measure.

If science does not support the many claims against BPA then why are there efforts by legislators to introduce new laws to ban BPA and other beneficial chemicals? Politics and fear are no substitute for science. They are used as fund-raising tools for environmental groups and to give politicians the appearance of acting in the public interest.

Unfortunately, the failure to check the facts has made some news media co-conspirators in this scare campaign, whenever they repeat baseless claims about BPA.

This false BPA narrative is so prevalent that in January, Rep. Edward Markey, (D-MA) introduced a bill to prohibit BPA in food and drink containers. Never mind the innumerable studies showing no harm from BPA, the complete absence of any study showing consumer harm from BPA and the half century of safe BPA use.

Rep. Markey claims his bill “will help keep BPA out of our bodies while also ensuring that all food and beverage containers are free from dangerous chemicals.” The truth is that banning BPA from use in metal or plastic food containers would invite potentially fatal health risks from food poisoning.

Eight states, plus Canada and the European Union have already approved limitations on BPA, none of which is based on any evidence that BPA causes harm to human health. The justification has always been the “Precautionary Principle” which requires the banning of something unless it can be proved to be not harmful. Use of the Precautionary Principle in science is akin to malpractice because it is impossible to prove a negative.

The confusion over BPA has so far resulted in sharp divides over whether and how to further regulate it. While the Massachusetts Public Health Council approved new BPA restrictions last year, the California Senate rejected a similar ban in that state in 2010. In Maine, state regulators sought draconian restrictions on BPA only to have Governor Paul LePage offer a regulatory reform program reversing those regulators in favor of having Maine’s standards parallel those of the federal government.

At the federal level, the U.S. Senate last year defeated attempts by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to impose a federal ban on BPA in certain products while the World Health Organization last November recommended against any further regulations to further limit or ban BPA.

Fear tactics, not scientific fact, are the primary drivers being used to deprive Americans of a necessary and safe component in valuable shatterproof plastics and a proven method of protecting food and drink. Only by overcoming a legion of fear-mongers can BPA continue to do so.

Editor's Note: You can read The BPA File - Part One here.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

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Alan Caruba's commentaries are posted daily at "Warning Signs" his popular blog and thereafter on dozens of other websites and blogs. If you love to read, visit his monthly report on new books at Bookviews. To visit his Facebook page, click here For information on his professional skills, Caruba.com is the place to visit.

King Obama?

King Obama?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Myth speaks of a time of freedom in America, a time yet whispered about among “old-timers” in this modern, post-constitutional, socialist era of decay in America.

Long before the reign of “King Barak Obama,” (He of which so little is known) comes the storied legend of a high court created by the ancients to insure the government created by the people of the country ruled by the laws set forth in its founding documents. Some say it was known as “The SUPREME Court.”

There are those who dispute the legend today, however. They declare it is only the laws created in the court of The Great King Obama that carry the weight of the sovereign’s will and enforcement by the king’s minions.

It is said that far, far, out in the hinterlands of the country there exist wizen old storytellers who claim to have actually heard of a document called “The Constitution.” They say it was beloved by ancient citizens even though they changed it well over two score times.
Modern Americans take comfort in the knowledge that their beneficent ruler, King Obama, (The Divine Being be praised!) the compassionate one, has decided in his deep concern for the unwashed masses, the serfs of his kingdom, that he, “The Wise One,” will decide the laws to be obeyed and the laws that will be enforced by the Royal Justice Ministry.

Kings Obama, “The Enlightened one” has decreed that in his kingdom, anyone can become “married. Man can marry woman. Woman can marry woman. Man can marry animal. Woman can marry animal … ad infinitum.

Those who carry the king’s dispatches have praised the wisdom of His Eminence, King Obama. Town criers, all over the Obama Kingdom, have extolled the courage of the king’s action in this startling demonstration of post constitutional rights no longer guaranteed by a living, breathing, document that is now believed to finally be dead. In the words of the dispatch carriers: “Long Live The King!”

In the shadow of windmills and solar panels Americans huddle for warmth and protection around crackling fires kindled from a black stone ruled poisonous to the planet -- and to Obama’s people. Beneath their feet sloshes oceans of a flammable liquid brimming with energy now outlawed by Obama’s Protector’s of the Earth Ministry. (May Earth Mother be praised!)

The huddled masses look on with wide-eyed wonderment as “Nature Wizards” of King Obama’s court continue to prepare them for a great heating up of the earth while temperatures plunge and winter’s harsh grasp continues to extend its life threatening reign longer with each passing year.

Some dare to inquire, openly, as to the elementary intelligence employed by Great King Obama’s “Wizards of Weather” in denying that, which they say, is obvious -- even to the kingdom’s idiots, and that is that the earth is growing colder – not hotter.

Those who serve the great king at the grand “People’s Palace” on Obama Mount in the royal city (recently renamed “Obamagrad”) on the banks of the “Soetoro River” (formerly the Potomac River) continue to prostrate themselves in obeisance to His Royal Majesty even at the cost of their high positions in the mighty king’s court.

Meanwhile, in the forests and swamps of the South, in the plains and on the mountains of the Midwest and West, and atop the mounds of drifted snow in the north, defrocked priests of the recently outlawed religion, Christianity, continue to proclaim something called “The Gospel” and warn that worshipping the socialist state instead of the One True God is blasphemy and the wages of this gross sin is the death of the nation and eternal damnation for that nation’s people. (All nonsense, of course!)

Obama’s “Ministry of the Socialist State Religion,” it is said, has announced its agents are “collecting” these rogue religionists and detaining them, permanently, in the Kingdom’s Re-Education Camps. So far, none of those Re-Ed Camps can be found, though, we are assured they are secure in undisclosed locations somewhere in the deserts of the southwest.

Even so, modern, socialist, America can rest assured our Great King Obama (He who speaks unceasingly) is leading the once premier nation on the globe back to its former greatness and a realization of the American Dream through national Collectivism, Socialism, and Marxism the NEW holy trinity of the American state religion founded by our “Warrior of the Faith,” Great King Obama.

The powerful Labor Guilds of America assure that King Obama’s reign is secure from the insane maniacs who continue to rabble rouse in the name of a democratic representative government and continuously demand elections which, as we all know, were suspended, indefinitely, for the safety and security of the people of Obama’s Kingdom.

Not to worry. We are assured that King Obama’s Ministry of Obamaland’s Security will be swift in their duty to neutralize such threats to the people’s security and the security of the kingdom. Even those who may be enjoying the largess of the king’s Obamacare alchemists in the dozens of “ObamaCare Tent Treatment Centers,” scattered across the great kingdom will be dealt with, as well.

Who needs a “constitution” when all American’s needs are met by King Obama’s gracious, generous, and kindly ministrations from the cradle to the grave -- no matter how short a span that might be.

Remember, America: Sacrifice is good. Fairness is good. Redistribution of your wealth is good. We must all work for the survival of the Obama Kingdom.

Forget about the myth of a US Constitution. We are assured by the Obama Kingdom Library that no such document exists, if it ever did.

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(J. D. Longstreet wrote this article at the direction of the prison warden of the Hammer and Sickle prison colony. It was approved for distribution by King Obama’s Royal Ministry of Propaganda located at 666 Karl Marx Avenue in the city of Obamagrad located in the District of Vladimir Lenin.)

LONG LIVE KING OBAMA!

Democrats Harm Their Party In Wisconsin

Democrats Harm Their Party In Wisconsin
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

It gives me no small amount of pleasure to watch the Democratic Party inflict harm upon itself with those “demonstrations” in Wisconsin -- and those just beginning in other states, as well.

“Oh,” but you say, “Those are UNIONS demonstrating in Wisconsin!” To which, I would respond, “That’s what I said – DEMOCRATS!”

Come on, folks! The UNIONS are the democrats and the democrats ARE the UNIONS! This is a political fact I have known since I was a child.

I have told reader’s before that my uncle was a big wig in one of the most powerful unions of its day. I don’t know what position he held, but it was important enough that when he died, the United States Secretary of Labor attended his funeral.

I watched my uncle visually check his automobile for bombs, underneath the car and under the hood and dashboard and seat in the mornings before his drive to the airport. I grew up with those images forever burned into my memory.

Americans have very little sympathy for people WITH JOBS these days not reporting to work -- and taking that time to raise hell in the streets. Many of those people protesting have jobs with salaries from the public trough… meaning they are paid with taxpayer money. Do they not understand how that makes the taxpayer feel?

I must tell you, what is happening in Wisconsin is turning more and more Americans against labor unions and if nothing else good comes from all that sound and fury THAT, alone, in my opinion, would be a good thing for America.

It is also extremely “telling” when the democrats flee the state. It speaks to the veracity of all the claims the GOP and conservatives have made over the years -- that when the going gets tough, the democrats flee. Now, all of America has seen it.

We have often told you that democrats strike us as child-like. They seem to be ruled by emotion. Good solid reasoning seems to be just outside their grasp. This, too, is on display in Wisconsin.

We’d like to express our appreciation to the Democratic Party for making our job so much easier. See – we can claim all this stuff about them, but until Americans see it for themselves it means nothing to them. Now, however, the Democratic Party has been kind enough to put their emotional answer to a question that calls for deep reasoning right out there in public view where the American electorate can see the unvarnished truth. And for that, again I am truly grateful to the democrats.

We conservatives would also like to express our appreciation to the unions for burning all that cash money on the Wisconsin demonstrations. That is a great help to the conservative cause and will most certainly aid us in a achieving our goal of stopping Obama from securing a second term in the White House. The less money the unions have, the less money they can contribute to Obama’s campaign -- and that, too, is good – very good!

We have warned so many times, dear reader, about the Democratic Party’s lack of feeling for the “common man.” Oh, they would argue otherwise having seized the mantle of “the people’s party” for themselves. Only, it is not true. Hopefully, Americans viewing the so-called “demonstrations” in Wisconsin will discern for themselves that just exactly who the Democratic Party actually represents.

Look. We knew way back when, that at some point this was going to happen. We knew the labor unions would suck our state treasuries dry. They have done it.

Public employees should never have been allowed to unionize in America. Those who opposed it predicted then that this time would come. And here we are. Remember what I said above about emotion versus reasoning?

The situation in all our states calls for cold, hard, reasoning and some extremely difficult decisions. Nobody is going to be happy with what must be done for the states to survive. Most people, however, know this and they will act like grown-ups and not take to the streets like spoiled brats on a rampage.

When the choice is between busting a union, and busting a state, I’ll come down on the side of union-busting every time.

J. D. Longstreet

Unions: Dupes, Thugs, and Politicians

Unions: Dupes, Thugs, and Politicians
By Alan Caruba

Growing up in New Jersey and having been a journalist here, my memory of news about unions in the Garden and Empire States is that of headlines concerning the indictment and sentencing of various union chiefs and their underlings.

The alignment between unions and the Mafia is so well known it has been the subject of movies such as “On the Waterfront”, “The Godfather”, “Goodfellas” and “Casino.” To this day the rumor persists that Jimmy Hoffa is buried somewhere between the goalposts of Giants stadium in the Meadowlands.

As events unfold in the very progressive capital of Wisconsin, Madison, the public is being treated to the way unions have very nearly always functioned. Intimidation has been their stock in trade with campaign contributions running a close second. We are watching an epic battle between Wisconsin voters and entrenched, self-serving unions.

In his 2006 book, “Solidarity for Sale: How Corruption Destroyed the Labor Movement and Undermined America’s Promise”, Robert Finch, a former labor organizer and later a faculty member at Cornell and New York University, told the story of how and why unions were and are rotten to the core.

Finch’s book reads like a Hollywood movie script, replete with the names of Mafia families like that of New Jersey’s Vito Genevese and a host of others throughout the nation.

“Corruption,” says Finch “had been built into the labor movement from its very inception.” The politicians who benefited from union support have always done their best to ignore “five generations of racketeering, Mafia rule, bribery and extortion, job selling, benefit fund theft, and simple thievery, going back to the days of the early-twentieth-century labor czars.” This dates back as well to the creation of the National Labor Relations Board created by Congress in 1935. It is another legacy of the FDR years that have left the nation on the brink of bankruptcy.

Suffice to say that the National Labor Relations Board is a useless, allegedly “independent” government entity, often looking with favor on the union’s unceasing demands. Among the issues conservatives want to thwart are card check regulations to enhance union power. Reportedly, Republicans have cut $50 million from the NRLB’s budget as a part of the effort to cut the bloated Obama budget.

Finch notes that “In 1986, the President’s Commission on Organized Crime had identified the four most mobbed-up unions; the Teamsters, the Laborers, the Hotel and Restaurant Workers, and the East Coast Longshoremen. The close relationship between labor unions and the Democratic Party is too often obscured by the mainstream media. “According to the Center for Responsible Politics”, Finch noted, “seven of the top ten campaign contributors in the last decade are not Fortune 500 corporations. They’re AFL-CIO unions.”

Little wonder that public service union members are howling for the head of Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker or that several Wisconsin Democrat politicians have fled to Illinois to avoid debating his proposals. His demand that unions forego collective bargaining rights is, in fact, not that unusual. Twenty-two States have curbed union power with “right to work” legislation.

Perhaps the greatest error regarding the union movement came in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order to grant all federal government employees the right to unionize and collectively bargain with departments and agencies. This accounts for the rise in power of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) with its 1.8 million members and the deceptively named National Education Association (NEA), a union, the largest in the nation. It has 3.2 million members and employs more than 550 staff.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the NEA is responsible for the horrid test scores of U.S. students throughout the nation despite their incessant demands for higher wages, along with healthcare and pension programs well in excess of the private sector. Since the 1960s, they have been at the heart of the deteriorating condition of education in America. A four-part series on this topic is posted on the website of The National Anxiety Center which I founded in 1990.

Leading the SEIU is Andy Stern whose many visits to the White House since Obama was elected have become legendary. His rise in the union began with organizing hundreds of thousands of home care and day care workers. Despite unionizing, their pay has never really improved. “The SEIU,” Finch noted, “is now the largest AFL-CIO union.”

During his campaign and since, President Obama has never made any secret of how beholden he is to the SEIU and the union movement that contributed millions toward his election. It should come as no surprise that he has spoken up regarding the Wisconsin riots on the side of the union members. This ignores the fact that a majority of Wisconsin voters put the Governor in office, along with giving political power to Republicans there. They campaigned on the very issues the unions are protesting against.

Wisconsin, like other States that are essentially broke, must win the struggle to reduce the taxpayer burden that government worker and public sector unions represent.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

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Alan Caruba's commentaries are posted daily at "Warning Signs" his popular blog and thereafter on dozens of other websites and blogs. If you love to read, visit his monthly report on new books at Bookviews. To visit his Facebook page, click here For information on his professional skills, Caruba.com is the place to visit.

We Have Seen This Movie Before

(I receive a lot of tips and commentary from other scribes (by e-mail) on a daily basis. Altho, most are very good, occassionally one stands out.

Below is one such article that caught my fancy beecause the comparison between the two countries is absolutely stunning. We hope you enjoy it. There is a link to the site just below the title. We recommend you click on it and sample other articles on the site. ... JDL)

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"A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever."
John Adams

History records that the moneychangers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means
possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling the money and its issuance.
- James Madison

Don't Cry for Me, Argentina / America

Link: (Don't Cry for me Argentina/America)

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In the early 20th century, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world.

While Great Britain's maritime power and its far-flung empire had propelled it to a dominant position among the world's industrialized nations, only the United States challenged Argentina
for the position of the world's second-most powerful economy.

It was blessed with abundant agriculture, vast swaths of rich farmland laced with navigable rivers and an accessible port system. Its level of industrialization was higher than many European countries: railroads, automobiles and telephones were commonplace.

In 1916, a new president was elected. Hipólito Irigoyen had formed a party called The Radicals
under the banner of "fundamental change" with an appeal to the middle class.

Among Irigoyen's changes: mandatory pension insurance, mandatory health insurance,
and support for low-income housing construction to stimulate the economy.

Put simply, the state assumed economic control of a vast swath of the country's operations
and began assessing new payroll taxes to fund its efforts.

With an increasing flow of funds into these entitlement programs, the government's payouts soon became overly generous. Before long its outlays surpassed the value of the taxpayers' contributions.

Put simply, it quickly became under-funded, much like the United States' Social Security and Medicare programs.

The death knell for the Argentine economy, however, came with the election of Juan Perón.

Perón had a fascist and corporatist upbringing; he and his charismatic wife aimed their populist rhetoric at the nation's rich.

This targeted group "swiftly expanded to cover most of the propertied middle classes,
who became an enemy to be defeated and humiliated."

Under Perón, the size of government bureaucracies exploded through massive programs
of social spending and by encouraging the growth of labor unions.

High taxes and economic mismanagement took their inevitable toll even after Perón had
been driven from office. But his populist rhetoric and "contempt for economic realities"
lived on. Argentina's federal government continued to spend far beyond its means.

Hyperinflation exploded in 1989, the final stage of a process characterized by "industrial protectionism, redistribution of income based on increased wages, and growing state intervention in the economy..."

The Argentinean government's practice of printing money to pay off its public debts had crushed the economy. Inflation hit 3000%, reminiscent of the Weimar Republic. Food riots were rampant; stores were looted; the country descended into chaos.

And by 1994, Argentina's public pensions -- the equivalent of Social Security -- had imploded.

The payroll tax had increased from 5% to 26%, but it wasn't enough. In addition, Argentina had implemented a value-added tax (VAT), new income taxes, a personal tax on wealth, and additional revenues based upon the sale of public enterprises. These crushed the private sector, further damaging the economy.

A government-controlled "privatization" effort to rescue seniors' pensions was attempted.
But, by 2001, those funds had also been raided by the government, the monies replaced by Argentina's defaulted government bonds.

By 2002, "...government fiscal irresponsibility... induced a national economic crisis as severe as America's Great Depression."
* * *

In 1902 Argentina was one of the world's richest countries. Little more than a hundred years later, it is poverty-stricken, struggling to meet its debt obligations amidst a drought.

We've seen this movie before.

The Democrats' populist plans can't possibly work, because government bankrupts everything it touches.

History teaches us that ObamaCare and unfunded entitlement programs will be utter, complete disasters.Today's Democrats are guilty of more than stupidity; they are enslaving future generations to poverty and misery. And they will be long gone when it all implodes. They will be as cold and dead as Juan Perón when the piper must ultimately be paid.

-O-

Saying NO to President’s Day!

Saying NO to President’s Day!
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

It is President’s Day, once again, and I’m not participating … again.

I do not like the idea of celebrating all our presidents. Lord knows we have had some absolutely horrid presidents, including the current occupant of the Oval Office.

The past president I particularly abhor is … wait for it … Abraham Lincoln.

Yes, indeed, I AM a SOUTHERNER. I am the proud descendant of Confederate soldiers who fought the troops of the US government for the very rights the same federal government is depriving ALL the states of today.

Please tell me, dear reader, that you are not amongst those who buy into the revised history that the American Civil War (The congressionally approved name for the war is: “The War Between the States.”) was fought to free the slaves. The war was fought over many things and, certainly, slavery was among them. But, mainly, the war was fought over “STATE’S RIGHTS.”

Had the American Civil War been about slavery, alone, the war would not have been necessary.

Remember, of all slave-holding and slave-trafficking countries on the globe at the time, America was the ONLY one to abolish slavery through war! THE ONLY ONE!

I mentioned above that I am no admirer of Lincoln. In fact, when passing a five-dollar bill to a cashier, I will turn the bill upside down so that Lincoln’s visage might not accidentally pollute my consciousness.

There was a time, when I was a child, that I felt differently about Lincoln. But I grew up. When I became a man, I put away childish things. I also made it my business to learn all I could about the “sainted” Lincoln. THAT’S when I changed my mind about who, and what, Lincoln really was.

First, and foremost, Lincoln was a politician. That, alone, should throw up all sorts of red flags.

If you are still with me at this point, then let’s look at the REAL Lincoln and THEN you decide, for yourself, which is true … real history … or revised history.

We are fed the idiotic pabulum of revised history in our public school system that Lincoln was the savior of the black man in America. We are taught that Lincoln freed the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation. That is a lie.

One of the “spoils of war” is the right to write history the way you want it to be remembered and taught. The Confederate soldier knew that -- and Confederate General Patrick Cleburne attempted to impress upon his men the meaning of losing the war. He summed it up this way: “…It means that the history of this heroic struggle will be written by the enemy; that our youth will be taught by Northern school teachers; will learn from Northern school books their version of the war; will be impressed by all the influences of history and education to regard our gallant dead as traitors, or maimed veterans as fit objects for derision.” Gen. Cleburne was spot on!

As to Lincoln freeing the slaves, allow me to inquire… have you ever actually read the Emancipation Proclamation? I advise you to do so. When you DO read it, and read it carefully, you will quickly see that it did not free a single slave – NOT ONE!

In reference to the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln, himself, said the following: "The [Emancipation] proclamation has no constitutional or legal justification except as a war measure." That statement was in a letter to Sec. of Treas. Salmon P. Chase; 3 Sep 1863.

The following is a quote from the London Spectator, dated October 1, 1862 concerning the Emancipation Proclamation: "The principle [of the Proclamation] is not that a human being cannot justly own another, but that he cannot own him unless he is loyal to the United States government."

But, we Americans are taught that Lincoln LOVED the black people, right? Well, it isn’t exactly the truth. Let us examine Lincoln’s own words and try to determine the degree of respect Lincoln held for the black race.

Abraham Lincoln said the following on September 18, 1858 in a speech in Charleston, Illinois: "I will say, then, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races [applause]: that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race." -- Reply by Abraham Lincoln to Stephen A. Douglas in the first joint debate, Ottowa, IL; 21 Aug 1858.

Lincoln also said this: "I have never seen to my knowledge a man, woman, or child who was in favor of producing a perfect equality, social or political, between Negroes and white men." This statement was in his opening speech, fourth joint debate with Douglas, Charleston, IL; 18 Sep 1858.

Lincoln thought the black man should be equal to the white man, right? Well, think again! Lincoln said this about that: "Negro Equality! Fudge!! How long in the government of a God, great enough to make and maintain this Universe, shall there continue knaves to vend, and fools to gulp, so low a piece of demagoguism as this? A separation of the races is the only perfect preventive of amalgamation, but as immediate separation is impossible the next best thing is to keep them apart where they are not already together. Such separation, if ever affected at all, must be effected by colonization. The enterprise is a difficult one, but 'where there is a will there is a way:' and what colonization needs now is a hearty will. Will springs from the two elements of moral and self-interest. Let us be brought to believe it is morally right, and at the same time, favorable to, or at least not against our interest, to transfer the African to his native clime, and we shall find a way to do it, however great the task may be." From an address by Abraham Lincoln at Springfield, Illinois, on June 26, 1857.

In a speech at Springfield Illinois on July 17th, 1858, Lincoln said the following: “What I would most desire would be the separation of the black and white races.”

Speaking at Charleston, Illinois, September 18th, 1858, Lincoln said this: “ … I will, to the very last, stand by the law of this state, which forbids the marrying of white people with Negroes.”

There is a very “telling” letter which Lincoln wrote to Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune, in response to an article Greeley had written entitled; “Prayer of Twenty Millions.” The letter from Lincoln is dated August 22nd, 1862. In the letter Lincoln says the following:
Dear Sir: I have just read yours of the 19th. addressed to myself through the New-York Tribune. If there be in it any statements, or assumptions of fact, which I may know to be erroneous, I do not, now and here, controvert them. If there be in it any inferences which I may believe to be falsely drawn, I do not now and here, argue against them. If there be perceptible [sic] in it an impatient and dictatorial tone, I waive it in deference to an old friend, whose heart I have always supposed to be right.

As to the policy I "seem to be pursuing" as you say, I have not meant to leave any one in doubt.

I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be "the Union as it was." If there be those who would not save the Union, unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views.

I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free.

Yours,

A.Lincoln.

Do you detect the slightest bit of political “double talk” in Lincoln’s letter? Never forget, Lincoln was, first and foremost, a politician! If you had ANY doubt, this letter to Greeley ought to dispel it.

So which is it? Was Lincoln Pro-slavery, of Anti-slavery? You decide.

In his first Inaugural Address before Congress on March 4th, 1861, Lincoln said: “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to intervene with the institution of slavery.”

Then, in another letter to Horace Greeley dated March 24th, 1862, Lincoln said: “I am a little uneasy about the abolishment of slavery in this District of Columbia.”

Confused? Oh, it gets even more confusing -- or enlightening -- depending upon the degree to which you admire the truth.

Ever hear of The Corwin Amendment? Some refer to it as the original 13th amendment to the US Constitution. Let’s take a look at it.

On February 28, 1861, the United States House of Representatives approved the resolution by a vote of 133-65 (Page 1285, Congressional Globe). On March 2, 1861, it was approved by the United States Senate with a vote of 24-12 (Page 1403, Congressional Globe). A young Henry Adams observed that the measure narrowly passed both houses due to the lobbying efforts of Abraham Lincoln, who was then the President-Elect.

Why is the Corwin Amendment important? First let’s take a look at the text, shall we?The text of the Corwin Amendment is as follows:

“No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State.”

Ratification efforts began soon after the measure was adopted and Lincoln endorsed it in his inaugural address. In fact, Lincoln said this about the Corwin Amendment in his first Inaugural Address on March 4th, 1861: “To the effect that the Federal Government shall never interfere with the domestic institutions of the states, including that of persons held to service … I have NO OBJECTION TO ITS (THE CORWIN AMENDMENT) BEING MADE EXPRESS AND IRRVOCABLE.”

The proposal was ratified by the legislatures of Ohio (May 13, 1861) and Maryland (January 10, 1862). Illinois lawmakers — sitting as a constitutional convention at the time — also approved it, although some still question the validity of that action. It was also considered for ratification in several other states including Kentucky, New York, and Connecticut where it was either rejected or died in committee because wartime issues had begun to preoccupy the states and the nation as a whole.

So why is the Corwin Amendment important today? Because, dear reader, it IS STILL PENDING! As long as it remains a pending amendment, there is the possibility, however slim, that it could still be ratified. The President’s signature is not required, and a President cannot veto an amendment to the constitution.

Congress even passed the Crittendon-Johnson resolution on July 22, 1861 in which the Congress announced that the purpose of the war “was NOT interference with the rights or established institutions of those states, but to Preserve the Union with the rights of the several states unimpaired.”

Then, in December of 1862, in his State of the Union message to Congress, Lincoln proposed three constitutional amendments: 1 – Slaves not freed by the Emancipation proclamation were to be freed over a 37 year period, to be completed by January 1st, 1900. 2 – Provided compensation to owners for the loss of their slave property. 3 – The government would transport “FREED BLACKS,” at government expense, out of the United States -- and relocate them in Latin America and in Africa.

Now. Does any of this sound like the Lincoln you know -- or the Lincoln you were taught about in the government indoctrination centers we refer to as public schools? Probably not! Ask yourself how much more you DO NOT KNOW about President Abraham Lincoln.

For instance -- did you know that Lincoln started a war without the consent of Congress? Did you know that he illegally blockaded southern ports; illegally suspended habeas corpus and arrested tens of thousands of his political opponents; illegally orchestrated the secession of West Virginia; shut down hundreds of opposition newspapers and imprisoned their editors and owners; deported the most outspoken member of the Democratic Party, Congressman Clement I. Vallandigham of Ohio; confiscated private property, including, by the way, firearms; ignored the Ninth and Tenth Amendments; tolerated the arrest of ministers who refused to publicly pray for him; arrested duly elected members of the Maryland legislature, as well as Congressman Henry May of Baltimore; and supported a law that indemnified federal officials from all these illegal acts.

Shocking, Right?

THIS, dear reader, is the Lincoln I know – not the “Saintly Lincoln” revised history forces on us today. The “air brushed” Lincoln we know today is pure propaganda.

The facts we enumerated above can be easily verified in you local library and even on the Internet. Once you begin digging don’t be surprised when you turn up even more historical accounts of Lincoln’s duality. Your research will present you with a choice. You must choose between the REAL Lincoln, and the REVISED Lincoln.

Someone once said, “So much of what we know is wrong.” The wise man, in today’s world, questions everything.

The scriptures teach us an important lesson about learning truth and disseminating truth. It tells us: “Study to show thyself approved to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) In this way we can be sure that no matter what the revisionists do to the “official” record, we will have the truth. And as Christ, Himself, taught us … is the truth that makes one free.

Some of us WILL be celebrating President’s Day here in the Southland. President Jefferson Davis was inaugurated 150 years ago, last week, in Montgomery Alabama.

J. D. Longstreet

Just Like Castro?

(I received the article below by e-mail. The author is unknown to me. ... JDL)

Just Like Castro?

Author Unknown

This past July, we had the pleasure of sharing a summer barbecue with a refugee fromCuba . Our dinner conversation was starkly different than most.

This refugee came to the United States as a young boy in the early 1960s. His family was more fortunate than most as they were able to bring a suitcase and $100 when they fled Castro's newly formed revolutionary paradise.

Our dinner consisted of all-American fare: hamburgers, potato salad, watermelon and fresh ears of sweet corn. This is a menu shared with family and friends nationwide, while celebrating the birth of our beloved America on the Fourth of July.

We began with a simple discussion about our country and the direction it has taken since Barack Obama came to power. We shared the usual complaints about the sour economy and liberal social engineering emanating from the rulers in Washington .

But then he said it. The sentence came naturally. I assume it was unplanned. But it carried the weight of a freight train. "You know when Castro took power, none of us knew he was a Communist."

We sat stunned. He continued, "Yes, we all thought he was a patriot, a nationalist.Before the revolution he didn't sound like a radical." The comparison at this point was easy, and I interjected, "You mean just like BarackObama?"

He responded, "Yes, just like Barack Obama." He continued, "We were all shocked as the government just continued to grab more power. First they said the revolution is over, so please turn in your guns. We all complied."

"I remember my uncle saying after it started, 'Castro will only nationalize some of the big industries, he will never come and take our family hardware store. 'But that is exactly what happened, Castro started with the sugar mills and the large industries, but they eventually came and knocked on the door of our family hardware store. My family had run this store for generations. They said we now own the hardware store, you work for us. And that nice, large four-bedroom home you own, it is now our property also, and you can move yourself and five children into two rooms of the house because others are moving in with you."

Political leaders can lie about their agenda and once in office they can take totally unexpected turns. If you had asked us three years ago if we thought General Motors would be nationalized,we would have never believed it. We could never contemplate a country where the rule of law, the most fundamental building block of a justice society would be evaporating just like it did in Castro's Cuba in the early 1960s.

But the news of injustice keeps increasing. Black Panthers are not charged with wrong doing by the U.S. Department of Justice because their crimes are against whites.The bondholders of GM are stripped of their assets without due process by the government. Governmental leaders are bribed in full daylight only to have all investigation of the crimes stifled by the Attorney General. The U.S. borders are overrun with crime and illegal activity and the leaders in D.C. act as if it is important to protect the lawbreakers while the innocent are killed and overrun. When local communities attempt to enforce the law, they are ridiculed and threatened as racists and bigots. They are sued by the very administration entrusted with enforcing the law.

Without the rule of law the U.S. Constitution is a sham. Without the rule of law our beloved America is swiftly becoming a country where only the well connected and politically powerful will be safe. As Michelle Malkin has so eloquently explained in her recent book, a culture of corruption has replaced honest government.

The only way this problem will be fixed is by massive citizen action. All honest citizens that want to be treated equally must come together and demand that the favoritism, the bribes, the uneven enforcement of law end now. And yes, it can happenhere.

May God save the United States of America

Author: Unknown

Changing America

CHANGES ARE COMING ----

Author: UNKNOWN

(I received the article below by e-mail. The identity of the author is unknown to me. ... JDL)

1. The Post Office: Get ready to imagine aworld without the post office. They are sodeeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term.Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep thepost office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.

2. The Check: Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018.It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plasticcards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This playsright into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and neverreceived them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3. The Newspaper: The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. Theycertainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of themilkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it.The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper andmagazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the majorcell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.

4. The Book: You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your handand turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. Iwanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And thinkof the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of thebook, you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, andyou forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book.

5. The Land Line Telephone: Unless you have a large family and make a lot of localcalls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always hadit. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phonecompanies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge againstyour minutes

6. Music: This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry isdying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovativenew music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed andcorruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simplyself-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaningtraditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This isalso true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topicfurther, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and thevideo documentary, "Before the Music Dies."

7. Television: Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of theeconomy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they'replaying games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spentwatching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it.

8. The "Things" That You Own: Many of the very possessions that we used to own are stillin our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in"the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music,movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install itif need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishingup their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OSwill be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something inthe Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud.. And you maypay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever fromany laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?" Willmost of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run tothe closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CDcase and pull out the insert.

9. Privacy: If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it wouldbe privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on thestreet, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. Butyou can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to theGPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is putinto a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And "They"will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again.

19 Facts About The De-industrialization Of America:

The United States is rapidly becoming the very first "post-industrial" nation on theglobe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the greatwealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America isaccomplishing this is absolutely amazing. It was America that was at the forefront ofthe industrial revolution. It was America that showed the world how to mass produceeverything from automobiles to televisions to airplanes. It was the great American manufacturing base that crushed Germany and Japan in World War II. But now we are witnessing the de-industrialization of America.

Tens of thousands of factories have left the United States in the past decade alone. Millions upon millionsof manufacturing jobs have been lost in the same time period. The United States hasbecome a nation that consumes everything in sight and yet produces increasingly little.Do you know what our biggest export is today? Waste paper. Yes, trash is the number one thing that we ship out to the rest of the world as we voraciously blow our money onwhatever the rest of the world wants to sell to us.

The United States has become bloated and spoiled and our economy is now just a shadow of what it once was. Once upon a time America could literally out produce the rest of the world combined. Today that is no longer true, but Americans sure do consume more than anyone else in the world.

If the de-industrialization of America continues at this current pace, what possible kind offuture are we going to be leaving to our children? Any great nation throughout history has been great at making things. So if the UnitedStates continues to allow its manufacturing base to erode at a staggering pace how inthe world can the U.S. continue to consider itself to be a great nation? We have created the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world in an effort to maintain avery high standard of living, but the current state of affairs is not anywhere close to sustainable.

Every single month America goes into more debt and every single monthAmerica gets poorer.

So what happens when the debt bubble pops?

The de-industrialization of the United States should be a top concern for every man,woman and child in the country. But sadly, most Americans do not have any idea what is going on around them.

The following are 19 facts about the de-industrialization of America that will blow your mind....

#1 The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001. About 75percent of those factories employed over 500 people when they were still in operation.

#2 Dell Inc., one of America's largest manufacturers of computers, has announced plans to dramatically expand its operations in China with an investment of over $100 billionover the next decade.

#3 Dell has announced that it will be closing its last large U.S. manufacturing facilityin Winston-Salem, North Carolina in November. Approximately 900 jobs will be lost.

#4 In 2008, 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide. So how many of them weremanufactured inside the United States? Zero.

#5 According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if the U.S.trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate, the U.S. economywill lose over half a million jobs this year alone.

#6 As of the end of July, the U.S. trade deficit with China had risen 18 percentcompared to the same time period a year ago.

#7 The United States has lost a total of about 5.5 million manufacturing jobs sinceOctober 2000.

#8 According to Tax Notes, between 1999 and 2008 employment at the foreign affiliates ofU.S. parent companies increased an astounding 30 percent to 10.1 million. During that exact same time period, U.S. employment at American multinational corporations declined 8 percent to 21.1 million.

#9 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output. In 2008, itrepresented 11.5 percent.

#10 Ford Motor Company recently announced the closure of a factory that produces theFord Ranger in St. Paul, Minnesota. Approximately 750 good paying middle class jobs are going to be lost because making Ford Rangers in Minnesota does not fit in with Ford'snew "global" manufacturing strategy.

#11 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing. Thelast time less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.

#12 In the United States today, consumption accounts for 70 percent of GDP. Of this 70percent, over half is spent on services.

#13 The United States has lost a whopping 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since theyear 2000.

#14 In 2001, the United States ranked fourth in the world in per capita broadbandInternet use. Today it ranks 15th.

#15 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010than it was in 1975.

#16 Printed circuit boards are used in tens of thousands of different products. Asianow produces 84 percent of them worldwide.

#17 The United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 that theChinese spend on goods from the United States.

#18 One prominent economist is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three timeslarger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.

#19 The U.S. Census Bureau says that 43.6 million Americans are now living in poverty and according to them that is the highest number of poor Americans in the 51 years that records have been kept.

So how many tens of thousands more factories do we need to lose before we do something about it? How many millions more Americans are going to become unemployed before we all admit that we have a very, very serious problem on our hands? How many more trillions of dollars are going to leave the country before we realize thatwe are losing wealth at a pace that is killing our economy? How many once great manufacturing cities are going to become rotting war zones like Detroit before we understand that we are committing national economic suicide?

The de-industrialization of America is a national crisis. It needs to be treated likeone.

Author: Unknown

Democrats Flee Conflict in Wisconsin

Democrats Flee Conflict in Wisconsin
The Ugly Face of the Unions Unmasked in Wisconsin
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

*****************

One of the truest of all truisms is -- when the chips are down it is then that you learn the metal of a man/woman.

In Wisconsin it could not be any clearer. When the “defecation hit the rotary oscillator,” all the democrats in that state’s legislature boarded buses -- and headed for parts unknown.

I rest my case!

What we clearly see here is a demonstration of the kind of courage the democrats bring to an issue. When the pitchforks and torches come out, they “get the hell out of Dodge!” (Actually – Wisconsin)

This is the kind of courage that lands our country in trouble time and time again when the Democratic Party is in power.

As of this moment, America is in serious trouble -- nationally and internationally. Our national leader is of the party, which, in Wisconsin, boarded buses and took off.

It would be funny were it not for the fact that this is serious business.

I am STILL not over the fright Obama threw into me -- and a huge number of Americans by his vacillating, “democrat two-step,” during the early stages of the ongoing Middle East fiasco. He clearly did not know what he was doing. He clearly did not know WHAT TO DO. He clearly did not have a plan of action for the US in the event the Mubarak government in Egypt fell, and he clearly has no idea what to do, even now.

Americans should note one important thing as they observe the furor and rage of the Unions in Wisconsin. Those are OBAMA’S PEOPLE! The Unions threw massive amounts of money and manpower into the election of Obama. It is important to know WHO those people in the streets really are.

I have news for the unions. They are not as powerful as they think they are. What is happening in Wisconsin now will have -- no -- has already had an effect on the American people as they have seen the unions with their façade down.

The more the unions riot, the less support they will have among the American people. And the better America will be as a result.

Another thing of note: The more money the unions spend on the sort of activity we are seeing in Wisconsin, the less they will have to insure their puppet is reelected in 2012. Now – THAT is a GOOD thing!

Come on, America! We all know Obama is a hand puppet for the unions in America.

There may have been a time in America’s past when labor unions were of some help to the working class in America, although you will have a difficult time trying to convince me. Even if that time did exist – it is long since past and today the labor unions are a burden on the workingman and workingwoman, and on the nation as a whole.

Incidents such as the ugly, ugly, demonstrations in Wisconsin simply show America why so many Americans object to labor unions -- and states like mine have “right to work laws.”

It also demonstrates, as clearly as one could possibly hope, the ties between the Democratic Party and the labor unions in America. Take a good look, America. Those rioting unions are the “big club” of the Democratic Party and they will use it to keep YOU in line if we do not purge them from our government.

In November of 2012 we will have another chance to finish the job we began last November. That is to cleanse the US Senate and the Oval Office and put some adults in charge of the government of the United States. It will also give us the opportunity to put the labor unions in their place, which, most definitely, is not in the Oval Office, nor any place in the US government.

Observe how the democrats left town while their muscle covered their backsides as they retreated. There is a huge lesson to be learned from all this ugliness in the streets of Wisconsin. What we are seeing is the left at work.

No matter how the problems with the Wisconsin state budget are finally settled, union members are going to lose. Jobs WILL be lost. When the money is gone it is, well, GONE.

There will be other states in the near future, which will face the same sort of problem as Wisconsin. If the union rioting spreads to other states, look for the taxpayers to take another look, a favorable look this time, at the possibility of states filing bankruptcy. Seems to me that is where this is ultimately headed, anyway.

No. The unions aren’t doing themselves any good, at all, by the actions they are taking in Wisconsin. If anything, in the long run, they are doing damage to themselves that will require decades just for minimal recovery.

So – take a long, hard, look at the “demonstrating” unions in Wisconsin and ask yourself if that is what you want in your state. Because, more than likely, it is coming to your state, and like Wisconsin, it won’t be pretty.

J. D. Longstreet

Left Blissful as Middle East in Flames

Left Blissful as Middle East in Flames
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Nothing much surprises me if it happens in the Middle East. With the region awash in so much hatred we have come to expect constant conflict among tribes, religious sects, and well, everyman’s hand is raised against his brother and his brother’s hand is raised against him. It has been that way since Abraham licked Hagar and Ishmael (Abraham’s son by Hagar) out of the camp at the behest of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. In other words – it has been exactly as we see it today for thousands and thousands of years.

I am troubled, though, by the political left’s seeming glee at the demonstrations of raw emotion by what THEY refer to as “demonstrations” and I refer to as “riots.”

Americans must be careful not be to fooled by the left’s characterization of the riots all across the Middle East. They would have us believe they are driven by the grassroots desire for democracy in the Middle East. What the left fails to explain, however, is the fact that a democratic election in any country now aflame has a far better than even chance of having an outcome that will not favor continued freedom in that country, in which event, it most certainly will not be a favorable outcome for the US.

What is to prevent the voters from electing someone to office who will strip their newfound freedom from them and saddle them with another dictatorship? I mean, these are not the most sophisticated voters on the planet. Heck, countries make huge mistakes at the polls. Look at America. We elected Barack Obama president because it was politically correct to elect the first black president, even though at least half of the American electorate knew at the time, and even warned, that he was one of the least qualified candidates ever to run for the office.

Look, too, at what electing Obama has cost America, -- and the world. One has to wonder how much blame for the “up-risings” in the Middle East can be laid at the feet of Obama. His mismanagement of America’s interests in the region was, and continues to be, totally, well, pitiful.
Obama’s Olympic-like dragging of the feet inspired some to think conspiracy theories such as – maybe the Obama Regime was actually involved, somehow, in inspiring those “riots” in Egypt. Hey, just because it is a theory – does not mean there wasn’t a conspiracy!

Now the left has rolled out “Dufus the First” – Jimmy Carter, to assure us we have nothing to fear from the Muslim Brotherhood. Only a child takes Mr. Carter seriously.

At a lecture at the University of Texas earlier this week, Carter, said: "I think the Muslim Brotherhood is not anything to be afraid of in the upcoming (Egyptian) political situation and the evolution I see as most likely. They will be subsumed in the overwhelming demonstration of desire for freedom and true democracy."

WHAT???

See, the left creates these child-like scenarios and then -- they fall in love with their own creations and they BELIEVE them – no matter how ridiculous they are. That explains their utter and complete failure to grasp reality at its most elemental.

When the dust finally settles in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood will have some, of not total, control of the government of that hapless country. To believe anything else is pure fantasy. Once again, the left will be mugged by their own creation – a dream that becomes a nightmare.

I fear the greatest problem for America, as a result of all this unrest in the Middle East, is the strong likelihood that it will spread to southern and eastern Europe fairly soon and, eventually, to the United States, itself.

As I write, the tipping point may, in fact, be about to occur. If Israel’s IDF and the Iranian Navy’s warships go at each other, there can be no doubt the IDF will send the Iranian ships to the bottom of the Mediterranean. That COULD be the incident that will be used to direct all that Muslim anger and hatred flooding the so-called “Arab Street” toward Israel -- and THAT is when the proverbial “ship hits the sand.”

I am continually amazed at the naiveté of the political left. They remind me of children playing with matches. They are enthralled at the thought that they can make fire but they do not seem to understand the very high probability of self-immolation.

Each new disaster in foreign affairs by the Obama Regime only makes the US weaker in the eyes our enemies -- as well as our allies. And it is only going to get worse until America can shake itself loose from the liberal-socialist leadership (or lack thereof) coming from the Obama Oval Office.

Like a millstone hung from the neck of America, the Obama Regime is dragging America deeper into the depths with no chance of climbing to the surface until we free ourselves from its fatal weight.

J. D. Longstreet