The Radical Right? Which One?

I couldn’t help but notice the Democrats, when Sam Alto was chosen by President Bush to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. They continually referred to the “Radical Right”. It was Bush pandering to the “Radical Right”.

Did you ever wonder who, exactly, the “Radical Right is???

The broad definition, by the Democrats, of a person from the “Radical Right” is a "Conservative" not of the Democrat Party.

To a Southerner, their error is glaring! Democrats from the North, and Northeast, and West, don’t seem to have a grasp of how this country is still politically divided dating back to the Civil War.

For those of you reading this, who do not hail from Dixie, let me spell it out. To those of you in Dixie, I’m preaching to the choir… just bare with me.

In the American South there are Conservative Democrats. These folks have been Democrats since the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter, in Charleston, SC. When the Republican President Lincoln sent his troops to invade the South the one thing, which outlasted the war, in the South, intact, was the South’s hate for Republicans.

Then along about the mid-1960’s something happened. The Democrat Party turned on Southerners. They went liberal… adopting much of the American Socialist Party’s platform and began preaching to the South about the way it lived, and had lived, since the mid 1600’s.

Again there was an uprising in the South, and by that time the Republican Party had seen the error of it’s ways and had adopted much of the platform of the former Democrat Party.

When Richard Nixon came along, and invited the South to join his party, which by now, looked a lot like the Democrat Party used to look, many Southerners flocked to the Republican Party. As a result, those staunch conservatives, from the Democrat Party, began to flesh out the ranks of the Republican Party, the Republican Party became even more conservative.

However, there were, and are, many Democrats in the South who remain registered as Democrats but vote with the Republicans every election. Those are, by and large Democrats whose families have been traditionally Democrat for as far back in their history as the eye can see. As Southerners are nothing, if not traditionalists, they cannot bring them selves to turn their back on the Democrat Party. It is considered akin to treason. But, they vote Republican… every election. Here in NC they were, and are, called "Jessecrats" after the much beloved former Senator from NC, Senator Jesse Helms.

Then there are the "Reagan Democrats". They are, for all intents and purposes, the same group, except that the Reagan Democrats are found all over the South and not just in North Carolina.

Let me see if I can make it even clearer for you.

I belong to an international organization (based in the South), which, in this country, is populated by a strong majority of Democrats. I am among those Republicans in the organization. What holds us together? Our conservatism. We may be Democrat and Republican... but we are conservatives first. A first time visitor to one of our meetings would swear we are all of the same political party, but I assure you, we are not.

Southern churches are, by and large, the same. Conservative.

Now, having taken the long way around let me come back to the point.

The Democrat Party does not understand what I have just explained to you. They actually believe there is a “Radical Right”. They have yet to understand the Radical Right they rail about is the Republican Party and a huge segment of their own Party, the Democrat Party. As a result, they are slamming not just Republicans when they denigrate us; they are also alienating a vast segment of Democrats, as well.

Republicans, especially “Southern” Republicans have known this since the 1960’s. As a result we sorta egg them on. The more irate Southern Democrats they create, the more potential members of the Republican Party they create. It’s a simple equation, really.

So when I see, and hear, Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy, Chuck Schumer, John Kerry, Ms. Barbara Boxer, Ms. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Dick Durban, and other leading liberal Democrats, railing against the “Radical Right”, I smile and whisper a “Thank You” to a benevolent God for their efforts. They have done more to further the cause of the Republicans, the “Radical Right”, as they call us than, well, frankly, I can’t think of anyone, or any organization, which has done more for Republicans and the Conservative Cause.

The Mainstream Media in the US is so completely in the pockets of the Democrat Party that we often refer to them as “Mediacrats”. Basically a Mediacrat is a Democrat with a microphone, printing press, or TV Camera.

As we watch the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito in the weeks and months ahead, we will make use of their rantings to draw recruits to our "Cause". And when Thanksgiving rolls around, later this month, we will thank God for their efforts.

“Longstreet”

Thank You, America! signed: The Kurds!

Has anyone seen those “Thank You, America” ads on TV sponsored by the Kurds of Iraq?

I have. I must admit I was taken totally by surprise! I had to see them at least twice before I would believe what I had seen.

You are probably aware that the United States has given more of its sons and daughters lives, and it’s national treasure, to secure, and ensure, freedom for other peoples, and countries, than any other nation in the history of the world. That’s another of those facts left out of today’s “revisionist history”.

Now, I was born about 7 months before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. So, my formative years were spent during America’s darkest days of war. That war ended when I was 4 years of age. Then in 1949 we were preparing for another war, even though we did not know it at the time. By 1950 we were neck deep in the so-called Korean conflict. My first cousin was taken prisoner by the North Koreans, or Red Chinese (we were never sure which), and spent several horrible months in a Communist Prisoner of War Camp. By 1958, I was in the military, having joined during the summer between my Junior and Senior years of High School. I attended Army Reserve Drills for my entire Senior year of High School, and reported for Basic Training to Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, roughly one month after graduation.

Eisenhower was my first Commander-in-Chief. Then John Kennedy, and finally, LBJ. I was already in service when the word “Vietnam” meant little, if anything, to the regular grunt. The US was sending advisors into South Vietnam even then, but 99.9% of us knew nothing about it.

Then there were the little brush fire wars like Panama, and Granada. Then came Desert Storm… the first Iraq War. That war, left unfinished, only set the stage for the second Iraq War in which we are engaged to this day.

Now, all this rambling is meant only to set my background for you so that when I say, of all the wars in which the US has been involved, in my lifetime, I have no recollection of any, I repeat, any, nation we freed, liberated, or just plain saved, saying “Thank You” in such a public, and celebratory, way! Never.

The Kurds have taken it upon themselves to let the world know what America’s sons and daughters did for them. It is a wonderful, heart-warming, thing for them to do.

It is welcomed by Americans who have grown weary of war.
Most Americans, contrary to what the American press may tell you, undersand that we are only in the opening days of this war, the "Global War on Terror". No matter if we leave Iraq and try to disengage from this war we will never be able to completely withdraw. Those bent on a world wide dictatorship, based on Islam, will continue to attack the US until we capitulate. That isn’t going to happen.

So, thank you, Kurdistan, for your expression of gratitude. It will go a long way towards lightening the darkness of the many long days, and years, of war ahead.

“Longstreet”

Courage

I have been an admirer of Lord G.K. Chesterton's work since my younger days as a fledgling broadcaster.

As we just celebrated Veterans Day, 2005, and our attention was turned to the courage of the men and women of the Armed Forces of the US who have sacrificed to ensure our freedom, we are compelled to celebrate their courage.

But what is courage?

For the best answer I have found, I invite you to read Chesterton's view of Courage:

"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. 'He that will lose his life, the same shall save it,' is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an Alpine guide -- or a drill-book. This paradox is the whole principle of courage even of quite earthly or quite brutal courage. A man cut off by the sea may save his life if he will risk it on the precipice. He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch of it. A soldier, surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine. No philosopher, I fancy, has ever expressed this romantic riddle with adequate lucidity, and I certainly have not done so. But Christianity has done more: it has marked the limits of it in the awful graves of the suicide and the hero, showing the distance between him who dies for the sake of living and him who dies for the sake of dying. And it has held up ever since above the European lances the banner of the mystery of chivalry the Christian courage which is a disdain of death; not the Chinese courage which is a disdain of life."

Lord G.K. Chesterton-- "Orthodoxy"

We have much to be thankful for in America. Let us never, never, lose our courage.

Have a great weekend!

"Longstreet"

What is a Veteran, Anyway?

Veteran's Day, November, 2005

What is a Veteran?

Allow me to state, right up front, that I did not compose this. I received it as a “forwarded” e-mail. As I read it, I realized the truth it contains is simply profound. I pass it on to you now. If you have ever served America in the uniform of her Armed Services… THANK YOU!… Longstreet

WHAT IS A VETERAN?

Father Denis Edward O’Brien, USMC

Some Veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a price of shrapnel in the leg. Or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul’s ally forged in the refinery of adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badges or emblems.

You can’t tell a Vet just by looking.

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn’t run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by his four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.

She – or he – is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another – or didn’t come back at all.

He is the Quantico Drill Instructor who has never seen combat, but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and Gang Members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other’s backs.

He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

She is the career Quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass her by.

He is the anonymous heroes in The Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean’s sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket, palsied by now and aggravatingly slow, who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold when the nightmares come.

She is an ordinary and yet and extraordinary human being – a person who offered some of her life’s most vital years in the service of this country, and who sacrificed her ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has Served our country, just lean over and say “Thank You.” That’s all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, “THANK YOU”.


“It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us Freedom of the Press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us Freedom of Speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the Freedom to Demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the Flag, who serves beneath the Flag, and whose coffin is draped by the Flag, who allows protesters to burn the flag."

Thank a Veteran today.

"Longstreet"

The Lost Continent of South America is Truly a Lost Cause!

The Lost Continent of South America is truly a “Lost Cause”

At what point will the US wash it’s hands of South America and let them sink into the mire of Socialism they so want.

Currently the only country in all of South America, with a chance at a first world status, is Chile. Chile has an unemployment rate at around half that of the other countries sharing their continent and they are well on the way to a First World Economy. They will soon be able to compete with the big boys. And along with that will come prestige and more trade, which will only enrich Chile.

The northern countries of South America have only two moneymakers… oil and drugs. The War on Drugs is lost. We need to pull back and allow those persons bent on destroying them selves to do so as rapidly as possible and rid our societies of the leeches they have become. I have no mercy to waste on them.

So far as Venezuela is concerned, the Hugo Chavez Regime is going to collapse of it’s own weight. If that country were worth saving we would have already “liberated” it as we did Panama. It simple isn’t worth it. Their biggest export is oil and when enough Americans get angry enough to stop buying his gasoline, which I have done, there might be some impact. Granted, it would be a small impact, but it might gain his limited attention. In the meantime the US should boycott all Venezuelan oil. The only way to get to people with super heated egos, like Chavez, is through their pocketbooks. But, I suspect Mr. Chavez won’t be around long enough to spend a great deal of the fortune he is, no doubt, setting aside, in off-shore accounts, somewhere.

James Monroe, one of the most intelligent Presidents this country ever had, wrote the Monroe Doctrine to dissuade, primarily, Russia from seeking to colonize the South American Continent. The other European countries were put on notice, too. The alternative was that the US would defend South America simply because it was within our “sphere of influence”.

That was then, this is now.

The US has gone out of its way to create a safe atmosphere for democracy to be born and thrive in the countries of South America. They have told us, time and again, how much they despise democracy and how much they want to live as third world countries wallowing in the filth of serial revolutions, and the death and destruction that come as a result. They have chosen Socialism. They have made known their desire to “all suffer equally”.

So here is what I propose. Let them!

No more South American adventures for the US Military. No more US dollars to bail their sorry behinds out when they sink into dire poverty. No more lending of American Special Forces to track down drug dealers, who are, in effect, running a number of the northern South American countries.

I’m proposing that the US take a “hands off” policy toward South America. Let them sink or swim. Sooner or later a country will glide to the surface as the one country, on that continent, all others should attempt to pattern themselves after. Soon after, that country will see that it’s own security is at risk if the wild and wooly socialist states around it are not brought to heel and it will begin a program of conquest in South America. THAT is the country we should support. Give them whatever it takes to defeat the gangsters running their neighbor countries.

My money is on Chile becoming the nation, which will rise to the top. Chile is the nation we should be doing business with. Forget the others, as they are lost causes.

Call it a policy of “Tough Love” if you will. The US can no longer keep pouring money and resources into that rat hole.

It is time to give South America the “middle finger salute” and head for the exit!

One more thing, in closing: If Panama wishes to enlarge the Panama Canal; let them do it with THEIR money. Not one dollar of US funds should go towards enlarging the Panama Canal. When Jimmy Carter gave the Canal to Panama, the US was done with it. US taxpayers should not be expected to continue to keep it up. By the way, “giving the Canal BACK to Panama” was an outright lie. Panama never owned the Canal until we gave it to them. We TOOK the Canal from Columbia, not from Panama. Columbia was the rightful “previous owner “ of the Canal, not Panama. Just wanted to set the record straight on that.

“Longstreet”

FRANCE TRIES TO SURRENDER... AGAIN!!!

If the Muslim “youths” will only allow them, the French want to surrender! The French government has probably set a new record for holding out so long, anyway.

As we predicted, from day one, the French would give-in and wind up giving away the store (in this case… their country… which, come to think of it, they have already done a couple of times in recent history).

If you thought that way down deep France had a spine, you were wrong! They are a pathetic lot.

French prime Minister de Villepin unveiled a host of “bribes” to hopefully, get the Muslims to quieten down, a bit. It is a continuation of their “feeding the alligator”.

Let’s face it, folks, the French are a sad lot. But, I digress.

Here is a list of some of the concessions… those we know about anyway:

- the creation of an anti-discrimination agency with special officials appointed to be in charge of certain regions, and making the fight against discrimination a national priority;

- 20,000 job contracts with local government bodies or associations paid a minimum wage would be reserved for those in the suburbs struggling to find work;

- an extra 100 million euros (120 million dollars) for associations that work in the neighbourhoods;

- 5,000 more teaching assistant posts in the 1,200 schools in districts designated as troublespots;

- the creation of 15 more special economic zones that provide tax breaks to companies that set up inside them as an incentive to boost local employment.

Plus, they’re going to work on their immigration problem. Actually their “lack" of an immigration policy would be more nearly correct. (Read the entire article here: http://www.forbes.com/finance/feeds/afx/2005/11/08/afx2324420.html )

Take a close look at the Flag of France:(To the right) If you ever wondered about that "white stripe" in the middle, you no longer need bother!

Please take a close look at what is happening in France right now, today, and remember… THIS is what the Socialist Party in the US (The Democrat Party) would have the US do. This is the kind of answer they would make to a terrorist attack, or a Muslim insurrection, in the US.

Does this frighten you? It should! This is real. This is a preview of what we will get if we return the Democrat Party to power in the United States. Look closely at France. That, Dear Reader, is the Democrat’s “Secret Plan” to end the War on Terror. Surrender!

Reminds me of the old saw: “Blessed are they who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed!” (Unknown).

“Longstreet”

A Word of Advice for the President

“Mr. President, it’s time to fight back. Actually, sir, it’s past time! It’s beginning to look bad and your conservative base is again looking for the exits.

Sir, we’ll go to the wall for a President willing to stand his ground and defend conservative issues. We’ll go to the wall with a President willing to lead the attack against the American Left. But, Mr. President, we will not defend a President who will not defend himself! It’s time, Mr. President, to come out swinging. Use the authority of your office and bring counter pressure to bear on your critics on the Left and in the Congress. If you do that, sir, we will stand with you. If you do not, we will walk away.

Mr. President your popularity poll numbers are down, not because of what you have done, as the Left supposes, but because of what you have not done. We want, and we demand, a strong President. One who will not show weakness, sir. Begging your pardon, sir, but your weakness is showing.

We need you to lead from the front, Mr. President. If Mr. Rove is distracted so much, them please reassign someone on your staff to assist you in regaining your focus. Do not ask for Mr. Rove’s resignation. If fact, keep him on as an in- your- face gesture of spite aimed at the Democrats. It can be a diversion for them as we maneuver around them in the Congress.
To put it as clearly as I know how, Mr. President, we want Our President back. You know, the one with the “Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead” attitude. We can’t wait much longer. We have an election coming in 2006 and we need to be turning our attention toward that, and focusing on that, even as I write this piece.

Sir, we each have to play the hand we are dealt. Sometimes it is a rotten hand, indeed. But we are bound to play it, in any event. You’re holding some rotten cards right now, but pretty soon the deck will be reshuffled and new cards dealt. Good poker players bluff until that good hand comes along. Do not fold. We cannot influence the game if you’re not in it.

Stay in the game, sir, and you… and we, will sweep the table!”

“Longstreet”