The most important half-hour you will spend this week...

US Navy SEAL MA2 Michael Monsoor lost his life 9/29/06 during fighting in Ramadi, Iraq when a grenade threatened to kill him and two of his teammates. He fell on the grenade, selflessly giving his own life to safe those of his brothers.

I'll never have the honor of standing in the same room as this hero. But I feel privileged to know that there are such people who will stand thusly for our freedom.

The most important half-hour you will spend all week will be remembering MA2 Monsoor by watching these videos (sorry for the links, embedding was disabled).

Memorial footage
Medal of Honor presentation, part 1
Medal of Honor presentation, part 2
Medal of Honor Flag presentation

Never forget this American Patriot.

Disgraceful...

A fitting word to describe what the so-called educated at the University of Maine allowed to happen in their Student Center.

No matter what anyone says about "freedom of expression", there is no such thing as enumerated in the Constitution. Regardless, this isn't even a "freedom of speech" issue. This is a property rights issue. The flags belong to the University and so does the venue, and it doesn't infringe on anyone's rights for them to make a display such as this.

That. Being. Said.

It absolutely breaks my heart when the very people for whom freedom was provided by the fighting men and women of this country can take the most important symbol of that freedom and debase in such a manner.

In other words, you are well within your right, but I am utterly repulsed by the way you choose to avail yourself of that right. Both with the flags-on-the-floor bit and with the way you treated one of our servicemen. Here's me exercising my right: Fuck you, University of Maine. Fuck you.

One lesson to take from this: "education" does not imply "intelligence". In this case, they are little more than snobby ingrates.

Remember, these so-called "educated elite" are the same idiots that scream the loudest about the presence of the Confederate Flag in our nation's history, saying how it symbolizes slavery.

Quote for the day...

From historian Joseph Ellis's "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation", here's what the founding fathers thought of democracy and democrats:

"... the term "democrat" originated as an epithet and referred to 'one who panders to the crude and mindless whims of the masses.'"

So, doesn't seem interesting that today's Democrat Party consists largely of people like this? Many thanks to Boortz for this one.

Some libertarian intemperance...

Those that know me have learned that I tend toward the rational, logical explanations. This creates a social conundrum: those who look at things more emotionally and less rationally tend to disagree with me and respond to me irrationally and emotionally (screaming, yelling, swearing, name-calling, etc.). Thus, my random thoughts tend to piss off various groups of peoples with various views. I didn't say this was a BIG problem for me... just a conundrum. So, at the risk of getting out the "sticks & stones", onward ho!

I find it interesting that so many genuine US citizens cannot even say what form of government we have in this country. In spite of the fact that the framers set this country up as a constitutional republic, we constantly hear that this country is a democracy. Not so much. See if you can find the word "democracy" (or derivatives thereof) in any of the founding documents. You can't. That's because the framers understood the evils of democracy; that it's like two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner. Amazing though, that "democracy" and it's derivative forms are found all over the Communist Manifesto. Just look at the power of repeating misinformation.

Sir Alex Fraser Tytler (1742-1813), Scottish jurist and historian, professor of Universal History at Edinburgh University is quoted as having said:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years."

Someone else (can't remember right now) said:

"Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage."

Truth. History bears it out. Time and time again. Right now, I see us moving from the apathy of the 90's into dependence. It's only a matter of time before we find ourselves right back in bondage. Guess it's about high time... the USA is just a smidge over 200 years old now.

Here's an example:

Katrina survivors are filing lawsuits against the Army Corp of Engineers because the levees weren't high/strong enough to hold back the epic floodwaters of a Category 5 hurricane. 'Scuse me, but when are these people going to take responsibility for where they chose to live? Living below sea level at the shore of a huge body of water in a hurricane-prone area is STUPID (eleventy-one!). WTF did these people expect? Well, we're seeing it now: for common sense and personal responsibility to be wiped away by a process no different than suing a screwdriver manufacturer because you stabbed yourself in the eye with their screwdriver. Hell, I chose to live in Oklahoma... smack dab in the middle of Tornado-freaking Alley. Who do I sue when an EF5 flattens my house? Nevermind that I could have chosen a more milquetoast place to live, someone will owe me BIG time! I know: I'll the manufacturers of the cars that slam into my house. They never said that their cars wouldn't fly through the air when lifted by 200+ mph winds. For that matter, why should I even bother to evacuate or take shelter? I'll just sue the National Weather Service, FCOL!

This is what our society is becoming: an entitlement-based rule-of-man dystopia, the cornerstones of which are (1) everyone expects things to be given to them instead of earning them; (2) personal achievement is bad; (3) the smallest inconvenience is an emergency for someone else; (4) being different than the mob is bad; (5) truths are formed out of how many people believe them to be true; (6) freedom is not as important as security.

Hillary

So, Hillary Clinton (self-avowed socialist), "anguished" over her loss in the Iowa Caucus, cries, and suddenly wins the New Hampshire Primary? Is this an example of how she would run government were we to make the mistake of electing her? Just throw an emotional tantrum when she don't get her way?

Hillary not a socialist? She was recently quoted as saying:

"We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

This seems to be rooted in the very definition of socialist. From the dictionary.com definition of socialism:

socialism noun
the belief or theory that a country's wealth (its land, mines, industries, railways etc) should belong to the people as a whole, not to private owners

So, taking things away from private owners (i.e., those who were free to work to earn what they have) and giving them to the people is what socialists do. Hmm. Sounds like I've heard this somewhere before.

Here's another beautiful thought:

“I like the idea of giving every baby born in America a $5,000 account that will grow over time, so that when that young person turns 18 if they [sic] have finished high school they will be able to access it to go to college or maybe they will be able to make that downpayment on their first home.”

Given roughly 4 million annual births, Clinton’s proposal would cost taxpayers some $20 billion each year. Taking money that private owners have earned and giving to the "collective good". Doesn't that feel good? Anything to buy a vote for the future. Isn't it hilarious that the very votes that she wants to buy are being paid for with money she wants to take from us to begin with. What kind of crazed sadomasochism is this that her constituency wants to foist upon themselves and us?

It doesn't stop there:

“I am a fan of a lot of the social policies that you find in Europe.”

Nevermind that the European countries are much more socialist than we are right now.

Hillary would provide every citizen a 401(k) retirement account and up to $1,000 in annual matching funds from the government, which would cost $25B/year. This makes it her largest domestic proposal beside her plan for universal health insurance. She would fund it by taxing estates worth more than $7M per couple, which would help narrow the "gap" between the rich and those who didn't save enough for retirement.

There is a term for someone that believes that every whim and and individual need should be taken care of by the government, from cradle to grave: socialist.

Here's another good read.

Keep in mind that the world's socialist nations are splendid places to live. Places like the former USSR, Cuba, North Korea... where squalor and propoganda are the rules. What we see there today makes me want to move right in.

As an afterthought, I'm reminded of Bill Clinton's presidency. Y'know, those 8 years that Bill spent marching a string of lovers right past Hillary. Why were no tears shed then?

When "Atheism" really is just another religion

Now I'm certain that this post will be enough to stir lots of people into a thick, rich lather. Good.

I am atheist. No, not "atheist" like the anti-religious crackpots out there who hate on religious folk as much as religious folk hate on them---but in the literal sense of the word: "without theism". I'm not "anti-theist", which is really what the non-religious haters are, I'm just without religion. And I'm very happy and secure in my spiritual beliefs.

Now, I have to say that it does irritate me that the anti-theists have really screwed it up for us atheists. I mean, when you actually mention to someone that you're atheist, you get looks that are normally reserved for the Jehovah's Witnesses that roll up on your doorstep or the terrorists who kill in the name of (wonderful, peace-loving, tolerant) Islam. Anymore, today's atheism is just the other side of religion's mystical coin.

I found a refreshing treatise that not only points out some of the more ridiculous aspects of today's atheism (anti-theism), but also shows that many of those are so analogous to the views they claim to oppose. If you like, take the jump:

10 Things Christians & Atheists Can Agree On

PS. Yes, I was quite surprised to find such a coherent read on Cracked.com. But it is what it is.

PPS. For all you anti-theist religion-haters out there: if you can provide a properly cited quotation from the founding documents (the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence) of this country where "separation of church and state" is guaranteed, please enlighten me. BTW, The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, ... ". Putting religious quotations on public buildings does not constitute making a law, last time I checked.

PPPS. My post-postscript reminds me of those who believe that this country is a "democracy", although there's no mention of this word or derivatives thereof throughout the founding documents (but this is another post for another day).

I will never forget.

Though September 11th has been declared a national holiday, I cannot find it in myself to be very festive. In fact, I celebrate 9/11 much like I do Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veteran's Day: with deep introspection and reverence, and great thanks. Many heroes died 9/11/2001---heroes protecting the American nation. These are the Patriots that today was set aside for.

The writing below is not my own, but states better than I ever could the way I felt that day and still do today.

First Battle
By Jim Quinn, 9/16/2001

As we sift through football fields of rubble with cement dust clogging our eyes and throats it may hardly seem that there is victory anywhere in this landscape of catastrophe, but there is. The first battle of the war has been fought and it was a decisive victory for America. It didn't happen on the ground, it just ended up there. It happened sometime between 10:00 am and 10:37 am in the sky over Somerset PA on United Flight 93.

This was not just a symbolic victory; it was a win for the practical utility of freedom versus the robotic behavior of programmed fanaticism. In other words, it was a test of who we are versus who they are, and we won!

While there is some evidence that our military may have been forced to make a terrible choice last Tuesday it's clear that with or without an "assist" from one of our flyers, whom we shall hold blameless. The other members of our military on board the plane had already made their decision. The contents of cell phone calls from the plane bear witness to this. "But military?” what in the world are you talking about Quinn? Allow me to explain. These people weren't in the military when they boarded the plane. They enlisted in flight. They did it without a recruiter. There was no paper work and no promise of a college education or a career skill to secure their future. They signed up knowing their future would be less than 15 minutes.

The significance of the outcome of this battle will be lost on these over funded, over educated, oil saturated former Nomads. It should make them drop to their knees and make them pray to Allah for forgiveness, but it won't. Here's why:

The Battle of Fight 93 was a short but decisive encounter where the fanatic met the free. Where a group of people who have been programmed from birth to believe in the sanctity of self destruction and mass murder in the name of a god who does not exist as they envision him, came face to face with something they never understood; free people who are used to thinking for themselves.

It took decades of preparation, training and pseudo religious indoctrination to prepare these men to sacrifice their lives for their twisted purpose. It took a bunch of free Americans about two minutes to prepare to sacrifice theirs. These men and women who began their day with a toothbrush and a plane ticket and nothing more on their plate than the expectation of a business meeting and dinner at Fisherman's Wharf; these people with husbands, wives and children to consider, unhesitatingly chose to give their lives for their fellow Americans in less time than it takes to boil an egg.

Advantage: Freedom!

As I write this, God is probably hearing from a vast number of people He hasn't heard from in a while. In times of difficulty we are moved to turn back to that which we have neglected. Freedom will be the tool of victory in all battles as it was in this one. It is of desperate importance that we understand from whence the tool of victory emanates. You'll find it in the writings of the Framers of our Constitution. Faith and Freedom will triumph over fanaticism.

In those few dreadful seconds over Somerset, the template for the coming battles emerged from the fires in which they were forged. Free Americans fought the first battle "on the fly" and "by the seats of their pants". They did it with the only tool they had the resourcefulness of people who can still think for themselves. They earned victory and the admiration of the Free World. The fanatics earned a smoking hole in the ground.