The Reason For The Season

After a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration relaxing with family yesterday I woke up to front page accounts of new - but sadly not unexpected - Black Friday horror stories:

        "Shoppers Brawl Over BARBIE Doll At WALMART"

        "Cops Pry Women Off Of TVs"

        "Shoppers Literally Stealing Items From Other People's Carts"

        "Man Tries To Wrestle Away Home Theater System"

How disheartening.  Could this questionable holiday "tradition" be any more removed from the true reason for the season? 

"It is more blessed to give than to receive."  To me Christmas has always been more about giving of oneself, less about giving of material goods that are not all that important in the scheme of things.  

This year I will try to do more for others, give true gifts of time and service and to give whatever I can to my favorite causes:

  

Sisters of Life - a female Roman Catholic religious institute dedicated to the promotion of pro-life causes - pregnancy help and hope and healing after abortion.

St Jude Children's Hospital - founded in 1962, is a pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases.

Wounded Warrior Project - a veterans service organization that offers a variety of programs, service and events for wounded veterans of the military actions following the events of September 11, 2001.

Fisher House Foundation - provides military families housing close to a loved on during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury.

Shriners Hospitals for Children - a network of 22 medical facilities across North America. Children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-centered environment, regardless of the patients’ ability to pay.

I will not get caught up in the materialistic frenzy of the season and instead will focus on the good in people and all positive aspects of Christmas and most of all:  the real reason for the season.

Abortionist Gosnell On Trial for 8 Counts of Murder

It is amusing - just adorable - to witness a toddler hide his head behind the curtain, under a blanket or even behind his hands thinking no one can see him.  We treasure their precious innocence, they have time enough to learn the ways of the world.

Not so amusing - indeed it is nauseatingly tragic -  to witness otherwise well-meaning, loving relatives, friends and acquaintances behave in the same manner in the face of (alleged) outrageous atrocities by a man of medicine. 

Major Networks Silent on Abortion Doc Born Alive Baby Murders

ABC, CBS, and NBC remain mute on the Dr. Kermit Gosnell murder trial. Dr. Gosnell is charged with the horrific murder of 7 babies born alive in his...
http://theblacksphere.net/2013/03/major-networks-silent-on-abortion-doc-born-alive-baby-murders/

Shame, shame, shame on those that are aware of this horror - he is accused of snipping the spinal cords of at least seven unborn children - and don't even deign to voice their opinion. 

Where is the outrage by our friends?  Where is any objection by the so-called champions of women? 

Just as it is the case with young children, pretending something isn't happening doesn't make it so.  It breaks my heart that so many remain silent on even this matter.

To take editorial license in paraphrasing Martin Niemoller in his famous statements about the rise of Nazis and their well-documented atrocities:

First they came for the innocent unborn and I didn't speak out because I didn't want to appear insensitive to "women's rights."

Then they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Catholic.

Then one day - much sooner rather than later - they came for the elderly, the infirm, the imperfectly perfect, and I said nothing because I didn't think it was politically correct.

Ultimately, they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.

Looking Forward to Conservative Renewal CPAC 2013

Looking forward to attending CPAC once again this year. Excited that my daughter expressed an interest in attending so she will be joining me.

It is a wonderful and amazing gathering of a Conservatives who have the opportunity to discuss all manner of topics with other like-minded people and to listen to the foremost Conservative thinkers of our time.

I was inspired to attend when I heard Rush Limbaugh's keynote speech a few years back. And I was privileged to see the wonderful Andrew Breitbart up close and personal as he deftly fended off yet another ambush attack by a radical left-leaner.

Here is the video I captured of Andrew in action. We miss you Andrew!

Andrew Breitbart In Action

Not At This Time . . .

"Not at this time." That was the chilling, emotionless response by the nurse at the assisted living facility to the passionate request of the 911 operator to grab a passerby - anyone - to assist with CPR when one of the residents was stricken with breathing difficulties and the employee refused to do anything.

The phone call went on for at least seven interminable minutes with the 911 operator repeatedly pleading with the caller. The pain and disbelief in the 911 operator's voice was heart-wrenching.  Sadly, but not unexpectedly, the stricken woman later died at the hospital. I can only imagine what her final moments were like. No caring, concerned help offered to her in her time of need.

Apparently the assisted living facility in which the 87-year-old victim resided had a "no CPR" policy. The "loving" daughter of the victim had no problem with the treatment of her dear mother.  Riddle me this: exactly what kind of "assisted living" does the facility provide? Did the daughter deliberately seek a place to stash her Mom that would not help her if/when she needed it most? Does the policy cover employees or visitors or anyone under the facility's roof who might need CPR as the result of choking? Or are only paying customers deserving of such a heartless policy? What are the ramifications of brain damage that could result from lack of oxygen if the woman had survived in spite of the basic care that was withheld? 

I pray that I never have to place a family member in an assisted living residence but if I do I will have to make sure that they do not have such an despicable deadly policy. Rather, I will select one that will cherish life. To paraphrase the late great Ronald Reagan " . . .  isn't it our duty to err on the side of life?” Indeed it is, President Reagan. Indeed, it is.

"The home's parent company said in a statement that the employee wrongly interpreted company policy when she declined to offer aide". - From U.S. News on NBCNEWS.com

And to that nurse who took it upon herself to make that fatal life and death decision I remind her of a quote by Hillel, the Elder  "If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?"

CPR for Everyone

Hero High School Student
Disarms Gunman 
. . .  Gets Suspended

"A Florida high school hero who wrestled a loaded gun away from a football player threatening to shoot a teammate was himself suspended for three days".

Why would a school punish a student for his bravery?  A selfless act of bravery that surely prevented bodily harm - and perhaps the deaths - of fellow students?

The school attributed their suspension of the 16-year-old student to his "role in an incident where a weapon was present" which seems to put him in the same category as the gunman. Are you KIDDING ME??? Outrageous!

Sadly, this scenario is more the norm rather than the exception to the rule.  Our nation is raising a generation afflicted with "Genovese syndrome" - people that not only stand by and do nothing but - that are now mandated to do so by the schools they attend.

Seriously? Are we really putting our children and our grandchildren into the hands of administrators that have such poor judgment?

I have never been a fan of following the crowd.

Never.

Never, ever.

When several family members sought membership in sororities or fraternities I was more than a little surprised. I thought that they were at the very least as smart - and as strong - as I was. The idea that they would subjugate their own opinions to that of the group was beyond foreign to me and I was disappointed in their judgment. 

That feeling was reinforced when I learned of the shocking death of Drum Major Robert Champion a few years back. At the time his band's director, Julian White, referred to Robert in the Orlando Sentinel as a person that had a bright future and who had "a very fine drum major who was of excellent character." 

He died needlessly as the result of injuries sustained from hazing. He died because there was no voice loud enough on that bus to object to the brutality of this hazing assault on a healthy young man. He died at the hands of his peers.

Thanks to the heroic act of that unnamed 16-year-old we are not mourning the loss of the gunman's target. Sadly, we continue to mourn the loss of persons with sound judgment, persons that would penalize those who act on their natural instincts to help others.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/teen-suspended-preventing-school-bus-shooting-article-1.1278648#ixzz2ModYU3TN

NYC Expands Its Power

Chilling. 

Apparently the city that can dictate the maximum serving size of soft drinks that are sold . . . the city that can interfere with the way pizza shops conduct business by forbidding them from selling 2 liter bottles with their pizza orders . . . the city that can mandates that calorie counts be printed on restaurant menus . . . has now given itself the power to determine which residents that suffer from mental illness will become violent and will be pre-emptively rounding up those individuals.

From The New York Post:

ROUNDUP OF THE MENTALLY ILL

"The city is making a major push to sweep the streets of dangerous, mentally ill New Yorkers -   and has even compiled a most-wanted list, The Post has learned. . . . the city has already drawn up a list of 25 targets, sources said".

It is stunning that the mayor of New York - who sought and won the removal of term limits for himself  allowing him to serve a 3rd term - can impose limits as he sees fit on the residents of New York City.

Why do the sheeple continue to avert their eyes to the increasingly aggressive erosion of our liberties?

We, as a country, can no longer afford the luxury of silence as the vocal, bullying, power-crazy minority  dictates how we should live our lives.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. said "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

Time Will Never Heal This Wound

DRAFT

As a child I remember hearing the old adage that "time heals all wounds" and I half-heartedly believed it. On this, the nine year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States I am convinced that no matter how much time passes, it will never heal the wounds that were inflicted upon our country that day. 

Nor should it.

An incurable anger was born that day.

For the past week the cable channel lineup has become increasingly populated with broadcasts of the events of that deadly day.  Although I am well aware of  how unpleasantly the story ends, I am compelled to watch. A good deal of the footage is unsanitized:  raw video of doomed innocents jumping to their certain deaths rather face incineration from the rapidly spreading jet-fueled fires.  I rejected the sickening story that people were indeed jumping when one of my co-workers shared that fact with me long before it was reported on the news. Not only could I not believe her, in a small way was angry that she would even voice such a horrific possibility.  I could not wrap my brain around the concept that so many people could give up hope. I had always believed that suicide was wrong, it is a sin.

I can't watch the memorials.  I can't listen to the somber recitation of the listing of the dead. I can't bear to see the tears of the family members of the victims.

Fed Regulation: What Benefit?

It's puzzling.

Despite the imposition of millions of dollars of fines for violations of code, the egg company at center of salmonella outbreak was able to widely distribute some HALF BILLION eggs that have since been recalled.

Why do we, the taxpayers, fund this inept force?

Why do we accept such substandard performance?

Would this outcome be any different if there were no Fed oversight? I don't think so.

So it begs the question: what good are they?

National Security

I woke up this morning to the delightful and very welcome news that the evil, soul-less creature that [allegedly] abandoned the VBIED (vehicle borne IED) SUV laden with propane tanks and other incendiary material with the single intent to kill dozens, if not hundreds, of innocent people in busy Times Square on Saturday was in the custody of authorities.

To what do we owe the failure of this deadly terror plot? Was it due to the stellar national security procedures that we have in place?

Sadly, NO!

Yet again, we owe the fact that we dodged the latest in deadly terrorist bullets and flesh-rending shrapnel to the actions of some everyday people doing some everyday things - the sensible, right things - when they "saw something and said something" and alerted the authorities. And the authorities acted accordingly to the life-saving benefit of all. God bless them all!

Even more sadly, we owe it to the total incompetence of the person that hoped to cause murderous mayhem in my New York. The device simply did not detonate as intended.

Just like the Christmas Day crotch-bomber and the shoe-bomber, so did little 30-year old Faizel encounter the same embarassing "failure to launch" result.

The news that the perpetrator was not of the "home-grown" strain no doubt dismayed many in the lamestream media, including perhaps some of the most ardent liberals like Bob Beckel and New York's own Gerald Nadler along with Mayor Michael Bloomberg who voluntarily gushed his opinion that it could be the work of "an American disgruntled with the Health Care bill" that was recently passed .

The MSM news is scrambling to determine the REASON why this man would do such a thing, noting that the home belonging to the suspect was in foreclosure as a result of default on his mortgage payments.  Do I CARE about the reason that this pathetic, very sick man decided he would try and kill our fellow Americans? NO! I couldn't care less.

In the humble opinion of this long-time single mother of seven Americans, we deserve better than settling for the fact that our best defense against terror is that the FIDIOTS that orchestrate such mayhem are totally incompetent? I daresay that their incompetency is only rivaled by that of those who are supposed to be protecting us.  It's complicated to be sure but for the amount of money we pay for national security we are certainly not getting even a fraction of our hard-earned money's worth.

We were safe last night because of the actions of every day people and the NYPD and not because of our national security policies but IN SPITE OF them.

BREAKING NEWS - TERROR

DEM Bob Beckel is still thinking Times Square wannabe slaughterer could be a right wing extremist. (TRANSLATION: he is still holding out HOPE that it is a right wing extremist)

REUTERS reporting U.S. sees evidence of a PLOT in Times Square SUV IED

Times Square TERROR BOMB person of interest may be a naturalized American citizen who recently returned from spending a number of months in Pakistan.

Originally reported as a 40-ish balding, white male, they now believe he may be South Asian.

Had recent contacts with people in Pakistan.

IED SUV was purchased with $1300 cash through Craigslist in Connecticut, no paper trail.

Reports that investigation focused on home-grown radicalized individual.

Clearly premeditated.

SUV purchaser has been identified by authorities.

Investigators now using the word TERROR.

Reports that incident is being investigated by Joint Terrorism Task Force.

An IED Comes to New York

Hillary was RIGHT!  Except, unlike her campaign ad scenario with the dreaded phone call coming in at 3:00 AM, it came at 6:30 PM and continued throughout prime time. And WHERE was our president? He was cracking wise at a dinner in DC seemingly oblivious to the breaking terror news in top terror target New York City.

The first IED has come to America, to New York. MY New York.  It was reported last night that my beloved New York City was the target of yet another attempted terrorist bombing. From the first report I had zero doubt that that is exactly what it was.

Were it not for the quick thinking of a heroic Times Square T-shirt vendor who "saw something" - an unattended SUV spewing smoke AND "said something" by reporting it to a mounted NYPD officer, God only knows how many people would have been slaughtered to the delight of terrorists at home and abroad. It was quickly investigated by the bomb squad who discovered that the SUV was laden with 3 propane tanks, gasoline, black powder and a detonation device. Thanks to the valiant efforts of the NYPD  who ensured that the lethal device failed to detonate the news this morning is NOT reporting another tragic terror attack on New York.

Rewind to September 11th. I had tickets to see a Broadway show starring Tom Selleck and was really looking forward to seeing it. It goes without saying that I did not attend. My sister thankfully returned from her job at the World Trade Center that day covered in the dust and ashes of that deadly attack. Not so for a high school classmate of mine, who was the highest ranking female in the Port Authority Police Department; Not so for my FDNY neighbor whose parents live on the street that was named after him as a memorial to his service. Not so were thousands of other innocent Americans.

Some months ago, I was waiting for an LIRR train that would take me home from work when I saw numerous helicopters circling overhead. By the time I got home I had learned that they were part of the investigation of the bastards that were plotting bombings of the NYC subway system.

As a New Yorker, I am NOT scared, NOR will I EVER be cowed by the evil attempts of terrorists to impact our lifestylye and destroy America.

But I am FURIOUS! Furious because I believe we deserve BETTER than what the current administration offers as far as our security apart from the pathetic INEPTITUDE of those that would seek to do harm to the United States (think underwear bomber).

Last night the White House released a lame statement regarding the Times Square events and this morning the president will work on plans to do a flyover of the devastation resulting from the oil rig explosion after awakening from his night of merriment. The irony does not escape me that while George W. Bush was unfairly excoriated for remaining calm and continuing his time with schoolchildren after receiving news of the 9/11 terror attack, there are hours of video of our president yukking it up at the White House Correspondents' Dinner while NYC was in a state of emergency.

When will our president take the security of these United States seriously?

How long will it take him to acknowledge the fact that the Times Square terrorist attempted terrorist attack was INDEED a terrorist attack?

I pray that he is praying for God to BLESS AMERICA rather than heeding his dear Reverend Wright's sickening mantra of "God DAMN AMERICA."

I finally fell asleep last night with the TV news on just as I did for months after September 11th after praying for God to bless and protect my beloved America. And praying that our president will become the strong leader that America deserves.

We Have Them On The Ropes

I found the entertaining little gem below in my inbox when I got home from work this evening.  It was a mass email apparently sent out to Democrat email list by Charles Chamberlain, the Political Director for Democracy for America and it illustrates how the long-delusional Democrats are starting to wake up and smell the coffee.  It shows how they are fully prepared to throw their own under the bus (Dick Durbin) in their headlong attempt to jam through this devastating, nation-changing Health Care plan.

God only knows how I am on their list but I was certainly amused to get a feeling for where they think they are on Health Care.

I have highlighted in red the particularly comical points by Mr. Chamberlain with my comments in blue BOLD CAPS.

Roll Call, a Washington insider newspaper in D.C., reports today that Senator Dick Durbin will ask Democratic Senators to break their promise (ENTER BUS STAGE LEFT) to vote yes on a public option in reconciliation if it comes up to a vote as an amendment from the floor.

What did Senator Durbin say was the reason they want public option supporters to cave on their promise to the people in their states? Because:

So, let's get this straight. Their argument is that these Democrats should break their promise to the American people, risk primary challenges (THIS WILL HAPPEN REGARDLESS AND ESPECIALLY IF THESE LOONS TRY TO PASS THIS BLOATED HEALTH CARE TRAVESTY)  from real Democrats back home, and vote against a public option, purely because Republicans will offer other amendments too.

"We know the Republicans are likely to offer a lot of amendments, and some of them may be appealing to Democrats" (OF COURSE,  ANY  RATIONAL AMENDMENTS WILL BE APPEALING TO RATIONAL PEOPLE.)

That's not leadership -- it's weak, fear-based failure. (THEY HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO UNDERSTAND WHAT FAILURE IS)

Your Senator committed to vote for a public option in reconciliation if it came up for a vote. We need to fight back fast against these statements from Democratic leaders reported today and tell Senators not to break thier promise. Demand your Senator stand up to Republicans and fight for you.

[the email then directs me to CLICK on a link FOR THE NUMBER AND A SAMPLE SCRIPT RIGHT NOW]

Even Senator Durbin admits that Republicans will offer many amendments from the floor regardless of whether a public option comes to a vote or not. And, of course, Democrats should vote every awful Republican amendment down. (PARTISAN PARTISAN PARTISAN!! WHAT ABOUT VOTING FOR WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE?)

But healthcare reform isn't about Republicans -- it's about the American people.

And it's about Democrats like your Senator keeping the promise to stand up for the American people by voting to pass a public option in the reconciliation bill.

It's time for Democrats in Washington to lead. The American people are depending on it.

Please call right now and make sure your Senator knows (THE ONLY PART OF THIS FRIDICULOUS EMAIL I AGREE WITH! WE DEFINITELY NEED TO CALL TO KEEP THE PRESSURE ON THOSE PEOPLE THAT SUPPOSEDLY REPRESENT US TO EXPRESS OUR OPINIONS IF WE BELIEVE - AS I DO - THAT THEIR BOGUS MESS OF A HEALTH CARE PLAN WILL HAVE A DEVASTATING IMPACT ON OUR FAMILIES) your state expects them to keep their promise.

Thank you for everything you do.

-Charles

Charles Chamberlain, Political Director

Democracy for America

P.S. We added Senator Bill Nelson of Florida yesterday to the growing list of senators on the record committing to vote yes on a public option in reconciliation. Our pressure is working and we're proving the votes exist. That brings the count to 41 senators ready to get the job done -- only 9 more and we win -- as long as we make sure it comes to a fair vote. (PASSAGE BY RECONCILIATION IS FAR FROM FAIR!)

BS Health Care Bill by Any Other Name is Still Crap

The exuberant glee  in the House after Pelosi and company labored into the night to pass their abominable H.R. 3962 health care bill reminds me of the pride a potty-trainee feels upon the inaugural delivery of serious business into the toilet.

Pelosi crowed:

"I . . . received a call from the President of the United States, Barack Obama, congratulating us on a great victory for the American people. I thank the President for his tremendous leadership because without President Obama in the White House, this victory would not have been possible. . . . we are very, very proud -- proud of our success, proud of the Members of Congress who took a very, very intense interest in the legislation -- they know what we have accomplished for the American people."

 

A stunningly questionable accomplishment to be sure since it fails to address tort reform one of the main contributors to the real problems in the United States health care system.

The biggest bone of contention during the Saturday Night live edition of the House was discussion of whether the bill would fund abortion or not. After some closed door negotiation it was included along with the public option and death panels that so many supporters vigorously denied. As it stands this bill will undoubtedly cost jobs, increase already-confiscatory taxes, and will raise rates of the insurance companies this administration consistently demonizes.

The inaccurately named "Affordable Health Care for America Act" will supposedly be funded in part by the elimination of Medicare waste but I don't have much confidence that will happen. There is nothing affordable about this bloated bill and Pelosi and crew will never be able to deny that they "own" this massive $1.1 trillion, nearly 2000-page piece of legislation.

In his congratulatory remarks after the passage of HR the president touted the victory despite "misleading rhetoric surrounding Health Care" but the only misleading was done by the those supporting this bill at any expense.

With the stunning victories in New Jersey and Virginia last week, the silent majority is increasingly finding its  voice. I look forward to the 2010 and 2012 elections when the rad lib Democrats will be swept out of office much like the proud toddler amusedly bids farewell to his "achievement" as it circles the drain before it is flushed away.

Time for the power-crazed majority in the House and Senate to get ready to put on their big boy pants and either come to their senses or face the election results.

These Are a Few of My Favorite TWEETS

03/20/10  O CARE will not only ROB OUR PARENTS & GRANDPARENTS by CUTS in MEDICARE but our CHILDREN & GRANDCHILDREN mortgaging thr FUTURE!!

DESPICABLE! I hope NEVER to know what it feels like to SELL ONE'S SOUL the way Kucinich just did on HC. God help us all.

SERIOUSLY, where does PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY figure in O's INSANE push for National FED RUN HC? We must RESIST the appeal of NANNY STATE!

DEMs that vote for egregious GOV takeover of HC harbor certain death wish with politically deadly dose of unvarnished ARROGANCE.

Praying STUPAK stands strong FOR LIFE and not allow OUR MONEY to pay for SLAUGHTER of innocent unborn and VICTIMIZATION of their mothers.

There is simply NO WAY that self-proclaimed PRO-LIFE DEMS can JUSTIFY their vote for HC BILL. They are pro-life in name only.

THERE WILL BE political BLOOD (figuratively) in NOV if DEMs HIJACK our FREEDOM by forcing HC Bill FORCING us to BUY HC!

02/26/10  Scandal-ridden NY GOV Paterson finally decides NOT TO RUN for RE-ELECTION! http://bit.ly/9r6d2o Now he needs to RESIGN! We deserve better.

O's Union Payback: SEIU's Andy Stern named to O's Deficit Commission http://bit.ly/ajOYKN When will the insanity end?

Just saw PRO-TAX INCREASE union & GPV Paterson-backed ad on TV. Pushing for the SODA TAX here in NY. http://bit.ly/9WvXdp Are they INSANE??

02/25/10  Arrogant O to McCain at HC Summit: "John, let me be clear: the campaign is over!" Disrespectful and arrogant. I have ZERO respect for him

Ethics panel says Rangel broke House rules http://bit.ly/bxEfaT He knowingly accepted Caribbean trips from a corporation.

Boehner is right on at #HCR Summit: Mr President, the people want us to SCRAP the entitlement bill that will bankrupt the country.

Paul Ryan:HC bill filled with smoke and mirrors gimmicks and questions COST that CBO can't rate since they don't have enough details. #HCR

Guess who said this . . .again: "because I am the President" Unappealling, unattractive, unabashed arrogance. And it aint pretty

Arrogant O & DEMS lectured GOP at HC Summit out-bloviating them 2-1 in speaking time. Bipartisanship display? I think NOT!

O extremely condescending to Lamar Alexander. Not sure what benefit this show is to Dems. They look arrogant, stubborn and ignorant.

Paul Ryan:HC bill filled with smoke and mirrors gimmicks and questions COST that CBO can't rate since they don't have enough details. #HCR

02/24/10  MAYO CLINIC: The HEART is beating & pumping blood just 4 WKS after conception. Abortion stops a beating heart. http://j.mp/9boQTK

02/19/10 John Bolton at #CPAC10 remarking on O's foreign policy approach: "negotiation is not a policy. It is a technique."

Stimulus-created jobs "saved or created" is a total FARCE akin to "The Emperor's New Clothes" Do the math. Simply aint real.

11/10/09 Always sad when a life is ended but Beltway sniper execution is delayed justice. Especially for the families of those he killed.

11/09/09  Lieberman believes Ft Hood attack was terrorism. Only voice unafraid to state the obvious.

11/10/09  Does BIG BIZ Planned Parenthood offer post abortion COUNSELING to post-abortion women that have difficulty?

11/10/09  GLARING DIFF between O and GWB - GWB & Mrs secretly visit the injured from terrorist slaughter at Ft Hood while O publicizes his visit.

11/10/09  What a freakin EMBARASSMENT!! O fails to mention the contribution of the great Ronald Reagan to the fall of Berlin Wall, Communism.

11/10/09  Homeland Sec J Nap "working 2 prevent anti-Muslim backlash". How bout work 2 protect ALL of us rather thn focus on imaginary backlash???

11/07/09  Swine Flu Crisis is being CRIMINALLY MISMANAGED! Vaccines sent to Wall Street B4 hospitals and will go to Gitmo detainees.

How will O honor the FALL of BERLIN WALL, Communism? http://bit.ly/2g1IZG Spiegel Online reports O is TOO BUSY! (Maybe has golf game?)

Obama's Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting http://bit.ly/22OxvC reports NBC Chicago. YES, NBC CHICAGO! Is MSM waking up??

11/06/09 I believe that the impractical OBSESSION with POLITICAL CORRECTNESS directly contributed to the slaughter at Fort Hood. Shame on us!

FED CANT MANAGE H1N1 CRISIS . U SERIOUSLY think they can manage R HEALTH CARE? And Y R they content to leave 5% w/out coverage??

In endorsing Dem HUGHES in NY23, loser SCOZZAFAVA reveals herself as a vengeful Lib-Dem in RINO clothing she always was.

WHY is it that most cases of VOTER FRAUD involve those pushing LIB DEM candidates?

RINO Scozzafava suspends NY 23 campaign! http://bit.ly/xwhgB BOOST for Hoffman and indicator of POWER of CONSERVATIVES! NO 3rd party necessary

John Stossel Destroys/Pulverizes/Crushes O's anti-American 'Health Care' Plan http://bit.ly/UmEmV #tcot Pls RT USA AWAKEN !

Judge O by WHO he SURROUNDS HIMSELF WITH http://bit.ly/2mEhjD Yet Another Poor CHOICE

Glenn Beck is #1 on Forbes Top Scariest List. If telling unvarnished truth makes one "scary" then I LOVE being scared by @glennbeck

ITS HAPPENING! RINO Scozzafava suspends NY 23 campaign! http://bit.ly/xwhgB BOOST for Hoffman & indicator of POWER of CONSERVATIVES!

O names just 110 WH visitors, most still HIDDEN http://bit.ly/25mMiz Daschle, NOWs Gandy, SEIU chief. MSNBC request 4 full list REJECTED

AWESOME! http://www.mycongressmanisnuts.com/ Created by Floridians - constituents - outraged by Alan Grayson's disgraceful behavior

Frm conception 2 term abortion is murder. Our goodness as a society rests on how we protect the unborn. -Donald Douglas http://bit.ly/17PTAT

SCARY: Pelosi believes her HC Bill will increase services, reduce costs. Are we to believe that our gov to do more with less? IMPOSSIBLE!

@JIDF NAACP Invites Jeremiah Wright to Speak at Awards Dinner, Black Honoree's Friends Refuse to Attend http://is.gd/4HxEn #tcot #jcot

06/01/09 Blind squirrel TED RALL has diff reasons 4 it but finally found acorn "It’s increasngly evident tht Obama shud resign" http://bit.ly/1a54xw

Yet Another Poor CHOICE

President Obama's Science Czar John P. Holdren co-authored a 1970's college textbook that promoted the idea that "illegitimate children" born to unwed mothers could be taken by the government.  He elaborates further noting that:

It would even be possible to require pregnant single women to marry or have abortions, perhaps as an alternative to placement for adoption, depending on the society. . . .  . Indeed, it has been concluded that compulsory population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution if the population crisis became sufficiently severe to endanger the society.

Although Holdren was compelled to issue a statement in July (in which he denies his advocacy of the totalitarian population control proposals outlined in his own academic textbook) it escapes me that our President could have willingly invited someone who had ever propounded such base, radical views to become a part of his administration.

In 2006 syndicated columnist Dr. Walter E Williams wrote that in 1940:

the illegitimacy rate among blacks was 19 percent, in 1960, 22 percent, and today, it's 70 percent.

According to Holdren's misguided beliefs (conditionally, if "the population crisis becomes sufficiently severe") the newborn children of unmarried black women who chose not to abort their children would be heartlessly removed from their mothers' care. I find that terrifying.

I recently read the haunting narrative of  the life of former slave Frederick Douglass and am now reading another of his books "My Bondage and My Freedom." He recounts that for black slaves living on Southern farms traditional family life as we know it was non-existent. Innocent babies, quite often the product of an unholy union between slave-owners and the young black girls they took wanton advantage of were routinely taken from their mothers and instead raised by older unrelated slave women no longer able to work in the fields.

Is it a stretch for me to conclude that Holdren shares some of the same views as the racist eugenics queen Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood?

 

Why, in this country, are we so obsessively and obscenely concerned for the welfare of something as obscure as the delta smelt out in California,  a so-called "endangered species" that the government would see fit in move to ensure its protection thereby restricting the water supply to farms that rely on it for their existence? Yet, care not for the dignity of human beings trying to survive?

Why do I find the image of our President holding a baby thrust into his arms so disturbing (in that it fails to illustrate the usually guaranteed smile of a career politician in such a cliched situation), made more disturbing that it is that of President Obama who rarelyfails to display his winning, if insincere, megawatt smile?

I believe that I find it disturbing because I am haunted by the remark he made below:

“Most leaders spend time trying to get others to think highly of them, when instead they should try to get their people to think more highly of themselves. It’s wonderful when the people believe in their leader. It’s more wonderful when the leader believes in their people! You can’t hold a man down without staying down with him. — Booker T. Washington”

I believe that Barack Obama by his poor choices, intentionally or not, seriously shortchanged all of the people that truly believed in him. By his actions, I have my misgivings about whether he truly believed - or respected - the people that made him President of the United States.

The New Civility

The 21st Century meaning of civility bears no resemblance to its original definition and includes an unhealthy dose of character assassination.

Shortly after she assumed her duties as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (full of barely-contained glee in her newfound power) announced that there was to be a new mood of civility and cooperation now that she and her cronies were in charge. Whether her words were heart-felt or not, from the outset there has been no evidence that a new era of civility had descended on Washington as she and the Democrats proceeded to immediately channel the agenda of the radical left. Perhaps she knew that civility would not be called into play since she and her cadre never had any intention of engaging Republicans in any meaningful way.  The GOP voiced their unhappiness with one of their bills and her response was:

“Yes, we wrote the bill. Yes, we won the election.” 

When Rep. Alan Grayson spewed his outrageous lies that characterized the Republican's idea of Health Care reform as based on their belief that the sick should "die quickly," Madame "Do-As-I-Say-Not-As-I-Do" Pelosi said she saw no reason to either rebuke him or pressure him to apologize.

As more and more obscene details of the Democrats bloated Health Care giveaway emerged, the American people became restless and increasing numbers of disgruntled tax-payers began to fill town hall meetings.

Rush Limbaugh and other discerning, right-thinking talk hosts reported on this phenomenon while the mainstream media for the most part remained shamefully silent.  When the protests could no longer be ignored, Madame Pelosi lashed out at the disgruntled legions giving them the unfounded label of "Nazi".

You know the radical left-wing Democrats are desperate when they dust off the character assassination shotgun previously levelled at Clarence Thomas, Hillary Clinton's imagined "vast right-wing-conspiracy" purveyors and countless other targets of their derision. The acrid smell of desperation by the loony MSM (mainstream media), radical LWEs (left-wing extremists), RINOs and CINOs (Republicans and Conservatives in name only, respectively) is evidence of the last line of defense in an arsenal that contains little more.

When word got out that Rush Limbaugh had been courted to become a part-owner of the Rams NFL team, the professional race-card players were out in full force. They smelled blood in the air and launched an irrational jihad against Limbaugh.  When the liberal, yet honorable Juan Williams dared to defend Rush Limbaugh based on the facts he was soundly spanked by his guest Warren Ballentine who had the audacity to tell Williams to "go back to the porch".

This kind of baseless, revolting character assassination is what happens when many liberals can't handle the inconvenient truth that facts present.  They still believe that if they repeat a lie loud enough and often enough it becomes the truth. Selective use of their fact-checking machine - as with the recent Saturday Night Live skit that mocked Obama's accomplishments (just two: "jack" and "squat") is indicative that their definition of the much touted "transparency" promised by this administration is just as faulty as their definition of civility.

Reading more than just the headlines, questioning our elected representatives and holding them accountable is key to ensuring a healthy governemnt and will go far to lift the mask of seething hate that has been worn for far too long inside the Beltway in Washington. "The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation" that George Washington subscribed to should be required reading for anyone hoping to be elected to office.

Mason Locke Weems, an early 18 century author who wrote extensively on George Washington said of Washington:

 "it is no wonder every body honoured him who honoured every body."

When the day comes that our leaders honour the people that they work for, we will experience genuine civility.

Balloon Boy

My heart was in my throat when I first heard about the little boy that had supposedly floated away from his backyard in an oversized home-made balloon.

MSM was all over it with dramatic minute-by-minute live coverage. The six-year-old boy had somehow loosened the tether to the inflated balloon. His older brother told his parents that he had seen him climb inside.

My seven kids are all grown now but I well know from experience how children can and - if left to their own devices.- absolutely will do some incredibly stupid things.  I said a prayer for the boy's safety and for his parents and family as they witnessed the out-of-control Mylar mushroom-like flying through the skies far above the ground. I felt guilty about the growing resentment I harbored towards the parents for not watching their boy more closely.

Relief when the balloon landed gently and unceremoniously in an empty field, rescue personel quickly scrambling to release the boy from the collapsed balloon. But he was nowhere to be found. Now there was a report that someone had witnessed something falling from the aircraft not far from where it was inadvertently launched.  I prayed that the boy had run off and hidden out of fear after releasing the aircraft and never was in the balloon to begin with.

On my commute home I saw the first of dozens of posts on Twitter saying that the boy had been found and was safe. Thank God! A happy ending!

But that is not the end of the story. The boy had indeed been hiding in his own home. I can't imagine how his parents had not checked every nook or cranny that a small child could have concealed himself in when the alternative was so horrific.

In the opinion of a body language expert employed by the police department the parents behavior was genuine - that they believed their son was in the balloon. But most people are starting to believe that the whole thing was a hoax.

I'm tired of this shameful story. The parents were completely irresponsible to allow even the possibility that their child could be put in such danger. It is just as asinine as having an unfenced pool, a pet python or a loaded gun around when you have small children.

I heard that the police are planning to bring criminal charges in this case and I do look forward to that.

Rape is Rape

Debra Winger and Whoopi Goldberg, one of the regular hosts on the ABC-TV show "The View," both think that Roman Polanski should not face any further penalties as a consequence of his drugging and raping a thirteen-year old girl 30 years ago when he was 44 years old.

Whoopi commented on The View:

“I know it wasn’t rape-rape. It was something else, but I don’t believe it was rape-rape.”

What an assinine comment. What a freakin' FIDIOT! C'mon, Whoopi, rape is rape.  Would you be so magnanimous if Polanski preyed on someone in your family? If an adult male has sexual relations with a child it is rape, end of story.

Woody Allen, (no surprise) another Polanski defender, and Debra Winger attended a film festival honoring the director Polanski in Switzerland where Winger said she was there

 “to honor Roman Polanski as a great artist, but under these sudden and arcane circumstances, we can only think of him today as a human being.”

Ya think? I certainly don't. I think that MOST normal people would think of pedophile Polanski as just what he is: a scurrilous bit of human detritus that fled from the tiniest shred of justice that rightfully should have been afforded to his thirteen year old victim.

How is that so many of these same people can villify Michael Vick for his involvement in dog fighting, and for which he paid his debt in prison, yet they support convicted pedophile Polanski who NEVER paid his debt to society?

I can only wonder what their opinion is of the practice of child brides.

Derrion Albert, Honor Student

The revolting cesspool that is Chicago has produced yet another shameful chapter in its disreputable history. Sixteen-year old high school Honor Student Derrion Albert lost his life last week when he intervened in a violent street fight between rival groups.

He was brutally kicked and beaten to death with a wooden board by other teenagers, his peers. Four were arrested. Several of the mothers of the boys involved in the murderous brawl expressed sorrow and remorse at the loss while one mother attempted to make an excuse for her son's involvement. Of what looked like dozens of people at the scene of Derrion's death, one captured a permanent record of the brutality, later (irresponsibly in my opinion) broadcast on many television stations and is now posted on YouTube. 

I don't care much to learn about the boys that killed Derrion Albert but I do want to know more about Derrion who likely faced many of the same choices that his killers did but chose a decidedly different path. The Chicigo Tribune reported on Saturday:

The honor roll student known for his love of computers became the third Chicago teenager killed this month. At least seven more have been shot.

I hate that a line describing a tiny aspect of Derrion's short life is tainted by the cold reality that his death is not an isolated incident.  I pray that his short-lived existence might serve as an example of  what is possible. Derrion was one of the few in the crowd that day who chose to do the right thing, while the vast majority of the others present chose to do the wrong thing. 

UPDATE: A Memorial Fund has been set up to help Derrion's family pay for the expenses of his funeral.

http://www.thenewlicious.com/2009/09/derrion-albert-fund.html

Have You Forgotten?

I am proud to be an American and a New Yorker in particular. After living in Providence, El Paso, Key West and then spending another 10 years in the DC suburb of  Fairfax, Virginia I happily returned home in 1989. While I never failed to put down roots, fully embracing the experience no matter where I lived, a large part of my heart remained in New York and I always considered it my home. Always.

I grew up in a close-knit family, the firstborn of 10 children. All of my siblings were in New York as were my parents. It was wonderful to be back home once again where my family could see my children grow up just as I could witness their growing families.

September 11th, 2001 was one of those spectacularly glorious end-of-summer days where you couldn't help but feel anything but happy to be alive. I left my house in southwestern Nassau County traveling north on the Cross Island Parkway to my office in Queens when the first plane hit the World Trade Towers.  It seemed a perfect morning for blasting music on the car's CD player rather than listening to the news so I was oblivious to that deadly fact. Minutes after I arrived at my office I learned what happened and immediately sought more information from local news websites. The pages were painfully slow to fully load but the images of the deadly destruction was unmistakable.  The security cam TV in the office of one of the Vice President's had been switched to the local news channel.  Not a lot of information yet available, initial reports indicating that a small plane had somehow managed to tragically go off course.

That evening I was supposed to see Tom Selleck in "A Thousand Clowns" on Broadway, a belated birthday gift from a friend and I was looking forward to it. I wondered if this awful accident downtown would affect our plans. My department and the rest of the company continued to work, and I frequently checked the TV news. One of my co-workers was distraught because a good friend of hers worked in one of the World Trade Center towers. She was reassured when she received word from her friend's mom that her friend was not in the tower that was hit. Later we would learn that her relief was short-lived.

I was concerned about my own sister who worked in the World Trade Center but resisted the urge to call my Mom at home or my Dad at work and burden them with what I was certain would be yet another phone call from frantic siblings worrying about my sister's welfare. I tried calling my friend with whom I was to go to the city but it was impossible to complete any cell phone calls. I tried reaching my children but it was near impossible to get through to anyone by telephone.

When I checked the TV news coverage a while later I thought I was witnessing yet another replay of the earlier crash but was horrified to learn that it was a live feed.

My department canceled any service calls we had scheduled for the WTC area. The company I work for never closed that day, schedules were adjusted and warehouse and office employees moved about like zombies, half-heartedly working and gathering in small groups to discuss what was now being reported as a likely terrorist attack on our country.

I continued to monitor news updates on the Internet and was at my desk when it was reported that a plane had crashed into the Pentagon. It was overwhelming news and my eyes burned with the tears I could no longer hold back. I had so many friends in Virginia that worked in the Pentagon and the DC area. It was incomprehensible. All air traffic had been halted across the nation and there were rumors of dozens of flights still unaccounted for. Then the devastating news of a plane that had crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania that was believed to have been headed back to the DC area and possibly the White House. My friend related to me that people were starting to leap from the shattered windows of World Trade Center offices located above where the planes crashed rather than be consumed by the unstoppable inferno. It was not in the news. I did not want to believe her and inwardly resented that she would tell me something so disgustingly evil. 

But she was right.

The office finally closed early at 4:00 PM and I began the eerie ride home retracing the route I had taken just that morning. It was early rush hour but the parkways were uncharacteristically nearly empty. When I exited onto the Southern State Parkway I saw that emergency vehicles blocked all traffic going west towards the city. 

I was anxious to see my seven children but concerned about how could I ever help them to understand the pure evil that had occurred on that day.

My commute to work in the weeks after were completely foreign to what I had been accustomed. American flags seemed to have sprung up on hundreds of cars and there was soon a shortage of American flags of any type to be had. People were kindly and forgiving of any inadvertently discourteous driving. Smoke and haze hung over the low-lying areas of the area for days, weeks and the odor was indescribable, odd, haunting.

During the days after the murderous terror attack on my beloved New York City I remained glued to the television absorbing the horror as the details unfolded. During that time I discovered Fox News Channel and fell into the habit of leaving the TV on all night so I could wake up to the most current news.

A few weeks ago I received an email news alert that a terror raid was being conducted in Queens, New York. No details such as WHERE in Queens. When I got to the LIRR station on the way home from work I noticed helicopters hovering overhead, the raid was just blocks from my workplace.

I thought back to my sister returning home from the city the day terrorists murdered thousands of Americans covered in the dust and ash of the fallen towers - and many of her co-workers. I thought back to the heart-breaking TV broadcasts of the loved ones of thousands of victims holding their photos up with contact information in a vain attempt to locate them. I, like many New Yorkers, lost friends and neighbors and I remembered them, as I frequently did. I thought about how I had resolved NOT to be afraid when I got on an airplane, how I refused to be cowed to the threat of terrorism, how I would continue to live my life in spite of any threat. For to do so would give undeserved power to those terrorists.

In a September 27th article “The Terrorist Threat Still Exists” Diane Dimond asks what we should be concerned about, what should we be doing to combat further attacks? One reader commented that he was “mostly scared of the CIA and germ warfare”. I responded that:

I am not scared about the latest terror threats in my own neighborhoods, but I am ANGRY.

ANGRY that so many could FORGET the impact of 9/11 and the subsequent finger-pointing that found fault in those that failed to "connect the dots".

ANGRY that our government would see fit to dilute the reality and unforgiving danger of terrorism by eliminating even the word TERROR from their language.

ANGRY that I am reminded of September 11th every time I hear or see a plane flying overhead.

ANGRY that for even the briefest of moments that I wondered about the lovely Muslim family that moved into the house next door. They came here for a better life much in the same way that my grandparents did.

ANGRY that after September 11th I felt unbridled, unrelenting hate for the first time in my life. 

I agree with the comment that the CIA is being systematically weakened. It is already occuring. People should rightfully be SCARED of the CIA, but those people should be the terrorists. And germ warfare? Well, gas masks are no protection against senselessly exploding buildings and the bodies of those that chose to jump to a horrific death rather than be incinerated in a burning skyscraper.

On September 12th, 2001 we were truly One Nation, Indivisible. Sadly, in the years since this is not so much the case. 

Have you forgotten? I have not. To do otherwise is to allow the terrorists to prevail by destroying us from the inside out.

God bless America and all heroes that fight to protect us each and every day.