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Published On: Dec 21, 2005 07:32 AM
Published On: Dec 21, 2005 07:32 AM
My Links
Wed - December 21, 2005
Save the world, run your car on sewage ...
Save the world, run your car on sewage ...
A e-mail from Mike Smith on another source
of fuel
A well written article at:
http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html
covers both U.New Hampshire work and work done by the U.S. Government on
making biodiesel from algae.
They got truly astounding yields (from 20 to 50 TONS / acre of algae at
about 50%+ oil content). Yes, oil content. Algae naturally have lots
of oil in them. No cellulosic conversion or fermentation needed.
The buggers are raised in salt water and fed sewage... Total land area
to replace all U.S. motor fuel needs (diesel and gasoline equiv.) is
about 150 miles by 100 miles. Absolutely dinky in comparison to any
other system I've seen anywhere. Doesn't need 'farmland'. It uses any
crap dirt with sun and sewage.
Texas alone is 900 miles wide. Call it a 17 mile wide stripe across
Texas. Heck, I bet that's less than they use to park their Trucks!
(Texas hyperbole ;-) Take a 150 x 100 mile chunk of West of the Pecos
Texas, and nobody could even find it with a map... This would be a
stripe about 5 miles wide across the whole nation. Call it 7.5 miles x
the Gulf of Mexico coast (with a bit of Florida atlantic ocean side).
Heck, you could drop the whole thing on Bakersfield and improve the
esthetics of the place too ;-)
Or think of it as a 30 x 10 mile facility in each state (though R.Island
might need to borrow a bit of land from Texas ...) And THAT is all
before the process is fully optimized or any genetic enhancement is done
to the algae. Algae are grown in open "raceways", not fancy closed
systems. Think "sewage pond" or doughboy pool ... not exactly high tech
or optimal sealed glass systems.
BTW, you don't need to be near the coast to do this, I'm just using that
example. There are algae that don't need salt water. The salt water
ones are preferred because folks like to drink the fresh water, and we
have unlimited salt water available. The most likely place to put this
"raceway" is next to sewage plants of major cities or large cattle feed
lots (like all the pig factories in Georgia and the Carolinas that are
destroying waterways with massive pig poo runoff pollution...)
Minor side bar (unrelated): I stumbled on several dozen sites wanting
to use Hemp (i.e. mary jane) for biomass fuel production. They sited
"10 tons / acre in 3 to 4 months" for production. If grown in warm
places with multiple crops / year that starts to be pretty good too,
though Eucalyptus and Algae still beat it in many cases. On the other
hand, it takes no special facilities other than dirt, it grows anywhere
and takes zero special skills to grow and harvest (heck, even stoners
can do it ;-0 ) Also, http://www.iogen.ca is a company that has
efficient enzymatic cellulose to ethanol systems. Don't let the stoners
find out though, "high and drunk" is not a good combination ;-)
So, the bottom line is that a zero net carbon system is: a) relatively
easy to do. b) takes relatively little land. c) doesn't need any
particular leap of technology. d) is already available in several
forms and technologies using many different species and can be
implemented anywhere from the Tropics to the Arctic Circle, though warm
is better. e) Is economically competitive at about present oil prices
and with little other than someone willing to do it and buy the
product. THE major reason it isn't done is because of the fear that
OPEC will cut oil prices to $25 /bbl and put you out of business. Now
that OPEC is pumping at near capacity and oil is staying at $60+ /bbl,
someone may finally start doing some of this.
Mikey
http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html
covers both U.New Hampshire work and work done by the U.S. Government on
making biodiesel from algae.
They got truly astounding yields (from 20 to 50 TONS / acre of algae at
about 50%+ oil content). Yes, oil content. Algae naturally have lots
of oil in them. No cellulosic conversion or fermentation needed.
The buggers are raised in salt water and fed sewage... Total land area
to replace all U.S. motor fuel needs (diesel and gasoline equiv.) is
about 150 miles by 100 miles. Absolutely dinky in comparison to any
other system I've seen anywhere. Doesn't need 'farmland'. It uses any
crap dirt with sun and sewage.
Texas alone is 900 miles wide. Call it a 17 mile wide stripe across
Texas. Heck, I bet that's less than they use to park their Trucks!
(Texas hyperbole ;-) Take a 150 x 100 mile chunk of West of the Pecos
Texas, and nobody could even find it with a map... This would be a
stripe about 5 miles wide across the whole nation. Call it 7.5 miles x
the Gulf of Mexico coast (with a bit of Florida atlantic ocean side).
Heck, you could drop the whole thing on Bakersfield and improve the
esthetics of the place too ;-)
Or think of it as a 30 x 10 mile facility in each state (though R.Island
might need to borrow a bit of land from Texas ...) And THAT is all
before the process is fully optimized or any genetic enhancement is done
to the algae. Algae are grown in open "raceways", not fancy closed
systems. Think "sewage pond" or doughboy pool ... not exactly high tech
or optimal sealed glass systems.
BTW, you don't need to be near the coast to do this, I'm just using that
example. There are algae that don't need salt water. The salt water
ones are preferred because folks like to drink the fresh water, and we
have unlimited salt water available. The most likely place to put this
"raceway" is next to sewage plants of major cities or large cattle feed
lots (like all the pig factories in Georgia and the Carolinas that are
destroying waterways with massive pig poo runoff pollution...)
Minor side bar (unrelated): I stumbled on several dozen sites wanting
to use Hemp (i.e. mary jane) for biomass fuel production. They sited
"10 tons / acre in 3 to 4 months" for production. If grown in warm
places with multiple crops / year that starts to be pretty good too,
though Eucalyptus and Algae still beat it in many cases. On the other
hand, it takes no special facilities other than dirt, it grows anywhere
and takes zero special skills to grow and harvest (heck, even stoners
can do it ;-0 ) Also, http://www.iogen.ca is a company that has
efficient enzymatic cellulose to ethanol systems. Don't let the stoners
find out though, "high and drunk" is not a good combination ;-)
So, the bottom line is that a zero net carbon system is: a) relatively
easy to do. b) takes relatively little land. c) doesn't need any
particular leap of technology. d) is already available in several
forms and technologies using many different species and can be
implemented anywhere from the Tropics to the Arctic Circle, though warm
is better. e) Is economically competitive at about present oil prices
and with little other than someone willing to do it and buy the
product. THE major reason it isn't done is because of the fear that
OPEC will cut oil prices to $25 /bbl and put you out of business. Now
that OPEC is pumping at near capacity and oil is staying at $60+ /bbl,
someone may finally start doing some of this.
Mikey
Posted at 07:32 AM Read More
Tue - December 13, 2005
Trees as a fuel source
An e-mail from Mike Smith about research he did on
the web that shows that trees can be used to create oil.
Rich: I've exchanged some mail with Gary about
trees as a fuel source,
mostly Cottonwood or Eucalyptus.
Gary: This one is more interesting in that it grows in hot places
(Arizona, Texas, Florida) and makes a latex / sap that can be easily
used for "oil" production (or making plastics)...
I find the price estimates startling (about $10 / bbl of "crude") and
can only presume they are talking about using Brazilian land and labor
rates... Though the reference to an area the size of Arizona providing
enough for all the U.S. Gasoline needs is "impressive"...Considering
that most of West Texas is "underused" at present, and far larger than
Arizona, this is an interesting point...
from
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Euphorbia_tirucalli.html
we have:
Euphorbia tirucalli L.
Euphorbiaceae
Petroleum plant, Aveloz, Milk bush
Source: James A. Duke. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished.
...
Probably most familiar as a subtropical and tropical ornamental, aveloz has recently made popular headlines as a potential "cancer cure" and more important, as an energy source. Growing in rather arid zones as well as more mesophytic zones, the species makes a good living fence post. A large shrub, Euphorbia tirucalli, is used as a hedge in Brazil. According to Calvin, these plants grow well in dry regions or land that is not suitable for growing food. He estimates that the plants might be capable of producing between 10 and 50 barrels of oil per acre. Cut near the ground, they would be run through a mill like a cane crushing mill, while the plants would regrow from the stumps. Crude obtained from these plants would run $3.00 to $10.00 per barrel. Calvin discussed this concept with Petrobas, the Brazilian national petroleum company, which is investigating. Calvin's most exciting statement, if
true, would be a boon to Brazil and the United States. "He estimates, assuming a yield of 40 barrels per acre (100 barrels per hectare) that an area the size of Arizona would be necessary to meet current requirements for gasoline" (in the U.S.). (Science 194: 46, 1976). The latex is toxic to fish and rats. Africans regard the tree as a mosquito repellent. In Ganjium, rice boiled with the latex is used as an
avicide. Aqueous wood extracts are antibiotic against Staphylococcus aureus. The wood, weighing 34 pounds per cu. ft., is used for rafters, toys, and veneer. The charcoal derived there from can be used in gun powder. Since the latex contains rubber, whole plant harvesting seems most advisable from an energy point-of-view (if the tree coppices well) with rubber, petroleum, alcohol as energy products, and resins, which may find use in the linoleum, oil skin, and leather
industries. In Brazil, Euphorbia gymnoclada, very similar to tirucalli (both are called aveloz), is much used for firewood. One cu. m. of wood yields 2 kg latex with the fibrous residue usable for paper pulp.
mostly Cottonwood or Eucalyptus.
Gary: This one is more interesting in that it grows in hot places
(Arizona, Texas, Florida) and makes a latex / sap that can be easily
used for "oil" production (or making plastics)...
I find the price estimates startling (about $10 / bbl of "crude") and
can only presume they are talking about using Brazilian land and labor
rates... Though the reference to an area the size of Arizona providing
enough for all the U.S. Gasoline needs is "impressive"...Considering
that most of West Texas is "underused" at present, and far larger than
Arizona, this is an interesting point...
from
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Euphorbia_tirucalli.html
we have:
Euphorbia tirucalli L.
Euphorbiaceae
Petroleum plant, Aveloz, Milk bush
Source: James A. Duke. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished.
...
Probably most familiar as a subtropical and tropical ornamental, aveloz has recently made popular headlines as a potential "cancer cure" and more important, as an energy source. Growing in rather arid zones as well as more mesophytic zones, the species makes a good living fence post. A large shrub, Euphorbia tirucalli, is used as a hedge in Brazil. According to Calvin, these plants grow well in dry regions or land that is not suitable for growing food. He estimates that the plants might be capable of producing between 10 and 50 barrels of oil per acre. Cut near the ground, they would be run through a mill like a cane crushing mill, while the plants would regrow from the stumps. Crude obtained from these plants would run $3.00 to $10.00 per barrel. Calvin discussed this concept with Petrobas, the Brazilian national petroleum company, which is investigating. Calvin's most exciting statement, if
true, would be a boon to Brazil and the United States. "He estimates, assuming a yield of 40 barrels per acre (100 barrels per hectare) that an area the size of Arizona would be necessary to meet current requirements for gasoline" (in the U.S.). (Science 194: 46, 1976). The latex is toxic to fish and rats. Africans regard the tree as a mosquito repellent. In Ganjium, rice boiled with the latex is used as an
avicide. Aqueous wood extracts are antibiotic against Staphylococcus aureus. The wood, weighing 34 pounds per cu. ft., is used for rafters, toys, and veneer. The charcoal derived there from can be used in gun powder. Since the latex contains rubber, whole plant harvesting seems most advisable from an energy point-of-view (if the tree coppices well) with rubber, petroleum, alcohol as energy products, and resins, which may find use in the linoleum, oil skin, and leather
industries. In Brazil, Euphorbia gymnoclada, very similar to tirucalli (both are called aveloz), is much used for firewood. One cu. m. of wood yields 2 kg latex with the fibrous residue usable for paper pulp.
Posted at 12:57 AM Read More
Wed - November 30, 2005
Our Troops Must Stay
My Comments on Joe
Lieberman's Article
Our Troops Must
Stay
On Tuesday, November 29th, Senator Lieberman wrote a
brave and complelling article
in the Wall Street Journal on why "Our Troops Must Stay" in Iraq. In it he
presented a very positive view of what is happening in Iraq. He pointed out
that 80% of the Iraqi's believe that things will be better next year. He stated
that in 2/3 of the Iraq there is little violence. He states that the Iraqi
economy is growing. He states that even the Sunni's are campagning for the
December election in a free and open
press.
He seems to be the only Democratic leader who is brave enough to look at what is really happening there and has the wisdom to see the strategic value of success in Iraq. Is he the only Democratic leader that can see past the short term political advandages of trying to make Bush look bad.
All Americans need to know of the real success that is happening in Iraq. All Americans need to see that when 8 million Iraqi vote that we are winning. All Americans need to see that only by planting democracy in the Middle East will we ever win the war on terror.
If the Democratic party ever wants to get back in power they need to listen to Senator Lieberman!
Richard Herndon (a lifetime Democrat)
He seems to be the only Democratic leader who is brave enough to look at what is really happening there and has the wisdom to see the strategic value of success in Iraq. Is he the only Democratic leader that can see past the short term political advandages of trying to make Bush look bad.
All Americans need to know of the real success that is happening in Iraq. All Americans need to see that when 8 million Iraqi vote that we are winning. All Americans need to see that only by planting democracy in the Middle East will we ever win the war on terror.
If the Democratic party ever wants to get back in power they need to listen to Senator Lieberman!
Richard Herndon (a lifetime Democrat)
Posted at 10:27 PM Read More
Thu - November 24, 2005
Review Jarhead
A movie review of Jarhead
My son, my nephew, and I went to see Jarhead tonight
and all three of us were disappointed. We thought we were going to see a war
movie but what we found was it was a coming of age piece that didn't bother to
linger long enough on any single challenge of that the young Marine experienced.
He went to boot camp, was confronted by the drill sergeant. Next we see the
drill sergeant telling the Lieutent that he thinks the young man is worth
something but we are never shown why he thinks that or why he is even asking the
question.
After way to short a time there he is assigned to a unit. Then the gulf war starts and the unit is transfered to the middle east. No build up. They are just there. This is the major issue I have with the movie. It moves to the next part without have set the stage for it.
They spend sometime sitting in the desert being bored. The young Jarhead's girlfriend dumps him (you knew it was coming). Now the attack comes and they spend a couple of days walking around and then the war is over. Sigh...
There was some fine acting here and there but the story itself made you wonder why they bothered.
After way to short a time there he is assigned to a unit. Then the gulf war starts and the unit is transfered to the middle east. No build up. They are just there. This is the major issue I have with the movie. It moves to the next part without have set the stage for it.
They spend sometime sitting in the desert being bored. The young Jarhead's girlfriend dumps him (you knew it was coming). Now the attack comes and they spend a couple of days walking around and then the war is over. Sigh...
There was some fine acting here and there but the story itself made you wonder why they bothered.
Posted at 02:25 AM Read More
Thu - February 17, 2005
Wake up Democrats
What the Democrats need to do
I am very concerned about the direction of my
party. I have seen neither the vision nor the direction to solve the problems
of our nation. I'm tired of having my party being displayed as unpatriotic. How
can we be the party of Freedom if we won’t stand up for
it?
This is what my party stands for. This is what I stand for. I heard our Democratic leaders decrying the courage of the Iraqi’s walking miles to vote. It made me ashamed to be a Democrat. I want to stand for freedom. I want to stand for courage.
Send the message to this Nation that we will pay any price for freedom and you will undermine the Republican and free our nation. If you do this then we can take back the leadership of this nation and do what we do best, provide for the common good.
If we continue to be the complainers. If we continue to be the nay Sayers. If we continue to say that won’t work or this won’t work but then offer no alternative then our party may perish. We cannot win based on hatred. We can only win based on leadership and courage. Saying this is the way to go. Follow me!
Do not forget me. Do not ignore me. I am the middle. I am the group that we have to win to regain power.
Richard Herndon
Clermont, Florida
This is what my party stands for. This is what I stand for. I heard our Democratic leaders decrying the courage of the Iraqi’s walking miles to vote. It made me ashamed to be a Democrat. I want to stand for freedom. I want to stand for courage.
Send the message to this Nation that we will pay any price for freedom and you will undermine the Republican and free our nation. If you do this then we can take back the leadership of this nation and do what we do best, provide for the common good.
If we continue to be the complainers. If we continue to be the nay Sayers. If we continue to say that won’t work or this won’t work but then offer no alternative then our party may perish. We cannot win based on hatred. We can only win based on leadership and courage. Saying this is the way to go. Follow me!
Do not forget me. Do not ignore me. I am the middle. I am the group that we have to win to regain power.
Richard Herndon
Clermont, Florida
Posted at 08:02 AM Read More
Tue - November 9, 2004
Open letter to Democrats: How to win next time.
Open letter to
Democrats: How to win next time.
Open letter to Democrats: How to win next
time.
A open letter to the Democrats by Mike
Smith.
I am the voter you lost. If you would win next
time, here is what you need
to do to get the votes you need.
1) "Fly Over Country" *IS* America.
Take a look at the map of states won and lost. See all that red in the
middle? You need to win *something* there. Anything. Certainly not
"nothing", which is what you have now.
The Democratic party has been sucking it's own exhaust so long it actually
thinks that the "Bos-Wash" corridor and L.A. are representative of America.
They are not. Get out of your jets somewhere in between New York and L.A.
(and I don't mean Seattle or Portland) and get to know some folks. Just
plain folks. We are the voters you need, and the voters you presently blow
off.
2) Incest and inbreeding are bad.
Democrats have spent so long just exchanging and validating ideas within
their elite that they think most folks agree with them. It's obvious to the
elite that they are right since everyone they talk to tells them so. This
is intellectual incest at best. Such inbreeding of ideas leads to weak
ideas lacking capacity to motivate.
Step away from your radical left leanings. Step away from Teddy Kennedy and
the Clintons. As long as they set your agenda, you will fail. Your present
agenda smells of European Socialism and big money government handouts. That
just doesn't work for middle America. We don't trust big things
(corporations, unions, or governments) and really don't want more of them
crushing us.
As long as billionaire socialists set your agenda, it will be popular in
London, Paris, Boston, New York, and L.A. and you will lose. It will not be
popular in Dallas, Atlanta, or Fargo.
3) Find your old roots again. We're here and waiting for you.
Embrace the America and the ideals championed by the Democrats of old (who
won.) John Kennedy's ideas are alive and well today, in the Republican
party. Take back that center if you ever want to win.
A fair deal for the little guy. Help when he really needs it, and staying
out of the way otherwise. Keeping the big guys (and that means Big
Business, Big Unions, AND Big Government) off his back. Have agricultural
programs that only support family farmers, not giant agribusiness
corporations. If it takes a lawyer to understand or use it, your program is
broken.
Test your programs and proposals by asking your mail carrier and your
grocery clerk what they think of them and what they want. (Then shut up and
actually listen to them.) Ask a family farmer what they need to keep their
farm (and what you can stop giving to that Agribusiness Giant that is
crushing them using government handouts...)
If you don't ever talk to your mail carrier or actually buy your own
groceries, well, maybe that's a clue right there. It's all well and good
that you talk to the labor boss of the union and that they promise to
deliver the labor vote, but that's just talking to the liberal elite again.
Get out of the Limo and talk to someone with a shovel in his hand, or
wearing a uniform and standing behind a counter selling lunch to folks
wearing blue jeans. If the guy who owns the farm doesn't shovel (dirt or
manure, either one will do) then it isn't a Family Farm. If the owner isn't
at the cash register or in the stock room, it isn't a small family business.
My uncle in Texas was damn near "spitting bullets" over the fact that his
beloved Democratic party had left him. He's a retired officer who worked in
prisons keeping bad guys in line. He drives a truck (Chevy with duals and a
Diesel). He's a "Red Neck", let there be no doubt. He makes me look like a
flaming liberal (I'm a California Conservative, so maybe he's right ;-) and
he's the Democrat that you have lost. He doesn't want a Government handout
or a takeover of 1/7 of the economy. He wants a Roosevelt style "Fair Deal"
and a government that keeps the powerful elite off the backs of the little
guy. He goes to church sometimes and thinks its important. Look at all the
traditional Southern Democrat states you lost. He is why. You need him.
4) Support the dreams of the Little Guy.
Talk of Trillion Dollar government programs leaves us petrified. "Tax
Reform" just means more complex paper work with nothing for us. "Tax the
Rich" means "Kill Our Dream" of someday being rich. We want a SIMPLE fair
tax system that lets us keep some of our money and build something, no
matter how small, toward our dreams.
Just tell us how you will make a fair playing field between us and the Rich
Bastards; not how you will run our lives for us or destroy all the Rich
Bastards. We don't hate them, we envy them. Just show us that no amount of
money or army of lawyers and tax accountants will give an unfair advantage
to them. We'll do the rest. All we want is a fair fight, not a straight
jacket and certainly not a destruction of the arena. We *like* competitive
sports, remember?
Yes, we want a "Social Safety Net" for the truly needy, but not for every
freeloader in town. And certainly not at the expense of our dreams of
prosperity and liberty. We resent it when the local Welfare Queen has a
better medical plan than we can afford because we work for a living. (And
you took our money, what little we had, to give it to her.)
Don't promise to get US on welfare too, show us how you will give a "good
enough" plan to every needy person while helping us toward our dream of
prosperity. We are the folks who built farmers cooperatives, have pot luck
dinners where you don't have to bring a dish to eat, believe in helping your
neighbor and think giving 10% to the church to do good things is our duty.
We *want* to help the needy. We just don't want to become the needy in the
process.
5) Be Positive.
America is a positive place full of positive folks. The modern Democratic
party is full of hate and negatives. Think Positive! Let go of the
negatives.
Support the space program. Build that dream. John Kennedy did. If it
helps you to think of it as a job program, go right ahead. It's our future
as a species and as a people. We want to be winners and leaders of the
world; the space program lets us do that.
Support the military. For many poor folks it's their meal ticket and their
helping hand out of poverty. Again, if it helps you to think of it as a
jobs and training program, go right ahead. What does the army slogan
stress? Be all that you can be. That is a positive message. This is a
government program that helps folks reach their dreams, no matter how modest
and no matter their starting point. The military can be just as much a
Democratic machine as Republican.
Just don't try to shove social agendas down the throats of folks in the
military. It's a meritocracy. If it isn't, people die. Never lose site of
that.
Let women and men take the same tests (based on what will let them win in
battle) and let folks do the jobs they can be best at. If that means that
most men are "ground pounders" because they can carry more ammo and fight
hand to hand better, so be it. If it means that most women fly jets because
they take "g forces" better and have better hand / eye coordination on a
stick, again so be it. Fair playing field for all, OK? (And if that means
that a 200 lb woman is on my squad carrying a 50 cal. machine gun, then I'll
know she is better than me at doing that ground pounder job ... and so will
she.)
Support the small farmer and small business owner. Don't punish them for
working. Champion them as The Little Guy who needs your help. Weed out the
government programs that funnel billions to the giant companies that squash
The Little Guy (and take a team of lawyers to understand and apply for) and
redirect those programs to be fair to the small guy.
Remember that there are typically two folks in a small family operation
(husband and wife) and that a 20 page application will not be high on their
list of "must do" tasks. They have 100 hours or so total to work on
everything in that business each week. A 100 hour task is 2% of their total
yearly labor. Don't build a program for them that takes 100 hours a year of
their time. Make a fair, fast, and POSITIVE support process for these folks
and they will support you. Take your clue from the micro-loan programs in
third world countries that have worked so well. (Where a loan of enough
money to buy a stove can put a women into the bakery business in India).
Show what you will do to make America a better, more *positive* place to
live with greater prosperity for all. (Complaints about wealth distribution
are not positive. Show how you will help me prosper. I don't want you
stealing someone's money to put me on welfare. I want to know how you will
cut the advantage they have - often due to government programs or paperwork,
and let me compete).
Show me how you can find bad things and fix them. For example, open a bare
bones government clinic in each town to provide basic immunizations and such
to indigents - a barefoot doctors program of sorts.
Pass a law that specifies exactly what minimum medical coverage is (define a
standard minium policy) and mandate that all insurance companies must offer
it to anyone who wants it as part of a government pool. If I'm out of work,
I'll buy the plan. If my company offers better, I'll take it instead. Yes,
this is an insurer of last resort role.
Or have a program that provides jobs at 2/3 of minimum wage to anyone who
wants one. Have them operate a shelter that provides a place to sleep, a
shower, a change of clothes and a phone number and address that indigents
can use to apply for a job. Provide job training for these folks in these
shelters in cooking, janitorial, laundry, etc. Everything it takes to run
the shelter. Include basic medical coverage. Don't build giant perpetual
dependency programs, but give folks a first rung on the ladder up.
6) Let go of the hate agenda.
Republicans are not the enemy. We are your neighbors and friends. We just
often nod politely as you rant about how horrible Republicans are and let
you think we're Democrats. Point out where Democrats are different and
where you think they are better, but don't bash the other guys. It's more
noble that way.
Race baiting is not effective, especially with blacks prospering. What will
you do when Colin and Condy Rice are the next Republican ticket for Pres and
VP? In a meritocracy, race just doesn't matter. For better or worse, the
race war ended a while ago and we have a fairly clean meritocracy (other
than government distortions) in most fields. Vis. Dr. Cosby and Opra.
Address the needs of the guys on the bottom, whatever race, and you will
recapture the poor white folks votes while not losing the middle class black
who remembers their past.
Stop calling me racist for wanting a secure border. I'm in favor of
immigration (my family were immigrants), I just want folks who follow the
law and play by the rules to be the ones that make it in here. I learned
Spanish starting at 4 years old talking with the neighbor kid. We were best
friends for decades after. We each grew up spending 1/2 our time in each
others home. We shared so much I can't start to express it. But "Will
grant citizenship for yard work" is NOT a way to build a good citizenry - it
cheapens the meaning of citizenship. "Break our laws and lie" is presently
rewarded with amnesty and citizenship. That is just plain wrong. See that
fact. Embrace it. Then build a positive statement from it. It isn't about
race, it's about fair play and playing by the rules. Invite immigrants in,
but only those that "play fair and don't cheat". It's better for everyone
and it will build a base for you that is twice as large. The immigrant AND
their neighbor.
My wife is a rabid Republican and saying that I, as a male, oppress her just
doesn't wash. I don't think that Ann Coulter feels oppressed by her
Republican male associates. (Does a tigress fear the male house cat ;-)
Your arguments sound hollow and edging toward lies when faced with the day
to day realities of equality of opportunity. That women have entered fields
that pay less well and that they take more time off from careers to enjoy
their family are not "fixable", they are family choices. I worked extra
hard so my wife could enjoy staying home with the kids when they were young.
She's restarted her career now. Saying I oppressed her makes us both shake
our heads. Champion equal opportunity AND the validity of staying home IF a
woman wants that choice. Forget equality of outcomes. It smells of forced
socialism, negativity, and lies.
The desire for a traditional definition of marriage does not mean folks hate
gays. (I've danced cheek to cheek with a gay guy - don't ask why, it was
quite a party - and I'm for a traditional definition of marriage.) The
large majority of traditional Americans believe in God, in what the Bible
says, and in several thousand years of tradition. They also think it is
only fair for 2 guys to be able to contract a partnership quickly and easily
if they want. Just don't call it a marriage. Propose a simple "Domestic
Partners" law that says 2 adults can enter a partnership with exactly the
same legal rights and responsibilities as a marriage by signing a contract
at the county seat and move on. Folks will make their own "marriage"
ceremonies and be done with it. Tell me I hate gays because I value
traditional marriage and you lose me.
Champion privacy and personal choices. Get the government out of my
bedroom, out of my blood stream (how I can claim any liberty when I can be
forced to give my blood to the police is beyond me... If I don't own what is
inside my skin, what do I own?) Get them out of my personal choices.
Democracy flourishes best when people are free. Champion the right of the
little guy to run his or her own life. It isn't an issue of Marijuana laws,
or sexual choices. It's a generic issue. Expand this agenda to cover *all*
the forms of government intrusion and you expand your base. At present the
Democrats advocate for folks who want to do things that conservatives see as
committing sins. Expand the topic to all privacy and personal choice and
they become votes for you. It isn't about the right to commit a sin, it's
about the right to be free of intrusion. The guy who wants to read a book
about guns at the library or drink too much beer on Friday CAN be your voter
too. Don't hate "Bubba", invite him to the party.
You get the idea. Now come up with some more of your own.
7) Don't be afraid to define yourself.
Kerry lost because he chose to be ill-defined. If there is no definition,
folks will either assume the worst, or they will assume that what your
opponent says is the truth. Nobody is 100% conservative or liberal. I'll
take the liberal who I agree with 30% over the conservative I agree with
70%, if the liberal is honorable and true and the conservative is a liar.
See Nixon.
Tell me you are a recovered drunkard who goofed off in his youth and I'm now
your buddy. You trusted me with your truth so I now trust you. I know who
you are and I can forgive you. Tell me that you are not a liberal when you
have 20 years of liberal voting record and I'm standing next to a liar that
I can't trust. Instead, tell me that you are a 20 year advocate of the
liberal agenda, a true supporter of your cause and I can argue points with
you, but will still trust you as an honorable person. We'll share a drink
at the bar later and I'll choose you over the guy I can't trust who lied
about who he was... because I know I can trust who you are.
This is a nation that elected FDR, John Kennedy, Jimmy Carter and even
Clinton. We're OK with electing Liberals. Stand up and say it loud and
proud: "I Am A Liberal" This is what I believe. We'll find that honorable
and honest. We may saddle you with a Republican Senate or some such 'till
we get to know you better, but that's life. The alternative is, well, the
door out. Don't try to hide who you are. It cheapens you, your agenda, and
make me wonder if you really think I'm that dumb.
8) Give the Average American a real choice.
I wanted a choice this year. I didn't get one. Picking someone from the
far left wing of the Democratic spectrum is not giving the middle American a
choice. It gives him something to run away from. It makes your party
loyalists feel good and makes the elite happy and it even lets you show the
world just how radical Democrats can be; but it is NOT a choice for the
average middle American.
Choose someone from the middle (or better yet, the far right) of the
Democratic party. A far right Democrat is a strong representative of the
American average guy. A far left Democrat is a "statement" that will never
be elected as long as there is anything remotely acceptable from the
Republicans. And Lord knows that we've proven that this year...
Having a radical lefty run to the center after the convention just makes him
look like a liar and a "flip flopper". You must find a way to avoid the
convention picking the most radical left and then running for the middle
afterward. Give me a "moderate" Democrat and I'm willing to vote for him.
Put a Republican up against a moderate or right wing Democrat and you will
win. Give me the choice of a radical lefty vs the nutcase I know, and I'll
take the known over the unknown lefty every time.
9) Put America first.
Americans love a good fight, but they want the fighters to share a drink at
the bar afterwards.
They will support someone who's ideas they despise but put up a good fair
fight and offered to buy the first round afterward.
We don't care so much what you believe as we care that you really believe
you are working to make America better for everyone. We will think you are
misguided, but we will *know* that your goals are good hearted and that you
have put America first. We'll even give you a shot at running the place and
let you get some On the Job Training in the hope that you'll find the right
path for America. Heck, we could be wrong and you seem like a fair Joe.
But lord help you if you seem to be working first and foremost for your
party or an "agenda". If your positions smack of fraud and deceit. If they
seem artificial and make contrive divisions between Americans.
Unfortunately, much of the present Democratic party behavior seems that way.
See Hubert Humphrey as a counter example. Yes, this is the "character"
issue. But we don't care so much if you have a liberal or conservative
character, just that you in fact HAVE some backbone and a kind heart toward
your opponent while holding America first.
So right now is the time you can build your future. Join in putting what's
right for America first. Advance an agenda that distinguishes you from the
Republicans (some examples are above) while helping the downtrodden in a
fair way. Stay positive and centered in American values. Don't squash the
little guy or make him a ward of the state. Show how you will help him beat
the Big Guys and get his piece of the American Dream and wait. Then fight a
fair fight advocating for a moderate left set of policies. You'll win.
E. M. Smith
San Jose, California
to do to get the votes you need.
1) "Fly Over Country" *IS* America.
Take a look at the map of states won and lost. See all that red in the
middle? You need to win *something* there. Anything. Certainly not
"nothing", which is what you have now.
The Democratic party has been sucking it's own exhaust so long it actually
thinks that the "Bos-Wash" corridor and L.A. are representative of America.
They are not. Get out of your jets somewhere in between New York and L.A.
(and I don't mean Seattle or Portland) and get to know some folks. Just
plain folks. We are the voters you need, and the voters you presently blow
off.
2) Incest and inbreeding are bad.
Democrats have spent so long just exchanging and validating ideas within
their elite that they think most folks agree with them. It's obvious to the
elite that they are right since everyone they talk to tells them so. This
is intellectual incest at best. Such inbreeding of ideas leads to weak
ideas lacking capacity to motivate.
Step away from your radical left leanings. Step away from Teddy Kennedy and
the Clintons. As long as they set your agenda, you will fail. Your present
agenda smells of European Socialism and big money government handouts. That
just doesn't work for middle America. We don't trust big things
(corporations, unions, or governments) and really don't want more of them
crushing us.
As long as billionaire socialists set your agenda, it will be popular in
London, Paris, Boston, New York, and L.A. and you will lose. It will not be
popular in Dallas, Atlanta, or Fargo.
3) Find your old roots again. We're here and waiting for you.
Embrace the America and the ideals championed by the Democrats of old (who
won.) John Kennedy's ideas are alive and well today, in the Republican
party. Take back that center if you ever want to win.
A fair deal for the little guy. Help when he really needs it, and staying
out of the way otherwise. Keeping the big guys (and that means Big
Business, Big Unions, AND Big Government) off his back. Have agricultural
programs that only support family farmers, not giant agribusiness
corporations. If it takes a lawyer to understand or use it, your program is
broken.
Test your programs and proposals by asking your mail carrier and your
grocery clerk what they think of them and what they want. (Then shut up and
actually listen to them.) Ask a family farmer what they need to keep their
farm (and what you can stop giving to that Agribusiness Giant that is
crushing them using government handouts...)
If you don't ever talk to your mail carrier or actually buy your own
groceries, well, maybe that's a clue right there. It's all well and good
that you talk to the labor boss of the union and that they promise to
deliver the labor vote, but that's just talking to the liberal elite again.
Get out of the Limo and talk to someone with a shovel in his hand, or
wearing a uniform and standing behind a counter selling lunch to folks
wearing blue jeans. If the guy who owns the farm doesn't shovel (dirt or
manure, either one will do) then it isn't a Family Farm. If the owner isn't
at the cash register or in the stock room, it isn't a small family business.
My uncle in Texas was damn near "spitting bullets" over the fact that his
beloved Democratic party had left him. He's a retired officer who worked in
prisons keeping bad guys in line. He drives a truck (Chevy with duals and a
Diesel). He's a "Red Neck", let there be no doubt. He makes me look like a
flaming liberal (I'm a California Conservative, so maybe he's right ;-) and
he's the Democrat that you have lost. He doesn't want a Government handout
or a takeover of 1/7 of the economy. He wants a Roosevelt style "Fair Deal"
and a government that keeps the powerful elite off the backs of the little
guy. He goes to church sometimes and thinks its important. Look at all the
traditional Southern Democrat states you lost. He is why. You need him.
4) Support the dreams of the Little Guy.
Talk of Trillion Dollar government programs leaves us petrified. "Tax
Reform" just means more complex paper work with nothing for us. "Tax the
Rich" means "Kill Our Dream" of someday being rich. We want a SIMPLE fair
tax system that lets us keep some of our money and build something, no
matter how small, toward our dreams.
Just tell us how you will make a fair playing field between us and the Rich
Bastards; not how you will run our lives for us or destroy all the Rich
Bastards. We don't hate them, we envy them. Just show us that no amount of
money or army of lawyers and tax accountants will give an unfair advantage
to them. We'll do the rest. All we want is a fair fight, not a straight
jacket and certainly not a destruction of the arena. We *like* competitive
sports, remember?
Yes, we want a "Social Safety Net" for the truly needy, but not for every
freeloader in town. And certainly not at the expense of our dreams of
prosperity and liberty. We resent it when the local Welfare Queen has a
better medical plan than we can afford because we work for a living. (And
you took our money, what little we had, to give it to her.)
Don't promise to get US on welfare too, show us how you will give a "good
enough" plan to every needy person while helping us toward our dream of
prosperity. We are the folks who built farmers cooperatives, have pot luck
dinners where you don't have to bring a dish to eat, believe in helping your
neighbor and think giving 10% to the church to do good things is our duty.
We *want* to help the needy. We just don't want to become the needy in the
process.
5) Be Positive.
America is a positive place full of positive folks. The modern Democratic
party is full of hate and negatives. Think Positive! Let go of the
negatives.
Support the space program. Build that dream. John Kennedy did. If it
helps you to think of it as a job program, go right ahead. It's our future
as a species and as a people. We want to be winners and leaders of the
world; the space program lets us do that.
Support the military. For many poor folks it's their meal ticket and their
helping hand out of poverty. Again, if it helps you to think of it as a
jobs and training program, go right ahead. What does the army slogan
stress? Be all that you can be. That is a positive message. This is a
government program that helps folks reach their dreams, no matter how modest
and no matter their starting point. The military can be just as much a
Democratic machine as Republican.
Just don't try to shove social agendas down the throats of folks in the
military. It's a meritocracy. If it isn't, people die. Never lose site of
that.
Let women and men take the same tests (based on what will let them win in
battle) and let folks do the jobs they can be best at. If that means that
most men are "ground pounders" because they can carry more ammo and fight
hand to hand better, so be it. If it means that most women fly jets because
they take "g forces" better and have better hand / eye coordination on a
stick, again so be it. Fair playing field for all, OK? (And if that means
that a 200 lb woman is on my squad carrying a 50 cal. machine gun, then I'll
know she is better than me at doing that ground pounder job ... and so will
she.)
Support the small farmer and small business owner. Don't punish them for
working. Champion them as The Little Guy who needs your help. Weed out the
government programs that funnel billions to the giant companies that squash
The Little Guy (and take a team of lawyers to understand and apply for) and
redirect those programs to be fair to the small guy.
Remember that there are typically two folks in a small family operation
(husband and wife) and that a 20 page application will not be high on their
list of "must do" tasks. They have 100 hours or so total to work on
everything in that business each week. A 100 hour task is 2% of their total
yearly labor. Don't build a program for them that takes 100 hours a year of
their time. Make a fair, fast, and POSITIVE support process for these folks
and they will support you. Take your clue from the micro-loan programs in
third world countries that have worked so well. (Where a loan of enough
money to buy a stove can put a women into the bakery business in India).
Show what you will do to make America a better, more *positive* place to
live with greater prosperity for all. (Complaints about wealth distribution
are not positive. Show how you will help me prosper. I don't want you
stealing someone's money to put me on welfare. I want to know how you will
cut the advantage they have - often due to government programs or paperwork,
and let me compete).
Show me how you can find bad things and fix them. For example, open a bare
bones government clinic in each town to provide basic immunizations and such
to indigents - a barefoot doctors program of sorts.
Pass a law that specifies exactly what minimum medical coverage is (define a
standard minium policy) and mandate that all insurance companies must offer
it to anyone who wants it as part of a government pool. If I'm out of work,
I'll buy the plan. If my company offers better, I'll take it instead. Yes,
this is an insurer of last resort role.
Or have a program that provides jobs at 2/3 of minimum wage to anyone who
wants one. Have them operate a shelter that provides a place to sleep, a
shower, a change of clothes and a phone number and address that indigents
can use to apply for a job. Provide job training for these folks in these
shelters in cooking, janitorial, laundry, etc. Everything it takes to run
the shelter. Include basic medical coverage. Don't build giant perpetual
dependency programs, but give folks a first rung on the ladder up.
6) Let go of the hate agenda.
Republicans are not the enemy. We are your neighbors and friends. We just
often nod politely as you rant about how horrible Republicans are and let
you think we're Democrats. Point out where Democrats are different and
where you think they are better, but don't bash the other guys. It's more
noble that way.
Race baiting is not effective, especially with blacks prospering. What will
you do when Colin and Condy Rice are the next Republican ticket for Pres and
VP? In a meritocracy, race just doesn't matter. For better or worse, the
race war ended a while ago and we have a fairly clean meritocracy (other
than government distortions) in most fields. Vis. Dr. Cosby and Opra.
Address the needs of the guys on the bottom, whatever race, and you will
recapture the poor white folks votes while not losing the middle class black
who remembers their past.
Stop calling me racist for wanting a secure border. I'm in favor of
immigration (my family were immigrants), I just want folks who follow the
law and play by the rules to be the ones that make it in here. I learned
Spanish starting at 4 years old talking with the neighbor kid. We were best
friends for decades after. We each grew up spending 1/2 our time in each
others home. We shared so much I can't start to express it. But "Will
grant citizenship for yard work" is NOT a way to build a good citizenry - it
cheapens the meaning of citizenship. "Break our laws and lie" is presently
rewarded with amnesty and citizenship. That is just plain wrong. See that
fact. Embrace it. Then build a positive statement from it. It isn't about
race, it's about fair play and playing by the rules. Invite immigrants in,
but only those that "play fair and don't cheat". It's better for everyone
and it will build a base for you that is twice as large. The immigrant AND
their neighbor.
My wife is a rabid Republican and saying that I, as a male, oppress her just
doesn't wash. I don't think that Ann Coulter feels oppressed by her
Republican male associates. (Does a tigress fear the male house cat ;-)
Your arguments sound hollow and edging toward lies when faced with the day
to day realities of equality of opportunity. That women have entered fields
that pay less well and that they take more time off from careers to enjoy
their family are not "fixable", they are family choices. I worked extra
hard so my wife could enjoy staying home with the kids when they were young.
She's restarted her career now. Saying I oppressed her makes us both shake
our heads. Champion equal opportunity AND the validity of staying home IF a
woman wants that choice. Forget equality of outcomes. It smells of forced
socialism, negativity, and lies.
The desire for a traditional definition of marriage does not mean folks hate
gays. (I've danced cheek to cheek with a gay guy - don't ask why, it was
quite a party - and I'm for a traditional definition of marriage.) The
large majority of traditional Americans believe in God, in what the Bible
says, and in several thousand years of tradition. They also think it is
only fair for 2 guys to be able to contract a partnership quickly and easily
if they want. Just don't call it a marriage. Propose a simple "Domestic
Partners" law that says 2 adults can enter a partnership with exactly the
same legal rights and responsibilities as a marriage by signing a contract
at the county seat and move on. Folks will make their own "marriage"
ceremonies and be done with it. Tell me I hate gays because I value
traditional marriage and you lose me.
Champion privacy and personal choices. Get the government out of my
bedroom, out of my blood stream (how I can claim any liberty when I can be
forced to give my blood to the police is beyond me... If I don't own what is
inside my skin, what do I own?) Get them out of my personal choices.
Democracy flourishes best when people are free. Champion the right of the
little guy to run his or her own life. It isn't an issue of Marijuana laws,
or sexual choices. It's a generic issue. Expand this agenda to cover *all*
the forms of government intrusion and you expand your base. At present the
Democrats advocate for folks who want to do things that conservatives see as
committing sins. Expand the topic to all privacy and personal choice and
they become votes for you. It isn't about the right to commit a sin, it's
about the right to be free of intrusion. The guy who wants to read a book
about guns at the library or drink too much beer on Friday CAN be your voter
too. Don't hate "Bubba", invite him to the party.
You get the idea. Now come up with some more of your own.
7) Don't be afraid to define yourself.
Kerry lost because he chose to be ill-defined. If there is no definition,
folks will either assume the worst, or they will assume that what your
opponent says is the truth. Nobody is 100% conservative or liberal. I'll
take the liberal who I agree with 30% over the conservative I agree with
70%, if the liberal is honorable and true and the conservative is a liar.
See Nixon.
Tell me you are a recovered drunkard who goofed off in his youth and I'm now
your buddy. You trusted me with your truth so I now trust you. I know who
you are and I can forgive you. Tell me that you are not a liberal when you
have 20 years of liberal voting record and I'm standing next to a liar that
I can't trust. Instead, tell me that you are a 20 year advocate of the
liberal agenda, a true supporter of your cause and I can argue points with
you, but will still trust you as an honorable person. We'll share a drink
at the bar later and I'll choose you over the guy I can't trust who lied
about who he was... because I know I can trust who you are.
This is a nation that elected FDR, John Kennedy, Jimmy Carter and even
Clinton. We're OK with electing Liberals. Stand up and say it loud and
proud: "I Am A Liberal" This is what I believe. We'll find that honorable
and honest. We may saddle you with a Republican Senate or some such 'till
we get to know you better, but that's life. The alternative is, well, the
door out. Don't try to hide who you are. It cheapens you, your agenda, and
make me wonder if you really think I'm that dumb.
8) Give the Average American a real choice.
I wanted a choice this year. I didn't get one. Picking someone from the
far left wing of the Democratic spectrum is not giving the middle American a
choice. It gives him something to run away from. It makes your party
loyalists feel good and makes the elite happy and it even lets you show the
world just how radical Democrats can be; but it is NOT a choice for the
average middle American.
Choose someone from the middle (or better yet, the far right) of the
Democratic party. A far right Democrat is a strong representative of the
American average guy. A far left Democrat is a "statement" that will never
be elected as long as there is anything remotely acceptable from the
Republicans. And Lord knows that we've proven that this year...
Having a radical lefty run to the center after the convention just makes him
look like a liar and a "flip flopper". You must find a way to avoid the
convention picking the most radical left and then running for the middle
afterward. Give me a "moderate" Democrat and I'm willing to vote for him.
Put a Republican up against a moderate or right wing Democrat and you will
win. Give me the choice of a radical lefty vs the nutcase I know, and I'll
take the known over the unknown lefty every time.
9) Put America first.
Americans love a good fight, but they want the fighters to share a drink at
the bar afterwards.
They will support someone who's ideas they despise but put up a good fair
fight and offered to buy the first round afterward.
We don't care so much what you believe as we care that you really believe
you are working to make America better for everyone. We will think you are
misguided, but we will *know* that your goals are good hearted and that you
have put America first. We'll even give you a shot at running the place and
let you get some On the Job Training in the hope that you'll find the right
path for America. Heck, we could be wrong and you seem like a fair Joe.
But lord help you if you seem to be working first and foremost for your
party or an "agenda". If your positions smack of fraud and deceit. If they
seem artificial and make contrive divisions between Americans.
Unfortunately, much of the present Democratic party behavior seems that way.
See Hubert Humphrey as a counter example. Yes, this is the "character"
issue. But we don't care so much if you have a liberal or conservative
character, just that you in fact HAVE some backbone and a kind heart toward
your opponent while holding America first.
So right now is the time you can build your future. Join in putting what's
right for America first. Advance an agenda that distinguishes you from the
Republicans (some examples are above) while helping the downtrodden in a
fair way. Stay positive and centered in American values. Don't squash the
little guy or make him a ward of the state. Show how you will help him beat
the Big Guys and get his piece of the American Dream and wait. Then fight a
fair fight advocating for a moderate left set of policies. You'll win.
E. M. Smith
San Jose, California
Posted at 12:39 AM Read More
Yea! We are not as dumb as they think we are!
Bush won the election despite Democratic dirty
tricks but now the Right wing wants to decide what our choices are.
I'm pleased to say that a majority of the USA's
voting public did not fall for John Kerry's lies. It has been a real worry of
mine that advertising might win out over reality. I firmly believe that Kerry's
record was dangerous in these times. We need a person who will make a decision
and stick to it. I didn't want my party (the Democrats) to win when they would
make up lies about the draft (especially when the only party to submit a bill to
restart the draft was the Democrats). Bush never wanted a draft as the Military
doesn't either. They even put up billboards in Florida blaming Bush for the
Hurricanes! Sigh...
Now having said that I'm glad Kerry lost doesn't mean I'm a Republican! The Republican party is starting to twist their win already. Not Bush but his party. I don't think that his majority was won on the shoulders who want to impose their beliefs on the rest of us by making laws. Personally I love my wife and have no interest in men. But I could care less if two men get married. It doesn't have anything to do with me. Some republicans now think because Bush won that they can make laws against minorities. I don't get it. Do they think we are dumb?
I voted for Bush because he will protect us from the Islamic Fascist. I don't want to replace them with Christian Fascist!
Freedom means freedom for all.
Richard
Now having said that I'm glad Kerry lost doesn't mean I'm a Republican! The Republican party is starting to twist their win already. Not Bush but his party. I don't think that his majority was won on the shoulders who want to impose their beliefs on the rest of us by making laws. Personally I love my wife and have no interest in men. But I could care less if two men get married. It doesn't have anything to do with me. Some republicans now think because Bush won that they can make laws against minorities. I don't get it. Do they think we are dumb?
I voted for Bush because he will protect us from the Islamic Fascist. I don't want to replace them with Christian Fascist!
Freedom means freedom for all.
Richard
Posted at 12:35 AM Read More
Mon - October 4, 2004
What is it with the Democrats? (a response)
More comments on Democratic strategy and comments on
the direction of Democracy in general.
Hey, at least Kerry looks good in a suit and can
complete
a sentence. He definitely performed better on stage than
Bush last night. They again, I found I could not believe
anything he said. I just kept thinking "He's doing a
great job of saying what he thinks will get him elected."
Your reply was very well composed and thoughtful, BTW.
It got me thinking about our collective future:
In the "end game" all democracies fail for exactly the same
reason. The public figures out that they can elect folks
who will give them "free" stuff. A "free lunch". The
politicians figure out that by giving away the store they
get elected. The country goes into a death spiral.
It was always thus. Bread and Circuses.
But without democracy, power corrupts until tyranny reins.
What makes America special is that the founders knew this
and struck a remarkable balance on the knife edge. Just
enough democracy to protect the peoples rights and prevent
tyranny, but just enough un-democratic representative power
to constrain the drive to a "free lunch". Pit the States
against the Federal and the people balancing both.
Another three legged stool of countervailing Federal powers.
Congress, executive, judicial. Democratic election of
members of one house, State appointment of members of
the senate, with State electors choosing a president as
each states rules dictated. All counterbalanced by an armed
private citizenry and citizen jurors should things start
to tip anyway.
My major concern, long term, is rather obscure but critical:
We have moved to too much democracy.
Senators are now directly elected. The States have no
representation in congress any more. This is the death of
"States Rights" (and that isn't a code word for slavery, it
is much more.) The States are now a very small minority
and the democratic tendency to abuse minority rights is
asserting itself against them.
It is why the Federal government now sets the size of your
toilet flush, why Feds tell you how to educate your children,
why Feds decide that the same smog laws ought to apply to
Montana as to New York and why the States Militia and the
Guard are no longer a counterbalance to Federal military power
as they ought to be to prevent tyranny by force of arms. We
now depend on the moral fabric of the members of the military.
A strong cloth, but one that can be torn...
One of the counter balances is now functionally broken. The
States are neutered in congress. Congress mandates, states
comply. Another is wounded. Judges are now approved by
a Senate that is not interested in States Rights, but is
interested in the next direct democratic election. The
states are neutered in court, too... though a bit more
indirectly.
Many states now just rubber stamp a vote by the people for
electors. It was not always this way. There is still the
potential to have an Electoral College revolt, but it is
weakened. Folks (mostly Democrats right now, but it changes
depending on who would benefit) are pushing to abolish the
electoral college as "archaic", claiming that it is only
for logistical reasons of vote tallying that are now obsolete.
Don't believe it. The *primary* purpose of the electoral
college is to put a break between the direct democracy and
the executive branch, to put someone between the masses
wanting a free lunch and the election of the President.
To the extent that is broken, we have neutered the importance
of the States to the Executive Branch and we have moved
toward a direct democracy Executive Branch - cutting
another leg off the stool.
I once heard a Black Man on the radio put it rather well.
He said "Democracy? I'm sick of hearing about how wonderful
democracy is. Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting
on what's for lunch!".
In one simple sentence he crystallized both the democratic
problem of failure to protect minority rights AND the
fundamental failure of democracies when the population
votes for a "free lunch". What is the platform of the
Democratic party if not a shopping list of free lunch items?
Let's all eat the corporations and rich folks money.
Never mind that the end game will be ruin of the economy.
The legal system has essentially killed the Right of Jury
Nullification by simply ignoring it. This right was
established in Pennsylvania, I believe by William Penn.
It is the right of a jury to say "Yes, he broke the law,
but the law was wrong so we nullify it."
That is the final countervailing power to the judges,
congress, and lawyers. It still exists in theory, but not
in practice. The use of "voi dire" (see what he says), when
they ask you questions to toss off the jury folks who would
not do what the judge and lawyers want, is the major tool used
to quash this right. The People no long have final say in
the judicial system.
Then there is the assault on the Second Amendment. It isn't
about hunting Bambi or stopping burglars. It is specifically
about The People, the militia (ALL men over 18 of sound body)
being able to throw off a tyranny should one be trying to
take over the government. This is now almost a dead concept
and is for all practical purposes, moribund at best.
We are moving steadily toward a single large central
government with 3 branches of the government with token
differences. All strongly interested in one thing: the
centralization of power in the Federal government and
the re-election of individuals to those seats of power
by giving things to the voters (taken from someone else).
Directly elected executive branch, senate and house with
judges appointed from them. With no effective power in the
hands of the people. No States Rights to stand in the way.
No Jury Nullification. No Militia. The people reduced to
asking "What will you give me for lunch?" ...
Nothing but some wolves looking at a very large sheep...
Side Bar:
There is even a timeline that can be applied. Most direct
democracies last about 50 years. Those with some indirection
last for about 100 before collapse. That the U.S. has lasted
for over 200 years is a testimony to the stability of the
original design. Now that we've broken it, you can start your
clocks. I'd set the start time at about 1970 when States
Rights died. That makes it 2020 or so. You could also use
a 100 year marker from when the direct election of the senate
was instituted by the 17th amendment in 1914. That makes it
about 2014 or so. Yes, there will still be a U.S. then, but
it will be a broken system with either a Tyranny of the Masses
via too much direct democracy or a direct Tyranny, brought to
power via democracy such as in Nazi Germany or as is
unfolding in Russia today. I'd give it until 2050 at the
very latest. My expectation is a european style socialist
state such as in Germany, Sweden, or France. Not truly
evil, yet, but not a place to be free. High taxes, but with
"free" medical care, drugs, retirement pay, etc.
Mike
a sentence. He definitely performed better on stage than
Bush last night. They again, I found I could not believe
anything he said. I just kept thinking "He's doing a
great job of saying what he thinks will get him elected."
Your reply was very well composed and thoughtful, BTW.
It got me thinking about our collective future:
In the "end game" all democracies fail for exactly the same
reason. The public figures out that they can elect folks
who will give them "free" stuff. A "free lunch". The
politicians figure out that by giving away the store they
get elected. The country goes into a death spiral.
It was always thus. Bread and Circuses.
But without democracy, power corrupts until tyranny reins.
What makes America special is that the founders knew this
and struck a remarkable balance on the knife edge. Just
enough democracy to protect the peoples rights and prevent
tyranny, but just enough un-democratic representative power
to constrain the drive to a "free lunch". Pit the States
against the Federal and the people balancing both.
Another three legged stool of countervailing Federal powers.
Congress, executive, judicial. Democratic election of
members of one house, State appointment of members of
the senate, with State electors choosing a president as
each states rules dictated. All counterbalanced by an armed
private citizenry and citizen jurors should things start
to tip anyway.
My major concern, long term, is rather obscure but critical:
We have moved to too much democracy.
Senators are now directly elected. The States have no
representation in congress any more. This is the death of
"States Rights" (and that isn't a code word for slavery, it
is much more.) The States are now a very small minority
and the democratic tendency to abuse minority rights is
asserting itself against them.
It is why the Federal government now sets the size of your
toilet flush, why Feds tell you how to educate your children,
why Feds decide that the same smog laws ought to apply to
Montana as to New York and why the States Militia and the
Guard are no longer a counterbalance to Federal military power
as they ought to be to prevent tyranny by force of arms. We
now depend on the moral fabric of the members of the military.
A strong cloth, but one that can be torn...
One of the counter balances is now functionally broken. The
States are neutered in congress. Congress mandates, states
comply. Another is wounded. Judges are now approved by
a Senate that is not interested in States Rights, but is
interested in the next direct democratic election. The
states are neutered in court, too... though a bit more
indirectly.
Many states now just rubber stamp a vote by the people for
electors. It was not always this way. There is still the
potential to have an Electoral College revolt, but it is
weakened. Folks (mostly Democrats right now, but it changes
depending on who would benefit) are pushing to abolish the
electoral college as "archaic", claiming that it is only
for logistical reasons of vote tallying that are now obsolete.
Don't believe it. The *primary* purpose of the electoral
college is to put a break between the direct democracy and
the executive branch, to put someone between the masses
wanting a free lunch and the election of the President.
To the extent that is broken, we have neutered the importance
of the States to the Executive Branch and we have moved
toward a direct democracy Executive Branch - cutting
another leg off the stool.
I once heard a Black Man on the radio put it rather well.
He said "Democracy? I'm sick of hearing about how wonderful
democracy is. Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting
on what's for lunch!".
In one simple sentence he crystallized both the democratic
problem of failure to protect minority rights AND the
fundamental failure of democracies when the population
votes for a "free lunch". What is the platform of the
Democratic party if not a shopping list of free lunch items?
Let's all eat the corporations and rich folks money.
Never mind that the end game will be ruin of the economy.
The legal system has essentially killed the Right of Jury
Nullification by simply ignoring it. This right was
established in Pennsylvania, I believe by William Penn.
It is the right of a jury to say "Yes, he broke the law,
but the law was wrong so we nullify it."
That is the final countervailing power to the judges,
congress, and lawyers. It still exists in theory, but not
in practice. The use of "voi dire" (see what he says), when
they ask you questions to toss off the jury folks who would
not do what the judge and lawyers want, is the major tool used
to quash this right. The People no long have final say in
the judicial system.
Then there is the assault on the Second Amendment. It isn't
about hunting Bambi or stopping burglars. It is specifically
about The People, the militia (ALL men over 18 of sound body)
being able to throw off a tyranny should one be trying to
take over the government. This is now almost a dead concept
and is for all practical purposes, moribund at best.
We are moving steadily toward a single large central
government with 3 branches of the government with token
differences. All strongly interested in one thing: the
centralization of power in the Federal government and
the re-election of individuals to those seats of power
by giving things to the voters (taken from someone else).
Directly elected executive branch, senate and house with
judges appointed from them. With no effective power in the
hands of the people. No States Rights to stand in the way.
No Jury Nullification. No Militia. The people reduced to
asking "What will you give me for lunch?" ...
Nothing but some wolves looking at a very large sheep...
Side Bar:
There is even a timeline that can be applied. Most direct
democracies last about 50 years. Those with some indirection
last for about 100 before collapse. That the U.S. has lasted
for over 200 years is a testimony to the stability of the
original design. Now that we've broken it, you can start your
clocks. I'd set the start time at about 1970 when States
Rights died. That makes it 2020 or so. You could also use
a 100 year marker from when the direct election of the senate
was instituted by the 17th amendment in 1914. That makes it
about 2014 or so. Yes, there will still be a U.S. then, but
it will be a broken system with either a Tyranny of the Masses
via too much direct democracy or a direct Tyranny, brought to
power via democracy such as in Nazi Germany or as is
unfolding in Russia today. I'd give it until 2050 at the
very latest. My expectation is a european style socialist
state such as in Germany, Sweden, or France. Not truly
evil, yet, but not a place to be free. High taxes, but with
"free" medical care, drugs, retirement pay, etc.
Mike
Posted at 12:49 AM Read More
What is it with the Democrats? (my response)
My response to the Rant on the Democratic election
strategy.
Mike,
I am ashamed of being a registered Democrat. The way they are
campaigning this year makes Richard Nixon look like a saint.
The answer to your first question is yes they believe you are brain
dead. John Kerry and Democrats clearly don't think that any of us can
remember what they said last week much less the previous year. The
fact is that recruitment for the military is running at 105% of
targets. Clearly there are a few young people in the country that
still believes that fighting for freedom democracy is something worth
while. Maybe the "younger generation" is not as dumb as the Democrats
think?
John Kerry is the one that said in the Debates last night that he was
going to expand the military by two divisions, more special services,
etc. He didn't say where he was going to get the people or how to pay
for them. George Bush specifically stated that he had no plans to
start a draft. I guess the Democrats don't think any of the 18 to 20
year olds are going to listen.
Next issue. Dan Rather (I'd rather not) has surely shown his strips in
this last month. How anyone can believe anything he says about the
election is beyond me. I wouldn't mind if he said "I'm for Kerry"
here's the news (like Rush does). He has the right to his opinion he
just doesn't have the right to claim that it is non-biased news
coverage.
I am worried about our democracy when a major party, my party, starts
using dirty tricks like this. The question becomes is the American
public as dumb as the Democrats think they are. My real hope is that
there is no monopoly of the news infrastructure any more (yea
Internet).
I guess we will find out soon.
Richard
I am ashamed of being a registered Democrat. The way they are
campaigning this year makes Richard Nixon look like a saint.
The answer to your first question is yes they believe you are brain
dead. John Kerry and Democrats clearly don't think that any of us can
remember what they said last week much less the previous year. The
fact is that recruitment for the military is running at 105% of
targets. Clearly there are a few young people in the country that
still believes that fighting for freedom democracy is something worth
while. Maybe the "younger generation" is not as dumb as the Democrats
think?
John Kerry is the one that said in the Debates last night that he was
going to expand the military by two divisions, more special services,
etc. He didn't say where he was going to get the people or how to pay
for them. George Bush specifically stated that he had no plans to
start a draft. I guess the Democrats don't think any of the 18 to 20
year olds are going to listen.
Next issue. Dan Rather (I'd rather not) has surely shown his strips in
this last month. How anyone can believe anything he says about the
election is beyond me. I wouldn't mind if he said "I'm for Kerry"
here's the news (like Rush does). He has the right to his opinion he
just doesn't have the right to claim that it is non-biased news
coverage.
I am worried about our democracy when a major party, my party, starts
using dirty tricks like this. The question becomes is the American
public as dumb as the Democrats think they are. My real hope is that
there is no monopoly of the news infrastructure any more (yea
Internet).
I guess we will find out soon.
Richard
Posted at 12:46 AM Read More
What is it with the Democrats?
A rant about the Democratic strategy
OK, are they brain dead or do they think *I* am
brain dead?
Today we have the news that there is an email circulating trying to scare
the 18-20 somethings into registering to vote against Bush. The message
says that there is a bill pending to reinstate the draft. We have Dan
Rather putting on a "Regular Mom" crying about not wanting her child to be
drafted. And Its All Republicans Fault...
One Small Problem... "The truth shall set you free".
The bill pending in congress was sponsored by Charley Rangel (one of the
most rabid liberals out there) and is backed by 14 or so other congress
critters - ALL DEMOCRATS. It's been in congress for a year or so and was
DOA to begin with. The Republicans don't want a draft and the military has
met it's recruitment goals for the year already. (National Guard numbers
are about 5000 short, though. My take on that is it's folks like my
neighbor. Was guard. Got called up for a tour. During that tour, he
re-up'd as regular airforce. Times how many thousands? I'd guess far more
than 5...)
OK, the answer is clear:
Anyone who gets such a bogus "stop the draft" email needs to do what it
says - Send it on to kids and educators. Just do one thing first. Edit it
to say "The DEMOCRAT Sponsored bill" just in front of where it lists the
bill number. Oh, and add a sentence that says "Stop the draft! Elect a
Republican! It's the Democrats who want to draft you!!"
Side Bar:
On Kerry's web site he has a position statement on the draft. While being
anti-draft sort of, he advocates 2 years mandatory national service for High
School kids... Go figure. I was against it before I was for it?...
Rather Not:
Even a cursory inspection of the "Regular Mom" Rather paraded out shows that
she is Chapter President of an organization that is an anti-draft
organization. Hardly just a regular mom... a hard core political activist
leading a focus pressure group is not just a random off the street. Leaving
me to wonder if Dan Rather is brain dead for not mentioning this fact or
incompetent for not knowing it. (Or a part of the Democratic Party Machine
and suffering from cranial rectal inversion.)
Today we have the news that there is an email circulating trying to scare
the 18-20 somethings into registering to vote against Bush. The message
says that there is a bill pending to reinstate the draft. We have Dan
Rather putting on a "Regular Mom" crying about not wanting her child to be
drafted. And Its All Republicans Fault...
One Small Problem... "The truth shall set you free".
The bill pending in congress was sponsored by Charley Rangel (one of the
most rabid liberals out there) and is backed by 14 or so other congress
critters - ALL DEMOCRATS. It's been in congress for a year or so and was
DOA to begin with. The Republicans don't want a draft and the military has
met it's recruitment goals for the year already. (National Guard numbers
are about 5000 short, though. My take on that is it's folks like my
neighbor. Was guard. Got called up for a tour. During that tour, he
re-up'd as regular airforce. Times how many thousands? I'd guess far more
than 5...)
OK, the answer is clear:
Anyone who gets such a bogus "stop the draft" email needs to do what it
says - Send it on to kids and educators. Just do one thing first. Edit it
to say "The DEMOCRAT Sponsored bill" just in front of where it lists the
bill number. Oh, and add a sentence that says "Stop the draft! Elect a
Republican! It's the Democrats who want to draft you!!"
Side Bar:
On Kerry's web site he has a position statement on the draft. While being
anti-draft sort of, he advocates 2 years mandatory national service for High
School kids... Go figure. I was against it before I was for it?...
Rather Not:
Even a cursory inspection of the "Regular Mom" Rather paraded out shows that
she is Chapter President of an organization that is an anti-draft
organization. Hardly just a regular mom... a hard core political activist
leading a focus pressure group is not just a random off the street. Leaving
me to wonder if Dan Rather is brain dead for not mentioning this fact or
incompetent for not knowing it. (Or a part of the Democratic Party Machine
and suffering from cranial rectal inversion.)
From
http://ratherbiased.com/news.html
comes this quote:
"Beverly Cocco seems nice enough on camera, but she is hardly the
"Pennsylvania voter" that CBS News wants you to believe she is. In fact, the
apolitical mother of two is a chapter president of an advocacy group called
People Against the Draft (PAD) which, in addition to opposing any federal
conscription, seeks to establish a "peaceful, rational foreign policy" by
bringing all U.S. troops out of Iraq. Like Schlesinger's Cocco, the group
portrays itself as "nonpartisan"although its leadership seems to be entirely
bereft of any Republicans.
The group's domain is registered to a man named Jacob Levich, a left-wing
activist who in a 2001 essay compared the Bush Administration to the
totalitarian government portrayed in George Orwell's 1984. " End Quote.
Sigh.
They need to understand that in this modern age of Bloggers, Talk Radio,
Instant Internet Research, and, well, better educated folks than were around
50 years ago; you just can't do the bald faced lie and live to benefit from
it. The new media are now "inside the decision cycle" where the old media
took too long to surface the lie. Now it's blowback time...
Mike Smith
San Jose, California
"Beverly Cocco seems nice enough on camera, but she is hardly the
"Pennsylvania voter" that CBS News wants you to believe she is. In fact, the
apolitical mother of two is a chapter president of an advocacy group called
People Against the Draft (PAD) which, in addition to opposing any federal
conscription, seeks to establish a "peaceful, rational foreign policy" by
bringing all U.S. troops out of Iraq. Like Schlesinger's Cocco, the group
portrays itself as "nonpartisan"although its leadership seems to be entirely
bereft of any Republicans.
The group's domain is registered to a man named Jacob Levich, a left-wing
activist who in a 2001 essay compared the Bush Administration to the
totalitarian government portrayed in George Orwell's 1984. " End Quote.
Sigh.
They need to understand that in this modern age of Bloggers, Talk Radio,
Instant Internet Research, and, well, better educated folks than were around
50 years ago; you just can't do the bald faced lie and live to benefit from
it. The new media are now "inside the decision cycle" where the old media
took too long to surface the lie. Now it's blowback time...
Mike Smith
San Jose, California
Posted at 12:44 AM Read More
Thu - June 24, 2004
American Muslims Speak out
In Orlando the American Muslims are starting to
speak out against the violence done in the name of their religion
Ever since 9/11 I have heard little from the Muslims
living in America. Many, including myself, have wondered where is the outrage
from this community of people. Surely there are millions of Muslims who are
just as shocked as I am with the way their religion is being highjacked. Time
and again I have heard the line, "we don't agree with their methods
but...".
I couldn't understand it. Were these people blind to what we felt? Why wouldn't they just call these cold blooded murders what they are. After all these good people did not believe in killing innocent women and children any more than we do.
Since these murders have found that killing American soldiers only gets them killed and doesn't make the Americans leave Iraq they have taken aim at soft targets. They have taken aim at other Muslims and innocent civilians who are there help rebuild Iraq. In the terrorist desperation they have become more barbaric in their actions. This has awaken the Muslim community like nothing before.
In Orlando the largest Muslim organization took out a full page add in the local newspaper condemning the latest violence. They left no doubt that they found the latest actions as being contrary to their religious beliefs. They have gone one step further as well. They have invited Orlando to join them in a 4th of July celebration.
I want to thank them for speaking up. I have felt in my heart all along that these people are no different from anyone else. They only want to go to work, raise their children, and worship their God.
Thank you for standing up for what you believe in!
I couldn't understand it. Were these people blind to what we felt? Why wouldn't they just call these cold blooded murders what they are. After all these good people did not believe in killing innocent women and children any more than we do.
Since these murders have found that killing American soldiers only gets them killed and doesn't make the Americans leave Iraq they have taken aim at soft targets. They have taken aim at other Muslims and innocent civilians who are there help rebuild Iraq. In the terrorist desperation they have become more barbaric in their actions. This has awaken the Muslim community like nothing before.
In Orlando the largest Muslim organization took out a full page add in the local newspaper condemning the latest violence. They left no doubt that they found the latest actions as being contrary to their religious beliefs. They have gone one step further as well. They have invited Orlando to join them in a 4th of July celebration.
I want to thank them for speaking up. I have felt in my heart all along that these people are no different from anyone else. They only want to go to work, raise their children, and worship their God.
Thank you for standing up for what you believe in!
Posted at 12:31 AM Read More
Sun - May 9, 2004
An e-mail from a Soldier
The following was forwarded to me via a chain of
friends. It is reported to be e-mail from a soldier who was back on leave and
getting ready to head back to Iraq to finish his tour. I guess some good is
happening there even if the nightly news isn't reporting it.
The following was forwarded to me via a chain of
friends. It is reported to be e-mail from a soldier who was back on leave and
getting ready to head back to Iraq to finish his tour. I guess some good is
happening there even if the nightly news isn't reporting
it.
Richard
Begin forwarded message:
Richard
Begin forwarded message:
This is from one of Mike's firemen who
is packing to go back to Iraq from a two week leave. It's amazing the
differences he reports than the media.
As I head off to Baghd ad for the
final weeks of my stay in Iraq, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who did not
believe the media. They have done a very poor job of covering everything that
has happened. I am sorry that I have not been able to visit all of you during my
two week leave back home. And just so you can rest at night knowing something
is happening in Iraq that is noteworthy, I thought I would pass this on to you.
This is the list of things that has happened in Iraq recently: (Please share it
with your friends and compare it to the version that your paper is producing)
-Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever in
Iraq. -Over 400,000 kids have up to date immunizations. -Over 1500 schools have
been renovated and ridded of the weapons that were stored there so education can
occur. -The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off loaded from
ships faster. -School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war. -The
country had it's first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August. -The country
now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before the war -100% of the
hospitals are open and fully staffed compared to 35% before the war. -Elections
are taking place in every major city and city councils are in place. -Sewer and
water lines are installed in every major city. -Over 60000 police are patrolling
the streets. -Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
-Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with US
soldiers. -Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.
-Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to prevent the
spread of germs. -An interim constitution has been signed. -Girl s are allowed
to attend school for the first time ever in Iraq. -Text books that don't mention
Saddam are in the schools for the first time in 30 years. Don't believe for one
second that these people do not want us there. I have met many many people from
Iraq that want us there and in a bad way. They say they will never see the
freedoms we talk about but they hope their children will. We are doing a good
job in Iraq and I challenge anyone, anywhere to dispute me on these facts. So If
you happen to run into John Kerry, be sure to give him my email address and send
him to Denison, Iowa. This soldier will set him straight. If you are like me and
very disgusted with how this period of rebuilding has been portrayed, email this
to a friend and let them know there are good things happening.
Ray Reynolds, SFC Iowa Army National
Guard 234th Signa l Battalion
Posted at 10:30 PM Read More
Thu - April 22, 2004
Are you angry now?
With the latest massive attacks against Muslims by
Terrorist I wonder why Muslims in general are not furious with these
murders?
Muslims of Orlando, Muslims of America, Muslims of
the World, are you angry at these murderous terrorist
now?
These people are killing your children and your mothers. They are attacking legitimate governments of Muslim nations. They are killing innocent men, women, and children. Muslims! Doesn't this make you angry? They are hijacking your religion. They are turning a beautiful region into something ugly. Doesn't that make you angry?
They blow up a bomb on a street in Basra killing children in a school bus. Doesn't that make you angry?
They try and blow up a police station in Riyadh and instead detonate their bomb on a crowded public street killing innocents. Muslims, not Americans. Doesn't that make you angry?
They attempt to detonate a chemical bomb in Jordan. One that was aimed at the government of that nation. One that if successful would have killed thousand of innocent Muslims. Doesn't that make you angry?
Muslims of the world where is your righteous anger? Speak up against these animals. Let your children and the children of the world know that what these barbarians are doing is not condoned by you or by Islam!
These people are killing your children and your mothers. They are attacking legitimate governments of Muslim nations. They are killing innocent men, women, and children. Muslims! Doesn't this make you angry? They are hijacking your religion. They are turning a beautiful region into something ugly. Doesn't that make you angry?
They blow up a bomb on a street in Basra killing children in a school bus. Doesn't that make you angry?
They try and blow up a police station in Riyadh and instead detonate their bomb on a crowded public street killing innocents. Muslims, not Americans. Doesn't that make you angry?
They attempt to detonate a chemical bomb in Jordan. One that was aimed at the government of that nation. One that if successful would have killed thousand of innocent Muslims. Doesn't that make you angry?
Muslims of the world where is your righteous anger? Speak up against these animals. Let your children and the children of the world know that what these barbarians are doing is not condoned by you or by Islam!
Posted at 07:38 AM Read More
Sun - April 4, 2004
Review Brother Bear
A movie review of Brother Bear
We just got back from Walt Disney World, we stayed
at the Polynesian Resort, and one of our group bought the DVD "Brother Bear".
The movie did OK at the box office, but it didn't get much press. I remember
when it came out that I wasn't really interested in seeing it. Well, I just
watched the DVD and the movie was very good! It is excellent family fare with a
good story, great animation (of course it was nominated for an Academy Award),
good music, and excellent character
interaction.
The movie is set in the far north back when Mammoths still walked the earth. It's about coming of age, brothers, and how we are all connected. Kenai kills a bear and finds himself transformed into a bear. He then has to go on a quest to be changed back to a human. During the journey he picks of a cub as a companion and learns of the importance of love. It's standard Disney mush but it works. The combination of the great animation, the story, and the music works the normal Disney magic. It was a really touching film.
The DVD has several very interesting features. Not the least was watching the movie with two of the voice actors doing a commentary. It was hilarious.
Anyway if you have kids, get the DVD. If you are a Disney fan, get the movie. If you just like a good movie, get the movie.
The movie is set in the far north back when Mammoths still walked the earth. It's about coming of age, brothers, and how we are all connected. Kenai kills a bear and finds himself transformed into a bear. He then has to go on a quest to be changed back to a human. During the journey he picks of a cub as a companion and learns of the importance of love. It's standard Disney mush but it works. The combination of the great animation, the story, and the music works the normal Disney magic. It was a really touching film.
The DVD has several very interesting features. Not the least was watching the movie with two of the voice actors doing a commentary. It was hilarious.
Anyway if you have kids, get the DVD. If you are a Disney fan, get the movie. If you just like a good movie, get the movie.
Posted at 07:06 PM Read More
Fri - April 2, 2004
We are at war people!
Our media doesn't seem to remember that we are at
war.
If you read newspapers or watch TV news you would
think that our country has done something horrible. The fact that we took out
the Iraqi government in no way changes the fact that we are at war and we didn't
start it. The terrorists who kill nearly 3000 innocent people are cool blooded
murders who have, as a basic premise, that our way of life is offensive and must
be destroyed. How can you give these people quarter? How can you not defend
our liberties?
If you wish to win a war you must attack! It matters less where you attack than it does that you attack. Until the people who wish our destruction desist we must continue to attack. Right now our soldiers are fighting a war in Iraq. Major hostilities have ceased but that doesn't mean that this battle is over. The battle for Iraq has drawn our enemies into battle. It is only during battle that we can win! As strange as it seems the fact that our soldiers continue to be shot at is a good thing. As long as the terrorist are focusing on attacking our soldiers then we are winning. What isn't shown in our press our the little battles that are fought every night where our soldiers destroy these attackers. We are not seeing the night fights where an Apache helicopter takes out enemy missile launchers. Why not?
Our media is only showing the destruction. Why? They are only showing the attacks on civilians. Why? It is not in the interest of Democrats for us to fail. It is not in the interest of liberals that we fail. It is in the interest of all the free people of the world to not try to appease these people. History shows that this will not work! The finding of a bomb in Spain shows that you can not appease terrorists.
If you wish to win a war you must attack! It matters less where you attack than it does that you attack. Until the people who wish our destruction desist we must continue to attack. Right now our soldiers are fighting a war in Iraq. Major hostilities have ceased but that doesn't mean that this battle is over. The battle for Iraq has drawn our enemies into battle. It is only during battle that we can win! As strange as it seems the fact that our soldiers continue to be shot at is a good thing. As long as the terrorist are focusing on attacking our soldiers then we are winning. What isn't shown in our press our the little battles that are fought every night where our soldiers destroy these attackers. We are not seeing the night fights where an Apache helicopter takes out enemy missile launchers. Why not?
Our media is only showing the destruction. Why? They are only showing the attacks on civilians. Why? It is not in the interest of Democrats for us to fail. It is not in the interest of liberals that we fail. It is in the interest of all the free people of the world to not try to appease these people. History shows that this will not work! The finding of a bomb in Spain shows that you can not appease terrorists.
Posted at 07:07 AM Read More
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