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June 30, 2006
Chico AirFest 2006
Labor Day Weekend
Saturday, September 2, 2006
Chico Municipal Airport, Chico
_____________________________________________________
(Air Acts I & II are different! Stay for the whole day!)
Tickets: $10 General Admission; Or, 12 and under FREE
PLUS!
Military Aircraft Displays
Great Food, Vendors, a full day of Family Fun
Kick off the Airshow by joining us at the Friday Night Preview and Barn Storming Event:
Friday, September 1, 2006 - 5:30 p.m. Dinner/Dance - Twilight Airshow
Jet Pull - Friday Night Preview Tickets: $40 each
(Includes Saturday's show) Call Gayle Womack, AirFest Director, at 530-891-5556 ext. 307 or email Gayle@chicochamber.com
Posted by Post Scripts at 06:59 AM | Comments (1)
June 29, 2006
The blog improvements have arrived! If you have been having trouble posting your comments, we hope we have this problem fixed now. So far our spam filter is working great too, which takes a load off yours truly and gives me more time to focus on creative things for the blog!
From time to time Tina and I like to remind our readers this is an interactive blog; we encourage you to state your opinion! Your email address will be confidential and not disclosed to a 3rd party. You can post anonymously if you wish. All topics are fair game and our only rules are those of common courtesy, no profanity, no ransome notes, no threats to bomb the Enterprise Record, lol., ...we try to give you a wide latitude to make your point, but try to be civil. If you would like be a featured guest writer and start your own topic, just submit your work in the comments section with the notation "editorial" so we can flag it for publication.
Tina and I look foward to hearing from you!
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:03 AM | Comments (0)
June 28, 2006
New York Times Strikes Again
by Jack Lee
The New York Times had this to say right after 9/11... organizing the hijacking of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon took significant sums of money. The cost of these plots suggests that putting Osama bin Laden and other international terrorists out of business will require more than diplomatic coalitions and military action.
Washington and its allies must also disable the financial networks used by terrorists. The Bush administration is preparing new laws to help track terrorists through their money-laundering activity and is readying an executive order freezing the assets of known terrorists. Much more is needed, including stricter...
regulations, the recruitment of specialized investigators and greater cooperation with foreign banking authorities. There must also must be closer coordination among America’s law enforcement, national security and financial regulatory agencies.
Osama bin Laden originally rose to prominence because his inherited fortune allowed him to bankroll Arab volunteers fighting Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Since then, he has acquired funds from a panoply of Islamic charities and illegal and legal businesses, including export-import and commodity trading firms, and is estimated to have as much as $300 million at his disposal.
Some of these businesses move funds through major commercial banks that lack the procedures to monitor such transactions properly. Locally, terrorists can utilize tiny unregulated storefront financial centers, including what are known as hawala banks, which people in South Asian immigrant communities in the United States and other Western countries use to transfer money abroad. Though some smaller financial transactions are likely to slip through undetected even after new rules are in place, much of the financing needed for major attacks could dry up.
Washington should revive international efforts begun during the Clinton administration to pressure countries with dangerously loose banking regulations to adopt and enforce stricter rules. These need to be accompanied by strong sanctions against doing business with financial institutions based in these nations. The Bush administration initially opposed such measures. But after the events of Sept. 11, it appears ready to embrace them.
The Treasury Department also needs new domestic legal weapons to crack down on money laundering by terrorists. The new laws should mandate the identification of all account owners, prohibit transactions with "shell banks" that have no physical premises and require closer monitoring of accounts coming from countries with lax banking laws. Prosecutors, meanwhile, should be able to freeze more easily the assets of suspected terrorists. The Senate Banking Committee plans to hold hearings this week on a bill providing for such measures. It should be approved and signed into law by President Bush.
New regulations requiring money service businesses like the hawala banks to register and imposing criminal penalties on those that do not are scheduled to come into force late next year. The effective date should be moved up to this fall, and rules should be strictly enforced the moment they take effect. If America is going to wage a new kind of war against terrorism, it must act on all fronts, including the financial one.
(Thanks to Anthony Watts for bringing this to our attention)
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:34 PM | Comments (3)
Dixie Chicks Million Dollars Declined
by Jack Lee
The Dixie Chick's just never quite recovered after ripping on Bush and their country while on a European tour in 03. They tried to smooth things over when they returned to the States and a lot of angry, patriotic country western fans took them to task! They tried to make amends by offering up an apology of sorts, but that flopped. Many of their old fans didn't relate to them anymore and this loss could not be made up by the new fans they picked up with their anti-USA comments.
Dismal concert attendance and slow record sales prompted the Chicks to seek creative ways to ingratiate themselves back in with their old fans, but nothing seemed to work, not even posing nude on a magazine cover. Enter Hurricane Katrina, this disaster was seen as just what they needed! The Dixie Chicks dangled a one million dollar carrot before the American Red Cross, if they would simply allow the Chicks to use the Red Cross name to promote their new tour. The Chicks were stunned when the Red Cross turned them down. In a press release, the Red Cross, said the offer was refused because it was conditional and it obligated the organization to endorse the Dixie Chicks . This violated their long established policy for accepting donations. The Red Cross said they would be happy to accept the donation if it was given without any obligations. When music fans learned of this attempted bribery, the plan backfired and created yet more controversy for the besieged group. Not surprisingly, the Chicks declined to make the so-called donation unconditional. Thus reinforcing in the minds of many, it was a shoddy trick for publicity.
Does it get any lower than that?
The Dixie Chicks have cancelled appearances in at least 5 major cities picks in the USA for their latest tour, starting in July. Fresno, Memphis, Tennessee, Oklahoma City and Indianapolis where advance ticket sales were disappointing, have been cancelled...maybe they should try Canada or France?
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:26 PM | Comments (6)
Because They Can
by Jack Lee
In one sense this is no big deal. A minor inconvenience over a small government mistake, but it's caused me to rethink about my right to own property, my privacy and about due process of law.
It began back a few years ago when I sold a car. All was fine until I received a DMV letter for registration renewal for the car that was sold months earlier. I figured the paper work just hadn't caught up with the registration people, so I tossed the notice. I received another notice many months later and this time I responded advising the DMV the vehicle was sold. I did this via a letter, but apparently this was not the acceptable form and I got another notice... which I chose to ignore because I sold the car!!! I had no interest in this property any longer! I could care less if fees were due and besides I had notified them twice!
Wrong, it was my problem. The growing fees and penalties went to Franchise Tax for collection...$436 worth! They gave me a choice to pay up or more penalties would follow. At this point it was my intention to dig up the old bill of sale information and send it off to them and DMV. Then I received a second threat letter from Franchise Tax, saying my checking account would be debited the $436 by a court order if I didn't respond within 10 days! I was perturbed, but still plenty of time to ward off this hostile attack on my bank account. I wondered, how in the heck could they come up with my bank account? I sure never told them where it was, but this was a serious threat and I believed them.
Next, I got a letter from my bank advising of this eminent theft, holy cow, how could my government just take money out of my checking account without some sort of court hearing? You know, where they make their case and I make mine? That's the way it works when you or I have to sue somebody for a collection, right? I checked my bank account and was stunned to find out the money had already been deducted, even though they said it wouldn't be until July 6th! Then there $100 for the banks processing fee... adding insult to injury. $536, worth of expletives followed before I calmed down!
Thinking out loud now, what gives our government the right to keep adding up fees and penalties for a car license when I never requested it? How can they presume I am driving a car on the road, therefore the tags and penalties keep mounting until they are enormous? This scenario reminds of the movie "Cool Hand Luke" where Paul Newman gets locked up for a parking meter offense and keeps getting in more trouble until he's finally wacked by "the man" on a county work farm. Ok, maybe that example is a little extreme...the state didn't wack me, they just robbed me.
On Monday, I called Franchise Tax on my dime because these curmudgeons have no 800 number. The automated answering machine said, "Your call will be answered in the order it was received" and to hold. Oh great, holding long distance...this could be expensive, but I gave it a try because I was angry enough to want this thing resolved as fast as possible. Ok, a few minutes later my call was switched to a representative and it was promptly disconnected! Arrrggggg! I repeated the process and again a few minutes later (still on my dime) I reached a lady who listened to my story and seemed somewhat sympathetic. She said she would send a fax to my bank advising this collection has been stayed until I could complete another release of liability form and give it to DMV and that should be the end of it.
After the fax went to my bank, my kidnapped money was eventually moved back into my severely traumatized bank account and now all that remains is the processing fee of $100. The bank is considering if they will waive that, given the circumstances. They should, a $100 bucks seems too much for what they did.
I'm still trying to comprehend how in a so-called free society my government could pull this dirty trick? They violated my right to privacy when they found my bank account and peaked in it to see how much I had...that really griped me! Then they took my money without my knowledge or consent, so where's my right to due process and protection by a court hearing? Franchise Tax sure seems to have a lot of power to just do all this. And what kind of stupid law allows the DMV fees to keep accumulating when you don't request any car license? That seems kinda wrong. It would be no different than say, you buying a fishing license for one year and then state just decides to bill you for the next year, even though you didn't want a fishing license because you were not going to fish! Well, I wasn't driving the vehicle on the road, actually nobody was, like I said, it was in a museum, but I still got billed as if I were! Of course if I was driving it with expired tags I could understand where the fees and penalty would apply. We have laws to take care of that and that should be the limit of the governments interest in my property, but it sure isn't, not in today's law.
I'm wondering how they could do this to me? The ugly short answer is... because they can.
Posted by Post Scripts at 04:41 PM | Comments (13)
June 27, 2006
LATEST POLLING SHOWS...
Forty-three percent of all Americans say that immigration is a serious problem.
The other 57 percent said, "No hablo inglés"
Posted by Post Scripts at 04:37 PM | Comments (1)
ALL WE ARE SAYING...AND SAYING...AND SAYING
By Tina Grazier
The chanting begins in earnest this week at the World Peace Forum
being held in Vancouver Canada. I don't know if the conference will
actually cause world peace, but at least the forum will keep the
little handwringers busy as we continue in the very difficult and
necessary work of defeating terrorists around the world.
The WPF mission statement sounds terrific, really it does. Trouble is,
it 's the sound of one hand clapping: lacking in meritorious substance
but absolutely loaded with symbolic meaning. Take a
discover their lofty and ambitious agenda. The first goal is to publish
a World Peace Forum statement outlining what individuals
and communities can do to create peace. Other goals include, creating
a legacy of forums to refine, promote, and expand their goals,
celebrating and promoting diversity, making war abhorrent and peace
popular and, making the protection of global ecosystems a high priority.
If I were an attendee, I think I'd be asking, "Where's the beef?" (with
apologies to our animal friends of course!).
I hate to keep poking fun at these folks, they mean well, but they are
just not getting the job done. It's the same old song year after year.
We can even go so far as to say they've been lying to us...you know,
Peaceniks Lied, People Died!
They seem to hold themselves up as better than others, more evolved
somehow, but they've been singing since the sixties, and "imagining" for
nearly as long, and they just haven't managed to get it right! So what's
going on? Part of the problem is that so many of them are artists or artist
types. It's not just that they're dreamers, it's that they can't stand the idea
that the magic of tinkerbell and the fairy godmother exists only in stories,
lyrics and movies. They've heard about the power of context, in fact they're
good at creating "the dream", but they don't have a clue about the real
work (what it would actually take) to produce the desired result. They fail
to address the questions that matter:
1. What would it take to actually make peace happen all over the world?
2. What would cause peace to continue uninterrupted?
3. Is it possible to get all human beings to cooperate?
4. Is peace even do-able?
Bless their little pinko hearts...they enthusiastically wear pretty lapel
ribbons, sport clever bumperstickers, hand out flyers, and even attend
yearly forums, but they are decidedly unwilling to tell the truth. And this
is key:
Peace is a state of being not easily achieved or sustained, even for
well-trained individuals. Just try to spend an entire day being totally at
peace. Now "imagine" everyone in the world desiring the same 24x7x365
and on into infinity. This is exactly what the peaceniks are proposing. I hate
to be the one to break it to them but...they haven't got a prayer!
Posted by Post Scripts at 03:13 PM | Comments (10)
More Evidence of Real Estate Decline
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Resales of U.S. homes fell 1.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.67 million in May, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. Sales of existing homes have fallen in three of the past five months.
"The inventory of unsold homes increased 5.5% to 3.60 million. The 6.5-month supply is the highest in nine years. The inventory was at 4.3 months a year ago. "The housing sector is continuing to cool, applying a damper on economic growth," said Arlene Kish, an economist for BMO Nesbitt Burns. "The persistent rise in the backlog of unsold homes is a clear warning sign for the sector." "The housing correction is far, far from over," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics. "The pending sales index points to existing home sales dropping to about 6.3 million over the next few months."
Sales of existing homes in April were revised lower to 6.75 million from 6.76 million.
Posted by Post Scripts at 01:49 PM | Comments (0)
June 26, 2006
Words of Betrayal
by Tina Grazier
Editor Bill Keller of the New York Times has decided to take over as President of the United States. Apparently, decisions about national security are best left to his wise and thoughtful discretion He is, after all, an editor at the New York Times! In this particular case he thought we needed to be let in on secret ...
procedures used to track terrorist activites through banking
transactions. He did this despite the fact that his own paper,
the NYT, found the program to be legal, to have been cleared
through congress, and to have sufficient safeguards for privacy.
We heard quite a lot about the "failure to connect the dots"
during the 911 hearings as media types tried to nail the
administration for the terrible loss and devistation of 911. Now
the New York Times, joined by the L A Times, has managed
to make sure many of those dots just won't be there to connect.
Quoting Bill Keller:
"...We remain convinced that the administrations exrtaordinary
access to this vast repository of international financial data,
however carefully targeted use of it may be, is a matter of public
interest".
They thought it was more important to spill the beans on the
program than to withold what they knew was an effective means
of undermining terrorist activities and attacks. What does this nut
use as grounds for his decision making? His assessment of the
public's "need to know" is wacked, especially after the outing
Valerie Plame extravaganza they created.
Please visit "michellemalkin.com" for updated and relevant
information on this "news" failure and betrayal...also it will help to
assuage the anger and disgust if you GO HERE NOW
Posted by Post Scripts at 02:28 PM | Comments (7)
June 25, 2006
WMD
by Tina Grazier
"The Fatah terrorist faction has claimed the capability of chemical and biological weapons and has threatened
Isreal with an attack, according to The Jerusalem Post" Read about it at Captain's Quarters:
captainsquartersblog.com
Let's hope this is just propaganda since the news was apparently first distributed on leaflets. It is but one of many
stories recently that demonstrate how deadly serious the world's terrorists are. This raises many questions about
where they may have gotten the materials and components ...
if they do indeed have them. Syria is one possibility and Syria is where some have asserted that Saddam's WMD
were taken prior to the US invasion.
We continue to work and play in relative peace in America. Our children are safe; we have plenty to eat. Most of us wish only good things for others. Placed in perspective, our differences are relatively minor and we have the luxery of dissent and debate. I am so thankful and to be an American and so grateful for those in positions of power who take these threats seriously. I'm so very grateful for every person in the military. I take it personally; they do the job every day so I can remain free. God bless and protect them.
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)
Foreclosures on the Rise - Up 100% over 2005
From ABC News..."Home Owners Turn to Short Sales to Avoid Foreclosure.
Lenders are reporting more home owners are defaulting on their mortgages. But before those defaults turn into foreclosure, some sellers are turning to short sales -- if lenders agree.
Home owner Gloria Romero is in that position now. She bought her three-bedroom home in North Sacramento last year but has to sell it. She has listed the home for $250,000 hoping to cover her mortgage balance. Thursday she received her first offer -- $219,000. That's some $30,000 less than her mortgage.
So, Romero is turning to a short sale instead of letting the bank takeover the house. A short sale is when the lender accepts an offer that is less than the current balance. Not many lenders are accepting these negotiated transactions because it affirms the real estate market has settled from its accelerated growth that drove prices up in the first half of the decade. But for some home owners caught with having to sell their property and negative equity, it's a better alternative than having a foreclosure on their credit record.
Scott L. Williams is a realtor with Re/Max Real Estate. He says his office has gone from no short sales in seven years to nine such transactions in the last few months.
"Back in the '90s, I became the short sale guru in Sacramento and did several hundred of them," Williams said.
The realtor says he's working with another home owner in Natomas who has to move and has received an offer of $399,000 for her home. That is about $60,000 less than what she owes on it. Like Romero, the home owner hopes the lender will agree to let the house sell for less than the mortgage balance or will make a counter offer.
Even though a short sale will become part of these homeowners' financial history, Romero says it's better than a foreclosure. "I don't want my credit to be really ruined."
As for actual numbers of mortgage defaults, there were 37 percent more statewide in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year, according to foreclosures.com. In Sacramento County, there were 1,140 defaults reported in the first quarter, 2006, and less than half as many -- 738 -- last year at the same time." Similar statistics are accruing nationwide.
Posted by Post Scripts at 01:36 PM | Comments (0)
June 23, 2006
Soldiers Tortured In Iraq
"Two US soldiers who went missing after an attack on their checkpoint have been found dead and were tortured before being killed, an Iraqi defence official says."
This is an outrage and if this had been done to a couple terrorists held in Gitmo, no doubt Muslim fanatics from Tehran to Islamobad would be out in the streets threatening death to Americans. Well, it's not the average American's thing to take their anger to the streets and beat our chests bloody with rage, but we will be more than willing to bloody the enemy that did that attrocity.
What follows will be done in a steely calm. It will be done carefully and deliberately. It is taking shape at this moment, somewhere, in a secure strategic operations room, far from the media and the primitive terrorists, who mistakenly think they are out of reach of justice. If they could only see what the future holds for them, it would be far more disturbing than a mere mob chanting death threats.
We the people, acting through our President and our military will soon take care of what must be done. When it is over, it will not be punctuated by bravado or politicizing, it will simply be closure for the victim's families and an end to the unremarkable lives of a few insignificant, but truly evil fanatics.
Posted by Post Scripts at 10:05 PM | Comments (6)
Blog Improvement Coming Soon!
by Jack Lee
The blogs are undergoing some software updating, which is why I haven't been able to post till now. Every single blog at the ERonline has been hit by spamming. Upwards of 150 e-mails a day and it's caused a lot of consternation among the blog writers. Some blogs have quit being interactive and others have just quit. However, Post Scripts is determined to carry on, good news for many of you and bad news for a few of you...you know who you are! lol
Like I said, the current situation has been rough and I have personally blocked over 600 websites, but they still keep coming at an alarming rate. Nathan Adney, the ER's tech expert, is working on getting us the latest version of this blog's publishing platform with a spam blocker. He should have it running by the middle of next week. Till then, I hope we don't lose any of your comments with our rush to block spam emails, but if we do, the problem will be corrected very soon!
Posted by Post Scripts at 07:05 PM | Comments (0)
June 21, 2006
When All Else Fails-Go Fishin'
Years ago my husband warned me about saving your work when
using the computer. The advice has served me well over the years.
Trouble is, there's always those times when I get distracted or my
fingers get tangled up with my thoughts and...arghhhhhhhHHHHH!!
I can't believe I just lost...oh well...
So, tonight, I will resort to recalling a story from childhood, one my dad
told over and over and, of course, I never grew tired of hearing. When
my parents were young and living in golden colorado they loved to take
a picnic lunch and go fishing. They would sometimes take friends along
and the women would sit on a blanket and talk while the men fished. On
this particular occasion my dad and his friend had been at it for several
hours with no luck at all. The competition had been fierce as they each
vied for the perfect spot on the river. After awhile my mother convinced the
two anglers that they should let her give it a try. So my dad very patiently
explained the rod and reel and showed her a good hole where she could
try her luck. Not expecting much he stood back and prepared to offer words
of comfort and encouragement. It wasn't long before it became obvious that
my mom had a "lunker" on the line. "Oh **#**, don't lose him," said my dad,
and as he barked instructions on landing the fish he dived for the net so he
could help her land the big one. He got hold of the net and turned back just in
time to see my mom, with the poll slung over her shoulder, running up the bank
away from the river. He managed to take a swipe at the fish as it flew by but, of
course, he missed. Over the years Mom learned to fish in a more conventional
way but my dad always kept a special place in his heart for that first time when the
gal from Kansas showed the men how to fish. She always caught more than anyone
else in the group; I guess it was sheer enthusiasm that made the difference.
Does anybody else out there have a good fish story to tell?
Posted by Post Scripts at 11:00 PM | Comments (1)
News, Events and Tips
by Jack Lee
Tips to improve performance and mileage...
CATALYTIC CONVERTERS - Is the family car losing performance and gas mileage dropping? The likely culprit is the catalytic converter on cars with 80,000 or more miles on the odometer. When it plugs, you have to replace it, they can't be cleaned. Replacement runs about $100 for the part and about $70 to $100 for labor.
AIR FILTER - A clogged air filter can reduce gas mileage by over 10%. Most filters are required to be replaced about every 5000 depending on your type of driving - cost is usually under $15. New technology says you can replace the paper filter with a lifetime filter that requires only a simply washing with soap and water. They provide better filtration and improved gas mileage over a standard replacement filter, typical cost is under $35.
TIRE AIR PRESSURE - A change in seasons demands you check that tire air pressure! An under inflated tire can lead to tire fatigue and a blow out at high speed. Over inflation shortens the life of a tire. While you are down, look at the tread wear. If you see uneven tread wear, it's time for an alignment. Rotate tires every 5000 miles to maximize tire wear.
For more information on fuel saving tips, try this government website.
Health tips...
COLA'S - Did you hear about the latest AMA study on cola drinks? Turns out their is a significant link between cola drinks and hypertension (high blood pressure). This comes as surprise to researchers as the ingredients in diet or regular cola drinks has never been associated with causing hypertension. The effects of colas were most dramatic in women. Further study is ongoing to determine why colas raise your BP. If you suffer from high blood pressure, you might consider switching to a non-cola soft drink, couldn't hurt.
DRINK WATER - One of the biggest dangers in a heat wave like we're having now, is the increased risk of dehydration. This is the loss of water from the body, and with it important blood salts like potassium and sodium which play a vital role in the function of organs such as the kidneys, brain and heart. Ok, then you might think a cold beer would hit the spot, but it's reqally counter productive. Beer will dry you out more because of the alcohol. The AMA suggests you drink 1/2 glass of water about every 30 minutes in really hot weather (over 100) while you are working. The average person needs at least 8 glasses of water a day or 1 ounce of water for every 2 lbs of weight. If urine is dark in color, this is a sign that you need more water. This tip can save your life.
FREE MONEY - Government agencies are holding tens of billions of dollars in unclaimed funds. Last year alone, states collected $22.8 billion in missing money and unclaimed property, of which less than $1 billion was claimed by owners or rightful heirs. Assets are considered unclaimed when contact with the owner is lost - typically due to a name change after marriage or divorce, an unreported change of address or expired postal forwarding order, incomplete or illegible records, and clerical errors. Check with the State Treasurer's Office to see if they are holding money for you! Here is a helpful link.
Home tips....
ROOFING - Want to extend the life of your roof? Use light colored composition shingles in hot climates. Darker colors may look good, but they retain more of the summer heat and this causes premature aging in comp shingles. It can also increase your cooling bill.
GARDENING - It's gardening time...for a helpful website try these.
the Helpful Gardenerhttp://www.helpfulgardener.com/
Special events....
44th Annual Industrial EVENTS -BBQ"Celebrating Business in Chico"
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Veterans Appreciation breakfast at the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church on East Avenue (near the 7-11) between North and Ceres, this Saturday 8 am - 12 pm. Master of ceremonies will be KPAY's Bruce Sessions. Military vehicles will be on display.
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:35 AM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2006
American Portrait
by Tina Grazier
“I unconsciously decided that, even if it wasn’t an ideal world,
it should be and so painted only the ideal aspects of it—pictures
in which there are no drunken slatterns or self-centered mothers…
only foxy grandpas who played baseball with the kids and boys
who fished from logs and got up circuses in the backyard.�
Norman Rockwell
When I was a kid, being outside was the best. My friends and
I were free to explore our world with complete abandon...and
boy did we! We hiked the canyons and rode our bikes to the
schools and the park. We played hide and seek and kick the
can at night until after dark. We hung out at the movies or the
pool without our parents. We left our bikes wherever they fell,
unlocked, and found them again, right where we left them, even
if we forgot and had to retrieve them the next day. I know, I know,
you don't really want to take another walk down memory lane
so I won't bore you with more of the "good old days". The "good
old days" isn't the point anyway, character is. Character and the
broken portrait of American society.
Today I heard yet another story of a teacher who was fired due
to her involvement in dubious activities and I began to consider
the many stories like this that reflect the tapestry of society and
life in America. Columbine, Amber alerts, gang wars, Meth scares,
drug use, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion on demand,
and so much more make this "villiage" of ours a sadly dangerous
and discouraging place, especially for our children. Some
celebrate it as the "diversity of experience" and variety and art of
self-expression. I call it self-indulgence to a destructive and
disgraceful degree. I do so without reservation or any sense of
being unfair, bigoted or mean-spirited because I firmly believe that
those activities and expressions can be indulged in by grown-up
folks in private. Adults have the ability to effect privacy in their lives.
Children today are not given a choice. They are constantly
assaulted with other peoples choices, even in their own homes,
and it's got to end.
How do we reverse this degrading trend? How do we clean up
the mess we've made with our hip attitudes and open philosophy?
Although repairing the damage is a worthy goal, the task is daunting
and progress will take years. But I believe it's worth the effort and
commitment. The children are the future and a future worth living is
in jeapordy unless we take a stand now. Peer pressure has brought
us to this place and peer pressure is the simple solution. Pressure
for higher standards in education, at home, with friends and neighbors,
in churches and elsewhere in society will work. We must set the
standards for personal conduct very high. We must shove sordid
activities back into the shadows where they belong. It's insane that
adults-only "entertainment" is front and center in our living rooms,
on the covers of magazines at grocery counters and in movies and
music. People who choose to indulge in such activities should bear
the burden of inconvenience. It should be hard to find this kind of
entertainment. Let them install programing enablers on the TV so that
children are not forced to be witnesses, or worse, victims of it. They
would argue that parents alone bear this responsibility. I don't buy that
excuse. Although I firmly believe it is up to parents to direct their
childrens lives, I equally agree it is a societal responsibility to create
a healthy, safe, and supportive atmosphere for all children and to teach
the qualities that build strong character.
If Norman Rockwell were painting scenes in America today what
would he choose to paint? I believe he was a man of great humor
and insight with a positive outlook and so his paintings would
probably be much like they were in his time.
Quoting Norman Rockwell:
"The view of life I communicate in my pictures, excludes the sordid
and ugly. I paint life as I would like it to be."
We can all make a difference in the lives of children if we paint
this ideal view into our participation every day. If we insist that
"the sordid and the ugly" be excluded from public discourse and
expression, and if we encourage the building of solid character,
we will discover in time that we have managed to paint a great
American portrait and a better future for our kids.
Posted by Post Scripts at 07:55 PM | Comments (4)
June 19, 2006
FANNIE SCANDAL
by Tina Grazier
You've heard about the Enron scandal, the Tyco scandal, the
failings of Global Crossing and Worldcom, but have you heard
about the other big accounting scandal? No? Hmmm...
An investigation and report by the OFHEO (Office of Federal
Housing Enterprise Oversight ) reveals that between 1998 and
2004 the management of a prominent American firm grossly
overstated earnings to ensure big bonuses for their upper
management. The "Report of the Special Examination of Fannie
Mae" by the OFHEO states that Fannie Mae's reporting regarding
profit growth and earnings were "illusions deliberately and
systematically created by senior management with the aid of
inappropriate accounting and improper earnings management".
Fannie Mae will pay $400 Million in penalties and the company is
now under criminal investigation.
THEY COOKED THE BOOKS FOR BUCKS, GUYS!!!
So, who are "they"? Are they rich corporate creeps concerned
more about PROFITS than employees? Are they greedy
extravagant jerks enjoying wild parties and flaunting their
WEALTH as their company flounders? Well, no, not exactly.
They are Washington insiders and could touch both sides of
the political aisle...but one name in particular is of interest to me
since the person was a very prominent and controversial figure
on the 911 commission. You remember Jamie Gorelick, the
former Justice Department Deputy Attorney General who was
responsible for creating the policy that prevented communications
between intelligence agencies. (Terrorism had been tucked into a
neat legal envelope at the time and the investigation into illegal
campaign contributions to the Clinton-Gore campaign by Charlie
Trie was front and center.) Meanwhile, having done enough at the
Justice Department Ms. Gorelick moved on to greener pastures
as Vice Chairman of Fannie Mae in 1997.
What will be reported by the MSM as the crimminal proceedings in the
Fannie Mae case begin? Will we hear about Jamie Gorelick's
involvement in this scandal wherein she took home $26.46 Million in
salary and bonuses between 1998 and 2002?. How about Fannie Mae's
#1, former Clinton budget advisor Mr. Franklin Raines, will his name be
featured in the headlines for weeks on end? Mr. Raines' salary was never
more than $1 million a year, but in the six year period of the investigation
he was paid more than $52 million in bonuses. ($90.12 Million total). If this
story is reported, will the association to democrats and the Clinton
administration be reported or played down? Will the MSM report this story
at all? For now at least, I'm going to go ahead and breathe freely.
My thanks to Byron York of National Review for his article
"Funny Business at Fannie Mae". Byron says, "...the scandal's effects could
ripple through congress for years." And so it should.
Posted by Post Scripts at 12:11 PM | Comments (2)
(Update) BREAKING NEWS - HOME PRICES GOING DOWN
by Jack Lee
As a follow up to last week's story on declining home prices in the Chico area...
UPDATE 6/19/06: The National Association of Home Builders' index for sales in June for single-family homes dropped to 42. Readings of over 50 indicated builders think business is...
fair to good. The sentiment index among U.S. home builders fell for the sixth month in a row to an 11-year low in June. The June index reflects a broadbase decline over all four regions of the U.S.
The threat of A.R.M.adjustable rate mortgage foreclosures has spooked the stock market today, which is currently down about 80 points. The Washington Post said today, "As more hybrid adjustable rate mortgages adjust upward and housing prices dip, many Americans can't refinance out of this squeeze. They are finding themselves trapped in too-high monthly payments, and some face foreclosures."
And this just minutes old from an AP wire story, "ARMs are a ticking time bomb," said Brad Geisen, president and chief executive of property tracker Foreclosure.com. "Through 2006 and 2007, I‘m pretty sure we‘ll see a high volume of foreclosures."
This caps a MarketWatch story that indicated the current housing boom is the biggest on record since 1890 when records were started. That is one huge bubble and when it goes the effects will be significant. Economist Robert J. Shiller said Friday that new data suggests the market might be coming to an end. "I don't see why home prices should be shooting up that strongly," Shiller said, adding that speculation may have played a role. "It's a sign of concern."
It is expected that about $300 billion worth of hybrid ARMs will readjust (increasing interest rates) for the first time this year. In 2007 that number will rocket to $1 trillion, says the MBA. That means as payments leap upward some homeowners that were victimized by predatory lending practices will be coming up short and foreclosures will follow.
This is from one of these pricey investment letters, "Toll Brothers (TOL). If you don’t know Toll, it’s the biggest publicly traded builder of “McMansions� — those ostentatious, oversized homes that popped up all over the U.S. It was flying high. But now look at how it’s getting utterly slaughtered. This is a stock that was trading for about $58 and has now plunged by more than HALF in just a few months, crashing through all support levels, and heading still lower.
In short, the market has spoken, and we’re no longer alone: The market itself is now forecasting a real estate bust. Not a “soft landing.� Not a “maybe-bust someday.� It’s forecasting an outright collapse, starting right now. Still not convinced? Then take a look at the chart of another major homebuilder, KB Home (KBH). You’ll see the exact same kind of action."
FYI, stocks are generally the first to show declines when a sector, like housing, transports, energy, etc.,gets hits and now, well, here you go... real estate stocks are doing poorly. That has to be a big red flag.
The news letter goes on, "Right here in my zip code (33458), there were recently 574 properties with at least two bedrooms and two bathrooms for sale between $100,000 and $500,000, according to Realtor.com. When I started tracking almost a year ago, only 150 fit that description. That’s a 283% increase. Almost four times as many houses, condos, and town homes are piling up, still unsold.
In one nearby community, called Chasewood, the same listings have been sitting on the market month after month. The lowest priced unit used to be listed at around $210,000. Now, you can score one for just under $175,000. That’s almost a 17% drop in just the past several months!"
The author suggests several ways to protect yourself:
Note:Predatory lending is when lenders put a marginally qualified borrower into an adjustable rate loan, not caring if the borrower will be able to handle the higher payments when the loan payment adjusts.
Disclosure: This author has no vested interest in the local real estate market other than owning one home in Chico. I'm basically free to call it as I see it and I am. My hope is that you will read this information, compare it to those others that are still painting a very rosey picture, then weight the motives behind both sides pro and con and finally do your own due dillegence. Then, if you must, make a judgement call based on what is right for you!
Posted by Post Scripts at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)
June 16, 2006
98% of Democrats are Crazy, Polls Show
This was too good to stay in comments, I
had to bring it out so you didn't miss it...From our own PS writer Tina Grazier, "Ok I'll play. I think that 98% of democrats are insane while only 97% of their loyal followers are! The polls tell us a lot about the state of the disloyal, loyal opposition and the media. They say very little about how well Bush is actually doing. They are designed that way on purpose.
Why do they poll? To get to the other side? Well, in a way...they want power back, big time. Not polling would leave them with only their thoughts as a guide. NO HELP THERE! So poll and protest, poll and protest, poll and protest!!! They will FORCE Americans into believing they're right even if they have to beat us bloody with polls and protests.
They cannot be trusted to honor a pledge, like defending the Constitution, so why would they be any good at defending America? And why, pray tell, should we trust them ever again about anything, including polls? WE ARE WINNING THE LONG RACE...NO MATTER WHAT THEIR DA*N POLLS SAY.
If I stand back and step outside the yammering I am astounded by the accomplishment of the Bush administration and our BRAVE TROOPS. In a few short years, with very few errors, we have freed people from tyrants and terror, seen two democracies take root in the Middle East, watched the Palestinians devolve into a state of chaos amongst themselves with fewer attacks on Israel, killed and captured thousand of terrorists and prevented further destruction on American soil (may it remain so)and there is more to come. Let's Roll and roll and roll those "disloyal" rats into the gutters of disfavor where they belong.
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:37 AM | Comments (0)
June 15, 2006
Chico Home Prices Are Starting to Tumble
Remember, when we were discussing home prices and I warned about the MLS inventory climbing and said this could signal a retreat in home pricing? Well, today's lead story in our paper edition sure looks familiar, "A
national study concluded Chico homes are "extremely overvalued" ... analysis released Monday by National City Corp. and Global Insight found that homes in Chico are priced nearly 61 percent higher than they should be!" I was stunned...Chico is 61% overvalued??? My friends in real estate say this 61% number is rather suspect, yet they admit current home prices do seem just beyond affordability for many low to medium income folks. For still others it exceeds their "comfort zone" as buyers and they are in a wait and see mode.
Realtors are calling this a buyers market, but that won't help sales much, if Chico home prices remain so high that nobody wants to be a buyer!. Proof of that is found in the MLS inventory which is at about 500 homes, that is huge for Chico. In a good year, it should be less than half that, according to my sources.
In other areas of real estate, Wall Street says it's an almost a sure bet that interest rates are going higher, but how much higher and over what time, well, that is the big question. However, if homes aren't selling now, any increase won't be welcomed. My advice is, if you must sell now, better price it right into this market and not on the market 6 months ago, a lot has changed since then. You don't want your home price to chase the market as it heads down. This can get expensive! Case in point, is an out of state buyer picked up house about 9 months ago for close to $200k and he's flipping it out now for $179k for a quick sale before he sees even more loss. This is what happens when a red hot market turns cool.
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:23 PM | Comments (3)
OPEN LETTER TO A LIBERAL
(name deleted) writes to Jack about terrorist detainees at Gitmo, ..."Lets just forget about proving them guilty or any of that complicated and annoying stuff. The government says they were terrorists and that's good enough for Jack Lee.
Do you even know their names, Jack? Do you know what they are charged with? Why there were in Guatanamo? Or are you just
standing out there in that field ready to put a bullet in the head of anyone the government points at and says "terrorist"? "
Jack's reply: Hey (name deleted), it's not like the detainees at Gitmo made a wrong turn on their way to the Mosque and wound up in an Al Queda training camp in Afghanistan! Get a clue pal.
What do I know about these people, you ask?
We released one of your "friends" from Gitmo not too long ago after getting a lot of promises and trying our best to make sure he was the least threatening of the prisoners and guess what happened? He went immediately back to Pakistan and blew up a Marriot, killing a bunch of people! Another one of your "friends" from Guantanamo, kidnapped two Chinese engineers, one of whom was killed. He returned to Pakistan in March after about two years' detention. These guys are fanatics, don't you get it?
Call me crazy, but I think I would trust the advice of our own military on this one. Our military has done background interrogations ad naseum on these guys and they know exactly who they have.
How nuts is it when 3 of them commit suicide to make a political statement?
What kind of statement would they be making if they were bunking over at your house? Trust me...you don't want to find out. And (name deleted), there is nothing in our Constitution about protecting terrorists! Read some history. See how we handled the Barbary Pirates, hint we sent in the Marines and we killed a bunch of them. This ended years of kidnappings and ship hijackings where millions in ransome had been paid by other countries.
You would give every detainee another Moussaoui style trial that not only gives them a podium, but COSTS us MILLIONS. How long did that Moussaoui trial go on, four years? Look at the intel they would gain too. Why would we want to do this? What logical or legal reason would we be compelled to do that for every detainee in Gitmo? Tell me and don't say it's their Constitutional right! That's baloney.
These terrorists are outside the American legal system and outside international law for that matter. They have no Constitutional protections whatsoever...because THEY ARE NOT AMERICAN'S, THEY ARE NOT COMBATANTS FOR A FOREIGN FLAG, THEY HAVE NO PROTECTIONS BY THE GENEVA CONVENTION, they are terrorists and our law provides, if found guilty by a military court, they can be executed. We did that following WWII in Germany where ex-Nazi fanatics were murdering people. You want us to follow the letter of the law? That would be the result; instead they get ethnic meals and more freedoms than our own American service men now held in the brig, pending their court martial for alleged offenses in Iraq generated by your all so "politically correct" liberal pals! It's an outrage our own men should be treated so harshly while terrorists at Gitmo are treated better!
LOOK (name deleted) THESE MUSLIM ZEALOTS ARE NOT RESTRAINED BY LAW OR THE NORMAL RULES OF ENGAGEMENT IN WAR TIME. THEY ARE COLD BLOODED, RUTHLESS, FANATICS, THAT WOULD KILL YOU IN HEART BEAT...WISE UP!
Posted by Post Scripts at 08:49 AM | Comments (15)
Poll Numbers on Iraq / Bush / Al Zarkawi's Death
The CBS News poll survey, taken Friday to Sunday and released Monday, showed Bush's approval rating going up to 38% from 36% earlier this
month and an all-time low of 31% in May. 53% of Americans think Mr. Zarqawi's death would improve the Iraq situation at least a little bit, 53% also call the invasion of Iraq "the wrong decision," compared with 41% who still back it.
Sixty-one percent also say Zarqawi's death won't have any impact on the terrorist threat against the United States, while 22 percent it will increase that threat. Thirteen percent predict a decreased risk of terrorism. 30 percent say it will actually lead to more attacks against U.S. forces. Just 16 percent think the number of attacks will decrease as a result of his death and 31% of Democrats think Al Zarkawi would be a better President than Bush, up 2% after his death...(ok, I'm kidding on that one, just wanted to see if you were paying attention.)
What do you think? Remember, you don't have to give your real name if you don't want too and your email address will not be used to generate spam, we destroy that information as soon as it comes in.
Posted by Post Scripts at 06:26 AM | Comments (2)
June 14, 2006
Ordinary Guys-The Hero's Mission
by Tina Grazier
An incredible thing happened in the midst of the horror, shock, pain and loss of September 11, 2001. Americans discovered newly, and some for the first time, the mettle of true hero's.
Prior to the falling of the towers, we held athletes, movie stars,..
singers
and musicians up as our role models. These players and pretenders
were the icons of greatness in our jaded world, especially in the minds of our children. But on that day the imagery, lights and hoopla of "entertainment events" were relegated to their rightly place. Most of us, as we watched our TV screens, saw life in full color and form; life with the distinguishing mark of an inescapable truth...this is real and it won't end when we turn off the TV. In a series of continuous frames, one after another, we saw ordinary guys, firemen, policemen, paramedics, and others commit to the next thing, and the next until utter and complete exhaustion took over...and still they persevered. Their acts of courage and sacrifice were beyond our normal expectations and touched our hearts in ways we had not previously experienced. 911 will be remembered for the mindless
destruction of lives, families, friendships, jobs and buildings but it will also stand as the day that would bring into sharp focus the special qualities that make men...men.
Life's defining moments fade from our memories with the passage of
time so it is wise to remind ourselves of the lessons we might have
learned from them. I decided to share these thoughts because of the
recent events in Iraq and in anticipation of Fathers Day. It's important to appreciate the qualities that make the men in our lives special and valuable. It's especially important to continue to honor those who, when called to duty in extraordinary circumstances, never hesitate but instead give their all until the goal has been achieved and the job is complete.
The qualities that make men great in extraordinary times are the same
in ordinary life, just more so. To all men of fortitude and valor I say thank you. To those who are also fathers, I thank you too, for passing this legacy on to your sons. To our troops, a special thank you. You do double duty,sacrificing family time as you also serve us and our country. God bless you all, and God bless the mission, wherever and whatever it may be.
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:39 PM | Comments (2)
June 13, 2006
POST SCRIPTS - Special (Soldier's Comment)
A front line soldier in Iraq writes us...
"The Pentagon won't hide interrogation techniques", is the headline in a Yahoo news story.
Civil Rights groups are thrilled!
Democrats are thrilled!
So is every terrorist group were fighting...
Thanks America!
I hope you sleep better, I know we won't.
Note to soldier: If it were up to me, those tactics would be encouraged, not discouraged and our tactics would NEVER be the subject of a sensational newspaper headline in the USA. If it was, then it would be a criminal offense similar to treason. To do less is both idiotic and counterproductive. It's like aiding the enemy and the Pentagon knows this, but they are apparently gutless, bending to the will of the vocal moronic left. George Patton would never have let you down like that! Nor would any of our great leaders... MacArthur, Ike, Blackjack Pershing, Teddy Roosevelt, they knew exactly how to fight a war and win it. GW should just say no, but that ain't happening and it's a dirty rotten shame! Even in Viet Nam the politicians running the war didn't go that far. Well, I'm really sorry, however I've been sold out so many times during the war on drugs that I lost count...so if this is the worst that comes your way, consider yourself real lucky. Jack Lee
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:14 PM | Comments (1)
DeSoto on the Amazon
by Tina Grazier
While reading about
Hernando de Soto yesterday I came across this paragraph having to do with environmental concerns. I found it interesting because many of the hard core greens in this country have made it their mission to convince us that American Corporations are the big bad polluters of the Amazon. According to de Soto, "One of the great worries of anyone concerned about the environment is that at the very sources of the Amazon one finds an enormous amount of pollution due to the dumping of thousands of tons of sulfuric acid, kero- sene, and other such chemicals. Well, these chemicals are there simply because that's where peasants manufacture coca paste.
The major reason they make coca paste is that these entrepreneurs have no security with respect to their property, because it is informal property and therefore not "legal." They have no incentive to plant, for ex- ample, oil palms, which in five years will give them an economic benefit six times greater than planting coca. To produce palm oil, you have to be able to wait five years, while coca grows like weeds, without any need for care and time. And if you don't have clear property rights, you can't get the credit necessary to grow crops that require more investment capital than coca..."
Not only should we, 1. "Teach them to fish" and 2. Make sure they own their own boat, but we should do it...for the environment! Hmmm, another great reason to promote the free market and property rights!
Woof, Woof!
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:10 PM | Comments (0)
June 12, 2006
WILL "WOOF" FOR OWNERSHIP
by Tina Grazier
During the recent debate over immigration I kept wondering what the reasons behind this great "migration" were. Why did Mexican's and others need to come to America to make money? Why hadn't they taken the idea of ownership home? Why were those little mobile taco stands, so prevalent now on street corners in America, not instead
lining the streets of Mexico? I found one man's answer in an article in The American Spectator titled "Why Isn't the Whole World Developed? by Tom Bethel. The article introduced a gentlemen named Hernando de Soto, the founder of the "Institute for Liberty and Democracy" in Lima, Peru. Say's Mr. de Soto:
"The secret of Western economies is that over the last 200 years Europe and North America devised the legal institutions and reforms to incorporate nearly everyone and their property into the official market."
Many of the people in the Third World have working systems of entreprenurial enterprise, but they operate outside the legal marketplace. The communities survive because of local rules they have establised with each other, but because they do not own property, they have no chance to advance, gain in wealth or participate in the greater marketplaces of their own countries
or the world. Quoting Mr. de Soto:
"Political elites in these countries manipulate their legal systems to seize or extract the wealth of those outside the unequal systems of privileges and monopolies."
Without property rights the people in countries south of our borders have little chance of creating ownership societies with opportunities for advancement, even though free elections occur. Hence, the migrations to America where the opportunity exists not only to make money to feed the family, but also to own property and participate in the free market. They come for the liberty; they come for the opportunity to create their own destinies.
The problems of illegal immigration in America require both short term and long term solutions if they are to be truly effective. Promoting freedom and democracy south of our borders is a good long term strategy, but unless we also promote the inclusion of legal structures that support private ownership of property, only socialist states with populations that remain poor will emerge. Yet this isn't the only lesson be learned from this clever economist.
Take warning and heed Mr. de Soto's advice. We in America, whether through good intentions or true believer political preference, have established systems that undermine our own liberties. Government programs such as welfare, housing projects, progressive taxation, social security and medicare find us drifting ever leftward toward a form of government like the socialist third world systems of Castro and Chavez. In those worlds only a few elitists have wealth and power. The entreprenurial spirit that makes Americans the envy of others around the world is built on a foundation of liberty and property rights. If we fail to maintain our legal system of private ownership the promise this spirit offers will be lost. De Soto says of the poor areas around the world,
"If you walk through the countryside...in each field a different dog is going to bark at you. Even dogs know what private property is about."
WOOF!
Posted by Post Scripts at 02:44 PM | Comments (3)
June 11, 2006
Words of Wisdom
Anonymous author, submitted by Mike W:
Things that make you think a little:
There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq in January. In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of January. That's just one American city, about as deadly as the entire war-torn country of Iraq.
When some claim that President Bush shouldn't have started this war, state the following:
a. FDR led us into World War II.
b. Germany never attacked us; Japan did From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost...an average of 112,500 per year.
c. Truman finished that war and started one in Korea. North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost...an average of 18,334 per year.
d John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us...
e. Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost ... an average of 5,800 per year.
f. Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent. Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.
g. In the years since terrorists attacked us , President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran, and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.
The Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking. But..it took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51-day operation.
We've been looking for evidence for chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records.
It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick
It took less time to take Iraq than it took to count the votes in Florida.
Our Commander-In-Chief is doing a GREAT JOB! The Military Morale is high!
The biased media hopes we are too ignorant to realize the facts.
But Wait there's more!
JOHN GLENN (ON THE SENATE FLOOR)
Mon, 26 Jan 2004 11:13
Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Senator Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one
man's explanation of why men and women in the armed services do what they do for a living.
This IS a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of the military.
Senator Metzenbaum (speaking to Senator Glenn):
"How can you run for Senate when you've never held a real job?"
Senator Glenn (D-Ohio):
"I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program. It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was
not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank."
"I ask you to go with me ... as I went the other day... to a veteran's hospital and look those men with their mangled bodies .. in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job!
You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and Orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee...and you look those kids in the eye and tell them
that their DADS didn't hold a job.
You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember.
You stand there, and you think about this nation, and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job?
What about you?"
For those who don't remember .. During W.W.II, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA.
Now he's a Senator!
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English thank a Veteran.
Posted by Post Scripts at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)
House Elections - It's a Referendum on President
The November House elections may be a seen as a referendum on the president and his party. If the election were held today, the dems would probably gain up to 10 seats, not because they have the best agenda or they are the most loved, but because the GOP is losing ground due to their weak and uninspired leadership. Now add in the President's dangerously low poll numbers and this election could become more of a referendum on the President and his policies, least thats where I see the dems strategy heading.
Conservative America is hurting from the protracted ground action in Iraq. Bush's half measures on border control, huge deficit spending, gasoline prices, the Abramoff scandal that still threatens to expose more Congressmen, DeLay's unusual departure in the wake of charges, Duke Cunningham's admission of wrong doing, even the Plame Affair and Scooter Libby, these and more have taken a toll. 2006 has been a rough year for Bush and the GOP!
It's not always been their fault, but a good deal of their woes certainly are, for instance, despite having the Presidency, the Senate and the House, they've done ...
virtually zip, zero, nada in the way of any meaningful, creative and helpful legislation. Deficit spending has been astronomically high. The ports deal, infuriated Bush's own base and it made guys like Chucky Schummer look good? Chucky was right there standing up for conservatives, demanding we block the deal, while the Bush administration was all set too run it through? That was beyond weird! Now it comes out it was not just U.A.E., but there were financial links into Saudi Arabia; the whole deal was just setup a little too stealthy and that made Americans rightly suspicious. The ports deal was so out of character for Republicans, it still has people wondering what it was all about?
Next: Bush has had 5+ years to do something about the border problems and instead it seemed like his own base had to drag him kicking and screaming to a solution, even a half baked solution. The GOP Congress looks no better, they can't seem to get anything sensible passed to halt illegal immigration.
The democrats should have made enormous gains during all these GOP/Bush, missteps, corruption, ineptness, confusion and turmoil, but the Dem's were too caught up in Bush bashing and let key opportunities slip away. They were too focused on partisan politics, like selling the big lie that Bush was appointed not elected. The more they whined about that stuff the worse they looked. As a result, the Democrat leadership now has a serious image problem. People see them as being too radical and shady. The worst possible choice to head the DNC was Howard Dean! What were they thinking? Dean has done a lot of damage, even though lately has been muzzled.
To make it worse for the DNC, voters know the far left would rather see America go up in flames, if it meant hurting Bush and they really resent it. Absent responsible spokes people for the democrats, the fringe left like MOVEON.ORG, has been free to sound like the center. This creates a serious credibility problem, compounded by Hillary running towards the middle, trying too hard too be believable. All this doesn't play out well with a more conservative middle America and it's held the dems in check because they just don't get it. If they did, Dean would never have ascended to the run the DNC!
The Jack Abramoff scandal has touched them too, most recently with Congressman William Jefferson. The more Jefferson fights the charges the more honorable Duke Cunningham looks for quickly admitting his guilt. The Dems are living in the preverbal "glass house" while tossing stones at the GOP and this makes them sound incredibly disengenious when talking about the "culture of corruption", as if they were above it all.
The final challenge for the DNC is their track record for national security. Remember, Charlie Tree and the Chinese money? And how about both the nuclear and stealth secrets that went to China during Clinton's administration? And need I say, "Loral Space" and guidance system lost to the Chinese? People just don't trust the DNC when it comes to security and fighting terrorism and for good reasons.
God forbid, but should we get another terrorist attack on US soil, this will reverse the misfortunes for the GOP and they will remain solidly in control. Bush's poll numbers may be in the toilet, but at least people think he is aggressive on terrorism, in spite of the ports sale and that's put the GOP ahead of the DNC on the key issue of the 06 campaign. However, if we don't have such a landmark incident, the GOP is probably destined to lose at least 9 or 10 seats in Congress and they may eventually lose the Presidency, but they will likely not lose control of Congress this time around. If they trot out Al Gore again, forget what I said about the Presidency, the DNC might just as well have run Howard Dean again. Needless to say, there are a number of possibilities that could determine outcome in the next election and I've only touched on a few.
Democrats will need a net gain of 15 seats to win a majority. However, neither party has made a net gain of more than 10 House seats over the last 20 years. Should be very interesting election...hope you are registered to vote!
Posted by Post Scripts at 09:19 AM | Comments (10)
June 08, 2006
He Hated Bush More...
Whatever I can do to humiliate, insult, obstruct or hurt terrorists, Al Qeada, their leadership, followers or
sympathisers, hey, I'm your man. I would do it in heart beat, so would 99% of the people that post here!
That's why I almost puked when Nick Berg's father Michael, now a Green Party candidate for Congress, said he was more upset at Bush than Al Zarkawi, the guy that beheaded his own son!!!! Mr. Berg added, he really didn't know if Al Zarkawi even did it (note to Mr. Berg: It was on video around the world and Zarkawi is holding the knife sawing your kid's head off for Al Jazeera news) and he really didn't know if Al Zarkawi, killer of women and children, was all that bad? The guy who goes around beheading, bombing and shooting people? He is unsure if he was really a bad guy... Berg explains, maybe Zarkawi was pushed into doing bad things by us evil Americans. See its our fault (you knew that was coming) or that we are equally guilty, yada yada, the tired old "moral equivalency" dodge liberals love to use...
May 14th, on The Glenn Beck Program, Beck called Michael Berg "despicable" and "a scumbag".
Beck said he didn't get any more complaints than usual about his comments, and he had no second thoughts about what he said. He added that, as time passes, 'I think public opinion will grow closer and closer to mine.'" Well, it sure has and Berg has been exposed for the fool that he is, let me be among the first to congratulate Glen Beck for what he said. Right on Glen!
Michael Berg has been an outspoken, anti-war opponent since his son's death and regulary makes vile anti-American statements that would even give Michael Moore a "cringe" moment.
In an interview today, Berg said:
MICHAEL BERG: Well, my reaction is I'm sorry whenever any human being dies. Zarqawi is a human being. He has a family who are reacting just as my family reacted when Nick was killed, and I feel bad for that.
O'BRIEN: I have to say, sir, I'm surprised. I know how devastated you and your family were, frankly, when Nick was killed in such a horrible, and brutal and public way.
BERG: Well, you shouldn't be surprised, because I have never indicated anything but forgiveness and peace in any interview on the air.
O'BRIEN: No, no. And we have spoken before, and I'm well aware of that. But at some point, one would think, is there a moment when you say, 'I'm glad he's dead, the man who killed my son'?
BERG: No. How can a human being be glad that another human being is dead?
O'BRIEN: There have been family members who have weighed in, victims, who've said that they don't think he's a martyr in heaven, that they think, frankly, he went straight to hell ...
You know, you talked about the fact that he's become a political figure. Are you concerned that he becomes a martyr and a hero and, in fact, invigorates the insurgency in Iraq?
BERG: Of course. When Nick was killed, I felt that I had nothing left to lose. I'm a pacifist, so I wasn't going out murdering people. But I am -- was not a risk-taking person, and yet now I've done things that have endangered me tremendously.
I've been shot at. I've been showed horrible pictures. I've been called all kinds of names and threatened by all kinds of people, and yet I feel that I have nothing left to lose, so I do those things.
Now, take someone who in 1991, who maybe had their family killed by an American bomb, their support system whisked away from them, someone who, instead of being 59, as I was when Nick died, was 5-years-old or 10-years-old. And then if I were that person, might I not learn how to fly a plane into a building or ....
STOP IT! I CAN"T TAKE IT ANYMORE, ENOUGH OF THIS IDIOT....
Berg is living in la la land. Once again, like is so typical of liberal wingnuts, he is assigning all sorts of moral justifications for terrorists, without once addressing the possibility they are doing it because of religion! The majority of Muslim zealots are driven to hate and kill over their religious beliefs and everything else is just a distant second! There is NO evidence to support that even one of the 9-11 terrorists did that vile act because their family was blown up by an American bomb in war or anywhere. Where does Berg get this garbage?
Fact is, most of the people who flew the hijacked planes on 9-11 were from rich Saudi families. They grew up in privilaged lives, far from war, but they had one thing in common, they were indoctrinated at an early age in a radical Wahabi Religious School that taught them to HATE and to KILL BECAUSE THEY ARE DOING ALLAH'S WILL! But, noooo, you don't hear that coming out of Mr. Pacifists mouth do you? This confused man is still wringing his hands trying to decide if the monster that sawed his son's head off, is really a bad guy? He doesn't have the slight clue what a lowlife Jordanian thug Al Zarawi was before he jumped on the terrorist bandwagon.
Unlike Mr. Berg, I still have some shred of common sense left and I realize we can't sit down and reason with Muslim fanatics while they are killing innocent people left and right. Those monsters are determined to murder you, me or Mr. Self-righteous, just like they slaughtered his innocent, non-military, pacifist son and there is no confusion about that on my part! I get it! But, the pathetic part is, this moron doesn't get it and he is running for office. Worse, there are literally tens of thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands of people just as screwed up and nutty as he is all over America. Berg is dispicable.
Posted by Post Scripts at 12:53 PM | Comments (2)
Terrorist Boss Announces Retirement - (PG rated)
by Jack Lee
SPECIAL EDITION
Abu Musab Al Zarqawi leaves post as Al Qaeda's #1 in Iraq ...
but before he just fades away into history, the U.S. military in Iraq convinced him to swing by the White House, just to confirm his retirement from bombings, kidnappings and beheadings.In a hastily called news conference, Bush hailed Zarqawi's sudden retirement from the Al Qaeda organization and terrorism, as probably the best thing he could have done at this time for Iraq and for the world. Bush said, "We were extremely pleased to make it possible for you too!"
Zarqawi had little to say, but the expression on his face said it all and so did the smile on Bush's face. As a jesture of good will, Zarqawi left Bush with abundant records detailing his operation and terrorist contacts.
In Baghdad, Iraqi policemen danced in the street. In other areas of Iraq, Al Qaeda members wailed, their cries were often mixed with the background sound of heavy tanks rolling up to their doorstep with a special condolence message from G. W. Bush.
Good-bye Al...Hellooooo Osama
Note: The Enterprise Record does not necessarily endorse nor represent the views expressed in this free speech area. The views and content noted here are soley those of the author, Jack Lee. Further, the photo shown is not real and no dead bodies were harmed in the making of this post.
I just thought I would put that little disclaimer in there in case anyone wanted to complain about this article... Jack
Posted by Post Scripts at 07:57 AM | Comments (5)
June 07, 2006
Codependency and Government Part III
by Jack Lee
As we enter the 3rd and final segment of this article, I want to outline the patterns of codependency as it plays out in our modern US government. As you read this, I'm sure you find the patterns familiar as I based this on many of the things I found in Codependents Anonymous. Now I admit, the following outine is full of unsupported generalities and if you want me to give specifics on each and every point, I could, but then it would be called a book and not an article. lol So, please bear with me on the generalities and hopefully, it will all make sense when you're done reading:
Denial Patterns:
Patterns of Weakness and Confusion:
Compliance Patterns:
Control Patterns:
NOW FOR THE SOLUTION:
(This next one really wasn't a codependent behavior, but I thought I would toss it in anyway. On War....Either we fight to win and completely support our troops or we don't go to war. That means once we are committed to action, we don't tolerate back stabbing by politicians pushing their own agenda. We fight to win in the shortest time possible and fight on our terms, utililizing our technology. We don't surgically engage the enemy, as in house to house fighting, instead we blow up the block, if the block is resisting we blow up the neighborhood, and so on ... this is how we win, absolutely and completely)
Posted by Post Scripts at 04:44 PM | Comments (4)
EYE OF NEWT
by Tina Grazier
The revolutionary Newt Gingrich has been keeping his eye on the congressional left and warns today of a strange brew they're cooking up to convice voters they should be put back in charge of our money. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble .......warns Newt:
"...the left knows it can't openly support a tax increase. So instead the left will attempt to steal conservative language and talk about 'balancing the budget'. But be warned, it's a step by step conspiracy to raise your taxes."
He then goes on to explain that they will:
1. Talk about how everything must be on the table to balance the
budget.
2. Declare that attempts to transform entitlements that include ideas
such as Social Security or Health Savings Accounts are impossible and should therefore be "off the table".
3. Talk about an incumbant bipartisan pork coalition that will
undermine spending controls.
4. Insist that for these reasons taxes must be raised.
I like to add that they will also be saying that tax cuts lead to increased spending, something called "Starve the Beast". This is statistically accurate but also misleading. A clearer picture can be found in an article by Nick Schulz called "Tax Cuts=More pending?" at National Review online. And may I also recommend a Heritage foundation article by Daniel J. Mitchel, Ph. D., "The historicle Lessons of Lower Tax Rates", from which I've taken the following quote:
"Harmful Spending & Complexity
Lower tax rates are important, but they are not the only critical issue. Both the level of government spending and where that money goes are very important. And even when looking only at tax policy, tax rates are just one piece of the puzzle. If certain types of income are subject to multiple layers of tax, as occurs in the current system, that problem cannot be solved by low rates. Similarly, a tax system with needless levels of complexity will impose heavy costs on the productive sector of the economy." The odor from the mixed brew of the current system and the "cure" that Democrats will propose should be enough to make all voters wary. At this time in our history 41% of Americans remain completely outside the income tax system. Of those, an estimated 91 million individuals who file will have a zero tax liability this year. We need answers that amount to more than simply "more of the same".
My thanks to Newt for the tip. It reminds me that my vote is vitally important and necessary for my own good...even if I have to hold my nose to do it.
Posted by Post Scripts at 06:53 AM | Comments (1)
June 06, 2006
Equally Taxing Matters
by Tina Grazier
Americans have wrestled with equal rights issues for decades.
Today we are still made constantly aware of descrimination and
abuses of the citizenry either against one another or upon
ourselves. Substance abuse, verbal and physical abuse, and
road rage top the list of abuses we endure. People loudly cry
"descrimination" based on age, size, color, sex, religion,
handicap, smoking...the list is never ending. We seem to be
genuinely interested in equality, so why do we "concerned
citizens" so willingly put up with extreme tax abuse year after
year? A 2002 article entitled "Top Ten Civil Liberties Abuses
of the Income Tax" by Chris Edwards, director of fiscal policy
studies at the Cato Institute reveals the nature of these abuses.
The following is Mr. Edwards list of ten civil liberties abuses.
Equality under the law is undermined by:
1. "Vertical" inequality-income tax law treats citizens unequally
with different tax burdens at different levels of income.
2. "Horizontal' inequality-people of similar incomes pay differing
amounts based on deductions, credits, marital status, children
and other provisions.
Certainty in the law is necessary for protection against arbitrary
& abusive government. Certainty is undermined by:
3. Complexity and Ambiguity-tax law uses no consistant definition
of income resulting in a code that is too complex for accurate
reporting.
4. Constant changing law-citizens are required to know the law
and comply yet the rules are complex and changing.
5. Lack of financial privacy-the nature of current tax laws requires
that citizens reveal private financial information.
6. Denial of Due Process-the IRS engages in summary judgements
and enforces them prior to judicial determinations.
7. Shifting of Burden of Proof-the IRS, in most cases, does not
have to prove the correctness of it's determinations against the
accused.
8. Legal recourse-the rules and procedures for obtaining a jury trial
effectively illiminate the right to trial by jury in most cases.
9. Unreasonable Searches & Seizures-Section 7602 of the tax code
allows the IRS to obtain records of any description from anyone
without showing probable cause and without a court order.
10. Forced Self-Incrimination-Citizens are required to sign tax returns
sworn under penalty of purgery which invalidates the fifth Amendment.
Equality with respect to rights was a recurring theme of the last century
and remains the focus of political and social discourse today. But
equality, if it is ever going to mean anything, must include equality of
responsibilities. A tax system that reduces some citizens to childlike
status by exempting them from fiscal participation while overly
burdening others leads to resentment and civil unrest. A tax system that
offends our civil liberties descriminates against all. A consumption tax
would effect all citizens equally at the point of purchase creating a greater
sense of equal participation. Similarly, the flat tax offers simplicity and a
more equitable system. We must end tax abuse by scraping our current
tax code but don't go postal...just INSIST!
Posted by Melody at 08:36 PM | Comments (3)
June 04, 2006
A Moment In History
by Jack Lee....
Heralded as one of the greatest plays in the history of baseball ,it was on May 23rd, 1976 at Dodger Stadium. Even though the Vietnam War was over, some people didn't need a reason to protest; shown here are
two low-lifes that sneaked onto the field and prepared to burn Old glory. Then out of center field charged Rick Monday of the Chicago Cubs. The flag, dowsed with lighter fluid, was less than 6 inches from the burning match when Monday, coming in a full tilt, reached down and grabbed it as he ran past. He later said he seriously considered throwing a body block on the two, but opted for grabbing the flag, his first concern.
The two stunned and bewildered protestors were immediately arrested and escorted off the field as the crowd applauded the cops. Moments later the fans spontaneously began singing God Bless America. For the rest of the season Rick Monday got a standing ovation wherever he played, although he didn't really want the attention and said he only did what anyone else would have done, given the chance. 1976 was one of Monday's best seasons in his long career.
The flag was returned to Monday, where it is proudly on display at his home. Rick Monday, United States Marine veteran, Center Fielder for the Chicago Cubs and an all-American patriot.
Posted by Melody at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)
TAXING MATTERS
by Tina Grazier
Over the weekend I watched "It Runs in the Family", one of those "remember
when" movies narrated by the oldest child and set in the middle to late forties.
One scene showed the neighbors rushing around the neighborhood carrying
lamps, linens, lawnmowers and pottery as if headed for a swap meet. The
narrator quickly informs us however, that their real mission is to quickly hide all
their newly acquired belongings in other people's houses down the block
because soon they will be visited by the tax man. The next scene shows the
main family ushering this dreaded government "visitor" through their home
where he is seen snooping in all the cupboards, closets and drawers. He
inquires about a shiney new refrigerator...the mother insists they got it from the
Salvation Army. The tax man begins to argue and the oldest kid chimes in,
head bobbing wildly, and says that they got it from the Salvation Army, just like
his mom said. The tax man narrows his pudgy eyes and asks the kid about
new toys that he might have acquired since the last audit. The bit is both amusing
and creepy. It reminded me of the times I've endured sales tax audits.
Next I was reading National Review and came across, "Rockin the Right", their list
of the 50 greatest conservative rock songs. Among my favorites was George
Harrison's "Taxman" by the Beatles:
"If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet... (and their final jab at death taxes)
Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes." (George was always my favorite Beatle!)
I soon found myself looking at our tax system once again. My search brought me
to many websites of interest, including one that Drzal would like featuring
unflattering caricatures of GWB. But the most interesting site
(www.buildfreedom.com/tl/rape8.shtml) featured tax history sprinkled with quotes
from the writings of Charles Adams. In his book titled "FIGHT, FLIGHT, AND
FRAUD: The Story of Taxation", he asserts that history and the fall of great nations
can be attributed to taxes.
In 1894 the United States adopted an income tax and Britian passed a death tax
law with progressive rates. It wasn't long
before the progressive rates were a part of taxation everywhere. Within one year
the U.S. tax law was challenged in Pollock v. Farmers Loan and Trust Co. One
lawyer remarked, "If the rate is 2% today, it could be 20% tomorrow". Imagine the
complete and utter indignation on this lawyers face as he spoke! The topper
though, is that the case was decided when the Supreme Court of the United States
repealed the tax; it was deemed UNCONSTITUTIONAL!
Currently, citizens bringing tax matters before most judges in
the U.S. courts will find that all references to the constitution will earn them a
contempt citation complete with jail time.
So my question is, if it was unconstitutional then why is it not unconstitutional now?
The answer of course is the Sixteenth Ammendment which states, "The Congress
shall have the power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source
derived, without apportionment among the several States, without regard to any
census or enumerations." Some folks don't believe the ammendment was never
legally ratified but whether it was or it wasn't, the time has come to dump the
ammendment and the current tax system in favor of a new and better way.
To quote the Heritage Foundation, "The goal of tax policy
should be to raise the amount of money needed to fund legitimate functions
of government while doing the least amount of damage to the economy and
respecting the principles of treating the taxpayer equally."
This goal (if achived) would sure beat the IRS acting the part of
that slimey tax man snooping around in all of our drawers and closets. Yeah, yeah,
yeah...yeaaah!
Posted by Melody at 03:37 PM | Comments (6)
June 02, 2006
World's Greatest Co-Dependent - Part Deux
by Jack Lee....
Let me show you exactly what I mean by U.S. Co-dependent behavior. These are nations we deal with on a regular basis, some are touted as our best "friends" in the middle east. The old saying "with friends like these who needs enemies" comes to mind.
Below are their voting records which are recorded in both the US
State Department and United Nations records for anyone to check out:
Kuwait votes against the United States 67% of the time.
Qatar votes against the United States 67% of the time.
Morocco votes against the United States 70% of the time.
United Arab Emirates votes against the U. S. 70% of the time.
Jordan votes against the United States 71% of the time.
Tunisia votes against the United States 71% of the time.
Saudi Arabia votes against the United States 73% of the time.
Yemen votes against the United States 74% of the time.
Algeria votes against the United States 74% of the time.
Oman votes against the United States 74% of the time.
Sudan votes against the United States 75% of the time.
Pakistan votes against the United States 75% of the time.
Libya votes against the United States 76% of the time.
Egypt votes against the United States 79% of the time.
Lebanon votes against the United States 80% of the time.
India votes against the United States 81% of the time.
Syria votes against the United States 84% of the time.
Mauritania votes against the United States 87% of the time.
US Foreign Aid to those that hate us:
Egypt, for example, after voting 79% of the time against the United States, still receives $2 billion annually in US Foreign Aid.
Jordan votes 71% against the United States and receives $192,814,000 annually in US Foreign Aid.
Pakistan votes 75% against the United States receives $6,721,000 annually in US Foreign Aid.
India votes 81% against the United States receives $143,699,000 annually.
Now keep in mind these are mostly middle east nations. There are plenty of dysfunctional relationships with other nations around the world where we give money and resources.
"Co-dependency is a dance of dysfunctional relationships - of relationships that do not work to meet our needs, at the same time we assume nobody can get along without us."
Ok, does the above quote, taken from my first article, make even more sense now? You knew it had to be bad, but this bad? Even a cynic like me was stunned, but now I'm just mad. Part III coming up Thursday...fasten your seat belts!
Posted by Melody at 09:18 PM | Comments (1)
The Worlds Greatest Co-Dependant
Part 1
The United States has become like this wealthy co-dependant parent that just can't say no to her unappreciative brats scattered around the world.
As the definition goes, "co-dependency is a dance of dysfunctional relationships - of relationships that do not work to meet our
needs, at the same time we assume nobody can get along without us." We believe our perpetual involvement (some might call it interference) in the affairs of other nations, helpful or otherwise, will be warmly welcomed by a grateful world.
Like all good co-dependents, we're constantly trying to buy our friends, lavishing them with our gifts, even though some gifts can't be given, they must be earned. For instance, freedom can't be given to someone who has never had it, never appreciated it and has no vested interest in keeping it. They have to want it, earn it and fight to keep it, just as every democracy throughout history has done. There is no short cutting this process. For example, can you imagine French or Germans fighting our revolutionary war for us; what kind of patriots would that have produced?
Co-dependency's opposite side is of course dependency and we've created too much dependency around the world! That dependency has devolved into a mix of jealousy, resentment and frustration by our peers and even those we've helped. In this great endeavor to save the world, we've enabled corrupt regimes to stay afloat, riding high at our expense and diminishing our prestige.
In the old cold war days, we would often help despotic governments under the premise that the "enemy of our enemy is our friend" and that made for some very strange alliances with some of histories worst dictators. And I might add, done much to the consternation of the people they oppressed.
As it says in the book, "Friendly Dictators" by Dennis Bernstein and Laura Sydel: "Tyrants, torturers, killers, and sundry dictators and corrupt puppet-presidents have been aided, supported, and rewarded handsomely for their loyalty to US interests."
Is this the kind of legacy we want for future generations?
Among the tyrants we've propped up are some you might recognize...Idi Amin of Uganda, General Humberto Branco of Brazil, Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, General Augusto Pinochet of Chile, Fulgencio Batista of Cuba, Ngo Dihn Diem of Vietnam, Vinicio Cerezo, of Guatamala and Anastasio Somoza Jr. of Nicaragua, to name but a few. These people should have all been tried for crimes against humanity, not been the benefactors of US aide.
The support for these unethical regimes spans many decades and many administrations, that included both Republicans and Democrats.
Posted by Melody at 01:28 PM | Comments (1)
June 01, 2006
A Small Man with Big Plans
by Jack Lee.....
This is the face of the enemy and the United States will soon be engaging in talks with him. Like so many of his followers, he has a very limited understanding of the world and little regard for the concept of "Live and let live" nor for the consequences of his transgressions, such as sending bomb materials into Iraq to kill American soldiers. His name is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran and he wants Israel wiped off the face of the earth. He doesn't believe the holocaust ever happened and he thinks God has selected him to lead the righteous Muslims fanatics in a holy Jihad against all enemies of Islam.
Ahmadinejad has resurrected Iran's nuclear program and they are literally months away from having sufficient supplies of enriched uranium to create nuclear weapons. Our formal response to this threat is, "Iran will find itself further isolated if it continues to pursue it's dangerous course."
"Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran’s fundamentalist president, on Wednesday declared that Israel should be “wiped off the map� and warned Arab countries against developing economic ties with Israel in response to its withdrawal from Gaza.
His remarks, delivered at a conference in Tehran entitled “A World without Zionism�, led to diplomatic protests by the UK, France and Spain, while Shimon Peres, Israel’s deputy prime minister, said Iran should be expelled from the United Nations.
In Washington, spokesmen for the Bush administration said the statement underscored U.S. concern over Iran’s nuclear weapons programme." Daniel Drezner
Posted by Melody at 09:36 AM | Comments (12)