Vietnam -- A Victory for the Left, A Disaster for the Asians Masssacred and Americans Killed
After reading several articles that drag Vietnam back into current arguments, I have only a few comments. Here they are:
1. We could have won the Vietnam War.
2. The public outcry from the Left and MSM stopped us from it.
3. We lost over 58,000 men in Nam, and our defeat dishonors every one of them.
4. As a direct result, millions died at the hands of the victorious VC in South Vietnam, in Laos, and in Cambodia.
5. It was clearly known that the massacres would happen, and the MSM and pacifists ignored that possibility.
6. Fear of the draft was the motivation for the entire movement, except for the communist elements that egged them on. Cowards all.
7. Thus, millions of deaths, perhaps as many as 5,000,000, are on the heads of those who helped to stop our participation in the war just prior to victory, and who refused to fund the South Vietnamese afterwards.
8. The left and the MSM deserve our contempt, even today, our utter contempt, for aiding and abetting such massacres.
Academic Freedom
As Newt Gingrich says, the construct of “academic freedom” is the making of universities. It is thus capable of being abolished or modified as they see fit, since it isn’t law, and it isn’t embedded in the Constitution. It is a tradition, observed by academia in order to insulate their professorial staff from arbitrary firing practices and witch hunts because of their writings, teachings and speeches. This can be used also to attract fiery academics who otherwise might go elsewhere to achieve the freedom of expression they desire.
For as long as I can remember, radical academics have hidden behind that shield of academic freedom, so that their worst sins of thought could be continued in their lifetime. By what seems to be a deliberate policy, radical professors who became heads of departments could hire other professors; more radicals, naturally. Today, more that 80% of all professors are Left wing through that process. Our kids are being exposed to this radicalism every day of their classroom life, and that is an expensive and unexpected brainwashing! The campus has become a recruiting ground for extremists of all sorts.
That this condition remains in effect, together with tenure (another structure of universities that could be abolished), makes it very difficult for administrations to rid themselves of professors who discredit the university. They have a pact with their professorial staff which the professors hold very close to heart, since droves of them might well be let go for cause, as they would be in industry.
The sickness goes much further, however. It reaches into the upper management of universities as well. The boards and administrations of universities do not want to turn their backs on either “pure academic freedom” or tenure. Thus the situation will fester along. We are in a viselike grip of our own making! Meanwhile our students will suffer under Left wing nuts like Ward Churchill and Noam Chomsky.
Who are the Elite?
For years I have heard the term “Elite” to refer to some group of people that are supposedly of superior intellect and human insight, and who want to have the power to guide or direct our lives into more “rewarding” channels. From an number of bloggers I have read a definition for Elite groups that goes like this: The Elite today are composed of most university professors, the media owners and editors, many Hollywood activists, the current leadership of the Democratic Party, a bunch of columnists and writers of Left bent, and a slog of very wealthy, progressive limousine liberals. No one, however, ever identifies the lot of them by name in a list I’d call “The Elite.”
There must be a reason behind this refusal to name names, and point fingers at the crowd that wants to rule us anonymously from walled and guarded bastions behind the scene. My first idea is fear of reprisal by one of several means, each one of ever greater total impact: 1) lawsuits for defaming the name of some rich family; 2) attack on the list-maker in the media; 3) attack by means of stealthy economic sabotage; and even 4) harassment and physical intimidation by threatening phone calls or actual bodily harm.
Those of us that want to know the enemy and try to battle them ( or convert them to reason) are handicapped by the lack of specific intelligence as to just who the enemy is. When one pops up in the media, they are dealt with, especially the moonbats of the left, and the outspoken pseudo-elite from media.
I would hazard a guess that some of the elite are drawn from the communist or marxist party, the socialist party and the humanist party of today.
For the communists and the humanists, I know of their manifestos that set forth their grand and provably-impossible, utopian ideas for governance. The socialist party statement of principles serves the same purpose.
The interesting point is that most of these people seem to have four common characteristics: 1) foremost, they are well-to-do or wealthy and their ideas for everyone hypocritically do not include sharing their wealth or reducing their large salaries; 2) they thus have time to play “ If I Were King” utopian games which soothes their huge egos; 3) they have a higher than normal IQ and believe strongly in their intellectual and organizational abilities to do things better; and, 4) they somehow get connected with the radicals that swarm around in dark, stinky tunnels, and believe they are helping someone important to a better way of life, or some other altruistic idea, fostered on them by the radicals. They are deluded, duped and end up buying into the song of the radicals. Or else, in their ego-driven games, they believe that their participation in radical left movements will bring them into political power here in the US.
I would like help in building a list of organizations and individuals that are of this mindset. My starter list is given in the archives under “The Shunning List.”
A way through the maze
Two thinkers I respect were on the TV today--Mark Steyn, and Newt Gingrich. The third thinker was Victor Hanson. All three had something to say about our illegal immigration policy and situation. They agreed that we should strictly control our borders. They agreed that some form of hard-to-counterfit identification is needed. Where they differed is in what to do about the 20 million illegal immigrants already in the country. Mark Steyn believes that we can't simply deport them, it is too massive a job. Hanson takes the position that we should grant a one-time amnesty to these people, and one time only, if they have been in the US for at least 10 years.
Newt Gingrich has a different approach, one that just might work. He says that all of the illegal immigrants should be made to return to their countries of origin, with the promise that they can reenter if they sign up to be identified and join a guest worker program. They would then be issued a work permit ( a green card), and would be allowed to reenter and work if they also agreed to pay taxes and social security assessments.
This approach needn't be a short time period, but could take place over a number of years, which would lessen the onset problem to administer it, and would give time for the people themselves to pick the time for their return home and reenter process. This places the burden squarely on the immigrant people either to become legal or to be deported.
Newt also believes these people should be allowed to apply for citizenship at some point if they learn English and American history, and are able to take a test on both.
This makes a lot of sense to me.
Ten Years in IBM (1960-1970)
Introduction. There were six major areas that I worked in during my ten years at IBM Federal Systems Division: 1) database systems for intelligence customers; 2) consultation on site for a major intelligence organization; 3) the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) space program; 4) the Army TACFIRE system design; 5) coordinating ground applications for the military computer line 4 Pi; and , 6) Managing the yearly redesign and redevelopment planning for militarized computers.
While each of these areas was a terrific learning experience, the two most important to me were the MOL and TACFIRE programs. Since the intelligence programs carried a classification, I will not discuss them here, even if the time limitations are long over. The military computer line was a fun thing to do, but it did not involve me in actual design and development.
Computer Design and Development. The main reason I joined IBM was to get intimately involved in the design and development of advanced machines. I was soon disabused of this notion once I showed up for work. The FSD did some work on computers to extend their capabilities for special customers, and the Owego, N. Y. facility did the airborne and space computers. The main developments occurred in the commercial divisions up in Poughkeepsie and Glendale., N. Y.
Our division, then located in Bethesda, Maryland, concentrated on large-scale ground installations for intelligence and command and control systems for the government, and used the commercial processor line to the maximum extent possible. There was a “Priesthood” for design at that time, including such luminaries as Fred Brooks and Gene Amdahl. In I came, with something that few in IBM had, and that was hands on both hardware and software design and development. No matter, if you weren’t on the inside, in one of the N.Y. plants, you simply didn’t count, especially if you were from FSD!
However, I did get to spend four or five months studying the two proposed new lines of computers in about 1962. These were the 8000 series, and a newer design dubbed the 360. Two of us were appointed from FSD to evaluate whether these designs were acceptable for our applications. Our findings were presented to the design board, and right off I got into it with Gene Amdahl about several high speed design aspects. I was rather pleased that Fred Brooks stepped in and agreed with my position, as did others in the room. We recommended the 360 design with certain speedup improvements, which were accepted and incorporated. That was the height of my contribution to the main product line!
The MOL Program. The Manned Orbiting Laboratory was the Air Force program to prove out manned military missions in space. This was in parallel with the NASA APOLLO program for man in space. There were five defined missions to be tried out over 6 launches of a laboratory space vessel. There were to be a total of 8 launches, with the last two a set of the best man and equipment configurations we could come up with for an operational space vehicle.
IBM/FSD teamed with Douglas Aircraft Company, and we in IBM were designated by Douglas as the On-board Systems Manager, Ground Control Manager, and Ground Communications Manager. Under our overall IBM manager, I was appointed to be the On-Board Systems Manager. We had to write a proposal to the Air Force, and then conduct a paid preliminary contract design phase in competition with a Lockheed team (as I remember).
The five missions, as best I can recall, were: 1) gathering intelligence from space in real time on missile launches and missile tracks; 2) engaging ballistic missiles in space with weapons, such as laser beams, and 3) guided missiles; 4) testing the endurance and physical parameters of men while performing their roles during the spacecraft missions, and 5) acquiring, identifying and tracking spaceborne and ground or sea targets.
We had to do the majority of the work at the Douglas Santa Monica plant, which was enjoyable to me, since we were housed in a motel right on the beach. In fact, during the effort, we had to rent out the whole motel. My on-site staff had grown rapidly to about 35, and we had another 40 or so scattered all over the US feeding us information. One thing about IBM at that time was, if I needed a man with a Ph.D. in molecular chemistry who lived in Texas, and was a computer guy, no older than 35, the personnel system would come up with exactly the right man! That isn’t much of an exaggeration!
If I had stopped to marvel at what was going on, I would have been paralyzed by the enormity of the task. It was a physics tour de force, an engineering challenge of the first magnitude and an information gathering exercise from every research and industrial facility in the country. With a group of people all around, in my staff, and in the rest of the project, most of whom had their doctorates, to direct and keep happy with being away from home for long periods, it was at times hilarious!
One fellow came to me indignant as hell and said he had to move out from the beach motel. I asked why? He said, “I am being attacked by women coming up to my beachside door at all hours, banging on it, asking to come in and I am a married man! I can’t keep on fending them off!” So I helped him move inland!
To make this shorter, our team won the contract definition phase contract, and proceeded to go into great detail on the entire system. We were told that we were the winners of that phase also! But, there was a delay. LBJ pulled the rug out from under the MOL that December of 1965, I believe it was. The people I had hired for the job were found other places in IBM, and I turned to the next program—TACFIRE.
(To be continued later)
Could it happen?
Suppose we could organize a set of referendums for the country that would become law if voted on favorably. Here are a dozen of my Propositions:
1. Constitution: Stricter adherence to the Constitution on the part of judges, with a panel of peers to assess the decisions and opinions of the sitting judges. If the result is that the judge has exceeded the bounds of the Constitution, out he goes.
2. Clean Bills: Removal of ”pork” riders in all bills from Congress, without exception.
3. Amendments to the Bill of Rights: Needed to clear away ambiguities that have been used to foster changes. This includes the 1st, 2nd and 14th Amendments. We need to delimit the casual use of the 1st. We need to clarify the 2nd to ensure that citizens have a right to own and use guns, to carry guns from place to place, and to use guns in self-defense without legal harassment throughout the US.
4. Marriage: Establish once and for all that marriage is between a man and a woman.
5. Abortion: Ban abortion except in dire circumstances.
6. Christianity: Establish once and for all that this country is Judeo-Christian, and will permit displays of Judeo-Christian symbols and writings in public, on coins and in classrooms, and, incidentally, including prayers in schools.
7. Schools: Force a comprehensive basic curriculum on all levels of schools, and force teachers to teach it in a proper and unbiased manner, with testing and supervision to confirm it. Change the tests every year to prevent mindless teaching of the test questions rather than the full material. Remove such subjects as sex education, and other subjects not directly associated with the basic curriculum, from the schools. Remove teachers and administrators that balk at the changes, and replace them with true professionals. Put an end to experimental programs in the schools, except under well-controlled situations. Reinstall track systems for the various learning levels. Let the advanced students race ahead, and let the slower ones take the time needed. Free the teachers from the unions with an “opt out” provision.
8. Sovereignty: Establish that the US will not relinquish any sovereignty at all to any international organization whatsoever. No taxes will be paid to the UN, and phased withdrawal from the UN should begin immediately. Begin to organize a coalition of like-minded democratic countries.
9. Defense: Ensure that the US is prepared to defend itself both internally and externally, from aggressors and from insurgencies. We should be able to fight two wars at the same time, and to occupy and pacify (however briefly) countries we have conquered, until they have their own capabilities, as in Iraq.
10.Borders: We must close our borders to illegal entry. We must rid the country of illegal persons by deporting them. We must have a system for regulating guest workers, and ensuring that they follow the rules, or be deported. We must regulate sponsors of guest workers and penalize them heavily if they break the rules. Illegal persons currently in the US should be given one week to register at any local police department, be fingerprinted, photographed (with all relatives and children. Any illegal person that does not sign up should be found and deported forthwith. Local police should be authorized to arrest suspected illegal aliens, and to deport them if found to be so.
11.Social Security: Pass a personal account provision, that phases over individual accounts to 50% or more ownership and investment by the individual. Phase out borrowing from SS by the government.
12. Term Limits: Congressmen should be limited by law to a single term of service. Representatives should have a four year term, and Senators an eight year term. This would affect several aspects of congressmen: they would run for election once and not have to use their time and money to campaign while in office; fresh new ideas would be brought in from the States more often; coalitions of congressmen on issues would tend to have limited duration; and the terms would be long-enough to learn the issues and vote constructively. This proposition would return the Congress to the idea of citizen legislators spending time in Congress, but not making it their lifelong career.
In 1959-60, We Thought We Were Ahead of the Curve
Delta was the internal code name for our Commercial Computer Development Program (CCDP) in my first company. We proceeded in quiet and determined isolation behind our security fences and guards to design a multiple-level computer system that would outperform the entire competition. We needed an overall architecture for the system, a set of design objectives, and several technology objectives to meet the architecture. There were a number of objectives from the start that helped to drive the architecture and the design:
First, we wanted the design to be able to incorporate new technologies easily, since solid-state circuitry was rapidly progressing, and we didn’t want our system architecture to be outmoded soon after its introduction.
The biggest problem was memory, and we knew we would need a larger sized memory than we had been accustomed to: all of 64,000 words of 32 or 36 bits. There was a significant cost difference between 32 and 36 bit memories, and the then magnetic core elements strung together were not easy to produce cheaply.
Plus, we wanted memory to be partitioned into 8K blocks of words. Also the size of a byte (in today’s terms) was a debate on the team: any of the 4-bit, 6-bit, or 8-bit representations of characters and marks were considered possible to design into the unit. We settled on the 4, 6, and 8-bit bytes, and a 36-bit word. This meant we had words of 9 x 4-bit characters, 6 x 6-bit characters, or 4 x 8-bit characters for data. The memory busses had to carry the full 36-bit words, obviously.
What drove us to the 36-bit word was the need for floating point words with a characteristic and mantissa of sufficient width that the accuracy of computation would be excellent, together with the need for each “pull” from memory to result in as much data available to the processors as possible. A final reason was the control logic and control points for the operation of the whole system. The wider the instruction word, the faster the layers of control could be driven, and the larger the capacity could be for direct addressing.
We also built in what we called multiplexing addresses, either two-way, four-way or eight-way. For example, in the two-way case, the addresses would alter between the two modules, even and odd. This allowed simultaneous pulls from every memory, delayed by the access time for the banks.
We then decided that memory could be banked in modules of 8K words of 36 bits, with 8 modules the physical limit because of propagation delays between these large elements. A lot of experimentation was done to assure that we could bus these units at a very high pulse rate.
Early on, we decided to totally separate the computing unit from the input/output logic, and that turned out to be a good idea all around. The “input/output unit” ended up being the lowest level processor of the line: Delta 1. (A year later, I saw that the I/O-Compute architecture was a common design.)
We then decided that the computing unit should be divided as well between basic arithmetic and comparison logic and routines and floating point logic and routines. This could be used to speed up repetitive sequences of instructions such as in a matrix inversion. (This is now known as look-ahead logic, I believe.) Also, for the lower level processor, we could omit the hardware floating point unit and do the execution with software.
Meanwhile we had been developing our CPU and I/O instruction sets. We had the brilliant idea that we should develop the instruction set on another computer by simulating the logical execution of each instruction. So the Delta instructions were developed on an IBM 704. This effort was only partially completed in the year we had been given. All of the key instructions had been simulated, and just about every control step had been identified, so it would be easy to finish off the remainder later. ( This was standard practice in IBM/FSD later on, as I would discover.)
One innovation we thought was clever was the instruction code execution logic. The instruction code was used to access a very high-speed memory unit that was 128-bits wide. Most of the bits were direct controls sent to control points. To change an instruction was simply to change its 128-bit word sequence and interpretation in that memory. (Oh dear! Again, I found out about the "bump memory" in IBM 7040 and 7090 architectures when I joined that company. This was a frustrating revelation!)
So Delta 3 had a maximum of 8 Memory units, an I/O unit, an Arithmetic unit, and a Floating-point unit, all connected by a wideband bus. We had the idea too that we could put more processors onto the bus if we could share the processing load between them.
Many other details of this program I have omitted here, mainly because they are not very interesting…to me, anyway! ( One element, however, haunted me all the way, and that was software! We had a basic set, but it was infantile compared to what IBM could deliver,)
Parenthetically, perhaps in 1964 or 65, I saw the exact same architecture being implemented by IBM using IBM 360-50s for the FAA Enroute Control Centers. If I remember correctly, they had named this system the IBM 7050 (or was it 7020, my memory fails me?) Of course, the 360 instruction set was different, and the speed of the Model 50 was less than Delta would have been. Some years further on, the 50s were replaced with 360-65s in a cluster configuration.
It was then, after I had been in IBM/Federal Systems Division for almost 5 years, that I felt completely satisfied that the Delta design had been sound and viable, and indeed ahead of its time.
PS. This post is a personal memory of an exciting project. You must indulge me this!
The First Years
For 43 years I was a systems engineer and project manager in the defense industry. This spanned 1957 to 2000, which was the most exciting period of engineering for the military I am certain that ever existed. There was so much going on in the development of weapons systems, intelligence collection and processing systems, and communications. The space efforts of the military were accelerating rapidly, both for missiles and for collection of raw data about the Soviets, because of the scarcity of solid information about their military capabilities and intentions.
Then, too, the ground forces were initiating their own efforts to instrument and communicate on the battlefield. With the advent of phased-array radar, both massive and miniature versions of such systems were being developed, for naval warships and aircraft respectively. And on and on it goes, for every service and every combat and support requirement of the military.
My very first engineering assignment in 1957, just fresh out of University, was daunting. I was given the task of studying the need for a CRT-based geographic display that would portray the collected radar intercepts from a recce aircraft mission in true form. In effect, this meant that the CRT screen was to have a map projection on it that was the same as the maps used for navigation and plotting of intercepts by hand. This entailed calculating the screen position of the aircraft, and the intercept line of the radar it was receiving at the proper azimuth.
While I was learning how to do the calculation of Lambert Conformal Conic Projections onto a screen in x and y coordinates, other engineers were developing a set of digital, transistor building-block modules to be used in designing the huge, 80-rack, 10 console system we were developing.
The basic idea was to be able to display the recce mission take for an operator, who would then identify points of convergence of the intercepts from various radar. This in turn would narrow down the most probable location of the emitter. Together with such other data that was collected, such as frequency of operation, pulse period, and pulse width, this information would allow Air Force mission planners to find paths through the enemy airspace that had a minimum of radar coverage.
When my study was finished, and the calculations were ready, I was assigned to design the console, and especially the computer and its program. I was given a team of technicians to help with the layout of the console and computer. It only took a few months to do the layout, and assemble the computer for testing. It worked the first time it was turned on for a “smoke test”. The heart of the system was a 24-bit parallel arithmetic unit, and when measured, it ran at speeds up to 6 megahertz. This was in 1958-9, way long before the PC had been engineered. When completed, the console system had eight full racks of modules behind it! My information is that that system was in use by the Air Force for about 15 years, until replaced by more advanced gear.
Following this task, I was assigned to design a plotting table computer with the same mathematics as for the CRT console. So I laid out a serial-arithmetic drum computer that could stand alone beside the very large plotter. It was big enough to hold sheet maps of the Jet Navigation, and World Aeronautical Chart types. This little system design was turned over to a newly organized engineering group to build and test, while I was moved on to design yet another program for a CRT console using the same 24-bit computer design as before that would calculate and display a more intricate analysis of the intercepts pulse by pulse.
My first year or two as an engineer covered a lot of ground, as you might imagine. The recce systems my firm was building, the missions being flown, the mission tapes brought back, together with the navigation tapes that told us where the aircraft was when an intercept occurred were all part of the knowledge I had to grasp. Then I had to understand the various types of radar and their signatures, and how the data from them would be used.
I had to learn how to use the modules we had designed to make a computer and all of its ancillary buffers, and controls. The “programmer” was a series of staged logic modules that drove the data and arithmetic unit, and it had to be programmed by hand, bit by bit. Time-driven, module-limited Boolean logic became my main tool. Finally, I was initiated into the testing and debugging process for the eight racks of the first system.
Fortunately, I was needed to do other front-end designs more than supervising the layout, building, and testing of each system, because I really didn’t want to spend my whole career with a soldering iron and test meter in my hands, and an oscilloscope staring back at me. A least for one time I had been responsible from conception to on-the-floor working of a relatively complex unit.
Looking back, I shudder at the enormous size and power needs of that eight-rack CRT Console system, and the very few, inflexible, built-in programs it ran back in 1959. Today, 40 or so years later, a laptop could be set up to perform these tasks in a few days, and at an extremely low cost. In fact, the entire 80-rack system could now be collapsed into a few--maybe 10 or 12--clustered, modern, high-end laptops, mostly to provide the operator stations!
Liberal Puzzles
There seem to me to be some puzzling inconsistencies in the Liberal mantras. I will try to explain:
1. Pro-Choice Abortion: by Surgical instruments; 1,500,000 deaths per year.
2. Birth Controls: by Condoms, pills, IUDs; Many Millions of blocked conceptions=>deaths.
3. Gun Controls: by a full ban on guns of all types; Perhaps some saved out of the 4,000 gun deaths per year, however, out of over 3,000,000 instances in a year of guns preventing major crimes, such as assault and battery, rape, malicious wounding, and murder, at least 1,000,000 of those people avoided serious injury or death because they had a weapon to defend themselves.
4. Communism: Leftists or "progressives," as they want to hide behind, want all of the trappings of Communism; the government approach that has killed well over 20,000,000 people worldwide, so far, beginning with the USSR, China, Laos, Indonesia and Vietnam.
It is therefore very puzzling why Liberals demand to kill babies or prevent their conception, for an estimated total of perhaps 3 to 5 million lives "lost" each year, then promote Communism with its totals of millions of deaths, and then want to ban defensive weapons from the people for an added 1,000,000 victims (or more) per year of serious injury or death.
Oh, yes, they might have saved perhaps 130 children under 10 from accidental death per year, and of the remainder from 4,000 gun-related deaths per year, perhaps a few of the 11 to 20-year-old criminals in that group would have been unable to get a gun.
The Liberal accounting for what is worthwhile and what is not when multiple millions of lives are at stake is truly puzzling to me. They are FOR issues that cost untold millions of lives each year, yet they are AGAINST an issue that saves at least a million injuries or deaths per year. Go figure!
(That Will Affect Our Lives dramatically!)
The trends I observe that are very important for the US over the next decade or so are given for discussion here. None of these trends are new news: they have been written about and talked about for a long time. This is simply my list of top concerns for the nation, and they aid me in forming my own opinions and in voting. Other than that, and using less energy, there is not a lot one person can do about these trends. Perhaps it is the right thing to do to keep these issues in front of as many people as possible.
1. Secularism: The slide into Secularism and its kindred isms continues. Day in and day out, Secularists are weaving their atheistic web around us. Fostered by Elitists in academia, these far left-leaning partisans have remade our schools into dumbed-down indoctrination centers for the Left, our children into pleasure-seeking hedonists, our people shamed to show their patriotism, and our dominant religion, Christianity, has been attacked at every turn. The Left wing of the Democratic Party has gained control, and fellow-travelling socialists and communists (atheists all) are flocking to their support. These turns of events are not heartening.
2. Islam: The rise of militant, fundamentalist Muslims who are bent on making Islam the religion and government of the world is the second trend. To appreciate this situation you must realize that over a billion people worldwide are Muslims, and hold allegiance to Islamic leaders and the Koran. Of these, perhaps a tenth are fundamentalist, who practice jihad (war to the death) against the infidels (non-Muslims, mostly you and me!). There are some 5 million Muslims in the US. A tenth of these may well be Fundamentalist, and hence prone to follow the radical sector of Islam. We will be at war with Islam for a very long time.
3. Birthrates: In the West the birthrates are now below the sustaining level to ensure the populations remain substantially the same. Thus Europe is declining as their influx of Muslims is increasing many fold. It is not unreasonable to expect a Muslim majority in Europe within a decade or two. Europe will then become Islamified! Our birthrate is almost on the money to replenish our people, and we are being inundated with immigrants and illegal aliens as well. It has been predicted that we will have a majority of Spanish-speaking people here in the US by 2050.
4. Energy: We are using up our oil reserves at an increased rate, largely due to China coming on line as a major consumer, but also due to our continued use of gas-guzzling vans and SUVs. While we are playing with hybrid vehicles and researching hydrogen power, it is not progressing fast enough to avoid considerable dislocation of economies in the next decade or two.
5. The Family: Dissolution of the family as a unit has been accelerating over the past two decades. The causes are numerous. Divorce has been made far simpler from a legal point of view. Sexual license and promiscuity has been increasing, with TV and movies (especially with X-rated porn movies) readily available, and sex literature on every newsstand, and on the internet. The easy availability of drugs has poisoned many lives, and has led to sexual involvement of the worst kind to keep up a voracious habit. There are now more single-parent homes than married couple homes in the US.
6. The Internet: The world wide web has been expanding at a furious pace, and has penetrated just about every walk of life and every entertainment channel. Porn and chat sites of all kinds are perhaps the biggest part of the net now all over the world. The weblogs or blogs as they are known are giving the established mainstream media real competition in news analysis. The web has become the research tool of the 21st century, with almost any known subject somewhere in its memories. Communication worldwide is affecting both business and private lives in wrenching ways, and even nations that want to seal their borders find it difficult to keep out the net. The ultimate impact is not clear, but it is certainly changing life as we know it right now.
7. Superpower USA. The USA has found itself to be the only Superpower left standing after 35 years of the Cold War. We are the dominant military power, the dominant economic power, and the dominant scientific and engineering power in the world. Because of its total allegiance to freedom and democracy, the US is a very reluctant world leader, and not at all ready or willing to assume the role of empire-building. We are ready to defend freedoms of others, but we have been vilified for it. We are ill-prepared to shoulder the load an empire represents, and have no ambition to extend our lands.Yet, we will grow into the role over the next half-century.
8. The Environment: The world environment is sick, and a large part of it is out of our control. There is hope that treaties such as the Kyoto Accords will begin the process of removing much of the man-made causes of pollution, but it is a wan hope at best. No one wants to spend the truly astronomical amounts of money that are needed. We must press on to do what we can for clean air, clean water, clean land, and renewal of forests everywhere. We own it to our next generations.
9. China: The rise of China as a modern industrial society, with a strange amalgamation of Communism and Capitalism, and with a growing military might, will influence our lives enormously in the next decades. We will feel this first in North Korea and perhaps Taiwan, as well as financially, since China has huge dollar reserves from her supplying the US and elsewhere with very inexpensive goods of every sort. China will become a superpower over the next fifty years, equaling the US, or even surpassing us. The rapprochement between China and Russia is very unsettling.
10. Nuclear Proliferation: Membership in the nuclear club is growing rapidly. At least the following countries have nuclear weapons now: 1) US; 2) UK, 3) France; 4) Russia; 5) China; 6) Pakistan; 7) India; 8) Israel; and, 9) North Korea. Iran is working on nuclear weapons, and some predict they will have one in 6 to 9 months from now. The Ukraine possesses nuclear weapons from the former USSR. It is not clear whether they are operational now. We are facing the most dangerous time in history, where our passions and our wars could lead to destruction of life on the planet.
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Framing A Worldview -- A Work in Progress
God, Love, Freedom, Ethics and Morals, Human Rights, Family,
The United States of America, and The World. Anti-Worldview Ideas and Actions
God
God The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ
The Ten Commandments, and other Bible Commands and Admonitions
Christian Ethics and Morals
Salvation Through Christ
Traditional Christianity: Faith, Hope, and Charity
Love
Love of God and His Son
Love of Mankind
Love of Family
Love of Country
Love of Environment
Freedom
Freedom of Worship
Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Assembly
Freedom of Movement
Freedom of Ownership
Ethics and Morals, Moral Imperatives
Truth
Traditions, Customs, Morals, Civilized Behavior
Foresight, Self-Exertion, Self-Discipline, Value Sensitiveness, Compassion, Fortitude
Justice: Security, Honesty, Impartiality, Proportionality, Equality
Avoid Evil, Seek the Good
Just Conflicts and Just Wars
Human Rights and the Law
Natural Law
The Law, Justice Under the Law, Trial by Jury
The Home is One’s Castle, Right of Self-defense, Right to Bear Arms
Right of Habeas Corpus, Equality Under the Law
No Discrimination Under the Law
Written Definition of Rights
Limits to Rights: Stop the Generation of "New Rights"
Family
Marriage by a Man and a Woman , Making a Home
Bringing Children Into the World, and Defending their Future
Raising and Educating Children, Especially as Americans (Without Interference From Government, as has been the recent trend)
Honoring the Family, the Extended Family, One’s Ancestors, and Heritage
Individualism, Personal Responsibility, Discipline, Duty to God and Country
The United States of America, A Republic Under God, The Flag as a Symbol
Declaration of Independence, Pledge of Allegiance
Sovereign States, States' Rights, Representative Government
The Constitution and Bill of Rights, Citizenship, Duty, Patriotism
Freedom of Worship
Rule of Law, Property Rights, Capitalism, Free Trade
National Sovereignty, Inviolate Borders, Open Seas, Right of Self-Defense
Security Within and Without the Country, Strong Defense
The World
(To be developed)
Nation States: Land, Peoples, Resources, Climate, Levels of Development
Forms of Government: Free, Democratic, or Leftist, Despotic Nation States
Friendly Nation States, Enemy Nation States, Muslim Nation States, Conflicts, War
Anti-World Governance, Anti-UN,TreatyOrganizations, Sovereignty of Nations, Foreign Aid Treaties, Conflict Resolution, Self Defense, Trade, World Health, Environment
Globilization
-----------------------------------------------------------
Anti-Worldview (Abhorrent Ideas and Actions)
Relaxation of Moral Discipline
Daily Life: Foul Language, Pornography, Impolite Behavior, Aggression
Sexual Permissiveness, Early Exposure, Abortion on Demand
Marriage: Ease of Divorce, Living Together Instead
Children: No Education in Citizenship, Civility, Discipline, Morals, Basics
Gay Movement: In-Your–Face Demonstrations, Gay "Marriage", Gay "Rights"
Agenda for Secular Humanism, Socialism, Communism, “Progressivism”
Godless State, God is Taboo, Collectivism, Statism, Marxism, Leninism, Socialism
Elitist, Secular Government Without the Redeeming Underlying Qualities of Christian Morality
Moral Relativity as Opposed to Moral Absolutism
World Government, Loss of US Sovereignty
Destruction of Current Society in Order to Rebuild in the Humanistic (or other) Way
Attacks on Christianity: Removal of Symbols, Prayer in Schools, Ten Commandments
Breakdown in Education
Dumbed-Down Curricula, Hidden Tracks for the Gifted Elitist Recruits
Denying Students Learning: How to Think, Customs, Traditions, Morals
Denying Learning: Positive History of the US, Civics, Government of the US
Poor Education in Basics: Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Science, Languages
The Grip of the NEA
Islam
Declaration of War Against the US, Worldwide Terrorism (OBL), Afghanistan, Iraq
We are all Infidels (those who do not believe in and follow Muhammad)
Infidels can be robbed, beaten, killed, tortured, or worse
It is a War to the Death by Their Choosing
Virtually every conflict we have been in during the last twenty years is Muslim- based
That we have fought for Muslims three times is of no consequence—Jihad!, Iran?
There is No Backing Down: We Must Win
Democratic Party
Now Far Left Wing, Socialist, Communist, Humanist, Elitist, Antithetical to US Ideals
Total lack of Comity and Rational Discourse
No Real, Solid Programs Originating From Them
Obstructionists of the First Degree
Selected a Traitor, Liar, and Self-Centered Candidate, from a Similar Bunch
Shocking Number of People Voted for Them! No More Moderates
They Must be Watched and Countered at Every Turn, Anti-Constitutionalism
Party Platform, Speeches are a Book of Lies; They Have no Intention of Living up to Them
Anti-Americanism is Rampant and Should be Countered
They Appear to Want the US to Lose in Iraq
Hillary Clinton Must be Defeated if She Runs (and she will!)
The United Nations
The UN is Factionalized into Four or Five Power Blocs
The Majority of UN Nations Use the UN to Denigrate the US.
The UN is Corrupt to the Core; Our Tax Dollars Line Many Corrupt Official's Pockets.
We Spend Too Much Money in the UN for What We get Out of it, and it Will get Worse
We Must Never Accede to Requiring UN Approval for Our Actions
We Must Never Relinquish Sovereignty at any level to the UN
Reform of the UN is an Illusion, a Very Dangerous Illusion
The UN is Nothing More Than a Biased Debate Society; its Usefulness is Marginal
We Do Not Need Yet Another Layer of Bureauocracy
1. Invasion:
-15 to 20 divisions
-Full air support
-Japanese Bases a must
-South Korea bases a must
-5 or 6 Carrier Task Forces
-Question: How to keep China out of it?
-Question: Would Japan support this?
-Question: Would S. Korea support this?
2. Surgical Strikes Against Nuclear and Missile Facilities
-A few B-2 night air raids
-Conventional weapons
-Question: Is intelligence good enough?
-Question: What about China?
3. Bombing-Military and Industrial Targets
-B-2, F-117, B-1, B-52
-Japanese Bases a must
-South Korean bases a must
-F-15, F-16 fighters for air cover
-Lots of KC-10 and other tankers
-4 Carrier Task Forces
-Question: Would Japan cooperate?
-Question: What about China?
-Question: Would S. Korea support this?
4. Nuclear Bombing of Key Targets
-B-2, Missile attack
-Collateral damage extensive
-World opinion of US bottoms
-Question: Chinese response?
5. Diplomacy
-Must be tried seriously
-China and Japan are key, followed by South Korea
-The invasion option (1.) is unrealistic
-All know we are stretched too thin just now for invasion
-The nuclear option (4.) is a last resort
-Bombing campaign (3.) is too expensive
Option (2.)is by far the most likely! We are back to the WMD intelligence problem! Do we know where the key nuclear bomb facilities and missile facilities are? We are also back to the question of whether we must mobilize, institute the draft, or other means for enlarging our forces, if only to give us a credible set of options. The support we need from Japan is a big question. China is an even bigger question. Hard diplomacy is needed, and perhaps backed up with some mobilization steps.
With a few changes (Russia for China, Iraq for S. Korea, and The Gulf States for Japan) my previous post could apply to Iran as well, I believe. The penalties for a surgical strike on Iran appear to be less than for NK. We would need to reinforce our ground troops in Iraq first, however.
Liberals I know are against war, period. Never mind who, when, why, or how, they will war to prevent war. Having failed to prevent war and death, they will then war to stop war. I believe the concept of a "just war" is alien to liberals. So, fundamentally, they are against anyone who propels us into a shooting war: Bush in particular. It is also true that the Left abhors the thought of pouring "their" money into the sands of Iraq, instead of into programs that benefit their causes at home.
They are fighting their rearguard action to get us out of it as soon as possible. This moral and idealistic aversion to war is admirable on purely humanitarian grounds, but totally unrealistic in the real world. All of history attests to the fact that mankind is often at war.
This rearguard action they have been and are now undertaking gives great aid and comfort to the enemy, either intentionally or not. I think most Liberals are quite aware of that fact, since they are not stupid. The game plan is strikingly like that of the home front and MSM during the Vietnam era. They know that withdrawing from Iraq too soon would be a humiliating defeat for us, and, perversely, they welcome our setbacks and losses while we are still engaged there. To the Left, even the body count of our soldiers lost is used and amplified as though it were a wholesale slaughter. One of our soldiers death isn't worth ten of the terrorists to the Left.
Thus, I have to believe there is a huge ulterior motive the Left has in persisting with their negativism and seeming hatred of America and her motives in the midst of a war. If I begin with the historical ideas of the Liberal mind, I come to a simple conclusion: there is a Marxist conspiracy, or worse, and the defeat of America is their ultimate objective.
At this time, I suggest that the Liberal Elite see common cause with Islamic Fundamentalists, in that the clash with Islam will weaken and hasten the demise of the USA as we know it. The Left will be there at the end of the day (they believe) to put some brand of totalitarian Communism (utopianism) into play that their program is fostering.
The End of the Leftwing Democratic Road
Were the Democrats to win big in 2006 and 2008, a legislative feast of Leftwing propositions would begin to spew out of Congress and be happily signed by Hillary Clinton. Assuming Hillary wins a second term, bought by the benefits showered on the citizens in the first, that will move us up to 2016, where the feast would really get rolling. The following is a sketch of what we would be in for:
The Leftwing Platform
1. To keep your benefits, and to increase them, vote Democratic,
2. To keep from making a mistake, always vote against Republicans.
3. This is our basic benefit program; designed for YOU:
3.1. Pay grades will be adjusted such that the highest pay level is only 3 times that of the lowest in any organization or business.
3.2. The Hillarycare program will ensure free medical care to everyone, and free long-term care to the elderly.
3.3. The Hillarycollege program will ensure free college to everyone.
3.4. The Hillarywork program will legislate a 4-day workweek for everyone, and an extra three holidays a year, to fall , naturally, on workdays.
3.5. The Hillaryfun program will legislate a standard three weeks of vacation for everyone, rising every 6 years of service by another week, for a possible total of 8 weeks after 30 years of service.
3.6. Through the Hillarygold program, at retirement everyone will get an income of 70% of their average highest pay over three years in their career, in order to make their golden years a happy experience.
3.7. In the Hillarygold program, there will also be a survivor benefit of 50% of the deceased’s last income per month.
3.8. Women need not worry about becoming pregnant. If they don’t want to carry the baby, they may have an abortion free of charge.
3.9. Working mothers need not worry about their children. The Government will provide free care for them, and will educate them from kindergarten onwards.
3.10. Workers everywhere will have mandatory job security, and a guaranteed job in their area.
3.11. If there are no job openings available, we will pay you 70% of your last wage as unemployment compensation, until we can find a job opening, or you can find one.
3.12. We will offer free vocational and technical job training for all who desire it.
3.13. We will offer everyone a guaranteed housing loan so that you can own you own home.
4. Besides this outstanding womb-to-tomb benefits program, we Liberal Democrats are certain you will agree with our findings about the opposition and some of their backwards ideas:
4.1. Republican Presidential candidates lie about everything
4.2. Iraq is unmanageable. We must withdraw.
4.3. There is no real terror threat, it was a Republican lie.
4.4. We will make friends everywhere: with France, Germany, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Indonesia, Russia, China…all countries, rich or poor, free or enslaved, whether they love us or not.
4.5. We don’t need nuclear weapons: we will reduce the number we have by half every three years, until we have just a few left.
4.6. The Armed forces are far, far too big and expensive: we will reduce them by 70% over the next five years, and stop all new developments for weapons. This will help pay for the benefits we will put in.
4.7. Our past Republican Administration has blown the budget. We will balance it, and even have a surplus!
4.8. We believe that multiculturalism is good, so we will support it strongly.
4.9. We believe that Secularism is the way to go, to ensure that Government is conducted with reason, not emotion or appeals to unseen spirits. Religion has no place in the public arena, so all such symbols and artifacts will be banned.
4.10. Moral relativism, not moral absolutes, will be the code of the Century.
4.11. The Government will operate all schools from kindergarten through university.
4.12. The Government will cure the profiteering in our services sector by taking the industries over and running them for your benefit. This includes power and energy, communications and TV, radio, and transportation.
4.13. Since we believe in World Government, we will work to create a more powerful UN that we can entrust with our security, and thus cede much of our sovereignty to the UN.
4.14. We have the solution to our drug problem, that will impoverish the drug lords and save citizens a lot of money. We will legalize all forms of drugs for over-the-counter sale.
4.15. Travel will be controlled by the Government, and The UN.
4.16. Voting for President and Vice President will be done by a national referendum; voting for State Governors will be done by State referendums.
4.17. Of course, a number of these changes will involve changes to the Constitution, Judicial Fiats or even Executive Orders.
4.18. Since guns are dangerous, we will pass legislation to ban all guns and to have them confiscated.
4.19. Marriage will be legislated to be a union between any two single adults, and any such unions may adopt children.
4.20. We will make child-rearing optional. If you don’t want your children, the Government will take them and raise them in their organizations.
4.21. We are concerned about the population size. To control this, we will institute mandatory birth control by age; all under 19 will have to have it. Other provisions to reduce the load on nursing care, medical procedures, and bed space will be taken.
4.22. Divorce will be simplified. The main unit of our country will not be the family anyway, it will be the village.
4.23. We have decided that inheritance should be stopped. All estates will be reverted to the government, including all investments and all property, to be shared with the citizenry.
4.24. We believe that sex is to be enjoyed by all, along with porn and places where one can find partners, so they will be legislated to be proper under the law.
Here we go again. The Europeans have reached an impasse with the Iranians over their nuclear program. Iran has refused to stop developments that could lead to a bomb. What is left hazy is just how near they are to having such a weapon. They could have one and not tested it; or they could be years away from it. The consensus appears to be that it is a matter of months before a testable device is ready. Once a test is successful, production could begin, and we then have a new member of the nuclear club.
The European failure makes it likely that the US will take the matter to the UN, and push hard for a set of sanctions on Iraq. By the time sanctions are voted out of the Security Council, Iran may have completed its first bomb. By the time such sanctions have any real damaging effect on Iran, they may well have stockpiled a few more bombs, and thus be in the same position as North Korea. Iran could then negotiate from strength, by using the threat of sending Tel Aviv into silicon. The question is, what do we do about it?
The Israelis have said that they would not stand for Iran to have nuclear weapons. The Israeli Air Force is capable of attacking Iran, and knocking out their known nuclear facilities. If they do, I believe several things will happen: 1) The US will be blamed, along with Israel, throughout the Middle East for what the IAF did (nothing new there), if only because we let the IAF overfly Iraq, and because we are the Great Satin; 2) Iran has vowed to retaliate, and I believe they would; and, 3) We would inevitably be drawn into the situation, including direct fighting between our forces in Iraq and the Iranian army.
A confirmation of this prediction would be the US callup of more Reserves, and further deployments of brigades to Iraq in advance of a possible Israeli strike. Standby!
This LOST treaty bothers me terribly! On the one hand, participation in the Authority, with the ability to cast a blocking vote, sounds as if we could protect our interests. On the other hand, I am instantly opposed to any extension of UN or Agency authority over the US as yet another attempt to subvert our sovereignty and "tie us up with many little strings," as someone put it.
On balance, I would stick with the Freedom of the Seas laws currently on the books and ratified.
The Constitutionalist says we must respect the right of an individual to speak his or her opinions. The Patriot says we do not have to listen to hate speech, nor do we have to support the person that throws American values on the garbage heap. Two cases come to mind: that of W. Churchill, and that of E. Jordan, both very much in the blogosphere of late.
I fail to see how refusing to allow or disinviting Churchill to speak at a public forum, especially at a university, violates his free speech. The right of choice must lie with the university, and if they do choose to allow Churchill to speak, they are culpable for the hate-mongering also.
Mr. Jordan, meanwhile, was exercising his brand of free speech at a private, off-the-record symposium in Switzerland to accuse our troops of deliberately killing 12 journalists in Iraq. No proof was offered, of course. Today, Jordan resigned from CNN as their News Chief, which was the right thing to do, in my opinion. Freedom of speech carries a responsibility: one must be responsible and accountable for one's words, and the higher up the ladder you are, the more your words count to your employees and in the public mind. One wonders who else in CNN is rabid enough to let fly at the US with hateful intent in public? In Europe? In the Middle East?
Still learning what to do with HTML here and where to place the statements! Meanwhile I found a template with the feature I wanted.
Humanism (Leftists) vs Communism
If you look for common ground to cement a temporary working truce between the Humanists and Communists, here are some starting points. Of course, after the truce is ended, which presumably would be when this coalition has won their prize—America—there would be a night of the long knives between them for total control! Here is the list:
Religion: Both reject Christianity, and mystical religions or God,
Separation: Both want separation of church and state,
Sharing: Both demand forced sharing across the society and the world,
Elitism: Both require government by elite members seeped in the correct ideology,
Education: Both require indoctrination in schools for right thinking,
Morals: Both reject morality of religions, and support moral relativism,
Children: Both want to have control of children from the earliest age,
Property: Both want to control property: it is merely a matter of degree between them,
Science: Both base themselves on “Science”, especially “Soft Sciences”,
World: Both support a sovereign Planetary Government that follows their principles,
US: Both are anti-US in their every move as it stands now: anti-sovereignty,
Terrorism: Both are against the War on Terrorism, including the Iraqi War,
Naturalism: Both believe in Scientism, evolution, and that only measurable things exist,
Constitution: Both want fundamental changes in our Constitution and Bill of Rights,
Members: Both have a large constituency in the US: including the “Elites”,
Methods: Both are dedicated to change by subterfuge, hiding their real motivations,
Actions: Both are active now in attempting to change the US: and have common causes,
Control: Both want absolute control of government.
Conservative Issues
I think the Administration, and Congressional Republicans should go on the offensive, using every channel to voice the Republican/Conservative message NOW! Energy spent now to keep the message before the public and to excite the Liberals to more and more stupid rhetoric, will allow smart counters to keep the ball rolling. We should keep the positive issues before the public and force the Liberals to respond. Then we should chart the differences for all to see.
My hot-button issues are:
1) Immigration: Stop illegal entry and rid the country of illegal aliens. A work program is fine, if it is properly controlled.
2) Terrorism: Take the fight to them wherever they are. Recognize that we are at war with Islam. Declare War or Islamic Fundamentalists, as they have declared war on us. Mobilize as needed.
3) Abortion: Repeal Roe vs Wade. Abortion should be reserved for critical, life or death situations only, and not be an “on demand” thing.
4) Security Forces: Build the border security force, build the Armed Forces for both fight and occupation. We will need a much larger force in the near future tuned to the roles we have now.
5) Social Security: Map out the reforms clearly, and the reasons for them, then pass it. Personal accounts are good.
6) Identification: We should have personal IDs registered at the police department. This would aid the immigration problem. I have had a picture ID from the government all my life, it seems, so I have been habituated to it. So far, on balance, I see good in a National ID.
7) States Rights: The individual States should have the right to legislate their security, including how their borders will be protected, over and above Federal Laws, such as the right to deport illegal aliens.
8) Judicial Activism: Judges who make ridiculous decisions extending the constitution should be removed, and their decisions rescinded. Put constitutionalists in the Supreme Court.
9) Education: We should ensure that Universities, High Schools, and Grade Schools teach our children correctly, and not brainwash them in liberal thinking and hate for America. Pass freedom of education provisions.
10) Politically Correct Speech: Dump it! This violates the First Amendment. Further, it is a matter for polite society and not legislation or regulation. Do not pass hate crime laws.
11) Gay Marriage: Leave it to the States. Most will reject it. Do not recognize other States Laws on this matter.
12) Gun Legislation: Rollback many existing laws (80,000 are on the books!)and defeat any further gun legislation. It would be best to have an addendum to the 2nd Amendment clearly spelling out the rights of the citizens to own and use guns where appropriate, as well as to the right of self-defense under spelled out conditions nationwide.
13) Christianity: Ensure by law that Christians can display their symbols and the Ten Commandments, or whatever is appropriate, in public places, on coins, in oaths of office, or wherever. If this takes an Amendment, so be it.
14) Secularism: Defeat any and all secular-driven laws and policies.
15) Sue the ALCU: At every turn we can, institute preemptive lawsuits against the ALCU. Drown them in defensive suits. Do the same for the teacher’ unions-- NEA, and the other.
16) Death Penalty: Ensure it is in force.
17) Minimum Wage: No increase.
18) Health: Work for a bipartisan solution to all aspects in an omnibus bill. However, do not create a huge government bureaucracy in the process.
19) Trade: Free trade is highly desirable. Support free trade agreements.
20) Energy Policy: Drill for oil where found. Build nuclear power plants, Invest in hydrogen power. Encourage hybrid autos, industrial waste curbs.
21) Taxes: Keep cutting taxes and decreasing the size of government-- by starvation of funds. Tax reform! True reform would benefit all. I support a flat tax, and not progressive taxes.
22) English: The official language of America should be made law—English.
23) World Government: Vote NO on any such issue. Make the UN truly marginal, and create a coalition of democracies to counter the UN. Withdraw substantial financial support. Let the loony leftists and handout experts have their UN, but not at our expense.
24) Environment: A rational environment policy is a good thing. Anti-Kyoto Treaty. Clean air, clean water, absence of toxins are good.
25) Welfare: Help the truly needy, but administer the programs correctly. Weed out the riders, the healthy workers, the alcoholics and the dopeheads. Restart both Hospitals for the mentally ill or addicts, and homes for displaced children (Orphanages). Improve adoption laws. Weed out the overpopulated Social Worker category. Get crazies off the streets and into places where they can be cared for. Do not reward women for having more babies. Rescue children from totally irresponsible parents, and give them the chance to be adopted by loving people.
26) Politics: Defeat at the polls: Clinton, Kennedy, Pelosi, Kerry, Bayah, and the rest of the Hard Leftists.
27) Corporations: Corporate malfeasance should be rooted out and punished.
28) Research and Development: The life-blood of our future lies in the hands of scientists and engineers. There should be adequate funding for many levels of R&D. This includes nuclear, biological, physics, astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, computing, medical and engineering sciences. I am dubious about R&D for soft sciences, especially if the so-called scientists entertain notions that promote discord and anarchy in the country. Chomsky is an example. Academic freedom is fine until it makes deliberate attempts to undermine our form of government.
In my old age, I seem to be getting hidebound and reactionary! Perhaps it is because I value life, but I don't have all that much of it left. I am impatient to see problems solved and bad people thwarted—even killed. I firmly believe that we Republicans must not only win in 2006 and 2008, but by a huge margin. Any drift to the Left must be stopped. It is fine to have a two-party system when they both have the best interests of the country in their hearts, but today I cannot see that the Democrats have this interest. They are more interested in tearing down institutions or laws they don’t like, running down America, or working to assure their own reelection from some Leftist State.
The Shunning
The only weapon I have as a private citizen, other than the vote, against the blasphemers of the constitution and laws, the Elite, the America haters, the obstructionists, and the liberal twits is to ignore them.
They do not respond to logic, they do not respond to patriotism, they do not respond to ethics, or etiquette, nor do they speak with a straight tongue. When I thought about it, I decided to make a list of those who I felt had earned the right to be ignored; in short, to be Shunned. Thus was born The Shunning List.
What does shunning entail? Act as if that person does not exist. Do not read their words, do not listen to their speeches, do not watch them on TV or in the movies, and do not socialize with them. Further, those who rise to their defense will likewise be shunned (I hope none of my favorite people defend any who are shunned!). I would not interfere with these people, nor constrain their rights as citizens, but I do not have to be assaulted by their thoughts.
How are the people selected for the list of The Shunned? By their words and deeds as seen through my own filter. My filter is that of a Christian believer in God, where love, truth, honesty, conservative thought, and fighting evil are all paramount.
Categories of The Shunned: There are a number of broad categories of people I am inclined to shun, but I would seek evidence to confirm my suspicions: Secular Humanists and Liberals, Socialists and Communists (Democrats are always under suspicion for actually being one of these!), the Hollywood Activists, Liberal Professors, Activist Judges, those who hate America worldwide, and terrorists and their organizations.
I have no time for such people.
Of course, I cannot achieve a full and complete shunning! I would be foolish not to pay attention to what the internal and external enemies of our country are saying and doing! This isn’t meant to be a “head in the sand” tactic, but rather a selective approach to the shrill cries and demagoguery of the Left, and a constant reminder of where these people stand in the pantheon of nuts. Many of them go to legal extremes to carry their point, or try to, such as the ALCU. But I would avoid supporting them in any way I can, such as not going to their movies, or buying their books or other products. There will always be those trusted bloggers who will analyze the latest rants from the Left and summarize them for the rest of us, so I can avoid much of the drivel directly, unless I have the urge to take the measure of one of these nutcases from time to time.
The reason for this Shunning is simple. If I immerse myself in the evil words and images, and the awful actions and speeches from the Left on a daily basis, it will affect my disposition in a horrible manner. My rage at some of these idiots is fierce and body-wrenching! So, as a self-protection measure, I am pulling back, and simply voting with my Shun list.
There is a sense of gratification in adding a new name to the List! There! Take that, you whacko!
Lurking in the back of my mind is the thought that maybe others feel the same way. What if they joined me in creating a Super List and actually Shunning the people on it? A grassroots effort would be promoted simply to trivialize and ignore the irrelevant kooks in our society! Inculcating an “Oh, Him!” reaction to the Listed Ones. And letting the world know who is to be listened to about America and who is on The Shunning List. We might soon be able to retire some of these pains in the ass to their Malibu or Cape Cod homes.
A list of names is all I will present for the moment. Later, I plan to use quotes to illustrate why that person is on the list, much as John Hawkins has done. But, go see his site and read the reasons for his list. I am developing a list of organizations as well that deserve our contempt and shunning. Here, however, paying attention to them may be far more important, so the list will serve to alert a few people to the left-driven organizations we must deal with over time.
The Shunning List
(This list comes from my reading and TV viewing, but my somewhat aging memory has been greatly aided by John Hawkins' list of the most annoying liberals for 2002, 2003, and 2004, whose blog, Right Wing News, is outstanding!)
Al Franken
Al Gore
Al Sharpton
Alan Colmes
Alec Baldwin
Andrew Sullivan
Barbara Boxer
Barbra Streisand
Barney Frank
Bernie Sanders
Bill Clinton
Bill Gates
Bill Maher
Bill Moyers
Bruce Springsteen
Bryant Gumbel
Carol Mosley-Braun
Charles Rangel
Charles Schumer
Cher
Chevy Chase
Chris Dodd
Chris Matthews
Cinthia McKinney
Dan Rather
Danny Glover
David Benior
David Souter
Dennis Kucinich
Dianne Feinstein
Dick Gephardt
Dustin Hoffman
Ed Asner
Eleanor Clift
Eleanor Smeal
George Clooney
George Soros
Gore Vidal
Harry Belafonte
Henry Waxman
Hillary Clinton
Howard Dean
Howard Stern
Ibrahim Hooper
James Carvelle
Jane Fonda
Janet Reno
Jennifer Aniston
Jesse Jackson
Jim Jeffords
Jim McDermott
Jimmy Carter
John Corzine
John Edwards
John Gere
John Kerry
John Zogby
Julianne Malveaux
Kitty Kelley
Kofi Annan
Larry King
Leonard Pitts
Leslie Moonvess
Linda Ronstadt
Martin Sheen
Mary McGrory
Maureen Dowd
Max Cleland
Maxine Waters
Michael Moore
Mike Farrell
Molly Ivans
Nancy Pelosi
Ralph Neas
Noam Chomsky
Norman Mailer
Paul Krugman
Peter Arnett
Peter Jennings
Ralph Nader
Ramsey Clark
Richard Berthold
Robert Byrd
Robert Scheer
Robin Williams
Ron Reagan, Jr.
Rosanne Barr
Rosy ODonnell
Russ Feingold
Sean Penn
Susan Estrich
Susan Sarandon
Ted Kennedy
Ted Koppel
Ted Rall
Ted Turner
Teresa Kerry
Terry McAuliffe
Tim Robbins
Tom Brokow
Tom Daschle
Tom Harkin
Walter Conkite
Warren Beatty
Whoopi Goldberg
William Kuenstler
Woody Allen
Woody Harrelson
The abject failures of Socialism and Communism in the period after The Cold War have been documented thoroughly. Leftwing idealists, however, continue to flourish, especially in our universities. Why is it that the proof of the bankruptcy of their ideas, when reduced to practice, seems not to have fazed the Left at all? They seem to have rebounded from these catastrophes as if nothing has happened. Part of this must be self denial...it didn't happen! Another part of it is the more or less permanent existence of the utopian dream of the egalitarian state, coupled with a myriad of excuses as to why the USSR failed miserably. In the eyes of the dreamers, it was the implementation-- not the dream-- that was at fault. Then too, roiling around in the back of their heads is the idea that one day the Elites will call the tune! the Elites will take over America, and it is the Leftists that provide the shock troops of the revolution.
In the classic model of events leading to Communism or a brand of Socialism that is virtually identical, the existing society and all of its moral, ethical, legal and spiritual institutional underpinnings must be destroyed before the move to Communism can be effected. The current lot of Lefties is busily undertaking that very thing now by dumbing down our education system (very effectively too!), capturing the roots of our intellectual enterprises in the universities (also with huge success!), infiltrating our governing institutions of Congress, the Administration, and the Judiciary (activist judges subverting the Constitution), and uprooting our religious institutions and clergy (with startling success!). Under the banner of equality of outcomes, rather than equality of opportunity, they are pressing forward on many fronts, in many state legislatures, and in the Congress.
This is the state of affairs that has goaded me into blogging. I am adding my voice to the opposition of these subversions of our democratic republic. The first question I will address in following posts is whether all of these diverse and destructive actions are truly organized and directed by a small group of "Elites", what evidence is there for it, and who are these Elites anyway? Know thy enemy!
This blog will be dedicated to conservative ideas, and counters to leftist dogma. I expect to maintain a decent site, devoid of personal invective and foul language. To that end, I will refuse to post any comments that I deem unsuitable. Since this blog is new, and since there are many excellent bloggers with my outlook, I do not intend to post the words of others here myself; rather, I will attempt to post on an every other day timescale (or sooner as the spirit moves me) my own thoughts and hopes for conservativism in America. I welcome constructive comments on the posts found here...most probably all my own!
