Wednesday, August 29, 2007

 

Abortion and Gay Rights Comments


A few comments for today

Abortion: When you abort a fetus, you erase all of the structural information the fetus cells contain that would have completed a human being in its growth cycle from conception to adulthood. That is surely murder.

There should be both a moral and a legal prohibition of that act, as well as social disgrace for the one who commits it. The GOP will surely lose voters if they fail on the abortion issue.

Gay Marriage: As I remember the situation, well over 60% of the total population of the US was in favor of banning gay marriage, as well as abortion, back in 2004. In fact, some 11 states passed negative provisions at that time regarding these issues, as I recall. Is someone claiming that these issues have now under 50% of the population’s support? Seems a stretch to me.

The GOP will likely stick to its guns here, don’t you think?

People, I seem to gather, like to watch porn, fornicate without penalty, play with the same sex, cheat on their income tax (if they pay anything at all), get money free from the government, or get free services such as medical care, schooling, college, home bailout loans, a job for life, a government retirement pension vested after 10 years, superb roads, rail and bus transport, zero smog, pure water, and jolly companions—also for life. But only if they don’t have to pay for it or work hard for it, or defend their nation for it.

They want someone to tell them that there is no global warming to worry about; it will be fixed by the government.

This is the script for a Democratic election campaign, and far too many voters will be taken in by it, sad to say. They will not read the fine print that says we need to raise taxes to do all of these wonderful things for you. That is because Dems will localize the raises to the well-to-do, the filthy rich, the robber barons of Wall Street, and those CEO’s that make mega millions, all of whom collectively now pay over 70% of all taxes.

When that starts a negative economy spiral, and layoffs, who will they blame? The Republicans, of course!

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Changing Republican Spots


I am dissatisfied with the Republican party.


The problem is, there is nowhere else to vote but for the Republican party. Allowing the Democrats into full power is simply beyond anguish and nearing chaos. The party knows this well and counts on it to maintain their plush power positions. A third party is wishful thinking; it only ensures a Democratic win.

If the party is the President, then the one hope we have is to find in the assorted contenders one who can actually lead the party away from its addictions and faults, and towards the desires of the people for good, clean, and moral government all around.

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Sunday, August 19, 2007

 

The Islamic Threat


Where did my opinion of Islam originate?

After reading blog posts on “expertise” and the public, I had to ask myself just how my opinion about the invasion of Iraq got set in stone. I would cite a number of things:

1. The 50-year war between Israel versus Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and by indirection, Iran. The utter brutality of the Islamic states and their dominant organizations against Israel must be remembered, despite many attempts to bring peace to the area in brokered deals that were sabotaged by the Islamics. This led me to pick up a Koran, and to explore the Haddith and fatwas.

2. The conclusions from my readings about Islam clearly told me that Islamic fascism is a deadly enemy of the US, and that all Muslims are committed to jihad against us if called upon to do so.

3. The daily news that reported atrocities of ever-increasing horror conducted by Muslims against their enemies, culminating in many direct attacks on US installations and troops, which I won’t mention in detail here as they are well-known.

4. The obvious after-the-fact rejection of US support to Muslims in a number of instances, such as Kuwait and Kosovo, which was largely ignored in the Islamic world.

5. The bribery we have participated in for years to keep Egypt relatively passive.

6. The two-faced Saudi Arabia policies that gave us low gas prices while the Saudis built a worldwide net of Muslim fanatics against us.

7. The reports of imams from Saudi Arabia, throughout the 10,000 US mosques, that preach hatred of the US and jihad against unbelievers in our nation---me, in other words. And, the fact that there are almost 6 million Muslims in the US already!

8. The experiences I had living for 13 years in Europe watching the guest-workers building up to a large percentage of the population, and beginning to demand special laws to accommodate their beliefs--Sharia.

9. 9/11.

By these and many other events and writings about Islam, notably Churchill, I concluded that we faced a serious and insidious challenge from Islam, or at least by a significant percentage of the one and a half billion Muslims in the world. If there are only 10% of the Muslims that are willing to attack the West by any means available, we face an army of 100 million fanatics! Even if we are talking about 5%, it is still an army of 50 million, which is over 50 times the army of the US. So pick only 1%, a number that many can accept. That is still one million fanatics to be dealt with. Our response to this challenge had been weak and ineffective, to be kind to the so-called leaders of that era. Fact is, we don't know how many fanatics we face!

After 9/11, there was left only the questions in my mind of where to strike this many-headed, very large, poisonous snake first, and then subsequently, and how far we needed to go to kill the snake or at the very least, to render the 1% to 10% of it relatively harmless.

No one has answered my questions adequately.

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Friday, August 17, 2007

 

Fishing is Fun?

The sport of fishing was jammed in my face today, and I reacted to it badly. I have absolutely no interest in catching or eating fish, and I particularly don't understand merely catching fish for the pure sport of it. Not that I am an animal lover that grieves for the striped bass or salmon being netted, hooked, or speared, but it seems so pointless to me.

Commercial fishermen are another story. Their goal is to net and sell tons of fish to the food markets of the world. The way they do it can be wasteful and injurious to many species of sea life, but at least they have a utility to mankind.

Sport fishermen do not have utility to mankind. They are selfishly pursuing their own pleasure in bagging some exotic or fighting species, after which they stuff it and hang it on a wall, or have it cut up and frozen to be carried home and eaten later. Very macho of them. They spend huge amounts of money to catch the fish that they could have bought at the local market far cheaper. Or, what seems inane to me, they throw the fish back, thus destroying what little utility that the event possessed--edible food that someone could have benefited from.

Yes, I have been exposed to many kinds of fishing, from the classic bamboo pole, to surf casting, to trolling off the coast of Florida for sail, and to sitting for hours in the hot sun in a rowboat watching the float bobbing in the water with the little ripples kicked up by the wind--never a fish! Camping in the wild can be worthwhile if you can catch a trout dinner and fry it on an open fire, that I will concede. There is utility in that. I draw the line at catching just enough to eat, not all you can haul in.

But, I really don't like the taste or smell of fish in the first place! You can add crab, lobster, oysters, and shrimp to the list as well. Lately, every time we have gone to dinner at someone's home, the appetizer has been shrimp and the main course has been fish. The groan I let slip out gets me a stomp on the foot by my wife's heel. Fortunately, no one else heard it but her!

Sorry, sports fishermen, but I have far better things to do with my time and money than to chase dumb underwater animals from a boat.

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Monday, August 13, 2007

 
General Lute, the Czar of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who reports directly to the President, mentioned the subject of the draft as something worth considering, and went on to say that the President objected to the draft and that the all volunteer army is doing just fine. In many blogs, the idea has been blasted, some with the ridiculous thought that our young men would balk.

It is a huge disappointment to learn from several blogs that our new generation of young men are not willing to be drafted, even in a homeland crisis, just as their elders tried not to be during Nam. (This, of course, is not strictly speaking their option, since the draft is a legal obligation.) So to avoid serving, they do have a few options: run to Canada; hide in the underground somehow; find a disability, or get a deferment, or perhaps a conscientious objector status.

The first two of these options would mark them for life for what they are, and would prevent them from having many opportunities later on. I for one, would not hire someone who would run from his duty to the nation, and every firm I ever worked for or with had the same policy. I respect deferments that are logical and beneficial in the long run for the nation, such as to go to medical school or a critical job, but not those given by political influence. I also respect the objectors if they are sincere and not trumped up.

As for the rest, they get selected, drafted, trained, and sent where needed. If they are demonstrably bad soldiers, they get a courts martial for their lack of military discipline.
It is up to them.

To say that we should not ever have a draft because a large number of the youth would not serve is simply ludicrous. First, we find them. Then we take away their passports and give them a one-way ticket to Toronto. After, of course, their penalty for violating the law has been served and recorded here in yellow ink for all posterity. We will be better off without them.

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Sunday, August 12, 2007

 

Draft Fears

Bringing the draft back


The first question should be 'what are our needs for the military over the next ten years or so.' If the military is stressed to the limit, this argues for an increase of forces. Obviously, the forces can be increased by Congress authorizing and funding more billets, followed by recruitment of more volunteers. Another three or four divisions could possibly be raised this way in three to five years. That means about 40 to 60 thousand men. My reading is that we are not getting this number of volunteers for the army--not close!

But, what about right now? If our gap is on the order of three divisions now, the only way to fill those billets rapidly is by drafting and training conscripts over a year or so, and perhaps have then replace veterans in non-combat slots in the US, thus freeing up a pool of volunteers for combat.

It all depends on the first question, and the answer given by the powers that be. General Lute is quite right to bring the subject up. It is material to our status of forces and our capability to carry out the missions assigned.

The subject will not die.

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Thursday, August 09, 2007

 

Withdrawal from Iraq?


An honorable nation would not do so

My bet is still that we will not withdraw from Iraq, except for some symbolic rotations home. We are caught fast in the struggle to create a new government that has the power to survive, to ensure that there will not be a genocidal conflict after we leave, and to hold off the Iranians and Syrians. Morally, to leave with these threats to the Iraqi people quite evident and real for all to see would be devastating. There would be no forgiveness for such an act anywhere in the world, except in leftist circles that desire our demise anyway.

To talk of 12 months or 18 months before “redeployment’ is ridiculous on the face of it given the work yet to be done in pacification, grassroots consensus-building, government-building, oil production and revenue sharing. Well-constructed bases are essential to the effort as outlined, unless we want our troops in tents and latrine trenches for their stay, and subjected to serious harassing attacks.

It is simply disgusting to me to see others considering leaving Iraq to the tribes and factions, with no recourse except their Islamic ‘friends’ to the South, East and West. Such a move is cynical and immoral, no matter what the past has been. I am acutely ashamed of those who advocate withdrawal before the job is satisfactorily finished. They should not be anywhere near the power positions in our nation.



 

Honesty and Integrity


The other day I was reminded of the oath I took as a Scout so may years ago.


It was and remains a serious commitment, never mind the pejorative, naive connotations some give the Scouts. Reading it again, everyone, and following it would help our society immensely. The hypocrisy and thievery we see in our Congress, our Administration, and even in our Supreme Court, as well as in our local politicians, leaves one to believe that we have set this simple set of oaths aside because of greed, and power-seeking. Perhaps we have not taught the oath to our children, whether in Scouts or not.




Boy Scout Oath, Law, Motto, and Slogan



Scout Oath (or Promise)

On my honor I will do my best

To do my duty to God and my country

and to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times;

To keep myself physically strong,

mentally awake, and morally straight.

Scout Law

TRUSTWORTHY

A Scout tells the truth. He keeps his promises. Honesty is part of his code of conduct. People can depend on him.

LOYAL

A Scout is true to his family, Scout leaders, friends, school, and nation.

HELPFUL

A Scout is concerned about other people. He does things willingly for others without pay or reward.

FRIENDLY

A Scout is a friend to all. He is a brother to other Scouts. He seeks to understand others. He respects those with ideas and customs other than his own.

COURTEOUS

A Scout is polite to everyone regardless of age or position. He knows good manners make it easier for people to get along together.

KIND

A Scout understands there is strength in being gentle. He treats others as he wants to be treated. He does not hurt or kill harmless things without reason.

OBEDIENT

A Scout follows the rules of his family, school, and troop. He obeys the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobey them.

CHEERFUL

A Scout looks for the bright side of things. He cheerfully does tasks that come his way. He tries to make others happy.

THRIFTY

A Scout works to pay his way and to help others. He saves for unforeseen needs. He protects and conserves natural resources. He carefully uses time and property.

BRAVE

A Scout can face danger even if he is afraid. He has the courage to stand for what he thinks is right even if others laugh at or threaten him.

CLEAN

A Scout keeps his body and mind fit and clean. He goes around with those who believe in living by these same ideals. He helps keep his home and community clean.

REVERENT

A Scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others.

Scout Motto

Be Prepared

Scout Slogan

Do a Good Turn Daily



Read it again, with feeling!

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Thursday, August 02, 2007

 

The Existential Evil of Islam

Islam and Muslims cannot coexist for long in America


Two simple facts:

1. The basic documents of Islam promote evil and world domination in the name of their God, Allah, which is NOT the same as our God of Christianity;

2. Down to this day, the news media and history are filled to overflowing with the horrific and evil acts of Muslims in the name of Allah against both themselves and infidels like us.

This is all a sane person needs to conclude that Islam and Muslims are an existential evil to non-Muslims and should be banned from America. How a Muslim got elected to the House is a terrifying mystery to me. So let us proudly accept the moniker Islamophobe: it means we understand the threat!

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