Month: June 2007

Red State has one of the best posts/comment sections around touching on the attitude of our political “rulers'” attitudes. Up for today’s whipping: Trent Lott, whose quoted comments are translated into plain speech in this post’s title.

The attitude of the political elite is ever more divorced from the model of the Framers. As Jerry Pournelle remarked recently,

It looks very much as if both parties are now conspiracies to take control away from the American people. Who will rescue us?

With BOTH political parties determined to dictate to The People what we can say and do, and what voice we can NOT have in the political process, we must be ever more vigilant. Societies with strong democratic elements have historically looked to a “strong man” solution or to revolution when their representatives became rulers and “citizens” became subjects. Neither of those options would improve our situation much (unless this man were chosen as our emperor :-)).

*heh*

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Trackposted to Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Webloggin, and Right Truth, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Color me nit-picky…

An otherwise perfectly good article by Alan Sears about how the ACLU has not deserted its communist roots is marred by its lede:

“Just as a leopard cannot change its spots, nor a zebra its stripes… ”

Waat Sears ought to do is either cite the actual literary quote that contains “leopard” and “spots” or move to a different (innacurate, but perhaps more fitting) quote and enrich the meme.

But of course Sears is too infected by the PC restraints of today’s society (or, worse, ignorant of the citation) to cite the actual literary quote:

Jeremiah 13:23: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? [then] may you also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.”

Better, IMO would have been to cite a different meme entirely, if Sears were unable to cite the real literary meme on leopards and spots would have been to cite the corruption of it that renders “leopard” as “leper” because the meme touches on a physical corruption that would reflect on the moral and ethical and spiritual corruption that is evident in the ACLU from its founding consistently through to this very day.

For truly, can a leper change his spots any more than an Ethiopian his skin or a leopard his spots? And yet, neither the Ethiopian’s nor the leopard’s distinctive skins in any way reflect anything negative about their physical being, while leoprosy does definitely show forth a sickness of body that can be taken, when applied to the moral, ethical and spiritual nature of the ACLU, to mean a corruption.

In any case, Sears ought either to unapologetically use the full original literary citation–which does carry a sense of indicting a corrupt nature, or make some other allusion, even the flawed, mis-stated allusion of a “leper’s spots”. Leopards and zebras standing alone are a whimpy literary device.

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BTW, the statement recorded in Jeremiah 13:23 was a snippet from a long, uhm, Jeremiad levied by (of course) Jeremiah at the behest of God, against the Jews–“God’s own people”. Keep that in mind the next time you start feeling that America is elect, particularly blessed and “special”–only so long as we “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with [our] God”… we hope.

Perhaps that ought to be tattoed (in mirror fashion) on the forehead of every public servant, so that they might at least have some sort of reminder that justice and mercy are inextricably bound together by humility, since so few of them show any of those qualities. Hmmm, perhaps I ought to write a small screed explaining how none of those three can truly exist without the other two in equal measure… Nah. Waste of time. Those of y’all who already understand that don’t need to read it, and those of y’all who do not already understand it… won’t.

(BTW, I would have commented at the Townhall site where the article is posted, but the idjits just want folks to jump through too many hurdles, and I’ll almost never be that desperate to talk back to a columnist.)

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Trackposted to The Right Nation, The Virtuous Republic, Webloggin, The Pink Flamingo, The Florida Masochist, Right Celebrity, Stageleft, and Jo’s Cafe, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

[Amendment: *sigh* “Post at haste, repent at leisure” could apply. I meant to follow the post title with, “…Payoffs are not,” as the first sentence of this post. Would have made kore sense.]

Note that there is one provision of the Senate Shamnesty Billate that I could easily support, were it presented on its own: a provision offering a citizenship track to certain illegal aliens for service (and honorable discharge on completion of service) in the Armed Forces of the United States. Such persons would, IMO, have offered full restitution for their crimes and amended their faulty immigration status by their service. In fact, you might note I agreed with Jerry Pournelle’s suggestion along those lines earlier:

“…as I have often said, the proper way to deal with illegal immigrants, is (1) close the border, (2) pay a bonus to any who will voluntarily leave — say $4,000 or so, which is significant to them but still a savings to both nation and state; (3) instruct the police that any who come their attention as misfeasors of any serious degree be turned over to the authorities for detention and deportation and make that stick, (4) offer citizenship to any who spend 8 years in the armed services ending in honorable discharge, and (5) wait to see what happens then. I have no idea whether you would call that compassionate. It seems very reasonable to me.” [emphasis added]

As before, I’m not all that happy with rewarding illegal aliens for “catching” themselves and performing a self-deportation. In fact, I’d be happier if a bounty–with protections against abuse–were in place to reward citizens who turned in illegals who were then deported deep into Mexico (if Mexican or if entered from there) or their countries of origin. Heck, I could retire off bounties within a couple of months (not that that significantly affects my position, since it’s a matter of principle, not economic–rewarding outlaws for breaking the law is never a good idea).

In fact, I’m a tad surprised at Pournelle for suggesting that we pay illegals to leave, since he was once fond of quoting:

Danegeld
by Rudyard Kipling

IT IS always a temptation to an armed and agile nation,
To call upon a neighbour and to say:
“We invaded you last night – we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away.”

And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!

It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say:
“Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away.”

And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray,
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say:

“We never pay any one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost,
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!”

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Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, DeMediacratic Nation, Maggie’s Notebook, Adam’s Blog, The Pet Haven Blog, Stuck On Stupid, Webloggin, Cao’s Blog, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, , The Florida Masochist, Conservative Cat, Jo’s Cafe, Pursuing Holiness, Rightlinx, Right Celebrity, Woman Honor Thyself, Stageleft, Wake Up America, The Uncooperative Blogger, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Nuke’s news and views, The Right Nation, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, and Church and State, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

While “La Raza” and “Aztlan” activists, along with the Mexican government spout their claims that it is they who rightfully “own” much of the U.S., and shameful and disingenuous acts of surrender to those claims circulate the halls of Congress, perhaps the following (mentioned here at twc several times before) ought to be spread far and wide:

“In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man’s becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile…We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language…and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

I’m more grateful than many for LEGAL immigrants. Without them, I’d never have met my Wonder Woman and enjoyed the last 29 years of her company. Sure, it was her grandparents who LEGALLY immigrated and became citizens, learning ENGLISH and becoming AMERICANS, but without their wholehearted resolve to forsake all other alliegiances and become Americans–decidedly NOT hyphenated-Americans with divided loyalties–she might never have been, for her two sets of grandparents were from rather widely separated regions of the same country, and their children might never have met, had they not emmigrated to America and ended up attending the same college here. And besides that, how would we have met–even had she been born–since I’ve never visited her grandparents’ homeland?

BUT, the key is clear: her grandparents came here LEGALLY and became citizens of this country with no divided loyalties, let alone “citizens” who proclaim, as “La Raza” and “Aztlan” people so widely do, that their only loyalty is to a foreign land.

If someone comes to this country and insists we adopt THEIR ways, insists we accomodate their former tongue, etc., then why come here? Let them be honest in their loyalties to another land and GO HOME.

Bill, at The Florida Masochist has made much of the case of Pedro Guzman, possibly an American “citizen” deported to Mexico. I emphasize “possibly” for good reason. Why? Because, according to the sources cited by Bill himself*, Pedro Guzman, supposedly an American citizen, identified himself to multiple authorities as a Mexican national. Hey! If that’s where his loyalties lie, then that’s where he ought to be: Mexico. The bleeding heart plea is that Guzman is supposedly “developmentally disabled”. Pull the other one, folks. Absent a better definition than that, it’s useless to make that bleeding heart plea.

I grew up with LEGAL immigrants and those on REAL Visas from Mexico. Although my high school was only about 15% “Latino” more than half my circle of friends was of that heritage. I know what Americans of that heritage can be like… and I know what pseudo Americans whose real loyalty is to another land are like.

If Pedro Guzman and others like him represent themselves as Mexicans, then bye-bye Pedro! If they genuinely want to be Americans, then,

“There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile…We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language…and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.” [emphasis added]

And…

“…the policy or advantage of [immigration] taking place in a body (I mean the settling of them in a body) may be much questioned; for, by so doing, they retain the language, habits, and principles (good or bad) which they bring with them. Whereas by an intermixture with our people, they, or their descendants, get assimilated to our customs, measures, and laws: in a word, soon become one people.” –George Washington

And, making my most critical point even better than Roosevelt did,

“The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment.” — George Washington (Address to the Members of the Volunteer Association of Ireland, 2 December 1783)

ILLEGAL aliens (and those who have neither the decency nor the moral character to give their allegiance to the country whose benefits they enjoy), who by the very fact of their illegal entry and residence irrefutably demoinstrate their disqualification as decent persons, should never be welcome here. Fundamental disrespect for our laws and the fundamental precepts of the Republic are disqualification enough. Oops. That would seem to exclude most of Congress and Fifi Bush, Felipe Calderon’s lapdog, wouldn’t it?

Oh, well.

Color me unimpressed (to put it kindly, the previous phrase having been thoroughly bowdlerized *heh*) with those who seek ever opportunity to excuse those who: invade our country, flout our borders and our laws, remain committed to a foreign government, while claiming American citizenship, seek the overthrow and suplantation of American rule of American soil, and who otherwise seek to undermine and devalue American citizenship.

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*BTW, “born in California” is cited once in the linked article. Critical: ICE interviews indicated another fact:

Continue reading “A Few Words for the Shamnesty/Anti-Rule of Law Folks”

By: Angel
Crossposted over at Woman Honor Thyself

Ah. It was yesterday but hey..Let’s celebrate our troops all weekend shall we.

The U.S. Army.

Here’s a not so brief overview of some major events my friends.

There are 2 sections to this tribute.
One’s for the smart folk.
One’s for the silly folk.
And ..one’s..well…for both. Heh.

For the “not in the mood to read all this info” friends..ha..scroll down for the joke section. Heh.

First American unit formed 1747 Known as “His Majesty’s first Independent Company of American Rangers.” Though it served England, the Rangers were American soldiers.

French & Indian War
1758 It began on American soil and was brought to Europe, that war was part of what the French and British called the “Seven Years War.”

Wars and Battles
History of the U.S. Army Time Table

War for Independence
1775-1783 Using small unit ambush techniques, the colonists proved successful against one of the world’s finest armies, even while being outnumbered.

Establishment of the Continental Army June 14, 1775 Congress approved the raising of 10 companies of riflemen to enlist, in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia until the end of the Revolutionary War.

George Washington selected to lead the Continental Army June 15, 1775 Washington, named general and commander in chief, successfully fought against soldiers in large formations using small ambush tactics.

Indian Wars
1790-1891 The army fought American Indians on the plains, southeast, southwest, and Pacific Northwest, driving them from their native lands onto reservations.

First U.S. military academy established 1802 Congress establishes the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY.

War of 1812
1812-1815 The war sealed America’s independence. Failing to capture Canada, the army prevented the British from taking Baltimore and New Orleans.

Indian Wars
1817-1863 The 19th century was the era of the great chiefs: Tecumseh, Geronimo, Cochise, Black Kettle, Red Cloud, Sitting Bill, Big Foot, and others.

Mexican War
1846-1848 Soldiers fought for the first time far beyond their frontiers. First time the army administered a military government over a conquered area

Civil War
1861-1865 The many important generals included: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. Later, black soldiers were quickly incorporated.

First conscription acts passed 1862 and 1863 Once the initial war fever had dissipated, the South instituted the draft in 1862 while the North waited until 1863.

Battle of Gettysburg
July 1-4, 1863 Considered a turning point in the war, Confederate troops were forced to retreat after an unsuccessful, massive frontal attack.

Gettysburg Address November 1863 Lincoln’s famous short talk was delivered on the Gettysburg battlefield where a national cemetery was declared.

Ulysses S. Grant March 1864 Grant becomes the first man to hold the rank of General of the Army.

Spanish-American War
April-December 1898 Making its mark as an army of great force by war’s end, it helped establish governmental powers over the Philippines.
1900s top of page

World War I
1917-1918 President Woodrow Wilson sent the American Expeditionary Force to the Western front under General John Pershing’s command.

Black combat troops 1917-1918 Nearly 200,000 black soldiers served in Europe, but only 42,000 were classified as combat troops.

National Anthem 1931 “The Star Spangled Banner” officially became the National Anthem.

World War II
1941-1945 The greatest of U.S. generals — Dwight D. Eisenhower, Nelson Bradley and Douglas MacArthur — led the Allies to victory.

D-Day, The Battle of Normandy
June 6, 1944 In the largest, exclusively American field command, 1.3 million men stormed the beaches at Normandy in the greatest amphibious attack in history.

Manhattan Project
1942-1945 U.S. Army engineers participated with civilian scientists to create two atomic bombs.

Korean War
1950-1953 Led by General MacArthur, the war eventually became a stalemate that took the lives of 54,000 Americans and more than two million Koreans and Chinese.

Code of Conduct August 17, 1955 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a code for U.S. soldiers to live by during times of war.

Official U.S. Army song December 12, 1957 U.S. Army announces that “The Army Goes Rolling Along” (“Caisson Song”) was to be verified as their official song.

Vietnam War
1965-1973 Troops were more effectively delivered to precise locations by helicopter. William Westmoreland commanded their involvement.

U.S. Embassy evacuation April 28, 1975 Two days prior to Saigon’s fall, 8,000 people were transported from the U.S. Embassy making it the largest helicopter evacuation in history.

Panama Invasion
1989-1990 It was so successful that troops were withdrawn in two weeks. Some remained to support reconstruction and installation of a new government.

First Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm)
1991 A coalition force of 34 nations, the United Nations effort was led by U.S. Army General H. Norman Schwarzkopf.

Iraqi Ceasefire February 27, 1991 About 100 hours after the ground campaign began, President George H.W. Bush declared a ceasefire and that Kuwait had been liberated.

Iraq War (Second Persian Gulf War)
March-April, 2003 After a massive air strike, coalition ground forces invaded Iraq. By mid-April, Saddam Hussein’s army and government had collapsed.

Whew. Now……..Take a deep breath and lighten up!

Who says our guys n dolls aint funny.

“Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.”
General MacArthur

“You, you, and you … Panic. The rest of you, come with me .”
U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt.

“If your attack is going too well, you’re walking into an ambush.”
Infantry Journal

“A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what’s left of your unit.”
Army’s magazine of preventive maintenance.

“Aim towards the Enemy.”
Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher

“If the enemy is in range, so are you.”
Infantry Journal

“If you see a bomb technician running, follow him.”
USAF AmmoTroop

“When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.”
U.S. Marine Corps

“Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.”
Unknown Marine Recruit

“Don’t draw fire; it irritates the people around you.”
Your Buddies

Ha.

Seamanship Test
One time during the underway watch the OOD decided to test a Chief Petty Officer’s seamanship. “Chief, what would you do if the forward watch fell off the side of the ship?”

“Easy, sir, I’d call ‘Man Overboard’ and follow the Man Overboard procedures.”

“What would you do if an officer fell overboard?”

“Hmmm,” The Chief said, “Which one, sir?”

God bless our Troops!
Booooooooyah!

Major player on the software scene announces a “newer, faster, better, more secure” piece of software… that turns out to be phenomenally insecure. But this time, it’s not Bill Gates.

Apple unveiled Safari 3 for the Mac and Windows platforms Monday at the Worldwide Developers Conference promising faster speeds than Microsoft’s dominant Internet Explorer. Apple lovers can now take their longing for a Mac-like experience to the average PC. But researchers said that the security vulnerabilities they found in the browser indicated that serious flaws lay behind the chic façade of Apple’s Safari.

Maynor wrote that he found “a total of six bugs in an afternoon, four DoS and two remote code execution bugs.”

*heh* Poison-laced eye candy.

“These are popping out like hotcakes,” researcher David Maynor wrote on the Errata Security blog, referring to the alleged bugs. “Not bad for an afternoon of idle futzing.”

Maynor suggested that “the exploit is robust mostly thanks to the lack of any kind of [advanced] security features in [Apple] OSX. The bugs I discovered work on the currently shipping Safari browser on OSX and can be made uber reliable due to the lack of OSX security features,” he wrote.

OK, folks, time to make up my weekend reading list for me. 🙂

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Once again, twc central is reduced to a backup 28.8 dialup connection, as noted yesterday. So, Thirteen Things About Dialup, the most notable being,

1. It’s sluggish.

2. Sloth-like.

3. Laggardly.

4. Poky.

5. Dilatory

6. Stalling.

7. Retarded.

8. Lethargic.

9. Listless.

10. Torpid.

11. Stagnant.

12. Unresponsive.

13. Oh, and did I say, “slow”?

And those are its good characteristics.

*heh*

Oh. Well.

Noted @the T-13 Hub.

“Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.” — George Orwell

The public schools in Washington D.C. are demonstrably the worst in the nation, which makes this observation and its following question items of serious interest to anyone concerned about America’s future (which, of course, eliminates D.C. politicians *spit* from the mix):

Congress constitutionally governs the District of Columbia. Let Congress take over the DC schools and do whatever it takes to make them work properly. Whatever it takes. It is constitutional, and a good example of a well run public school system would do far more good than the worse far worse than useless Department of Education. Let Congress show us how to have good schools; we are then more likely to listen when they tell us how to run schools in California and Kansas. But of course they will not do that.

Will it take bloody revolution to get decent public schools?

The crux of the problem with Pournelle’s proposal is this: “Let Congress show us how to have good schools…” Congress can’t, of course, because it is filled to the brim with poltroons, ninnies, crooks and self-made idiots. The vanishingly few “good” congresscritters are not enough to leaven the loaf.

*sigh*

And the self-made idiots who make up the sheeple-filled electorate do not make me hopeful that the poltroons, ninnies, crooks and self-made idiots will be kicked out within my lifetime or that of my children or theirs…

“Will it take bloody revolution to get decent public schools?” Will it take one to rid ourselves of these pestiferous poltroons, ninnies, crooks and self-made idiots who rule us? If so, I hold no hope there, either.

The second amendment was put in place largely as a defense against the tyranny that is growing daily from the fevered swamp of the feddle gummint inhabited by the poltroons, ninnies, crooks and self-made idiots who consider themselves our rulers. But we frogs like the growing warnth of the kettle we live in…

(I must remind myself that despair is a deadly sin.)

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Trackposted to Perri Nelson’s Website, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, The Random Yak, stikNstein… has no mercy, Maggie’s Notebook, Adam’s Blog, Webloggin, Leaning Straight Up, Cao’s Blog, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Amboy Times, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Well, after a couple of particularly close lightning strikes (just a few feet north-northwest of twc central) and torrential rains and flashfloods in the area, cable is dead, and twc central is now limping along on a backup 28.8 dialup connection.

Don’t expect much until that changes. 🙂

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