Quote of the day

"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but they don't have to prove they are citizens."

Ben Stein

Lots of good sense here !

I read this on I'll Take Liberty, and thoroughly enjoyed her points. (No not THOSE points!)

Here's an excerpt to whet your literary appetite:

Everybody’s afraid of the people in the blue helmets coming someday to take their guns and rape their wives. It’s a rational fear. But what they don’t realize is that something far more powerful than the U.N. has taken hold of their native land. What was once meant to be a treaty between sovereign states is now in charge of every aspect of your life. If it walks like a blue helmet, talks like a blue helmet, and smells like a blue helmet, but instead wears the insignia of the local police, it’s a blue helmet. It’s just covered in black cloth and it’s here to shoot your dog.

The solution to the current problems will not be found at the ‘national’ level. We aren’t all going to rise up at once and take it down. Not going to happen. Rome will just keep playing the barbarians off each other. Yi yi zhi yi. 2010 will be remembered as a year in which the republicans ran the democrats out of the senate and house. If they’re lucky, they’ll retake the White House in 2012. The NRA and their prags will rejoice.

But nothing will change.

Go read it all. It's very insightful and may challenge some of your beliefs.

Strange comments abound

It seems like forever since I've seen a legitimate comment on any of my blog entries. I am however completely inundated with nonsense comments and spam.

It's discouraging to be sure. On the other hand - it takes more than that to shut me up!

Obama bends America over to accept the UN's probe

Hat tip to Crusader Rabbit for pointing this out:

Under the administration of Barack Hussein Obama, the United States submitted its first ever “Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report” to the United Nations. This is the first time in the history of the United Nations that the U.S. has submitted a report to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council, which is the first step in submitting the United States to international review by some of the most repressive and abusive nations in the world.

CAN ANYONE STILL SAY WITH A STRAIGHT FACE THAT OBAMA HAS AMERICA'S BEST INTEREST AT HEART?

The testimony of a New York Fireman

Vinny Forras is a highly decorated firefighter from Westchester and was one of the first responders. On the third day of rescue and recovery operations he was buried alive with other firefighters by a collapse under the burning ruins. He was rescued after two hours and I think well represents his many brothers who perished on 9/11 and since.

“I grew up in Queens and I proudly served in the shadow of Ground Zero. I was one of the firefighters to answer the call and I was buried for nearly two hours beneath the rubble with my brothers. And I’m here to stand before you today and let you know that if I ever say or do anything that’s considered politically correct, it’s completely by accident.

We, the people, are still under attack, today. Planes rammed into these buildings on 9/11, but what’s happening here with this mosque is a continuation of the attack on all of us. I liken it to the Twilight Zone, where everything you believe that can’t happen does happen, especially with this administration. Think about it: we’re standing here on the 66th anniversary of D-Day when our brave soldiers took a beach head far away and spilled their blood in defense of America, freedom and liberty. We, the people, need to have the same courage that our military had 66 years ago today. And we must say, “No, not on our watch, are we going to allow this, right here on Ground Zero.”

I look around and I see the photographs of loved ones lost that appeared in this park when we were here nine years ago. Those families still die a little bit every single day, at the loss of their loved ones. How the hell can we justify more madness right here in our own back yard? I’m telling you now, guys, unless we the people stand up to this insanity, the attacks will continue on all of us. Every American must remember what happened here on this pile not so long ago, and to consider that we have the insane suggestion to build a mosque it is really a mockery on all of you, every one of you.

The attack continues today. and every single one of you must stand up for America and let our political leaders, (what a thought: leaders, these are the leaders we send?) Let’s get them out of here and send the people that actually represent you.

… nearly two thousand of the first responders have succumbed to their illnesses that they were exposed here at Ground Zero. The death toll mounts. I also have to mention my dear son, Michael, who is a serving U.S. Marine, who joined right after 9/11, and how do you think he and his Marines, and our soldiers feel around the world, as we even entertain this madness? Let’s send them a message: No to this mockery, and God bless America every single day.”

If you have even one shred of concern that America is bending over for Islam... go here and read the whole thing. And look at the pictures you find there.

What America sees as heroic - and what it doesn't

I got this in an email, and it struck a chord with me. H/T to Lenny!

On Friday, August 6, David C. Dolby passed away suddenly in Spirit Lake, Idaho at the age of 64. Childless, Mr. Dolby had lived in virtual seclusion in the town of Barto, PA since the passing of his wife in 1987. Barto is so small and insignificant the Rand McNally Atlas doesn’t even list it in its appendix. Mr. Dolby’s passing went so unnoticed that even his hometown paper didn’t acknowledge it. His passing was announced by an organization to which he belonged. Evidently most felt Mr. Dolby’s death didn’t merit any notice at all and almost nobody gave it a thought. He apparently hadn’t done anything in his life to merit any special attention.

Three days later, on Monday, August 9, Steven Slater, a childish, immature loser who up until that day had pretty much gone as unnoticed as David Dolby, threw a temper tantrum on a Jet Blue airplane at John F. Kennedy airport because his personal pet peeve is luggage that shifts during flight (or maybe it was tray tables not being in their upright and locked position). Since acting like a spoiled 16 year old, he has been featured on every major news network in the country, his face is on the front page of numerous national publications, Facebook pages have been established to “honor” him, and Mr. Slater has been called a “hero” by people we are supposed to believe know what that term means.

Only in today’s America, Mr. Slater will, in all likelihood, stretch his 15 minutes of infamy into 30 and end up making an obscene amount of money from, and revered by, some folks in our great nation who believe that Mr. Slater’s parents actually DIDN'T pollute the gene pool. He will be interviewed by Today, the Early Show, Good Morning America. He’ll appear on Leno, Conan, Letterman. He’ll become what we in America these days view as “somebody”. He’ll be given praise he doesn’t deserve and labels he never earned. He apparently has done something that merits special attention.

In the meantime, later this week a funeral service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery. There won’t be any press there, and likely only a handful of mourners who had the privilege to know David Dolby. And there will probably be a few guys there that are fellow members of the organization that announced his passing: the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.



David Charles Dolby
May 14, 1946(1946-05-14) – August 6, 2010 (aged 64)

Nickname Mad Dog

Place of birth Norristown, Pennsylvania

Place of death Spirit Lake, Idaho

Allegiance United States of America

Service/branch United States Army

Rank Sergeant

Unit 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

Battles/wars Vietnam War

Awards Medal of Honor

David Charles Dolby (May 14, 1946 – August 6, 2010) was a United States Army soldier who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Vietnam War.

Dolby was born on May 14, 1946, in Norristown, Pennsylvania.[1] His father, Charles L. Dolby, was a personnel manager for B.F. Goodrich Company in Oaks, Pennsylvania. He had a younger brother, Daniel.[2]

Dolby joined the Army from Philadelphia and by May 21, 1966, was serving in the Republic of Vietnam as a specialist four with Company B, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). On that day, his platoon came under heavy fire which killed six soldiers and wounded a number of others, including the platoon leader. Throughout the ensuing four-hour battle, Dolby led his platoon in its defense, organized the extraction of the wounded, and directed artillery fire despite close-range attacks from enemy snipers and automatic weapons. He single-handedly attacked the hostile positions and silenced three machine guns, allowing a friendly force to execute a flank attack.[1]

Dolby was subsequently promoted to sergeant and awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle.[1] The medal was formally presented to him by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 28, 1967.[3]

In addition to the 1965–66 tour in which he earned the Medal of Honor, Dolby was deployed four more times to Vietnam. In 1967 he served there with the 101st Airborne Division, in 1969 with the 75th Ranger Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, in 1970 as an advisor to the Vietnamese Rangers, and in 1971 as an advisor to the Royal Cambodian Army.[4]

Dolby married but had no children. After his wife Xuan's death around 1987, he lived quietly in southeastern Pennsylvania. Over the last 20 years, Dolby attended many veterans events around the U.S. and once opened the New York Stock Exchange on Veterans Day. He most recently worked to bring attention to the neglected Medal of Honor Grove at the Freedoms Foundation in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Dolby died at age 64 on the morning of August 6, 2010, while visiting Spirit Lake, Idaho, for a veterans' gathering. The cause of death has not been announced, and funeral arrangements at Arlington National Cemetery are pending.[5]

Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, when his platoon, while advancing tactically, suddenly came under intense fire from the enemy located on a ridge immediately to the front. Six members of the platoon were killed instantly and a number were wounded, including the platoon leader. Sgt. Dolby's every move brought fire from the enemy. However, aware that the platoon leader was critically wounded, and that the platoon was in a precarious situation, Sgt. Dolby moved the wounded men to safety and deployed the remainder of the platoon to engage the enemy. Subsequently, his dying platoon leader ordered Sgt. Dolby to withdraw the forward elements to rejoin the platoon. Despite the continuing intense enemy fire and with utter disregard for his own safety, Sgt. Dolby positioned able-bodied men to cover the withdrawal of the forward elements, assisted the wounded to the new position, and he, alone, attacked enemy positions until his ammunition was expended. Replenishing his ammunition, he returned to the area of most intense action, single-handedly killed 3 enemy machine gunners and neutralized the enemy fire, thus enabling friendly elements on the flank to advance on the enemy redoubt. He defied the enemy fire to personally carry a seriously wounded soldier to safety where he could be treated and, returning to the forward area, he crawled through withering fire to within 50 meters of the enemy bunkers and threw smoke grenades to mark them for air strikes. Although repeatedly under fire at close range from enemy snipers and automatic weapons, Sgt. Dolby directed artillery fire on the enemy and succeeded in silencing several enemy weapons. He remained in his exposed location until his comrades had displaced to more secure positions. His actions of unsurpassed valor during 4 hours of intense combat were a source of inspiration to his entire company, contributed significantly to the success of the overall assault on the enemy position, and were directly responsible for saving the lives of a number of his fellow soldiers. Sgt. Dolby's heroism was in the highest tradition of the U.S. Army

In God We Trust

MY kind of bank!

Chappell Hill Bank's website

The straight scoop on what's happening at the US border with Mexico

Murdered Arizona rancher Robert Krentz


...as told by a rancher who is living it every day.

A Border Manifesto - Part I

A Border Manifesto - Part II

This makes me want dig a fighting hole somewhere along the Rio Grande and open fire!



The policies of the Federal Government are deliberate and treasonous.

Associated Press - Internal Memo to its reporters

STOP USING THE PHRASE "GROUND ZERO MOSQUE"

They might as well be working for Stalin or Mao. These are the actions of a propaganda corps!

Of Obama and integrity (or lack thereof)

George W Bush was routinely called a liar by a broad segment of society as you might recall. Now before you go thinking this is in defense of Bush, let me say very clearly Au Contraire. Being no fan of Bush, I am only using him to offer contrast to the treatment of our current ruler, the Mighty Kenyan.

Obama was very clear all throughout his campaign that transparency would be the hallmark of his administration, and toward that end he very specifically promised that all of the negotiations regarding the then proposed healthcare reform legislation would be broadcast on C-span. These promises of full disclosure are on film for all to see, and they are unequivocal by anybody’s standard. But when it actually happened, the healthcare legislation passage was the epitome of backroom wheeling and dealing.

He lied.

On the subject of GITMO, Obama the candidate promised to close the prison there. Again these promises were unequivocal, and publicly stated on multiple occasions. Other than a handful of detainees being transferred out, the facility at GITMO remains in full operation and shows no signs of closure.

He lied.

Obama told America repeatedly and loudly that no one’s taxes would go up if they made less than $200,000 a year. Now several different money amounts were bandied about, but the point he was making was that the American middle class would not be shackled with new income taxes. Now this one has not completely played all the way out, but does anyone in their right mind believe that the American middle class isn’t going to be slapped with additional taxes? Obama vehemently told George Stephanopolis in a televised interview that the mandated cost of buying health insurance was NOT a tax. Then when challenged in court, his administration argued that the mandate for individuals to buy healthcare coverage was indeed a tax, and thus was fully constitutional under the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution.

He lied.

These are just three salient examples. An honest viewer of the political scene should have no trouble coming up with many more examples of Obama’s complete lack of integrity.

Now a question: Why hasn’t the denunciation so commonly used for Bush attached itself to Obama? Why aren’t we daily hearing the refrain of “Obama lied…”? That’s a rhetorical question of course. I damn well know the answer.

Now an observation: When I was in the Marines we were taught that there were fourteen leadership traits. They are as follows

Judgment
Justice
Dependability
Integrity
Decisiveness
Tact
I… (this one I couldn’t remember – but not bad for being out for 25 years huh?)
Endurance
Bearing
Unselfishness
Courage
Knowledge
Loyalty
Enthusiasm

These character traits were held forth to all Marines as what it takes to make a good leader. Now can we all agree that a president needs to be at least a “good” leader? When a young Marine goes before a promotion board he/she is likely to be asked what’s the most important of all the leadership traits. The answer is of course integrity, because without integrity all the other traits are pretty much worthless.

It would seem to me that our Dear Leader - he who aspires to rule over us - is utterly lacking in the most important trait of leadership!

Blagojevich's hold out juror

Despite loads of evidence that he was corrupt all the way to the bone, one lone juror has destroyed the whole case against Blagojevich. His only conviction was for lying to the Feds.

How's that for irony? It's a crime to lie to the liars! Consider that in light of the recent 9th circuit court of appeals ruling that said it was "freedom of speech" to lie and pretend that you are a military hero or combat vet.

Apparently the holdout juror felt it was okay to lie in her jurors oath. Chicago Fox news affiliates are reporting that she bragged for weeks in advance that she was going to find Blago not guilty.

Jo Ann Chiakulas of Willowbrook "is a retired state public health director who has ties to the Chicago Urban League. She has handed out campaign literature for a relative who ran for public office. She listens to National Public Radio and liberal talk radio shows."

If the political affiliation of all the participants in this case were hypothetically reversed, imagine how quickly this person would be outed and demonized as a conservative villain!

I wonder how much she was paid.

US taxpayers pay for 9/11 mosque builder's trip to fund-raise in the middle-east

If this isn't salt in the wound - I don't know what is!

THE WASHINGTON TIMES
EDITORIAL: Tax dollars to build mosques
U.S. underwrites fundraising tour for Islamic shrine at Ground Zero

The State Department is sending Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf - the mastermind of the Ground Zero Mosque - on a trip through the Middle East to foster "greater understanding" about Islam and Muslim communities in the United States. However, important questions are being raised about whether this is simply a taxpayer-funded fundraising jaunt to underwrite his reviled project, which is moving ahead in Lower Manhattan.

Mr. Rauf is scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar, the usual stops for Gulf-based fundraising. The State Department defends the five-country tour saying that Mr. Rauf is "a distinguished Muslim cleric," but surely the government could find another such figure in the United States who is not seeking millions of dollars to fund a construction project that has so strongly divided America.

By funding the trip so soon after New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission gave the go-ahead to demolish the building on the proposed mosque site, the State Department is creating the appearance that the U.S. government is facilitating the construction of this shameful structure. It gives Mr. Rauf not only access but imprimatur to gather up foreign cash. And because Mr. Rauf has refused to reveal how he plans to finance his costly venture, the American public is left with the impression it will be a wholly foreign enterprise. This contradicts the argument that a mosque is needed in that part of New York City to provide services for a burgeoning Muslim population. If so many people need the mosque so badly, presumably they could figure out a way to pay for it themselves.

Read the rest of this disgusting news here.

Call these people racists if you dare!

THIS video should be made to go viral across the internet!

I want your money - The Movie

How Officers Are Dying: Trends in Felonious Officer Deaths

By Benjamin Kurata - Action Target Newsletter

I recently received an alarming e-mail from one of Law Enforcement websites that I am a member of:

“Officer Deaths up 42% This Year” from this time last year.

I have to admit that every time I receive an “Officer Down” e-mail I experience a knot in my guts, and hesitate to open the e-mail for a second, knowing that it details another death of a Law Enforcement Officer in the US.

Observation 1: Multiple Officer Deaths / injuries per Incident

We are losing more officers per incident than in the past:
March 21, 2009: Oakland, CA, 4 Officers killed
April 4, 2009: Pittsburgh, PA, 3 Officers killed
April 25, 2009: Okaloosa County, FL, 2 Officers killed
July 26, 2009, Seminole County, OK, 2 Officers killed
November 29, 2009: Lakewood, WA, 4 Officers killed
May 20, 2010, West Memphis, AR, 2 Officers killed, 2 Officers severely wounded

Observation 2: More Officers are Being Ambushed

Whether pre-planned (Oakland, Spokane) or hasty (Arkansas), violent criminals are pre-planning aggressive, violent attacks on Officers. They have already made up their minds, mentally planned, rehearsed, and equipped their next encounter with Law Enforcement. They know what they are going to do the next time they are stopped on the street or a uniform knocks on the front door. They have an incredible tactical advantage when they initiate the attack as the Officer is on the wrong side of the action versus reaction curve. In a later article I intend to touch upon the psychological and perceptual aspects of ambush avoidance, but the important thing to keep in mind for now is that THEY ARE BRINGING THE FIGHT TO US!

Observation 3: More Officers are Being Killed by Rifles

The most popular rifle caliber used against LEOs is the 7.62 X 39 mm COMBLOC round. In most variants, the projectile is steel jacketed and is an armor piercing round that will defeat all soft body armor and most parts of a patrol vehicle. I have also personally seen the same projectile defeat cinder block and brick walls easily. The point is, when facing an assailant armed with a rifle, there is very little material that can be considered hard cover. Rather than being pinned down behind something that will not stop the incoming projectiles, we might consider borrowing a page from the military and consider an aggressive counter attack with accurate, aimed gunfire as cover.

Learning points from the 2006 FBI Publication, “Violent Encounters”:

Please keep in mind that we are talking about officer deaths. The 2006 publication, “Violent Encounters” compares felonious officer deaths with similar studies conducted in 1992 and 1997. I will be comparing stats from the 1992 and 2006 studies.

Observation 1: Deaths at Disturbance Calls / Arrest Situations / Crimes in Progress Dropped from 52% to 38% of Officer Deaths between 1992 to 2006.

Observation 2: Deaths at Traffic Pursuits / Stops went up from 22% to 30%. Keep in mind that a lot of officer fatalities may start as a traffic stop, escalate into a foot pursuit, and conclude as a hasty ambush set up by the attacker against the officer.

So What? Deaths at Disturbance Calls / Arrest Situations / Crimes in Progress and Traffic Pursuits / Stops accounted for 68% in 2006. These types of situations remain the most dangerous activities LEOs engage in.

Observation 3: Cop Killers Practice with Their Weapons More Often than most Police Officers. In 2006, 81% of violent offenders practiced an average on 23 times a year. I know of very few departments that do in-service or qualification courses of fire 23 times a year.

So what? There’s a pervasive belief that “bad guys can’t shoot”. The truth is they practice just as much, if not more, than the average LEO. According to the 2006 study, with the handgun, the Officers were successful in putting rounds on their attacker(s) 39% of the time, but the violent attackers were successful in putting rounds on the Officer 68% of the time. The average distance for the officer delivering rounds was 25 feet, the average distance for the violent offender was 15 feet. Hence the saying I learned many years ago, “Proximity negates skill.” When the shotgun was the weapon of choice, the officers were successful 100% of the time with the average distance of engagement 23 feet. In this study, violent attackers were not able to put any rounds on LEOs with a shotgun. When the rifle was the weapon of choice, in this study (keep in mind that this study was prior to most of the recent Officer fatalities where Officers were killed with rifles), neither LEOs nor violent attackers were successful in putting rounds on each other, but note that the average distance of engagement was 188 feet, so operator ability may have been a factor.

In closing, there are several trends in Law Enforcement Officer deaths, some are familiar to us (most dangerous types of contacts) some may be new (the fact that violent offenders practice as often as they do). Whether confirming what we know already or giving us new information, the goal is to save officer’s lives when the talking stops and the shooting starts.

==============================

GR4U - Speaking now as someone who no longer grants AUTOMATIC support to the law enforcement community, I have an observation of my own to share: Is it possible that more people are coming to realize the typical LEO is not your friend? I challenge you for ONE WEEK to check out the daily news feed from Injustice Everywhere. Just ONE WEEK - that's all I ask.

And now for something a bit different

I once had a friend – a fellow Marine. I served with this man for a couple of years when I was stationed in Kansas City in the early 1980’s. When we first met, I knew by the end of that day that here was a guy who would be the best friend I ever had. And it was exactly that way with Bob: we were friends of the closest sort.

When my first son was born, my wife who was a Catholic at the time insisted that we have godparents for him. Without a moment’s hesitation I chose Bob to be that godfather, and just as quickly he accepted. I kept no secrets from Bob, and he kept none from me.

We stayed in close contact down through the years after we both left the Marines, he in Ohio and I in Florida – distance meant nothing. We spoke on the phone with great regularity.

There came a time when Bob lost his job and his marriage hit a rocky stretch, and I suggested he come to Florida to get his head together. So he came down, and he spent several months living at my house and working at various jobs to make ends meet. But he was miserable the whole time being away from his wife and kids. So when he got drunk and made an ass of himself in my house – in front of my kids, in front of my wife, and I told him in no uncertain terms to extricate his cranium from his posterior, it was just the impetus he needed to go back home and straighten things out with the Mrs.

Without the slightest shame or discomfort I can honestly say that I loved Bob like a brother. In all my time on this earth, I do not expect to ever have another friend of the same caliber as Bob Winston. So when he died on New Year’s day 2002, it about tore me apart. You see… Bob was an alcoholic, and everyone around him knew it. He had no control over himself when it came to booze, and ultimately it killed him and orphaned his three boys.

Now almost nine years later I have another good friend who reminds me a lot of Bob. He apparently can’t control himself when he drinks. He repeatedly embarrasses himself when he’s drinking, and the next day he’s busy apologizing to everyone he offended. My contemporary friend (who will remain nameless) is a smart, honest, motivated individual whom I would be proud to call my friend under all circumstances but one: when he’s drunk. This quiet, intellectual, insightful man, when he's in his cups, does a Dr Jekyl, Mr Hyde personality change into someone I don’t even recognize. In fact the diametrically opposite natures of the sober man and the drunk are so counter to one another that it’s positively shocking!

I did everything in my power to make Bob see what he was doing to himself and to those around him that loved him. And while sober he would agree and promise and even swear to make a change in his life. But it was beyond his ability to do so. I am afraid that my new friend may be just as unable to get it under control as was Bob. And while this new friend has no children to orphan like Bob did, it still saddens me to see someone with so much promise and so much potential to throw it all away in exchange for wallowing in the vomit of an inebriated existence.

I hope my friend reads this, and instead of getting angry and defensive, realizes that only folks that really care would take the time, and risk the reaction, in order to say the hard things that need to be said: Pull your head out of your ass, and pull your lips away from the bottle, and stick around for many future years among friends that care about you!

1913 was a REALLY bad year

From The American Thinker

Prior to 1913, there was no federal income tax. The states had rights and representation in Washington, D.C., there was no Federal Reserve Bank, and the federal government lived under the enumerated powers afforded within the U.S. Constitution. What a difference one year can make...

Almost a hundred years later, it's clear that the policies established in 1913 must be revoked in order to restore power to the people and the states. But can the American people stuff the genie back in to the bottle?

Read the rest of this excellent history lesson because it is incredibly relevant to today's problems.

Hiroshima remembered

August 6th, 1945 at 8:10 am. A single American plane over Hiroshima dropped the first of two atomic weapons - thus far the only nuclear weapons ever used in war. More people died in Tokyo from the incendiary bombs we dropped there than died in either Hiroshima or Nagasaki. But the power and the destruction of the nukes was undeniable.

Today the debate still rages over whether the US was justified in bombing these civilian targets with such horrific weaponry. Knowing, as I do, the history of the Pacific War and the tenacity of the Japanese, I am of the view that a net savings of lives was the effect of the atomic bombings of Japan. Even a cursory study of the battles fought at Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, or Okinawa will reveal very clearly that the Japanese had no concept of surrender with honor. It was their intent to fight to the last man, woman, and child. Logistical planners for the invasion of mainland Japan expected one million American casualties!

It pains me to think of the innocents that were killed in that blast. But the rational part of me realizes that far more death would have resulted from the conventional invasion that was the only other option to end the war.

Another legacy of the atomic bombings has been to redirect contemporary attention away from Japanese atrocities committed during WWII. There are far too many to list here, but the Massacre of US POWS at Palawan can certainly qualify as an atrocity that has largely been forgotten.

The overriding lesson that mankind never seems to learn is the horror and tragedy of war. And while we all are correct in hoping for peace, we are foolish to not remain ready to fight if need be. An even bigger mistake we seem to be making these days is our complete inability to identify our enemies, whether they be foreign - or domestic.

May God bless the Republic.

The madness of the liberal appeasement crowd

Lessons best learned

Armed and Christian reports on the ridiculous sentence handed down to one of the chief executioners of the barbarous Cambodian Khmer Rouge regime. This man directly oversaw and assisted in the torture and murder of over 16,000 Cambodians, and the UN tribunal that judged him took 10 years and spent $100 million only to deliver a 19 year sentence!

Mike over at Sipsey Street Irregulars uses this report to expound on the lessons we should all have learned when we look back over the 20th century and examine the actions of Hiter, Stalin, Pol Pot, and various tyrants that butchered so many of their own people.

Mike's Lesson Number 1 should be etched into our hearts and minds:

If a bureaucrat, or a soldier sent by a bureaucrat, comes to knock down your door and take you someplace you do not want to go because of who you are or what you think -- kill him. If you can, kill the politician who sent him. You will likely die anyway, and you will be saving someone else the same fate. For it is a universal truth that the intended victims always far outnumber the tyrant's executioners.

If you read absolutely nothing today, please go read these two blog posts, and then give some thought to those whom you love and what their future is likely to be in this new America.

By the way, you DO know that War is not the 20th century's biggest killer don't you?

I leave you with the words of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn:

"And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?... The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If...if...We didn't love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation.... We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward."