"It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth -- and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. ... For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it might cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it." --Patrick Henry

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 03:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I got this in a link from my friend Rurik, and all I can add is: AMEN!

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Let me see if I understand all this....

IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU
GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.

IF YOU GO INTO CHINA ILLEGALLY, YOUR CONSIDERED A SPY
AND GET HARD PRISON TIME.

IF YOU GO INTO GERMANY ILLEGALLY, YOU GET A HEFTY FINE,
WORK IT OFF OR PAY IT OFF, THEN DEPORTED.

IF YOU GO INTO ENGLAND ILLEGALLY, YOU ARE IMMEDIATELY
JAILED AND DEPORTED.......

IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE
DETAINED INDEFINITELY....

BUT, IF YOU CROSS THE U.S. .. BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET:

1. A DRIVERS LICENSE
2. A SOCIAL SECURITY CARD
3. WELFARE
4. FOOD STAMPS AND
5. FREE HEALTH CARE?

I guess I still don't understand...maybe we need to VOTE OUR LAWMAKERS OUT.

GO GREEN!! RECYCLE CONGRESS !!!

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That's why I like Bush. He doesn't over-think it. He wakes up every morning, jumps out of bed, lands on his two feet, scratches his balls, and says, "Let's kill some fucking terrorists!" --Dennis Miller

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I was directed to a site by a fellow Rottie, so welcome a new addition to the blog roll, Mr. Bingly at Coalition of the Swilling.

I think you'll enjoy his unique perspective.

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"I have lived, Sir, a long time; and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this Truth, that God governs in the Affairs of Men." --Benjamin Franklin

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Mark Hyman Wrote the following article for The American Spectator. In it, with clear concise logic and no personal interpretations, he lays out his case for believing that the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C., really and truly does hate America and all she stands for.

I wholeheartedly concur with Mr. Hyman's conclusions.

I would also add to this list of perfidious behavior the fact that pResident Obama is in truth an over-admirer of Islam,if not a secret practicing Muslim himself, demonstrated by his own words and actions, and as such, is philosophically opposed to almost everything that Americans hold dear .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The very next paragraph is going to make the nut jobs on the far left excitable beyond belief. I am not referring to all Democrats or even a majority of liberals. I am singling out the "they've-lost-all-touch-with-reality" crowd. This includes Media Matters for America led by the admitted hit-and-run, drunk-driving serial liar. The group includes the unshaven, bathrobe-clad unemployed who live in their mother's basement and are devout followers of MoveOn.Org. It is also the bitter, aging spinster working at the New York Times, the morbidly obese documentary film maker, and cable TV news' resident drama queen who hosts MSNBC's Countdown. They are about to simultaneously suffer from brain aneurisms. So without further delay, I'll say it.

Barack Obama despises America.

When people who voted for Obama in 2008 -- including registered Democrats -- start speaking in normal conversational voices at dinner parties, neighborhood gatherings and PTA meetings that the over-inflated ego from Chicago has it "in for America," then it's clear most reasonable people have reached the same conclusion.

The central conviction of Obama's ideology is that America is guilty of limitless moral failures and is the chief architect of the world's ills. Obama has boundless enmity for America, its key institutions, and its longtime allies. Consider these facts.

The 30-years of Obama's post-adolescent life are radical by any measure. First, he grew up listening to the ramblings of committed Communist Frank Marshall Davis. It had such a profound effect on him that he wrote fondly of Davis in his first book. In fact, that book is replete with statement after statement about how the U.S. is deeply flawed. Most Americans believe in American exceptionalism. Not so with Obama.

Patriotic Americans would not have listened to the bigoted, anti-Semitic, hate-America rants of a fringe religious leader for 20 seconds let alone for 20 years. Yet, Obama who admitted he attended services at Trinity United Church at least twice a month for two decades called Jeremiah Wright his mentor and his moral sounding board.

Nor would most Americans cultivate a close friendship with an admitted domestic terrorist and his wife whose most notable life's accomplishments were to set off bombs that killed and maimed innocent people.

Joining Al Sharpton and Jeremiah Wright in organizing attendance at Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan's 1995 march on Washington is beyond imaginable. Especially after Farrakhan demonstrated public support for Colonel Muammar Qaddafi during the Libyan Leader's most bellicose years against the U.S., which included Libyan complicity in numerous terrorist attacks.

Obama's view of America in national security and foreign affairs is profoundly disappointing to say the least.

Americans overwhelmingly view the men and women who saved Europe and the Far East during World War II as comprising the Greatest Generation. By his comments and actions, President Obama obviously thinks otherwise.

Obama did not honor American greatness on the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift while on his first European trip. Instead, he accused "America [of having] shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive" toward its European allies.

He also denigrated the accomplishments of the American G.I. during World War II in the Pacific theater when he offered a thinly veiled apology for the U.S. having dropped the A-bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those acts brought the war to a swift conclusion, perhaps saving hundreds of thousands of lives when it appeared Japan was prepared to wage an island-by-island battle to the last man.

Obama ordered the release of the so-called CIA "torture memos," seriously damaging delicate intelligence relations with allied nations and placing at grave risk the safety of U.S. intelligence officers working overseas. The impact of his action handcuffs the ability of U.S. intelligence officials to protect the U.S. and American interests from acts of terrorism.

In a matter of weeks last spring, Obama gave deference to a variety of belligerent leaders while stiff-arming longtime American allies. First, he called for closer relations with Cuba while ignoring that nation's long list of continuing human rights abuses. Then he warmly welcomed Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez at an Organization of American States summit.

Next, he failed to respond and set the record straight after Nicaragua's Communist leader Daniel Ortega listed alleged U.S. crimes and atrocities during a nearly one-hour rant at the OAS meeting. It is unsettling that in his own remarks Obama incorrectly claimed the OAS has 36 members rather than the actual 34. Ortega and the hemisphere's other Socialist leaders claim the OAS would include 36 members if Cuba and an independent Puerto Rico were allowed to join. Mere coincidence or Freudian slip?

Immediately following the OAS embarrassments, Obama ignored a request from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet. Obama would repeat this snub six months later before agreeing at the last moment to meet Netanyahu after the Israeli leader was en route the U.S.

In his speech before the Muslim world, Obama made the patently absurd claim of equivalency between the status of displaced Palestinians and the slaughter of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. His claim that 7 million Muslims live in the U.S. is a figure inflated by as much as 700%.

In an earlier speech, Obama claimed that the U.S. is not a Christian nation, which is at odds with the fact that 79% of Americans self-identify as Christians and the nation's founders were devout Christians.

In less than six months in office, Obama apologized for Guantanamo Bay; for alleged mistakes committed by the CIA; for U.S. policy in the Americas; for America's history of slavery; for "sacrificing [American] values;" for "hasty decisions" in the war on terror; for "America's standing in the world;" for American errors in foreign policy; and for U.S. relations with the Muslim world.

He pronounced Iran's pursuit of nuclear technology acceptable and he warned Netanyahu against targeting Iran's nuclear facilities. Obama's approach to Iran is eerily similar to that of Jimmy Carter, whose actions contributed to the fall of that nation into the control of Islamic radicals.

This summer, the door to greater individual freedoms in Iran was firmly closed shut when Obama announced the U.S would not meddle in Iran's election and he offered no encouragement to democracy activists who protested the obviously stolen elections. His silence was deafening when regime security agents savagely attacked and killed countless Iranians who took to the streets.

In contrast to his deference to anti-American leaders such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez, and Daniel Ortega, Obama strong-armed Netanyahu on key Israeli matters. In addition to snubbing the Israeli Prime Minister's requests to meet, Obama demanded an end to Israeli settlements and insisted on the creation of a two-state Palestine solution.

Obama abandoned NATO members Poland and the Czech Republic by canceling the central Europe missile defense plan just as rogue nations North Korea and Iran make advances in nuclear and ballistic missile production. The cancellation was demanded by Moscow authorities who have adopted a more confrontational posture toward the west.

Solidarity with freedom-loving East Germans has been a staple of the American presidency for nearly 50 years. John Kennedy pronounced himself a Berliner. Ronald Reagan demanded Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev "Tear down this wall!" Yet, this bricks and mortar icon of first, Soviet totalitarianism, and then, second, the end of Soviet domination did not make the cut as Obama chose not to attend the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall. In the summer of 2008, Obama altogether skipped mentioning the role of the U.S. -- or even the West, for that matter -- in bringing down the wall, instead crediting "a world that stands as one."

Obama's disagreement with American values and institutions is evident in domestic issues. He has stocked his administration with wild-eyed radicals who believe foreign law trumps the U.S. Constitution (Harold Koh); include an avowed Marxist and "truther" who believes George Bush was complicit in the 9/11 attack and is also an ardent supporter of cop-killer Mumia Abu Jamal (Van Jones); and include a devoted admirer of Mao Tse-tung who slaughtered as many as 75 million people (Anita Dunn). (In contrast, George W. Bush's Attorney-General nominee John Ashcroft was savaged by the news media for being an Evangelical Christian.)

Three weeks after America's first black president was sworn in, the nation's first black Attorney-General who was hand-picked by Obama, called America "a nation of cowards" for some perceived race relations shortfall. The understood meaning of Eric Holder's comments is that white people are still racists. However, the reality is the people most preoccupied with fomenting the racial divide are those who populate the ranks of the Obama Administration.

Obama's Homeland Secretary designated military veterans as terrorists-in-waiting to be equally as dangerous as other domestic terrorists including pro-lifers and citizens opposed to the flood of illegal aliens.

One of Obama's very few suggestions to cut into his $1.4 trillion budget deficit was to have servicemen and women pay for their own war injuries. He's all for providing free health care to illegal aliens but believes wounded warriors should foot their own hospital bills. In fact, the Defense Department is about the only sector of government in which Obama has proposed slashing spending.

more...

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The U. S. S. Constitution (Old Ironsides),
as a combat vessel, carried 48,600 gallons of fresh water
for her crew of 475 officers and men.
This was sufficient to last six months of sustained operations at sea.
She carried no evaporators (i.e. fresh water distillers).
However, let it be noted that according to her ship's log,
"On July 27, 1798, the U.S.S. Constitution sailed from Boston
with a full complement of 475 officers and men, 48,600 gallons of fresh water,
7,400 cannon shot, 11,600 pounds of black powder and 79,400 gallons of rum."
Her mission: "To destroy and harass English shipping."
Making Jamaica on 6 October,
she took on 826 pounds of flour and 68,300 gallons of rum.
Then she headed for the Azores , arriving there 12 November.
She provisioned with 550 pounds of beef and 64,300 gallons of Portuguese wine.
On 18 November, she set sail for England ..
In the ensuing days she defeated five British men-of-war
and captured and scuttled 12 English merchant ships,
salvaging only the rum aboard each.
By 26 January, her powder and shot were exhausted.
Nevertheless, although unarmed she made a night raid up the Firth of Clyde in Scotland
. Her landing party captured a whisky distillery
and transferred 40,000 gallons of single malt Scotch aboard by dawn.
Then she headed home.
The U. S. S. Constitution arrived in Boston on 20 February 1799,
with no cannon shot, no food, no powder, no rum, no wine, no whisky,
and 38,600 gallons of water.

GO NAVY.... (apparently things haven't changed much in 211 years ! LOL)

H/T to KeesKennis

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"Today our nation pays tribute to our veterans—25 million vets... At this hour, a new generation of Americans is defending our flag and our freedom in the first war of this century. This war came to our shores on the morning of September 11, 2001...We know that they want to strike again and our nation has made a clear choice. We will confront this mortal danger to all humanity. We will not tire or rest until the War on Terror is won... [I]t is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began... We will never back down. We will never give in. We will never accept anything less than complete victory." —President George W. Bush

Whatever else he may of done wrong, President Bush was right in this one thing; we have been attacked, and are still under attack, by an implacable enemy, and we need to wake up from our slumber and respond to this reality, or we will no longer exist as a nation, at least not the same nation we knew in the past, in the near future.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 09:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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On Monday, Chicago Mayor Daley blamed the Ft. Hood Jihad Massacre on AmericaÂ’s love of guns...

Yeah, Riiight...

Mayor Daley proves once again that Liberal politicians just can't grasp the fact that guns aren't the problem; evil people are. As far as it "not being a certain group"; apparently Islam engenders an inability in it's adherents to resist the evil guns siren call to use them against innocent's; especially those innocents of other faiths.

Guns are merely tools,they are neither good nor evil, whether they are used for good or ill depends solely on the user.

Are the gangbangers that inhabit a certain major mid-western city all sweetness and light, but just more drawn to the guns' evil siren call (which by the way are illegal to even possess in that city), or is it that they are criminals that misuse the tool, to the detriment of innocents?
Apparently Mayor Daley thinks the former, while all SENTIENT human beings (leading one to the obvious conclusion that Liberals aren't really sentient beings...I know --- a real shocker THAT is!) know it's the latter.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 09:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Yes, I know I haven't posted in a week..been sick and otherwise involved with the drama of real life...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the U.S.M.C.
234 years of service,honor and tradition, may the country last long enough to provide for another 234 years...

The media just can't seem to figure out Maj. Hasan's motives in engaging in a shooting spree yelling "Allah Akbar" as he was doing it...they try to say it was "transferred PTSD"?!? PUL--EEESE! Or he was a "lonely man" even worse!
If the Journojismers would get their heads out of their PC asses, the reason is obvious. Maj Hasan is an Islamic extremest, and THAT is the reason he engaged in the actions he did. He said it himself:"we love death more than you love life". Believe him and know that there are thousands like him preparing themselves to engage in terrorism type acts as we sit here, the question is not if ,but WHEN they will go off.

Can't sit up much longer, but I'll be back soon, with a good rant or two, I hope.

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“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery"- Sir Winston Churchill

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"It is obvious what the fraudulent issue of fascism versus communism accomplishes: it sets up, as opposites, two variants of the same political system; it eliminates the possibility of considering capitalism; it switches the choice of 'Freedom or dictatorship?' into 'Which kind of dictatorship?' -- thus establishing dictatorship as an inevitable fact and offering only a choice of rulers. The choice -- according to the proponents of that fraud -- is: a dictatorship of the rich (fascism) or a dictatorship of the poor (communism). That fraud collapsed in the 1940's, in the aftermath of World War II. It is too obvious, too easily demonstrable that fascism and communism are not two opposites, but two rival gangs fighting over the same territory -- that both are variants of statism, based on the collectivist principle that man is the rightless slave of the state -- that both are socialistic, in theory, in practice, and in the explicit statements of their leaders -- that under both systems, the poor are enslaved and the rich are expropriated in favor of a ruling clique -- that fascism is not the product of the political 'right,' but of the 'left' -- that the basic issue is not 'rich versus poor,' but man versus the state, or: individual rights versus totalitarian government -- which means: capitalism versus socialism." --philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand (1905-1982)

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"Money can't buy happiness--but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia." --Maxine

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A politician that "gets it" when it comes to American freedom and how Obamacare destroys it:

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"In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." --Thomas Jefferson

ALWAYS keep in mind that the Constitution doesn't so much grant what the government may do as tell us what it MAY NOT do. It seems that a lot of our so called "representatives" in Washington have forgotten this fact...I think we should remind them of it in the next election.

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Let me see if I understand all this...

IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.

IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY.

IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT.

IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE JAILED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.

IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.

IF YOU CROSS THE U.S. BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET A JOB, A DRIVERS LICENSE, SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, WELFARE, FOOD STAMPS, CREDIT CARDS, SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE, FREE EDUCATION, FREE HEALTH CARE, A LOBBYIST IN WASHINGTON AND IN MANY INSTANCES YOU CAN VOTE.

THIS JUST SHOULDN'T HAPPEN ITS TIME WE STOOD UP AND STOP THIS IN AMERICA...

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 11:39 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Finally! A Politician that has really read the Constitution, and wants to conform to it ! You people in Vermont should consider giving Mr. Maslack a promotion and buck him up to the Congress or Senate, where he may be able to help the rest of the Nation regain it's roots.

Vermont State Rep. Fred Maslack has read the Second Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution as well as Vermont 's own Constitution very
carefully, and his strict interpretation of these documents is
popping some eyeballs in New England and elsewhere. Maslack
recently proposed a bill to register non-gun-owners and require them
to pay a $500 fee to the state. Thus Vermont would become the first
state to require a permit for the luxury of going about unarmed and
assess a fee of $500 for the privilege of not owning a gun. Maslack
read the "militia" phrase of the Second Amendment as not only
affirming the right of the individual citizen to bear arms, but as a
clear mandate to do so. He believes that universal gun ownership was
advocated by the Framers of the Constitution as an antidote to a
"monopoly of force" by the government as well as criminals

Vermont's constitution states explicitly that "the people have a
right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State" and
those persons who "conscientiously scrupulous of bearing arms" shall
be required to "pay such equivalent." Clearly, says Maslack,
Vermonters have a constitutional obligation to arm themselves so
that they are capable of responding to "any situation that may
arise". Under the bill, adults who choose not to own a firearm
would be required to register their name, address, Social Security
Number, and driver's license number with the state. "There is a
legitimate government interest in knowing who is prepared to defend
the state should they be asked to do so". Maslack says Vermont
already boasts a high rate of gun ownership along with the least
restrictive laws of any state - it's currently the only state that
allows a citizen to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. This
combination of plenty of guns and few laws regulating them has
resulted in a crime rate that is the third lowest in the nation.

This makes sense! There is no reason why gun owners should have to
pay taxes to support police protection for people not wanting to own
guns. Let them contribute their fair share and pay their own way.

Mr. Maslack IS more historically accurate... ...many citizens opted to pay a "war tax", for someone to fight in their place, in both the Spanish-American and Civil Wars, rather than be conscripted themselves to fight for the US.

If you are not going to serve "in the Militia", then you SHOULD have to pay a "tax" to "hire someone to take your place", and "be armed for the State" on your behalf, if you choose not to serve.

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"Much of what government does is based on the premise that people can't do things for themselves. So government must do it for them. More often than not, the result is a ham-handed, bumbling, one-size-fits-all approach that leaves the intended beneficiaries worse off. Of course, this resulting failure is never blamed on the political approach -- on the contrary, failure is taken to mean the government solution was not extravagant enough." --columnist John Stossel

"What is most frightening about the political left is that they seem to have no sense of the tragedy of the human condition. All problems seem to them to be due to other people not being as wise or as noble as they are." --economist Thomas Sowell

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