Is Al Quaeda Finally Running Out Of Suicide Bombers???

A Suicidal Media

I have, often, been queried about the mainstream media's love affair with liberals and their causes, particularly their support for a Barack Obama (Barry Sotero) presidency. Since the liberals have not had a good track record on their support of the First Amendment (Freedom Of Speech) in their support of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" which seeks to target conservative talk radio, the mainstream media's support for liberals and their issues would seem to be a case of "Assisted Suicide".

In an era where tabloid journalism and soap opera drama is king, perhaps the mainstream media's symbiotic and suicidal relationship with liberalism has to do with the prodigious scandals of the liberal Democrats which provide the media a continuing source of tidbits upon which to feed. The press is already growing fat on the scandals of their secular Messiah, President elect Obama (Sotero), and he has yet to be seated. Then there is the matter of Mr. Obama's (Sotero's) associates such as Reverand Wright (the "Hate USA" firebrand), Bill Ayers (Weather Underground) and now, the recent questions revolving around his relationship with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and the corruption scandal there.

While it can be argued that there has been scandals among the ranks of the GOP, these remain anecdotal pockets which do not sustain the mainstream media's voracious appetite for a constant stream of dirt. On the other hand, all the media has had to sustain them over the last eight years is the worn out mantra of "no more war", while the congressional Democrats have continued with their policies of "Congressional Blood For Oil" with their opposition to domestic energy development and immigration policies designed to flood the United States labor markets with illegal labor.

What the press looks for is a steady stream of salacious personal scandals, the likes of which have not been seen since Bill Clinton's Monicagate, Filegate, Sandy Bergergate (AKA pantsgate) and Whitewater. Judging from what has transpired thus far, it looks like the next four years will be a banner period for the mainstream (tabloid) media with lots of feasting and NO famine.

The Biden Two-Step.

The Non-Issues of the left.

From time to time I spar, in one of the local liberal tabloids, with mean spirited liberals.

What is most shocking to one in particular, who goes by the NOM De Plum of "Notta Bushman" is the ability of conservative posters to, unashamedly, involve themselves in compelling dialog regarding the hypocrisy of the Democrats while, simultaneously, fending off and responding to the ad hominem attacks of the lefties.

I offer this response as an example:

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For the entire thread, CLICK HERE.

Notta, you are, indeed, an interesting individual. You equate four counts of felonious fraud with unwed motherhood. Through your analogy you seem to seek the incarceration of all unwed mothers, throwing them into the same cell as Jimmy Ryan. What is your next step toward your utopian society, legalizing honor killings?

You should put your Quran down for a moment and acquire a Bible and read Luke 15:11-32. It probably wouldn't do any good because, after reading this, you would still hold the father of the Prodigal Son responsible for the sins of his son.

Now let's address YOUR subject (once again) of judgement. We know Joe Biden has had, in the past, (to be kind) a person of questionable ethics working on his campaign in New Hampshire. As of Friday September 5, 2008 he was in jail for violating a sentencing agreement for four counts of fraud in a prior Carroll County case dating back to 1992. Let's take a look at Obama, shall we?

(Courtesy of http://www.nelsonguirado.com/index.php/asymmetric/2008/07/09/comprehensive-obama-flip-flop-list)

CHANGE #1: Despite Pledging To Withdraw American Troops From Iraq Immediately, Barack Obama Now Says He Would "Refine" His Policy After Listening To The Commanders On The Ground.

CHANGE #2: Despite Pledging To Accept Public Financing, Barack Obama Has Reversed His Position And Opted Out Of The System.

CHANGE #3: Barack Obama Is Backtracking On His Support For Unilaterally Renegotiating NAFTA

CHANGE #4: Barack Obama Is Considering Reducing Corporate Taxes Despite Having Called Corporate Tax Cuts "The Exact Wrong Prescription For America"

CHANGE #5: Barack Obama Has Changed Positions On The D.C. Handgun Ban

CHANGE #6: Barack Obama Has Shifted From Opposing Welfare Reform To Celebrating Welfare Reform

CHANGE #7: As A Presidential Candidate, Barack Obama Criticizes The Administration's Energy Policy Despite Having Voted For The 2005 Bush-Cheney Energy Bill

CHANGE #8: Barack Obama Has Shifted Positions On Nuclear Power

CHANGE #9: Obama Adviser Said Obama Was Not Opposed To An Individual Health Care Mandate Despite His Opposition During The Primary

CHANGE #10: During The Primaries, Barack Obama Pledged To Filibuster Any Bill Which Contained Immunity For Telecommunications Companies Involved In Electronic Surveillance, But Now Backs A Compromise Bill

. . . . . and on and on and on, however, I'm sure it is falling on deaf ears with you Notta because YOUR focus is, obviously, criminalizing unwed motherhood and throwing all the unwed mothers in prison with the fraud mongers, then holding the parents of the unwed mothers responsible for their daughter's indiscretion.

Strange how you NEVER attempt to hold Joe Biden's parents responsible for the error in judgement that Joe committed when he appointed Jimmy Ryan (felonious convict) as his New Hampshire campaign coordinator. Did they teach you that in the Mosque?

P.S. The story on Ryan came from the Associated Press, but, I'm sure if it doesn't appear in the Weekly World News or Dell Comics you wouldn't know of it.
-- Posted by Joe Bradley on Wed, Sep 3, 2008, 11:03 am EST

The Sins Of The Daughter.

As the Democrat Attack Machine goes into high gear surrounding the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate, the Democrat Pit Bulls of NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN and even Fox News are focusing, exclusively, on the non-issue of Sarah Palin's daughter and her out-of-wedlock pregnancy.

There are many talking heads in tv-land who, stridently, insist that the sins of the daughter are the sins of the mother and that, somehow, the pregnancy of Palin's daughter adversely reflects on the mother's judgment and morals. Clearly the parable of the Prodigal Son, found in Luke 15:11-32 and the lessons learned from this, at NO time, cast aspersions on the parent. The sins of the daughter are, most certainly, NOT the sins of the mother.

Meanwhile, in Newsland there is a strange and eerie silence surrounding an Associated Press story which adversely reflects on Joe Biden's judgment, even as the main stream media focuses, exclusively, on Sarah Palin.

In a Carroll County, New Hampshire case dating back to 1992, which was adjudicated with the guilty plea of James Ryan on four counts of forgery and a suspended sentence and court ordered restitution in 2006, Mr. Ryan, once again, finds himself behind bars for failing to pay $9,000.00 of the restitution by the agreed upon date in May of 2007.

Now the question remains, the answer to which the main stream media, seemingly, does not want you to know, "Just who is James Ryan and what does he have to do with Joe Biden?"

James Ryan was Joe Biden's Presidential Campaign Coordinator for the State of New Hampshire primary.

The silence is deafening, but if you listen VERY closely at the closet door, you can hear the sounds of the skeletons clacking together.

Now, the remaining question is this, "In the future, will Republican candidates get a lifetime subscription to LifeLock to keep the Democrats from publishing their Social Security Numbers, home addresses and phone numbers?"

Blood For Oil And The Law of Unintended Consequences.

Congressional Democrats, stridently opposing the Development of domestic energy in the United States, have run afoul of the Law of Unintended Consequences.

Their battle cry of "Millions for conservation but not one thin dime for domestic resource development", which seeks to have us reading by candle light as we, quaintly, sit around our wood stoves after riding our bicycles home from seeking work during a depression, does not address the United State's need for energy AFTER conservation has been implemented by the United States.

No nukes, wind, oil, coal or any other form of, domestically available, energy is acceptable to these modern day Luddites and their failed philosophy that we can conserve our way out of our energy crisis. However, conserve as we may, we still need infusions of energy. Such is the burden of all industrialized nations. The question, then, is not whether or not we can rely on conservation alone to supply our energy needs, it is where the necessary additional energy will come from.

Congressional Democrats, through their refusal to even allow discussion regarding a Domestic Energy Policy (beyond conservation), are demanding that the energy status quo of the United States be maintained. This would be an ever increasing demand on foreign oil. Our energy demands are increasing, in spite of conservation, and alternate sources of energy are, congressionally, unacceptable because none of them represent a perfect solution.

Unfortunately, most of our demand for foreign oil is sated by that unstable region known as the Middle East, which requires our military presence to keep the pipelines open, thereby requiring a large portion of our military resources. This commitment of our military, in regions of the world in which our energy interests must be protected, renders this portion of our military unavailable in other emerging hot-spots of the world.

The rest of the world has taken notice of this, congressionally mandated, dilemma and is taking this opportunity to misbehave due to the United State's entanglements in the Middle East.

Together with all of the calculated consequences that Congress recognizes and refuses to correct, there is this, additional, application of the Law of Unintended Consequences. Spreading our military thin in regions of the world, for purposes which could be corrected by Congress through a comprehensive domestic energy plan, is inviting unforeseen instabilities in the global scheme of things.

Wake up you Democrats, or are you getting paid by someone, somewhere, to remain asleep? If you and your ideologues can accuse Bush and Cheney of being big oil men, aligning themselves with big oil because they are seeking to resolve domestic energy problems, it is fair to portray you as aligning yourselves with foreign big oil interests who are not particularly friendly to the United States. Clearly then, the question must be asked, "Just who does this allegiance benefit?" Certainly not the United States who is footing the bill for the demands on our military to keep the oil flowing from these unstable regions of the world. Certainly not our men and women in uniform who are dodging bullets and flak to keep the pipelines open.

It may be time for an audit of the personal and campaign finances of all those, in Congress, who are obstructing domestic energy production in favor of maintaining the luxurious lifestyles of middle eastern big oil moguls. Perhaps its time to follow the money.

Russian Invasion of Georgia,

Some are asserting that Russia's invasion of Georgia is an initial attempt to regain the power of the Russian Empire and all former territory. Keeping in mind that the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, can we now expect to militarily defend our 49th state from attempts by Russia to get it back?

Who will Russia invade next?

The Obama Two-Step.

Open Mouth, Insert Foot.

"When communities are terrorized by ICE immigration raids, when nursing mothers are torn from their babies, when children come home from school to find their parents missing, when people are detained without access to legal counsel, when all that is happening, the system just isn't working, and we need to change it."

The Response!

Obama eats Toe-Pie (with relish)!

>>>CLICK HERE<<<

ISLAM - Religion Of Peace!

Click the Holy Quran below for the peaceful verses that will restore your spirit.

Video: Fitna the Movie: Geert Wilders' film about the Quran (English) - 17 min - Mar 27, 2008

Learn the truth about this religion of peace, right from the verses from whence the peace springs.

Whackos And Other Sundry Characters.

To hear the audio Rant, just click the play button on the player to the left under RANT ALERT!

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The whackos at Move On Dot Org are at it again. Assailing the congressional Republican's protest that congressional Democrats bailed out for their summer vacation without voting on establishing a domestic energy plan, it is being reported by Fox News that the brain trust at Move On issued the following press release:

"Since Friday, the Republicans in Congress have been playing to the television cameras with theatrical stunts because Speaker Pelosi blocked their offshore drilling plan. The Republican plan will not lower gas prices but it will line the pockets of Big Oil executives, the same people donating millions of dollars to Republicans."

These folks at Move On, clearly living in an alternate reality, have failed to notice that, since the President's lifting of the Executive ban on offshore drilling, oil prices have already plummeted. That which they state will not happen has already done so.

The braniacs at Move On are reminiscent of the scarecrow in the Wizard Of Oz. If they only had a brain . . . even a clue would do.

It is interesting that Move On asserts that the "Big Oil Executives" are lining the pockets of Republicans. It certainly asks the question, "Who is lining the pockets of the congressional Democrats for their continuation of the congressional Blood For Oil program in the Middle East?" Perhaps Middle Eastern interests???

The assertions and resultant chain of logic that Move On applies to the Republicans certainly supports this conclusion for the Democrats, given the Democrat's maniacal adherence to their Blood For Oil program, and their maniacal insistence that the United States WILL obtain their oil, almost exclusively, from the Middle East.

Move On, when you grow up and become an adult, you will also become more conservative, perhaps even a Republican.

Fox News Article At:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,398004,00.html

Blood-For-Oil, The Continuing Story.

For the archived audio rant, CLICK HERE.

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Well, isn't this nice. How pleasant for our Congressional leaders that they have chosen to go on their cheery, 5 week summer vacation while our troops, who are stuck in the Middle East, enforcing the congressional Blood For Oil program are hot, tired and would, probably, like to go on a 5 week vacation of their own.

According to the liberals I receive emails from, the war in the Middle East is all about oil and the “Big Oil Men” which populate the Executive Branch of our government. These misguided emailers will waste no time in letting you know that the United States military presence in the Middle East is for the sole purpose of protecting United States oil interests there so that these “Big Oil Men” can make more money.

However, the covers of this bit of legerdemain have been pulled, exposing this assertion for what it is - a feeble attempt to blame Bush and Cheney for the inaction of Congress.

In a continuing attempt to keep the United States tethered to Middle East oil, Congress has, once again, refused to deal with the problem of our entanglements there and, instead of passing a comprehensive domestic energy plan, has ensured our continuing presence there by going on their 5 week vacation, thereby serving notice on our military that their stay in the Middle East will be a long one and they can expect no help from Congressional Democrats in bringing them home.

NO FIVE WEEK VACATIONS FOR OUR BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN OVERSEAS!

The only remaining obstacle to the domestic development of our substantial energy resources in the United States lies in Congress and their insistence that the United States continues to sacrifice our energy independence, as well as our brave soldiers, to finance terrorist activities and the bullets of our enemies with our foreign petro-dollars.

Have a good time on your summer vacation Congress, lots of golf, quality time with your family and good food. Our service men and women in the middle east will keep the pipeline of, increasingly, expensive oil open for you and your private jets.

Blood For Oil, it’s the Congressional way.

The following was added August 4, 2008:

Remember, the opposite of PROgress is CONgress.

Watch a Democrat Congressman object to a domestic energy plan, even if gas prices reach $10.00 a gallon

Click Here.

THEN

Click Here.

Is This The Future of National Health Care?

Even as the cry for a National Health Care plan resounds in the halls of Congress and local State Legislatures, a story coming out of Oregon may have implications into just what the future holds for the formation of a national health care policy.

53-year-old Randy Stroup of Dexter, Oregon suffers from prostate cancer. Stroup has no health insurance and is unable to pay for the expensive chemotherapy so he has applied to Oregon's government health plan to provide the expensive procedures.

In a responsive letter to Strout's request, the Lane Individual Practice Association, administrator of Oregon's Health Plan in Lane County, relied on an Oregon law passed in 1997, the Death with Dignity Act(1) which makes physician assisted suicide legal, when they rejected his application for chemotherapy and opted for the less expensive physician assisted suicide procedure.

Clearly, the implications of this decision are ominous. Reversing the philosophy of Hippocrates and the Hippocratic prohibition, "To please no one will I prescribe a deadly drug nor give advice which may cause his death.", together with the "State" promoting the abrogation of God's Commandment prohibiting Murder (from which the prohibition against suicide emanates), the State of Oregon has not only created a new, State modified, religion which bases itself on only a portion of the Ten Commandments, but has accomplished the reversal of the 2400 year old Hippocratic Oath. Not bad for a letter from an insurance administrator.

Perhaps it was the threat of a SCOTUS fight or perhaps, in a spasm of conscience (doubtful), it is being reported that Oregon relented and approved the chemotherapy. However, the nagging question that is raised in my mind is this. If the United States ever embraces the National Health Care that the Liberals promote, will the United States also pass an attendant Death with Dignity Act, giving National Health Care an escape route if a medical procedure is deemed to be too costly? Since the Left Coast is, rapidly, becoming a Mecca for liberal ideas and philosophies, this is something to take seriously.

(1) "On October 27, 1997 Oregon enacted the Death with Dignity Act which allows terminally-ill Oregonians to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose.

The Oregon Death with Dignity Act requires the Oregon Department of Human Services to collect information about the patients and physicians who participate in the Act, and publish an annual statistical report."

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,392962,00.html

The Geo-Political Nature of a Town Hall Meeting.

On June 10, 2008 there was a telephone "town hall" meeting with Representative Peter Welch regarding, in the main, the high price of oil and energy independence from foreign sources. As much as it twists my tongue to compliment a Democrat about anything, I must admit that this innovative step, which included many thousands of Vermonters, was a communication coup that will be remembered among many Vermont voters, even though some of the data relied upon by Representative Welch was specious and misleading.

In a continuing attempt to blame the oil companies for failing to pump enough of their product out of the ground, Representative Welch's resident experts cited that the oil companies are pumping oil from only a fraction of the property over which they hold subsurface gas and oil leases. While this statistic is true, it fails to explain the nature of these leases.

A subsurface gas and oil lease is not an instrument which is executed after the property is determined to contain petroleum deposits, it is an instrument of speculation that gives the lessee (oil companies) specific rights of access to the land to explore and pump out the oil IF the exploration shows that there are deposits of gas and oil present. At an average cost of a few dollars an acre, this is a cost effective way for the oil companies to ensure that, if there is anything there, they will have enumerated rights to enter the property and drill exploratory or production wells and, if oil is discovered, they will pay an additional, preagreed, royalty to the lessor. If there is nothing to pump out of the ground, it is only natural that the oil companies would not pump the nothing that is there, hence the fractional activity on leased land. They are not in the business of seeking out failure through trying to pump crude oil out of dry holes.

Interestingly enough, these "experts" offered up by Peter never stated that the oil companies were not properly using their leases, they merely implied it by failing to explain the nature of a subsurface gas and oil lease, thereby leaving the town hall participants with an eerie feeling of conspiracy among the oil companies to sit on their oil deposits until the price rises to a point where windfall profits can be made.

During the recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearings in which the oil company executives were called to task on the spiraling price of oil distillates, Shell's John Hofmeister explained:

"While all oil-importing nations buy oil at global prices, some, notably India and China, subsidize the cost of oil products to their nation's consumers, feeding the demand for more oil despite record prices. They do this to speed economic growth and to ensure a competitive advantage relative to other nations.

Meanwhile, in the United States, access to our own oil and gas resources has been limited for the last 30 years, prohibiting companies such as Shell from exploring and developing resources for the benefit of the American people.

Senator Sessions, I agree, it is not a free market.

According to the Department of the Interior, 62 percent of all on-shore federal lands are off limits to oil and gas developments, with restrictions applying to 92 percent of all federal lands. We have an outer continental shelf moratorium on the Atlantic Ocean, an outer continental shelf moratorium on the Pacific Ocean, an outer continental shelf moratorium on the eastern Gulf of Mexico, congressional bans on on-shore oil and gas activities in specific areas of the Rockies and Alaska, and even a congressional ban on doing an analysis of the resource potential for oil and gas in the Atlantic, Pacific and eastern Gulf of Mexico.

The Argonne National Laboratory did a report in 2004 that identified 40 specific federal policy areas that halt, limit, delay or restrict natural gas projects. I urge you to review it. It is a long list. If I may, I offer it today if you would like to include it in the record.

When many of these policies were implemented, oil was selling in the single digits, not the triple digits we see now. The cumulative effect of these policies has been to discourage U.S. investment and send U.S. companies outside the United States to produce new supplies.

As a result, U.S. production has declined so much that nearly 60 percent of daily consumption comes from foreign sources.

The problem of access can be solved in this country by the same government that has prohibited it. Congress could have chosen to lift some or all of the current restrictions on exportation and production of oil and gas. Congress could provide national policy to reverse the persistent decline of domestically secure natural resource development."

Later during the hearing, Senator Orrin Hatch and Hofmeister had the folowing dialog:

"HATCH: I want to get into that. In other words, we're talking about Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. It's fair to say that they're not considered part of America's $22 billion of proven reserves.

HOFMEISTER: Not at all.

HATCH: No, but experts agree that there's between 800 billion to almost 2 trillion barrels of oil that could be recoverable there, and that's good oil, isn't it?

HOFMEISTER: That's correct.

HATCH: It could be recovered at somewhere between $30 and $40 a barrel?

HOFMEISTER: I think those costs are probably a bit dated now, based upon what we've seen in the inflation...

HATCH: Well, somewhere in that area.

HOFMEISTER: I don't know what the exact cost would be, but, you know, if there is more supply, I think inflation in the oil industry would be cracked. And we are facing severe inflation because of the limited amount of supply against the demand.

HATCH: I guess what I'm saying, though, is that if we started to develop the oil shale in those three states we could do it within this framework of over $100 a barrel and make a profit.

HOFMEISTER: I believe we could.

HATCH: And we could help our country alleviate its oil pressures.

HOFMEISTER: Yes.

HATCH: But they're stopping us from doing that right here, as we sit here. We just had a hearing last week where Democrats had stopped the ability to do that, in at least Colorado.

HOFMEISTER: Well, as I said in my opening statement, I think the public policy constraints on the supply side in this country are a disservice to the American consumer."

Now that Congress knows, it will be interesting to see if they continue their "Blood For Oil" program in the Middle East, or whether they will knock down the roadblocks to domestic oil production that they have created. We have seen the enemy and it is Congress.

The Conundrum of Atheism.

Recently, I had a Letter To The Editor published in several newspapers. Within it, I asked a whimsical question regarding the "religion of Atheism" and, almost immediately after the ink had dried on the newsprint, the opinions came rushing in.

The assertion that Atheism is a religion and the probability that it would become a hot-button issue among practicers of Theistic religions was predictable, in fact, the notion is repugnant. It was the vehement protests among the self-confessed Atheists and Secular Progressives themselves that were surprising.

Part of the back-and-forth discussion referenced dictionaries and encyclopedias, none of which restricted their definition to a deity or the supernatural, and all definitions I have read so far have, in effect, said that religion may also include disciplines, attitudes, beliefs, practices, conscientiousness or any "cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith." (Merriam-Webster). Then there is that Federal Judicial ruling that hailed from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals RE: KAUFMAN v MCCAUGHTRY, in August of 2005, in which the Court ruled that Atheism is a religion. In one of the statements, the court ruled, "A religion need not be based on a belief in the existence of a supreme being, (or beings, for polytheistic faiths) nor must it be a mainstream faith."

Now, we return to the anomalous consternation of the Atheists with this ruling.

For decades, society has witnessed Atheists, under the cloak of Secular Humanism, attack religion and their artifacts which are displayed in tax-supported public places, demanding their removal. During the days that they were not considered a religion, Atheists were free to enter upon tax-supported public land and impose their beliefs upon Theists through their legal arm, the ACLU. They enjoyed the protection of the First Amendment by preaching their gospel under the umbrella of secular free-speech. However, it appears as if the tables have turned as Atheistic demands to be free of Theistic religion and their artifacts, in tax-supported public places, may now be viewed as nothing more than the Atheist's demand to become an official State supported religion by having their beliefs enforced by tax-supported institutions against Theistic religions. If Theistic religions are forced to "go-away", then the Atheists win by default.

Being a religion, Atheism will now be prevailed upon by the courts to have their parishioners follow the theory of separation of church and state by butting out of such controversies, lest they be viewed as one religion attempting to gain the upper hand on another in their quest to become the official religion of the United States.

This is certainly a conundrum for folks who never really thought of themselves as religious.

Let The Buyer Beware.

There are new facets to Mr. Obama being discovered each and every day. He is very new to the National Political scene and he is, only now, being properly vetted through public scrutiny, unlike his opponents who have been on the national political scene much longer.

It is not unlike the herd mentality of some to, impetuously, chase after every new and popular product to hit the market without doing proper research. An example of this was the much hyped car, the Yugo of the mid 1980s. A retrospective analysis by it's owners, post purchase, could be fairly characterized as brutal.

The problem was that it was brand new on the market and no one had the proper information to make a proper judgment regarding it's suitability, all they had was the hype. This "pump-and-dump" concept can also extend to politicians.

The concept of "What you see is what you get" can be readily applied to any purchasing situation, including purchases made with a vote, however, just what are we seeing? Obama is still filling in the wire-frame of his political life.

The next term of office for the President of the United States is going to be a very critical time, too critical for post sale buyers remorse.

We must all do the country a favor and know our candidate before we vote.

It's WalMart Season Again.

On April 23, 2008, a City Council meeting was held in Newport in which the main topic of discussion was WalMart. Predictably, the WalMart opponents prophesied devastation for the area if WalMart were to move in (obviously having learned NO lessons from St. Johnsbury and the devastation that occurred there because they forced WalMart across the river into New Hampshire) and the proponents who say the people need a department store. After all, there has been no department store in this area since Ames went belly-up and closed their Derby store in 2002, a bleak day for this area.

As I read the accounts of the heated debate that occurred at this meeting, I reminisced about personal experiences in “shopping local businesses” in downtown Newport. One day, I needed a pair of house slippers, for which I expected to pay around $10.00. After searching all of the local drug stores looking for this item, I stopped into a local retailer and found just what I needed. And just what was the price for this $10.00 pair of house slippers, why $38.95, so I awaited my monthly trip to WalMart to purchase them there. Then there was the time I entered a downtown business in search of a one gallon gasoline can. While I expected to pay the going price of around $8.00 for this item, “shopping locally” would have me pay $15.99. While gasping at the inflated price of this item, I saw a double shop light and stand, that sells for $29.99 at a national chain store, priced for $49.99 at this local, downtown establishment and the list goes on and on.

Keeping in mind that these local merchants, while charging Boston and New York City prices, see fit to pay only minimum wage to their employees while offering NO benefits. If this sounds like the argument against WalMart's treatment of THEIR employees, I would suggest that those living in glass houses stop throwing stones. At least, in the area of fairness, WalMart seems to have taken the moral high ground over local merchants by keeping their prices low and reasonable. This was the economic philosophy of Henry Ford who believed that it was only proper to charge no more for his cars than his employees could afford.

Under the cries of “support your local downtown merchant”, the fleecing of America continues.

Does anyone else have any horror stories to tell about their experiences of “shopping locally”?

The Conflict Within Barack Hussein Obama

At a fundraiser on Thursday, May 22, 2008, Barack Hussein Obama utilized his bully pulpit to attack two notable opponents of illegal immigration, Rush Limbaugh and Lou Dobbs.

Accusing both of xenophobia, Mr. Obama, further attributed an alleged rise in hate crimes against Hispanics to the ideology of both Mr. Limbaugh and Mr. Dobbs. I think this needs to be examined and exposed for what it is, demagoguery and race baiting.

It is now no secret that Mr. Obama is an “Open Borders” candidate who wants illegals here and NOW, no matter if these immigrants are being victimized, not only by their own government, but by United States employers who hire them.

First, they are economic refugees, driven here by a government who views them, with a “good riddance” attitude, as surplus population which needs to flee over the U.S. Border. A border which has provided Mexico with a built in safety valve, venting the steam of revolution, for many decades. Secondly, they face unspeakable atrocities, when they come to the United States, by unscrupulous employers who deprive them of the most basic worker's rights that U.S. citizens take for granted. Rights such as Worker's Compensation, equality in the work place (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964), FLSA and all the other State and Federal workplace rules that make working bearable. They simply do not apply to illegal aliens because employers can “turn them in” to the Immigration and Naturalization Service and claim that they didn't know about their immigration status. Then, they are victimized by a society who can continue to commit illegal acts against them due to their inability and fear to report these acts for fear of deportation.

What the open borders folks, such as Mr. Obama, want is to create a permanent underclass of cheap, disenfranchised labor and second-class citizens. While this “new-slavery” should be repugnant to Mr. Obama, it seems to come as second nature to the party who vehemently opposed Civil Rights in the 1960s and left the Republicans to fight and win the “Title VII” victory for African-Americans.

It is little wonder that the Republican Party is the party of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr..

The Religion Of Atheism.

There is a controversy brewing at the Mount Abraham Union High School in Bristol, Vermont, as students there had the temerity to display a statuette of Jesus. Even though the justification was promoted that this statue was not an exclusively religious display, but was well within school policy because its presence served as commentary on an academic issue, the students were instructed to remove it.

In the world of academia, only displays of Christianity are taboo, all other religions are acceptable, and this asks a fundamental question, "Since Atheism, which meets the standard definition of a religion, is the faith and belief that there is no GOD, would the absence of any and all religious artifacts within a school be a testimonial that the school supports Atheism as a State religion?"

The Battle At Westmore.

There has been a controversy raging regarding a "clothing optional" cove on the south side of Lake Willoughby. Some would like to legislate it out of existence and some enjoy the mix of its natural beauty while taking advantage of the purported benefits of nakedness.

As I understand it, the practice of nudity at the cove is very old and traditional, and one of the toughest things to rail against in any legislation or judicial review is "Past Practice". Just like Black's Beach in San Diego County in the Peoples Republic of California, the history and tradition of this practice will sustain the nudity in this section of the cove because it has, over the years and decades, become customary and usual. However, as a caveat to those who expect privacy from gawkers and photographers, DON'T. If you choose to sunbathe in-the-buff on public lands, you have very little right or expectation of privacy.

The following excerpt is taken from the Vermont Statutes: Title 13: Crimes and Criminal Procedure Chapter 59: Lewdness And Prostitution; Section 2605. Voyeurism; "Circumstances in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy" means circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that his or her intimate areas would not be visible to the public, regardless of whether that person is in a public or private area." In other words, if you are to sunbathe, in-the-buff, on public lands, expect to be photographed and gawked at with no recourse. If this offends you, stay home.

Pro-Illegal Alien Amnesty.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has just attached a rider onto an Iraq Supplemental Funding Bill, which would grant amnesty to 1.35 million illegal agricultural workers, plus their families, for a 5-year period. This, accomplished at the insistence of Diane Feinstein (D-CA).

Under the cover of a bill which serves to fund our brave men and women who are in harm's way in the Middle East, this rider demonstrates the Senate's true nature and the usefulness of the Senate's "Blood For Oil" program in hiding, otherwise, unacceptable legislation in bills which seem patriotic.

By perpetuating the war with their refusal to allow measures which would assist the United States towards energy independence, the Senate has assured the continuation of a war, into perpetuity, for purposes which can only be viewed as self-serving attempts to promote their agendas and their pork-barrel politics which are hidden in bills that have the appearance of patriotic legislation. This is done at the expense of our troops overseas. The Senate has found a way to hide, in plain sight, while placing the blame for THEIR "Blood For Oil" program on George Bush since he carries the title of Commander In Chief.

After all of the strident invectives that have been hurled at Republicans by Democrats when the Republicans controlled the Senate, now that the Democrats have control of the Senate, please explain to me how things have changed.

Blood for Oil, The Anti-Patriot Story.

First of all I would like to remind everyone that George Bush was a Governor prior to holding the office of the President of the United States. He was never a member of Congress. This is important because the Bush-Bashing, Black Helicopter crowd wishes to link him with a vast right wing conspiracy known as "Blood For Oil". However, it was the Senate who chose to drive the concept of "Blood For Oil" in their May 13th, 2008 (97-1) vote which soundly rejected the Republican Energy Plan, which promoted offshore drilling and opening up Alaska (ANWR) for oil exploration. This control over an expanded domestic oil production is crucial because, currently, we are beholding to the Middle East for our oil supplies. Everyone remembers the Middle East, this is where the "Blood" component of "Blood For Oil" comes from because, as we know, the United States is fighting a war in the region and our soldiers are dying. Clearly, any "Blood For Oil" program was perpetuated, BY THE SENATE, on Tuesday the 13th with a vote which, not only rejected domestic exploration for oil, but guaranteed continuing entanglements in the Middle East to protect our oil interests there. In so doing, the Senate now owns "Blood For Oil" and, hopefully, the Bush Bashers will make a note of this lest they selectively forget.

Instead of a far-sighted energy plan, inclusive of nuclear, wind, solar and domestic oil energy, which seeks to wean the United States off of their reliance on foreign oil, the brain trust in D.C. came up with, yet, another band-aid solution to the problem, diverting the oil, destined for the Strategic Oil Reserve, to our gas tanks. Instead of working toward self-reliance based on our own, massive, oil reserves, the Senate, NOT Bush, is working on policies which will guarantee continuing entanglements in that volatile region that we have come to know as the Middle East.

Clearly, the world's oil supplies are finite and in need of replacement through a, more sustainable, source. If we can develop a program, such as the Manhattan Project, to destroy mankind, is it not possible to muster the same national will to produce a program that will benefit mankind?

I'm still searching for the filling station where I can get a tank of hydrogen for my fuel cell car that has yet to be produced.

An upscale discussion on the politics of the Democrats.

Maybe we could write these guys in in November?

Food, Food Everywhere, But Not A Bite To Eat.

First it was the Vegans telling the rest of the world that eating animals is wrong and we should, exclusively, dine on fruits, vegetables and other non-animal delectables. Now, comes the Swiss Government telling the Vegans that they are wrong and that plants have rights too.

As reported by the Weekly Standard magazine, the Swiss Government has convened a bio-ethics panel, the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology, to interpret a recent amendment to the Swiss Constitution which states that, ". . . account to be taken of the dignity of creation when handling animals, plants and other organisms." In the resulting report, "The Dignity of Living Beings with Regard to Plants", the panel states that, because plants have an intrinsic worth born out of their status as a life form, "We may not use them just as we please, even if the plant community is not in danger, or if our actions do not endanger the species, or if we are not acting arbitrarily."

Well, the Vegans would prohibit the consumption of meat and the Swiss Government would prohibit the consumption of all vegetation. I think the solution to this dilemma is clear, have a Vegan for breakfast and a Swiss official for dinner - you can skip lunch.

For the Weekly Standard article, CLICK HERE.

The NAFTA Superhighway.

By now all United States citizens should know of the NAFTA superhighway that is being built, and cuts a swath four football fields wide, through the heartland of the United States, from the Mexican border at Laredo, Texas to the Canadian border at Duluth, Minnesota.

The ultimate purpose is for Far East cargo to bypass United States ports on the West Coast (putting United States dock workers out of jobs) so that Mexico can hire dock workers, at Mexico's traditional starvation wage, at the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas. It would appear that these tactics are viewed, by some, as necessary to bring the cost of Far East imports down.

However, this asks the question, "Why aren't the world's human rights advocates making more noise, championing better work environments for the Mexican citizen?" The flight of the Mexican Citizen, over the United States border, to escape starvation conditions there, is unprecedented. These hypocritical human rights advocates certainly make a lot of noise regarding China's abuse of their workers and refer to their factories as "sweatshops", yet Mexico continues to get a free pass from these individuals. Perhaps they have come to accept illegal immigration to the United States as an appropriate safety valve to solve the Mexican worker's woes in their home country. This is unacceptable.

One of the, unanticipated, costs of doing business in the North American Union's alliance with Mexico will come from the rival drug gangs themselves, as the goods that are shipped into Mexican ports are hijacked in Mexico on their journey to the United States along the Mexican link of the NAFTA superhighway. Recently reported gun battles raging through the streets of Tijuana exemplify just how powerless the Government of Mexico is in controlling these gangs. Driven by profit, these drug gangs will not be so proud that they will ignore the immense profit in hijacking convoys of goods as they pass over Mexican soil on their way to their other trading partners north of the Mexican border. This new business opportunity for the Mexican drug cartels will have 0% overhead and 100% profitability, all sponsored by the North American Union.

The sacrifice of productive United States workers for the benefit of Mexican drug gangs is not unprecedented in the recent history of the United States. Recently, there were two Border Patrol agents by the name of Compean and Ramos who were prosecuted by a United States Attorney, Johnny Sutton and convicted, for doing their job. The star witness against them was a Mexican drug dealer by the name of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila who was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony against the Border Patrol Agents, even as he continued to smuggle drugs during the trial. However, this information, regarding his illicit activities, was prohibited from reaching the jurors ears by the presiding judge.

The acceptance of these types of political prosecutions, convictions, and imprisonments by the United States' Criminal Justice System is further evidence that "We the people" have hit the slippery slope, descending from morality and justice into the Third World.

Clearly this, together with a total lack of action to rectify this outrageous situation, sends a clear message to the citizens of the United States that they will have to lower their moral standards and accept corruption on both sides of the border in the name of the North American Union. After all, it is easier to descend into a pit than to climb a mountain to stand on a pinnacle.

I fail to see any benefit to the United States in this trade-off.

Dead soldiers make good press?

First, it was the Islamic Jihadists airing a video clip of soldiers being blown up by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device), for the purpose of promoting their "kill Americans" campaign, and now, the DNC (Democratic National Committee) is distributing a similar (some say the same), overdubbed, video clip in their "Anti McCain" campaign according to "newsmax.com". While there are some news outlets who are refusing to run the clip, the damage for the DNC has already been accomplished in their creation and promotion of the ad. The rancor of the internal conflict within the DNC is not enough for these political cannibals. There is irreparable damage within the party which will NOT be reconciled before November 5th, and now, even dead soldiers are grist for their propaganda mill in an all-out attempt to wrest power at any cost.

If this, thoughtless, demagoguery is the way in which the DNC treats loyal U.S. troops who risk their lives every day, how many more wars will the Democrats start when the world leaders do not share the Democrat's viewpoints? The venom of the Democratic Party knows no limits and their philosophy of "A few dead soldiers makes good press" is unconscionable.

Food riots, coming to a town near you soon.

Currently these food riots, protesting food shortages, are occurring in, what could be considered, developing Third World countries. Reportedly, countries such as Haiti, Indonesia, and several African nations. However, before we, fat-cat Americans, get too smug regarding our perceptions of immunity from such things, you better be prepared and wake up because the underpinnings of your beliefs are being eroded by food shortages and food rationing, here in the good old USA, even as you sleep.

It is being reported by The New York Sun, Fox News and other news outlets that Costco is leading the way in food rationing with their stores in Queens, NY and Mountain View, CA that have, reportedly, imposed strict limits on the purchases of flour, cooking oil and rice.

The lack of export restrictions on grain from the US is leaving us with shortages and, for the first time in history, the breadbasket of the world is now importing wheat. The environmentalist's demand that we convert to biofuels has been very unhelpful and our grain and corn products are now being price driven and consumed by the energy markets in the form of ethanol.

The price of our food will continue to skyrocket, not only because it costs more in fuel to transport it, but because our food is being viewed by the environmentalists as energy in and of itself. The rapidly rising oil prices will directly effect the price of a bushel of wheat. Wheat that can be converted to ethanol.

Even though the rationing is in the beginning stages, it is a harbinger of things to come as our food continues in short supply and ending up in our gas tanks instead of on our table.

The United States is awash in undeveloped oil reserves, both in the Gulf of Mexico and in the North of Alaska, but the environmentalists don't want you to have it. They would rather create artificial petroleum shortages and take the food off of your table, out of the mouths of your children, and put it in your gas tank.

Visions of the movie "Soylent Green" loom, darkly, in our future.

If you know an environmentalist whacko, the next time you see them, ask them why they support a system that will, ultimately, lead to your children going hungry. They will, probably, beat a rapid retreat to their Mercedes and drive off, never to be heard from again.

As it is now, and until hydrogen fuel cell technology is developed to commercial levels, fossil fuels should be for burning and food should be for eating.

Diplomatic Immunity For The Taliban?

In an incredible turn of events, the Vermont Supreme Court overturned the felony domestic assault conviction and habitual offender status of Michael Brillon, a Bennington man, because the case took too long. What was equally disturbing was the stated reasoning of the court which appeared to be a veiled threat that, unless Vermont received more funding for it's criminal justice system, Vermont could look forward to more of these types of decisions. In the majority opinion it was stated, "To the extent that what happened in this case is not an aberration but rather the result of a lack of funding to support the criminal justice system in this state, we encourage the legislature to examine any unfulfilled needs and address the problem." It is clear that this statement was meant to twist the arm of the Legislature and this case may have been selected because it involved domestic violence against a woman. As such, this case may have been viewed, by the Court, as one of the more minor cases that could have been used to send their message to the Legislature.

In the dissenting, minority opinion, Chief Justice Paul Reiber stated, "Today the majority frees a convicted woman beater and habitual offender, not because of any infirmity in the evidence or unfair prejudice in the trial by which a jury found him guilty, but because the defendant delayed the proceedings for almost twenty-two months."

Apparently Sharia Law and the concept of second class citizenship for women is, slowly, creeping into the Vermont Criminal Justice System. What's next, Diplomatic Immunity status for the Taliban in Vermont?

Article from the Rutland Herald, Rutland, Vermont.