Friday, December 28, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
The Case Against Public Education
If public education is allowed to survive, all efforts to resuscitate the inert husk of modern civilization will fail. It is time to unravel the most wasteful and destructive entitlement program of all. Cancer cells do not divide into healthy cells. A corrupted, power-intoxicated political class will not willingly raise a freedom-loving, self-reliant populace. Governments must no longer be allowed to pre-determine their nations' fates, by mass producing the populace that serves their interests.
For years, reasonable and serious people have known that the educational establishment is at the root of the undoing of modernity and its natural political fruit, individual liberty. And for years, excepting a tiny, brave minority of parents and educators, most citizens have assumed that the problems of the education system, however grave, are to be resolved through legislative reforms, bureaucratic changes, or school board activism.
Such methods, though often undertaken with the noblest of intentions, have always failed, in spite of the few heartening but minor victories that may have been won on the way to ultimate defeat. This general failure is inevitable, as treating the superficial symptoms of a fatal disease will always be, whatever temporary relief such treatment may bring to the sufferer.
Articles: The Case Against Public Education
For years, reasonable and serious people have known that the educational establishment is at the root of the undoing of modernity and its natural political fruit, individual liberty. And for years, excepting a tiny, brave minority of parents and educators, most citizens have assumed that the problems of the education system, however grave, are to be resolved through legislative reforms, bureaucratic changes, or school board activism.
Such methods, though often undertaken with the noblest of intentions, have always failed, in spite of the few heartening but minor victories that may have been won on the way to ultimate defeat. This general failure is inevitable, as treating the superficial symptoms of a fatal disease will always be, whatever temporary relief such treatment may bring to the sufferer.
Articles: The Case Against Public Education
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
FYI - The Church of Satan
There are various sects of Satanic culture and devil worship worldwide.
The main established organization promoting the practice in the U.S. is the Church of Satan, which uses LaVey’s “The Satanic Bible” as its guiding book.
The church has five degrees that members can achieve after being inducted through private ceremonies.
The church has a ruling body consisting of the High Priest, the High Priestess and the Council of Nine.
Church of Satan members have over the years made numerous media appearances to refute notions that their doctrine encourages or participates in violence.
The church espouses nine statements of beliefs:
The main established organization promoting the practice in the U.S. is the Church of Satan, which uses LaVey’s “The Satanic Bible” as its guiding book.
The church has five degrees that members can achieve after being inducted through private ceremonies.
The church has a ruling body consisting of the High Priest, the High Priestess and the Council of Nine.
Church of Satan members have over the years made numerous media appearances to refute notions that their doctrine encourages or participates in violence.
The church espouses nine statements of beliefs:
- Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence.
- Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams.
- Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit.
- Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates.
- Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek.
- Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires.
- Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his “divine spiritual and intellectual development”, has become the most vicious animal of all.
- Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification.
- Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years.
Merry Cliff-mass
Christmas arrives this year at a time when our nation is on the brink
of the fiscal cliff. With time running out for President Obama and
Congress to reach an agreement, this Christmas Eve we bring to you 2012
twist on Clement Clarke Moore’s famous poem, “A Visit from St.
Nicholas.” It was produced by Public Notice as part of its Bankrupting America project.
The poem was sent to members of Congress and President Obama “to lift their spirits during the final weeks of negotiations and hopefully inspire some responsibility.” We hope you enjoy it. Have a safe and festive Christmas Eve.
The poem was sent to members of Congress and President Obama “to lift their spirits during the final weeks of negotiations and hopefully inspire some responsibility.” We hope you enjoy it. Have a safe and festive Christmas Eve.
’Twas the night before Cliff-mas, and all through the House
Not a member was working, no ideal to espouse;
Their offices closed, the members all gone,
No solution for a budget plan had yet to be drawn.
Our Congress had spent a year feuding again,
While uncertainty and poor growth plagued businessmen;
The economy had slowed, unemployment was high,
Things weren’t looking up for a taxpayer, like I.
On December 31st tax rates were scheduled to rise,
Which many agreed was not in itself wise.
With this, another date caught the country’s fiscal fixation—
The second of January was set for across-the-board sequestration.
I’d heard all the talk, all the senators saying,
“If we’re spending this much, someone has to be paying!”
The rhetoric from the news droned on in my head,
As I turned off my light, and crawled into bed.
When out on the Mall there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
It was the President! His sudden arrival was thrilling,
He went after the Congress, he called them by building:
“Now, Senate! Now, Hart! Now, Russell and Dirksen!
On House! on Rayburn! on, Longworth and Cannon!
The fiscal cliff is approaching! We need to make cuts!
Bad policy and spending got us into this rut!”
Out came the lawmakers, their cheeks from sleep rosy,
I saw Boehner, Reid, McConnell and Pelosi;
They gathered together, their eyes straight ahead,
Some seemed optimistic, as the president said:
“We need to end this uncertainty, if we are to stay strong,
I know we can do it, if we all get along.
We won’t hurt the middle class, we’ll raise taxes on the wealthy!
It’s right for everyone to pay a fair share to keep our economy healthy!”
Reid stepped up as well, his voice rather hoarse,
“We know that we need to include a few cuts, of course.
This deficit spending hurts our economy in the long-run,
But for now, raising some taxes will help everyone!”
“Now hold on one minute,” Boehner said with a sigh,
“You know the tax increase you propose is too high!
The wealthy you speak of—they aren’t you and me;
They’re middle-class, and small business owners you see!”
“You won’t close the tax loopholes, you won’t lower our debt!
You’ll create a situation where new investors will sweat!
We need tax reform, to resolve all this clutter!”
He stepped back with a nod—the crowd started to mutter.
Was he right? Was it true? Could reform solve it all?
Or would a tax hike spur investment and keep us from a fall?
It was the same talk I’d heard, the same from before—
So I ran down the stairs, and I opened the door:
“You say you’ll manage the tax code, and cut wasteful spending,
But it’s these political struggles that keep our economy pending!
We need real reform, not this spending obsession;
‘Else this cliff should put us in another recession!”
The lawmakers started, they had not known I was there;
And they sputtered and scattered and ran without care;
I watched them go and yelled after them, as they took flight:
“Avoid the fiscal cliff for all, and to YOU a good-night!”
SAINT WHO??
I'm Pretty Nervous about this whole Christmas thing. I mean who IS this guy they talk about and why should we be excited about his visit?
1. He sees us when we are sleeping - he has hidden cameras in our bedrooms?
2. He knows when we're awake - he is stalking us during the daytime?
3. He knows when we've been bad or good, is that a result of bedroom peeping?
4. He likes little kids to sit on his lap, which makes him jolly.
5. He is a misogynist, he calls women double Ho's.
6. He breaks into our houses at nights (burglary?), at least forced entry.
7. What else is he doing in our houses late at night, anyone count the silverware.
8. He hates kids, he doesn't approve of crying.
9. What standard does he use for bad or good, would we agree.
This fellow has serious problems and if people find out what he's doing, they will have him arrested, get him counseling.... just saying ...YOU BETTER WATCH OUT and NO SHOUTING
1. He sees us when we are sleeping - he has hidden cameras in our bedrooms?
2. He knows when we're awake - he is stalking us during the daytime?
3. He knows when we've been bad or good, is that a result of bedroom peeping?
4. He likes little kids to sit on his lap, which makes him jolly.
5. He is a misogynist, he calls women double Ho's.
6. He breaks into our houses at nights (burglary?), at least forced entry.
7. What else is he doing in our houses late at night, anyone count the silverware.
8. He hates kids, he doesn't approve of crying.
9. What standard does he use for bad or good, would we agree.
This fellow has serious problems and if people find out what he's doing, they will have him arrested, get him counseling.... just saying ...YOU BETTER WATCH OUT and NO SHOUTING
Monday, December 24, 2012
Earl - a tribute given at his wake prayer service...
The generation Earl belongs to has been called the greatest generation. Greatness is a sliding scale. Not all who are or were his age were great. I knew many in his generation who were not…. Great. There were some however who were truly great. In every way. Earl is one of those who deserves that appellation.
His accomplishments are not what makes him great.... though there are many.
Government service. State Senator, Councilman, Board Member, State Commander of the American Legion in ND, as Mayor the man who saw Trinity Bible College become fact by his intervention, and in his later years as a Dickey county commissioner.
All this after his service to our country in the US Army in World War II. On the beaches of Italy. On the mountaintop overlooking Bologna Italy. As Mussolini fell. As victory came, he carried out his duty beside others of his greatest generation with the threat of instant death all around him. All this while his wife and child prayed for his return -- which he did.
It get's personal now. He and Ruth did the greatest think any family ever does... for another. Provided continuity that many see broken when the Death of our Mom and Dad, Ruby and Ralph left a question hanging in the air....WHO? When the dust settled, the question was answered with... “Here am I”. Just as his public and military life was answered with a yes, they said yes when it mattered to my brother, sister and ... to me. There is no way to say thank you. I did. A thousand times. Yet... once more. Thank you to Greatness in a Great decision.
So many memories. Farming. Hunting. The building of the Church building that I grew up in, the one that he will receive his final salute in, it all seems very appropriate.
Once I was interviewed by a reporter who asked me who the three most influential men in my life had been. Earl H. Redlin was the FIRST name from my lips. There was never any doubt. His strong and tall stature never left my mind’s eye.
As years passed, the far too few times we had alone or in small groups were so valuable. Sitting on the concrete patio at the house in those chairs I worried would still hold me, shaded by a well watered willow tree, extinguishing adult beverages and adult smoke producing items, we would solve the world's problems. His humor, wisdom and good nature always made him an anticipated joy to be with. Now that's heaven's gain. I kinda hope they have a concrete patio there too. I look forward to the next time...
After his first falling down, one time, we went for a ride in his pickup. He had become frail. I never told anyone, but when we got out in the country, I let him drive. I figured, what could possibly happen? He did real well. We drove around for an hour or so. Then he needed a pit stop. Painfully stepping out of that pickup truck, pulling himself up and then standing erect he was able to do what men do better than women... a wide smile blossomed. I knew the he was feeling. Once more with the cool Dakota wind caressing his face --- he was a MAN... in every way.
His role as a businessman, as a farmer, as a father, as a lover, as a friend, as a grandpa... all the many faces of Earl adds up to the one thing those of us who know him can say with confidence, we hold him as GREAT.
I speak of him not in a past tense, but in a present changed now. He is not gone.. Except from us. He still is. As will we all be. I have a vision of heaven. Something of which I know a bit about. People who have had a visit to heaven and reported back in popular books report one of the things common is being greeted upon entrance by those they knew and loved on this side of the veil. I have little doubt that the first face he saw was his Oldest, that boy who had hoped for his return from the war, that one HE had supported during many difficult and dark days of difficulty until his death... John.. Or as he called him here and now as he called him there… already.... JOHNNY. That reunion has erased any tear, any pain, and any remembrance of these days and years past.
He has now come face to face to HIM in a NOW that has fullness of all Joy.
Years ago I asked him how he deals with the loss of so many of his contemporaries, those he loved. Friends, neighbors, relatives. He said, “it's a matter of perspective. I simply say, if it's to a grieving widow, You have lost a dear husband, and I have lost a dear Friend". It seemed right to him. I have followed his lead…as I have so often.
So, I now say to Ruth Redlin who partnered with him in so many adventures, and the one that means the world to me, "You have lost a dear husband, and I have lost a father, a friend, a GREAT influence on my life. One I will be eternally thankful for". The GREATEST will be when Reunion comes for me. I have so many who I look forward to seeing again.
So, I won't say rest in Peace SIR, that much is certain. I will say, May your JOY be made FULL NOW..., until I see you again on the other side of the veil.
The prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon ... said of these times of life’s passages: "We wept when we were born though all around us smiled; so shall we smile when we die while all around us weep."
I can see his smile… even now… Can’t you?
His accomplishments are not what makes him great.... though there are many.
Government service. State Senator, Councilman, Board Member, State Commander of the American Legion in ND, as Mayor the man who saw Trinity Bible College become fact by his intervention, and in his later years as a Dickey county commissioner.
All this after his service to our country in the US Army in World War II. On the beaches of Italy. On the mountaintop overlooking Bologna Italy. As Mussolini fell. As victory came, he carried out his duty beside others of his greatest generation with the threat of instant death all around him. All this while his wife and child prayed for his return -- which he did.
It get's personal now. He and Ruth did the greatest think any family ever does... for another. Provided continuity that many see broken when the Death of our Mom and Dad, Ruby and Ralph left a question hanging in the air....WHO? When the dust settled, the question was answered with... “Here am I”. Just as his public and military life was answered with a yes, they said yes when it mattered to my brother, sister and ... to me. There is no way to say thank you. I did. A thousand times. Yet... once more. Thank you to Greatness in a Great decision.
So many memories. Farming. Hunting. The building of the Church building that I grew up in, the one that he will receive his final salute in, it all seems very appropriate.
Once I was interviewed by a reporter who asked me who the three most influential men in my life had been. Earl H. Redlin was the FIRST name from my lips. There was never any doubt. His strong and tall stature never left my mind’s eye.
As years passed, the far too few times we had alone or in small groups were so valuable. Sitting on the concrete patio at the house in those chairs I worried would still hold me, shaded by a well watered willow tree, extinguishing adult beverages and adult smoke producing items, we would solve the world's problems. His humor, wisdom and good nature always made him an anticipated joy to be with. Now that's heaven's gain. I kinda hope they have a concrete patio there too. I look forward to the next time...
After his first falling down, one time, we went for a ride in his pickup. He had become frail. I never told anyone, but when we got out in the country, I let him drive. I figured, what could possibly happen? He did real well. We drove around for an hour or so. Then he needed a pit stop. Painfully stepping out of that pickup truck, pulling himself up and then standing erect he was able to do what men do better than women... a wide smile blossomed. I knew the he was feeling. Once more with the cool Dakota wind caressing his face --- he was a MAN... in every way.
His role as a businessman, as a farmer, as a father, as a lover, as a friend, as a grandpa... all the many faces of Earl adds up to the one thing those of us who know him can say with confidence, we hold him as GREAT.
I speak of him not in a past tense, but in a present changed now. He is not gone.. Except from us. He still is. As will we all be. I have a vision of heaven. Something of which I know a bit about. People who have had a visit to heaven and reported back in popular books report one of the things common is being greeted upon entrance by those they knew and loved on this side of the veil. I have little doubt that the first face he saw was his Oldest, that boy who had hoped for his return from the war, that one HE had supported during many difficult and dark days of difficulty until his death... John.. Or as he called him here and now as he called him there… already.... JOHNNY. That reunion has erased any tear, any pain, and any remembrance of these days and years past.
He has now come face to face to HIM in a NOW that has fullness of all Joy.
Years ago I asked him how he deals with the loss of so many of his contemporaries, those he loved. Friends, neighbors, relatives. He said, “it's a matter of perspective. I simply say, if it's to a grieving widow, You have lost a dear husband, and I have lost a dear Friend". It seemed right to him. I have followed his lead…as I have so often.
So, I now say to Ruth Redlin who partnered with him in so many adventures, and the one that means the world to me, "You have lost a dear husband, and I have lost a father, a friend, a GREAT influence on my life. One I will be eternally thankful for". The GREATEST will be when Reunion comes for me. I have so many who I look forward to seeing again.
So, I won't say rest in Peace SIR, that much is certain. I will say, May your JOY be made FULL NOW..., until I see you again on the other side of the veil.
The prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon ... said of these times of life’s passages: "We wept when we were born though all around us smiled; so shall we smile when we die while all around us weep."
I can see his smile… even now… Can’t you?
An excerpt from an email a friend received. This is happening all over. I know of a half dozen personally:
"During this time at the warehouse we had our people organizing to vote in the union, I was told by "the company" if they vote the union in we would be terminated within 30 days, which means everyone will lose their jobs…. Last night they voted and last night they voted themselves out of a job… They believed what the union said, not knowing ( or believing ) that the union can't force a company to pay higher wages and give benefits, in short they promised them higher wages than we are billing, can't stay in business very long doing that…."
Now as the year ends, this dear soul will be looking for work. Voting against your best interests seems to be the order of the day in this time
"During this time at the warehouse we had our people organizing to vote in the union, I was told by "the company" if they vote the union in we would be terminated within 30 days, which means everyone will lose their jobs…. Last night they voted and last night they voted themselves out of a job… They believed what the union said, not knowing ( or believing ) that the union can't force a company to pay higher wages and give benefits, in short they promised them higher wages than we are billing, can't stay in business very long doing that…."
Now as the year ends, this dear soul will be looking for work. Voting against your best interests seems to be the order of the day in this time
I
found the Pareto Principle on a local level, anytime I had to do a
story about any of the high schools my newspapers covered. I noticed
that the students at the top of the class were involved in the most
activities, while those at the bot...See More
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Can You Name These Religious Christmas Carols?
1. Approach Everyone Who Is Steadfast
2. Ecstasy Toward The Orb
3. Hush, The Foretelling Spirits Harmonize
4. Hey, Minuscule Urban Area Southwest Of Jerusalem
5. Quiescent Nocturnal Period
6. The Autocratic Troika Originating Near the Accent of Apollo
7. The Primary Carol
8. During the Time Ovine Caretakers Supervised Their Charges Past Twilight
9. Celestial Messengers From Splendid Empires
10. The Thing Manifest Itself at the Onset of a Transparent Day
11. The Tatterdemalion Ebony Atmosphere
12. What Offspring Abides Thus?
13. Removed in a Bovine Feeding Trough
14. Creator Cool It Ya Kooky Cats
15. Seraphim We Aurally Detect in the Stratosphere
16. The Slight Percussionist Lad
17. The Event Occurred At One Minute After 11:59PM—Visibility Unlimited
18. During the Dark Hours When Herdsman Attended Their Charges
19. A Meteorological Melody Is Manifest
20. Are You Experiencing Parallel Auditory Input?
ANSWERS (scroll a little further down …)
1. O Come All Ye Faithful
2. Joy To The World
3. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
4. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
5. O Holy Night
6. We Three Kings, of Orient are
7. The First Noel
8.While Shepherds Watched their Flocks By Night
9. Angels From The Realms of Glory
10. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
11. O Holy Night
12. What Child Is This
13. Away In A Manger
14. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
15. Angels We Have Heard On High
16. The Little Drummer Boy
17. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
18. While Shepherds Watched Their Flock By Night
19. There’s A Song In The Air
20. Do You Hear What I Hear?
An opinion on gun control
This is a very long piece, but if there is any doubt whatsoever on the fallacy of Gun Control, you MUST read this whole thing. The insanity of the Gun Ban lobby is revealed clearly. IF you want to give up your guns, go ahead. I won't.
An opinion on gun control « Monster Hunter Nation
An opinion on gun control « Monster Hunter Nation
Friday, December 21, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
This
to me is the last word, the best argument against the kind of magical
thinking going on in America right now when Gun Control as "Doing
Something" seems to be the cure all for everything wrong in our culture.
This is from a NEWSWEEK writer, no
uber conservative. It's a longer read, but it's well worth the effort.
It actually helped me put into words what I knew to be true. The
"Doing Something" parallel with the Gulf War struck me as wise.
TOP TEN THINGS TO SAY ABOUT A CHRISTMAS GIFT YOU DON'T LIKE
10. Hey! There's a gift!
9. Well, well, well ...
8. Boy, if I had not recently shot up 4 sizes that would've fit.
7. This is perfect for wearing around the basement.
6. Gosh. I hope this never catches fire! It is fire season though. There are lots of unexplained fires.
5. If the dog buries it, I'll be furious!
4. I love it -- but I fear the jealousy it will inspire.
3. Sadly, tomorrow I enter the Federal Witness Protection Program.
2. To think -- I got this the year I vowed to give all my gifts to charity.
1. "I really don't deserve this."
9. Well, well, well ...
8. Boy, if I had not recently shot up 4 sizes that would've fit.
7. This is perfect for wearing around the basement.
6. Gosh. I hope this never catches fire! It is fire season though. There are lots of unexplained fires.
5. If the dog buries it, I'll be furious!
4. I love it -- but I fear the jealousy it will inspire.
3. Sadly, tomorrow I enter the Federal Witness Protection Program.
2. To think -- I got this the year I vowed to give all my gifts to charity.
1. "I really don't deserve this."
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
The dead soul of Adam Lanza Pat Buchanan:
“No set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society.”
So said President Obama in words of comfort in Newtown. The president was right to speak of evil, but mistaken when he called the massacre “senseless.”
For this was a premeditated and purposeful act of mass murder, and the devil that did it knew exactly what he was doing and why.
When he put four bullets into his mother’s head while she lay in bed, Adam Lanza wanted her life ended along with his. When he headed for Sandy Hook Elementary, with the Glocks and Bushmaster rifle, he knew he would encounter no armed resistance.
Before he went into that school to shoot 20, 30 or 40 children, barely more than babies, he knew his slaughter would be so stomach-turning and heart-wrenching that the TV crews would come running.
And by day’s end, the world would know who Adam Lanza was.
Lanza kept firing at the children until he heard the sirens. Then he pulled out one of the Glocks, put it to his head and ended it, knowing he was on his way to becoming world famous.
Just as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold of Columbine are famous. Just as James Holmes, the “Joker” of the Aurora “Dark Knight Rising” massacre, is famous. Just as Jared Lee Loughner, the Tucson mass murderer who shot Gabby Giffords, is famous.
A desire to be famous coupled with a dead conscience is the common thread running through these recurring atrocities. These loners and losers want us to know who they are. And, to succeed now, each almost has to outdo in horror those who went before.
Since the news first came in Friday from Newtown, we have argued about guns in America and mental illness, but heard little about the moral sickness of our society.
Americans have always owned guns. But in Prohibition, when gangsters like John Dillinger, “Machine Gun” Kelly and “Baby Face” Nelson were notorious, the most remembered atrocity was the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” Al Capone’s gang executed seven of Bugs Moran’s gang in a Chicago garage.
Yet, just two years ago, when one Washington, D.C., drive-by shooting ended with four dead on a sidewalk and five wounded, it was just local news.
Why are these atrocities growing more frequent and deadly?
We are told that it is because the guns used – especially assault rifles like Russian-made AK-47s and civilian copies of the M-16 used in Vietnam, like the Bushmaster – are all too available.
But the guns used in the Sandy Hook massacre were legally purchased by Lanza’s mother, and she and Adam lived in a state with some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
And the Bushmaster is not a machine gun but a semi-automatic, as are the 100-year-old Colt .45 and M-1 rifle used by GIs in World War II. Fully automatic weapons like the Thompson submachine gun cannot be purchased without a federal license. No fully automatic weapon has been used in any of these massacres.
Will ending all sales and transfers of assault rifles and limiting the rounds in clips and magazines reduce these massacres in malls, movie theaters and schools? Did it succeed when the assault weapons ban was in force in the Clinton years?
If assault rifles are evil things that ought not be in the hands of decent Americans, why do “shoot-to-kill” video games feature these weapons?
Why does Hollywood glamorize assault rifles in action-packed films of slaughter starring Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris and Jason Statham?
Few of America’s young have seen an assault weapon fired outside the military. Scores of millions have seen them fired on TV. Many of our movies are advertisements for the efficiency of assault weapons in the hands of good guys doing heroic deeds.
Are the folks who think America would be a better place with a more restrictive Second Amendment willing to restrict the First Amendment to stop all distribution of movies and cable shows that depict famous actors blasting enemies with assault weapons?
Not long ago, there existed in our hearts “a fear of God.”
How, we would ask ourselves, if we commit an evil act like murder, will we answer at God’s judgment seat? For He will decide if we enter what the president called in Newtown, God’s “eternal house in heaven.”
But if God is dead, not to worry. Just put the gun to your head and pull the trigger, and it’s over. No trial. No disgrace. No prison. Nothing to worry about anymore.
No voice of conscience told Adam: Do not do this evil thing! Now he is no longer a nobody, a nerd, a recluse. He is famous. Everybody is talking about him, and ruminating on what might have motivated him.
Adam wanted to be somebody. And now he is.
And out there others like him are thinking: That could be me.
So said President Obama in words of comfort in Newtown. The president was right to speak of evil, but mistaken when he called the massacre “senseless.”
When he put four bullets into his mother’s head while she lay in bed, Adam Lanza wanted her life ended along with his. When he headed for Sandy Hook Elementary, with the Glocks and Bushmaster rifle, he knew he would encounter no armed resistance.
Before he went into that school to shoot 20, 30 or 40 children, barely more than babies, he knew his slaughter would be so stomach-turning and heart-wrenching that the TV crews would come running.
And by day’s end, the world would know who Adam Lanza was.
Lanza kept firing at the children until he heard the sirens. Then he pulled out one of the Glocks, put it to his head and ended it, knowing he was on his way to becoming world famous.
Just as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold of Columbine are famous. Just as James Holmes, the “Joker” of the Aurora “Dark Knight Rising” massacre, is famous. Just as Jared Lee Loughner, the Tucson mass murderer who shot Gabby Giffords, is famous.
A desire to be famous coupled with a dead conscience is the common thread running through these recurring atrocities. These loners and losers want us to know who they are. And, to succeed now, each almost has to outdo in horror those who went before.
Since the news first came in Friday from Newtown, we have argued about guns in America and mental illness, but heard little about the moral sickness of our society.
Americans have always owned guns. But in Prohibition, when gangsters like John Dillinger, “Machine Gun” Kelly and “Baby Face” Nelson were notorious, the most remembered atrocity was the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” Al Capone’s gang executed seven of Bugs Moran’s gang in a Chicago garage.
Yet, just two years ago, when one Washington, D.C., drive-by shooting ended with four dead on a sidewalk and five wounded, it was just local news.
Why are these atrocities growing more frequent and deadly?
We are told that it is because the guns used – especially assault rifles like Russian-made AK-47s and civilian copies of the M-16 used in Vietnam, like the Bushmaster – are all too available.
But the guns used in the Sandy Hook massacre were legally purchased by Lanza’s mother, and she and Adam lived in a state with some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
And the Bushmaster is not a machine gun but a semi-automatic, as are the 100-year-old Colt .45 and M-1 rifle used by GIs in World War II. Fully automatic weapons like the Thompson submachine gun cannot be purchased without a federal license. No fully automatic weapon has been used in any of these massacres.
Will ending all sales and transfers of assault rifles and limiting the rounds in clips and magazines reduce these massacres in malls, movie theaters and schools? Did it succeed when the assault weapons ban was in force in the Clinton years?
If assault rifles are evil things that ought not be in the hands of decent Americans, why do “shoot-to-kill” video games feature these weapons?
Why does Hollywood glamorize assault rifles in action-packed films of slaughter starring Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris and Jason Statham?
Few of America’s young have seen an assault weapon fired outside the military. Scores of millions have seen them fired on TV. Many of our movies are advertisements for the efficiency of assault weapons in the hands of good guys doing heroic deeds.
Are the folks who think America would be a better place with a more restrictive Second Amendment willing to restrict the First Amendment to stop all distribution of movies and cable shows that depict famous actors blasting enemies with assault weapons?
Not long ago, there existed in our hearts “a fear of God.”
How, we would ask ourselves, if we commit an evil act like murder, will we answer at God’s judgment seat? For He will decide if we enter what the president called in Newtown, God’s “eternal house in heaven.”
But if God is dead, not to worry. Just put the gun to your head and pull the trigger, and it’s over. No trial. No disgrace. No prison. Nothing to worry about anymore.
No voice of conscience told Adam: Do not do this evil thing! Now he is no longer a nobody, a nerd, a recluse. He is famous. Everybody is talking about him, and ruminating on what might have motivated him.
Adam wanted to be somebody. And now he is.
And out there others like him are thinking: That could be me.
Monday, December 17, 2012
The Facts about Mass Shootings
A few things you won’t hear about from the saturation coverage of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre:
Mass shootings are no more common than they have been in past decades, despite the impression given by the media.
In fact, the high point for mass killings in the U.S. was 1929, according to criminologist Grant Duwe of the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Incidents of mass murder in the U.S. declined from 42 in the 1990s to 26 in the first decade of this century.
The chances of being killed in a mass shooting are about what they are for being struck by lightning.
Until the Newtown horror, the three worst K–12 school shootings ever had taken place in either Britain or Germany.
The Facts about Mass Shootings - John Fund - National Review Online
Sunday, December 16, 2012
I Am Adam Lanza's Mother
This is a must read.... read the whole thing at the link below:
I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.
A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7- and 9-year-old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.
That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didn't have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.
We still don’t know what's wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.
At the start of seventh grade, Michael was accepted to an accelerated program for highly gifted math and science students. His IQ is off the charts. When he's in a good mood, he will gladly bend your ear on subjects ranging from Greek mythology to the differences between Einsteinian and Newtonian physics to Doctor Who. He's in a good mood most of the time. But when he's not, watch out. And it’s impossible to predict what will set him off.
I Am Adam Lanza's Mother | Slog
I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.
A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7- and 9-year-old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.
That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didn't have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.
We still don’t know what's wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.
At the start of seventh grade, Michael was accepted to an accelerated program for highly gifted math and science students. His IQ is off the charts. When he's in a good mood, he will gladly bend your ear on subjects ranging from Greek mythology to the differences between Einsteinian and Newtonian physics to Doctor Who. He's in a good mood most of the time. But when he's not, watch out. And it’s impossible to predict what will set him off.
I Am Adam Lanza's Mother | Slog
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Gun-control laws failed Connecticut children
What gun-control measure could have prevented this crime?
The state of Connecticut already has certain gun-control laws in place, at least three of which the shooter broke, as he could have only obtained the weapons through illegal means.
According to news reports, Adam Lanza, 20, shot his mother Nancy Lanza dead at their family home before driving to the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, where he gunned down more than two dozen people, 20 of them children, and then killed himself.
The Associated Press reports Lanza brought three guns into the school: a Glock pistol, a Sig Sauer pistol and Bushmaster rifle, which the New York Post further reports was a semi-automatic “assault rifle” chambered for a .223 caliber round, matching casings found at the crime scene.
Lanza, therefore, if you count theft, murder and breaking and entering – since CBS New York now reports it likely Lanza broke into the school through a window to circumvent a locked-door and intercom security system – would have violated a half-dozen laws in his crime, including the following gun-control statutes:
First, Connecticut law requires a person be over 21 to possess a handgun. Lanza was 20.
Second, Connecticut requires a permit to carry a pistol on one’s person, a permit Lanza did not have.
Third, it is unlawful in Connecticut to possess a firearm on public or private elementary or secondary school property, a statute Lanza clearly ignored.
Fourth, with details on the Bushmaster rifle still sketchy, it’s possible Lanza may have violated a Connecticut law banning possession of “assault weapons.”
Of course, these laws were violated because Lanza did not own any of the firearms in question, but rather stole them, and he clearly had no regard for the law in committing his crime.
The Associated Press reports the weapons were registered to Lanza’s first victim, his own mother, according to a law enforcement official not authorized to discuss information with reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Gun-control laws failed Connecticut children
The state of Connecticut already has certain gun-control laws in place, at least three of which the shooter broke, as he could have only obtained the weapons through illegal means.
According to news reports, Adam Lanza, 20, shot his mother Nancy Lanza dead at their family home before driving to the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, where he gunned down more than two dozen people, 20 of them children, and then killed himself.
The Associated Press reports Lanza brought three guns into the school: a Glock pistol, a Sig Sauer pistol and Bushmaster rifle, which the New York Post further reports was a semi-automatic “assault rifle” chambered for a .223 caliber round, matching casings found at the crime scene.
Graphic: New York Daily News
First, Connecticut law requires a person be over 21 to possess a handgun. Lanza was 20.
Second, Connecticut requires a permit to carry a pistol on one’s person, a permit Lanza did not have.
Third, it is unlawful in Connecticut to possess a firearm on public or private elementary or secondary school property, a statute Lanza clearly ignored.
Fourth, with details on the Bushmaster rifle still sketchy, it’s possible Lanza may have violated a Connecticut law banning possession of “assault weapons.”
Of course, these laws were violated because Lanza did not own any of the firearms in question, but rather stole them, and he clearly had no regard for the law in committing his crime.
The Associated Press reports the weapons were registered to Lanza’s first victim, his own mother, according to a law enforcement official not authorized to discuss information with reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Gun-control laws failed Connecticut children
Implosion update: The demons of violence are on the loose in America. But why? And where do we go from here? « Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog
There is a point of no return — a point at which God removes His hand of grace and mercy and turns to the judgment of America. If we don’t repent for our sins, we are going to face that judgment…perhaps sooner than we think. As I note in Implosion: Can America Recover From Its Economic & Spiritual Challenges In Time?, “Alarm bells are going off all around us. Lights on the dashboard are flashing, Warning! Warning! Yet America is sleeping through the alarms, blind to the warning lights. And tragically, for the most part, the Church — God’s chosen instrument to bless individuals, families, communities, and nations — is asleep as well. I shudder to imagine where we are heading if we don’t wake up soon, plead for the Lord’s forgiveness, and ask Him to use us to love our neighbors and revitalize our country.
Implosion update: The demons of violence are on the loose in America. But why? And where do we go from here? « Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog
Implosion update: The demons of violence are on the loose in America. But why? And where do we go from here? « Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog
Can America Handle the Truth? If Not, More Will Die.
Israel endures terror daily. Their brand of the TSA is the most effective in the world. It turns out that those who deal with internal terror on a daily basis might have some answers for such domestic terror. In Israel, teachers and other school administrators are allowed to be armed. They carry semi-automatic firearms whenever they are in the schools. This policy was adopted in the 1970’s, and tragedies like the one in Connecticut do not happen there. Let me repeat that for emphasis as it was quoted in WND.com: “In Israel, teachers and parents who serve as school aids are armed with semi-automatic firearms whenever they are on school grounds. Since the country adopted this policy in the 1970s, attacks by gunmen at Israeli schools have become non-existent.”
We need to ask tough questions to sink this message to the low information public who wants to deny reality and give “feel good” answers that don’t work and result in more death and destruction. WND asks: “When last did you hear of a multiple-victim shooting taking place on a firearm range, in a police station or at a gun show, or wherever many firearms are found anywhere in the world? You haven’t. That’s because criminals prefer unarmed victims, or soft targets. No wonder they love gun control – it makes their work so much easier and their working environment much safer.”
How many children have to die before we implement real solutions that work? How many planes have to be hijacked before we adopt practices that actually save lives? If we continue to ignore well documented, thoroughly tested in favor of “feel good” slogans, at some point we need to ask ourselves who is really at fault for these tragedies?
Can America Handle the Truth? If Not, More Will Die. :: Politichicks
OOPS That Human Caused Global Warming Thingy is all WRONG
Climate alarmism is based in substantial part on the assumption that
other causes of global warming can be accounted for, and whatever is
left over must be due to human-emitted CO2. This sort of reasoning is
rarely valid, but it is particularly inappropriate in a field as little
understood as climate. One obvious reason why the Earth has gotten
warmer and colder over the millenia is that the amount of energy put out
by the Sun varies. Moreover, over the last few centuries,
sunspots–considered to be a good proxy for solar activity–have
correlated very closely with Earth temperatures. More sunspots equal
higher temperatures.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that variations in the Sun’s output are responsible, at least in part, for variations in Earth’s temperatures. The problem is that if you simply do the math on radiant heat, the known increase in solar activity during the second half of the 20th century accounts for only a small portion of the assumed increase in temperature over that period. So the alarmists have denied that the Sun plays a significant role. More recent work has strongly suggested that solar radiation plays a role above and beyond radiant heat, by influencing cloud cover, which is a key factor in temperature. Given the strong correlation between solar activity and temperature, this work has been persuasive.
Read the full article...shocking stuff (not)
It shouldn’t be a surprise that variations in the Sun’s output are responsible, at least in part, for variations in Earth’s temperatures. The problem is that if you simply do the math on radiant heat, the known increase in solar activity during the second half of the 20th century accounts for only a small portion of the assumed increase in temperature over that period. So the alarmists have denied that the Sun plays a significant role. More recent work has strongly suggested that solar radiation plays a role above and beyond radiant heat, by influencing cloud cover, which is a key factor in temperature. Given the strong correlation between solar activity and temperature, this work has been persuasive.
Read the full article...shocking stuff (not)
We Are Witnessing The Death Of Small Business In America
Historically, small businesses have been the primary engine of new job creation in the United States. If the economy was getting healthy, we would expect to see the number of jobs at new businesses rise. Instead, we are witnessing just the opposite. We are told that the economy is supposed to be "recovering", but the number of "startup jobs" at new businesses has fallen for five years in a row. According to an analysis of U.S. Department of Labor data performed by economist Tim Kane, there were almost 12 startup jobs per 1000 Americans back in the year 2006. By 2011, that figure had fallen to less than 8 startup jobs per 1000 Americans. According to Kane, the number of jobs in the United States at businesses that are less than one year old has fallen from 4.1 million in 1994 to 2.5 million in 2010. Overall, the number of "new entrepreneurs and business owners" has fallen by more than 50 percent as a percentage of the population since 1977. The United States was once known as "the land of opportunity", but now that is fundamentally changing. At this point we truly do have a "crisis of entrepreneurship" in this country, and that is a huge reason why America is in decline. We are witnessing the slow death of the small business in America, and that is incredibly bad news for all of us.
Unfortunately, the problems that small businesses are experiencing right now have been building up for decades. The economic environment for small businesses in America has become incredibly toxic. Sadly, we can see this in the numbers. According to Kane, the following is how the decline in the number of startup jobs per 1000 Americans breaks down by presidential administration...
Bush Sr.: 11.3
Clinton: 11.2
Bush Jr.: 10.8
Obama: 7.8
Obviously, we are headed very much in the wrong direction.
Read More
We Are Witnessing The Death Of Small Business In America
Unfortunately, the problems that small businesses are experiencing right now have been building up for decades. The economic environment for small businesses in America has become incredibly toxic. Sadly, we can see this in the numbers. According to Kane, the following is how the decline in the number of startup jobs per 1000 Americans breaks down by presidential administration...
Bush Sr.: 11.3
Clinton: 11.2
Bush Jr.: 10.8
Obama: 7.8
Obviously, we are headed very much in the wrong direction.
Read More
We Are Witnessing The Death Of Small Business In America
5 Myths Liberals Have Created About Themselves and 5 More
Liberalism is like a restaurant with ugly decor, terrible food, overflowing toilets and roaches scurrying across the floor -- that stays packed every night. Sure, liberals may be sanctimonious, mean spirited and advocate policies that don't work, but you can't help but admire the excellence of their public relations network. They can laud themselves for courage because they take a stand everyone they know agrees with, pat themselves on the back for their compassion as they maliciously insult someone that disagrees with them and congratulate themselves for their charitable behavior as they give other people's money away. Liberal mythology is one thing, but what it actually looks like is a different beast entirely.
1) Liberals love science: As Ann Coulter says, "Liberals use the word science exactly as they use the word constitutional. Both words are nothing more or less than a general statement of liberal approval, having nothing to do with either science or the Constitution." The liberal commitment to science consists entirely of talking about how important science is when they believe they can use it to further the liberal agenda. On the other hand, when science shows that adult stem cells actually work better than embryonic stem cells, millions in Africa have died because liberals needlessly insisted on banning DDT or the evidence shows AIDS is never going to take off in Western, non-drug using heterosexuals, liberals have about as much interest in science as they do in supporting the troops.
2) Liberals care about education: If you define "education" as doing as much as humanly possible to toss plums to the teachers’ unions who help fund and elect Democrats, liberals love education. Alternately, if you define education as the rest of us do, making sure our kids learn as much as possible and are prepared for the working world, liberals don't care about education at all. They fight merit pay, oppose firing bad teachers and try to kill even effective school choice programs. Any time there's a divergence between what's best for the teachers’ unions and what's best for the kids, the kids ALWAYS lose with liberals.
3) Liberals are tolerant: In a very real sense, liberals don't understand tolerance. To them, tolerance is promoting whatever position they happen to hold while excluding all competing views. So, if a conservative speaker shows up on a college campus, liberals try to shout him down. Liberals have tried to censor conservative talk show hosts with an Orwellian "Fairness Act." They work tirelessly to try to silence Fox News, which is the one center right network up against ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and MSNBC. They block professors for their conservative views, blacklist conservative actors and lock conservatives out of almost every major newspaper in America. That's not open-minded; it's a level of dogmatic intolerance that could rival the most radical cult.
4) Liberals don't moralize: Liberals believe in allowing children to have abortions over the protests of their parents, they want to force churches to perform gay weddings that violate their Christian beliefs and they demand that the Catholic Church provide abortion and birth control over its strenuous moral objections, but then they turn around and deny that they're moralizing. Getting beyond that, they couch their arguments about tax rates, government programs and economics in distinctly moral terms. After all, what is the term "fair share" if not an appeal to morals? If liberals are going to continue to pretend that they don't moralize, at least they should admit that they’re morally inferior to conservatives.
5) Liberals love the poor: For both philosophical and practical reasons, conservatives believe in helping the poor escape poverty. We agree wholeheartedly with Ben Franklin's words of wisdom,
Read FIVE MORE Myths Liberals have created about themselves
1) Liberals love science: As Ann Coulter says, "Liberals use the word science exactly as they use the word constitutional. Both words are nothing more or less than a general statement of liberal approval, having nothing to do with either science or the Constitution." The liberal commitment to science consists entirely of talking about how important science is when they believe they can use it to further the liberal agenda. On the other hand, when science shows that adult stem cells actually work better than embryonic stem cells, millions in Africa have died because liberals needlessly insisted on banning DDT or the evidence shows AIDS is never going to take off in Western, non-drug using heterosexuals, liberals have about as much interest in science as they do in supporting the troops.
2) Liberals care about education: If you define "education" as doing as much as humanly possible to toss plums to the teachers’ unions who help fund and elect Democrats, liberals love education. Alternately, if you define education as the rest of us do, making sure our kids learn as much as possible and are prepared for the working world, liberals don't care about education at all. They fight merit pay, oppose firing bad teachers and try to kill even effective school choice programs. Any time there's a divergence between what's best for the teachers’ unions and what's best for the kids, the kids ALWAYS lose with liberals.
3) Liberals are tolerant: In a very real sense, liberals don't understand tolerance. To them, tolerance is promoting whatever position they happen to hold while excluding all competing views. So, if a conservative speaker shows up on a college campus, liberals try to shout him down. Liberals have tried to censor conservative talk show hosts with an Orwellian "Fairness Act." They work tirelessly to try to silence Fox News, which is the one center right network up against ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and MSNBC. They block professors for their conservative views, blacklist conservative actors and lock conservatives out of almost every major newspaper in America. That's not open-minded; it's a level of dogmatic intolerance that could rival the most radical cult.
4) Liberals don't moralize: Liberals believe in allowing children to have abortions over the protests of their parents, they want to force churches to perform gay weddings that violate their Christian beliefs and they demand that the Catholic Church provide abortion and birth control over its strenuous moral objections, but then they turn around and deny that they're moralizing. Getting beyond that, they couch their arguments about tax rates, government programs and economics in distinctly moral terms. After all, what is the term "fair share" if not an appeal to morals? If liberals are going to continue to pretend that they don't moralize, at least they should admit that they’re morally inferior to conservatives.
5) Liberals love the poor: For both philosophical and practical reasons, conservatives believe in helping the poor escape poverty. We agree wholeheartedly with Ben Franklin's words of wisdom,
"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer."On the other hand, liberals "love" the poor like a cat loves mice. The cat gets fat off the mice and liberals get elected off of sadistically keeping as many Americans mired in poverty as they can. Then, they can give the poor just enough money to get by on while railing against those mean old conservatives who're claiming the destitute can have better lives when any "compassionate" person would realize food stamps and welfare are the best most of these people can ever do. That's not love; that's a gang of pushers trying to hook as many customers as possible.
Read FIVE MORE Myths Liberals have created about themselves
Connecticut school shooting: no law can abolish the human capacity for evil – Telegraph Blogs
How do we comprehend evil like this? My Church has some observations. Man is fallen and so is capable of anything; in fact he has a genius for doing harm. We might choose to live in despair at this state of affairs, but we are offered some hope. Blogger Thomas Peters reminds us of Pope Benedict’s words when he visited the death camps of Poland: “In the face of the horror of Auschwitz there is no other response than the Cross of Christ: Love descended to the very depths of the abyss of evil to save man in his core.” To the believer, there is hope that the crucified Christ offers redemption from evil. For the nonbeliever, there’s hope to be drawn from the example of one human being who is willing to suffer alongside another. The flip side of all our potential for evil is our potential for good – and rest assured that we shall see a lot of good in the next few weeks. America will rally and mourn together; the better side of humanity will show itself. The world will respond to this tragedy with compassion, and that’s what must give us hope.
Connecticut school shooting: no law can abolish the human capacity for evil – Telegraph Blogs
Connecticut school shooting: no law can abolish the human capacity for evil – Telegraph Blogs
Culture of violence: Gun crime goes up by 89% in a decade - how well Gun Control works in England
Gun crime has increased five-fold in some parts of the UK
The latest Government figures show that the total number of firearm offences in England and Wales has increased from 5,209 in 1998/99 to 9,865 last year - a rise of 89 per cent.
In some parts of the country, the number of offences has increased more than five-fold.
In eighteen police areas, gun crime at least doubled.
The statistic will fuel fears that the police are struggling to contain gang-related violence, in which the carrying of a firearm has become increasingly common place.
Culture of violence: Gun crime goes up by 89% in a decade | Mail Online
Charles Krauthammer: The right-to-work dilemma
The nostalgics look back to the immediate postwar years when the UAW was all-powerful, the auto companies were highly profitable and the world was flooded with American cars. In that Golden Age, the UAW won wages, benefits and protections that were the envy of the world.
Today’s angry protesters demand a return to that norm. Except that it was not a norm but a historical anomaly. America, alone among the great industrial powers, emerged unscathed from World War II. Japan was a cinder, Germany rubble and the allies — beginning with Britain and France — an exhausted shell of their former imperial selves.
For a generation, America had the run of the world. Then the others recovered. Soon global competition — from Volkswagen to Samsung — began to overtake American industry that was saddled with protected, inflated, relatively uncompetitive wages, benefits and work rules.
There’s a reason Detroit went bankrupt while the southern auto transplants did not. This is not to exonerate incompetent overpaid management that contributed to the fall. But clearly the wage, benefit and work-rule gap between the unionized North and the right-to-work South was a major factor.
Read the whole thing
Charles Krauthammer: The right-to-work dilemma - The Washington Post
Chris Rock Was Right
Psycho, loony, bonkers, daft, zany, berserk and cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
Advocates for the mentally ill discourage such colloquial terms as tending to stigmatize psychiatric patients. But we might ask whether stigma — and the consequent damage to the fragile self-esteem of kooks — is really worse than turning loose a homicidal schizo who kills 27 people.
I saw we might ask that, except that it’s politically incorrect to do so. We have been carefully taught that wackos are victims, and we’re not supposed to talk about the possibility that they might also be dangerous, lest we infringe the “rights” of murderous lunatics.
To quote Dirty Harry, “Well, I’m all broken up over that man’s rights.”
You’ll excuse me if I sound somewhat bitter about it, but this school shooting kind of spoiled my plans for the day. And also, some kids in Newtown, Connecticut, will miss the rest of their lives.
Our culture has lost all sense of perspective, of reasonable balance, so that we are unable to make common-sense judgments about risks. Which is the greater danger: That a schizophrenic might have his feelings hurt, or that a schizophrenic might go off his meds and kill people?
Common sense is quite nearly illegal nowadays and it’s certainly unfashionable in the Obama Age. So the usual liberal dingbats — including the ACLU types who assured us it was “a fearless, independent life style” for a crazy woman to defecate in public on the streets of Manahattan — are telling us we need more gun control.
And I say, no, what we need is more kook control. But no member of Congress in either party would have the guts to introduce “The Dangerous Lunatic Incarceration Act of 2013,” which would put wackjobs like Adam Lanza some place where they couldn’t kill people.
Chris Rock was right: “Whatever happened to ‘crazy’? . . . What? You can’t be crazy no more? Did we eliminate ‘crazy’ from the dictionary?”
Chris Rock Was Right : The Other McCain
Advocates for the mentally ill discourage such colloquial terms as tending to stigmatize psychiatric patients. But we might ask whether stigma — and the consequent damage to the fragile self-esteem of kooks — is really worse than turning loose a homicidal schizo who kills 27 people.
I saw we might ask that, except that it’s politically incorrect to do so. We have been carefully taught that wackos are victims, and we’re not supposed to talk about the possibility that they might also be dangerous, lest we infringe the “rights” of murderous lunatics.
To quote Dirty Harry, “Well, I’m all broken up over that man’s rights.”
You’ll excuse me if I sound somewhat bitter about it, but this school shooting kind of spoiled my plans for the day. And also, some kids in Newtown, Connecticut, will miss the rest of their lives.
Our culture has lost all sense of perspective, of reasonable balance, so that we are unable to make common-sense judgments about risks. Which is the greater danger: That a schizophrenic might have his feelings hurt, or that a schizophrenic might go off his meds and kill people?
Common sense is quite nearly illegal nowadays and it’s certainly unfashionable in the Obama Age. So the usual liberal dingbats — including the ACLU types who assured us it was “a fearless, independent life style” for a crazy woman to defecate in public on the streets of Manahattan — are telling us we need more gun control.
And I say, no, what we need is more kook control. But no member of Congress in either party would have the guts to introduce “The Dangerous Lunatic Incarceration Act of 2013,” which would put wackjobs like Adam Lanza some place where they couldn’t kill people.
Chris Rock was right: “Whatever happened to ‘crazy’? . . . What? You can’t be crazy no more? Did we eliminate ‘crazy’ from the dictionary?”
Chris Rock Was Right : The Other McCain
Evil Is to Blame
Pay close attention to what gets blamed for the Newtown school shooting. Evil is to blame for these horrific murders and nothing else. Listen closely to the rhetoric over the coming weeks. How often will evil be named as the cause of the horror?
Not often, I suspect.
Some dispute the existence of conscious, deliberate, unseen evil. Perhaps that’s why blame for the murderous horror will fall elsewhere. Some consider the mention of evil in public discourse to be unseemly. Belief in pure deliberate evil can be inconvenient, because it includes other necessary beliefs.
Read the Whole Thing
Rule of Law » Evil Is to Blame
Dana Benz
"Hey kids. You. The Ones that left us today. The ones who experienced the worst that humanity can do. You little ones who closed your eyes in a living Hell this morning. I'm so, so very sorry that this world didn't give you a chance.
I'm a nobody guy from a small town in Michigan. You would've never known me. But in
all of this overwhelming sadness of today, I just want to let you all know that you matter. Even though you didn't even have a chance to realize how big the world is, today, the sad end of your lives affected MILLIONS of people. It's probably little comfort for you at all, but tonight in America, in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, Australia....everywhere.... mommies are holding their kids a little tighter and a little longer. Daddies are listening to their kids and showing them more love.
You twenty little souls were set free this morning and there is nothing good that could be said about that. But because you left, and t
he way you were taken, millions of kids still here on Earth tonight will be shown more love than any other ordinary Friday.
Your short and precious lives had a value and a purpose.
Godspeed."
"Hey kids. You. The Ones that left us today. The ones who experienced the worst that humanity can do. You little ones who closed your eyes in a living Hell this morning. I'm so, so very sorry that this world didn't give you a chance.
I'm a nobody guy from a small town in Michigan. You would've never known me. But in
all of this overwhelming sadness of today, I just want to let you all know that you matter. Even though you didn't even have a chance to realize how big the world is, today, the sad end of your lives affected MILLIONS of people. It's probably little comfort for you at all, but tonight in America, in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, Australia....everywhere.... mommies are holding their kids a little tighter and a little longer. Daddies are listening to their kids and showing them more love.
You twenty little souls were set free this morning and there is nothing good that could be said about that. But because you left, and t
he way you were taken, millions of kids still here on Earth tonight will be shown more love than any other ordinary Friday.
Your short and precious lives had a value and a purpose.
Godspeed."
We Tried it your way Secularists... It's not Working
Greg Mason
You can blame politics, you can blame the Republicans, you can blame guns, you can blame the NRA, you can blame the economy, you can blame bullies, you can blame society at large; but the more god-less we become, the more we want to trash religion and Christianity, the more these things seem to happen. We have raised a generation or two without the Bible and while bashing the church...and over and over 20 somethings are shooting up our schools, theaters, and shopping malls. I defy someone to say it is because we have too much of God. It is just the opposite. I am mad at the devil and every bit of influence has has in our culture, and I am angry at all of those who think evil is a joke and not a reality.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
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