Right As Usual

I've been doing some reading on what mainstream media sources are calling "Right-Wing" and "Fascist" groups.  I'm NOT persuaded that the media understand either term, given that they seem to be using them to smear the groups as proto-Nazi "hate" groups. Hate is a strong word.  It NEVER is applied to Islamicist groups, although they are quite vocal about their hatred of Jews and Christians, often using terms that are vicious, bigoted, and compare those people to apes, slaves, and sub-humans.  At best. It is common to hear terms that are the Arabic equivalent of the N-word, applied to blacks. Here's one of the stories that has been cited as a reason for the popularity of the English Defense League (EDL) - understand, I am NOT supporting them, nor am I in favor of their aims.  What I am trying to do is go beyond the vilification of them, en masse, to understand that the truth about their rise, and the reasons for it, may lie in that gray area cal...

Armed forces in the field are held to a high standard of conduct.  If they see an enemy combatant, they have to weigh the cost of letting him get away, versus the potential for civilian (that is, those not directly involved in the war and wearing a uniform - no matter what aid they give to their soldiers on their side) harm.   The Army Times had a recent post on a soldier involved in just that kind of situation - that soldier may end up disciplined for what, at worst, was a difference in opinion in a stress situation.  In a way, he is lucky - other soldiers have faced courtmartials, and potential prison time for "offenses" no greater.   Another blog goes into some detail about the daily experiences of soldiers, who risk their lives to avoid killing civilians.   Remember when the Anti-War crowd fought to get pictures of dead soldiers' coffins on the evening news - oh, yeah, that was when BUSH was president. It's different now - the above pictures aren't on displa...

...and All Patriots who choose to stand with them, against tyranny. Why was THIS The Only Real Revolution? we all know how the Sons of Liberty reacted to a two-cent tax on tea. They took their rights — their liberty — seriously. They knew that when a tyrant gets his foot in the door, the rest of the beast is sure to follow. As George Washington said in 1774, “The crisis is arrived when we must assert our rights or submit to every imposition which can be heaped upon us, till custom and use shall make us . . . slaves.” How different are we? Imagine that men from that era were observing us today. They would see that we send up to 50% of our income to different levels of government, and we are told that this is not sufficient —  that our duty is to sacrifice more. (Consider this shocking fact: the colonists paid approximately 1% of their incomes in taxes.) They would see an incredible number of regulations on all types of domestic and foreign commerce. They would see an immense army of ...

According to Ian Tuttle of the National Review , there are some who are characterizing the terms "illegal alien" and "illegal immigrant" as demeaning, unfair, and better replaced with "undocumented immigrant", "economic refugee", and other such terms. The problem isn't WHAT you call the person who has violated our national sovreignty and right to determine who has a right to be here, it's that the person has chosen to invade our territory, without our permission. To some extent, this is a cultural issue.  By that, I mean that the situation has been aggravated by misunderstandings arising from cultural differences. For the majority of the USA's inhabitants, historically, we have been a "queue" culture.  It is the idea behind "first come, first served", and the standard way of handling crowd control without resorting to the riot police.  It is backed by the fact that everyone's time is important, and that no one ...

This has been one of the driest periods I've had in the years that I've been blogging.  It was due to physical illnesses and pretty much total exhaustion. In the last year, I've: Injured my knee - torn ligament Had flare-ups in pain management for some old wrist and elbow injuries Contracted pneumonia Suffered through a bout of bronchitis - during which, I pulled some rib muscles - I'm still in pain, and getting chiropractic treatment 2-3 times a week for that. During most of this time, my energy level was barely equal to doing the minimum - most days, I barely made it past noon without needing a nap.  As a consequence, the house looks like he!!. Started itching - initially bug bites, then what appeared to be prickly heat rash, and, finally, huge welts of hives.  That finally sent me to the doctor, who injected cortizone (also helping my asthma), and prescribed prednizone and decent antihistamines. I'd feel REALLY sorry for myself if I wasn't aware t...

Mom was a lighthearted woman.  She sang around the house (we teased her, claiming that her voice was terrible.  It wasn't a Grammy-quality voice, but it was fine). Like most people, she sang the songs of her youth - in her case, the 1940s.  I didn't realize how often I'd heard them, until one day, I was watching Name That Tune.  The music of the show was WWII songs - I was, for once, VERY good - I knew them all. Mom was patient.  She listened to my brother and I read stories aloud (prompting us to "sound it out" when encountering an unfamiliar word), let us recite our times tables, and helped us learn new skills - cooking, sewing, knitting, etc. At a relatively young age (early 40s), Mom developed Rheumatoid Arthritis.  By the time I had my last child, she was in a wheelchair.  From that point on, she largely stayed home; it took much planning to arrange outings.  My dad retired early, both due to his poor health (he had pancreatic cancer), and to care for her. Mo...

I've not before found an explanation that better capsulizes the Leftist philisophy, and makes clear why it is NOT sustainable: The left constantly approaches the economy like it’s a gigantic daycare. When people need something, “all we need to do is share.” If someone has something another person doesn’t, the solution is to have the “teacher” force him to share. This is how liberals approach the economy. But what is lost in this daycare mentality approach is that individuals need to put effort into creating, producing, and selling goods and services. They do not just  exist , like a birthday cake that should be cut up and handed to the rugrats on a plastic plate. And liberals don’t notice that after a few semesters, the teacher is really packing on the pounds. People, the tangible things of an economy don't just materialize.  They come into being because of the hard work of the producers.  If you think that people should just "share" their money, try this: Here's...