Self Pity, How to be Downwardly Mobile

Great essay I read that I thought I would share. It's so easy to be caught up in self-pity, and he really has taken it to a different level.

I'm Back

Back from the New Mexico desert and three weeks with the Army. Boy am I glad I'm in the Air Force. I'm tired still, but with any luck at all this will have been the last time that I will be away from family for such matters. Today I enter into my final year with the military. I'll be looking for a job soon.

All this to say that I will be posting again soon and apologize to all for my delay in responding and posting. We lost connectivity last Sunday and so I had no access to such things.

Welcome to new readers and visitors.! Thanks for stopping by!

Recommendations

OK- I know I've added a great deal of content to the site, so much so that it may be difficult to wade through it all even with the handy dandy headings and groupings. For many of you this will not be a problems and you will slog through as you are led. But some may not and thus may miss some of the really good stuff that is there. The blogs and links I offer all have some redeeming quality and are trustworthy as far as I know. If I feel the subject matter is somewhat lacking, it will go away. Still, you may find it a bit much, so to assist you I have included below some of the highlights this week. As I've said, I think they are all worth a look but if you can only get to a few, these would be them for this week:

A new way to achieve victory in the Mid-East. A thought provoking article by analyst and writer Daniel Pipes:

When Barack Obama announced in June 2009 about Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy, "I'm confident that if we stick with it, having started early, that we can make some serious progress this year," he displayed a touching, if naïve optimism.

Indeed, his determination fits a well-established pattern of determination by politicians to "solve" the Arab-Israeli conflict; there were fourteen U.S. government initiatives just during the two George W. Bush administrations. Might this time be different? Will trying harder or being more clever end the conflict?

No, there is no chance whatever of this effort working.

Without looking at the specifics of the Obama approach — which are in themselves problematic — I shall argue three points: that past Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have failed; that their failure resulted from an Israeli illusion about avoiding war; and that Washington should urge Jerusalem to forego negotiations and return instead to its earlier and more successful policy of fighting for victory. (more)

Over at Bedlam or Parnassus an excellent post on shameful things and the shame and bedlam present in our schools and in our government.

Many of the pro-family blogs are helping in Maine's fight to preserve tradtional marriage. At the Pomegranate Apple they tell you some concrete ways you can help.

And last but certainly not least, when it all seems a bit much to handle, you can go to A Trail of Flowers and rest. If you are Catholic (or a closet Catholic-like me) and/or appreciate or write (or attempt to write- like me) poetry, then you will be doubly blessed. I've never known a blog to be a poem till now. It is a breath of fresh air.

I hope you enjoy them all.

France- US president’s disarmament crusade “naive.”

Guess you probably didn't see this on the major news outlets. Of course you didn't, they didn't cover it.

Sarkozy Mocks Obama at UN Security Council: Hello, Big Media?

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Something New

As I have been in the high desert of New Mexico these last few weeks, providing weather support for the Army, and because we have had pretty good weather, I have been thinking. This is usually not a good thing.

I have decided to change up the blog a bit. I have begun to include most of the sources for my information and organize them on the left hand side of the blog in easily accessible format.

It is my hope that on those days when I am unavailable because of location (like New Mexico) or simply due to the hectic schedule that family life affords, (even on the best of days) you might still visit and peruse the far more intelligent voices that populate the sidebar. I'll still post on, or more than likely, bring to your attention, something of note as I see it but if not you can still come here and find something worth your time.

It may be that items of a more reflective nature, such as prayer studies (of which I am woefully behind on) or my meager attempts at writing, will migrate to my other blog "Redeemed Time" which has languished like a bad oyster casserole in another place in this cyber refrigerator. But for now, things are pretty much as they have been, except more "newsy" if you will. I hope you enjoy the change.

Your thoughts on this new idea are appreciated, as would be anyone with knowledge on how to turn this template into a three column format.

Suitable for framing!

Two amendments voted down yesterday

There were two amendments voted down yesterday in the House regarding HR3200 Healthcare Bill.

1) One amendment was to wait on the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) analysis of the revised bill cost estimates. As you recall the first draft was estimated at $1.3T, and we know how accurate the government estimates are…… Well this amendment was voted down by the Democrats. They do not want to wait to understand the cost estimates.
2) The other amendment was to allow 72 hours to read the bill. Again, the Democrats voted this amendment down.

Who are these people we elected? How many of us would buy a car without knowing the cost, or reading the contract? Yet the politicians want to spend our money on something they know not the cost or what the document says? Where does the government get its money, oh yea, OUR TAX DOLLARS? The government had no money!

Please call your Representative today to let them know how pleased you are with their actions yesterday!

You might also ask them when there is to be a formal investigation of Acorn regarding the underage illegal immigrant prostitution ring. Did you know the IRS has now joined the Department of HUD in canceling all Acorn contracts?

We need gridlock. No bills out of Congress until we get the corruption under control. This is truly a bipartisan effort.

Six Reasons to Reject Obamacare

From the Acton Blog:

Six Reasons to Reject Obamacare

Here is a sample:

* Canadians will no longer have a free market healthcare system to flee to
* Government-run health care will look and smell and feel like the Department of Motor Vehicles … with sharp needles and bedpans

Gotta love it.

Poor Choices

Taking a page out of the health care debate the Obama Administration makes some broad assertions to defend its dismantling of the missile defence shield that difficult to validate.

Heritage has done an excellent analysis on some of the problems. I've included an excerpt below. I cannot help but be reminded of an earlier posting at MereComments titled, "Our War on Poland." The article describes the snubbing we gave Poland on the 60th anniversary of the start of WWII:

The the 60th anniversary of the start of World War II--the invasion of Poland-- on September 1, 1939, was just observed in Poland. So what's with the U.S sending to the ceremony, not the President, or Vice-President, or Secretary of State, or Under-Secretary of State, but National Security Adviser Gen. James L. Jones, to stand alongside Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown? This article in the Washington Times notes the humiliation and neglect felt by the Poles. No wonder:

The Polish government sent out the invitation three months ago to the White House, but an answer was received only on Wednesday, a mere five days before the ceremony. Repeated attempts over the summer by the Poles to contact the White House and the State Department met with a long period of silence. One White House aide actually replied that everyone was on vacation until after Labor Day, which caused a Polish official to say he apologized that Adolf Hitler had invaded his country on Sept. 1.

The article notes the difficulty we are giving Poles about visas as well. I thought this President was about mending our relations overseas? No wonder the Polish Prime Minister wouldn't take the midnight call. Nevermind the decision was taken without consulting our allies affected (Poland and Czech Republic). What a bunch of amateurs. Next thing you know they'll be giving the Queen of England an I-Pod....oh wait.

From Heritage:

In an attempt to justify its decision to terminate America’s commitment to field missile defense interceptors and radar in the Czech Republic and Poland, the Obama Administration has released a fact sheet. The questionable validity of the fact sheet’s assertions, however, serves only to highlight the shortcomings of the Obama Administration’s decision.

Congress should not let the Obama Administration go unchallenged regarding this matter.

Assertion #1: The Iranian Ballistic Missile Development Program Is More Focused on Short- and Medium-Range Missiles. Specifically, the fact sheet states: “The intelligence community now assesses that the threat from Iran’s short- and medium-range ballistic missiles is developing more rapidly than previously projected, while the threat of potential Iranian intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities has been slower to develop than previously estimated.”[3]

Leaving aside the fact that intelligence estimates of foreign ballistic missile developments is an inexact science and that the U.S. is often taken by surprise regarding these developments, the reality is that the Iran is developing its ballistic missile capabilities holistically. (more)

Its an important read and worth visiting the link for the whole article.

Does He Lie?

Was Wilson right? Does Obama lie? Krauthammer says no, its more subtle than that. I guess it all depends upon what your definition of "is", is. I know if my child did this, I'd say he lied.
This is even more devious than a lie.

From Charles Krauthammer via Town Hall:

Three examples within a single speech -- the now-famous Obama-Wilson "you lie" address to Congress on health care -- of Obama's relationship with truth.

"I will not sign (a plan)," he solemnly pledged, "if it adds one dime to the deficit, now or in the future. Period."

And then, part two:

"And to prove that I'm serious, there will be a provision in this plan that requires us to come forward with more spending cuts if the savings we promised don't materialize."

This apparent strengthening of the pledge brilliantly and deceptively undermines it. What Obama suggests is that his plan will require mandatory spending cuts if the current rosy projections prove false. But there's absolutely nothing automatic about such cuts.

Medicare had a similar plan in 2003 to institute automatic cuts to sustain its growth. Every year since it was enacted Congress has waived the cuts.

This same deceptiveness is used regarding providing health care coverage to illegal immigrants. Obama says they will not be covered, yet all four committee-passed bills in Congress allow illegal immigrants to take part in the proposed Health Insurance Exchange.

Also, there is no provision to require proof of citizenship of those who seek health care and two attempts by Republicans to include such language have been shot down by Dems. This raises the question of why the Dems care so much about making illegal immigrants happy. Is it a future block of potential voters or perhaps it represents those already signed up by ACORN? But that is a different post.

After Wilson’s outburst the Senate Finance Committee revisited the language of its bill to prevent illegal immigrants from getting any federal benefits. To which Krauthammer asks, “Why would the Finance Committee fix a nonexistent problem?” Why indeed.

(3) Obama said he would largely solve the insoluble cost problem of Obamacare by eliminating "hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud" from Medicare.

That's not a lie. That's not even deception. That's just an insult to our intelligence. Waste, fraud and abuse -- Meg Greenfield once called this phrase "the dread big three" -- as the all-purpose piggy bank for budget savings has been a joke since Jimmy Carter first used it in 1977.

Moreover, if half a trillion is waiting to be squeezed painlessly out of Medicare, why wait for health care reform? If, as Obama repeatedly insists, Medicare overspending is breaking the budget, why hasn't he gotten started on the painless billions in "waste and fraud" savings? (more)

This type of deception and misdirection has been a hallmark of this administration even in while he ran for the office. I have never been so distrustful of any President in my entire life.

AP NewsBreak: Nuke agency says Iran can make bomb

AP NewsBreak: Nuke agency says Iran can make bomb

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Big Brother Part 2- The Whitehouse Is Watching

First they asked us to let them know when "fishy" info was being given on healthcare. Now it looks like they're on your Facebook page. From the Washington Times:


EXCLUSIVE: W.H. collects Web users' data without notice - Washington Times

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Obama Admin: Cap And Trade Could Cost Families $1,761 A Year

Told ya so....

From CBS News:
The Obama Administration says the Cap and Trade law would cost American tax payers up to $200 billion- or about the same as a 15% tax hike.

America's Awakening - Pastor Stephen Broden

Part 1

Part 2

Breaking: Senate votes to cut off federal funding for ACORN

Excellent news from Hot Air:

The amendment passed 83-7 on the strength of some investigative reporting from Big Government.com. I can't post from here but follow the link above for all the good news..

God's Chisel - The Skit Guys

Acorn and the Census

Some of you may know that due to two young 20 year olds with more moxy and investigative journalism than the mainstream media, Acorn has lost the contract with the Feds to provide the Census. I do not know if you have had a chance to see these two clips, one in Baltimore and one in DC, but here you go.

Baltimore Part I
Baltimore Part II

DC

Obama said, if you want to know who I am, look at the people I surround myself with.

"Nothing more advances authority than silence."

Charles de Gaulle

"It ain't [America] no more, OK?"

So where is our country headed when our officers sworn to uphold the Constitution tell us they can charge us with ever they want to and that this ain't America no more?

The ignorance in unbelievable, the corruption is sickening. How did this country get so far down this path? Why has the silent majority (including myself) sat by and let this get out of control. What is each one of us doing to stop it and change it? We will have to get out of our comfort zone to realign this country with the Constitution. There is a revolution going on right now, not one with guns and bombs, but one with thoughts and ideas.

Listen closely to what is being said, they are telling us exactly what they are going to do then they do it. Do we really want to live in a country comparable to France or Germany?

Because of the Constitution written and signed by our Founding Fathers this country has made more progress in the last two-hundred years than the world in the previous 5000 years.

I believe the silent majority is now being heard. What are you doing to help get this country realigned to the Constitution? What are you doing to pull the power back from the Federal Government that continues to usurp the Constitution and your Freedom’s on a daily basis?

Are you writing and calling your Senators daily? Are you writing and calling your President daily?

"Nothing more advances authority than silence."

Charles de Gaulle

Not Quite a Vacation

I'd like to say I'll be on vacation the next three weeks, but instead I'll be fulfilling some military commitments. The results will be about the same insofar as there probably will be very little posting on my part. This may be good news for some and to those I say "you're welcome." To the remaining minority, I'll see you in three weeks.

Meet your Czars

Congratulations to all of those that made the calls to the White House, Representatives and Senators on forcing Van Jones to resign. Only problem, Obama never explained why this self proclaimed Communist and radical was selected as his Green Czar. Obama himself said, to learn about me; look at the people I surround myself with.

Did the FBI not do their job or does the President want this type of person on his staff, neither option is good.

Here are three more of the Czar’s your tax dollars are funding.

FCC Czar Mark Lloyd:

"It should be clear by now that my focus here is not freedom of speech or the press. This freedom is all too often an exaggeration. At the very least, blind references to freedom of speech or the press serve as a distraction from the critical examination of other communications policies.”

At a 2008 “media reform” conference sponsored by the George Soros-funded Free Press organization, Lloyd declared that the Marxist revolution in Venezuela under Chavez was “incredible” and “dramatic” but that the “property owners and the folks who were then controlling the media in Venezuela rebelled” against the would-be dictator and supported a coup against him. However, Lloyd said that Chavez wised up and “then started to take the media seriously…”

The implication of these remarks is that Chavez dealt with his opponents in the media by trying to control or silence them, and that Lloyd supports that strategy when dealing with opponents of revolutionary Marxism here in the U.S.\

In 2006 while at the liberal Center for American Progress Lloyd wrote a book entitled, Prologue to a Farce: Communications and Democracy in America. In the book he presents the idea the private broadcasters (private business) should pay a licensing [fee] which equals their total operating costs so that public broadcasting [stations] can spend the same on their operations as the private companies do. By doing so he hopes to improve the Corporation for Public Broadcasting currently at $400 Million for 2009.
Not only does he want to redistribute private profits, he wants to regulate much of the programming on these stations to make sure they focus on “diverse views” (Progressive Views) and government activities. I am all for that when I see on PBS a conservative voice next to Bill Moyers. And when I hear a conservative voice on NRP or just voice on NRP that sounds excited with some passion.


Science Czar John Holdren

· “Women could be forced to abort their pregnancies, whether they wanted to or not;”
· “The population at large could be sterilized by infertility drugs intentionally put into the nation's drinking water or in food…”
· “Single mothers and teen mothers should have their babies seized from them against their will and given away to other couples to raise…”
· People who "contribute to social deterioration" (i.e. undesirables) "can be required by law to exercise reproductive responsibility" -- in other words, be compelled to have abortions or be sterilized.
· “Indeed, it has been concluded that compulsory population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution”
· A transnational "Planetary Regime" should assume control of the global economy and also dictate the most intimate details of Americans' lives -- using an armed international police force.

Regulatory Czar Cass Sunstein

“We ought to ban hunting, I suggest, if there isn’t a purpose other than sport and fun. That should be against the law. It’s time now.”

"Animals should be permitted to bring suit, with human beings as their representatives…Any animals that are entitled to bring suit would be represented by (human) counsel, who would owe guardian-like obligations and make decisions, subject to those obligations, on their clients' behalf."

Sunstein also argued in favor of “eliminating current practices such as greyhound racing, cosmetic testing, and meat eating, most controversially.”He concluded his Harvard speech by expressing his “more ambitious animating concern” that the current treatment of livestock and other animals should be considered “a form of unconscionable barbarity not the same as, but in many ways morally akin to, slavery and mass extermination of human beings.”

Your tax dollars hard at work.

"Nothing more advances authority than silence."

Charles de Gaulle

"one million times smaller than a grain of sand"

Simply amazing. A photograph of a molecule.

Wow.

The story can be found here

The researchers focused on a single molecule of pentacene, which is commonly used in solar cells. The rectangular-shaped organic molecule is made up of 22 carbon atoms and 14 hydrogen atoms.
In the image above the hexagonal shapes of the five carbon rings are clear and even the positions of the hydrogen atoms around the carbon rings can be seen.
To give some perspective, the space between the carbon rings is only 0.14 nanometers across, which is roughly one million times smaller than the diameter of a grain of sand.

"...the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. "

Rasmussen Polls- Bad News For Dems, Libs and the President

Rasmussen has some bad news for Congress, Health Care Reform (as currently preached) and the President:

Republicans Widen Lead Over Democrats on Generic Ballot

Voters Say Town Hall Meetings Should Be for Congressmen to Listen, Not Speak

51% Say Congress is Too Liberal, 22% Say It’s Too Conservative

57% Would Like to Replace Entire Congress

Support for Congressional Health Care Reform Falls to New Low

60% Say Tax Hikes Hurt The Economy Americans Say

We Want A Healthcare System Like The British! (sounds like a "death panel" to me)

The elephant in the room here, in addition to the obvious warning about government health care, is that hospice care can be deadly. Palliative care, such as morphine can actually hasten death. But that discussion is for another time. Time and again we are told that all the horror stories we hear about Britain's Health care system are simply part of the "myths" that those bad old, uncaring "political terrorists" people on the Right are peddling. Well, maybe not. From the Telegraph H/T Touchstone:

In 2007-08 16.5 per cent of deaths in Britain came about after continuous deep sedation, according to researchers at the Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, twice as many as in Belgium and the Netherlands.

In a letter to the Telegraph, palliative care experts including Professor Peter Millard, Emeritus Professor of Geriatrics, University of London, Dr Peter Hargreaves, a consultant in Palliative Medicine at St Luke’s cancer centre in Guildford, and four others warn:“Forecasting death is an inexact science,” they say. Patients are being diagnosed as being close to death “without regard to the fact that the diagnosis could be wrong.”

Sounds like a panel of experts "helping" by keeping health costs down.

The warning comes just a week after a report by the Patients Association estimated that up to one million patients had received poor or cruel care on the NHS.

The scheme, called the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP), was designed to reduce patient suffering in their final hours.
It was recommended as a model by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), the Government’s health scrutiny body, in 2004.

Under the guidelines the decision to diagnose that a patient is close to death is made by the entire medical team treating them, including a senior doctor.

They look for signs that a patient is approaching their final hours, which can include if patients have lost consciousness or whether they are having difficulty swallowing medication.However, doctors warn that these signs can point to other medical problems. Patients can become semi-conscious and confused as a side effect of pain-killing drugs such as morphine if they are also dehydrated, for instance.

When a decision has been made to place a patient on the pathway doctors are then recommended to consider removing medication or invasive procedures, such as intravenous drips, which are no longer of benefit.

If a patient is judged to still be able to eat or drink food and water will still be offered to them, as this is considered nursing care rather than medical intervention.

Dr Hargreaves said that this depended, however, on constant assessment of a patient’s condition.

He added that some patients were being “wrongly” put on the pathway, which created a “self-fulfilling prophecy” that they would die.

He said: “I have been practising palliative medicine for more than 20 years and I am getting more concerned about this “death pathway” that is coming in.“Patients who are allowed to become dehydrated and then become confused can be wrongly put on this pathway.”

He said that he had personally taken patients off the pathway who went on to live for “significant” amounts of time and warned that many doctors were not checking the progress of patients enough to notice improvement in their condition.“If they are sedated it is much harder to see that a patient is getting better,” Prof Millard said.

Healthcare Reform In One Page

Instead of a 1000+ page document created by 100's of lobbyists, so unwieldy that its supporters have read (like the POTUS) or understand, I offer this (simple) alternative:

Goal: Insure the uninsured.
How: Extend Medicaid

Goal: Increase competition
How: Allow insurance to be purchased beyond state lines

Goal: Decrease medical costs
How: Tort reform and make medical costs tax deductible

I think that makes a fine start. Its manageable, and lays the groundwork for additional reform down the road. Easily understood, so maybe the POTUS can quit lying about what it says (e.g. "you can keep your present plan" and "there will be no rationing") and it doesn't saddle our children with a debt they won't be able to pay off.

Raise your voice. There ARE alternatives to government takeover of health care.

Revolution

Wow! This is a most informative essay by a guy who understands the Washington scene and mind set. It’s as clear and concise an analysis as I’ve seen. It’s strong medicine, but I’m afraid that’s what is called for.

Baghdad: Cell involved in Wednesday's attacks captured

Some good news from Iraq and their security apparatus. Though a day late and a dollar short (and a few hundred lives unfortunately) it is good to see the response and its effectiveness.
H/T Iraq The Model

State owned al-Sabah reports that a special force of the ministry of interior captured 14 suspects believed to have been involved in the August 19 attacks in Baghdad that killed more than a hundred people. The confessions of the captured cell members lead to the bomb factory where the trucks used in the attacks were made. Inside the factory, which was in the Ghazaliyah district in northwestern Baghdad, another truck-bomb was found and disposed of. ...(more)

Obamacare 2.0 or Bait and Switch

Charles Krauthammer delivers a "Plan B" for Obamacare. As I have said before, no reasonable person will deny that we need some changes, but reasonable people can and do disagree on complete overhaul, deficit spending, and putting government in control of healthcare matters. Here's one such proposal:

"...Obamacare 2.0 -- promulgating draconian health-insurance regulation that prohibits (a) denying coverage for preexisting conditions, (b) dropping coverage if the client gets sick and (c) capping insurance company reimbursement.
What's not to like? If you have insurance, you'll never lose it. Nor will your children ever be denied coverage for preexisting conditions.

The regulated insurance companies will get two things in return. Government will impose an individual mandate that will force the purchase of health insurance on the millions of healthy young people who today forgo it. And government will subsidize all the others who are too poor to buy health insurance. The result? Two enormous new revenue streams created by government for the insurance companies.

Its not perfect but its another idea/option, something congress seems to be woefully short of these days.

but then Krauthammer then lets the other leather boot drop as it were:

"...Isn't there a catch? Of course, there is. Government-subsidized universal and virtually unlimited coverage will vastly compound already out-of-control government spending on health care. The financial and budgetary consequences will be catastrophic. And the only solution will be rationing. That's when the liberals will give the FCCCER regulatory power and give you end-of-life counseling. " (more here)

Christian vs. Public Education

I cannot recommend highly enough this article from the editors of Touchstone Magazine. It pulls no punches in pointing out the glaring problems of anti-Christian public education that no amount of rationalizing can make go away, while at the same time talking about how true, robust, Classical Christian education is the only education worth having.

This is a must read.

ABC, NBC Won't Air Ad Critical of Obama's Health Care Plan

So, if there was ever any doubt in your mind which way the media leans, this should put it to rest. It's unconscionable that anyone should be allowed to present an opposable view the Obama Administration.

Frankenstein?

It is indeed a slippery slope. Of course just because we have the knowledge to clone a person that doesn’t mean that we will, right. Create a person without a soul? I think of Daemon, Boys from Brazil, or Pet Cemetery…….

God has given us free will. With our research we have created a lot of good, but much wrong has come with it.

I found this article interesting. Scientist have determined and proven that they can take fertilized egg and genetically correct any genetic defects carried by the parents. This is accomplished by adding genetic material "mitochondria" from a third person. So....now the baby has three genetic parents?

Just because we can do it should we? After all, God made a mistake, so we should correct his mistake, right? If a child has the possibility of a genetic defect they are of no use, so instead of just aborting them and flushing them down the toilet, or tossing them in the sink until they die, now we can genetically engineer them so we can have the perfect child.