The Shepherd Report

Royal Roughage

2011-02-19T17:49:00.001-06:00

Michelle Antoinette, the queen of all deified fiber, or maybe that should be defiled fiber, cares about you and me and all the little children of the world. Oh yes, she does. After all, the "them" she's talking about is us. She knows we're too ignorant to feed ourselves properly, much provide proper noourishment for our children, so the First Lady is sacrificing herself by doing battle with the Big Chow corporations on our behalf. And remember, this is Michelle Antoinette's labor of love for she was not elected to any office in the land -- she ascended the thrown by marriage to the manchild-in-chief. Such great sacrifice on her part warms the cockles of me wee little heart, soul and thumping gizzard. Pass the fried chicken, please.

Politics in Tennessee. The Alfalfa Party Dinner, Feb. 17, 2011

2011-02-19T09:23:00.003-06:00

Yankees call us "hayseed" but we're genuine Alfalfa.

Politics can be a nasty business, we see that everyday,
but down here in Tennessee, we do things our own way.

Thanks, Lamar, for helping to make Tennessee a good place to live.

Elections Have Consequences

2010-11-01T16:40:00.006-05:00

We will not go quietly into that night.

Need A Reason To Vote?

2010-10-21T17:29:00.006-05:00

Well, for starters...

ObamaCare was written by a committee of Dems whose chairman says he doesn’t understand it.
The bill was passed by Congress who didn't read the bill but who knew enough to exempt themselves from it. Ever wonder about that?
The bill was signed into law by a president who also hadn’t read it -- and who himself sucks on cigarettes and Nicorette gum.
Funding for the bill will be administered by a Treasury Chief who didn’t pay his own taxes -- he said TurboTax was too complicated.
The bill will be administered and overseen by a Surgeon General who is moderately obese.
And, lastly, ObamaCare will be financed by a country that is broke -- broke -- and going through the worst recession in history.
Now, doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy about your healthcare?

There's more bad news -- oh, yes there is, but you get the idea.

Remembeing When Our President Was A Man

2010-09-11T05:23:00.035-05:00

Speech Delivered by President George W. Bush at National Cathedral on September 14, 2001:

"America is a nation full of good fortune, with so much to be grateful for, but we are not spared from suffering. In every generation, the world has produced enemies of human freedom, and they attacked America because we are freedom's home and defender, and the commitment of our Fathers is now the calling of our time."

President Bush was there for us when, with heavy hearts, distraught emotions and misty eyes, we desperately needed reassurance and hope -- a belief in our own abilities to survive as a nation and to continue on with our lives in the wake of the horrible events of 9-11. He did not let us down.

Our president manned up to the occasion (which wasn't a difficult stretch for him), and openly showed to us and to the watching world, his moral clarity and his personal abiding faith in God that guides his life. I shudder to think how disastrously different it would be if (or when) similar circumstances present themselves to us today.

Thank you, President Bush, and may God bless you.

ACTION REQUIRED NOW -- Senior Alert -- NO Social Security COLA -- Cost of Medicare Increasing Along with Cost of Prescription Medications

2009-10-08T16:28:00.009-05:00

Social Security recipients will NOT get a COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) next year – even though their health expenses are spiraling upward at an alarming rate.

It's up to Congress to make sure 41 million seniors get the help they NEED to make ends meet!

CLICK HERE to tell Congress to address this CRITICAL ISSUE NOW.

You don’t have to be a senior to make your voice heard on this issue. Are your parents seniors; your grandparents; your friends? Then, please, help them by clicking on one of the links below and contacting your representatives.

For the first time in 35 years, seniors will NOT receive their annual COLA (cost-of-living adjustment), the yearly increase that helps them make ends meet and keep up with rising prices.

This is a serious problem and unless Congress acts, millions of seniors will see their checks stay flat – or even reduced – while the costs of prescription drugs, food, utilities and health care continue to spiral upward.

AARP has prepared a letter to Congress and a very easy to use form -- CLICK HERE and use the AARP form letter to tell Congress to make sure that seniors get the help they deserve – and the Social Security relief they need.

The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation predicts there may not be any Social Security COLA for the next three years. However, the per-person monthly Medicare Insurance premium will be increased from the 2009 premium of $96.40 to $104.20 in 2010, and to $120.20 for the year 2011. This is in addition to any drug costs or any supplemental policy they are paying for.

And don't forget - CONGRESS GAVE THEMSELVES A BIG PAY RAISE THIS YEAR. They now make $174,000 a year, and RETIRE with up to 80% of that per year! All the while, many seniors rely on the help of tiny Social Security checks they’ve paid into all of their adult lives. Our seniors deserve better!

The CPI (consumer price index), the official measure of inflation, has not increased in this weak economy but the things seniors need most have continued to increase in price. The reality is that the bad economy has hit seniors particularly hard. They spend an average of $4,400 out of pocket every year on health care alone. With home values in serious decline, severe losses in the stock market, and almost flat returns on interest bearing accounts, it's no wonder that more Americans are counting on Social Security for a lifeline.

It's in tough economies like this that seniors need Social Security the most. We must demand that Washington address the problem of no COLA, cost of living adjustment, and provide at least modest relief for our seniors.

CLICK HERE to tell your members of Congress to act NOW to ensure that this is not the first year America's seniors don't get an automatic Social Security COLA.

I believe Congress can, and must, address this problem. I believe they will IF they hear from enough of WE, THE PEOPLE. It’s up to us to make sure that Social Security continues to deliver on its promise to our nation's seniors.

Here is the letter that AARP will send to your representatives in your name: (It's free and it's easy!)

I just heard that next year Social Security recipients will not see a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to their payments. That is a troubling thought for the 41 million seniors whose financial security depends on the program.

While overall inflation might not be rising in the United States, the daily costs for seniors are growing fast - especially on the things that seniors need most, such as health care and prescription drugs. The average senior spends $4,400 out of pocket every year on health care alone.

Further, a depressed housing market, investment losses, and low returns on CD's and money market accounts make it even harder for seniors to recover from the recession. Now is the worst time for a lack of a COLA for Social Security.

As your constituent, I would like you to work with your colleagues to ensure that seniors get the relief they need at this important time. Not only would this relief help seniors afford health care, prescription drugs, food and other basic necessities, but it will also inject money directly into the economy, because seniors are more likely to spend the money than any other age group.

Thank you in advance for your support on this important issue. Please act quickly to remedy this problem of no Social Security COLA.

Benjamin Netanyahu at the UN September 24, 2009

2009-09-24T19:49:00.013-05:00

America, Are You Paying Attention?

For many years I've admired Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I've followed his career, read his writings, and I've heard him deliver many speeches, but none so powerful as this.

President George W. Bush’s speech to the U.N. in September of 2002, challenged the world community to hold Saddam Hussein accountable for dozens of violations of international law. Today, Bibi Netanyahu challenged the world to stop Iran from acquiring weapons of genocide or risk losing all moral legitimacy. He threw down the gauntlet with Iran and with the world. There was no mistaking his words or his meaning.

He commended the nations whose leaders and diplomats boycotted or walked out of Ahmadinejad’s speech yesterday. He also shamed those who stayed.

To those UN leaders who gave the Iranian president a platform to spew his vile fanatical beliefs that the Holocause is a lie and that Israel must be wiped from the face of the earth, Netanyahu challenged their souls, "Have you no shame? Have you no decency?"

He showed the world original Nazi documents explaining the Holocaust -- documents that were given to him by the German government. He repeatedly asked the world leaders, “Are these a lie?”

He recalled that President Obama recently visited a Nazi death camp in Europe and asked whether Obama gave validation to “a lie.”

He strongly urged the world to stop Iran now -- stop them from getting the bomb, and he warned that failure to do so could lead to incalculable suffering.

He challenged the U.N. for its anti-Semitic and anti-Israel “Goldstone Commission” report. The report charges the Jewish state with war crimes for defending her people from eight years of 10,000-plus rockets and missiles raining down from Gaza.

He further challenged the U.N. to reject the commission’s report and thus side with Israel -- or accept the report and reward the Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

He asked how Israel could possibly take more risks for peace after the world condemned them for defending themselves from terror attacks -- attacks launched from the very land offered to the Palestinians in the name of peace.

President Bush’s speech led to a war with Iraq.

I suspect Prime Minister Netanyahu knows that war is likely coming with Iran. While I pray for a peaceful solution, I also know that all things must be fulfilled.

If Israel must go it alone — without the world’s help — Netanyahu will be on record as having clearly explained the issues and the stakes with honesty, with dignity, and with moral clarity. Churchill could not have done it better.

I've included the entire speech here because I truly believe it's well worth your time.

Part 1 of 4

Part 2 of 4

Part 3 of 4

Part 4 of 4

SENIOR ALERT -- SERIOUS MEDICARE CUTS Coming In SIX WEEKS!

2009-09-15T11:57:00.013-05:00

SENIOR ALERT!

MEDICARE CUTS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN JAN 1, 2010 FOR CARDIAC AND CANCER PATIENTS

REIMBURSEMENTS for CARDIOLOGISTS and ONCOLOGISTS are on the CHOPPING BLOCK in the NEXT SIX WEEKS

A reader alerted me to an article in today’s Memphis Commercial Appeal about Medicare cuts for cardiac and cancer patients that are getting little, if any, attention in the current hullabaloo over healthcare.

Dr. Arie Szalkowski, a cardiologist with the Stern Cardiovascular Center, writes:

“As the health care debate continues in Washington, lost in the controversy is a little-known change in Medicare policy that threatens efficient access to lifesaving medical services for millions of heart and cancer patients.

If enacted as scheduled on Jan. 1, 2010, policy changes recommended by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) -- the government's insurer for the elderly and disabled -- will severely cut current Medicare reimbursements to cardiologists and oncologists for critical care services that are provided to patients in physicians' offices or other out-of-hospital setting, such as chemotherapy to treat cancer, and various cardiac procedures to monitor and treat heart disease, such as nuclear imaging and heart catheterization.

These cuts will force cardiologists and oncologists to limit care to their Medicare patients, withdraw from treating Medicare patients altogether or require their patients to pay more out of pocket to make up the difference in the cost of these services.

Unless these proposed changes are rescinded, current and future cardiac and cancer care patients will suffer the consequences, especially in rural areas where the proportion of Medicare patients is exceptionally high and patients have fewer choices of health care providers.

The changes certainly will force the closing of outreach clinics in rural areas, leaving many people without easily accessible cardiac or cancer care. They will be forced to travel to hospitals, sometimes long distances from home, and to wait for hours, if not days and weeks, for the tests and services they need.

It is difficult to think of the emotional, physical and financial burden this will place on people already suffering from heart disease and cancer.

Yet the policymakers at CMS, who base their decisions on numbers and statistics, are unilaterally and dramatically changing the delivery of heart and cancer care by proclaiming that care for heart disease and cancer is too costly, while treatment for other diseases has greater value.

Such decisions are based on flawed and incomplete data. They disregard the fact that heart disease and cancer kill more Americans than any other disease, and that advances in heart and cancer care have led to a 25 percent reduction in deaths due to heart disease during the past decade, and a marked increase in survival of cancer.

With the U.S. population aging, along with an expected rise in the number of cases of heart disease and cancer, the ability to manage these diseases in a cost-effective manner while maintaining a high standard of care through the use of advanced therapies and tests will be critical for prolonged life. Studies have proved that people with heart failure have better outcomes when their illness is managed by cardiologists in an outpatient setting. Yet the changes proposed by those who run Medicare will disrupt much of the progress we have made.

Many oncologists and cardiologists -- myself included -- in Memphis and the Mid-South and throughout the nation, are faced with this difficult dilemma: How can we afford to treat our Medicare patients when the proposed Medicare reimbursements in some cases are less than the cost of providing medical services? As with all businesses today, the costs of running medical practices have increased.

While these changes will have serious financial impact on medical practices, they also will erode a doctor's ability to provide patients with the very best quality of care that has proved to be cost-effective and beneficial. They will erode a doctor's ability to provide the same level of care for people who live far away from medical centers such as Memphis. And they will lessen a doctor's ability to be the primary advocate for his patients, as opposed to a group of hospital administrators, bureaucrats and lawyers.

At this point, the proposed CMS policy changes remain just that: proposed changes. During the next six weeks, CMS officials will be reviewing them, and they'll likely be enacted unless the people most seriously affected -- patients and the doctors who care for them -- contact CMS officials and their congressional representatives to protest these proposed changes.

Otherwise, the day is coming when Medicare patients -- often the most vulnerable in our society -- will wake up and realize they no longer have access to the timely and often urgent medical care they need.”

The entire article can be found here.

Dr. Arie Szatkowski is a cardiologist with The Stern Cardiovascular Center in Memphis.

***** ***** ***** *****

More on the ObamaCare debacle as Megyn Kelly interviews Dr. James Klemis, interventional cardiologist and Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Tennessee, August 21, 2009:

9 - 11 - 2001 Remembered

2009-09-10T23:30:00.009-05:00

May we never forget what happened on this date. May we never allow anyone to put some insane spin on what happened or attempt to dumb down our sensitivities or our emotions that resulted from that terrorist act. May the passage of time not lead us into apathy. May we never forget the horror, the shock, the terror, the pain, the grief, and the subsequent anger.

May we always be aware that a huge part of the battle against Islamic fascism is being fought in the hearts and minds of men and women in America as well as around the world. May we stand fast in the face of such wickedness and duplicity of our enemies at home and abroad. May we continue to search them out and destroy them wherever they hide.

May we always live in such a way as to be a shinning example for other nations so they can see the fruits of freedom and democracy. May our lives always reflect our belief in God and our Christian faith.

Almighty God, grant us the strength of will to do these things, for then we will prevail; however, if our faith is lacking or our will is weak, we will die and our children will live out their earthly lives in subjugation to tyrannical leaders.

The facts are clear -- America was brutally attacked by Islamic terrorists and it was a declaration of war against our way of life. They are still out there, as well as within our own borders -- spiritual wickedness in high places -- and they still hate us. Are we paying attention?

May God help us.

Thanks For The Honesty, Joe Wilson

2009-09-10T14:42:00.009-05:00

Obama's Speech To Congress

The subject was healthcare, and as I had anticipated, Obama didn’t say anything new. The slick Chicago politician was selling snake oil and only the usual Kool-Aid drinkers were buying. The speech was too long on rhetoric and totally out of touch with reality unless one ascribes to the economic policies of the Tooth Fairy.

Lies and fairy tales were in abundance. The President stated, “Healthcare reform will only impact five percent of the population.” And when he got to,“While there remain some significant details to be ironed out," we were treated to something unique in recent joint Congressional speech history – a roar of laughter at the President from the Republican side of the chamber. It was honest laughter and it seemed appropriate.

Pelosi and Biden, seated behind Obama, were not amused. Biden smirked. Pelosi wanted to gavel something. It was a good moment -- too bad they didn’t get it.

Perhaps it was Obama’s audacity that then made him call for bipartisan support after calling his opponents liars. Audacity or no, you don't win your adversaries over to your side by lobbing loaded zingers at them. There was nothing unifying about our Dear Leader, only partisan arrogance.

The President said that no illegal immigrants would have healthcare, prompting the most honest moment of the night when Joe Wilson, a Republican Congressman from South Carolina yelled out, “You lie!”

Yes, it was inappropriate to yell out like that in the Senate Chamber, but after all, it's what the rest of us were thinking.

Obama's Only Shovel-Ready Project

2009-09-01T14:31:00.007-05:00

HT Mark Alexander

Random Thoughts On Ted Kennedy

2009-08-27T16:24:00.020-05:00

When did it began, this long slide into a generalized acceptance of serious character flaws in those who put themselves forth to be our leaders? For me, I think it began with a car plunging off a bridge on a dark Massachusetts night in 1969. I remember recoiling in horror at the news that a lovely young woman, a campaign worker, had been left alone to die in the blackened waters of the night -- with no attempted rescue and the entire incident unreported and unmentioned to anyone for 10 hours.

For my generation, that first public tolerance of a major character failure in a person in a position of leadership seemed to set us on a downward spiral. It shored us up and provided a willingness to accept a story that seemed so unashamedly false -– to make it true, simply because so many wished it so. And it seemed that many did indeed wish it so.

I think many of the Boomers like to hear the lie; they believe that as long as the lie is predominant, it is, essentially, the truth. They have made it acceptable to excuse deviant, dishonorable behavior with a shrug and a “well, we all make mistakes,” as long as the dishonor is perpetrated by the right sort of person. And after all, this was Senator Ted Kennedy, and, during the administration of his brother, the country had been treated to Camelot.

Absolution, it seems, is no longer granted through a personal relationship with the One seated at the right hand of God; but rather, from the politicians on the left. Or so they want us to believe.

I remember watching Kennedy make a statement on television news; his voice quivering, he stated that his family seemed to be under some terrible curse. After all, there had been the assassination of JFK, the 1968 assassination of RFK; Joe, the eldest brother had been killed in the war; Kathleen was killed in an airplane crash; and Rosemary had been institutionalized after a lobotomy. The litany of Kennedy family tragedies was as long as the briefness of Teddy’s reason for not rescuing Mary Jo Kopechne that dreadful night in 1969.

Kennedy's time in the Senate was legendary. He was the Liberal Lion; an icon, but one who was willing to deal across the aisle to get the legislation he wanted. Serving for 46 years, he was the 3rd longest serving Senator in U.S. history -- behind only Senators Robert Byrd and Strom Thurmond. But as Chevy Chase quipped so many years ago, "Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment."

It was in May of 2008 when Kennedy was given the grim diagnosis of a brain tumor, malignant glioma, that carried a prognosis of almost certain death. But Ted Kennedy didn’t have ObamaCare –- he had KennedyCare; and with that, the best care available, Kennedy was able to see another Christmas, another spring, and even another summer and into early fall.

If Kennedy had been covered by ObamaCare, this obese 77 year-old with a liking for strong whiskey would probably have faced rationing of care, or more likely, denial of treatment, and an offer of suicide counseling, death panels or whatever they’re calling it these days.

Kennedy’s death emphasizes yet again that our elected officials enjoy one of the best health insurance plans in the world -- courtesy of the American taxpayer. The irony is their concerted effort to force a much less adequate, and much less life-affirming plan onto us, their constituents –- the very people they are sworn to serve. There is a lesson here for those willing to see it.

As for the Boomers and their view of the tolerant lie, one need look no further than the Oval Office.

As for Kennedy's absolution, it is my sincere hope that this man did indeed turn to Jesus Christ, and Christ alone for the forgiveness of his sins. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12 KJV)

It's strange in a way -- it feels like an ending to 1969. Finally.

Call the BLUE DOGS

2009-08-20T16:21:00.006-05:00

We the people -- average American citizens -- yes, you and me; we are exercising our right of free speech and we are being heard. But we cannot stop now. Keep emailing -- click on the Capitol Building at the top of my sidebar to get the email address of your representatives and bombard them. Go to your Town Hall meetings and speak out.

And melt the phones. The Congress is on vacation but they will get your message. Most of us can make long distance calls at no extra charge these days so, to make it as easy as I can for you, here’s my BLUE DOG call list. Tell them we do not want Obama's government health care – we don't want it by any other name – nor in any shape or form.

Seniors, there is much to lose under Obama -– demand that they do not make any cuts to Medicare. America's senior citizens cannot afford to lose this round.

I’m doing all I can. Will you?

Jason Altmire (PA) (202) 225-2565
Mike Arcuri (NY) (202) 225-3665
Baron Hill (D-Ind.) (202) 225-5315
John Barrow (GA) (202) 225-2823
John Boccieri (OH) (202) 225-3876
Dan Boren (OK) (202) 225-2701
Allen Boyd (FL) (202) 225-5235
Bruce Bradley (IA) (202) 225-2911
Bobby Bright (AL) (202) 225-2901
Kathy Castor (FL) (202) 225-3376
Jim Clyburn (SC) (202) 225-3315
Gerry Connolly (VA) (202) 225-1492
Jim Cooper (TN) (202) 225-4311
Lincoln Davis (TN) (202) 225-6831
Bart Gordon (TN) (202) 225-4231
John Hall (NY) (202) 225-5441
Martin Heinrich (NM) (202) 225-6316
Baron Hill (IN) (202) 225-5315
Mary Jo Kilroy (OH) (202) 225-2015
Ron Kind (WI) (202) 225-5506
Dave Loebsack (IA) (202) 225-6576
Nita Lowey (NY) (202) 225-6506
Betsy Markey (CO) (202) 225-4676
Jim Marshall (GA) (202) 225-6531
Eric Massa (NY) (202) 225-3161
Jim Matheson (UT) (202) 225-3011
Mike McMahon (NY) (202) 225-3371
Charlie Melancon ( LA) (202) 225-4031
Michael Michaud (ME) (202) 225-6306
Scott Murphy (NY) (202) 225-5614
Colin Peterson (MN) (202) 225-2165
Jared Polis (CO) -(202) 2252161
Earl Pomeroy (ND) (202) 225-2611
Mike Ross (AR) (202) 225-3772
Tim Ryan (OH) (202) 225-5261
Herseth-Sandlin (SD) (202) 225-2801
Adam Shiff (CA) (202) 225-4176
Heath Shuler (NC) (202) 225-6401
Zack Space (OH) (202) 225-6265
Bart Stupak (MI) (202) 225-4735
John Tanner (TN) (202) 225-4714
Gene Taylor (MS) (202) 225-5772
Harry Teague (NM) (202) 225-2365
Dina Titus (NV) (202) 225-3252
Tim Walz (MN) (202) 225-2472

Call them all. Speak out. Please don’t sit idly by and let Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Emmanuel, etc. ram this Bill down our throats. The blue dogs can swing it in our favor.

If we do nothing, then we will deserve the mausoleum of medical horrors they have in store for us. It's truly a matter of life and death -- ours.

Tennessee's 7th District Town Hall Meetings To Be Held Saturday

2009-08-14T12:24:00.010-05:00

I received an email from my representative, Marsha Blackburn (R), Tennessee's Congressman for the 7th Congressional District, saying she will be holding additional Town Hall meetings this Saturday (tomorrow) across the 7th District. Make your plans to attend, meet Marsha, and enjoy spirited conversation with one of the "good guys" in Washington.

Hickman County
8:45 am - 9:30 am CDT
The Country Kitchen
9628 Highway 46, Bon Aqua, TN 37025

Perry County
10:30 am - 11:15 am CDT
The Commodore Hotel
114 East Main Street, Linden, TN 37096

Decatur County
11:45 am - 12:30 pm CDT
Parsons Municipal Building
535 Tennessee Ave South, Parsons, TN 38363

Wayne County
1:45 pm - 2:30 pm CDT
Emerald's Restaurant
122 Public Square, Waynesboro, TN 38485

Hardin County
3:00 pm - 3:45 pm CDT
Uptown Restaurant
390 Main St, Savannah, TN 38372

If you live in the 7th District and are unfamiliar with Marsha's stand on government-run healthcare, you can read her position here.

Obama's Stellar IQ Is Showing

2009-08-12T10:48:00.005-05:00

Never mind that the great orator seems to be having trouble completing a simple sentence without saying “uh” a few times. More importantly, listen as our Community Organizer in Chief uses his stellar IQ to promote his government-run ObamaCare:

“If you think about… If you... if you think about it... uh, ya know, UPS and FedEx are doin’ just fine. A’ight? The, uh... no, they are. I mean... it’s... it’s the post office that’s always havin’ problems.”

WOW! I'm impressed! Does this mean Obama finally gets it? At long last, does he realize it's always private sector businesses that are “doing just fine“ while government-run businesses are the ones “always havin’ problems“?

Oh, if only...

Someone needs to tell the genius this comparison is probably not the best analogy he could use -- even in a pre-selected house of friendly faces.

*******

I'll be taking the rest of the day for phone calling and emailing congressmen and senators -- mine and others, for the umpteenth time. But it's important! My new motto for the present time: Have you contacted your representative today?

Did The President Tell Us To Shut Up?

2009-08-10T09:24:00.010-05:00

Obama may need to be reminded that he is the president of all the people, not just the ones who agree with him. He's basically telling over half the nation to shut up and fall in line:

INDEED! Obama and his White House are, to put it mildly, being extremely irresponsible with their marching orders to “punch back twice as hard.” Imagine if George W. Bush has said that about move-on dot org or the Code Pink rallies. And what about the White House’s blatant authoritarianism on snitching -- “tell us about dissent in casual conversation”?

I can't help but wonder –- is our president deliberately baiting us? Is he purposely trying to cause turmoil among the people? It would not be the first time he’s used diversionary tactics to distract our attention away from a particular agenda. And make no mistake, this president has an agenda. We always have to watch both of this president's hands. The hand he is showing us is never the hand he is actively using to push something over on us.

That leads me to one of two possible conclusions. Either Obama is the most stupid and totally incompetent president in the history of our country, or he’s the most tyrannically-disposed, agenda-driven socialist ever to hold the office. And, hmmm… Barack Hussein Obama is most definitely not stupid.

The President of the United States is redefining arrogance. If he and his cronies are allowed to continue, he will redefine us all the way into AmeriKa.

*******

Very much worth your time is this photo essay, Nancy and the Astroturfers. With Sebelius telling the unions to keep doing what they’re doing, and Nancy Pelosi calling the protesters Astroturf with swastikas, you can see for yourself who is being “organized by powerful interest groups” (and community organizers) and who are the grassroots protesters. Notice these are actual photos. Note the signs and dress of the participants.

Some captions from this must-see photo essay of Nancy and the Astroturfers:

“…an organizer from Organizing for America, which is the successor organization to Obama for America, which was Obama’s campaign organization. The organizer is demonstrating the use of a bullhorn to a man who appears totally unfamiliar with its use. For a grassroots campaign, this sure is organized! . . . This is the first time in my life that I can recall a government in North America organizing protests of one group of citizens against another. This is standard operating procedure in countries with left-wing governments.”

“This clinic is adjacent to Denver’s day laborer pickup street, Park Avenue. Being fluent in Spanish, El Marco asked these guys “¿hablan ingles?” “casi nada” was the reply from our amigo on the left. I asked him if he could tell me what the signs said. “¿Quien sabe?” (who knows?) was all he said to me, with a big grin. I’m kicking myself for not asking them how much they were getting paid to support the grassroots.”

“My organizer called me.” I said “You’re kidding.” She said, “No, look: he’s right there -pointing to the guy with the bullhorn – he’s from Organizing for America.” At this point, a number of the astroturfers departed, including Laura. She told me that transportation was waiting to take them to Nancy Pelosi’s next event at Highlands Ranch.”

What unconscionable dishonesty from Nancy “I think they’re astroturf” Pelosi. Everything she and her party says they hate, they are. Everything they accuse the opposition of doing, they do.

This is sick, demented, dishonest, disingenuous, insulting and so very, very troubling. Remember Obama’s campaign command for his troops to “get in their faces”? Well, it’s happening today – this week-end, in townhall meetings all across the country. We are witnessing the fight to change us into AmeriKa. And the deck is stacked against us.

*******

"The intellectual establishment is so busy demanding more power for government, more bureaucracy, regulation, spending and -- oh, yes -- more and more taxes, they forgot all about the secret of America's success -- opportunity for people, for all the people. ... Will we heed the pessimists' agenda of higher taxes, more bureaucracy, and a bigger welfare state leading us right back to runaway inflation and economic decay, or will we take the road toward a true opportunity society of economic growth, more jobs, lower tax rates, and rising take-home pay?"
~~ Ronald Reagan ~~

*******

If you're still confused about government health care, stimulus, bailouts, and the coming tsunami of taxes and regulations, there is one simple thing to think about:Never, never, never give the government more power than they already have. "You need blood and He's got more than enough" is never, ever a good idea. You're always next.

*******

And then there's this, from a reader:

A mom in Alabama was involved in organizing a Tea Party and she asked her high school age son if he could help with a commercial she needed to make. Here is the note she wrote:

“I asked Justin if he could help me make a commercial for my group’s Tea Party. He sat down at the laptop for about an hour, and then brought this to me and asked, ‘Is this okay, Mom?’ After I finished watching it, my stomach was in my throat. I wanted my friends to see it. I am so proud!”

You have every right to be proud. It’s very impressive – a powerful video. Turn your sound on and enjoy!

Thanks to Alabama Mom and son, Justin. Job well done!

Sebelius To Thugs, "Continue What You're Doing"

2009-08-08T18:56:00.013-05:00

WARNING: This video contains offensive language and physical violence, so consider yourself warned. I post it here because it is important. This is thuggery and it is happening right now in our country, apparently with the approval of government leaders, HHS's Kathleen Sebelius and the White House.

The video contains a vicious attack on a man in St. Louis who was peacefully selling buttons and flags saying, “Don’t Tread on Me.” Kenneth Gladney, an African-American, said he was punched, hit and "roughed up" by another black man wearing an SEIU tee shirt. Gladney said the man yelled at him, demanding to know, "What kind of n***** are you?"

Gladney was treated for his injuries at a hospital and later released. "It just seems there's no freedom of speech without being attacked," he said.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held a conference call to the SEIU, during which she greeted her union with, “Brothers and Sisters,” and said “keep doing what you’re doing!”

I'm shocked and sickened. Isn't this Chicago-style thuggery?

It's now very clear to me -- if you oppose Obamacare, you’re a bad person. And if you’re a bad person, you can be labeled anything by the left. If you protest this president’s policies and the way he and his minions are attempting to suppress our right to dissent, then you are a racist. And if you suggest that Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy Pelosi are pompom waving cheerleaders for an organized movement you will probably be labeled a sexist! Well, I guess I'm three for three, so far.

My previous post generated a slew of email and I appreciate each one, and I'm almost finished answering them. I'm even grateful for the dissenters -- even from a reader who said I was not a Christian because I don’t like the policies and practices of our president. Okay. That's his opinion and he's certainly entitled to it -- I'll even defend his right to dissent. No problem from me. I definitely know I am a born again Christian, and I don’t mince words about it. I don't trust President Obama and his left-wing liberals and I don't mince my words about them either. Perhaps I lack nuance or something, but that's the way I am and it will take more than ugly words to ruffle this ol' guard dog.

In fact, I can hardly wait for some gay/lesbian/transgendered community organizer, astroturf-participant or member of congress to wade in with an accusation that my opposition to Obamacare is somehow opposition to gender-tolerance, so I can be called a homophobe, too. Maybe I'll win the Racist/Sexist/Homophobe Trifecta of Nasty Name Calling and Libelous Labeling. That should be a trophy worthy of note.

Back to the video. These people are thugs -- creepy and disgusting people who use evil means to accomplish their ends. And if you don’t like that -- if you think I’m a biased Christian for calling a spade a spade and not a shovel, well I feel absolutely no need to confess anything more than my contempt for what is going on in this country under the guise of false hope and nefariously dishonest change by those busy-body progressives who carry their liberal disease in and out of the shadows like a horde of wide-ranging cockroaches.

So, there you have it. You should probably flag me to the government -- rat me out to the White House -- tell them I'm distributing fishy information. Make it personal -- call me fishy, if it makes you happy. And go ahead and wag your finger and tell me how disappointed you are in me.

I confess I will be more than disappointed in you. But you know what? Disagree as much as we may, you'll always be safe with me because I’ll never rat you out or thug you up.

Seniors, AARP is NOT looking out for YOU!

2009-07-29T20:30:00.026-05:00

SENIOR CITIZEN ALERT!

SENIOR ALERT! Here is a chilling conversation with Betsy McCaughey and Fred Thompson about Obama's Federal Government Health Care, aka ObamaCare. This is particularly frightening for senior citizens.

In the ObamaCare Bill, on Page 425, it states the Federal Government will require all senior citizens to undergo a Counseling Session at 5 year intervals -- the objective being to explain how seniors can end their own lives. In brief, all seniors will be given SUICIDE COUNSELING.

Listen if you dare. But listen, you must:

Chilling, isn't it?

Listen to Betsy McCaughey's 2nd visit with Fred:

Why does AARP fail to call attention to this? Where are the voices of one of the largest blocks of voters in the country?

I recognize euthanasia, like abortion, as part of the signs of the end times, but I guess I'm still in shock over finding this one actually included in the Bill and no watchdog groups are sounding the alarm.

As one of my dearest former pastors, Dr. Adrian Rogers used to say, "It's getting dark, friend -- gloriously dark."

*******

Now, on to AARP's Townhall with Obama:

I sat in on Obama's townhall meeting with AARP yesterday, and it wasn't easy to stay awake. Boring. Nothing new from Obama and no tough questions from anyone representing AARP. And, not one single question about Page 425. It was the usual stump speech: You can keep your own doctor... you can keep your own insurance... you can keep your own prunes -- whatever. Just lies, more lies and damned lies.

Obama told lies about how the government plans to deliver more for less, to cover most of the 46 million uninsured Americans while lowering premiums, limiting out-of-pocket expenses and requiring insurance companies to cover preventive care. He lied about a lot of people getting more without anyone getting less, and he lied when he said that two-thirds of the cost of covering everyone in America can be paid for “by money that is already in the health-care system.” He lied again when he said he favors a public option to increase competition and keep costs down, and that he “will not sign a health-care bill that is not deficit neutral” and one that doesn’t lower health-care inflation over the long term. Those aren’t just lies, my friends, those are damned lies.

And judging from the articles on their website and their mailouts and calls to members, AARP is supporting Obama and his lies, and by throwing their support to Obama's government-run healthcare plan, AARP is definitely not acting in the best interest of America's seniors. Instead, AARP, with its massive membership rolls (and accompanying membership fees) has become a powerful political action committee (PAC) that brokers all kinds of insurance to seniors nationwide -- bypassing the constraint of state lines. But there's more.

AARP is a business and my guess is they are being cut in on the insurance for the Obama Plan; thus, they will have a vested interest in helping the Government Health Care Plan succeed. Their primary interest is the P&L -- Profit & Loss -- and their share of ObamaCare will supercharge their profits into the stratosphere.

I repeat, AARP is a business. AARP is not looking out for the best interest of senior citizens. Lest we forget, the Eskimos had an efficient way of managing senior healthcare -- they simply sent the elderly out to sea in an old canoe or on an ice floe. It wasn't exactly the Caribbean cruise Gramma and Grampa envisioned for their golden years, but it accomplished its intended purpose "for the greater good."

For all seniors who are confused about who to listen to regarding health issues, it is definitely not AARP. Once again, it's the usual caveat emptor.

Obama Gump

2009-07-27T21:22:00.010-05:00

Presidents can be like a box of chocolates -- you never know what you're going to get.

Obama said Professor Gates is a close friend. A little research on Gates turns up a history of repeated shilling while lecturing students and others. So I have to wonder, does Obama have any close friends who are not race-baiting, anti-white, America-haters?

At least Obama knows "stupidly," even though he obviously doesn't recognize it in himself or in his friend. And obviously, he doesn't exercise good judgment in fielding unscripted questions or he wouldn't have embroiled himself into this mess of pottage. Telling, isn't it?

The President does not owe Sargent Crowley a beer, he owes him a full public apology. Will Obama man-up and do the right thing? Hmmm... My bet is NO. He isn't man enough to apologize to a white policeman. In spite of the rhetoric, the arrogant chip on the president's shoulder is showing.

Victor David Hanson wrote in The National Review, "In the jargon of postmodernism, the president asserted one racial narrative as truth, while most of multiracial America accepted quite another: that Professor’s Gates’s contacts and friendships gave him privileged treatment not accorded to others who scream and blow up at policemen, and that minority males are indeed tragically disproportionately stopped by police because they also, tragically, are more likely to commit felonies. The president’s ossified remark ignored real efforts on the part of police departments to hire African-American officers and chiefs, engage community leaders, and train police in racial sensitivity — all the while dealing with the fact that African-American males commit violent felonies in numbers that vastly exceed their presence in the general population.

None of us gets a pass once we evoke racial identity, not even the president of the United States, not even one of mixed racial heritage. Once we go down that road of racial self-aggrandizement, of seeing each other not by the content of our characters, but by the color of our skins, we invite nemesis — and there will be retribution. Because Barack Obama has consistently emphasized racial identity to further his own advantage, I fear others, both black and white, will be emboldened to follow his polarizing lead — in ways both novel and far more pernicious. We once trusted our uniquely qualified president to help lead us out of our racial morass, but so far he has only pushed us far deeper into it."

I AM AMERICA -- UPDATED

2009-07-04T12:39:00.026-05:00

UPDATED. ... I am America. Yes, I am the land you stand on. I am the beautiful amber fields of grain. I am the purple mountain majesty you sing about from sea to shining sea. I am the country to which you pledge your allegiance and for which you fought in battle. I am the way of life for which so many of my citizens have laid down their lives in battlefields near and far.

Since my founding, I have always been the land of the free and the home of the brave, but I am changing and my freedoms are fading fast. Once again, as your forefathers did in 1776, Americans will have to choose between freedom and oppression. I tell you truthfully that tyranny is not far from overtaking us all.

I have a magnificent history, for I was thoughtfully and wisely founded upon three fundamental documents: The Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Taken together, these documents form the basis of all my principles, my laws and my heritage.

To destroy these is to destroy all the greatness that I posses, but that is exactly what has been happening.

The destruction of my founding principles can be directly traced to my people’s willful rejection of the Bible as their only source of divine authority. They have expelled God and the Bible from my schools, from my political process, my commerce, from the public square, and from the very way of life I have always provided.

The Declaration of Independence states, "All [men] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It further states that these rights are "self evident" and that they constitute the "Laws of Nature." Did you know these principles are taken directly from the Bible?

The Law of Nature can be found in Romans 2:14-16. That our Creator is the Author of life can be found in Genesis 2:7. That God, not government, is the grantor of liberty can be found in Galatians 5:1. Pursuit of happiness can be found in Ecclesiastes 3:13.

Beyond that, virtually every one of the ten Articles contained in the Bill of Rights has Biblical foundation. The First Amendment recognizes and guarantees the natural right of freedom of speech, the freedom of religion and assembly. Christians are clearly given divine instruction regarding each of these responsibilities. Our founding documents properly established a government designed to "secure these rights." Therefore, under the First Amendment, Christians are free to preach the Gospel and to assemble for worship – any religion of their choice, or none at all. It is the freedom to do so that is a protected Right.

Likewise, the Second Amendment has Biblical foundation. Our Lord said in Luke 11:21, "When a strong man armed his palace, his goods are in peace." In Luke 22:35, 36, He said, "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."

The Fourth Amendment comes from Deuteronomy 24:10, 11, and the Eighth Amendment originates in Deuteronomy 15: 2, 3. Again, these principles are self evident truths which come from "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God."

Even America's constitutional form of government of three co-equal branches – the legislative, the executive and the judicial come from Isaiah 33:22. Therefore, when my citizens, especially Christian citizens, allow their elected representatives to ignore or violate these founding documents, they are, in essence, allowing them to destroy the very basic underpinnings of my once-great country.

I, as the United States of America, have my roots solidly founded in Protestant Christianity. This is indisputable. But that is not to say that all of my original founders were born-again believers, for some were not. However, all of them, including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, held the Christian faith to be superior to all others and they understood and agreed that I am a distinctively Christian nation.

Biblical laws and principles formed the cornerstone of my entire system of government and I can never lose my liberty and independence as long as my citizens hold an allegiance to Christian ideology. One does not have to be a practicing Christian to appreciate the primacy and importance of my deeply rooted Christian heritage.

James Madison understood this when he wrote in A Memorial and Remonstrance, 1785, "It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage, and such only as he believes to be acceptable to him. This duty is precedent both in order of time and degree of obligation, to the claims of Civil Society. Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe."

My Christian citizens must demand that their elected leaders actually govern like Christians. They must hold their political leaders accountable to the laws and principles contained in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Those who would lead must be held accountable for knowing the application as well as the spirit of these documents, for their original intent was never to protect and grow the size or the power of government, but rather, to protect the citizens from their government. Are you beginning to see where things are getting turned upside down?

Many of my elected leaders are flagrantly violating these principles and destroying my republic. Many of my citizens have never read or studied these documents. They do not know what they say or what they are really about. My citizens have been dumbed down through a politicized and substandard educational system based on revisionist history, pop culture, secular humanism, and political correctness, rather than on truth. They know more about their favorite celebrities than they do about the real life drama playing out daily in D.C. that directly affects each of their lives.

Ronald Reagan, in his Farewell Address wisely warned, “If we forget what we have done, we will forget who we are.” Sadly, many of my people have no understanding of who they are.

To compound their ignorance into apathy, my citizen’s once strong faith in God is being destroyed by their own churches and religious leaders. Multiple denominations are, for a large part, little more than houses of entertainment -- Sunday circuses to entertain and make the people feel better about themselves. In many churches today, there is no right or wrong; there is no more sin -- only mistakes of the mind or heart. Rare it is to find a preacher who stands uncompromisingly on the infallibility of the Bible as God’s Holy Word and boldly proclaims, “Thus saith the Lord...” to a lost and dying world.

*******

Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

It’s time to face facts, my dear citizens -- freedom, as envisioned by my Founding Fathers, is dying. I am fast becoming a land of evil hybrids born of atheism, ecumenical Christianity, fascism, socialism, secular progressivism and international capitalism. For 233 years I have stood tall as the world’s greatest bastion of freedom but now I’m speeding toward socialism at a frightening pace.

Obama is moving too fast -- consider the damage he has done in only six months in office. The multiple high-profile bailouts show the walls between government and the private sector are crumbling. Federal government intervention now extends into our financial markets, real estate, private businesses, public corporations, and education. The issue of health care is in the works now, and its outcome is certain to be a disaster for my people. And furthermore, as out-of-control government spending and massive debt increase accordingly, I am rapidly being drained of the economic and political strength my people have worked so hard to achieve and preserve for future generations. Simply stated, Obama is bankrupting America. If this is allowed to continue, it will be the end of me – the end of a bountiful land of plenty, the end of a land of limitless prosperity, the end of freedom.

The current obsession with multiculturalism will bring the end of America's future independence. While I am proud that people of all races and faiths are afforded asylum and freedom here, my people cannot lose their distinctively Christian faith without sacrificing their very existence, for that is the cornerstone upon which America was built.

An example of this truth is Barack Obama, the man who now rules my citizens as their president. He came out from me but he is not of me. He did not spend the majority of his youth growing up in any of my cities or small towns. Though he was born in Hawaii, he moved frequently throughout Indonesia and Asia. He did not learn of my ways because he was never a part of me in his formative years. While he was taught a liberal version of my history, he knows nothing of my innermost heart and my character or of the true spirit of Americana – that indefinable quality that makes my people unique. No, Barack Obama is a stranger to the American way of life – an interloper who returned to my shores to receive his higher education in one of my prestigious, liberal universities. He is a charismatic and charming young man but he has no deep-seated love for me. He is a social reformer with an agenda, and a shallow one at that. In his heart, I am not his country.

He has no pride in being an American. As president, he's traveled the world making apologies for what I am and for the actions I’ve taken. Not once did he speak publicly of any of the great good I have done for the world. Obama loathes all that I stand for and he is out to bring me to my knees, all the while, claiming it's not about him; rather, he claims he is fixing all that's wrong with the American way of life. And, he is not prone to let truth get in the way of making a persuasive argument. Behold, the snake oil salesman with his lies and corruption!

Behind his facade of cool, Obama is an angry American. He spent twenty years as an active member of a church where black liberation theology was routinely preached, yet he claimed he did not hear it. He speaks well, my citizens, but he does not speak truth. As a young man, his friends were American dissidents and radical malcontents of the Marxist-Leninist variety and their influence is obvious in his life today.

And, my dear citizens, the saddest part of all is that he was elected by you – those of you who call yourselves Americans and yet you hate the very things I have always stood for; those of you who voted for change but did not properly inform yourselves as to what that change would be; those of you who voted for Obama because he is a black man -- you voted for race and color of skin rather than for the content of character to which Martin Luther King taught us all to aspire.

As in 1776, Americans must once again choose between liberty and tyranny. Please pray for your country as you’ve never prayed before. Inform yourself of the issues that concern all citizens and then demand that your representatives return to my founding principles.

You may have to fight for me once again and the price may be high. It’s been high before and there were always brave men and women who stepped forward to pay it. The big question now is, will you? Will you fight -- will you pay any price to preserve American freedom for yourselves, your children and your grandchildren?

To those who do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the future is certainly dark; however, to those who know Him, He said, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your head for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:28)

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Can You See the Difference?

2009-06-23T16:19:00.008-05:00

One Of These Things Is Not Like the Others.

My discerning readers will quickly see far beyond the tasks being performed. They will see directly into the differing personal ideologies, strength of character and the moral and visceral fortitude of the three men in these photos. Telling, isn't it?

This is not to say that real men don't hang curtains -- they certainly do when they are needed. But real men do so much more -- they are physical, they work and sweat for the sheer satisfaction of accomplishing something worthwhile. They don't mind getting their hands dirty, or their clothes -- or their faces, for that matter. It's a manly thing and they take it all in stride.

Perhaps Obama has gotten a little sweaty on a basketball court. Great, I hope he has. Now, let's see him cut down a tree. cut it into manageable lengths, carry it to its destination, split and arrange it into usable stacks of firewood.

That would be an episode of genuine Americana I would gladly pay to watch.

HT -- Picture liberated from Mark Alexander at patriotpost.us

The Truth of the Iranian Massacre of 1979

2009-06-20T18:48:00.007-05:00

Watch this video only if you really want to know the TRUTH about how Iran got to be where it is today. (History only in part, of course):

The Shah may have been a bum, but he was OUR bum and it was in OUR best interests to support his government and not let it fall; thereby preventing the take-over by the evil theocracy that has ruled the people with such an iron fist all these years since.

This present crisis in Iran began with an election between two primary candidates who are evil, murderous men with innocent blood on their hands. Both of whom are under the dictates of the Supreme Leader. But has the crisis now evolved into something more, much more? Is this now about freedom versus tyranny?

America must provide strong verbal and moral support for the efforts of the Iranian people who are fighting in the streets for their freedom. To do anything less would be equivalent to supporting the tyranny that most surely will continue to hold them captive.

ObamaCare Draft Leaked

2009-06-08T17:45:00.006-05:00

Keith Hennessey, former senior economic advisor to President George W. Bush, walks us through the first draft of Obama’s health care bill.

After reading Hennessey’s piece about the 15 things to know about the bill, my first reaction is OMG! Is this the economic environment in which we want to impose new taxes on both consumers and employers? WHAT are these people thinking? And make no mistake; any government mandate requiring people to either buy insurance or pay a penalty is nothing less than a tax.

It seems that a draft of Senator Kennedy’s (D-MA) health care bill leaked over the week-end and Hennessey was able to get a copy of the draft as a text file (173 K), and as a single Acrobat file (3.4 MB). Both files are searchable.

Hennessey writes:

“Calling it the “Kennedy” bill is something of an overstatement.
Senator Kennedy chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
committee, and his staff wrote the draft. By all reports, however,
Chairman Kennedy’s health is preventing him from being heavily involved
in the drafting.

Senator Reid has designated Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) to supervise the
process, but as best I can tell, it’s really the Kennedy committee
staff who are making most of the key decisions. For now I will call it the
Kennedy-Dodd bill.

As the committee staff emphasized to the press after the leak, this is
an interim draft. I assume things will move around over the next several
weeks as discussions among Senators and their staffs continue. This is
therefore far from a final product, but it provides a useful insight into
current thinking among some key Senate Democrats.

Here are 15 things to know about the draft Kennedy-Dodd health bill.”

Continue reading "Understanding the Kennedy health care bill"…

Memorial Day

2009-05-23T00:05:00.009-05:00

Never in the history of the world has anyone sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than has the American Soldier. Our Soldiers don’t just provide freedom abroad, they preserve it for us here at home.

"It is the Soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag; it is that Soldier who gives the protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag.”

~~ Zell Miller in a speech to the Republican National Convention

*****

I stood up.
I stepped forward.
I raised my right hand.
I stood in the gap.
I walked in the fire.
I did not run.
I did not hide.
I did not evade.

Consequently...

I have nothing to prove.
I have no one to convince.
Those who matter, already know.
Those who don't, never will.

~~ Author Unknown ~~

*****

This video is not only for those buried in Arlington, but for those whose earthly resting place is anywhere in the world; in cemeteries or in lone graves, marked and unmarked, in places that once were battlefields and war zones. It is especially for those who rest in unmarked places known only to God.

An American veteran, whether active duty, reserve, retired or deceased, is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to The United States of America, for an amount of "up to and including my life." There is no way to properly honor that kind of duty but in my own humble way, I salute you. Thank you, American Soldier. You have always been my hero.

Words of Warning from Ronald Reagan

2009-03-24T14:19:00.006-05:00

"There are those in America today who have come to depend absolutely on government for their security. And when government fails, they seek to rectify that failure in the form of granting government more power. So, as government has failed to control crime and violence with the means given it by the Constitution, they seek to give it more power at the expense of the Constitution. But in doing so, in their willingness to give up their arms in the name of safety, they are really giving up their protection from what has always been the chief source of despotism — government.

Lord Acton said power corrupts. Surely then, if this is true, the more power we give the government the more corrupt it will become. And if we give it the power to confiscate our arms we also give up the ultimate means to combat that corrupt power. In doing so, we can only assure that we will eventually be totally subject to it. When dictators come to power, the first thing they do is take away the people’s weapons. It makes it so much easier for the secret police to operate, it makes it so much easier to force the will of the ruler upon the ruled."

~~ RONALD REAGAN ~~

NOTE: Ronald Reagan can never be defined by a mere collection of one-liners but here is a random selection of a few of my favorites -- as timely today as they were when he said them:

“Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.”

“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”

“The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.”

“I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.”

"Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong."

“The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.”

“Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”

“The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.”

“It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.”

“Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”

“Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.”

“No arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.”

“If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

"Those who have never broken free from the mentality of tax-and-tax and spend-and-spend still think increasing taxes is the best way to solve America's problems. ... We need a tax policy that offers incentives for people to work, save, and invest -- all the things that will keep our economy growing and improve our well being. We need a basic tax reform that will permit us to bring everybody's tax rates down. ... Our country needs leadership that can see beyond the demands of the special interest groups and prepare America for a better tomorrow."

~~ Random Quotes of Ronald Reagan ~~

The Second American Revolution

2009-03-21T15:33:00.004-05:00

Founding Father, Thomas Paine, author of "Common Sense," returns to modern times to plead for a Second American Revolution to take back America.

Original video by Bob Basso:

If not now, when? If not us, who?

Shep Smith Blasts Congress Over AIG Hypocrisy

2009-03-18T21:36:00.005-05:00

Shepard Smith eviscerates the congressional clown hearings today:

"Well, well, well. Wasn't that a quite a little show. Ladies and gentlemen, just facts now. No opinions."

[...]

"And furthermore... Barney Frank asking the CEOs to 'name names'? Remember Joe McCarthy?"

This is going to get messy, folks, and very divisive. And we must not let them get away with it.

Good for you, Shep! It was great to hear you state the facts in a day that was filled with political hypocrisy.

Behind the Scenes at the Obama Show

2009-03-16T20:42:00.008-05:00

The White House is in role-playing mode again and the featured act is the second scene of the original play we saw six weeks ago. President Obama is outraged that AIG, after taking billions in taxpayer bailout dollars, is now going to pay out bonuses to the very folks who helped put the insurance conglomerate – the one that was too big to fail -- into the financial abyss in the first place. And they want us to believe the government is just now finding out about this.

Remember the humongous stimulus package, the one that no one had time to read before voting on its passage? Is it possible that the huge rush to spend taxpayer dollars was an itty bitty mistake? AIG was an un-savable mega-mess and for the government to rush in and perform a huge cash infusion into its miserable business practices and then to expect a different outcome from what it got is absolutely ludicrous.

Like Claude Raines’ character in Casablanca, Obama is outraged – outraged that gambling is going on in this establishment. We didn't hear any outrage from Obama when AIG contributed over $100,000 to his political campaign. And no outrage from Chris Dodd for AIG's very generous contribution toward his political aspirations. And the list goes on.

Taxpayer dollars were thrown at the financial giant without any accounting oversight whatsoever. The bonuses were part of AIG's prior contractual arrangements – legally binding business contracts that must be honored. But did our government’s financial gurus bother to find out about such contracts? Why, no. There was no time, remember? There was only enough time to throw money in the AIG coffers.

Wasn’t it a mere three weeks ago when we were reading that the biggest banks were going to fail? And then a couple of weeks ago we were told that Nancy Pelosi wanted another stimulus package and the banks might need still more bailout money.

But that was then and this is now.

Now, Bank of America posts a profits for 2009! And Citibank won’t be begging for more money after all – at least, not yet.

Those terrible retail numbers that spelled The Great Recession and had over half of the nation saying we were headed for The Great Depression II. Well, as it turns out they were not so bad after all.

Pssssst! Retail sales were up in January, but that didn’t get much attention from the MSM because the narrative from Washington back then was DOOM! DOOOM! DOOOOOOOM!

Now, suddenly everything is beautiful!

So, what happened?

Could it possibly be that Obama’s inside polling numbers were not quite so warm and rosy with all that disaster talk running rampant? I’ve got my own opinion. I’ll let you decide for yourself.

But, if you’re like me, and you’re feeling somewhat manipulated and more than a little like Dr. Doolittle’s Push-Me-Pull-You, then welcome to the Obama Nation. It doesn’t look much like our America of old, does it?

There is a method to the Obama madness and it’s heads, Obama wins -- or tails, Obama wins. First, Obama declared “a catastrophe that we might never recover from.” That drove an already shaky stock market right through the basement floor, wiping out nearly half of every workers' 401K, seriously damaging investors and scaring the citizens into agreeing to a monumental porkulous stimulus bill that will cost our children and grandchildren much of their American dream.

As if that weren't enough, Team Obama has worked overtime to dumb us down, to numb our senses in hopes of causing us to accept a government takeover of other parts of the private sector. Frightened people easily become followers and much of America is frightened.

Here’s my take on the crisis strategy -- the behind-the-scenes deception -- exactly why Obama talked down the economy and talked up each crisis in magnanimous proportions:

1. He needed to create an atmosphere that would allow passage of the stimulus bill.
2. He wanted to bring the crisis to a fever pitch so that he could further advance his effort to pass other big government legislation – health care, for starters, and green energy.
3. He needed to give the impression that the economy is absolutely, positively as bad as it could ever get so that any progress would be viewed as a recovery, and any recovery would be credited to Obama and hailed as nothing short of a miracle.

In my opinion, Obama’s strategy was calculated. It was deceitful. It was manipulative. It was opportunistic. And unless taxpaying Americans shake off our fear and make our voices heard, it will be effective.

Loosely stated, Obama, the intellectual, was getting hammered. Even his own party was starting to revolt from his grandiose spending. His administration is making foreign policy gaffes left and right and he personally insulted our best ally. Some wonder if he is malicious or simply inept. He cannot seat his cabinet or treasury staff. His priorities seem disordered. He’s been picking fights with private citizens – Rush Limbaugh comes to mind, to create a nemesis. His nominations are giving him fits. He’s backtracking on campaign promises and he’s moving left – hard left, and he’s moving swiftly.

The Tea Parties are starting to organize to a point where the MSM might actually be forced to cover them.

We’ve got warships heading to China while Russia has bombers going to Venezuela for alleged maneuvers. Obama wants to raise taxes, but you can’t do that in a Great Recession. He wants Universal Health Care yet he wants to charge vets for their battle wounds. He must change the subject and give the appearance that he’s doing very well in order to move toward nationalization. And he can’t do that unless -- Ta-Da! -- things aren’t so bad, after all!

He’s hitting the reset button – again -- on his entire presidency.

Well, I hate to be cynical. But I’ll sleep better tonight knowing it’s really not all that bad, after all. You’ll sleep better too, won’t you? No point in feeling like a fool just because the president needs us to be fools in order for his plans to succeed. Let ‘im eat cake!

He Says He's Very Good At It

2009-03-05T15:15:00.006-06:00

Never underestimate Obama -- he’s one smooth salesman. He’s deceiving the American people about his liberal revolution. His air of confidence is disturbing in its arrogance. For all of his failure to project optimism about the economy, he has tremendous confidence in one thing: his ability to ram his liberal agenda through Congress before the American people even know what hit them.

One of the most chilling quotes from Obama that I’ve ever read is this, reported by Fred Barnes recently:

When Barack Obama met with TV anchors at a White House luncheon last week, he assured them he likes being president. “And it turns out I’m very good at it,” he stated.

Let that sink in for a moment. Obama had been the president for 44 days and already he was saying he’s “very good at it.”

The stock market is falling every day and he’s “very good at it.” Today the Dow is set to close at 6594.44 and Obama's “very good at it.”

Confidence is one thing. Unashamed hubris is another.

Come to think of it, he’s very good at that too.

Rush Limbaugh, American Patriot

2009-03-04T15:26:00.012-06:00

Rush Limbaugh is everywhere in the news, especially since Politico has uncovered a little White House plumbing action in which Rush has been systematically targeted by the Obama White House.

As a frequent listener, I naturally had to tune in today to hear his opening monologue. Rush did not disappoint. It was fascinating radio -- Rush was both amusing and amazing.

In a move that can only be called brilliant, Limbaugh cordially invited President Obama to come on his show and spend three hours in a debate with him. Limbaugh is offering the POTUS fully paid transportation and overnight accommodations – not one cent of it on the taxpayer’s dime -- for a debate.

Limbaugh seems utterly, supremely confident – in other words, his normal self. He suggests that if President Obama can debate without notes or teleprompter and defeat Limbaugh in the eyes of the audience (paraphrasing), “You will own America. You will have no opposition standing. Santelli is being silenced; Cramer will be gone soon, though not without a fight. You already have the press, you have Hollywood. The only thing standing between you and complete ownership of the United States is me and my little radio show.”

Obama once wrote of audacity, but today Rush hit him squarely with the reality of the word -- an audacious offer. Rush is calling Obama’s bluff. Limbaugh understands what so few in America seem to grasp: there has been a coup -- a bloodless, painless coup. The Obama presidency is only about six weeks old and America may never again be the same.

Of course, the White House won’t do the debate. Obama could never begin to go toe to toe, without notes, against Limbaugh – certainly not on the serious issues that concern this country. As a frequent listener, I believe that Rush Limbaugh could go toe to toe with the devil himself and in the end, the devil would wonder what happened.

In spite of the way he's portrayed in the mainstream media, Limbaugh is hardly a radical wingnut. He has never been that. He's magnificently informed, direct, compelling, uncompromising, down-to-earth, and incontrovertibly genuine. What lines he may cross via hyperbole, are backtracked by the man's genuine and admirable self-deprecation -- something of a lost art these days.

The over calculated and totally teleprompted Obama hasn't got half of Limbaugh's ability or certainty, which may not be saying much because, basically, Limbaugh is light years ahead in terms of conviction: he is a wise, sensible, potent, incomparable voice for conservative American politics.

Obama has a way of getting out of things. The White House canceled a joint press conference with the British Prime Minister yesterday, ostensibly because of snow. Many Brits viewed it as a snub.

Unfortunately for the country, this debate will never happen -- never in an uncontrolled environment where Obama would be publicly exposed in such a manner. But this Reagan conservative can dream, can’t I? I would pay good money to hear such a debate -- but I digress.

Obama’s supporters are furious, but why should they be so angry? Obama is an ivy-league educated orator with excellent skills; and besides, he’s the President of the United States. He should be able to out-talk college-dropout Limbaugh hands down, shouldn’t he? The callers want to re-negotiate the terms for Obama’s sake. It’s pretty funny radio.

Limbaugh replies, (paraphrasing) “Hey, Obama wants more diversity on the radio -- I’m offering time for the Democrats' view to be fully exposed and explained…”

It’s absolutely brilliant. The White House will send Press Secretary Gibbs out to chuckle about Limbaugh’s offer and try to dismiss all this as political theater.

The White House may regret targeting this college drop-out. Rush Limbaugh is a seriously courageous man. He loves this country unquestionably, and he sincerely believes in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He believes in the First Amendment and places himself right beside it and says, “Go ahead, take your best shot.”

Rush is an American patriot.

Bravo, Rush, Bravo!

~~~~~

You can read Rush’s monologue here.

He's Barack -- We're Broke

2009-03-02T12:42:00.013-06:00

So, here we are, going into month two of the Obama presidency and the Dow has now fallen below 7,000. It’s at 6809.17 as I type this. We haven’t seen these numbers since 1997. But at the White House, it's black tie and white wine, steak dinners and cocktail parties.

A week ago, Chris Matthews (the MSNBC liberal loon with the tingling leg for Obama), wondered aloud in a rare moment of Obama-doubt: “I thought 8,000 was the floor, and it looks like 6,000 is the floor. People are angry, I’m getting angry.”

And, there’s Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner – the so-called indispensible man who was presented to the public as the only one equipped to handle our economic crisis in spite of his "minor" problem with TurboTax. His performance has been less than reassuring. To the contrary, Geithner looks like a deer in the headlights -- the antithesis of confidence in a time when confidence and leadership are desperately needed. So much for the choices of our newly elected Community-Organizer-in-Chief.

How low will the Dow go? No one knows. I don’t know. But I do know that the market does not like the policies of this new president – no way, no how – and without confidence to give it direction, the market will continue to spiral downward. Personally, I can easily see Dow 5000. Whether it crashes there or reins itself in is anyone’s guess, but I can say with certainty that the U.S. economy is in shambles and the market sees no recovery on the horizon.

The president – the Anointed One -- seems wholly untroubled by any of this and is happily continuing on toward the creation of one world with a global “new deal” on his mind. The swiftness with which he is accruing and consolidating power is breathtaking, and sadly, most people don’t even realize what is happening. Impoverishing the people is only part of it. The underlying agenda is about power and change -- changing America into something freedom-loving people will not recognize and we most certainly will not like.

Some reporters are beginning to think it might be time to panic. Why now? It's not as if they weren't warned long ago by all of us lowly conservatives.

Obama is going to make the Carter years look like the best of times.

~~~~~~~~~~

The MUST READ: Larry Kudlow spells it out in no uncertain terms:

Obama Declares War on Investors, Entrepreneurs, Businesses, and More

Let me be very clear on the economics of President Obama’s State of the Union speech and his budget. He is declaring war on investors, entrepreneurs, small businesses, large corporations, and private-equity and venture-capital funds.
[...]
Study after study over the past several decades has shown how countries that spend more produce less, while nations that tax less produce more. Obama is doing it wrong on both counts.
And as far as middle-class tax cuts are concerned, Obama’s cap-and-trade program will be a huge across-the-board tax increase on blue-collar workers, including unionized workers. Industrial production is plunging, but new carbon taxes will prevent production from ever recovering. While the country wants more fuel and power, cap-and-trade will deliver less.
Read it all here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What Will YOU Do When Freedom Dies?
I Am Dying -- Will You Help Me?

Beware of Scammers

2009-02-22T16:38:00.005-06:00

I like the classifieds on Craigslist. I’ve used the service several times and each transaction has been smooth and uneventful. I made good deals with no hassles and no fees. But such is not always the case. Craigslist provides a good service and I will continue to use it, but, as in all things, I use abundant caution. I never know what type of individual I may be dealing with -- and scammers are everywhere.

Recently a friend advertised a car for sale on Craigslist. He listed all the pertinent information about the vehicle, including photos, the price, etc. He got several responses to his ad, but one response in particular caught his attention:

I will buy your car. I am okay with the price and the conditions. I would have come to check it out, but it's just that I am very busy and I am out of state.

I will make payment to you via Certified Cashier’s Check and I understand it must clear your bank before you release the item to me. I will also be responsible for the pick-up and shipping. So, all you will do as soon as you get the payment check is to get it cashed, deduct your money for the item and send the rest to my shipper whose name and address will be enclosed in the envelope of the check, so that they can come for the pick up at your residence.

Hope I can trust you with my money cos I’ve been scammed before and I don’t want to be scammed again. If this is okay with you, please get back to me with your.... Name, full contact address(city,state and zip code,) and your phone number.Do get back to me ASAP so that I can issue the payment check to you via UPS Next Day delivery. Kindly remove the item from site so that no one will contact you for it.

Regards,

XYZ
Being the cool sort that my friend is, he responded with the following cryptic email:

Hey XYZ,

There's a problem. See, I'm on the run from the law, so I have to keep a low profile. I can't go into banks or anyplace with cameras where the FBI might see me. This would have to be an in person deal, I'm very familiar with dealing with large sums of money and contraband and am always well armed so as to insure a deal goes off without a hitch -- well except for that last one, but he drew first. Anyhow, I'm really anxious to unload this car. The upholstery is freshly cleaned and there's also a new passenger window, so I hope you’re not just yanking my chain.

Rick Santelli, A Free Speech American

2009-02-19T17:11:00.009-06:00

I strongly believe that a man who will not use his freedom to defend his freedom, does not deserve his freedom. This was never better illustrated than this morning while CNBC’s Rick Santelli was doing his usual early morning live report from Chicago on the CBOE. He had no script – his many years as a trader are all he needed to do his reporting from the trading pits.

And then it happened – the moment of truth. Listen and watch Santelli (see below). And listen to the spontaneous reaction of the traders around him.

There was nothing staged about this moment -- no punches pulled and no dutiful mouthing of scripted talking points. Santelli was honestly speaking his mind and the reaction from the traders was the same. This is free speech.

It is uncontrolled speech. It is free. It's American.

Free speech cannot be controlled or it is not free at all. We in America have for too long engaged in self-censorship as a form of political correctness and it is enslaving us. I'm not talking about yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, but rather, I'm referring to speaking one's opinions honestly and openly.

Sometimes, you have to let go and let the words fly. And if you cannot do that, you are not free. And if you are not free, why be an American at all?

God bless Rick Santelli.

Considering that CNBC is owned by NBC, I pray he still has a job next week.

~~~~~~~~

Edited to add the video:

The Reagan - Obama Debate

2009-02-14T13:50:00.004-06:00

In their own words:

The Insult and the Outrage!

2009-02-13T14:42:00.026-06:00

The Porkulous Package -- the largest stimulus-spending bill in the history of the United States -- passed in the House a short time ago. The vote was 246 – 183. Thankfully, there was not one single Republican on board.

The Senate is scheduled to vote later this afternoon -- about 5:30 PM -- and I would suggest that the 3 blind mice -- Specter, Collins and Snowe -- the RINO's of the Republican Senate rethink their positions carefully. Before the Senate votes, you still have time to MELT THE PHONES. Call one -- call all. The American people cannot afford to lose this round.

Republican Ladies and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives, I thank you for your desire to serve the wishes of the American people who sent you to Washington. We will not forget you for today you served your country well.

This bill was supposed to be about jobs, jobs, jobs, but it quickly became Pelosi’s pulled pork of spend, spend, spend. Can anyone tell me how we are supposed to pay for this beast of a bill? Can anyone who voted today on the bill, say with all honesty that they have read it? Not possible -- the 1100 page bill was not made available until very late last night. Our elected officials voted on an $800 billion (yes, that's billion with a b) spending bill that they have not even read! And what about the American people's right to read it? What happened to Obama's campaign promise of putting bills on the Internet before a vote? Another campaign promise bites the dust.

I'm insulted and I'm outraged.

The American President, Madam Speaker and the rest of the Dems cannot stop the fear mongering and urgent yapping, and every time they yap, more jobs disappear as they reveal that they are driven less by a desire to serve than to control. They are more interested in backroom connivance than transparency. Back rooms with only one party allowed in does not equal transparency even in Obamaland. Transparency, it seems, is just another word.

Barack Obama must be giving fits to those backroom supporters who never meant for the nation to so clearly recognize his hyper-partisan purposes - and his limitations. And we’re only a mere three weeks into his presidency.

And Obama promised there would be no federal sprawl. What about those construction jobs in the new stimulus package? They are mostly FEDERAL construction jobs meant to construct or shore up FEDERAL buildings and agencies in and around Washington, DC, where FEDERAL SPRAWL will be allowed. Bigger government needs bigger buildings -- and you can be sure Obama is going to have bigger government. Of course, some construction companies in Bethesda, Maryland may see boom times, but what about the rest of the country? Is that Obama's idea of sharing the wealth?

So, what is the message here? Obama is telling the country to find something else to do, something other than growing, working, producing, creating, innovating, building. He wants energy independence but does not want drilling, refining, and the jobs that go with them to take place in America. He wants everyone to have a house, but apparently we’re not supposed to build any new ones. He wants Americans to become less materialistic, more personally responsible for our mistakes, and he wants the government to grow larger and to spend our way out of debt.

One thing is painfully clear -- Obama’s rhetoric is empty, and what is not empty is evasive. He is, increasingly, the “just words” president. He speaks of American dreams, but he works to limit them. And he is not alone.

Where does Barney Frank, a wealthy public official (I find it impossible to refer to him as a public servant), get off telling free Americans what their salary caps should be?

Where does the extremely wealthy John Kerry get off slobbering on the floor of the United States Senate that Americans are too “free to invest their money where ever they want!”?

How dare the set-for-life Chuck Schumer show such contempt for the “little” people, who simply want to know what we’re being put on the hook for?

Corrupt and singular, many of these little kings and godlings serve themselves alone. They are merely playing Lego's with the rest of us. And you can be sure they will not cap their own salaries.

Where do any of these public officials who have either grown wealthy on the public purse, or used their wealth to purchase their office, or have used their office to protect their wealth, get off telling us, the can-do Americans, how much we can earn?

How dare they begin to shred the Constitution and dismantle The American Dream? How dare they discourage the sort of dreaming that made America into Ronald Reagan's shining city on a hill, an exceptional nation of limitless possibilities?

How dare they -- those who aspire not to serve but to rule, create destructive, historic and transformational 1100-page bills behind closed doors and show them to lobbyists before they show them to legislators or to the American public they are supposed to be serving?

But it's done.

It's scandalous.

And no one is calling it treason.

Lest We Forget...

2009-02-11T23:51:00.004-06:00

The One who is always in ultimate control of all things.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father."

~~ Matthew 10:29 (NASB) ~~

Keep Your Kool-Aid, Mr. President

2009-02-07T14:16:00.016-06:00

How quickly we fall victim to scare tactics and fear mongering. Have we all forgotten that for almost a third of all the months during the 1970’s, 1980’s, and the 1990’s, America had an unemployment rate as high or higher than it is now? True. And does anyone remember the economic crisis Reagan inherited from Carter? It was much worse than what we have now and Reagan didn’t plunge the country into massive debt nor did he nationalize one single thing.

The economy goes through cycles, it always has, and the sky has not yet fallen so why are we so quick to believe it will this time? Unless, of course, Obama, Pelosi and Reid are successful in choking off the country’s future by shoving the largest spending spree in history down our throats.

We, as free Americans cannot afford to allow the good ol’ boys to do our thinking for us. Their thinking is not rational. Well, that’s not quite true. Their thinking is rational in that they are frantically pushing to achieve their own agenda of socialism and they lack the intestinal fortitude to call it what it is. Instead they are using fear and urgency to scare us into their way of thinking.

This bill is not – NOT -- a stimulus for the economy. It is a liberal domestic spending binge to the tune of $800 billion dollars, masquerading under the guise of a "stimulus bill" that they want to pass without going through the normal legislative processes.

In order to do this quickly -- and they know if it's not done quickly, much of it won't get done -- they, especially Obama, are screaming that the sky is falling in order to scare us into acquiescing. They are playing us for fools. I will not drink the Kool-Aid, Mr. President.

They are shredding our Constitution and every American should rise up and take decisive action and contact all our Senators and Congressmen. Make the calls, write the emails, ever mindful that a man who will not use his freedom to defend his freedom, does not deserve his freedom.

The American Dream is in our hands. Our children and grandchildren’s future depend on us. We cannot – we must not let them down.

New site to check out: Stimulus Watch.

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences.” ~~ C.S. Lewis ~~

President or Dictator?

2009-02-06T15:06:00.019-06:00

Today would have been Ronald Reagan's 98th birthday. If the Gipper knew what was going on in Washington over the stimulus package, he would be spinning. And he would never approve of the scare tactics being used by Obama and the Dems.

Such great memories from the past -- such unbelievable insanity in the present.

There's insanity and then there's the insanity of the Democrats -- and I must say, Democrat insanity is in a league of its own. It's no longer a question of a stimulus, but of what should be included in the package. And the Dems have it all wrong, again. You don't spend your way out of a financial crisis. You cut taxes, you cut spending and you put people to work. You don't mortgage the future of your children and grandchildren on an asinine spending bill, especially one using100 percent borrowed money.

If you're so inclined, MELT THE PHONES. More numbers can be found here.

I hope the Republicans stick to their guns and hold the line against the current bill. I hope you've let your representative and your senators know how you feel. I'm on the verge of being on first name bassis with mine. And if you haven't contacted yours, shame on you. After all, it's your money, and your children's money, and their children's money. What's being done to their future is nothing short of criminal. Their chances for achieving the American Dream are rapidly diminishing. I pray that sanity will somehow prevail.

~~~~~~~~

Lately, we've seen flashes of anger from "the One who would bring us together." The message is beginning to come through -- "It's my way or the highway." Tough talk from one who would unite.

Are we witnessing the leopard changing his spots; the President morphing into the Dictator? Or are we watching the Socialist letting his guard down and being the Socialist that he has always been? I've been warning readers about Obama the Socialist since the inception of The Shepherd Report but I take no joy in being proven correct.

We're in for a world of hurt, my conservative friends.

May God help us.

~~~~~~~~~~

The must-read of the day: Charles Krauthammer

"So much for the president, who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared “we have chosen hope over fear.” Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill."

Read Mitt Romney's Sound Advice

And this interesting piece from DeRussy at Pajamas Media.

And then there's this:

Mr. Obama's "Non-Negotiables" For the Stimulus Is Really His Domestic Agenda That He Intends to Cram Down Our Throats Without Going Through the Normal Legislative Process:

Infrastructure, weatherizing homes, health IT spending, (liberal) education spending, investments in science/technology (alternative energy) research, health insurance for the unemployed, relief to states and aid to families."

The fact is that much of this is Obama's effort to get his domestic agenda enacted under the guise of stimulus that has lawmakers -- on both sides -- increasingly agitated.

"And make no mistake, a significant portion of the stimulus spending comes right out of the agenda Obama announced last summer -- long before the need for a massive stimulus bill emerged."

IBD Editorials, February 5, 2009

~~~~~~~~

“If this is the change we all can believe in, then Americans’ best days are behind them.”
~~~ Senator Lindsey Graham, SC, on the so-called stimulus package ~~~

The Shocking Facts About the New Bailout Bill

2009-02-02T14:30:00.006-06:00

Do you know the shocking facts about what THEY want to do with OUR tax dollars, all in the name of a bailout bill? Read the info and then let your congressman and senators know how you feel as soon as possible.

From the new AskHeritage site:

AS PRESIDENT OBAMA settles into his new office, it is imperative that we encourage him and Congress to exercise prudence when attempting to rescue the economy. Massive deficit spending will only throw our country further into economic shambles, as the current stimulus and SCHIP bills do little more than increase our debt and healthcare costs. Consider the following issues with the "stimulus" bill:

1) The $825 billion bill would dump $10,520 of new debt per household into the laps of our children and grandchildren. The interest on this debt ($347 billion) will dump even more.

2) Under the stimulus, new groups of children and adults would be eligible for Medicaid, the welfare program for the poor which is already going broke. These expansions are on top of spending $89 billion to bailout the failing state Medicaid programs.

3) The current "stimulus" bill will be the largest spending bill ever enacted by Congress, making the New Deal look small, accounting for inflation.

4) President Obama anticipates that spending over $800 billion will create 3.7 million new jobs. That means each job will cost more than $200,000, which is roughly equivalent to 5 times what the average American worker earns!

5) The bill is full of wasteful spending, including $21 million on new sod for the National Mall in Washington, $600 million on cars for government bureaucrats, and $650 million for digital television converters.

Read more, if you dare. And be sure to take ACTION by letting your representatives in Washington know how you feel about their use of our tax dollars.

Oh, and by the way, do you know that the defense budget is going to get cut? All those billions of dollars being thrown around and there’s nothing for defense spending? The Pentagon has been told to cut their 2010 budget by 10 percent – and that's for starters.

I’m amazed at how one single election could let loose such a scandalous swarm of insanity in Washington – but on the other hand, look at the politics of the people who were elected. Are these people connected with reality?

I guess the War on Terror is over. Is it now time for us all to join hands and sing Kumbaya?

More later.

Farewell, President Bush

2009-01-20T00:09:00.009-06:00

I sent my personal letter of appreciation to President Bush several weeks ago, but Eric over at Tygrrr Express penned an admiring letter of appreciation on the occasion of Bush's last day in office, appropriately Martin Luther King Day.

A few highlights worth noting:

"Dr. King was a much better speaker than you... Despite attempts by some who try to rewrite history for their own gain, I want to thank you for your many accomplishments, beginning with everything you have done to secure Dr. King's vision of a truly colorblind society.

"Nobody has hired as many black Americans to as many prominent positions as you have. You made Colin Powell your Secretary of State. You appointed Dr. Condoleeza Rice to be your next Secretary of State after a stint as your National Security Advisor. You hired Larry Thompson to be your Deputy Attorney General under John Ashcroft. Rod Paige was your Secretary of Education.

"These people were not hired because they were black. They were hired because they deserved the jobs based on merit. You did not make token appointments. You hired good people who happened to be black. That is colorblindness."

Read it all. And thanks, Eric.

**********

Several days ago, Fred Barnes at the Weekly Standard wrote ten things that Bush got right. It's well worth reading, if you haven't already.

And, if you missed Charles Krauthammer’s excellent column of January 16th, I highly recommend you read it here.

Thanks, Fred Barnes for reminding us what the left-wing myth-makers want us to forget. And Charles Krauthammer, I couldn't agree more with your perspective on Bush’s Imminent Rehab.

STUNNING: Another Bush supporter.

History, no doubt, will treat Bush far better than his contemporaries have done, for history has a way of seeing all things from a panorama where little is left of sacred secrets. President Bush has been crucified in the public square in spite of his decency, his goodness, his Christian faith -- that strong internal moral compass that guides him -- and, in spite of his remarkable success in winning two most difficult wars to protect this nation from those who would kill us.

All wars are hard; all wars involve mistakes and corrections. All wars, if they are to be won, come at a perilous cost. George W. Bush understood that and he did not shrink from it.

I cannot think of a more difficult job than being the 9/11 President, but that most terrible of jobs fell on Bush's watch and will forever rest on his shoulders.

George W. Bush had a charge to keep and he kept it. Thank you, President Bush, and may God bless you. My family and I will be forever grateful.

Uncle Jay Explains 2008 -- The Year That Was!

2009-01-02T16:16:00.002-06:00

Introspection

2008-12-30T02:06:00.010-06:00

I’ve been taking some downtime with family while we celebrate the holidays. I’ve tried to catch up on some rest – an all too illusive commodity these days. It’s time to face the world again, but first, a bit of introspection.

As some of you know, I'm frequently torn between the objective and subjective in my writing for The Shepherd Report. Blogging is a freedom heretofore unknown and the only rules are self-imposed. Some of my intrepid readers write me private emails with suggestions, preferring not to comment publicly on the blog. I respect your wishes and I’m grateful for the sincerity in your correspondence and the honesty of your views.

Often as I sit here torn between two worlds, I sometimes feel I write in a vacuum. Still, occasionally, surprisingly, I get positive feedback which challenges me to keep going.

This is an especially tough week for me for many reasons. There are several family members dealing with health issues; they need a healing touch from the Master’s Hand. My heart’s prayer is that it will be His will to do so -- and, if not, then I pray for His grace to sustain us all. Others are struggling with stuff -- old stuff, new stuff, some major, some minor; but stuff is stuff and must be dealt with before it can be put in its proper place.

Tonight is the 10th anniversary of my lovely mother’s home-going to Heaven. Has it really been that long? It seems like only yesterday -- or was it a lifetime ago? We were so very close for so many years, much more like sisters than mother and daughter. I miss her. No, I’m not over it – I never will be -- I got through it and that’s really all that matters in the grand scheme of things. Losing one who is so loved is like that, and I think that's as it should be.

And me? I feel the weight of it all. It's a tough time, with my own concerns and the concerns of others. For the countless joys and the many wonderful blessings in my life, which are innumerable, there's another side, which at this time of year seems difficult.

The holidays have been especially hard for me this year. The days are short, the nights too long. And the only answer at a time like this is deep prayer that draws me closer to God, for it is only with His help that I survive the dark times. Prayer, and recounting all the many blessings that I am so thankful for – and they are immeasurable -- and I am profoundly grateful.

And deep prayer in all things, while holding my Savior’s hand -- the only solace that has meaning. Anything else is palliative.

Each one of us struggles with our own deepest sadness. It’s as much a part of life as the air we breathe.

With prayer and quietness alone before the Lord, I know this too shall pass. And it will -- although it's tough on the shortest of days of the year like this when so many hopes, fears and disappointments are laid painfully bare.

Why Can't Everyday Be Like Christmas?

2008-12-13T17:26:00.011-06:00

The First Christmas -- The Birth of Jesus
By the Children of Calvary Baptist Church:

Wishing God's Blessings To All This Holiday Season

Merry Christmas!

Nikki

Why Can't Everyday Be Like Christmas?
Sung by the fabulous Mr. Elvis Presley
Music and lyrics by Red West

Fred At His Best

2008-12-03T22:26:00.008-06:00

This is Fred at his best, tongue in cheek and cigar in hand, as he explains the government's new Econ 101.

And be extra nice to your kids and grandkids this Christmas -- they don't have a clue what we're doing to their future!

"Ask not what your country can spend for you; ask what you can spend for your country."

Nikki

From My E-Mail...

2008-12-01T00:27:00.012-06:00

Thanksgiving is over, and a fine one it was at the Shepherd compound as the family enjoyed an abundance of fabulous food and gave thanks to God for our many, many blessings. So, I'm late getting to my email, but one contained a brief story and a YouTube link that should not be missed. This is a good story for any day.

The video is part of an interview that was done in 1978 by Charles Kuralt, perhaps one of the greatest story-telling journalists of all time. Kuralt went to a small town, Prairie, Mississippi, where he visited with the Chandler family as they gathered to celebrate their parents 5Oth wedding anniversary. The Chandler's not only endured some of the toughest of times, but they achieved amazing success in only two generations -- from the hard life of a sharecropper couple, to a family with nine children, all college educated professionals. Through it all, the family relied on their own hard work, on each other, and their faith in God. It will warm your heart. It did mine.

Kuralt said, “Whenever I hear anything in America is impossible, I'll think of them.”

Thanks to M Ritz for sending the video link and the backstory.

Nikki

2008-11-25T22:15:00.010-06:00

May your stuffing be tasty, may your turkey be plump,

May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious, may your pies take the prize,

May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs!

~~ GOBBLE TILL YOU WOBBLE ~~

---------------------------

"It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage, and such only, as he believes to be acceptable to him. This duty is precedent both in order of time and degree of obligation, to the claims of Civil Society. Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe."

~~ James Madison ~~
A Memorial and Remonstrance, 1785

Happy Thanksgiving!
Nikki

Does Cancer Ever Just Go Away?

2008-11-25T21:23:00.017-06:00

Gina Kolata reports in the NYT about an interesting research study that suggests some cancers may merely go away on their own. I know what you're thinking, but stay with me a minute. We've all heard a story or two – the person dying of cancer who was miracously healed – cured -- without medical treatment. These cases were rare and most always viewed with raised eyebrows. But that could be about to change.

"Now, though, researchers say they have found a situation in Norway that has let them ask that question about breast cancer. And their new study, to be published Tuesday in The Archives of Internal Medicine, suggests that even invasive cancers may sometimes go away without treatment and in larger numbers than anyone ever believed.

At the moment, the finding has no practical applications because no one knows whether a detected cancer will disappear or continue to spread or kill.

[ ... ]

Dr. Barnett Kramer, director of the Office of Disease Prevention at the National Institutes of Health, had a similar reaction. "People who are familiar with the broad range of behaviors of a variety of cancers know spontaneous regression is possible," he said. "But what is shocking is that it can occur so frequently."

The study used large groups of women and dealt with various stages of breast cancer. Please read the whole article to get the overview because this just may prove to be an important study.

The study gives rise to the question of whether knowing one has cancer, and acknowledging it, makes the cancer more powerful. That's an old argument that goes to the psychosomatic -- the mind-body connection. Is it possible that in some cases one can simply not name or acknowledge the cancer, and by refusing to do so, keep it at bay? While I am not a subscriber to that theory, I'm open to be convinced by the triers of the proof.

I had a great aunt who died of cancer. The doctors surmised that, given the cancer's size and metastasis to other parts of her body, she must have had it for 10 years -- undiagnosed and virtually symptom-free. Once diagnosed, she became critically ill and died in less than two weeks.

This study will be interesting to follow.

Nikki

Requiem

2008-11-13T18:28:00.022-06:00

When I began this, my first venture into the blogosphere on September 18^th of this year, I said I had no specific agenda and that's still absolutely true. I write about what's on my mind; the issues that move me; the good that people do, the bad, the wrongs that need to be made right. I hope someday soon to be able to write something trivial, joyful, and perhaps even silly. That day is not yet.

The election is now history and the outcome no surprise. The nation is gleefully planning the coronation of King Barack Hussein Obama. I'll watch the proceedings from the comfort of my home but I won't be celebrating. There is too much to mourn.

Elections have consequences, and I fear many consequences were born on November 4^th that will take us to places that we never intended to go.

One such consequence happened in the state of Washington with the passage of legalized physician-assisted suicide -- one more acceptance of the culture of death in America.

It's important to note that I'm not referring to an informed person's right to die by refusing medical treatment for a terminal condition even if the patient chooses to receive medication for pain. There is a strong moral distinction between allowing death to come naturally, without being prolonged by artificial means, and in ending a life by suicide.

I'm talking about death by design, death that is planned, death on purpose. I'm talking about death that masquerades under names like euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, abortion, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning. By any name, it's the culture of death.

Proponents of the abortion industry call their business healthcare. They cite the health of the mother or even the life of the mother as a reason to justify the murder of the innocent unborn. That's a lame and deceptive excuse that does not stand in light of medical facts.

I write from personal experience when I say that killing the unborn child is never required to save the life of the mother. I know. I've been there. I chose to go against the advice of my doctors and carry my third child to term and deliver by Cesarian section. It was a very close call -- I did indeed come very close to death, but I did not die. My doctors were wonderful Christian men and my personal faith was in Jesus Christ. I never doubted that He had the ultimate control. He brought me through the valley of the shadow of death and blessed me with a wonderful, healthy son. Even though I live with some residual health problems, I have never regretted my decision.

The abortion industry is about killing the most innocent and defenseless of all human life and doing it in the cruelest and most vicious ways imaginable. To those who do it, and to those who approve of it, and to those who tolerate it, you are supporting the most horrific and sinful actions ever embraced by any culture in human history. Over forty-eight million innocent babies have been killed in the U.S. alone -- and still counting. In light of this, how can we possibly expect God to continue His blessings on our country?

Peggy Noonan reminds us that The Children Are Watching. Indeed, they are and Barack Obama's election should eradicate once and for all the blight of racism from our national conscience.

But I wonder if the children will see and learn the most ironic lesson of all -- that Barack Obama, the man who has pledged to provide absolutely no support whatsoever for the rights of the unborn, or even to those born alive after botched abortions, is himself a shining example of the enormous opportunities available to anyone born in America –- that is, if they are wanted by their mothers and if they can live long enough to be born.

Barack Obama, the child of a white mother and a black father, was conceived out of wedlock and abandoned at a young age by his father. Raised by his white mother and white grandparents, he has now grown up to be the President of the United States. That in itself is a remarkable accomplishment. Had Obama's birth come a generation later, after Roe v Wade, such difficult circumstances could have caused his mother to legally end his life before he had a chance to take his first breath.

Let me be brutally honest -- the culture of death is not about choice; it's not about rights or freedom, and it's certainly not about private decisions made between a woman and her doctor. Most often, it's about convenience for the mother, but it's always about killing, it's about death. If they cannot inflict death inside the womb, they'll settle for doing it outside the womb, and it's legal. (See Born Alive Truth for Obama's shocking voting record on this.) And in several states, it's no longer just infants, they can now kill the infirm and the aged, and with the added attraction of providing physician assistance for the procedure. But it's still about killing – everything else is merely timing and geography.

I mourn the decline of the greatest nation in the world. I mourn America from sea to shining sea, Ronald Reagan's "shining city on a hill;" a nation born of faith in God and the sacrifices of its people. I mourn a nation that is now losing its way and its bearings, exchanging the Godly moral accord of our Founding Fathers for the floundering depravity of the secular progressives.

I mourn a nation so easily misled, so willing to ignore character and embrace fleeting visions of change with little consideration to where such change could lead. I mourn the triumph of the superficial over the substantial; the culture that now chooses death over life, frivolity over faith, pandering over productivity, political correctness over truth, and selfishness over sacrifice.

I mourn the failure of the people to learn the valuable lessons of history; a people so desperate for the One that they would joyfully invite an inexperienced illusionist to lead them. I mourn the foolishness -- the myopia that pervades our land in the most dangerous and unstable time in our nation's history.

It is doubtful we will ever again see -- ever again be -- what we once were.

I mourn for America but I know that a sinful and corrupt culture cannot change from the outside. Change must come from within -- one life, one heart, one soul at a time. Now is an excellent time to start. The best place to begin is on our knees.

Nikki

E Pluribus Unum

2008-11-05T14:26:00.041-06:00

I congratulate Barack Obama and I wish him well as he prepares to assume his role as our 44th President. I truly do wish him well. I will be praying for his success and safety as he undertakes the toughest, and what's been described as the loneliest job in the world. I hope all American conservatives will join me in doing the same.

It was indeed an historic election for African-Americans. Obama made history. Obama is history. But for me, the election was never about race -- it was about character and all that character entails -- judgements, choices, associations; things that serve to form core values and beliefs that make us who and what we are.

Last night was a bad night for conservatives. While it wasn't the blow-out the Dems were hoping for, it was certainly bad enough to be felt painfully by all of us on the conservative side. Obama won soundly but his coattails weren't as long as the Dems had hoped. It doesn't pay to misbehave too badly when you're the controlling party -- just ask the Repubs.

As much as he would like to convince us otherwise, Obama is no centrist. His voting record is proof, and it would be a mistake for him to give in to the far left of his party, Pelosi, Reid, et al, and unleash an ideological and vengeful congress on the American people. Such a thing would not be wise. There is another election in two years -- there always is -- and it's said that an elephant never forgets -- especially GOP elephants who know all too well that it's more difficult to build the barn than to knock it down.

While most presidential elections culminate with calls for national unity, Barack Obama issued no such call in his acceptance speech last night, with the possible exception of this: "And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn — I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too."

He was speaking to me. I heard his words. I did not, however, hear his heart, and that is what I most wanted to hear. Does this man's heart hold a genuine love for this great country that so many Americans have bled and died to preserve and defend? Or is he merely seeking power and self-aggrandizement? Knowing where a man’s heart is based is monumentally more important than hearing him deliver rafter-reaching speeches or moving huge crowds to tears. Mr. President-Elect, show me your heart for this country that I love so much.

On this, the morning after, we conservatives know that the President-Elect is a socialist with deep ties to cultural and ethnocentric radicalism. We also know that Barack Hussein Obama’s executive and legislative agendas pose a greater threat to our American way of life than those of any president in the history of our great republic. These are the facts and we cannot escape what we know to be true. We will be watchful and we will be wary. We will also be hopeful that Obama, once fully briefed on the secret things that only presidents know, will moderate his course and take the centrist road. Reality checks can bring forth that sort of change.

I am a flag waving American and I love my country. I desperately want to support my president but I can only do that if he governs fairly from a centrist position. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt as he settles into the job and learns the ropes, but I cannot and I will not support the hard leftist position of socialism.

Nikki

Note: America has long held to three little words that carry monumental meaning for the life and liberty of every American -- E Pluribus Unum. Thanks to Michael Ramirez's clever insight in the above cartoon.

Edited 11-5-08 @ 9.49 PM to add: The stock market dropped 500 points the day following Obama's presidential victory. It was the worst post-election day drop in history. No further comment necessary.

The Audacity of the Blank Screens

2008-11-01T23:32:00.020-05:00

"I am new enough on the national political scene that I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views... I am bound to disappoint some... of them."

~~ Barack Hussein Obama in "The Audacity of Hope" ~~

I cannot shake the icy feeling of an ill wind sweeping across my beloved land of the free. It's a wind that I fear will change America, not for four years or for eight, but for many generations to come. The election of November 4th, 2008 has brought forth a reckless abandonment of rationale among the people, a cult-like following of all ages and races who are blindly willing to surrender their liberty and security in order to hold up their tiny paper cups to be filled with the Kool-Aid of socialism by The Anointed One. Meet the blank screens.

I never expected to see such a thing in America. Even some life-long conservatives are caught up in the insanity of the blank screens. They timidly attempt to explain their unexpected switch to Obama, but they end up being un-persuasive and somewhat pitiful. Otherwise intelligent people became embarrassingly illogical. Blank screens are not limited by education, IQ or personality.

There's a cult-like atmosphere surrounding Barack Obama; one which includes a messiah complex complete with worshipful followers. And then there are the special Obama flags, and an Obama presidential seal – a colorful graphic in the shape of a capital O. The seal adorns everything from Obama's plane to his campaign literature.

Blank screens have no boundaries. There were the young school children who sang praises to the Anointed One: "Obama's gonna' change it." And there were teens wearing camouflage, marching military style and chanting Obama's name as each one named a profession that Obama will make available for them.

And there was the Obama world tour where the visitor acted more like a host than several of the actual hosts themselves. It was embarrassing but it made for amazing television that culminated in a speech in Berlin where Obama proclaimed that we are all citizens of the world. Perhaps he sees the whole world as nothing more than blank screens on whom he is going to imprint his world view.

Dear readers, this is scary stuff -- scary, but it is not exactly new.

We've all seen the very old, grainy, black and white film clips where throngs of people stood spellbound as they listened to a new exciting personality on the scene. Oh, how this man could turn a phrase! He was an orator extraordinaire! He promised to uplift the poor, comfort the downtrodden, and strengthen the weak.

He was the agent of change. He would make all things new -- make the government work for all the people. He bashed the wealthy and promised everyone their share of prosperity. There were no obstacles too large -- not when the gifted one spoke. The blank screens entertained no doubt about a bright future coming.

The great one from long ago also had a seal of his own. The new seal was seen on flags, on uniforms, on everything. The great one was new and exciting and he made his appearance at a time when the people were weary, worn, and economically broken. They loved Hindenburg but they viewed the old soldier as weak and ineffective. The blank screens were ripe and ready for change.

Did I mention that this great one also wrote a book before he became famous? He wrote to the world and spelled out all he planned to do. His book was Mein Kampf. It was read by only a few, and those who did, dismissed it as nonsense – the ravings of a mad man. No one believed that anyone could carry out such radical, terrorist programs. By the time Adolph Hitler became Chancellor of the Third Reich in 1933, his book had become a bestseller.

If Germany had not been a country of blank screens when Mein Kampf was published in 1925, there's every reason to believe the history of the 20th century could have been very, very different.

The election of 2008 is only two days away, and the question now is whether the majority of voting Americans understand the magnitude of what’s at stake; and if they do, whether they care enough to become informed about the issues. Or are they merely blank screens following the allure of the charismatic demagogue of socialism?

Nikki

Before You Vote:

2008-10-31T14:44:00.007-05:00

Dear Mr. Obama:
A powerful message from Army Sgt. Joe Cook

Don't Tell Me Words Don't Matter:

Berg Interview:

The ultimate decision rests with your vote, dear readers. Never has so much been at stake for our country; for ourselves, for our children and for their children.

Nikki

Obama's Change Keeps Changing

2008-10-30T21:29:00.003-05:00

RNC Ad: The Slipery Slope

How low will it go? That's change I cannot believe in.

Nikki

A Viet Nam Veteran and Former Radical War Protester Looks at Barack Obama

2008-10-29T13:38:00.007-05:00

Thanks to William Long for submitting the following article:

I've been a Christian for 37 years. Before that, I was a radical. I was tear-gassed 5 times in Chicago in 1968 as a Vietnam Veteran Against the War. I came back from Chicago and was co-founder of an anarchist club on campus called CHAOS: Committee for the Humane Appreciation of Students. After I became a Christian, I became more or less politically inactive except for voting and trying to stay informed.

A few weeks ago I watched "Obsession", a DVD about Islamic terrorism. That led me to read Brigitte Gabriel's book, "Because They Hate". I've just finished David Horowitz's book "Unholy Alliance" about the alliance between radical Islam and the American Left.

I decided to find out as much as I could about Barack Obama by just researching the Internet. What I found is deeply disturbing. Any candidate who can support Odinga in his campaign promising Sharia in Kenya is someone I don't want as president.

Here's some more of what I found. I think it lays out a fairly complete picture of the underlying dynamic for this election.

Start with the Big Picture . Read Andy Martin's expose of the Obama-Ayers relationship going back to 1987 and watch the documentary on We Will Not Be Silenced about the fraud and abuse in the Democratic primaries. The financial crisis is influencing a lot of people to vote for Obama. So be sure to check out the links under 'Financial Crisis' to find out who and What Really Caused the Crisis. Note the part that Barack Obama played, as a trainer for ACORN, as a lawyer suing Citibank to force it to make bad loans, and in his promise to let ACORN help shape his agenda.

Read the Cult of Personality and listen to the 1985 interview with Yuri Bezmenov about ideological subversion. Also, note what Yuri Bezmenov and the Cloward Piven Strategy say about manufacturing a crisis. This election is so very important.. Look over some of the other links.

The MSM has a blackout on any negative information on Obama. The average American doesn't listen to or read conservative channels of communication. The best organized, and most knowledgeable, group I've found so far is PUMA (Hillary supporters who won't vote for Obama). The average American doesn't even know about PUMA much less visit any of their websites. The fact that Shelly Mandell, President of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization For Women, introduced and endorsed Governor Palin at a rally in Los Angeles County is encouraging. Even so, there's still so much ignorance among the general population of this nation.

The question is, how does a person get enough information to vote intelligently? (Read references below.)

Finally, and most importantly, for those of us who believe in a living God who is actively involved in the affairs of men and nations – pray. And join together with others in prayer.

William (Bill) Long

Stow, OH

Editor's Note: The following links were provided by William Long. I have not had time to check them; therefore, The Shepherd Report assumes no responsibility for their content. They are posted here exactly as they were received:

Obama's Own Words -- 2001 Interview

2008-10-27T17:18:00.009-05:00

Listen carefully to the words of Barack Hussein Obama in a 2001 interview on Chicago Public Radio WBEZ:

Redistributing the wealth is not a new concept for Obama. It's one of his core beliefs.

Thanks to ND for the tip.

Nikki

An Important Message from Fred Thompson

2008-10-25T09:45:00.003-05:00

Fred Thompson speaks of freedom versus tyranny. For the sake of our nation, take a few minutes and watch this. You'll be glad you did.

Nikki

Find the Good and Praise It -- Lamar Alexander

2008-10-22T16:20:00.003-05:00

Take a moment away from the ugly politics du jour, the stresses of the tanking economy, and relax with this video from Lamar Alexander, a good man from a good state -- a good idea.

We face tough times but we should always be mindful of the good in our lives -- our families, our communities and the goodness of our people. With all of its problems, we still live in the greatest country in the world.

If you're lucky enough to live in Tennessee, a vote for Lamar Alexander for Senate would be a good thing to do for all of us. Even if you live outside our beautiful state, enjoy the above video.

Take Lamar's message to heart -- he would like that.

Nikki

Who’s Vetting the MSM?

2008-10-21T12:19:00.005-05:00

The New York Times' Jodi Kantor, a journalist for the MSM, solicited children's Facebook accounts in an attempt to dig up dirt for their most recent hit piece on Cindy McCain.

This is the email Jodi Kantor sent to a 16-year old:

September 29 at 7:21pm

I saw on facebook that you went to Xavier, and if you don't mind, I'd love to ask you some advice about a story. I'm a reporter at the New York Times, writing a profile of Cindy McCain, and we are trying to get a sense of what she is like as a mother. So I'm reaching out to fellow parents at her kids' schools. My understanding is that some of her older kids went to Brophy/Xavier, but I'm trying to figure out what school her 16 year old daughter Bridget attends — and a few people said it was PCDS. Do you know if that's right? Again, we're not really reporting on the kids, just seeking some fellow parents who can talk about what Mrs. McCain is like.

Also, if you know anyone else who I should talk to– basically anyone who has encountered Mrs. McCain and might be able to share impressions– that would be great.

Thanks so much for any help you can give me.

Jodi Kantor
Political correspondent
New York Times
kantor@nytimes.com
212 556 4596

If you disapprove of such tactics, feel free to let Jodi Kantor know what you think.

Nikki

Biden’s Scary New Ad for John McCain

2008-10-20T19:03:00.010-05:00

Joe Biden's New Bumper Sticker

Joe Biden gave the country one of the best reasons yet to elect John McCain president. Yes, that Joe – Joe, the senator – Joe, running mate of Barack Obama.

The spinners and the talking heads can spin this any way they wish, but here are Joe Biden's own words, as reported by ABC News:

"Mark my words," the Democratic vice presidential nominee warned at the second of his two Seattle fundraisers Sunday. "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."

"I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate," Biden said to Emerald City supporters, mentioning the Middle East and Russia as possibilities. "And he's gonna need help. And the kind of help he's gonna need is, he's gonna need you--not financially to help him--we're gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it's not gonna be apparent initially, it's not gonna be apparent that we're right."

If that doesn't frighten you, you'd better check to see if you have a pulse. I don't frighten easily but that kind of talk sure scares the bejabbers out of me! And if the Dems want to spin it as another of Biden's gaffes, remember, he's the vice presidential nominee, and those kinds of gaffes are too dangerous to be coming from anyone who will be one heartbeat away from the Oval office.
Yes, JFK was tested. He was young, charismatic and not very experienced. America was lucky -- Krushchev blinked first.
Ronald Reagan was not tested. There was never any doubt as to what Reagan's reaction would have been.
What better advertising could John McCain wish for? Biden's comments are voter manna from political Heaven and the McCain camp should play it for all it's worth.

Biden's comments should solidify all Americans to get behind the tough old experienced soldier, John McCain. Joe Biden knows something that most Dems don't know – if Obama is elected, the world will not look at America and start to feel all warm and fuzzy again. Those days are gone forever. America needs to be prepared for the many dangers that lie ahead. America needs a strong leader, a man with experience, judgement and guts. Our very survival could depend on it.

Nikki

Patriot Perspective:

2008-10-19T16:02:00.015-05:00

"The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men."
— Samuel Adams

In his Inaugural Address on 20 January, 1961, President John F. Kennedy closed his remarks with these famous words: "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

With those words, JFK, considered by many to be the most exemplary leader of the Democrat Party in the 20th Century, asked Americans to put country first, a bedrock principle of the Party until the last few decades.

However today, the current slate of Democrats have turned Jack Kennedy's national challenge on end, essentially proclaiming, "ask what your country can do for you, not what you can do for your country."

In 1963, Martin Luther King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and said for all to hear, "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Has his dream been realized, or have Democrat leaders divided us up into constituency groups, where we are judged by all manner of ethnicity and special interests rather than the individual and national character King envisioned?

Kennedy and King had it right, but the Democrat Party has squandered their great legacy, and betrayed us, moreover enslaving many Americans as dependant wards of the state.

This is not the Democrat Party envisioned by Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Harry Truman, much less its founder, Thomas Jefferson, who would not recognize even the most vestigial elements of his once-noble Party. (This dramatic transition is evident in the Democrat Party Platforms from Kennedy to Obama.)

When asked why he left the Democrat Party, perhaps the most famous of former Democrats said, "I did not leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me." That was Ronald Reagan, who earned the respect and support of an enormous number of Democrats during his presidency. His observation, "the Party left me," has never been more true than today.

For several months, we have heard and observed two presidential candidates, centrist Republican John McCain and liberal Democrat Barack Obama. It should by now, be obvious to all of us who put our country first, which of these candidates possess the high qualities of a statesman, and the prerequisite moral and civic virtues for an American president.

Unfortunately, too many of my fellow Americans have difficulty distinguishing these qualities.
Every four years, at the peak of presidential election cycles, we're told by the talking heads and the party hacks that "this election is the most important in our lifetimes." This time, however, they may be right. These are indeed perilous times.

Our nation is facing crises on several critical fronts, including an historic economic disaster, the resolution of which will require the steady hand of a statesman in possession of outstanding character — character that has been honed over his lifetime, character that is proven consistent with our nation's legacy of liberty and equality.

That reformed Democrat, Ronald Reagan, wrote, "The character that takes command in moments of crucial choices has already been determined by a thousand other choices made earlier in seemingly unimportant moments. It has been determined by all the 'little' choices of years past — by all those times when the voice of conscience was at war with the voice of temptation, [which was] whispering the lie that 'it really doesn't matter.' It has been determined by all the day-to-day decisions made when life seemed easy and crises seemed far away — the decision that, piece by piece, bit by bit, developed habits of discipline or of laziness; habits of self-sacrifice or self-indulgence; habits of duty and honor and integrity — or dishonor and shame."

For the first and final word on the necessary character traits the next president should possess, let's return to our foundation, our Founders, those who risked all to proclaim our individual rights and responsibilities as ordained by God, and outlined them in our Declaration of Independence and its subordinate exposition, our Republic's Constitution.

Our Founders wrote at length about character, both of those who seek high office (or, rather, those that high office seeks), and those who elect them. Here are but a few excerpts in their own words.

John Adams: "Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom. ... If we suffer [the minds of young people] to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives. ... We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. ... We should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections."

Samuel Adams: "Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust must be men of unexceptionable characters. ... If men of wisdom and knowledge, of moderation and temperance, of patience, fortitude and perseverance, of sobriety and true republican simplicity of manners, of zeal for the honour of the Supreme Being and the welfare of the commonwealth; if men possessed of these other excellent qualities are chosen to fill the seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid and permanent foundation. ... [N]either the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt. ... No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and Virtue is preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders. ... Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country. ... Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness."

Thomas Jefferson: "It is the manners and spirit of a people which preserve a republic in vigor. A degeneracy in these is a canker which soon eats to the heart of its laws and constitution. ... If a nation expects to be ignorant — and free — in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. ... The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest. Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail. ... An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens."

George Washington: "No compact among men ... can be pronounced everlasting and inviolable, and if I may so express myself, that no Wall of words, that no mound of parchment can be so formed as to stand against the sweeping torrent of boundless ambition on the one side, aided by the sapping current of corrupted morals on the other. ...[A] good moral character is the first essential in a man, and that the habits contracted [early in life] are generally indelible, and your conduct here may stamp your character through life. It is therefore highly important that you should endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous. ... The foundations of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality, and the preeminence of free government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens, and command the respect of the world. ...[W]here is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation deserts the oaths...? Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness — these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens."

At the end of the Revolution, when our Founders were endeavoring "to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity," Founding brothers Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and our Constitution's author, James Madison, wrote The Federalist Papers, its most authentic and comprehensive explication.

In Federalist No. 1, Hamilton warned, "Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing demagogues and ending tyrants."

Sound familiar?

In No. 10, Madison cautions, "Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm," and insisted in No. 57, "The aim of every political Constitution is or ought to be first to obtain for rulers, men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous, whilst they continue to hold their public trust."

Madison's Supreme Court nominee, Justice Joseph Story, wrote, "Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them."

The Founders thus warned of the perils posed by the candidate who lacks political courage; the candidate who tells us everything we want to hear.

In November 1800, John Adams, in his fourth year as president, wrote to his wife Abigail, "I Pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessing on this house, and on ALL that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof!"

We should all pray likewise. Now. Today. This minute.

As Adams understood, "A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever."

Almost two centuries later, Ronald Reagan reiterated, "Freedom is ... never more than one generation away from extinction. Every generation has to learn how to protect and defend it, or it's gone and gone for a long, long time."

So, what of the current generation of voters, and the two presidential candidates?

On 4 November, one of these candidates will receive a majority of electoral votes, and in January, be seated as our next president. But for sure, this election is much more than a referendum on the two candidates; it is a referendum on the ability of Americans to discern between one candidate who possesses the character and integrity of a statesman, which the office of president requires, and one who does not.

At this pivotal moment in our nation's history, let's hope that a majority of us have sufficient courage and character to make that distinction, and vote on what we know rather than how we feel.

Let's put country first.

For more information on the character of the presidential candidates, link to The McCain record and The Obama record.

__________

Most of you know someone who plans to vote for Barack Hussein Obama instead of John Sidney McCain. If you don’t know any Obama supporters personally, you certainly have family, friends or associates who know them.

McCain, a centrist Republican, is a statesman and a patriot of the first order. As such, he is much more suited to the office of president than Obama, the most liberal member of the Senate, a still-mysterious man whose tissue-thin résumé contains no qualifications for that office beyond his age and his claim to U.S. citizenship.

Please copy and paste these insights into email and send to your family, friends and associates.

This essay posted with special thanks to Mark Alexander and The PatriotPost US.

America is at a major crossroads and our liberty hangs in the balance.

Nikki

Ramblings of a Political Junkie

2008-10-16T01:37:00.028-05:00

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."
~~ Ronald Reagan ~~

There are many aspects of this election that I find compelling beyond my control. As a political junkie since my teen years, I need a new fix at four year intervals, but this time it began slowly and with less than the usual enthusiasm.

I've always believed that our political process works best when neither party serves more than two consecutive terms. It has to do with checks and balances -- the proverbial pendulum that swings too far in one direction, and in an effort to redeem itself, it reverses and attempts to correct any damages while on its way to swinging too far the other way. Such is the nature of politics. While I confess to never having followed that logic while casting my ballot, I do believe the idea has merit.

We've had a Republican administration for the last eight years and they behaved badly. The first six years saw the Reps in control of the House and Senate, and we've had the Dems during the last two. Need I say more than Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid? They all behaved like spoiled brats. But Bush is in the Oval Office and that's where the buck stops and the blame drops.

There's little doubt we're heading into another Dem controlled House and Senate and that's all the more reason to put John McCain in the White House. In a word -- gridlock. Gridlock slows government and gets it out of our faces. Gridlock can be good. Now would be an especially good time to implement gridlock in order to hold at bay the Gruesome Gang of Three – Obama, Pelosi and Reid. The damage they can to do our country will have our Founding Fathers spinning. The lesser of the evils, the Tantrum Two of Pelosi and Reid, will be more than most conservatives can stand, but with McCain in the White House, the ship of state will stand a better chance of surviving intact. Yes, gridlock would be good here.

To place all of the ills of the last eight years at Bush's feet is grossly unfair and I rather imagine history will judge him with more kindness than his contemporaries are willing to bestow. He's endured the MSM spinning any good news badly: "Unemployment is down to 4.2% and the economy grew by 3% this quarter, but the experts caution… ." And this from last year: "Experts surprised at good economic numbers…"

For far too long good news from Iraq was embargoed. If the MSM could not report the death of American troops or fierce battles lost, they preferred not to cover it at all. Our American men and women in uniform performed valiantly and with honor, and there are many stories of real heroism from both wars that have been ignored. What dishonor and shame for the MSM. These soldiers are heroes and should be celebrated throughout our land. But the MSM doesn't want America to feel good about a war they've worked so hard to convince us is both wrong and unpopular.

And who do we thank for keeping our country safe from terrorist attacks during the last seven years? History will sort it out and books will be written about it, but I sent my personal thanks to President George W. Bush. It was his watch and we were safe.

Conservatives like me have been suffering from eight years of political exasperation. The choice of John McCain was, for me, another frustration. While I believe he's fully capable of being a strong president, he was not my candidate of choice. McCain is an extremely honorable and good man, and I certainly appreciate and honor his service in uniform to our country, but I felt I had no horse in this race.

I was in the mood for None Of The Above. And then along came, Sarah Palin. What a breath of fresh air! I felt an instant kinship with her. She's like me. I can relate. I get it. Enthusiasm for the political process had returned.

Oh, did I mention the final debate took place tonight, just a few hours ago? While it wasn't a prize fight, it was far and away the better of the three debates. It was still too structured, too practiced, but nowhere near being the yawner we endured last week.

McCain answered the questions clearly and in as much detail as the time allowed. He exhibited great strength of character on several occasions. It was his best debate by far and he was able to get a lot of solid info before the public. But no knock-out -- McCain is not telegenic, a flaw that can be fatal in our celebrity-obsessed culture. He seemed stiff and somewhat uncomfortable, but he's always like that on television and that makes his message hard to sell, no matter how strong. And McCain's message was strong but the public thrives on the shallowness of image.

Obama seemed to be pulling answers out of thin air. He had more than one occasion to show his character and he did -- or sadly, the lack thereof. The vision of an empty suit kept floating through my head. But he's telegenic, polished,charismatic, and he is an image. He could recite the Philadelphia phone book and his followers would proclaim his brilliance in sound bites throughout the land.

The differences between the two candidates were obvious. The strong old soldier turned statesman who loves his country and will give his all for her if necessary versus the polished young lawyer who is little more than an American Idol candidate.

Obama has no real qualifications of substance, only a maze of extremely questionable background associations that can't stand beneath the light of full disclosure. And Obama has a record of disloyalty to his friends, even to his pastor of twenty years, who, when it was politically feasible, Obama threw him under the bus. No one is allowed to tarnish the image of The One.

The choice could not be more clear.

The patriotism and love of country from McCain was obvious.

The Socialism from Obama was chilling. "Spread the wealth" is more than Robin Hood -- it's Stalin, it's Marxism, and it will be fatal to the American economy.

Voters, beware!

The winner was Joe the plumber. He'll be on the Huckaby Show on the Fox News channel this week-end. Can a reality show be far behind?

Nikki

Edited to add: In response to a reader's question, the term, MSM, is blog-speak for the Main Stream Media; otherwise known as NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, and all of the liberal media, both broadcast and print.

A Time to Smile: The McCain-Palin Tradition

2008-10-15T01:59:00.004-05:00

Yo, Hank! Way to go, Hoss!

Nikki

The Turning Point

2008-10-07T16:36:00.019-05:00

In every battle there comes a time, a turning point, that determines whether the battle will be won or lost. Sometimes that turning point doesn't come until late in the battle; sometimes it comes early.

We have witnessed such a time.

The debate tonight between John McCain and Barack Obama hasn't even begun, but it's already totally irrelevant to the outcome of the election.

It's over.

The election is over and the winner is Barack Hussein Obama. I freely admit to be choking extremely hard as I type these words, and I assure you I will be overjoyed to eat a plate of crow if I'm proven wrong.

McCain lost the election the day he announced the suspension of his campaign in order to return to Washington to support passage of the bailout bill. That was his campaign killer. He should have stayed on the stump, listened to the will of the people, and then acted on their behalf. But he didn't. It was his game-changing moment and he blew it.

The American people are fed up. We're sick of predatory politicians, arrogant bureaucrats, over-compensated golden-parachuted executives, and the elitist MSM. We're not the least bit inclined to bail out any of them. Call it what they will, but like a rose, a bailout by any other name is still a bailout.

The Wall Street elites and the greedy politicians, primarily the Dems, wanted the bailout but the people on Main Street did not. And we were adamant about it with our emails and calls to our representatives in Washington. Republican and Independent Conservatives did not want it in any shape or form. The market did not want the bailout bill and it reacted by delivering staggering losses. The market knows it has witnessed the nationalization of a major sector of the American economy and it recognizes an enemy of free enterprise.

The poll numbers are hardening and the election has now passed the point of no return. At least 45% of all American voters have made up their mind -- they are voting for Obama, some blindly, and some defiantly. Seven percent of the remaining 55% are leaning in Obama's direction. That happens in elections when the economy turns sour.

There is now no plausible argument to indicate a quick recovery in the credit crisis, and the more the economy tanks, the more the voters will turn to the Democrats. The Republicans are in power in the executive branch only, but fair or not, that's always where the buck stops and the blame drops.

Bill Clinton got it right years ago: "It's the economy, stupid." Elections always come down to the economy and how it affects our everyday lives. We vote with our pocketbooks, our credit cards, our savings, investments, and our disposable income. Anyone who doesn't recognize this is ignorant of history or simply in denial of the workings of human nature.

In the meantime, we will keep working hard for the McCain-Palin ticket and do everything we can to get out the vote. There will be time enough to prepare for the Obama impact.

But God is in control and His ways are not our ways.

Let's not forget it took four years of suffering under Jimmy Carter to give us two terms of the great Ronald Reagan.

Disclaimer: I've spent the day attempting to talk myself in off the ledge, but with the economy tanking and the extremely strong prospect of Obama in the Oval Office, I think I'll just stay out here. I truly believe the above scenario will prove to be correct, but you have no idea how hard I'm praying to be wrong.

Nikki

Obama's Strange Bedfellows

2008-10-07T00:46:00.004-05:00

The fact that this video is not new does not diminish its importance in the quest to see who Barack Obama is, and what he really believes.

The best I can say for what is shown here is that it's quite disturbing. And, at the other end of the spectrum -- May God help us!

Nikki

Obama's Choices

2008-10-06T01:22:00.008-05:00

The Constitution is so much more than mere words on a piece of parchment. It's the document on which our country was built -- who we are and how we want to live. It must never be entrusted to those who do not love it enough to die for it.

The next administration could possibly appoint as many as 5 new justices to the Supreme Court. The wrong appointments would mean disaster for America. Do you really trust Barack Hussein Obama to make the right appointments?

Some choices are too important to ignore. This is one of those choices.

Barack Obama -- do you really know who he is and what he believes?

Nikki

Bailout: Sweet & Sour Pork

2008-10-02T17:18:00.022-05:00

After taking a 3 page bill and porking it up to 451 pages, the Senate passed the Bailout Bill by a vote of 74 – 25. It's expected to go to the House for a vote Friday morning and then to President Bush for signing into law.

But wait, it's not that simple. Let's look at some of the so-called sweeteners our senators put into the bill. The facts may surprise you – they sure surprised the heck out of me! Are our elected officials truly serving the interests of the people or is this a case of legislative abuse being foisted on the taxpayer at a time of crisis?

The Bailout Bill, known as HR1424, began life as The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007, but it's now being called The 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.

Don't let the name change fool you -- the original bill's proposed spending for mental health remains in the bill and it is going to cost the taxpayers an enormous amount of money over a very long period of time. That's how they do things in Washington. They should have been honest with the public and kept the bill's original name – the very concept of a $700 Billion bailout (plus) certainly toys with my mental health, and for all the pols who are addicted to pork, there's a nice fix in there for them.

Nuff said. Let's look at some of what's included:

Sec. 503. Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children. A proposal to exempt the excise tax for any wooden arrow shaft consisting of all natural wood with no laminations or artificial means to enhance the spine. Estimated cost to the taxpayer = $2 million.

Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility. Track owners want to be able write-off the cost of their facilities, including grandstands, parking lots and concession stands, over seven years. Auto track owners are trying to get out of paying more taxes - which they'd have to do if they deducted less every year. Estimated cost = $100 million.

Sec. 308. Increase in limit on cover over of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. A rebate on excise taxes charged on rum imported from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Estimated cost to the American taxpayer = $192 million.

Sec. 301. Extension and modification of research credit. Extension of a lucrative tax credit for companies doing research and experimentation in the United States. Companies that have benefited from this provision include Microsoft Corp., Boeing Co., United Technologies Corp., Electronic Data Systems Corp. and Harley-Davidson. Estimated cost $19 billion.

Sec. 504. Income averaging for amounts received in connection with the Exxon Valdez litigation. A tax break for Exxon Valdez plaintiffs. Rep. Don Young (R-AK) is a supporter. Estimated taxpayer cost = $49 million.

Sec 502. Provisions related to film and television productions. Special tax incentives to attempt to keep film and television productions in the U.S. Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA) is a primary supporter. Estimated cost to the taxpayer = $478 million.

Sec. 325. Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products; wool research fund; wool duty refunds. Tariff relief for the U.S. worsted wool fabric producers that use imported fibers and yarns, as well as U.S. tailored clothing manufacturers that use imported fabrics as inputs. Supported by Reps. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Melissa Bean (D-IL). Cost to the taxpayer = $148 million.

Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa. A tax credit for certain corporations operating in American Samoa. Estimated cost = $33 million.

And there's more, but you get the idea.

Memo to Washington: When election time rolls around, you campaign for our votes and you ask us to trust you; yet, during what could be a Herbert Hoover moment for our country, you refuse to give us a clean bill that directly addresses only the important issue at hand.

Make no mistake, something must be done to loosen the credit markets but we do not need this porked-up legislation that absolves the guilty while weighing heavily on the backs of the innocent. Simply stated, this is a bad bill. You could have -- should have -- done much better for those you claim to serve.

Don't tell us our economy is crashing, that the entire financial world as we know it is about to come to an end if this bill isn't passed, and then have the audacity to stuff your pork into the folds of a $700 Billion piece of legislation that will burden our children, our grandchildren, and perhaps even our great grandchildren, all the while hoping that we won't notice.

The sad part is, usually we don't.

Nikki

Give This Video 11 Minutes Before You Vote

2008-10-01T14:41:00.005-05:00

A fast moving video that explains how we got into this financial mess, it provides sources and is easy to understand. View it full screen if possible. It was removed from You Tube after 1.2 million hits due to a music copyright claim by Warner Brothers. It has been reposted on You Tube as Version II but who knows if it will be pulled again.

You owe it to yourself to see it while you can.

Give this video 11 minutes of your time before you vote. It could change your mind.

Nikki

A Letter to My Representative

2008-10-01T00:02:00.011-05:00

My Representative voted NO on the first bailout bill, and the following is a letter that I emailed to say thanks for the vote, and to offer my suggestions for a common sense solution that I believe will do much to alleviate our current credit crisis without soaking the taxpayer for generations to come.

If you like this solution, please feel free to copy and paste this letter and email it to your representatives and senators.

Nikki

Congressman XXXX,

First, I want to thank you for your NO vote on the House's bailout bill. As I'm sure you know, the amount of money Treasury Secretary Paulson wanted, $700 Billion, would have placed an unbelievable burden on the already over-burdened American taxpayer, both now and for several generations yet to come. And the idea that Paulson wanted sole control over the dispersion of this money was a socialistic ploy that no American could allow to happen. Again, I appreciate your vote and I will remember it when it's time for me to cast mine.

Secondly, while realizing that Main Street will suffer from frozen credit markets and something must be done to remedy this, I would like to put forth the following simple, common sense suggestions, that if implemented, should quickly begin adding liquidity -- at far less expense to the American taxpayer than the unacceptably expensive and socialistic Paulson Plan.

Remove Mark To Market accounting rules on all subprime Tier III bonds and mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down their inventory below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate. This would have an immediate effect of stabilization on failing banks and it would add no cost to the taxpayer. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich estimates this step alone would solve approximately 70% of the liquidity problem.
Provide all subprime bonds and mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. These government-insured loans would have an instant market all over the world, and thus, create immediate liquidity. Companies receiving this government-backed insurance must comply with all items through #6 below:
Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent into a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
Roll back all payments (with no late fees or legal costs) into the balance. This would bring homeowners current and give them a chance to keep their homes.
Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the loan. In cases of imminent foreclosure or short sale, proceed as the FHA already does, and do not hold the borrower liable for any deficit balance so that the mortgage company will be motivated to work with the borrower while limiting foreclosures. Estimated cost: less than $50 million instead of $700 billion,
Cancel ALL golden parachutes for existing and future CEO's while their companies hold these government-insured bonds and mortgages.
And lastly, remove the capital gains tax in order to stimulate investors into the real estate and stock market in hopes of gaining tax-free profits. This step should create immediate liquidity. And again, it would add no cost to the taxpayers.

The wealthy will benefit, and they should because it will be their money that is stimulating the economy. I believe these steps will enable liquidity to flow into the credit markets while providing the American borrower adequate relief in order to survive this current crisis.

These ideas did not originate with me; rather, they are a collection of good ideas I gathered while listening to many others.

I trust you will give these suggestions your most serious consideration.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address and Zip Code
Your Email Address

Prayer, God and War: The Media Elites vs. Palin, Clinton, JFK, FDR, and Lincoln

2008-09-30T13:35:00.012-05:00

Shame on you, Charlie Gibson!

God bless Sarah Palin!

Video courtesy of Newt Gingrich

Nikki

The Used Car Mortgage

2008-09-25T16:33:00.013-05:00

The Used Car Mortgage is one phase of the current credit crisis that I have always found incredibly hard to believe. Having purchased several homes, I'm familiar with the required documentation and the required amount of money for a down payment or an equity sale. I'm very aware of the relationship between the amount of money paid up front and how it relates to the monthly payment and the financing of the balance. The Used Car Mortgage, however, is something else entirely.

I've never understood how companies like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae – the companies once headed by Obama advisers Jim Johnson and Franklin Raines -- could be publicly traded while at the same time being government sponsored. But they are and they're legal. A bit of history sheds some light on how it came to be this way.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed the Community Reinvestment Act that pushed Freddie and Fannie into aggressively lending to impoverished minority communities with what Carter said were hopes of raising them to middle class. History shows that poor minorities would have been better served if they had been offered jobs and education instead of mortgages they couldn't afford to pay, but Carter didn't see it that way.

Fast forward to 1995 -- President Clinton directed Robert Rubin, his Secretary of the Treasury, to re-write the rules for Freddie and Fannie, and by 1997 Clinton, using his HUD Secretary, Mario Cuomo, double-teamed the process. In so doing, Clinton turned the quasi-private mortgage-funding firms into semi-nationalized monopolies that not only dealt in mortgage paper but they also began making loans to large Democratic voting blocks, and handing out jobs and money to political allies. Corruption was inevitable.

Clinton had put Freddie and Fannie into the subprime market in a huge way. They now had immense leverage due to government guarantees that allowed them to hold only 2.5% of capital to back their investments. Banks were required to hold 10%.

Business boomed for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as they dumped billions of dollars into loans in poor communities. They became the used car salesmen of the mortgage market, generating the "No job -- No income documentation = No problem" loans. If you had a pulse you could get a mortgage. The insanity had begun.

By 2007, Freddie and Fannie owned and guaranteed nearly half of the $12 Trillion US mortgage market. This was an overwhelming exposure of taxpayer money into private equity and it was doomed to fail.

It was only a matter of time.

Nikki

Congratulation to the American Taxpayer

2008-09-20T14:51:00.051-05:00

Congratulations to the American taxpayer! Like it or not, all of us will soon own over $700 billion in bad mortgages – mortgage paper that isn’t worth its face value. And to add insult to injury, the Feds want us to believe they will be able to sell it for profit. So much for fairy tales.

And if that doesn’t make you mad, add this comment from Dem VP hopeful, Sen. Joe Biden on ABC’s Good Morning America: “Raising taxes is patriotic. We want to take money and put it back in the pocket of the middle class.”

Maybe ol’ Joe would be happy if I just endorse my check and send it all to the government. Would that make me more patriotic? Sorry, that’s not change I can believe in.

I'm furious and you should be too!

I’m a strong advocate for free enterprise. Our capitalistic system is by far the best in the world because it causes us to rise to our best – no, it demands our best and it rewards our entrepreneurial efforts, hard work and ingenuity with a good living and our share of the American dream.

I don't like what's happening to our free market economy. I don't like what's happening to the survival of the fittest in the rough and tumble market where he who builds the better mouse trap wins, and he who builds an inferior one re-groups his resources and tries again or falls by the wayside.

Free markets must have overseers, and they do, a body known as the Securities and Exchange Commission, but it failed to do its job for whatever reason. We cannot afford to have failure at such levels, but the SEC is not the only culprit in this crisis.

Regulatory bodies must be tough minded watch dogs with the highest degree of integrity and moral character, guardians of the public trust who aren’t afraid to bark when something doesn’t smell right, when something goes bump or when things simply feel wrong. There’s a fine line between not enough regulation and too much, and the overseerer must walk that tightrope constantly because a slip in either direction can be fatal. Our own history, as well as that of Europe, is proof that too much regulation hinders growth and kills business.

In 2003, President Bush called for a full investigation and re-regulating of the SEC. He said it was tottering on the brink of disaster but he was shot down by Congressmen Barney Frank and Chris Dodd of the powerful Federal Banking Committee. Frank claimed there were no looming problems. The story was reported in the liberal New York Times on September 11, 2003, but got little attention. On May 23, 2006, Sen. John McCain stood on the floor of the Senate and called for a full investigation of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and he too was blocked.

For those who don't follow the stock market, the type of bailout we're witnessing began under former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, along with the monetary policy that led to the imploding credit crisis. Greenspan was an advocate of the Adjustable Rate Mortgage in all of its insanity, as well as ridiculously low interest rates that encouraged the creation of severely underfunded credit policies. I truly believe Greenspan will go down as one of the worst central bankers in history. But again, there is no sole culprit.

This much I know -- if, on the day of disaster, you were long the stock of either Fannie or Freddie, you lost your money. If you were short the stock (betting it would go down), you won and pocketed profits. It's legal and I've done it a few times in years past, but there’s something very un-American about it.

I’m beginning to question what country I'm living in. Since when are profits private and losses public? This doesn't sound like America, Toto.

We're fast becoming a Socialist nation. What’s next -- socialized health care, a socialized auto industry? And while they're at it, they could socialize the credit card industry too. And how about Sallie Mae and student loans? Maybe I'll send them my utility bill.

The whole mess is a travesty of woefully inadequate monetary policies, graft, corruption and greed, and now that the inmates are running the asylum, they want a blank check drawn on the taxpayers' account to spend as they see fit. This must not be allowed to happen!

It's true that something must be done to rescue the credit markets, and soon, but no blank checks for anyone -- not now, not ever! It would be a terrible injustice to the taxpayer -- a dagger into the heart of every honest, hard working American.

Memo to Washington: Be very careful with our money. Proceed with great caution, for when free market capitalism goes away, the American dream will go with it.

Nikki

Welcome to The Shepherd Report

2008-09-18T10:32:00.005-05:00

I have no agenda other than to satisfy my own desire to write – to force myself to think, to research and assimilate facts, and to reason and form my own conclusions. Next is the ultimate step where I put my thoughts into a public forum where they risk the reader’s criticism and rejection or perhaps, only the damning of faint praise. But I welcome it all. I’ve done it before and I’m relatively free from battle scars.

It was in the late 1980’s when I first aimed my modem tones toward the then-largest online service at a blazing 600 baud. A few short years later I was writing a monthly column where I interviewed and wrote about the CEO’s and technology visionaries who were bringing the internet to Everytown, USA. These were the people running the companies that made up the technology boom in the stock market. It was an exciting time and I enjoyed the gig tremendously. But that’s enough history for now.

I'm a Southerner, born and bred. I’m opinionated. I am also tolerant, and I hope you will feel free to state your views on any given subject within the confines of good taste and proper language. Click on the comment button and talk back to me.

You, the reader, won’t always agree with what I write and that’s okay. I won’t always hit one out of the park, but I’ll usually take a swing.

More later…

Nikki Shepherd