(2008-11-06) — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, today announced that inauguration packages — including airfare, hotel, hybrid ground transportation and prime seats for the swearing-in ceremony of President Barack Obama — will be distributed for free to 95 percent of all Americans who wish to attend.
“If you earn less than $250,000 per year, you will not spend a penny to experience this history-making four-day vacation,” said Sen. Feinstein. “If you earn more than that, your taxes will increase just a bit to allow you the vicarious patriotic thrill of helping those less fortunate to attend an event which will commemorate America’s new birth of freedom.”
“Wealthy Americans,” she said, “those making more than $250,000 per year, are also welcome to attend at their own expense and at their own risk.”
135 responses so far ↓
1 camojack // Nov 6, 2008 at 10:56 am
That top 5% will be footing the bill…
2 Ms RightWing, Ink // Nov 6, 2008 at 11:08 am
My bags are packed-not
3 Maggie // Nov 6, 2008 at 11:14 am
Camojack,
Lucky for us ,were in the top 11 percent….NOT
Ms Righty,
Of course,you are in the top 5 percent and will have to foot the bill….NOT….:>)
4 gafisher // Nov 6, 2008 at 11:31 am
“… free to 95 percent of all Americans who wish to attend.”
Thankfully for D.C., there are a lot of folks who don’t particularly wish to attend.
5 Ms RightWing, Ink // Nov 6, 2008 at 11:43 am
The pick three number for Illinois lottery number for yesterday, Barack’s election victory day, was 666.
This is not an Urban Legend
6 gafisher // Nov 6, 2008 at 11:49 am
BTW, thanks for the Puffington link, Scott. It’s fascinating and rather appropriate to see the Dems plagiarizing a Republican’s most famous speech for their inaugural. Maybe, both to avoid controversy and to more accurately address the expectations of the electorate, the theme should be slightly altered:
Jeremiah Wright is scheduled to speak at the swearing-in; he’ll do the cussin’ out.
7 debass // Nov 6, 2008 at 11:50 am
God Bless America.
8 Darthmeister // Nov 6, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Obama Campaign Workers Angry Over Unpaid Wages
Hmmmm, this happened in the land of milk and honey? Didn’t Obama score something like $700 million for his campaign? Where did all that money go?
Oh, that’s right, it’s Bush’s fault. Well, George Soros will simply have to pay them off.
9 Darthmeister // Nov 6, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Hilarious videoclip at the Onion:
Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Really Are
10 J. Cougar Melancholy // Nov 6, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Hopefully the only Clinton we see at the inauguration will be George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. It’s gonna be like Sooouuuuul Train!
11 gafisher // Nov 6, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Darth Re#8: Think how thrilled those campaign workers must be to rank among the very first eggs to contribute to the Party omelet.
And Re#9 — How long will it take for the last of the Scrappletrolls to come to that sad realization. I notice the smarter ones are already gone.
12 Hawkeye // Nov 6, 2008 at 1:36 pm
This must be what Obama meant when he says he believes in “Free-dom”… (i.e., the kingdom of Free).
13 Mack // Nov 6, 2008 at 2:09 pm
As I have said and I have heard echoed by many of like mind, I intend to give President elect Obama and his party all the same sort of support they gave to President Bush at every turn from the day Al Gore started suing to try to steal the election in 2000 to date.
14 Mack // Nov 6, 2008 at 2:11 pm
As I have said and I have heard echoed by many of like mind, I intend to give President elect Obama and his party all the same sort of support they gave to President Bush at every turn from the day Al Gore started suing to try to steal the election in 2000 to date.
They were so patriotic
15 Tinman // Nov 6, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I could use a free trip. I wonder if one has to prove that they used it to attend the inauguration? I mean, what would happen if they see you used the air fare and hotels but your “prime seat” was empty?
16 upnorthlurkin // Nov 6, 2008 at 3:11 pm
How long before the aahhh-one decides president (of a soon to be 3rd world country) isn’t lofty enough and starts campaigning for king of the world or….God..?
17 gafisher // Nov 6, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Mack, I hope and pray I am able to give the new administration the full measure of support my Bible expects of me. Descending to the shameful level the left adopted over the past forty years would be bad both for the country and for me. Harboring bitterness is self-destructive; just look how it’s scarred Gore and his supporters.
I’ll work hard for something better, but until then I hope I can at least avoid making things even worse.
18 Possumtrot // Nov 6, 2008 at 3:20 pm
What if they gave a party and no one came?
I’m looking forward to 2012. All those college kids who raised such a ruckus this year will be married, starting to raise families, and struggling to survive the economic ruin of Jimmy Carter redux.
There is further post-election commentary over at United Possums International.
Thanks for the great campaign coverage and some good laughs, Great Scott. You’ll have four years of ready-made satirical material coming your way now!
Forming up for the bread lines on Scorpion Hill…
19 J. Cougar Melancholy // Nov 6, 2008 at 3:37 pm
You guys actually WANT him to fail, just for the satisfaction. Sick.
20 boberinyetagain // Nov 6, 2008 at 3:46 pm
J…it appears that way but I’m betting he fools them and actually makes us (most of us) proud to be American again.
That’s been tough for a while now
21 upnorthlurkin // Nov 6, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I expect him to live up to my expectations of him….I will support him as much as you’ve all supported President Bush….payback is a mother…ain’t it?!
22 Just Ranting // Nov 6, 2008 at 4:07 pm
JCM,
Yes, I want BO to fail! His policies will weaken America economically and make us more vulnerable to attack from terrorists.
The company I work for announced it will be laying off 1/10th of our workforce to compensate for lost income and increased taxes. The stock market has plummeted over the last 2 days because people are trying to protect what they have left from larger capital gains taxes.
I wish him no physical harm, and better counsel than he has elected to heed in his life so far.
The economy is not yet as bad as it was in the 1930s. It is not yet as bad as it was when Jimmy Carter spent the last year and a half of his tenure cowering in a corner of the Rose Garden talking about malaise. While Barack may be more articulate the Carter I see the same lack of understanding and faith in the American people to produce solutions and a brighter future devoid of dependence on a large federal government.
I heard that 20% of conservatives voted for Barack Obama on Tuesday. I can understand why. Perhaps America needs to see just how bad things can get when Socialism takes over for a time. Higher energy prices are coming. People will be loosing their homes and jobs. Companies will close or move off-shore. Families will fall apart because women and children will look to the government to act as fathers to their children.
This is not new to America. I just watched a video of Reagan’s 1964 speech to the RNC convention. The parallels from that time to now are an amazing echo over the decades. It proves his words and vision are timeless, and America needs to return to the principles. Everyone should set a 1/2hr aside and watch this. It is truly inspiring:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt1fYSAChxs
23 boberinyetagain // Nov 6, 2008 at 4:24 pm
JR, do you actually believe any of that drivel? The stock market is dropping and times are getting hard because of Obama’s victory? Those things would happen if the Easter Bunny/Santa clause ticket had won.
You sir (or maam) are out of your mind
24 upnorthlurkin // Nov 6, 2008 at 4:28 pm
This just in from Sweetness and light…
Emanuel, who was a senior adviser for former President Bill Clinton throughout the 1990s, was appointed to the board of Freddie Mac upon his departure from the Clinton administration.
“Clinton’s going-away gift to Emanuel was a seat on the quasi-governmental Freddie Mac board, which paid him $231,655 in director’s fees in 2001 and $31,060 in 2000,†Lynn Sweet wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times on Jan. 3, 2002.
During the time Emanuel spent on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandal involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities…
And, since his successful run for the House of Representatives in 2002, Emanuel has been the beneficiary of campaign cash from Freddie Mac and its sister organization Fannie Mae – $51,750 according to the Center for Responsive Politics Web site OpenSecrets.org.
Emanuel received $25,000 in contributions from Freddie Mac during his first run in 2002, right at the end of his tenure at the government-sponsored enterprise. Freddie Mac was his third largest overall contributor that year.
Now there’s some (chump) change you can believe in!! Yes, you can….
25 boberinyetagain // Nov 6, 2008 at 4:54 pm
upnorth, lets have full disclosure on Emanual here…
Securities & Investment $250,350
Lawyers/Law Firms $85,270
Real Estate $58,100
Public Sector Unions $58,000
Misc Finance $50,200
Commercial Banks $48,250
TV/Movies/Music $48,200
Health Professionals $46,600
Insurance $38,500
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $27,000
Misc Unions $25,000
Retired $23,450
Business Services $22,550
Finance/Credit Companies $22,500
Pro-Israel $21,450
Transportation Unions $21,250
Industrial Unions $19,000
Building Trade Unions $18,500
Telephone Utilities $17,000
Beer, Wine & Liquor $15,000
Defense Aerospace $15,000
Seems he, like every single elected official is beholding to just about any group/organization you can name eh…
26 Just Ranting // Nov 6, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Bober;
Obama and Biden think they are the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus…with taxpayer money that is. That’s the problem.
27 Just Ranting // Nov 6, 2008 at 5:09 pm
The point is not what the government can do for you; it is what government can do to get out of the way and allow the people to create opportunites on their own. It is what made this country thrive since its inception. The rest of the world seemed to think it was a crazy idea back then too. But it created peace and prosperity for many generations. No government ever taxed its citizens into wealth.
28 NeaL // Nov 6, 2008 at 5:31 pm
On Michelle Malkin’s site, she’s got a message board petition thing set up going directly for Sarah Palin. Here’s mine, message #4,119:
Dear Governor Palin,
We’re putting together a band and need a flute player. So far we have Mike Huckabee on bass and Alan Keyes playing guitar. We’re thinking of calling the band “Republican Ticket, 2012 and the Presidential Staff.” The gig will be 4-8 years long at an exclusive venue in Washington D.C., a club called, “The White House.”
This will be following an energetic cross-country tour. Are you up for it? If you know of any drummers who play in a Conservative manner, please pass along our contact info.
29 boberinyetagain // Nov 6, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I’d say that taxpayer money has been wasted (with Obama’s and McCain’s blessing) to the (now admittedly way low) figure of $700 billion, the greatest scam ever to have been pulled off.
No one that voted for (or against for that matter) that bit of lunacy could even begin to describe the problem let alone what that money was supposed to “solve”.
You’ll see…
30 Just Ranting // Nov 6, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Bober re: 29
For once we agree.
31 Beerme // Nov 6, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Right, Bober. But ya know it just had to be done…and right now! When I hear that kind of sales pitch, I head for the hills but our congresscritters get all excited and start ta votin’!
Ahhh, experience.
32 mindknumbed kid // Nov 6, 2008 at 9:31 pm
After extensive observation, I have come to a very sad conclusion, it may be possible to reverse things, but I do not know how likely it is. The conclusion is that America is no longer a Christian nation.
God is perhaps the very last person on the nation’s mind, unless there is a major calamity. How quickly he is forgotten. It is vanity to attempt to rebuild the conservative movement as the primary force in the republican party unless we restore our spiritual foundation on Christ Jesus.
33 mig // Nov 6, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Like I have said before, after 8 years of election fraud it’s nice that Acorn gave us a legal election. Thank you Acorn. Drinking kool-aid with the Coug and Boob.
34 Fred Sinclair // Nov 6, 2008 at 10:06 pm
mkk #32 You Sir, could not be more correct. I ‘m not sure, but I think it Was Nikita Krushchev who said something like “America will become Socialist country. All we have to do is keep giving them socialism in small amounts and eventually they will vote themselves into socialism.”
35 Newsman // Nov 6, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Whatever happened to the results of the Bush Administration’s push to deregulate almost everything?
Did that possibly have anything at all to do with the financial mess we find ourselves in today?
Of course he was immensely helped by a number of b-lless members of Congress from both sides of the aisle.
And under whose administration did CEOs financially rape healthy companies and then walk away with their lifeblood in dollars leaving their victims helpless in a terminal state ?
Gee did all this happen in the last eight years under G W Bush ?
Seems to me there was a brother of this same G W Bush up to his neck in the S&L scandals of a few years ago.
Hmmm - any of you know anything about this ?
36 mindknumbed kid // Nov 6, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Fred - re#34, I was thinking about that very thing today, bit by bit we have become good little socialists.
I was eating breakfast this morning @ McD’s and someone had left a section of the USSA Today on the table that had an article about loans available to automakers and the stipulations that were on them, turns out the loans were from the Dept of Energy. So now the DOEnergy is a lending institution stipulating what the criteria is for automobiles…something just isn’t right there.
37 mig // Nov 6, 2008 at 11:03 pm
#19 - Your being sarcastic right? Are you holding up a mirror when you say that. Goodness knows what you all have done to hinder the current administration. 2 days after the election, he isn’t even in office and you’re complaining already because we’re still not on the bus? WOW. Thin skin?
cc: pocketbook is = gonna be empty.
38 mig // Nov 6, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Hmmm, instead of on the bus I should say boarding the train!
From my most favored (socialist) Uncle whom I won’t talk politics with because I love him dearly but I suppose he couldn’t help himself :“Did you know that out of the first 43 Presidents that have come before Obama (#44), 12 of them ‘owned’ slaves. In fact, slaves were used to build the White House, soon to be occupied by the Obama family. “
Huh? Maybe Rush is right; the slate is now wiped clean. As Bill Bennett says ‘No More Excuses.” I couldn’t agree more. The brothers have now achieved the most powerful position in the world. Every oppurtunity is equal. Every job is open. The honeymoon is over, sober up and get to Work. I am gonna sit this one out and watch the ditch digger.
39 gafisher // Nov 6, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Re#35 — Both scandals and several more have been clearly and irrefutably traced to Democrats, particularly James Earl Carter and William Jefferson Clinton. George W. Bush began calling attention to the problem, which was under the control of Congress, early in his Presidency, but Democrats in both the House and the Senate blocked all efforts toward reform.
It was regulation which caused these problems; responsible deregulation would have prevented them.
wv - overjoyed Apostle - I won’t call them trolls. I won’t call them trolls.
40 gafisher // Nov 6, 2008 at 11:19 pm
mig Re#38 — by all means don’t remind your uncle that there are no slaves in Obama’s family history (unless his ancestors were among the African Muslims who captured and sold most of them).
41 Fred Sinclair // Nov 7, 2008 at 2:55 am
I do not like hospitals. But as much as I distrust them they are a necessary evil at times. My legs and the toes on the left foot are not healing with the “home care” nurses who come daily to treat them and treat and dress sores from where I sit (same as bedsores that long term patients get in a hospital or nursing home). The R.N.’s are excellent in every way but I’ve decided to see if my Doctor Margo Duncan will get me admitted today. I’ll probably still be there when I turn 71 next Wed. It may be a couple of weeks or more but the pain has become too much for me to continue with things as they are. I’ll probably go in this afternoon. Not having a computer will be a drag, but I’ll muddle through somehow. Prayers are coveted and will be appreciated
42 RepublicanAttackMachine // Nov 7, 2008 at 5:19 am
I am praying for you Fred. Keep the faith!
43 Fred Sinclair // Nov 7, 2008 at 6:51 am
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” (Is. 55:8) Since it appears that B.O.’s been successful with his coup d’état, I’ll pray for the usurper because the Bible says to do so. But 1st I’ll have to pray for a desire to pray for him without being a hypocrite. - Waxless Fred
usurp |yoÅˈsÉ™rp|
verb [ trans. ]
take (a position of power or importance) illegally or by force : Richard usurped the throne.
• take the place of (someone in a position of power) illegally: supplant : the Hanoverian dynasty had usurped the Stuarts.
coup d’état a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government:
It worked for Fidel Castro and B.O.’s attempt at a coup d’état is a success. (Unless the fraudulent votes are discounted)
44 onlineanalyst // Nov 7, 2008 at 9:25 am
Prayers and best wishes for your healing, Fred.
On the political front, Victor Davis Hanson reminds us that we “should be careful what we wish for.”
For weeks we’ve been told that the Iraqis were playing tough and demanding time-lines for American withdrawal, the subtext being that mean George Bush was once again conniving for permanent imperial bases. Then Obama gets elected, and within hours we hear that Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari had announced that Obama has “reassured us that he would not take any drastic or dramatic decisions.” Lots of luck as they say.
In the coming weeks we may hear some interesting variations of this theme: Obamaniac Europeans shocked that we are consulting the UN on trans-Atlantic problems and conflicted about free trade; new-age hedge-fund directors shocked about new capital gains taxes; and hip Silicon Valley types shocked that their shredded 401(k)s have not surged back and now they learn that a 65% combined federal, state, Medicare, and FICA income tax really does apply to them, despite the Obama sign out front on the lawn.
Rotsa ruck to those who presumed that the other guy (rich, of course) would take it in the neck with an Obama win. Investors, pension funds, charities, educational endowments, and who knows what other elements will lose if the reality of the Democrats’ plan to tax us all into poverty comes to be understood, but, hey, the result will be fairer, right? Actually, the above groups are already feeling the pain.
When capital investment is punished with the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, expect more jobs to be lost as money dries up. Should OPEC, Chavez, and Putin manipulate the energy supplies in order to drive up the cost of manufacturing, transportation, food production and delivery, heating, etc., expect the suffering to spiral.
Hank Paulson has ties to Goldman-Sachs, as did Rahm Emanuel at one time. Franklin Raines, Barney Frank, and Christopher Dodd have their dirty fingers on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s irresponsible lending and refusal to provide accountability through regulation. Both Bush and McCain warned of the problems and pushed for legislation from 2003 through 2005, but the goose was laying golden eggs.
We won’t even begin to understand how much George Soros had his hand in manipulating money supplies. He has a history of damaging currencies of nations in order to assert his power.
Schumer’s need to publicize the shakiness of IndyMac led to a bank run and ultimate crash-and-burn. He of the loose lips and big ego is just as unstatesmanlike as Joe Biden, who can’t be trusted to keep national security matters confidential.
I fully expect that Obama will exercise more nationalization of many economic sectors and enforce his decisions with Executive Orders.
That vision of top-down, collectivist governance and redistribution will irreparably harm our nation’s liberties and prosperity. The Obama vision encapsulates the concept of liberal fascism. (Ask the everyday Joe or Josephine in current or former socialistic societies how that vision worked out for them.)
45 BlackLion31U // Nov 7, 2008 at 9:45 am
Scott,
I thought your editor’s comment on the last post was truly inspirational; realizing that we can all disagree on some issues and still share the same aspirations for our country. I believe it would be surprising to many readers to find out just how many individual issues we agree on.
Sean Hannity once said that the Liberals in this country are more dangerous to America than Al-qaeda. Talk like that serves no useful purpose except to create an angry divide among us. I will attempt to abide by your message in my future posts however withholding the possibility of comical sarcasm. Thank you Scott.
46 gafisher // Nov 7, 2008 at 10:56 am
BL31U — Hannity has a tendency to oversimplify and hyperbolize from time to time, as do most people in politics, media and entertainment. The statement you refer to is at best unfortunate and at worst misleading, rather like saying hanging is more dangerous than lethal injection.
47 onlineanalyst // Nov 7, 2008 at 10:59 am
Some words and philosophy of an American statesman:
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative
and
independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and
should
do for themselves.
Abraham Lincoln
How sad that too many of our urban areas are blighted with poor infrastucture, non-achieving schools, dangerous, drug-infested communities, shabby housing, and limited opportunities for entrepreurs.
The responsibility for those conditions, however, falls on the shoulders of local and state shoulders. Amendment X reinforces that point.
Local corruption, graft, and cronyism have contributed to and exacerbated that sorry plight. Until our local communities and cities in particular demand accountability for their local tax dollars and federal largesse funneled to them, no further efforts to throw federal dollars will solve a fundamental rot in those areas.
48 onlineanalyst // Nov 7, 2008 at 11:02 am
“…falls on the shoulders of local and state shoulders.”
That should be “…falls on the shoulders of local and state entities.”
49 gafisher // Nov 7, 2008 at 11:24 am
OLA Re#44: “… hip Silicon Valley types shocked that their shredded 401(k)s have not surged back …”
By now perhaps you’ve heard of the efforts moving through Congress to “bail out” 401(k) plans by restoring them to their August 2008 levels with “government funds” thus seemingly undoing the damage of the first “Obama Anticipation Crash.” “Government funds” are taxes, of course.
To ensure such a disaster won’t happen again the proposal under discussion then takes those artificially “restored” 401(k) accounts and rolls them into the Social Security system at a mandatory “contribution” rate of 5%, deauthorizing private 401(k) accounts. That means, of course, that they can’t be touched before the government-mandated retirement age, and then only in government-mandated portions.
(This is not a new plan; it was originally proposed by
Socialistser, Democrats because 401(k) contributions are exempt from personal income tax until they’re withdrawn, a frightening and dangerous concept to those who want control of more tax dollars now. The obominable market conditions have simply made it more feasible.)50 onlineanalyst // Nov 7, 2008 at 11:26 am
Isn’t it pathetic when the mainstream media exhibit investigative curiosity after an election.
Rahm Emanuel served on the board of Freddie Mac when the books were being cooked in order to create an appearance of solvency to promote bundled insurance packages as government secured enterprises. There were a number of Democrats on those boards who walked away with healthy bonuses because of these cooked figures that implied growth and stability.
The link http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2008/11/rahm-emanuel-was-on-freddie-mac-board.html takes you to supportive news sources.
51 upnorthlurkin // Nov 7, 2008 at 11:34 am
I hope you’ll all visit this site and learn about what’s in store…..especially you younguns…
52 gafisher // Nov 7, 2008 at 11:38 am
Re#47 — Lest we forget:
“Uh, uh, are, uh, uh, uh, um. That’s — that’s a bunch — so — so let me tick these off. Deh… Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, um, uh. So the issue is not a perception that, uh… Weh, weh, let me put it this way. Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, We’re — we’re trying to — you know, we’ve got a bipartisan group here and — and — and, uh, uh, uh, uh, um, uh, uh, uh.”
… Barry Sotero; July 22, 2008
53 upnorthlurkin // Nov 7, 2008 at 11:46 am
OLA, just wait….I’m sure after the coronation he’ll pull out that magic wand he’s been keeping under wraps…and fix just everything!! Michelle says he can do anything….
54 onlineanalyst // Nov 7, 2008 at 11:51 am
Will panic and short-term-thinking greed lead the governed to accept what you describe in #49, gafisher? That expansion and variation on the Social Security Ponzi scheme has been in the “progressive” think tanks and the Dem legislative back rooms for a while.
Will citizens who value their own economic liberty and the risk of reward/failure in their own investments and plans for retirement cede control to a government that is looking to a future bankrupt SS system?
Investment is a long-term proposition because the fiscally prudent realizes that the market has rises and falls. The financial reward, however, is for those who are patient and willing to delay gratification.
Have Dems ever considered an area that could not be taxed? They take away the joy of life in so many ways.
55 onlineanalyst // Nov 7, 2008 at 12:27 pm
UNL: Re #51 Isn’t it ironic that the party that does so much to denigrate the Boy and Girl Scouts, who have a history of community service, will attempt to impose the system on a federal level?
History has proven repeatedly-even with the first Pilgrim communities- that communal prosperity is bound to fail because it is a contradiction of human nature. There are givers and takers in life.
Anecdotally, I can tell you that in my own townhouse homeowners’ community, where I served on the board for seven and a half years until I resigned in disgust this past summer, very few contribute to the well-being of the neighborhood.
Our monthly fees maintain our roads, remove snow on those common roads, cut our lawns, maintain our pool and the water bills for it, and provide electricity for common areas. Maintenance of common landscaped areas- trimming bushes and trees, weeking and mulching- has fallen to a few of us suckers who do the work out of altruism and pride in appearances while the rest of the community sits back and reaps the benefit without lifting a finger. The property values of the latter are enhanced without their even making any effort.
In fact, some of those slackers don’t even maintain their own frontages. They have to be chased down for monthly fees that are alarmingly in arrears.
This summer marked the last time that I will tackle sunburn, bug bites, and poison ivy while others drive by and say, “Nice job!”
Meanwhile our treasurer/operations-maintenance board member acts as if the disbursement of funds is his own private fiefdom/countinghouse. He has wasted money with boondoggles such as laying down more concrete to expand a patio pavilion near the pool (an area that is used by few and only for a few months of the year) and purchases that are frivolous and self-serving.
The sheep on the board rubberstamp this nonsense. I question such weak stewardship.
Big government and bureaucracy and command economies decided from the top down describe these problems writ large.
(Can you tell that I am white hot with disgust?)
56 Mack // Nov 7, 2008 at 12:38 pm
ONLINEANALYSTS and others.
We all know full well that trolls, liberals, and other scum insult our collective intelligence. They and the democrats have weakened our country and waged non stop attacks, out right lied, and subverted OUR CURRENT PRESIDENT from the day after HIS FIRST election to date.
Obama, and his party are now fully in charge, like they wanted all along. Now they are responsible. I think I agree fully with Michael Reagan when he suggested that elected Republicans vote no on all tax increases and let the Democrats take sole ownership of them.
Further I am being honest. I will not support people when they do evil. It would be like cheering for the other team. Ronald Reagan was nice about it but he didn’t end the cold war by agreeing with the Soviets. He forced them to spend more on defense than their economy could support and bankrupted them.
I do not agree to giving up my rights. The Jews did that when Hitler was ushered into power. It didn’t work out well for about 6 million of them or for the rest of the world. I will not sit idle and give happy support for people I see as evil. Chamberlain did that too. Winston Churchill warned them. Winston had to take over when Chamberlain found Hitler had lied. I know that when Obama, Reid, and Pelosi sink us we will as a nation have to rebuild. The question is, how much damage will be done and, like when Carter surrendered Iran, how long will their stupid acts haunt us. Iran as we all know, didn’t work out well for us either.
57 Newsman // Nov 7, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Boy, the hyenas on McCain’s team sure are active tearing up Palin.
The Republican loss was not her fault.
It was more McCain’s flaw that he did not assert himself and be himself rather then letting many of his advisors call the wrong shots.
58 BlackLion31U // Nov 7, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Mack,
C’mon now. I’m not feelin the love.
Maybe if you stopped listening to Hannity and Rush, your collective intellingence would give way to real wisdom. At least maybe some of your hatred would subside.
59 upnorthlurkin // Nov 7, 2008 at 1:06 pm
On a lighter note, I see Barney the first dog has bitten a Reuters reporter….good dog!
60 BlackLion31U // Nov 7, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Lucky for the reporter Barney wasn’t a pitbull…..with lipstick.
61 onlineanalyst // Nov 7, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Woof, indeed!
Hey, UNL, are you getting any fallout from the blizzard on the Great Plains? Holy smokes, I just now saw photos of the four-foot dump of snow in the Black Hills of South Dakota. (Will the spring thaw eventually unearth a Sturgis biker bitterly clinging to his Harley?)
62 onlineanalyst // Nov 7, 2008 at 1:36 pm
To demonstrate that my evaluations of Obama are fair and balanced, I offer you this example with which I agree wholeheartedly.
63 BlackLion31U // Nov 7, 2008 at 1:51 pm
OLA,
I read the post. Would you mind summarizing briefly what it is that you believe whole heartedly?
Thanks
64 JamesonLewis3rd // Nov 7, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I agree wholeheartedly:
“But we’re not talking about an evil or a bad man either. We’re talking about a good and decent man, who has done some bad things, and who believes in far-left policies that will harm this country.” (emphasis mine)
65 upnorthlurkin // Nov 7, 2008 at 2:15 pm
OLA, the only effect this latest example of glow-ball warming is having on us is it’s putting a severe crimp on the deer season opener. We’re unable to travel to where the deer are… It’s causing problems with the farmers though….there are still a lot of crops in the fields.
66 NeaL // Nov 7, 2008 at 2:47 pm
re OLA # 62
This article helps me understand why I never felt anything uplifting coming from Obama’s speechs. He wasn’t saying anything new. Sure, I was in agreement with things he was saying, but I had heard it all before. I never found enlightenment in his words.
Besides, Bill Cosby had said it better. I don’t understand why Cosby was ridiculed but Obama was given a pass. I don’t understand why Judge Marvin Arrington was criticized for exercising common sense. I know there are exceptions, but as a whole, White people and Black people would get along a lot better if they took the time to understand each other.
The economy got Obama elected, but it’s his economic agenda which I disagree with the most with his foreign policy a close 2nd.
67 Mack // Nov 7, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I’ll keep my guns, freedom, and money. You can keep the change!” Vote Sarah Palin for President in 2012
68 JamesonLewis3rd // Nov 7, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Exactly!
Go beneath the surface.
Read God’s Word.
69 BlackLion31U // Nov 7, 2008 at 4:28 pm
It’s just cuz she’s attractive isn’t it Mack. If the Republican party ever hopes to get back on track, the last person they need is Tina Fey
er..Sarah Palin. I think it will take her till at least 2016 to learn her geography.
70 gafisher // Nov 7, 2008 at 4:49 pm
NeaL Re#66: “… White people and Black people would get along a lot better if they took the time to understand each other.”
I would suggest we’d all do a lot better if we took the advice of Dr. King and started ignoring color. The hidden implication of Black and White people having to “understand” each other is that there’s an inherent and significant difference at the genetic level, a concept which is the very definition of racism.
Black, White, Asian, or whatever, we’re all human beings with hopes, aspirations, fears, loves, abilities, weaknesses and strengths. If I can’t weep with the parent of a dying child on the basis of our shared humanity, no amount of some other sort of “understanding” will ever bring us together.
71 JamesonLewis3rd // Nov 7, 2008 at 5:22 pm
RE: #70~~
Well said.
72 NeaL // Nov 7, 2008 at 5:24 pm
re: BlackLion31U #69
I like your comments better when you say something smart.
re: gafisher #70
There was a time when I would have agreed with your opinion. I’ve found that ignoring race results in ignoring problems associated not just with race, but also with culture. Ignoring these problems leads to further misunderstandings.
I prefer now to embrace those qualities which make us different. I’ve noticed more positive results. Once we get past those barriers on a personal level, yes. We find out how much we are alike and race becomes less of an issue.
Here’s an easy one in making those first steps: When out in public, try making eye contact. Smile and nod to total strangers. I’ve noticed in my area, Blacks seem much more appreciative of not being treated as a non-person, for once. They respond as if we might be friends who met somewhere, long ago, but they just can’t place it.
Interestingly, when I make eye contact with White people, they act embarrassed. It’s almost like their personal space has just been violated.
Now, admittedly, I get different reactions in NorthWest States than I get down here in the South mid-Atlantic area.
Results may vary. Certain restrictions may apply.
73 BlackLion31U // Nov 7, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Gafisher,
I agree 100%. Now how about we expand that to homosexuals, democrats, republicans or any other class we could define.
As you stated “If I can’t weep with the parent of a dying child on the basis of our shared humanity, no amount of some other sort of “understanding†will ever bring us together.
We may not always agree with or condone the behavior of others, but as Christians, I don’t believe it is for us to judge. It is only for us to be there to weep with them.
I heard the name of Billy Graham mentioned on the way in to work today and I thought to myself; THAT is a man who spread the word as effectively by his ACTIONS as well as his voice.
I think he exemplifies the Christianity that I choose to identify with.
74 JamesonLewis3rd // Nov 7, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Race is not equivalent to Culture, for one thing, and for another thing, what’s wrong with the Culture of The United States of America?
If somebody wants the Culture of a Foreign Country (or some ambiguous Continent) why are they here?
75 BlackLion31U // Nov 7, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Neal,
#69 Point taken
You bring up a good point and it is very well explained. Maybe a combination of the two view points is best.
I have to say that I grew up in the mid-west and my attitude toward race was far different than it is now. I don’t know that my feelings would have changed had it not been for my time in the military. When one depends on another for their own preservation, race disappears. You have the opportunity to see people as human beings not as blacks and whites and Hispanics, not gays and straights.
Once a person is allowed to view others from that perspective, I don’t think it can change.
76 BlackLion31U // Nov 7, 2008 at 6:05 pm
JL3,
What is the culture of the United States but the collective cultures of those who have come before us?
77 JamesonLewis3rd // Nov 7, 2008 at 8:45 pm
So-called “collective cultures” were not, and are not, the objective of the Constitution of the United States of America.
An elitist, class-based, compartmentalized population is the antithesis of Melting Pot, in my opinion.
Thank you.
78 Darthmeister // Nov 7, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Obama Apologizes For Rude Comment Regarding Nancy Reagan
Open mouth, insert foot. He didn’t even get the history right. Sheesh, what an arrogant jerk, as President-elect making fun of a former First Lady. I guess this is the “change” he’s been talking about. Also it was interesting to see the immediate “change” Obamessiah had on the financial markets throughout his run to the presidency and once elected. Add to that the two years the Donks have already controlled Congress and were negligent in properly overseeing the growing trainwreck of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac … special thanks to Democrats Barney Fwank and Maxine Waters.
79 RepublicanAttackMachine // Nov 7, 2008 at 9:34 pm
While the libs make light of “made up things” about Sarah Palin, one has to wonder how many years will it be before the ACORN “Prez-Select” learns how many States he is CIC over during his on the job training.
Libs STILL say Barry was tired that day, while with the mouth, (in their other face), STILL make fun of Dan Quayle for his “potatoe” gaff, TWENTY years later! It couldn’t have been he was tired though.
This was only one, of MANY doozies told by Barry! One that sticks out is the “this just in” report he made about 10,000 Americans dying in a tornado, when the count was about 9,990 less people.
The VP-select still hasn’t learned to count to four yet!
Newsman re: #57, I agree with you 100% about McCain. I think if Sarah Palin had not been on the ticket, McCain would have seen a much bigger defeat. This, “after defeat sniping” by the McCain team, makes me glad he did not win. It shows the “phonyness”, (if that is even a word), that John McCain’s campaign was!
In a strange way, I am glad Obama beat McCain, because the Republican party needs to go the other direction from McCain toward Palin, or at leasty toward what our party USED to stand for. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference from today’s Republican party and that of the Democrat party of just a few years ago!
Some Christians say we should continue to “dialog” with the other side. I believe, that is exactly what has gotten our values compromised to the point they are today.
GOD said, “Let your yea be yea, and your nay be nay!” That doesn’t leave much room for discussion, IF, you believe ALL the Bible, or that GOD is the same today, and forever!
Maybe, (and I’m not holding my breath), they will learn that from this defeat?
80 BlackLion31U // Nov 7, 2008 at 9:51 pm
JL3,
“So-called “collective cultures†were not, and are not, the objective of the Constitution of the United States of America.
Although the constitution may not specifically site it. I think based on it’s premise it’s hard to deny.
“An elitist, class-based, compartmentalized population is the antithesis of Melting Pot, in my opinion”
And that type of thought in my opinion is exactly what is an issue with this country, and what the founders fought against.
81 gafisher // Nov 7, 2008 at 10:16 pm
BL31U Re#73: There is a clear distinction between those characteristics with which one is born — eye, hair or skin color, for example — and those which one is free to reject, if not perhaps to choose. One born into a crime family is not absolved of responsibility for their actions, nor would you or I be wrong for pointing out that those actions were wrong — in fact, if you were able to rescue a young person from a life of crime it would be a terrible act of bigotry to refuse to do so on the basis of their history. I have Christian compassion for those who refuse to change when and what they can, but I can’t call wrong “right” simply to avoid hurting their feelings.
82 Darthmeister // Nov 7, 2008 at 10:27 pm
JL3rd,
I had a history professor at the University of Houston who said that America was originally envisioned as a melting pot where the dross of the old cultures from Europe, Africa and Asia would be burned off and forgoteen. You know, E Pluribus Unum … Out of the many, one.
He noted that there, unfortunately, were elements embedded in our society which wanted to remake us over into the image of other failed cultures that our own ancestors fled and were promoting this under the guise of “cultural diversity” (remember, this was back in the early 1970s, so his statement was incredibly prescient).
So in effect, beginning in the 1920s with the great flood of immigrants and the rise of international socialism, America was becoming more of a tossed salad instead of a melting pot.
Today we would call this effect the “balkanization” of America - a dangerous thing to be sure. Remember former Yugoslavia? Once the iron hand of despotism was removed, the country divided into Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia replete with their various “balkanized” cultures. It was because of their divided cultures/ethnic identity that this split occurred. If America doesn’t recapture the spirit of the melting pot which celebrated the uniqueness of the historical American culture which come about because of our ancestors separation from the corruptions and cultural despotisms of the old world, we could just as easily fracture once a failed government is overthrown or becomes far too unwieldy and politically/financially bankrupt to keep the various States within its fold. So actually the so-called “multi-culturalists” are actually sowing the seeds of destruction of America. Whether they have the courage to acknowledge the potential or not, I believe it will happen this century.
Americans who live and celebrate the unique traditions and cultural mores which have long defined America since its founding aren’t under any moral constraint to embrace any aspect of other cultures which threaten the woof and weft of that which is distinctly American.
For example, why should Americans become more like Europeans when our ancestors left Europe as a matter of principle and for greater opportunity to come here? It’s like hay fever sufferers fleeing to Arizona for a better climate only to destroy the efficacy of said climate by bringing the very plants which caused their condition in the first place.
Like is says in Proverbs 27:11: “Like a dog that returns to its vomit Is a fool who repeats his folly.” Where else in the world can people celebrate that which is uniquely American except here in America?
I don’t want this country to become more like Africa, Europe or even Asia unless they can prove they can culturally build a better mouse trap, for example. Why should American culture be required to accomodate someone who worships rocks or their ancient ancestors or performs clitorectomies in the name of some pagan religion or old world cultural tradition?
If people want to celebrate their ethnic heritage in the privacy of their homes, that’s perfectly within their right to do so - if it doesn’t violate the law of the land, of course. But it will always remain true, what you do in private may be your business, but what you do in public is everyone’s business. So if some kind of counter-cultural or old world claptrap is attempting to mainstream itself here in America, it is well within the right of any American to challenge the wisdom of such an attempt without being self-righteously condemned by those “progressives” who have already demonstrated their own hatred for American traditions!
But I guess there are some self-appointed “enlightened” people who want us to be just like everybody else in the world … but then there wouldn’t be “global diversity” now would there? So let America be America, I say. Oh the conundrums and carbuncles!
83 gafisher // Nov 7, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Oh, my, what a picture this is!
The woman in the back row, Obama’s newly appointed Economic Adviser, is none other than Jennifer Granholm, the (Canadian) Governor who took Michigan tumbling from “the engine of the US economy” to the very bottom of the economic stairs. At least with her advising Obama Michigan’s businesses should stop leaving for other states, though Mexico, China, etc. might see them soon. Hang on to your hat, America — it’s about to be “blown away.”
But look at that photo again — the sign on the podium says a lot about the guy standing behind it. Can anyone tell me where the Constitution defines that “Office” and where it falls in the line of succession? Have you ever seen such an ego?
84 Darthmeister // Nov 7, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Blacklion, it is you liberals that are always race conscious. Your side is always bringing up people’s color and how we have to pander to them in some special way unless we “hurt their feelings.”
I don’t see color. I’ve date white, black, Mexican, American Indian and have been married to a wonderful Jewish Christian woman for the last 31 years. Can you even begin to make the same claim? I don’t see color, I see people.
To me, Barry Hussein Obama could have been a green Martian for all I care, I would still utterly reject him on the basis of his ideology, his serial associations with neo-Marxists, neo-coms, and collectivist socialists throughout his life, and his utter lack of accomplishments in those offices he has been elected to starting with days with the socialist New Party as a Chicago politician.
Your side never hesitates to engage in despicable racebaiting or playing the race card when it suits your political agenda. I personally find that disgusting and offensive, not to mention intellectually dishonest.
I grew up as a poor white kid next-door to an entire neighborhood of poor blacks in LaMarque, Texas. During the 1960s my brother and I played untold hours of sandlot baseball/football with the black neighborhood kids in a dusty little park, went to the same schools, sat in the same libraries, drank out of the same fountains and sometimes out of the same jug of water, and would sit for hours arm in arm with our neighborhood friends looking into those lazy Texas summer skies flecked with the whitest clouds you can imagine against the backdrop of the purest azure while the droning rhythm of cicadas burned their orchestral majesty into minds exquisitely fatigued by our mutual athletic endeavors. Never have I ever embraced such a pure fellowship of mind and harmony as I did with my “black” friends there in LaMarque, Texas. Color means nothing to me and I’m confident it means nothing to other Scrapplers here.
It is YOUR side of the aisle that continues to stir up race hatred, that questions the “racial” motives of those of us who won’t bow our knee to your side’s silly ideas of “racial harmony.” In fact, YOUR side has insidiously discovered that the way to grow your political power is to constantly stir up racial strife and to attribute false racial stereotypes to many of us.
Are there racists? You bet there are, but they truly constitute a very small minority today and I will hazard a guess that there are just as many black racists as their are white racists. And I’ve rarely seen greater hatred than that which exists between Latinos and colored/negro/black/Afro/African-Americans [the latter is the kind of insanity your side of the aisle is responsible for in trying to always "properly" identify someone according to their skin color - pathetic when you're forced to see it for what it is, wouldn't you say?].
To me, any person who loves America for what she stands for, loves her traditions and her unique culture as handed down to us by our ancestors whose sweat and blood and dreams civilized this land are simply Americans - they aren’t hyphenated Americans. And what is even more pathetic is your side of the aisle has brazenly rejected the most American concept that justice should be color-blind! Next thing you know you libs will be saying that the punishment should only fit the crime in direct proportion to how much or how little skin pigmentation the perp has!
85 Darthmeister // Nov 7, 2008 at 11:33 pm
gafisher, is that photo for real or has it been photoshopped?
“Office of the President-elect”? I’ve never heard of such a thing! This guy either has an ego problem or he has an inner tin-plated despot desperately trying to get out! Buwahahahahahahaha … “Office of the President-elect”, way over the top.
86 gafisher // Nov 8, 2008 at 6:07 am
That is a Press photo of the actual event. It is clearly visible in other news coverage, such as this video from CNN and on last night’s coverage on my local NBC station.
87 JamesonLewis3rd // Nov 8, 2008 at 7:58 am
Anyone surprised by the Puerile Presumptuousness of BO and the Democrat Gang hasn’t been paying attention; their elitist swaggering can only get more ridiculous, more mortifying for The United States of America.
The sad part is, I don’t think anyone is surprised.
88 MargeinMI // Nov 8, 2008 at 8:55 am
Jennifer Grandholm as Economic Advisor????? Are you KIDDING??????? Buy stock in Kleenex folks. We will all be WEEPING soon.
sob!
89 gafisher // Nov 8, 2008 at 9:19 am
Isn’t that great, MargeinMI? The symbol of the country’s economic problems during the campaign was “Michigan’s one-state recession,” the legacy of Jenny Granholm. Who better to lead the nation down the same road?
Obama’s penchant for inauspicious associations continues.
90 Mack // Nov 8, 2008 at 9:54 am
In regards to post 69:
Liberals need not worry about geography, they should start by studying a little history. When all the pundits are done looking at this election they will have to concede one point. Joe Biden was actually right about at least one thing.
This new president “elect, Office of, one each” will soon be tested. It wont then be “the economy, stupid,” it will be terrorism which didn’t measure much in the template of the last election. Why not? I always said you would know when we won in Iraq, the press would stop reporting it. They haven’t done serious coverage from there for about a year now. Because the surge worked and we are winning.
We can bawl about the economy all we want. But you need be alive to spend money. We know liberals are alive, well most of them. Some of the dead miraculously voted again this year, absentee, as registered Democrats. ACORN be praised.
I attached the link to a documentary that the current crop of liberals and lest we forget, the MSM really did a great job of ignoring. It’s worth the watch. We actually got the DVD in the Sunday paper. When the “Office of the President elect” is tested, everyone will forget the economy much as stock brokers on Wall Street forgot on September 11th, 2001. The enemy will remind the country that they haven’t changed in their vision for America and the western world.
http://obsessionthemovie.com/
91 Beerme // Nov 8, 2008 at 10:46 am
Luckily, the “One-State Recession” will always be viewed by the new administration (as well as the media, and by extension, the public) as Bush’s/Engler’s fault. Aunt Jenny and Barry will get a pass for the next four, despite any negative outcome. Oh, the joys of being the Agents of Change!
92 Darthmeister // Nov 8, 2008 at 11:05 am
WASHINGTON POST: We were biased for Obama … sorry
Why repeat the obvious and isn’t it a little late with this CYA given how some “journalists” are already lamenting the “enigma” Obama now presents to the nation, Ms. Ombudsman? No wonder the economic viability of these propaganda mouthpieces of the Democratic Party have been slowly eroding the last ten years.
93 Darthmeister // Nov 8, 2008 at 11:19 am
If you want to witness Democratic voting fraud occurring before your very eyes, tune in here with the folks at Powerline whose headquarters are in Minneapolis-St. Paul Minnesota. They are uniquely positioned to document how mysterious “recounts” and “newly discovered votes” always end up in favor of the Democrat candidate!
Democrats are trying to steal the election from Coleman in order to deliver it to al Franken. And isn’t it interesting how all the close “recount” Senate elections are breaking Democrats’ way? Dern DemDonk zombie voters, why can’t they vote on November 4th like everyone else?
94 Godfrey // Nov 8, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Hi everyone. Hope everyone’s getting along okay.
I’m interested to see how Tuesday’s election changes the way Republicans approach politics. Let’s face it: George Bush’s was a big-government, big-spending administration.
I’m hoping Republicans will look inward at bit, and get back to the basics that made their party great (i.e. ditch the religious authoritarianism and start trying to actually shrink government again).
In my view, Tuesday was inevitable after the last few decades. But it might end up being a net positive.
95 Ms RightWing, Ink // Nov 8, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I’m signing up for a course in Acornomics, which is a subdivision of Obamanomics, which is subdivision of socialism which is a subdivision of Communism.
My local college has plenty of professors who specializes in the above. It is trickle up economics as you can well see.
96 BlackLion31U // Nov 8, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Mack #90,
You appear to contradict yourself in your post. First of all, what is “winning” in Iraq. We should have never been there. That country will likely go back to the split leadership of it’s religious sects and probably be as bad off as they were when Saddam was in charge. I doubt that we will ever agree on that topic.
Now, if you and Joe Biden are correct in that the new President will be tested shortly after taking office, (by the way, I agree as well) then how can you say we won in Iraq? It will have done nothing to stop us from terrorist attacks. What it has done is cost us buckets of money, many courageous American lives and diminished significantly the battle health of our military. That, making it more difficult to be able to react to a threat on another front.
Afghanistan, is were we should have maintained our focus.
(Disclaimer) for any military personnel who may be reading this thread, you could not be held in higher regard for your performance, bravery and sacrifice. Please do not consider my comment to detract in any way from your service. My criticism is focused specifically on those who gave the orders that you follow.
97 BlackLion31U // Nov 8, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Godfrey #94,
I agree with everything you said!
98 Godfrey // Nov 8, 2008 at 3:29 pm
BlackLion31U: how could you not?
99 JamesonLewis3rd // Nov 8, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all.
100 everthink // Nov 8, 2008 at 3:35 pm
“I’m signing up for a course in Acornomics, which is a subdivision of Obamanomics, which is subdivision of socialism which is a subdivision of Communism.”
What bullsquat!
Why bother, you already have a post-graduate degree from the University of Denial.
I have often wondered just how many of you hypocrites receive some “entitlement” from the government while complaining about socialism. Would you be in that number?
Even the most prolific poster here has admitted to taking tuition benefits from the government as a one-eighth “Native American”, and is even now trying to scam the U. S. Army to paying for the education of his son for service he does not intend to honor.
A fetish for firearms does not equate to military service, nor does growing up in a rough neighborhood.
This site often reminds me of the “Ain’t It Awful†section of Berne’s book “The Games People Playâ€.
ET
101 BlackLion31U // Nov 8, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Godfrey,
Well, I asked the question a few threads back; does George Bush represent the Republican platform or would he be considered a faux Republican? I have not seen anyone on this site that has admitted that until you.
You also brought up something that is vital for our government; “ditch the religious authoritarianism”. I don’t think many here would agree.
102 everthink // Nov 8, 2008 at 3:41 pm
JL3,
Very nice, thanks for sharing. Now take your seat.
ET
103 Godfrey // Nov 8, 2008 at 3:54 pm
“…does George Bush represent the Republican platform”?
He certainly has in recent years; I wouldn’t describe him as a “faux Republican” so much as symbolic of a form of Republicanism that has ceased to work.
I’m wondering if that might change, however, as religious conservatives come to bristle at the caricaturization that invariably occurs when religion is thrust into the political arena. Some people seem to understand this inherently, others not so much.
The thing is, do Republicans, especially evangelical conservatives, like what has happened to their religion over the last ten or fifteen years? Do they miss the days when religion was a personal, spiritual experience rather than a roaring political juggernaut? Do they feel used when they are targeted by parochial demagogues who, in the final analysis, only really want their vote?
And if so, what changes might occur as a result? I think the GOP is in for a fascinating metamorphosis.
104 BlackLion31U // Nov 8, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Godfrey,
Well explained.
I am a born again Christian. If I remember correctly, you are not. But I believe that religion has no place in our government. I think to do so jeopardizes the sanctity of religion and sets a dangerous precedent for our country. If our government is to favor or endorse any religion, what will happen when Christianity is no longer the majority in this country? What happens when the Islamic faith becomes the majority? All efforts made by evangelical conservatives will then work against them. I do not want our government advertising to my grandchildren or great-grandchildren the faith of Islam.
It is the right of each American to practice ones own religion or no religion at all without fear of prejudice or persecution.
I wonder how people would feel about their descendants saying: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands: one Nation under Allah, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all?
Colin Powell said, why should it matter if he is Muslim. It shouldn’t and it won’t in the future as long as we demand absolute separation of church and state. And to do so, would take nothing away from me. My relationship with my God is not dependant on the government of any country.
105 upnorthlurkin // Nov 8, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Hank, sadly no, that wasn’t photoshopped. Tammy Bruce has the video of Dumbo’s classy smear of Nancy Reagan. It appears there is already a new branch of government….
106 upnorthlurkin // Nov 8, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Would one of you <brilliant constitutional scholars please advise us all where exactly you found that “separation of church and state ” clause you constantly throw in our faces?!!! I’ve searched my copy of the Constitution and I just can’t find it!
107 Godfrey // Nov 8, 2008 at 5:41 pm
BlackLion: “one Nation under Allah…”
That’s a bit of a stretch, but I take your point.
I think we have extraordinary freedom of religion in this country, and I too would like to see it stay that way. I don’t see a government takeover of religion as an imminent threat, however. Sure, we should always be vigilant to maintain the separation of church and state, but for the most part recent debate on that subject seems to be healthy.
My concern is that mixing religion into politics has the tendency to take what is best about religion - charity, tolerance, brotherly love, etc. - and use it as a political tool to fire up the masses, to turn out the “Christian vote”. It seems to me that this has the effect, across society, of increasing cynicism with regards to the most altruistic of human impulses. In so doing, it diminishes us all.
Unless I’m mistaken, there is a trend among evangelicals toward this realization. Nobody likes being used. What this means to the GOP is that they may have to woo evangelicals through sound conservatism rather than through hollow emotional appeals and religious populism.
108 Godfrey // Nov 8, 2008 at 5:52 pm
upnorth re #106 : It’s not in the Constitution, but neither is, say, the Emancipation Proclamation. Not every legal doctrine is “in” the Constitution…but every doctrine is based on it, including Jefferson’s wall between church and state.
109 Newsman // Nov 8, 2008 at 8:04 pm
“Dern DemDonk zombie voters, why can’t they vote on November 4th like everyone else?”
Gee they did just that once before and had the election stolen from them by a villager from some small town in Texasville.
Even tho I am one of those ‘Dern DemDonk zombies”, it may well have been just as well as I never cared much for the victim of that theft.
110 BlackLion31U // Nov 8, 2008 at 8:20 pm
GodFrey,
I don’t see government takeover of religion as a threat either, in a way I would agree with you that the initiation of such a movement has come from the religious sect. In doing so if the movement is successful it then becomes a part of our government. That is what I see as dangerous.
It may be a stretch to say one nation under Islam, but when one has lived in nations that are thousands of years old, one realizes the true infancy of this nation and its development. I’ve walked in structures that were built in the 1300’s. I have to ask myself, in one thousand years, what will this Country resemble?
111 Darthmeister // Nov 8, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Anatomy of a Democrat Election Theft: Part Deux
And the national socialist media just yawns since its a Democrat (al Franken) who stands to win as a result of election fraud. Naturally the Donks will cite all the imagined elections “stolen” by Republicans to justify this Minnesota outrage.
112 BlackLion31U // Nov 8, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Oh Henry,
Get over it! Election day was November 4th.
jeeesh!!!
113 RepublicanAttackMachine // Nov 8, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I watched a little bit of “rainbow push with je$$e jack$on this morning on “The WORD” “Christian” network. I only watched a little because I ran out of containers to vomit into.
Apparently, je$$e no longer wants to cut off a piece of Obama’s anatomy, rather to sing his praises! No doubt he is already lobbying for the new Senate or House jobs, once Washington D.C. becomes a State under King O!
je$$e was introduced by his son, (not je$$e jr, it appears there are more “race baiters”),who led us on a tour of how America may finally be on the right track electing a black man Prez, but there are still too many whites controlling the rest of guv-mint, at least that is what it sounded like to me. The “push conference” is STILL going on on GOD TV, so make up your own mind.
I thought it was against IRS regulations to use Church’s for political activism? Go figure.
114 RepublicanAttackMachine // Nov 8, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Yes, Darth, “get over it” just as the dimocrats did that STILL whine about the 2000 election 8 years later.
115 egospeak // Nov 8, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Godfrey, you make some very cogent points, especially the last sentence in your post # 107. The problem, as I see it, is that what once were, and by the way still are moral issues, have been redefined as political rights issues with the intent being to demonize, marginalize, cast as extremists those in opposition, to silence them politically.
An example would be abortion. How many times have you heard those in favor of abortion complain that those who oppose abortion are trying to impose their religion or morality on them? What is the intent of the complaint other than to silence them politically? “You don’t have the right to advance your anti-abortion agenda because it’s religiously based and that violates the Constitution, you know…separation of church and state!”
I have no legal training but I think that I have a measure of common sense and it suggests to me that a doctrine that is based on the Constitution cannot or should not be used to determine constitutionality. Is that not what the Constitution is for? Yet how often has it been said that some law violated the “separation clause of the 1st Amendment” and was therefore unconstitutional? I’m pretty certain that no judge has ever declared a law unconstitutional because it violated the Emancipation Proclamation rather than the 13th Amendment.
Perhaps someone with legal training can set me straight if my common sense is less common than I think.
Regards,
ps - BL31U - I am very glad to hear that you are a born again Christian, yet I must ask… How could you support a candidate that is pro abortion and could not even bring himself to oppose infanticide when he was in the Illinois Assembly?
pps - BL31U - Bush wasn’t a faux Republican but he certainly was a faux conservative.
116 Darthmeister // Nov 8, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Godfrey,
As you probably know, Thomas Jefferson was the only American founder to even speak of a “strict wall of separation between church and state.” Please note, he did NOT say there should be a strict wall of separation between personal religious faith and state or religious moral principles and state or even a strict wall between religion and politics. In fact, I’m not aware of ANY founder having said any of these things. But if I’m wrong, could you please document where an American founder did opine in such a manner?
Also, some “scholars” have conveniently elevated Thomas Jefferson to being the main authority through which we are to understand the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Several inconvenient facts must be examined. First, Thomas Jefferson was the guiding force for the Declaration of Independence, not the U.S. Constitution, which, ironically, explicitly mentions “Nature’s God” and that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.
Second, James Madison, not Thomas Jefferson, was the father of the U.S. Constitution, writing several drafts of it for ratification by the thirteen original states. Jefferson contributed little if anything to the framing of the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, nor did he attend any of the various constitutional conventions (not even Virginia’s august collection of statesmen) since he was out of the country as an ambassador to France.
Jefferson’s singular opinion (unless you know of other documentation of which I am unaware) about “the strict wall of separation between church and state” is less than authoritative given it was written in a private letter to the Danbury Baptist association and its context and construction makes it subject to all manner of intepretative nuances.
Here is an excellent treatise titled “American Political Writings during the Founding Era” by Professors Charles S. Hyneman and Donald S. Lutz … the latter is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston where I matriculated back in the 1970s.
Another landmark study that is either panned or studiously ignored by hyper-secularists is the 389-page Brookings Institution treatise entitled, “Religion in American Public Life.” As you are probably aware the Brookings Institution is the country’s largest, independent and most prestigious thinktank and is regarded as somewhat liberal in its appraisal … so no right-wing Christian propaganda there: (I don’t have a free link to this work … sorry). Excerpts follows:
Banishment of religion (from the public debate) does not represent neutrality between religion and secularism; conduct of public institutions without any regard to religion IS secularism … A society that excludes religion totally from its public life, that seems to regard religion as something against which public life must be protected, is bound to foster the impression that religion is either irrelevant or harmful.
… Persons subscribing to a classical humanist ethic are driven to hypocrisy or cynicism … either pretending a fellow feeling for the masses not sustained by their value system or scorning their ways. In either case, social bitterness between humanist elites and the mass of working-class and middle-class citizens is bound to follow.
…In a highly mobile and heterogeneous society like the United States, the values based on traditional religion are even more essential to democracy to democracy then they may be in more traditional societies where respect for freedom, order, and justice may be maintained for some time through social inertia or custom.
… However, religious fanaticism may easily lead to social tragedy as happened in Northern Ireland, Iran, Lebanon and India … Democracy, while largely based on religious values, must be ever vigilant against abuses.
The First Amendment is no more neutral on the general value of religion than it is on the general value of free exchange of ideas or an independent press.
… The founders’ conviction that free institutions derive much of their moral vitality from religion also led them to authorize numerous symbolic expressions of the religious character of the American people.
117 Darthmeister // Nov 8, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Yes, Blacklion, election day was on November 4th, my point exactly. So how is it with electronic voting machines that Democrats are still “discovering” “lost” votes for al Franken four days after the elections? Hmmmmmm?
I believe the shoe is really on the other foot, or are you too biased and partisan to notice?
118 mindknumbed kid // Nov 8, 2008 at 9:59 pm
While wqe enjoy many freedoms here in America, the freedom or religion being one of the many, does that mean that we cannot oppose radical Islam who are at war with Christianity? Should we accept their acts of aggression in the name of tolerance until we are living in a nation that is under Sharia law?
The war on terror is a war for civility and to be able to live in a nation without fear of attack by those that want to convert the world to their religion.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are about protecting ourselves from a religious faction that will demand submission. But no, they are not necessary wars. All we need to do is willingly submit ourselves to the aggressors will for us. Bow down to Allah? Well at least you can remain among the living and still worship a god!
It is a common belief among the followers of Islam (who are not hard-core jihadists) that no matter what we call our person of deity, that we all worship the same person. I think that I even heard something of the such being attributed to our newly elected President.
That is not true, Allah and God are not the same universal person of deity. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man, and he does not recognize anyone other than his Father as being God.
So, as for the separation issue allegedly being in the minds of the founders, that is folly. They understood the roll of God in our nation, and how dependent we were upon God to be the nation that they endeavored to create. And to view the world without looking through the window of the Word of God is foolishness. At the heart of the issues that we face today as a nation is the war. Christian (God) vs. antichristian (Satan, to include ALL false religions of the world), to believe that the results of this election was not a victory for the forces of antichristianity is to be deceived, which comes from being blinded by the god of this world.
But be of good cheer, the book is already written and we have been assured that Jesus Christ has overcome his adversary. I for one am hopeful that America will remain faithful to the God who has blessed it abundantly, until the end.
119 JamesonLewis3rd // Nov 8, 2008 at 10:08 pm
God Bless America
120 JamesonLewis3rd // Nov 8, 2008 at 10:32 pm
1,302 days until 06 November 2012.
121 mindknumbed kid // Nov 8, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Outside of Christianity things in this world are insignificant.
122 BlackLion31U // Nov 8, 2008 at 11:02 pm
egospeak #115,
I do not believe that the candidate that I supported was pro-abortion. I believe he was anti-abortion. What he is is pro-choice and there is a big difference. It is also very relevant, I believe to the argument between church and state.
I would like to never be put in a situation where I have to decide the fate of a child. I personally would not like to advise or condone abortion. If my daughters ever became pregnant, my advice could only be spiritual, but I realize the final decision is theirs, and in the end the will have to answer for their own behavior as, we all will.
I personally could only agree with abortion due to; incest, rape, or the birth being life threatening to the mother.
I do not think it is the position of the state to decide for the mother. I think that is an individual right and decision. I think that when all possible the person involved should be educated, if willing, in the religious consequences involved in the decision. Again the final decision should be the individuals with the consequences of such actions be judged by the only one worthy of judging.
123 BlackLion31U // Nov 8, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Henry,
The shoe truly is on the other foot, but 8 years ago, you would hear no cries for help or warning.
124 BlackLion31U // Nov 8, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Jl3,
So how many is it till 2018?
125 BlackLion31U // Nov 9, 2008 at 12:55 am
MKK #118,
I disagree so strongly on so many of your points.
(MKK) “The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are about protecting ourselves from a religious faction that will demand submission.â€
(BL31U) The war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan are NOT one in the same. You are correct that a religious faction has presented acts of war against the United States. I do not believe the ultimate goal was submission. Instead I believe the reason for the attacks are to try to stop a perceived encroachment of the western beliefs (Christianity) on their own beliefs.
(MKK) “It is a common belief among the followers of Islam (who are not hard-core jihadists) that no matter what we call our person of deity, that we all worship the same person.â€
(BL31U) PROVIDE RESOURCE PLEASE
(MKK)“So, as for the separation issue allegedly being in the minds of the founders, that is folly. They understood the roll of God in our nation, and how dependent we were upon God to be the nation that they endeavored to create. And to view the world without looking through the window of the Word of God is foolishness.â€
(BL31U) Which God? You must concede that people do believe in other gods than you. Would you feel comfortable enough to allow, say for me, to speak on behalf of your belief, to my God?
(MKK) “At the heart of the issues that we face today as a nation is the war. Christian (God) vs. antichristian (Satan, to include ALL false religions of the world), to believe that the results of this election was not a victory for the forces of antichristianity is to be deceived, which comes from being blinded by the god of this world.â€
(BL31U) Unfortunately you are completely wrong on this issue. The reason this country is at war is because of the appearance of the “Christian†west, trying to impose themselves on countries that refuse to believe the same. The people in the middle-eastern countries are more committed to their religion than even you MKK. They have been that all the way back to the Old Testament.
If Israel were to perceive that Christians in the United States were attempting to impose our beliefs on them, what do you think the response would be?
(MKK) “to believe that the results of this election was not a victory for the forces of antichristianity is to be deceived, which comes from being blinded by the god of this world.â€
(BL31U) I am a Christian and I voted for Barack Obama. I also fought in Desert Storm against the Republican Guard in Iraq. During that time, I experienced a supernatural vision, which I, because of MY belief chose to interpret a certain way. This election was NOT a victory for the forces of antichristianity, but for the forces of true Christianity!
126 J. Cougar Melancholy // Nov 9, 2008 at 1:47 am
Hello Scrapplers. Hey, Rush.
re. 57
True, it was not Palin’s fault McCain lost. It was McCain’s. He chose her. Oh, AND he abandoned his own principles.
127 J. Cougar Melancholy // Nov 9, 2008 at 2:13 am
Come on, Scrappleville!
Obama’s all “Hope Hope Hope” and you’re all “Nope Nope Nope”! Snap out of it!
Don’t you see, Obama’s win is a victory for the world. The whole planet was pulling for him. You’ve seen the cheering crowds abroad on the news. My wife’s friend in France called Nov. 4 to ask who she voted for and that everyone there was pulling for him. I stood in line to get into the Guggenheim Museum last night and the man in front of me had “OBAMA” shaved into the back of his head. He was a Brit and couldn’t even vote! It didn’t help McCain that everyone saw Republican corruption bubbling up like an overflowing toilet on Dumbya’s watch, what with Plamegate, DeLay, Frist, Abramoff, Safavian, Foley, Craig, Stevens. You all can pat yourselves on the back for them…or try to spin and pray it away. Wasn’t this the crowd that was going to ‘restore honor and integrity’ to Washington? If this is what integrity looks like, let’s bring back Oval Office indiscretions with chunky little interns. McCain can also thank Bush simply for being the worst president since Millard Fillmore. He and Cheney share one shining accomplishment: Not getting impeached.
Obama’s going to Washington on Jan. 20…and he’ll be greeted as a liberator.
128 Mack // Nov 9, 2008 at 2:34 am
I usually don’t respond to trolls but the question was asked if we were or had won in Iraq. Not yet, but at the moment we are. If Obamination has his way, we will pull out, like we did in Somalia under Clinton.
As soon as we do that the enemy will turn Iraq into something resembling Iran like the Iranians did when Jimmy Carter surrendered there in the 1970s. Arguing the point with trolls is a waste of bandwidth. Most either know I am right or are stupid to grasp the facts of history.
129 Mack // Nov 9, 2008 at 2:51 am
I only hope that when the next terrorist attack comes that a lot of Obama voters have a ring side seat. With luck it will fall in Hollywood or San Francisco in Nancy Pelosi’s neighborhood, maybe Las Vegas where Harry Reid’s base is.
Think of it like fighting a fire. If you don’t put it all the way out it just continues to burn and grow until it consumes all available fuel, runs out of oxygen, or has the temperature lowered to the point it wont burn. If you knock it down but don’t do overhaul it just rebuilds.
This fire has been knocked down but is not out. The enemy is patient. They will attack when the opportunity presents. They will attack when the situation suits them. With a president and congress that is unwilling to take the fight to them they will.
130 Darthmeister // Nov 9, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I do not believe that the candidate that I supported was pro-abortion. I believe he was anti-abortion. What he is is pro-choice and there is a big difference. It is also very relevant, I believe to the argument between church and state.
Blacklion, will you please quit engaging in the Big Lie just to appease your conscience. Despite whatever obfuscations you and your messiah Obama want to engage in, Obamessiah is pro-abortion, so much so he weaseled out of supporting legislation here in Illinois four separate times (despite the fact the last version of the Illinois legislation was virtually identical to the Federal legislation that he claimed he would have supported and that was indeed supported by the abortion industry, Ted Kennedy, and Hillary Clinton) that would have guaranteed medical help for babies born as a result of botched abortions.
I can’t believe an intelligent man like you can fall for such transparent lies that Obama isn’t really pro-abortion. He outright said that he wouldn’t want his two daughters to suffer “the mistake” of an “unwanted pregnancy” … and he sure as hell wasn’t talking about adoption, either. SO QUIT LYING and accept the fact that Obama is pro-abortion and you supported him.
I’m not calling you evil for supporting Obama during the elections despite his radical pro-abortion stand, but you are bordering on evil for lying about Obama’s stand on abortion. And I’ve already destroyed the lie engaged in by demagogues claiming to be “pro-choice” when they are only “pro-choice” about abortion and not about school choice, social security choice, gun choice, etc.
While serving in the Illinois Senate, Obama received a 100 percent rating from the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council for his support of abortion rights. Since his election to the United States Senate Obama has maintained a 100 percent rating from Planned Parenthood and NARAL. Obama opposed the Induced Infant Liability Act and opposed it because of technical language that might have interfered with a woman’s right to choose.
You can’t get more pro-abortion than that, sir. BTW, do you even bother to comprehend what we actually write here? You seem to forget everything we say from one week to the next, why else do you keep floating the same lies?
131 mindknumbed kid // Nov 9, 2008 at 8:46 pm
WE are imposing Christianity on them? If you believe in Christ as Savior, the only way to be saved and escape the penalty for sin, that is, eternity in Hell; why wouldn’t you want to witness to nations that by law forbid the teaching of Christianity and even the possession of a Bible?
Unlike other nations/religions we do not force conversions or beliefs. Freedom is just what it says, where there is no freedom there is no justice.
I cannot give but one example of a person that believes that Allah and God are the same person, but bu different name only. She was an Palestinian exchange student from Israel. She says that is what she has been taught in schools in Israel. I have no reason to question what she said about that teaching and she absolutely believed it.
As far as abortion goes, you either work to keep it legal, or you work to prevent it. Obama has done nothing to prevent it, discourage it, or slow it in any way. He is pro-abortion, but you seem to be in denial about his positions.
The abortion ban amendment in South Dakota failed, even though they put in all of the exceptions that the abortion rights people said they wanted after the last failed attempt. In Colorado the unborn are still not recognized as having rights, in Ca. the gay marriage ban will be overturned by a judge.
America has taken her stand, and spit in God’s eye.
132 Newsman // Nov 9, 2008 at 9:07 pm
“America has taken her stand, and spit in God’s eye.”
What does this statement have to do with the recent election, abortion and Obama ?
The only person who has any right to a stand on abortion is the one who gets pregnant - a woman. Men should have nothing at all to say on the matter other then expressing their personal opinion.
Government has no business being involved.
You are treading on the alleged long held principle held in this country about the separation of church and state.
Various religions have every right to state their view/beliefs on the subject but nobody has the right to shove their view down everyone else’s throat period !
I am not in favor of abortion myself but that is my view ! I can argue my view but I have no right to force my view on all other citizens of our country.
133 mindknumbed kid // Nov 9, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Proverbs 14:34
Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
So where do you prefer to stand?
134 mindknumbed kid // Nov 9, 2008 at 11:54 pm
OK, then let’s throw out every law based upon biblical principles and quit forcing our values on anyone. What is the purpose of all of our laws anyhow?
135 Newsman // Nov 10, 2008 at 8:14 pm
“What is the purpose of all of our laws anyhow?”
To keep lawyers employed of course !
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