It can be done!

Fall of the Berlin Wall!

It can be done! On this day in 1989, the Berlin Wall fell! Not because of a military assault or even a massive revolution. No, the people of East and West Germany moved towards each other, ignoring heavily armed East German and Soviet border guards, to join hands. Some of the people on the wall are East German border guards...LOL

This a day to begin great things! Whatever barriers you have within you will fall and today is the day you take the first step forward to whatever it is you want to do!

I remember standing in the barracks of the Citadel hearing the news. I could not believe it! Something as vicious and solid as the Berlin Wall fell without a shot being fired! On that day the Cold War ended and freedom spread into Eastern Europe and eventually to every corner of the USSR itself.

Twenty years later, we still face threats to freedom. The sad thing is is that our own government is the threat. It seems overpowering, solid and invincible but remember the supposedly solid Soviet bloc. It vanished the day the people decided they had had enough.

The same thing can happen here. Corrupt leadership in all levels of government all the way down to the local one combined with greedy corporations have created a Berlin Wall in our minds and hearts in the 21st century.

Get your priorities in order, treat others as you yourself would like to be treated and never, never, let yourself be pushed around whether it be by the increasingly rapacious government or corrupt business practices (Small local businesses are the best!).

Polite, firm and unbending. If Rosa Parks can do it and the entire German nation can, so can we!

Go forth and conquer!

Red Storm Rising...

The People Strike Back?

Conservative voters in New York’s 23rd Congressional District may think they have a difficult decision on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, but a closer look reveals a shocking surprise: they don’t. The 23rd District is holding a special election to determine who their next Congressional representative will be, and it has all come down to three individuals: Republican Dede ScozzafavaDemocrat Bill OwensIndependent Doug Hoffman Knowing nothing about the candidates, conservatives might initially feel inclined to vote the Republican Party line. The problem, however, is that they have a real choice to make in this race. They can choose between an ACORN-endorsed liberal Republican in Scozzafava or a pro-life, anti-bailout, anti-spending conservative in Hoffman. This information might lead conservatives to believe the choice is an easy one – vote for the conservative. The problem, however, is that by breaking with the Republican Party, they might very well be handing over a victory to a liberal Democrat aligned with Nancy Pelosi. So, now, the question becomes, “Should conservatives prostitute their beliefs and vote for a liberal Republican just because her victory would help keep a far-left Democrat out of office?” The situation isn’t all that unusual, and typically conservatives take the path of least resistance. This race is different. This race is a true litmus test of what’s to come in the 2010 midterm elections. Voting the straight Republican line accomplishes nothing for conservatives in the 23rd District or for conservatives in general. Voting the straight GOP ticket would send a message to the Republican National Committee (RNC) that the status quo is just fine. When rank-and-file Republicans march in lock-step with the party there is no incentive for the RNC -- or even local Republican Committees for that matter -- to rethink their endorsements. There is no incentive for them to change their ways. The race for New York’s 23rd District is the perfect opportunity to send a clear message to the RNC that conservatives want their party back. The issue should be non-negotiable for conservatives. If they put their political values over the party’s political preference in this election, the shock waves will be felt across the country. This is an opportunity for conservatives to make a strong statement about who truly holds the power in our country: “We the people.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich made his choice this week by publically endorsing Scozzafava, the highly liberal Republican. Gingrich explains his reasoning on his web site:
My number one interest in the 2009 elections is to build a Republican majority,” Gingrich writes. “If your interest is taking power back from the Left, and your interest is winning the necessary elections, then there are times when you have to put together a coalition that has disagreement within it.Gingrich is right. Should Republicans in the 23rd Congressional District split their votes between Scozzafava and Hoffman, there is the very real possibility that Owens, an even bigger liberal, could win the election and represent them in Washington. But what if that doesn’t happen? There is another way of looking at it: in terms of odds. Hoffman is the only hope conservatives in the 23rd have for like-minded representation in Congress. Whether they cast aside their convictions and vote for Scozzafava or hold on to them and vote for Hoffman, the worst-case scenario is they’ll have either a liberal Republican or a liberal Democrat representing them. On the off chance Hoffman wins, however, conservatives will have lost nothing and gained everything. After all, a liberal is a liberal, regardless of party affiliation. Conservatives in the 23rd should ask themselves which choice will keep them up at night when the election is over … and vote to ensure they sleep well.

Now my take...

If the Republican party does not act like Republicans, you will see more of this. Democrats too by the way...This is why the Repubicans were trounced so throughly in 2006 and why they never stood a chance in '08. Of course, Bush's screw ups did not help.

The problem with the two party system is that it can be just as unresponsive and repressive, yes, repressive as a one party system. They try to convince you the Democratic and Repubican parties are your only choices.

Well, the people in upstate New York disagree.

And this is why I am a committed Independent.

I believe both parties have forgotten the people they are supposed to represent. They care more for special intersts and are as corrupt as anything we joke about in Mexico. There needs to be serious reform in many arenas in this country..political, economic, social...and our most of our "public servants" do not seem that interested.

This development in upstate New York should get their attention.

They will try to use scare tactics to head off the Conservative Party by first claiming that voting Conservtive will split the vote and allow the Democrats to win. The people of the 23d Congressional District have answered that if this is the best candidate the Republican Party can offer, maybe it is better that they take their chances outside the two party apparatus.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

If God decided to take Sunday off, I guess I could too! :-) It has been a slow week but looking ahead to what I have to do next month, I figure it was a good idea to take the break now while I have a chance!

Aries Marching should be ready to go (finally!) right after Thanksgiving. Aries Unleashed will be ready to go hopefully in the Summer of 2010 and it is going to be a while before I get to the fourth one.

What is it about Sunday and deep thinking? My mind seems to wander off more than usual on Sundays. Maybe it is because it is the end of the week and I am looking back or is it the beginning and I am looking forward. See? Odd, esoteric kind of stuff.

The weather is cooling off and it is supposed to be a cold winter. Good thing I like cold weather! On the other hand, I have heard that before...today I watched Pittsburgh and Minnesota do battle in the Steel City and it was sunny and 55! Take it from someone who knows..days like that in October are rare there! That is more like Spring than Fall but I did not write the operating manual for this planet.

I will have a lot to do this November and it seems a bit daunting. I, of course, am being dramatic as usual. There is nothing life threatening (unless you count the way no one seems to be able to drive...), so I took today off to gather my strength, sharpen my focus, take a deep breath and plunge into it head first.

If nothing else, I won't be bored!

Oil Prices Out Of Control...Again

Once again, oil rices are out of control....

Time to strike back. How do you do that, you wonder? You've cut driving back as far as you can go, oil supplies are at an all time high and still growing yet the price continues to climb. This is how you do it.

Don't buy anything for Christmas.

There will be advertising left and right, up and down, in front and behind, all hours of the day exhorting you to spend, spend, spend and spend some more.

Don't do it.

Send cards instead. This is how you bring down money hungry corporations. It won't be easy and it is going to take a while but it seems pretty obvious war has been declared against the American people. Forget terrorism, the greatest threat to America is here at home and they have the same passport you do

Do you have the courage to strike back? Or will you continue to dig yourself deeper into their pockets?

Happy Columbus Day!

Happy Columbus Day!

...a day late!

I never understood why this was not a bigger holiday. The man joined the New World and the Old together forever. The fun thing about this holiday is listening to the Politically Correct Stormtroopers try to tear Columbus down. portraying him as an invader of a New World Eden.

Sorry, he wasn't.

No one knew what smallpox was and he thought he was in Asia. And if he did not land in the Bahamas in October 1492, someone else would have. The Vikings were in Newfoundland somewhere around 1000 and if the Portuguese could read maps, they might have realized they landed in Brazil in 1480. On the other hand, maybe they didn't. Like I said, they weren't the best with maps. And the Chinese might have been scoping out the West Coast as early as 1421.

And all the while, the Aztecs were ripping hearts out of captives on top of pyramids in what would one day be Mexico City and cannibals called the Caribs roamed the sea that would be named for them.

Columbus was one of the greatest salesman of all time and maybe the greatest captain ever. He was also a terrible colonial admistrator and was hauled back to Spain once in chains because of that. But he never ripped anyone's still beating heart out for some bloodthirsty deity.

Let's face it. No one is perfect.

Including self righteous politically correct adademics who can't fathom an argument or point of view different from their own.

We can't change the past but we can make the future better by treating others the way we would like to be treated.

Happy Columbus Day!

Nobel Peace Prize goes to who?!

President Barack Obama was stunned to hear he had won the Nobel Peace Prize. He wasn't the only one. Come to think of it, I think everyone on Earth (along with any aliens monitoring the aforementioned planet...) was too. Compounding the mystery was the revelation that the deadline for nominations was February 1. Obama was inaugurated on January 20. That of course leads to the question, "What exactly has he done to win the Nobel Peace Prize"?
The Nobel Peace Prize Committee stammered out something about "changing the discourse of international relations" but I fail to see how overseeing two wars and threatening Iran is a fundamental change from the Bush administration's approach to foreign relations. As a matter of fact, Obama is sending 21,000 more US troops to Afghanistan which is sure to escalate the war there. Furthermore, General McChyrstal is asking for another three divisions, which would push manpower levels there to over 100,000. And the American commitment to Iraq is still over that particular magic number.
Anyone pointing to the health care "reform" is going to be broadsided by the question of how can threating to fine someone who does not sign up for health care be construed as reform? I have yet to hear an answer to that. From Republicans or Democrats.
Now there is the political angle. Norway is presently governed by a left of center coalition and one member of the committee was heard to say the nomination was a "kick to Bush's leg." Last I checked, Bush has been retired since January. For self-proclaimed liberals, the Norwegians seem to be looking backward into the past.
Maybe Barack Obama will do something in the future to earn the Prize. Regulating oil markets and muzzling speculators who make the world a worse place would certainly get my support. Award him a the Prize when he actually does something. Forecasting someone's political future is not much different than rolling the dice.
I hope the Committee doesn't break their arms patting themselves on the back. All the Nobel Peace Prize Committee accomplished was to cheapen the Prize. If Barack Obama had any humility, he would have gracefully declined the Nobel Peace Prize saying there are other people who have done important things.
All they have done is deepen the cynicism that affects the whole globe and pull the Nobel Peace Prize to the level of fantasy football.
I am going to McDonalds and get a happy meal. There might be a Nobel Peace Prize in it!

Never a waste of time!

Instead of dilgently pursing any number of things, I took the night off and spent it with Michelle, wandering around the city. In this rush/rush world of ours, we quite often forget to take a little time off to regain a semblence of sanity. When you spend time with someone you love, it is NEVER a waste of time :-)