Sad Fact

A friend sent this to me and I thought you would find it interesting.
Sad fact
If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq Theater of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000.

The firearms death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000.

That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in our Nation's Capitol, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: We should immediately pull out of Washington

The Crusades

In the Islamic world the current Iraq war is being compared to the crusades of the Middle Ages. The Bush Administration repeatedly states that this is not a crusade, nor a war on Islam, but on ‘terrorism’. As terrorism is a tactic, not a state or form of government, this argument does not carry a lot of weight. It would appear that the U.S. has set in for a long term occupation. (If this were actually a war on Islam, hopefully it would be carried out as the war on Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.) With only fringe candidates calling for an immediate withdrawal (even Hillary says it would only happen during her second term). One has to believe there could be an ulterior motive. Hence a look back at the original crusades. Europe at the time of the first crusades, the continent was rife with oppressive nobility, taxes were high, starvation was common, and disease was rampant. There were even laws in some realms that when a peasant woman married, the consummation would be first with the lord, baron, or duke of the realm under which the woman lived. All these elements coming together could easily combust into a revolution. How does a corrupt system of government prevent the down trodden from finding a leader for a revolution? Have the religious leader of the system call for a holy war to reclaim the Holy Land. A crusade to end the evil rule of the infidel. All men capable of bearing arms, and of the disposition to do what is right, would then be sent half a world away for years at a time. Those who died would be heroes of the realm and those who survived would be far enough away to not be a threat to the kingdom’s corrupt government.
Sounds familiar…..
The probability of a Hillary presidency looms on the horizon, Bush has given the presidency tremendous power to bypass The Constitution, and high level government involvement in internationalist politics (which is hostile to our liberty) is rampant. With a military already hostile to the Clintons, it is no wonder she doesn’t want to bring the troops home. Add in that the oath sworn by all military members includes the phrase, “support and defend The Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic” and a president or Congress could have problems if they pass legislation, or executive orders, which not only violate The Constitution or Bill of Rights, but would dismantle them or make them subservient to another political entity. They would then be domestic enemies of The Constitution and therefore at odds with the U.S. military, which is a place no sane person wants to be. But if the U.S. military is entirely engaged on the other of the world…. Who is going to prevent the government from running roughshod over the citizens? Only the citizens themselves using the tools recognized in The Bill of Rights. And if we allow The Bill of Rights to be compromised or completely taken away, where will we be?

General Observation

The last time we sold huge amounts of raw material or scrap metal to an oriental power, as we are doing with Communist China now, they returned these materials to us. Beginning at Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941.

Boston Has Come Full Circle

We have come full circle from 1775. Boston police are proposing that they be allowed to search homes for guns without needing a search warrant. This is a return to the tactics used by the British crown in their attempt to crush freedom in "the colonies". As The Bill of Rights is under under increasing attack by urban political machines and national politicians, this latest threat to our freedom comes in the womb of our nation's conception. A post birth abortion, as the p.c. crowd would call it. Where is the respect for the 4th Amendment? The 5th Amendment? Or the 2nd Amendment? Politicians are seeking to increase their power by ignoring our God given rights as recognized and enumerated in The Bill of Rights. Government does not "give" us our freedoms or liberty, government must be forced to recognize our freedoms and liberty. Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, and all other founding fathers understood this which is why they passed The Bill of Rights. This is why The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States of America, and The Bill of Rights were all written in the common language of the day. They did not use "legalese" because they wanted these documents to be understandable to each citizen of this free republic. All the citizens understanding these world changing documents would serve to keep government from becoming tyrannical. The people hold the rights and the power, only when we abdicate our rights and power can government succeed in taking over. Government is like the ocean's tide, always trying to take away our freedom one grain of sand at a time until, like a barrier island, we have no beach/freedom left.
John Adams would be nauseous to see his Boston now.

Quotes

A reader sent me these quotes, the only one I could verify is Colin Powell's, and it is an excerpt of a longer dialog which can be found at www.snopes.com/quotes/powell.asp. I do find that they are very demonstrative of the American spirit and outlook.
When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of 'empire building' by George Bush.

He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."
It became very quiet in the room.
**************

Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?"

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: "Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?"
Once again, dead silence.
*****************

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, 'whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'
You could have heard a pin drop!

Hillary is Very Qualified

The republican pundits are missing the mark, again. To question the qualifications of anyone to be president is absurd. Very few presidents have been sworn into office that have had the experience necessary to anticipate the trials of this office. Eisenhower comes to mind, as supreme allied commander in the European theater of WWII. Other than him….
The constant questioning of Hillary Rodham’s capability is in vain. She is quite capable. I’ve heard it said, “I’d rather have Al Gore than Hillary, at least we know he is incompetent.”
Hillary is frighteningly competent. She is calculating, cold, vicious, and vindictive. She has surrounded herself with a political cadre the likes of which have not been seen since Moscow in 1922, Berlin in 1933, or Peking 1949. These modern day political shock troops are fanatically loyal to Hillary and ruthless in their attacks on her enemies, openly and more importantly behind the scenes. That is where the danger lies. Not in whether or not she is qualified to be president, she is, like Mugabe of Zimbabwe or Chavez of Venezuela. The pertinent question is where will she take the U.S.? Down the same road as these stellar examples of U.N. membership? The “Great Society” she envisions for the majority of us probably has an entrance sign which reads: “Work will make you free” or “Arbeit Macht Frei” as it read at the entrance to Auschwitz.

The Words of Bob Marley

Survival Bob Marley
How can you be sitting there
Telling me that you care
That you care
When everytime I look around
The people suffer in suffering
In everywhere, In everywhere

Na-Na-Na-Na-NA
We're the survivors
Yes, the black survival

I tell you what
Some people got everything
Some people got nothing
Some people got hopes & dreams
Some people got no aim it seems

Na-Na-Na-Na-Na
We're the survivors;
Yes the black survival
Yes we're the survivors like
Daniel out of the Lion's den suvivors

So my brethren, my sisthren
Which way will we choose
We better hurry, oh hurry woe now
'Cause we got no time to lose
Some people got plots & schemes
Some people got Ways & means
Some people got the facts & claims
Some people got the pride & shame

Na-Na-Na-Na-Na
We're the suvivors;
Yes, the black survival (repeat)
We're the survivors like Shedrach,
Meshach and Abednego
Thrown in the fire but never get burn

So my brethren, my sisthren
The preaching and talking is done
We gotta live up woe now, woe now
'Cause the father's time has come
Some people put the best outside
Some people keep the best inside
Some people can't stand up strong
Some people won't wait for long

Na-Na-Na-Na-Na
We're the suvivors; a black survival
In this age of technological inhumanity
We're the survivors black survival
Scientific atrocity, we're the survivors
Atomic mis-philosophy, we're the survivors
It's a world that forces life long insecurity
All together now we're the survivors
Yes, the black suvival
A good man is never honoured
In his own country.
Black survival
Nothing change.
Nothing strange
Nothing change.
Nothing strange
We got to survive, we got to survive
But to live as one equal in the eyes
Of the almighty
The words of Bob Marley struck a chord in me over twenty years ago and that chord resonates still. Not just the popular “Jammin’” which still gets a lot of play, or “I Shot The Sheriff” (honestly, I prefer Clapton’s version) but the songs of anguish, pride, anger, liberty, and a willingness to fight for what is right. These words are found on the lesser played Survival album. Songs like Survival, Ambush in the Night, Africa Unite, and Zimbabwe. In the words of these songs you hear the heart of Bob Marley; freedom, liberty, opportunity, responsibility, and love of one person for another. Respect. At the time racial oppression and discrimination were easily recognized, but the words have greater meaning. They address freedom for all people and they tease with naming the oppressors. On the surface it is the white race oppressing other races, but deeper in his words you see the powers that be. Corrupt politicians, international corporations, and their hired thugs, used to keep the peasants in their place as slave workers for the insatiable corporate kings. Marley spoke out clearly if you keep your head and understand. He was brilliant in spite of his proficient use of ganja. With his advanced cancer, maybe that was the only thing he could use to endure the pain and stay cognizant enough to put his words to music. His words of love, liberty, and life speak to us today. And, as he said, “Wake Up And Live”, for if you are not willing to stand up for yourself, no one will stand up for you. Liberty is only ours if we are willing to die to take it. Liberty First!!!