It was one of those weekends when you don't have much to do and you really don't want anything controversial to get in the way of just having a good time. We were in south Florida for business... and a little golf, with some people we know and they had never been down into the Keys. So, having Sunday off, we drove down Saturday evening and stayed in a nice place on Duck Key. All is normal... with the possible exception of certain orientations of the waiters in the resort restaurant, but the food was good.

There was some discussion about driving down to Key West to see the sunset at Mallory Square and eat at one of the restaurants down there - but since it was Fantasy Fest weekend and the night of the grand parade down Duval Street - we thought it best to avoid the... congestion... and drive down on Sunday to see the Southernmost Point and eat at Blue Heaven. (A funky little outdoor restaurant with chickens in the yard and great food.)

Arriving at Blue Heaven around 1:00pm or so Sunday afternoon, we were told they were serving brunch until 2:00 and having already had breakfast we opted to walk down to the Pier House and eat on the pier. As you may know, walking in crowds lends itself to crossing the street during red lights and anywhere there is a break in the traffic. Walking down Duval St. is no different and we were surrounded by groups of people who never noticed the lights... or the sidewalk... or anything more than about 3 feet in front of their hung over gaze.

Somewhere along the way, were a couple of women holding "Stop the War" signs with all the usual left wing slogans scribbled on them. They looked sincere, though they weren't getting much sympathy from the hoards of half drunk or hung over sea of walkers. But since we hadn't been in town for the debauchery of the night before and we don't drink (at least not like that anymore), we were sober enough to notice the signs, what they said, the two women and the crowd.

Now I'm not against holding up signs in a lawful protest. It's the simplest form of free speech guaranteed by the United States Constitution. It's not the most effective method - but for some, I know it’s what they know to do with themselves. I strongly disagree with the politics that inform people against the war effort. I think we need to be in Iraq and I know we have much to lose by leaving early. I would go so far as to say that those who want to set dates for withdrawal are either ignorant of the facts or politically motivated to undermine this country. But it is their right to say what they wish on their signs. It is the appropriate way to utilize free speech.

So while not agreeing with the surface intent of the women with the signs, I agree that all of us need to do what we can to help stop evil of all kinds and that includes war and the need to angrily protest war.

Borrowing a slogan from the left, I decided to "Think globally and act locally!"

It all begins right here - with me - right here in my own heart - with my own actions. It also occurred to me that I was already acting locally. I was already stopping at the red lights and waiting for the "Walk" symbol. No one else was - but it was me just doing my part. I'm sure had I stopped the crowd and begged them to do likewise, I would have been ignored... in all likelihood, had I stopped and told the two women that was how I was going to "act locally" to stop the war - I would have been chased down and gotten at least an earful. (which has happened before from feminist abortion advocates)

But it got me to thinking. I was told in the restaurant gift shop up the street that there was not just a little - but a LOT - of public nudity the night before at the Fantasy Fest Parade down Duval Street. Where were the police? Why weren't there arrests for public indecency? Were the police on duty? Were they "out of uniform" so to speak, as well? I'm all for First Amendment Rights and all - but how does walking down the public street "buck necked" as they say in the south - how does that not qualify for arrest. It's certainly not the free speech intended and guaranteed by the 1st!

I don't know what the two women holding the signs were doing the night before. I can only assume they were attending the biggest parade of the year in Key West. I wonder if they were holding signs saying, "Stop the Nudity". I think not.

It's just another example of the duplicitous of fools and failing to "act locally".

As for me, I will continue to stop at red lights, follow the laws of the land as best I can, get out and vote my conscience and then pray to the one God of all creation that one day we will study war no more.

Today, I am thinking of the slippery slope, the view of what is next for our country and the social norms we have enjoyed for so many years. I am thinking about how long this country will last, considering the trends both here and abroad.

Maybe it's time to take a big step back, maybe we need to regain some perspective on this "view to the future" we as a country have embraced. Maybe it's time to evaluate the trends the rest of the world is going through and decide once and for all whether we choose to follow their lead.

One thing for certain - the current trend left in this country is irrelevant! Even if it succeeds and this country is taken over by left leaning socialists, they will not be in control for long. They govern from a stand of weakness, politically, culturally, morally and intellectually. They prey upon the "masses" whom they control through entitlements and poor educational opportunities to ensure they are reelected.

To think the left in this country will be the dominant power in the world or even in this country for long is nothing more than Blunacy. That's it Blunacy I tell you! The celebrations soon to be heard in November will mark the inauguration of this blunacy. The map will turn ever so slightly more blue and those with little more than socialist lunacy to govern themselves, will certainly revel in their accomplishment.

Why do I say this, you may ask? Well, it comes from an old sports term to the effect of "keeping your eye on the ball". In this case the ball is the big one... the big ball we call Earth.

Look quickly to Europe for a moment. They went Blunal several years ago. Look at what it got them - double digit inflation sided with double-digit unemployment. Crime is rampant all across Europe. Countries are failing - France is in serious trouble, England is facing crises and many others are in such dismal shape it is questionable if they will even be written into the maps in just a few years.

That's a result of the socialism they embraced years ago - but the trend and the result has little to do with socialism in the long run. Socialism cannot stand under its own weight. The failing of Europe is a forgone conclusion.

Why am I so sure? Look again at the trends in Europe. Left leaning politics have convinced people that abortion and population control (two or less children per household), coupled with same sex coupling have significantly decreased the replenishment of the species. Native Europeans are dwindling. To keep the wheels of commerce grinding away, immigration has been encouraged. Who has immigrated to western European countries more than any other peoples? Mostly Muslims.

Fact is - Islam will take over Europe in short order. It's their plan and has been for centuries. They are on the brink of total domination. It only takes a few minutes to confirm the stories coming out of Europe in the liberal media to mark this trend as factual. Islam will conquer Europe without firing a single shot. The native population will just eventually be replaced. The Caliphate will dominate.

What does this mean for those Europeans who have embraced blunacy for some time? It means public executions on the bridges and overpasses. Blood will run in the streets. Its an ugly picture - but it is the course of life everywhere Islam has become the dominant power.

Being proud of turning the map blue is somewhat akin to being proud of the workmanship and woodworking skill of the coffin maker. It's Blunacy I Tell You!

Get hold of yourself! Take a big step back and look at this from a distance that will regain your perspective! Look farther down the road than just the next 4 or 8 years! What world are you going to leave your children and grandchildren and your great, great grandchildren? Will you even have a legacy that will be remembered?

Or will your history be burned in the fires of Islamic domination?

It has already begun here in the United States - are you aware of that?

Are you still willing to paint your corner of the world blue? I hope not!

The Duplicitousness of Fools - or - Having It Both Ways?

It is a sad fact that we must sift through all of the political claims our politicians make for themselves to see if they are speaking the truth.
It is a much sadder fact that we must sift through their rhetoric about their opponents.
But today, in these days of political correctness, relativism, free thought and actual hard facts, the job seems much worse than merely sifting - it is far better described with the same terms used in any sewer department as filtering and sanitation.

It takes clear thought which requires an understanding of logic and it takes wisdom which remembers we are accountable for our choices - our actions - our words - our votes. Because one day we will find ourselves in El Dorado as well. (http://jbearlyblog.blogspot.com/2006/09/showdown-in-el-dorado.html)

If all else is lost in this month’s blog - remember this; “Do not make the perfect, the enemy of the good!”.

In a recent interview with Eric Black, a reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, ( http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/Transcript_Page.aspx?ContentGuid=96f86796-00c8-4444-862d-5d53fdb85747 ) Hugh Hewitt used his skill as a lawyer and veteran of journalism in his own right to disassemble Blacks arguments concerning the definition of how a lie is defined. Hewitt went on to question how the media - particularly those reporters who write about politics - on how they can claim objectivity and not disclose their own political leanings. Hugh made the point that reporters who report on financial news are compelled to state if they have any personal interest in their stories on securites for fairness and the public’s right to know what bias may be involved.

Political reporters have no such disclosure requirements. Their bias may or may not be obvious in their reports, but their personal politics are always hidden from the public awareness under a claim of objective professionalism.

Only one problem - there is no Hippocratic Oath as there is in medicine. There is no ethical bar as there is for lawyers. Journalism is not a profession. Journalism is a craft and as such, it has no standard of ethics except that which drives the editorial board and that is driven by their political leanings.

It is no secret that the major news corporations have strong left leaning editorial views. The only problem is that they couch their views in a shroud of secrecy about their political leanings and wrap it up in a cloud of supposed objectivity.

Eric Black would not go so far as to say a lie is a lie. His prefers to use the term “an exaggeration”. When he reported that Democrat hopeful Patty Wetterling  claimed that many Republicans knew of a recent scandal involving one of their own party - it was a bold-faced lie. No Republican Senators said any such thing. Black reported the statement as if it were based in fact and then refused and continues to refuse to correct the record and call Wetterling on the lie she is using to prop up her campaign.

When the Republicans call Wetterling a liar - the Democrats claim they are practicing the politics of personal destruction. (a term and a practice the Democrats have perfected for many years). So - they evidently can lie to the public and then cry about being called liars.
They are trying to have it both ways.

When Black is told he is being disingenuous and misguided about the meaning of the word lie, he prefers to call it merely an exaggeration. When explained to him the difference between a lie and an exaggeration, he claims it is his determination to use the term exaggeration - under his veil of objectivity, all the while refusing to acknowledge his partisan leanings. He is trying to claim objectivity while reporting in a partisan fashion.
He is trying to have it both ways.

It gets worse - much worse.

The Democrats pride themselves as the party of tolerance and gay awareness and equality. Yet they have attacked Mark Foley in all his miserable messed up life in what they would call the most homophobic ways had it been a Democrat under the same assault from Republicans. The Republicans remove and disgrace the offending perpetrators in their party while the Democrats celebrate their child molesting and homosexual congressmen and reward them with powerful positions on certain committees.  The long list goes on and on of Democrats in this treatment. But the Democrats say it is not fair to dredge up the past.
They are trying to have it both ways.

The Democrats claim they want to win the war on terror. Yet their past history in leadership positions have shown them to chose the path of appeasement rather than military confrontation. 8 years of Clinton bombing pill factories in the deserts of Iraq every time he was in hot water over one of his many mistakes - just to draw attention away from his problems ended up with Al-Qaeda destroying thousands of American lives in the Trade Center, Flight 93 and Pentagon attacks. That can be laid at the doorstep of the Democrats - but since it came to fruition under the Bush Presidency, they claim it’s the Republicans fault. They claim they did all they could to capture and kill the enemy - yet they failed miserably to do so. Yet they claim they are better at it than the Republicans.
They are trying to have it both ways.

The Democrats claim they are the party of women’s rights, yet when women claim they are raped or assaulted by a Democrat - they refuse to investigate it and instead shrug it off as a political attack not worthy of their time.
They want to have it both ways.

The Democrats claim they are the party of free choice, yet for almost 20 million women and another 18 to 20 million men they have denied the choice to live or die. They have supported abortion on demand as if the choice is only up to the pregnant woman - denying for political purposes the right to life guaranteed in our Constitution for those Americans too young to voice their position and too vulnerable to attack by bullies determined to force them under the knife or acid bath. Had a foreign enemy attacked America and killed 40 million of us - would we have just stood by and ignored it? Even in light of 911?
They are having it both ways - much to our shame - the price we pay for a left leaning Supreme Court.

The Democrats claim they are the party who know something about the economy - in fact Bill Clinton used  the rude statement “it’s the economy, stupid” to address a sitting President. And then took full credit for the efforts of the Regan administration and the Republican congress in the up tick in the economy during the Clinton years. The economy is booming again now under the Bush administration as a continuation of what Regan started. Yet the Democrats want to come to power, raise taxes and create law that will stifle free enterprise and curtail the prospering business economy that this country now enjoys.
They want to have it both ways.

The Democrats claim they want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil - yet they refuse to allow drilling in 1/10 of 25% of Anwar. While no study has ever shown, any significant damage would occur. They refuse to allow drilling in offshore locations around Florida and California - while it is believed there is enough oil there to eliminate any need for Arab oil and new techniques for obtaining it to make it safe and clean in the extraction process. They claim it would be unsightly - though no one with binoculars could see it if they were standing on the beach.
They want to have it both ways.

I have just barely scratched the surface of the duplicitous nature of the Democrat party. Their claims to be the party most concerned about race in America has done nothing but continue to enslave our poorest citizens with entitlements, welfare and what even these people call the “Crazy money” they get from the government for which they do not know. The Democrats continue to prey upon their ignorance by providing them with woefully under qualified schooling opportunities in the liberal democrat controlled environments of the public school system. They want to represent minorities and yet continue to enslave them both intellectually and economically.
They want to have it both ways.

I could go on - and on - and on and on… I have said enough for now.

Am I happy about the Republicans? No! Emphatically no! Have the Republicans failed to accomplish their stated goals? Yes in many ways they have failed. Has Bush failed to uphold the party platform - yes. Have there been Republicans who were soft on crime, war, education, terror? Yes indeed.

But you have to ask yourself a number of questions - beginning with - are you better off today than you were under Clinton and the Democrats? Objectively you must say “YES”.
Have we not been attacked since 911 and has the Republican approached to fighting the war on terror been an under reported success in keeping American citizens safe from attack? Again, you must say “Yes”

Has it been a perfect road? No - But you cannot make the perfect the enemy of the good. The Republicans get it - the Republicans understand the need to protect America from all its threats - both internal and external. Are they perfect at it - no - are they good at it? Resoundingly YES!

Now is not the time for no confidence votes or apathy or protest votes by not voting. You cannot in good conscience allow the nutters in American politics take control of the economy, the war or our own people. We as Americans have far too much to loose.

The Democrats claim they have a plan - every week they have another new plan - they even claim they will tell you what their latest plan will be - yet they still have not given the slightest hint as to what real plan they have. They may give lists - but they give no details. Face it - they don’t have any plan other than to regain power.

No plan is a bad plan for America.

You cannot allow the bad to be the victor over the good - under any circumstance!