A Must Read Article

We all know people who make comments that make us wonder what planet they live on because of the complete disconnect to the group understanding. Unfortunately, the rise of political correctness has prevented our leaders from saying what they truly believe. The latest point being the second coming of the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as he "drove in a long motorcade from Najaf to its sister city of Kufa to deliver an anti-American sermon to 6,000 chanting supporters at the main mosque." We can only imagine the deaths to follow as this man is allowed to spew venomous rants from his mosque bully pulpit.

But what is really astounding is the inability of our leaders to admit this unavoidable truth. I encourage everyone to read Andrew G. Bostom's article Ignorance, Cognitive Dissonance, and al-Sadr at the ever excellent American Thinker. Mr. Bostom is highly qualified to write about Jihad, as he is the author of The Legacy of Jihad and The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism.

It is important for everyone to realize the extent of power the Muslim world desires. Islamic control of the world is their ultimate desire. This is a war to preserve Western Civilization.

Terrorist Training Camp in Texas

Everyone likes to think they are safe in their own backyards, so imagine the creepiness of learning of a terrorist training camp for foreign students located in the woods just down the road.

The Houston Chronicle reports (emphasis added):

A Dallas college student who was linked to a Houston-area plan to aid the Taliban was found guilty Thursday of two weapons violations.

A Houston federal jury found that Syed Maaz Shah, 19, unlawfully possessed a firearm while in this country on a student visa.

After participating in firearms training staged by government informants last year at a campground north of Conroe, Shah was charged in a plot to fight for the terrorist organization overseas against U.S.-led forces. On secret recordings, he can be heard railing against the U.S. and quipping that his passport showed the face of a terrorist.

As a student-visa holder, the Pakistani, who attended the University of Texas at Dallas on a scholarship, was not allowed to have a firearm.

Thankfully, the jury didn't get hung up on the intellectual Left and Libertarian's "Why do they hate us?" carousel and returned a swift and sure verdict:

The jury returned its verdict after deliberating for slightly more than an hour. Shah, who is to be sentenced Sept. 14, faces up to 10 years in prison on each charge, plus deportation.

In another Houston Chronicle article we learn (emphasis added):

Syed Maaz Shah was arrested for firing weapons during two camping trips last year. Authorities said the trips were actually training camps organized by several men who wanted to engage in holy war against U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries.

Presidential Candidate John Edwards (D) is a real man of genius award winner when it comes to foreign policy. His The War on Terror is Just a Bumper Sticker Slogan mentality allows others to base their defense on the notion that there is no war on terror. Shah's Defense Attorney, Frank Jackson believes the verdict was just anti-muslim sentiment in this post 9/11 world:

It was a difficult case because of the times we are in. This so-called war on terror is as phony as can be.

Shah was not the only terrorist in training arrested at this camp.

His cousin, Adnan Mirza, faces three firearms charges, in addition to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States by making donations to the Taliban. The 30-year-old Pakistani, who also was here on a student visa, is scheduled for trial in October.

Kobie Williams, 34, who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge last year, is to be sentenced in October.

Thankfully, this local terrorist training network was captured and prosecuted. The question is: How many others are operating in the woods down the road from your backyard?

Maybe It Was About The Money After All

Over and over, financial planners tell us that the path to wealth is a balanced portfolio. Grandma pointedly reminded us to not put all our eggs in one basket. Grandma, being the wise woman she was, knew that counting on only one thing, one hope, one idea would leave her grandkids vulnerable to things outside their control. So, we wisely spread our precious savings across several different investment opportunities just in case something outside our control happens.

In a previous post, It's Not The Money It's The Message It Sends the jackalope described a certain shady deal between Chet Edwards (D-Tx. 17), our military, and the predatory insurance company American Amicable. This insurance company is located in Waco, Texas; Chet's home stomping grounds.

So, dear readers and fellow constituents, it might interest you to learn that Chet Edwards' portfolio is 100% invested in insurance. Maybe he knows how to control things a bit more than the rest of us when it comes to those things normally outside human control. How else to explain an intelligent person putting all his eggs in one basket?

Learning From History in the War on Terror

Last night I began the DVD series Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy. The story is about the British delivering a self-ruling government in India in 1946. The Jewel in the Crown, as India was described, then operated under a half system of self governance called the Raj. Under the Raj, tribal leaders ruled territories but ultimately answered to British authority. The Crown gave Lord Mountbatten authority to aide the Indian leaders in establishing a democratic Parliament and ultimately complete self-determination.

The comparisons to our work in Iraq are very interesting. One of the problems the blossoming Indian Parliament faced was religious animosity between Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu. Different leaders had their own desires for the future of India. Genocide followed as religion divided the nation into three parts. The British had been able to keep order, but as they discussed pulling out to allow self rule, factions sprung up to take advantage of the situation. There are historians that say the British set an unrealistic date for the Indian government to gain control and settle differences.

This sounds very close to the current situation in Iraq. The Iraqi government must have authority across the entire country and over each tribe and faction within their border. Some Indian Muslims, lead by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, wanted their own country; a complete Muslim state. Some Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus wanted to remain where they currently lived with the freedom to practice their own religion. If the United States were to pull out our troops too soon, could what happened in India happen in Iraq? There are even more comparisons.

The DVD shows Mohammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the Muslim League, stirring up a mob by declaring, "We will have Pakistan or we will destroy India!" It is hard for our pragmatic western minds to understand such thinking. However, when we recall the kamikaze pilots of WWII, Buddhist monks torching themselves in protest of the Viet Nam war, and the current crop of suicide bombers, we should realize that self immolation has been a route to paradise in the eastern mind.

The undeclared war between Muslim and Sikh along with the usually fate-driven Hindu in the Punjab is reputed to have killed between 200,000 and 360,00. This number could be higher if the 10 years before 1946 are counted. The migration of the different ethnic peoples to the portion of India they preferred to occupy was a dangerous journey because of violent attacks by other factions. The anger boiled over and blood flowed freely.

President Bush is wise to stand firm against any timeline for American departure in Iraq. The Congressional leaders that demand America pull out now have not studied their history and because of this educational lack, the blood of Iraqi innocents would be on our hands. It is very disturbing that the people that preach "caring" for others to their vassals here in the United States deride our military for being in Iraq and taking the time to empower this new democratic government.

Today India and Pakistan have joined us in The War On Terror. Maybe the memories of the brutality they endured spur them to action to join us. Whatever their reason, we welcome them in this fight. If the Democratic Party joined the fight maybe Ahmadinejad and Bashar al-Assad, the Mohammad Ali Jinnahs of today, would not be openly supporting insurgent terrorists with money and tools of destruction or threatening to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.

Human nature dictates that when benevolent authority is perceived as weak, evil men will rise to fill the void. If the American troops leave Iraq and Afghanistan before self-rule is strong, evil will respond as it will. Most of America seems to understand this, but Bush-hating tunnel vision has destroyed the Democratic Party and innocents are being slaughtered every day because of their weak and selfish rhetoric. I suggest they be quiet, sit in their comfortable chair and read The Life of Reason by George Santayana because "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Well Worth Our Support

Too often, we complain when someone does something wrong while saying nothing if something is done right. It goes against our human nature to edify one another. The state of Texas has much to be proud of when it comes to debate in the Senate and House on the illegal immigration issue.

Both Texas Senators, Kay Baily Hutchison and John Cornyn are standing strong against the effort to pass this bill without debate. Serious issues are in need of debate and Congress has a bad habit of rushing headlong into legislation without proper consideration of the rule of unintended consequences. Pressure in Washington to get a "done deal" is a tough thing to resist.

District 17 cannot boast of its contribution to this debate. However:

• Jeb Hensarling (R-TX 5),
• Randy Neugebauer (R-TX 19),
• John Culberson (R-TX 7),
• Mike Conaway (R-TX 11),
• Kenny Marchant (R-TX 24),
• Joe Barton (R-TX 6),
• Michael Burgess (R-TX 26),
• Nick Lampson (R-TX 22),
• Michael McCaul (R-TX 10),
• Ted Poe (R-TX 2),
• Lamar Smith (R-TX 21),
• John Carter R-TX 31),
• Pete Sessions (R-TX 32) and
• Sam Johnson (R-TX 3)

all deserve a word of thanks and appreciation.

This list also clearly reveals the delineation between Democrats and Republicans on this issue.

Note: The jackalope visited the website of every Texas Representative to get this information. If a Representative is not listed, and is strong on border security and anti-illegal immigration, I was unable to find information supporting it.

Chet Edwards - Democrat First, American Second

Chet Edwards (D-TX17) has an unjustified reputation as a conservative Democrat. The reality is that he follows closely the far left ideas of the Democratic Party. He is careful to never be photographed with members of his party that would tarnish that carefully constructed persona, but his voting record mirrors theirs in most respects.

A major problem concerning the (il)legal immigration issue is that nothing is backed up by enforcement. Legislation is a great concept, but unless it is actually followed through in practice we only worsen the situation. Problems become a "make work" project for Congress allowing them to posture and prattle for the news camera rather than the hard work of solving a problem. If they were to solve the problem then they would have nothing to preen about before the Sunday Talking Head hosts. Making hard decisions is not always conducive to Congress' first job: re-election. And it goes without saying that pleasing their idiot hick constituents back home could make them persona non gratia with the tony Washington cocktail circuit. This is a problem for even some (most?) Republicans.

It is in this light we must contemplate the current (il)legal immigration bill because the law of human nature dictates that we get the behavior we reward. Any legislation that does not first address the problem of a porous border is doomed to be a future and much larger problem. If our schools and social programs are already overburdened, inaction concerning the open border issue means in mere months these taxpayer funded programs will be exponentially so. Tax funds are not some bottomless coffer regardless of how legislators may treat them.

It is not wrong for citizens to prefer to keep as much of their own money to provide for their own family and extended family. This is the intent of the proverb: Charity begins at home. Unbridled taxation to provide social services for illegal aliens will eventually make all native and naturalized citizens wards of the state because it will lead straight to poverty because the more services provided, the more people will come. To assert so is not to be anti-immigrant, but rather to recognize the reality of human nature.

That explained, this morning in his weekly radio interview, Chet Edwards (D-Tx17) distanced himself properly from the Senate's illegal immigration bill. He listed off his requirements: illegals must pay a fine, learn to speak English - even their children - so illegals can provide better for themselves rather than expecting to receive myriads of social welfare, and oh yeah that other thing, border security.

Wait a minute, he just described the current embattled Senate Bill. By listing border security last, Edwards makes clear his priority. After 16 years in the House, Edwards understands perfectly the reality of not enforcing the laws he passes. He has a history of not enforcing the laws he votes for. He is facile in speaking the "correct" talking points, knowing that those constituents who are not well-versed politicos will hear his words outside the context of political realities and nod their heads thinking the incessant bickering has been solved.

The political reality is that the Senate and House Democratic majority could pass the current bill and the President would sign it into law. Their dilemma comes when the people, realizing that the problem is not in fact solved, blame them for passing a problem intensifier. President Bush will not be running for office ever again. To blame him would be moot and the proverbial chickens will come home to roost infecting the Democratic Party with its political pox.

This is why the word bi-partisan is the key word. If the Republicans do not play this game, and fall into the sprung trap, Democrats will not pass this bill. This indicates that the bill was never in the best interest for the long run of the country, but rather another piece of legislation whose main purpose is the destruction of their political foes. The ugly truth is that our Representative is extremely adept in playing this game. It is Mr. Edwards' and his Party's behavior that constitutes a major loss to his constituents and to the nation.

The Revolution #4: A Modest Proposal: the Solution of Illegal Immigration and Foreign Terrorists Living in the United States

Note: This post was nominated for a Weasel Watcher Award during the week of May 23, 2007

In 1729, Jonathan Swift published the satirical pamphlet A Modest Proposal: For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick. It was Swift’s proposal that Irish parents sell their children to be eaten to provide a family income.

“A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout.”

Needless to say, the public did not see the humor in his modest proposal nor did they recognize Swift’s homage to the Roman tradition of satire that disparaged the solutions they actually supported. Swift lost nearly all the subscribers to his pamphlets. Today, this work stands as the greatest piece of satire ever written.

It is with true jacklope humility that I set down my own modest proposal. I hope you enjoy:

A Modest Proposal: the Solution of Illegal Immigration and Foreign Terrorists Living in the United States

Regarding the upcoming Illegal Immigration Bill, rejoice that Congress has at last streamlined the legislative process so much that the mere idea is passed into law without all that troublesome legal fine print ever being written. We already know we can’t possibly understand the yearly tax code, so why bother our stressed out brains with another piece of congressional mumbo jumbo? We can just jump to the obvious outcome: instant citizenship, a voter card in Spanish card with a preprinted “X” in the box next to “Democratic Party”, and a Pueblo, Colorado publication listing all the social services that come with citizenship.

And, by logical extension, the only natural conclusion to the immigration problem is for the United States to simply declare universal sovereignty over the entire globe, making all earthly inhabitants Americans. Think of the problems that would instantly be solved by expanding our borders to include every continent, island, peninsula, sandbar, and floating flotsam and jetsam! No more illegals dying in the brutal trek across the American southwest deserts, or sweltering in the back of 18-wheelers with no air, water, food, or bathroom facilities. Never again would we have to hear of such tragedies and risk having our free time and peace of mind disturbed.

Even if the new citizens stay in their current locations, now they wouldn’t have to work to change the governments they would otherwise desire to flee. The former nation of Mexico can cease in its almost-achievable quest to achieve a true two-party democracy. Hugo Chavez can offer symposiums for Democratic Congressmen on how to nationalize private business as he did Citgo Oil and how they aspire to do with our health care system. The reality of a fast track to making all citizens both wards and employees of the state would be created ipso facto. The Democratic Party is thinking small-time in its present goal of making only people residing within the current borders of the United States citizens. Imagine the possibilities for complete domination if the Democratic Party were able to make every single person on the planet their ward and vassal. Surely when they examine the absolute magnificence of this modest solution they will realize that this short proposal has barely begun to explore the possibilities.

The idea of annexing the entire world is so pregnant with opportunity that one could not even begin to list the benefits to the future power of the Democratic Party. Instantly the need to travel in order to receive the benefits of the United States becomes moot. Instead we can export government social workers and labor union members to provide all benefits accorded with citizenship. Like lawyers descending on the Bhopal tragedy, government agencies could be set up at the four corners of the world and incremental points in between to provide all benefits and necessities to new citizens at taxpayer expense. Furthermore, since we celebrate diversity already, no new citizen need suffer the burden of learning English (lest they assimilate into the bigoted and racist present American culture, developed as it was by dead white men). If this proposal were enacted, all people could continue to speak in their indigenous language and dialect. Because after all, that’s what being an American is all about: making America just like the place you fled.

So brilliant is this plan that Democratic Party leaders will be guaranteed voters and power for life, possibly even eternity. Their pursuit of wealth could then be expanded to include every tax-free offshore account or even the banks of the new state of Switzerland. All wealth will now be subject to the American tax code and every redistributionist PAC or 501(c) receiving federal funds. It is hard to believe that no one at the DNC has thought of this plan sooner. It appears there is not a political visionary in the entire party.

Even terrorists will receive incredible benefits by becoming American citizens. It goes without saying that now they will be able to kill Americans with greater ease, as they will not have to risk the sneaking and hiding, the plotting and scheming it currently takes to set up splinter cells bearing outdated visas over here. Why travel when just killing your own neighbor is a death of an American? Consider the double bonus when a terrorist's own child becomes a self-detonating bomb: an American child killing other Americans! Jews will be Americans, infidel Christians will all be Americans, Shi’ias will be Americans, Sunnis, Hamas, PLO, Chechen, all are Americans. Now they can really mean it when they drive a bomb-laden truck into a shopping mall with the cry, “Death to America!” The simplicity of absolute cultural nihilism borders on divine perfection.

Not to mention the benefit of outmaneuvering the United Nations, a bureaucracy that could be swiftly rendered null and void. Never again will we need to seek permission to establish democracies in terrorist states. Surely a nation that had no problem gassing and torching Branch Davidians would have no compunction about bombing itself, wherever and whenever needed. It’s good to have a frame of reference when it comes to the almighty state delivering justice swift and sure. Nothing keeps a citizenry in order better than them knowing their proper place in the power hierarchy.

The benefits of this modest proposal are so bold, so enlightened and radical, that to not put it into action immediately could blight humanity forever. Let us cease striving after such clearly unworkable legislation as building a border fence and increasing a well trained and equipped border guard. There is no sense wasting taxpayer money on high-tech satellite equipment, unmanned drones, and expensive gadgetry like night-vision goggles and infrared cameras. We all know it is impossible to track every person within the borders or defend ourselves indefinitely against a far more determined worldwide jihad. Why strive after mediocre stopgap half-measures when a self-evident solution exists? Why continue the suffering for one more second? Call your Congressman and Senators immediately and urge them to pass this simple proposal with all haste, and begin planning a family vacation to the new America—no visa, passport or papers required. Brilliant.

The Revolution #3: Federalist Democrats

In the 1790’s Thomas Jefferson was able revitalize the nation’s quest for individual liberty because ordinary citizens formed political discussion groups, newspapers and broadsides were printed to cover debates and forums, and pamphleteers wrote their ideas on how to further the individual’s right for self-determination. Today this same action is taking place with the popularity of political issue groups, talk radio, blogs, and other media alternatives. The old media of network news and printed newspapers that firmly support Democratic Party control is no longer the federalist monolith of power.

The reason Jefferson’s revolution against the Federalist Party was successful was because there was an important decision to be made about the future of the nation.

Today, the revolutionary ideas challenging the Democratic Party are of equal importance.

While Jefferson’s success was fueled in part by the French Revolution and its ousting of a hierarchical monarchy, today’s ideas are triggered in some part by the fall of communism.

America has something fundamental to decide: do we continue toward the socialistic future envisioned by the Democratic Party, or set a new course of republican liberty as envisioned by the Republicans?

Is liberty to be defined and passed down to the individual by the totalitarian elitism of the Democratic Party and their federalist sensibilities? Or will liberty continue to be defined as the ability of individuals through self-determination having their say in regards to the power delegated to the state and its intrusion upon their private lives?

The Democratic Party is failing in part because the various groups that support it have forsaken the common good in their quest to solidify power. They have acted in the worst of human nature. What else can be expected from a generation steeped in the belief that The Constitution was flawed from its very inception? So much is their belief that they govern in a manner diametrically opposed to its very words. The 1st Amendment has degenerated into a protection for selfish hedonism, while the 2nd Amendment has become the denial of the right to self-preservation. Words that don't even appear in The Constitution , separation of church and state, are now presented as absolute law.

The Federalist Party failed when it fundamentally reconnected its ideas of legislative power with monarchy. The Democratic Party must fail because of its connection with the failed atheistic communist state and the denial of the rights of man. These ideas deny the fact that man is a spiritual being, finding meaning in life in a relentless search for God, and that self-determination is an inherent part of being human. America’s very survival and its beacon of liberty to the rest of the world are at stake in these upcoming elections.

Just as the Federalists thought of government power in the manner of the English gentry, today’s Democrats consider their power in Stalinist terms. The “Fairness” Doctrine and the new rules of Campaign Finance Reform show that contrary speech is to be silenced. So ingrained is their thinking that any citizen disagreeing with them is derided with name-calling, vulgarities, and ultimately accusations of mental illness. All these methods of discrediting detractors come directly from Stalin himself. Leaders of the various Democratic Party support groups attained their positions through fraud and deceit. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, George Sorros, Cindy Sheehan to name a few leaders. NOW, NARAL, and PETA to name a few groups.

A revolution is the proper recourse when a government no longer serves the purpose of the people it serves.

What is needed today is a revolution that completely repudiates a political party that no longer represents the constitution it serves.

Like the Federalist Party before them, the Democratic Party must be repudiated with such vehemence in these next elections that the party and its socialist ideas are forever destined to be past history.

A New Species of Democrat

Back during the days of the Viet Nam war, the left came up with the name Chicken Hawk to describe those that were pro-military but did not serve in the military. Yesterday's vote in the Senate to cut off funds for the troops overseas fell from the sky in flames. Only 29 Democratic Senators voted for the measure, including Hilary Clinton (D-NY) and Barak Obama (D-IL) in a political machination to vote for a bill they knew would fail in order to satisfy the blood lust of their wacked out base.

In light of the fact that new species of animals are being discovered at an alarming rate, it should be noted that a new species of Democrat has been discovered in the Senate: the Chicken Nugget Dove Democrat. The Chicken Nugget Dove can be recognized by the biological oddity of the lack of any bones, which causes the new species to do a lot of flapping and squawking but an inability to vote its conscience because of re-election fears.

The Revolution #2: Human Nature and Republicanism

Human nature has been an overlooked reality for the past generations as government has sought to legislate the nation into Darwinian perfection. Supposedly, human nature was to “evolve” with each new law. However, look where we are now: attempting to legislate hate (thought) crime. An intelligent person only has to read the book of Job, written 5 thousand years before Christ, to conclude that in both reasoning and the poetic arts man has not progressed much—regardless of his technologies.

There is much to learn from Job concerning human nature. Man will always testify to his innocence and friends are always capable of piling on when the chips are down, for even a good man. There it is folks, the Darwinian theory of human nature: we secretly love it when bad things happen to good people. This is the unvarnished truth about human nature; we are jealous, selfish, antagonistic, little hedonists who hypocritically deny it all.

Considering such a truth, it is amazing that we have created any sense of civil society at all. Given our sinful human nature we certainly deserve the rule of an autocratic despot, if not certain death. History records man’s ability to balance ever so precariously personal freedom with civil society. Western civilization, aided by Christianity has developed the best form of this balance. Tiananmen Square and The Branch Davidians should be a constant reminder that Gandhi’s method of peaceful protest only worked because of the British adherence to Christian principles. Slavery in Britain met its end because of Christianity. Christianity recognizes the truth of human nature with Christ’s crucifixion the ultimate and only reconciliation between man and God. In many ways, our government’s usurpation of Christianity has allowed generations to disallow the truth of human nature.

An example of this usurpation is revealed when citizens pray to government to supply their needs, rather than to God. Previous generations would be appalled. This is all aided by the Democratic Party’s relentless quest to eradicate any reference to God in government buildings and pursuing the path of eradication even in public places. However, a more insidious method of usurpation of Christian values comes through an attempt to deny 2nd amendment rights which is derived from that basest of human needs, the right of self-defense. The government in this instance enforces with law Christ’s teaching of turning the other cheek. Ask any student, at any government school, what happens when a bully attacks them and they dare defend themselves. You will learn they will each be punished equally under zero tolerance rules. Even worse, the victim is urged to try to understand the problems associated with his attacker.

This twisted deviation of Christ’s teaching is reflected in Democratic Party policies. In foreign policy we are told if this nation only treated our enemies “nicer” they would not be so mean to us. The implied message being that this nation is responsible for creating its own enemies. In domestic policy, we are forced to give tax money to the government as offerings for the poor, the children, or the victims of (insert cause here) because Christ taught the same. Democratic Party policy is a sort of Christian/Nihilism that while denying the existence of God and His Law, they then enforce with penalty various teachings of Christ. In both instances individual rights and human nature are ignored because the responsibilities of an individual before God are denied. The Democrats absolve the foreign evildoer without penance, while God does not respect their enforced piety upon others at home.

Human nature dictates that we all want something for nothing, would enforce on others what we would never accept for ourselves, and quite frankly would cut off our nose to spite our face. While the Democratic Party plays to the worst of human nature, republican thought addresses the qualities of human nature and the need to rise above it, which is why so many evangelicals are members of the Republican Party. However, republicanism resides in the heart of any individual who while believing in self-determination, is also able to rise above personal interests in regards to civil society.

Therefore, it is imperative that the Republican Party be a big tent for all those of like mind. And nothing is more indicative of this than the variety of Presidential candidates: pro-life, pro-choice, Mormon, nominal Christian, fervent evangelical, along with a myriad of immigration and security ideas. The Republican Party has been blessed by the number of men willing to accept the brutal gauntlet of the election process and the sobering responsibility of the presidency. As Republicans we vote in the primaries for the ascendancy of our candidate of choice. However, as republicans we are also called to vote for the party candidate for the better good of the republic even if not the man of our personal choice. It is our belief in self-determination coupled with that ability to rise above personal interest that unites us as Republicans and makes our ideas the best course for the country.

The Revolution #1: The Fork

In the 1790’s, this nation approached a fork in the road. The single party, the Federalists, had assumed the same hierarchy of power as the English government they'd just rebelled against. In a mere 25 years, the nation was running adrift in its journey toward the concept of government intent upon expanding the limits of individual freedom and liberty.

The Federalists were supremely in charge, but devoid of groundbreaking ideas that set apart the nation in a manner befitting the boldness of the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson was the man with ideas to push once again the limits on personal freedom and liberty. Understanding the becalmed political scene, Jefferson set about coalescing a republican counter to the Federalist Party.

In classical republican thought, it is the requirement of citizens to do what they believe to be the best actions for the long road, to rise above their selfish human nature and do the higher, nobler action for the betterment of the community as a whole. The republican value of civic virtue requires that citizens be responsible for conducting their life and their business in a manner that does not harm the fragile and precious commodity of civil society.

Citizens of a republic are also required to speak up if they believe they have a better idea for government than those in elected office.

Jefferson coalesced this second party from disparate groups that believed in a set of ideas rather than in a certain group of people. Farmers, small business entrepreneurs, and evangelicals united under these ideas and a second party was born. By the turn of the century the Federalist Party ceased to exist, and our nation returned to its original course.

Today, the nation approaches a new fork. The Democratic Party has no new ideas in regards to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Their one idea is socialism and strong government control; views diametrically opposed to the bedrock foundation of the nation. Like the Federalists, today’s Democrats speak down to the people in a highborn, condescending manner, with ridicule and legislative silencing tactics for their critics because like their predecessors, they are incapable of accepting criticism.

The opportunity presented at this current fork:

do we continue down the failed path toward complete socialism and government control or do we seek to unite diverse groups under a set of ideas and again push forward the limits of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness?

Despite our falling down in the last election, one good thing occurred: the RNC realizes that it must respect the people’s support of a challenger to an incumbent Republican in name only (R.I.N.O.). In the next election the RNC must recognize that challenges to long-time Republican incumbents are in the highest form of republican ideals.

Let the RNC be aware: Any incumbent not able to rise above poll-driven democratic opinion is fair game. The ultimate goal being that the 110th Congress be the last defiled by any incumbents insensitive to the fleeting opening of the radical fork in the road toward rugged individualism.

Our goal is simple:

that in our own pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness the earth be turned upside-down and freedom flourish in intolerant lands.

Cultural Relativism Harms Young People

Jesus answered, "… Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" John 18: 37c- 38a

For Pilate, Truth became the road of political expediency. Today, Truth slides on a scale of public opinion. It becomes nothing more than grains of sand in an hourglass, falling into a pile only to be turned upside down again. No wonder our young people live in a “ ...whatever...” world. For them, everything is in flux.

The human mind needs the guardrails of absolute truth, as surely as children thrive under acceptable rules of conduct rapidly followed by swift justice for infractions. How can the average or below average young mind handle complex evaluations otherwise? Without parameters, every “if/then” situation becomes nothing more than a throw of the dice with no ceiling, no standardization, no moral frame of reference. The fabric of our present society is riddled with dropped stitches and flaws due to years of cultural relativism for whatever reasons. Political pressure, public pressure, misguided do-gooderism, and simple ignorance have all had their hand in ill-equipping our children for entry into the fast world of our national economy.

A friend of mine manages these kids in the food service business. He sings his woes to me. Because the economy is so good, young people can choose to switch jobs instead of developing personal job skills. My friend tells me how his employees are incapable of making change even when every price, sale tax included, has been rounded to the nearest quarter. How walking in their personal “style” prevents them from moving quickly and with purpose. How speaking in an intelligible dialect is an affront to their sensibilities. And you can forget writing altogether, because spelling and the standard formation of letters are nonexistent. Even showing up for work is a matter of personal choice. Not only does the need for personal change never occur, it isn’t even considered for future contemplation.

Because the economy is so healthy, there is a glut of available jobs. It is possible to move from one entry-level job to another if fired for not showing up for work. Currently, there is no need to develop a better personal work ethic. If some work related problem arises, these young people are ill prepared to deal with it. They choose the method of problem solving they have been taught – the path of least resistance - and simply move on to the next situation. After all, everything is in flux and relative. Our own economic good fortune has become the course of their downfall. But what happens when, not if, the economy eventually declines?

A dynamic economy requires absolute truth. Hard facts are required. Your product either works or it doesn’t. It is available or it isn’t. Planes are on time or they aren’t. Customers are there to be satisfied, even the ones that are intent on being dissatisfied. When the music stops, someone is going to be left without a chair.

Which gets us back to the revolving door of employment young people are currently enjoying. The current system of relativism has left them sorely prepared for life. The only entrepreneurs among this group are criminals. Does this mean society can “tsk, tsk” while saying, “We did everything we could” while continuing to deny the existence of absolute Truth? The evidence speaks louder than words.

The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. Psalm 14:1

One only has to look into the eyes of the lost lambs behind the service counter to know this culture of relativism has sacrificed Truth for political expediency and we are drenched in the blood of innocents.

Compassion Requires Truth and Love

My husband did a Google search on me the other night and came across two comments I made to this man's post last November. He asked me to post these comments here at The Jackalope's Voice, so here goes:

Nate,

I found your link from “ROT Unmasked” post. First, I am very sympathetic to your problem with chronic pain as I too am a sufferer. My prayers go out to you that you may find mercy with those that treat you. It is a very difficult road and I cannot even begin to explain to you how my spiritual life has developed in light of this sorrow. I would encourage you to seek not only solace for your soul, but the wisdom and understanding that is found in The Bible. I thought I knew what Christianity and religion was all about having been raised in a “Christian” home. But, it wasn’t until I read the entire book for myself that I learned of the Big Picture, the magnificent puzzle that is God’s revelation to man. It opened my eyes to understanding the political world and the nature of man. It is that view that explains why I think going to Iraq was the right thing. My husband and I are conversational English partners with many people, especially from South Korea. My father served in the army in Korea and was presented with the Bronze Star for meritorius valor. A real act of bravery that would make John Kerry’s Silver Star tarnished in comparison, but I digress.

I never really understood what Korea or any subsequent war was all about, until I saw a French woman weeping and paying homage to the D-Day Paratrooper that stood in the doorway of the cellar where she and her family were hiding during the 50th year celebration. You see, they knew that if that man in the doorway was a German soldier, they would be dead. We can only appreciate the relief the family felt when it was revealed that the uniformed man in the doorway was some farmboy from the Midwest - an American, when we understand the horror of human nature. Fifty years later, this woman was overwhelmed with gratitude that a farmboy from the Midwest had thought it important to protect her freedom and liberty. I watched this happen on t.v. and I was moved to tears. I now understood. And likewise, these people that I meet from South Korea, they all tell of the gratitude that they have of men like my father because they know it was only through men like him and the grace of God that prevented them from living in the terror that is North Korea. Evil must be confronted at all times, from the school yard bully, to the government that threatens to wipe another free people off the face of the earth.

This is not politic, this is the fact of living in a fallen world, as we religious zealots would say. If we see evil and do not confront it, then we are not men. Iraq is the place were that is happening. If we leave without victory, then we will each be responsible for the genocide that will take place as every Iraqi with a purple-stained finger will be eradicated so that the new totalitarian regime can establish their “utopia”. All people yearn to be free, but human nature rears up its ugly head and wants to control and be in power over others. That is the nature of this fallen world.

Again, I am so sorry that you suffer such pain. I am home from church today because I just have to stay off my feet because of my pain. It is constant and then more than I can bear. I’m grieved to know that someone young is having to suffer so. I will pray for you.

I would like to participate in ROT’s Vincent, you and the others mentioned in the post to get a new perspective on Texas and U.S. politics.

Sincerely,
Nancy Coppock

Here is his response:

Thank you for commenting Nancy. I can see you have your view and it is rooted in your spirituality. I have to admire that… but I also have to disagree with it. For every South Korean or French family that rejoices remembering an American soldier in their doorway, there is a Vietnamese family that remembers the sight of an American with horror. I wish I could believe that everytime we send out soldiers somewhere, we do it because we are right and we are fighting evil. But I can’t anymore. When I was a child, I saw the world in black and white, good vs. evil. When I grew up, I discovered there was only grey. The world hasn’t fallen; it is as it always was.

Probably my view is also reflective of my spirituality. I have long wanted to believe in a God, a supreme being who keeps the universe just and fair. But faith, by its very definition, is a kind of ignorance. It is unquestioning belief in the absence of evidence. I could never be happy with myself or with the universe if it is reliant on self-imposed ignorance. I need proof, I need evidence, I need to see and to know.

That’s why when I see what we’re doing in Iraq, I can’t just sit back and have faith that we’re right and that we’ll be victorious. The evidence I see seems to suggest that our presence there is only making things worse.

My reply:

I love that! Who says that there is a Vietnamese family that remembers an American soldier with horror? Several years ago I had a discussion with the college student son of the owners of the Vietnamese restaurant my family patronized. I apologized to him that for all he and his family had been through that when they finally get to America, we turn around and elected our own version of his oppressors, Bill Clinton. I was just talking out of the blue to this young man. We had never spoken before. He readily agreed with me, adding that the Democratic Party was like the communists his family had fled, in that they always made big promises that would never be kept. He said people would vote for the Democrats because they wanted something, but it would never work out like they thought.

Now, I realize that this is anecdotal, but I would propose that the idea of the fear of American soldiers is a myth and that the truth is what the people actually say. Of course there are the incidents of criminal behavior but I would chalk that up to human nature of the individual rather than to cast aspersions on the entire group. For instance, if a member of your high school commited a crime, does that mean the entire alumni are all criminals? In the larger picture, America is good. Indeed, my Korean friend only yesterday was commenting that compared to the rest of the world, America was the least corrupt nation that he had ever known. So, it would seem even our dirtiest slime, is cleaner than any other nation’s slime. I laughed, of course, because I decry any slime, at any time. So, maybe you are looking through the eyeglasses in reverse. Maybe, it’s time to change your perspective. You are still young.

In our spiritual discussion, I would remind you that we do live in a fallen world. Because we yearn for something different is truly evidence that this is not our home. Why would we desire something that doesn’t seem to exist if it truly does not exist? Man is imperfect, of that I am sure! And this world is certainly not just….or the ugly people would have all the money, to quote a line from Laurie Anderson. ha! But seriously, that does not mean a perfect God does not exist. Or that because of the vulgar nastiness of human nature, we should not strive to live beyond those baser instincts. If you think THIS world is bad, just consider what it could be like should the few cease striving after the sublime! We would become the horror of Commander Kurtz in “Apocolypse Now” which was not really a movie about the truth of the war, but actually a commentary on the darkness of the human heart as written by Joseph Conrad.

Faith is actually a gift from God [link added 4-21-07]. It’s not really anything we are capable of creating. Faith is a gift and gifts must be accepted and opened to be enjoyed. For this reason, so many people lack faith because it does come from God and we willingly refuse the gift. Faith is not a magic act or trick that we fool our minds with. That truly is the definition of ignorance and therefore deplorable in the eyes of God. Faith is not ceasing in our questioning, indeed true faith is an ever expanding gift. Sort of like a Russian matroska doll in reverse.

In the war on terror, we can not have faith we will be victorious, because faith without works is dead. However, we must be resolved to accept nothing short of victory because to lose is to exchange our way of life for slavery to an alien ideology. To be defeated will end our way of life. This is an enemy that will not just sit in the land that they would then dominate. This is an enemy that will track our way of life down to the ends of the earth. I can not willingly flinch into a future like the movie Brazil with bombs going off in the mall and life trying to ignore it or an ideology tracking even my thoughts into the recesses of my mind. And people think Christian Republicans are the enemy? Hello? You and I are just enjoying a sparing of wits and ideas, there is no burka to throw over you or a sword in my hand. We need to pray to the Almighty that we are victorious in this fight, not only for liberty and freedom for others, but for our own precious way of life. There’s nothing more like the spirit of anti-christ when a people would kill anyone in the name of God!

Your blog title says that you are a cripple. What is your condition and the cause of your pain? I truly care for your position and I share in your sorrows. Truly, this world is not our home. I would again encourage you to pick up the Bible to discover more about the great mystery of God’s revelation of Himself to us. Abraham searched for the city whose foundations were laid by God and this was counted as righteousness to him. Knock and the door will be opened unto you. Seek Him and you shall find Him. I know this is true, that once I was blind, but now I see and no one can debunk that which I am totally aware of what happened.

With sincerity,
the jackalope’s voice

The Other Declaration of Independence

The original Thirteen Colonies have a legitimate claim to be the cradle of liberty for all Americans, with Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Virginia having particularly strong cases. But another part of America has a proud and too often ignored history of proclaiming liberty throughout the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof.

Another March 2nd has come and gone with barely a mention of it here in Texas. For those not fluent in Texas history, March 2, 1836 was the date of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Now, granted there were some mentions in the local newspaper and some celebrations throughout the state but overall the date passes largely unnoticed.

The brave words of our beloved state's Declaration of Independence are not quoted by schoolchildren or state opinion journalists. My own local paper does make mention of the date in the "On This Date in History" section alongside "1923 - Time Magazine debuted." But there was a fun program at the site of the signing with re-enactors living as settlers of the age. From the declaration come some beautiful words proclaiming the logic of liberty:

"When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers are derived, and for the advancement of whose happiness it was instituted, and so far from being a guarantee for the enjoyment of those inestimable and inalienable rights, becomes an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression."

In 1820, Moses Austin negotiated land grants for settlers with the Spanish government in San Antonio. His son, Stephen F. Austin proceeded to bring settlers into the area with the promise of 1,280 acres for families at 12.5 cents per acre. The next year Mexico won its independence from Spain and re-negotiation of the land grants began, even though the "Texians" had joined in the fight for Mexican independence. Originally, the newly established Mexican government was supposed to be a liberal federalist democracy. However. the new government led by Valentin Gomez Farias so angered religious leaders and conservatives that another rebellion quickly ensued, led by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Santa Anna, previously a leader in the fight for Mexican independence, now declared Mexico unfit for democracy and declared himself dictator. When captured by General Sam Houston at the battle at San Jacinto, Santa Anna was recorded to have said:

"...it is very true that I threw up my cap for liberty with great ardor, and perfect sincerity, but very soon found the folly of it. A hundred years to come my people will not be fit for liberty. They do not know what it is, unenlightened as they are, and under the influence of a Catholic clergy, a despotism is the proper government for them, but there is no reason why it should not be a wise and virtuous one."

The Texas War for Independence and the American War for Independence were fought for the same ideals: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But Texas took particular note of one issue: without the right of personal property and the right to defend it, liberty becomes a moot point. Personal private property is integral to what makes the United States of America the great nation it has become, despite the original Declaration's ignoring of the concept.

Our Texas Independence Day has been overshadowed for years now by the holiday, Cinco de Mayo, a day scarcely even noted in Mexico, but for some reason adopted in America as a celebration of Mexican ethnicity. This follows the East Coast pattern of St. Patrick's Day for the Irish, Columbus Day for the Italians, and the bluntly ethnic Puerto Rico Day, unadorned with any great personage or event as an excuse, celebrated in New York City as a means of giving parade parity to a major ethnic bloc.

Cinco de Mayo is not a celebration of Mexican independence or liberty. Rather it is a celebration of a Mexican dictatorship defeating the army of the French dictatorship, that of Napoleon III in 1862.

Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Texas are a month-long extravaganza with the local grocery chain offering sales on all your Cinco de Mayo needs: chips, salsa and Corona beer. Ad flyers fill Sunday papers and mailboxes across Texas and the entire Southwest. There are Cinco de Mayo sales on everything imaginable - picnic sets, grills, coolers, cars and trucks. There are town festivities, park festivities, family festivities. It rivals Super Bowl Sunday as a major event in the gustatory calendar.

A day like March 2nd just doesn't have the castanet clacking, magenta and green can-can skirt-swishing allure of a May 5th celebration. And it's sad to say that unless the rowdiness of a "Come and Take It!" or a "line in the sand" party of an Alamo burndown stirs in the hearts of Texans, we may doom our own good fortune of liberty.

As noted in our Texas Declaration of Independence:

"When, in consequence of such acts of malfeasance and abdication on the part of the government, anarchy prevails, and civil society is dissolved into its original elements. In such a crisis, the first law of nature, the right of self-preservation, the inherent and inalienable rights of the people to appeal to first principles, and take their political affairs into their own hands in extreme cases, enjoins it as a right towards themselves, and a sacred obligation to their posterity, to abolish such government, and create another in its stead, calculated to rescue them from impending dangers, and to secure their future welfare and happiness."

America continues to draw immigrants from all over the world, because the liberty we have unshackled enables humans of all hues to live better, happier, richer lives. Texas, for its part, draws people from all over the world and all over America to our own brand of freedom and opportunity. Located as we are on the Southern border, a share of these arrivals have not bothered with the formalities demanded, and due to "acts of malfeasance and abdication on the part of the government, anarchy prevails" on the border.

Unless we defend the cause proclaimed in the Texas Declaration of Independence as a superior ideal, Mexico will never change and we will cease to be.

Note: article first posted at American Thinker

Another Thing My Daddy Told Me

My Dad was a man of few words. He volunteered to serve in Korea where he was wounded by mortar fire, which cost him his left eye. He led two other soldiers back to safety after they were all separated from their troop, even though wounded in the face. He was awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. My Dad would never talk of this. He was a very humble man. A man that loved his country.

Back in the early '70's the local Mobil gas station was handing out flag decals that said, "Love it or Leave." He put one in the window of his '67 Mustang and there it flew proudly until some barbarian spit a big hock of tobacco juice on it. I remember my Dad scraping the flag off his window, an act I came to understand as a show of his reverence for our flag. He would never place the flag he loved in a position for desecration. Our family loves to fly our flag. My Mom, who lives next door, never misses a day to fly the flag. She makes sure there is a flag flying on Dad's grave.

Another thing my Dad told me was, "Never trust a Democrat in war." As we watch the events unfold in Congress, I am reminded of how right he was . When asked by WTAW radio host Scott Delucia to explain his vote for the non-binding resolution, Rep. Chet Edwards (D, TX 17) basically said that those constituents angry with him could go pound sand. Chet said that our anger over his vote was what was great about a democracy. Forget representation, Chet's a party-owned man. He did say that he probably wouldn't vote to de-fund the troops. However, the jackalope did not hear a firm answer, since Chet was hedging in the bushes like the yellow dog he is.

All District 17 constituents must come to the realization that Chet cares nothing for the military he says he serves. Instead, he uses our veterans like a welfare pimp, scaring the bejeebers out of them every two years with threats that they won't receive health care or be able to cash their V.A. checks if they don't vote for Ol' Chet. Our veterans deserve better. Daddy was right. Never trust a Democrat in War!

Rantings of the Heart

One good way to explore the nuances of the Leftist agenda is to listen to their rants. It is there they speak from the depths of their heart.

It must be understood that these dark recesses were formed in their early college years when absolute fear of something larger than themselves led them to burn bras, draft-cards, the flag, and what ever else could be ignited with a Molotov cocktail. Taught by their rich parents that they were the future hope of America, these children took it completely to heart, devoutly believing America was ready for a complete overhaul. Why else would their parents have placed so much emphasis on America’s need for their ideas? So, they, like their Russian nihilist compatriots, shared the belief that in order for new hope, everything must be destroyed. As Laugh-In’s Arte Johnson documented, it was all “veery interesting, but stupid.”

How better to explain Al Gore’s 2000 campaign rant, “Everything that should be up is down, and everything that’s down should be up”? Those that who did not participate in The Revolution, who went on about their lives, growing up, getting a job, marrying, and having families, are having trouble following the fluid dogmatism that passes as political debate. Looking through the eyeglass in reverse is hard work for people that are accustomed to taking people at their word and believing that deep down everyone is a good person. A good person just doesn’t want to contemplate the horrors that lie in the depths of the human heart, unless they have personally experienced the trauma of the results of those deeds. Just as the latest convert to 2nd Amendment Rights is a liberal that was mugged the night before, there are many of us that have experienced the gulag treatment when we innocently ran into the intolerance of Political Correctness.

I wonder if the Duke lacrosse players accused of rape are comforted that D.A. Mike Nifong founded his sense of ethics by becoming a conscientious objector of the Viet Nam war? Such are the ethics founded on self-preservation rather than transcendent laws of God. Why should normal America be surprised at the lengths Nifong would go in order to preserve his elected position? Or for that matter, any self-serving politician, journalist, or government worker? What else should we expect from a revolutionary generation steeped in the childish virtues of selfishness and lack of personal responsibility?

The success of The Revolution means that the barbarians who burned their bras, spit on veterans, trolled through trailer parks in their astro-turfed el Camino and ultimately drove their car off a bridge while in a drunken stupor causing the drowning death of a girlfriend are now the leaders. Down with the Establishment— the Revolution made such behavior moral. Or as Dostoevsky mused, “All things are legal in the absence of God.”

When we view things thusly, Al Gore’s rant about everything being backwards is completely logical. When you gaze in a mirror darkly, silliness and depravity begins to make sense. Not every person is a good person when you have the courage to examine the results of his deeds. But only a culture accepting of profound truths can realize bad ends for what they are and how they were formed. A revolutionary culture will brook no evidence of an overwhelming truth if it comes to revealing the fallen nature of man because the facts begin to cut to the quick.

They have railed against the norm so long that it comes naturally to oppose anything coming from normal Americans, regardless of how insane it makes them sound. Consider Senator Clinton’s nails on the blackboard screech:

“I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration, somehow you’re not patriotic!
And we should stand up and say we are Americans, and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration!”

The entire rant can be explained as the continued assault on The Establishment, the unjust Constitution of the United States of America, and anything that smacks of Western Civilization and its morality. Therefore, it is dangerous to take these words at face value. In the looking-backwards uber-reality, patriotism is what normal Americans would call national self-loathing.

It is to normal America’s chagrin that the War on Terror is causing a national mass flashback. The original revolutionaries operate today’s hysteria, aided by: a) sleepers in areas of government intelligence, b) those that missed out on the Big Event the first time around, and then fleshed out with c) the deluded masses of the “useful idiots”. Just as Patty Hearst was turned into “Tania” by her SLA “tutors”, everyday Americans become the revolution’s Stockholm victims through nightly newsreaders presenting misinformation as fact.

As exhibited by the Cindy Sheehan crowd, the chants are the same but the rants are ratcheted up with the steroid pumping of the MSM. Thinking otherwise has become almost impossible, as if your brain is overwhelmed by the bass bumping ‘ride’ sitting next to you at a signal light. If normal Americans aren’t in the minority, you sure couldn’t tell it by the loudness of what passes for debate. Dissembling has become the method of answering a direct question. “It all depends on what the definition of is, is.” You can almost hear as the group joint passes around: “Like, man… it’s that whole east/west thing, man.”

A good nihilist motto of today would be: Something into nothing, and nothing into something. This explains why the Sandy Berger affair is a B-story and the Scooter Libby non-story is the main deal. Both stories are misinterpreted by our thumpin’ MSM until the true facts are destroyed into a nihilistic pabulum. All this serves in keeping the “useful idiots” both idiots and useful. They never think to question the shifting political machinations of their handlers, such as in the various stances the Left has postulated on Iraq. Today’s sound bites’ escalating volume effectively drowns out yesterday’s news.

Another effective tool of the sleeper nihilists is when endless cable news coverage ends up talking about what people said about what the newsmaker said, rather than in what the original source actually said. Pretty soon, the actual quotes are changed in the people’s minds as in those that now believe President Bush actually said we must go into Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction.

But all the above is just sideshow hucksterism to keep everyone guessing under which shell the marble hides. Rational political debate is impossible if one side operates entirely on emotionalism. These bad children acting out in public hold Normal America hostage. Compound that by fear of what others will think if we were to give them the spanking they so desperately deserve. Which in some way explains why the Capital Hill Police were ordered to stand down and not interfere as anti-war protesters spray painted anarchists graffiti on the Capital steps after being stoked up by revolutionary re-treads like Jane Fonda and Susan Sarandon. When will we truly grow tired of cleaning up their messes?

Adult Americans are caught flat-footed every time by the bizarre meanderings of reasoning when they attempt to engage in civil discourse. Name-calling enters the debate and the tangent begins discussing how George W. Bush really does have beliefs in common with Hitler and the debate of ideas devolves into the intended chaos. But the method to the madness is to discredit anyone daring to question revolutionary rule. If normal America is akin to Hitler, then everything thing the Left proposes is good and beneficial to the continuity of the nation rather than all that establishment stuff that has stood the test of time.

These 60’s radicals never grew up by having to face the results of their deeds, never met a value that they couldn’t subvert and undermine, or lived under the restrictions they so glibly force on everyone else. They stuck their tongues out at their fathers, at their ministers and priests, and at everything that made this nation different among all the nations of the world. For them, the real prize is the total redefining of normal American ideals. Real America had better realize that these revolutionaries are serious and playing for keeps. Just listen carefully to the rantings of their heart and all is completely clear.

A Letter from the President's Congressman

Well folks, it’s “Darkness at Noon” when constituents receive a letter from the President’s Congressman down here in Texas. Chet Edwards (D) is now a 9-term incumbent and luckily 13th most powerful Congressman in D.C. Chet is perfectly conversant in the dialectical nuances of political double speak and intrigue as brilliantly described in the Arthur Koestler novel. In this letter the reader must be astute in recognizing that definitions are blurred and skewed by a fluid dogmatism, flush with rushing currents of emotionally nuanced meanings yet devoid of sense and substance, all delivered by the bracing smile of a glittering bear trap.

Americans Expect Bipartisan Cooperation from Congress
A column by Congressman Chet Edwards

In the election of 2006, voters across the country exercised their right to change the culture in Washington*. The American people are sick and tired* of the partisan* bickering* and desperately want to see more bipartisan* cooperation in Washington. I agree. What members of Congress often forget is that the American people are in charge of this democracy and understand that no political party has a monopoly on wisdom. When they do forget, responsive citizens* make their voices heard and their demands clear through elections, voters across the country exercised their right to change the culture in Washington*.

___________________________________

Lexicon

*change the culture of Washington – the effective elimination of opposition forces by The Revolution*.

*sick and tired – a reference to Senator Hilary Clinton’s rebellious rant (see below+) against The Establishment.

* bickering – the inability of The Party* to declare victory through logical debate thereby causing outbursts of emotional duress which travels to responsive citizens* via sound-bites that then disturbs the peace of mind of the mind-numbed causing further outbursts of emotional duress and tension.

* partisan – the opposition forces that must be destroyed by The Revolution
* bipartisan –total adherence to the rules of The Party.

* responsive citizens - voters whose minds have been shaped by The Party; these citizens have no memory of the past making them unquestioning advocates of The Revolution and The Party it established through endless policy shifts and political positioning, their minds are fed through sound-bites, news headlines, political cartoons, and propaganda movies from Hollywood or documentaries produced by ex-Vice-Presidents or members of The Revolution.

*unresponsive citizens – those that resist The Revolution and The Party it established; those still operating under the values of The Establishment; thought criminals; also see obstructionists*.

* obstructionist – anyone not active in The Revolution either through passivity or ignorance; some obstructionists are cultural terrorists because of actions in their fields that do not promote the success of The Revolution; a cultural terrorist is considered a high danger to The Revolution because their work and thoughts either reveal the unworkable processes of The Revolution or provide enlightenment to the passive citizenry of the glory of the unjust Constitution* and the tenants of faith and values of The Establishment.

*Unjust Constitution - the Constitution of the United States of America.

* The Revolution – the social chaos that began in the 1960’s that sought the overthrow and eliminate of The Establishment*and overthrow the unjust Constitution and the government.

*The Party – The righteous government replacing the unjust Constitutional government of The United States of America.

* The Establishment – the moral and intellectual values of corrupt businessmen, certain religious leaders espousing belief in one God, His Holy Word, sin and redemption, and citizens that pay homage to an unjust Constitution and government; also when the Revolutionaries were young 20-somethings their motto creed was “Don’t trust anyone over 30!”; The Establishment is also recognized as the Republican Party, the Party of Nixon who was believed to be evil incarnate, until Ronald Regan came on the scene and epitomized the father figure the revolutionaries despised from their youth for his success and character.

*independence – the euphoria felt when one has thrown down the shackles of moral slavery to The Establishment and the Unjust Constitution; total acceptance of The Revolution and The Party it established.

* patriot, patriotic, patriotism – those citizens and the ideals declaring that this nation, founded on an unjust Constitution, is the source of all turmoil and injustice in the world because of our success as a republic and because of our success through capitalism, an ideology that deprives all workers of paradise.
[Lexicon notes - my own]

__________________________________________________________________

Well, there you have it, The Party* has spoken and its mandate is clear: republican wisdom was overthrown by responsive citizens*. The partisan* bickering* caused by The Party having to constantly screech about the previously mandated Republicans wanting to do things according to their establishment* values will now be controlled under the rule of bipartisan* cooperation. Those unresponsive citizens* that remember the blackboard screeching of:

“I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration, somehow you’re not patriotic*!
And we should stand up and say we are Americans, and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration!”+

don’t understand the voice of The Revolution* and its war against The Establishment* properly. We must learn that The Party simply is, and the 60’s Revolution has achieved its goal and the opposition will learn this through the rigid doctrine of conformity perfected by #2 in the Great Revolution. The citizens of responsive flexibility voted for change, which was not really a change because there only is and only will be, The Revolution and The Party it established. The Party will not tolerate the speech of obstructionists* because the emotions of the Revolution cannot control or triumph through the logic of civil debate.

So, when a Party member talks of independence*, this must not be confused with the historic definition of American independence. Therefore, when Chet tells his constituents of his independent leadership, the newest version of The Party’s lexicon must be consulted.

Though the majority party in Congress has changed, my number one priority has not and that is to continue to provide effective, independent leadership for the people of the 17th district.

We must understand that Chet’s independence means that he is not a representative of the people of District-17; he is a leading standard bearer of the rules of the Revolution and a prime director in The Party. He will not bow when he discusses the Iraq War with his constituent, The President and Commander in Chief. Like William the Conqueror, Chet sallies forth to dialogue with his vassal in a strange indirect dialect built upon blocks of words whose ends don’t coincide. Note how the shape-shifting Congressman slides away from the connection that the troop surge’s effort should be to win the war to a non sequitur referendum on the President’s support in the polls.

Edwards said, he told the president he hoped the new strategy in Iraq wouldn't include an increase in troops. “But if you are going to make that decision, you should send whatever number you believe is right - not a watered-down compromise number - because this could be the last real chance to win Americans' support for a strategy to stabilize Iraq."

Bryan Eagle: Edwards seeks bipartisanship balance Sunday, January 7, 2007

By CRAIG KAPITAN

Bryan-College Station Eagle Staff Writer

Chet can speak dialectical nihilism with the best of Party operatives Over There. Chet’s sense of independence is total allegiance to The Party. But, as the Revolution revealed, choosing The Party is evidence of complete freedom from every moral structure of what used to be referred to as civil society. The success of The Revolution means that the barbarians who burned their bras, spit on veterans, trolled through trailer parks in their astro-turfed el Camino and ultimately drove their car off a bridge while in a drunken stupor and drowning their girlfriend are now the established Directors in The Party. Down with the Establishment, the Revolution made such behavior moral. Or as Dostoevsky mused, “All things are legal in the absence of God.” These 60’s radicals shout and sing joyously, “Long live The Revolution and The Party it established!”

So, don’t be confused when Chet tell us, “[w] hile I will respect those who disagree, I believe the first 100 hours agenda reflects bipartisan, mainstream values shared by a majority of citizens across our district and the country.” Understand that Chet is speaking in terms of his revolutionary values as dictated by The Party lexicon which declares that mainstream values are not the past values of the now defeated Establishment but are instead the make love not war and separation of church and state values of The Revolution. Chet and his responsive citizenry believe partial birth abortion is a mainstream value and that all references of God in the former unjust Constitutional government must be eradicated. Such are the rules established by The Revolution.

The Party believes that those who assisted in destroying The Establishment through The Revolution deserve the spoils of war as the barbarians pull down the very foundation of the former values of the unjust Constitution and its ideals of the pursuit of individual happiness. Even though every government run bureaucracy is a study of inefficiency, every piece of legislation produced in the 110th Congress will establish new bureaucracies in order to provide permanent jobs for Responsive Citizens. For those challenging the Revolution’s Rules through the archaic belief of individual freedom and pursuit of happiness there will be endless taxation to pay the salary of the bureaucracy. Everyone knows those operating outside The Party rules deserve punishment, possibly even mental torture as thought criminal obstructionists try to make ends meet on the leftovers of the fruit of their labor.

Individualists, tremble in fear when you read the President’s Congressman’s plans for the future.

I also believe it will be well-received if the new Congress ultimately sends legislation to the president that protects America from terrorism by implementing the 9-11 Commission recommendations; reduces federal deficits by returning “pay as you go” rules that led to federal surpluses in the 1990’s; sets higher standards for congressional ethics, bipartisanship and civility; cuts college student loan costs in half; increases the minimum wage; saves lives by expanding stem cell research and invests more in alternative energy production.

True free thinkers note there is no reference to defeating the terrorists so they won’t be able to attack us. Implementing the 9-11 Commission recommendations would only seek to make terrorist attacks a mere nuisance while providing permanent jobs for Responsive Citizens. Free Thinkers, the rebels against The Revolution, know that the federal surpluses of the 1990’s were as phony as Enron stock options during the same decade.

The same phoniness goes for the “pay as you go” response to budgeting where bureaucracies prudent to the pursuit of The Revolution have written rules of percentage increases, while those areas that are destructive to The Revolution such as national defense must show just cause for every tax dollar received. Rebels against The Revolution understand that The Party was established on the destruction of establishment morals, so the declaration of setting higher standards for congressional ethics means that those found with bricks of cold cash stashed in their freezer will maintain their seat of power in Congress.

Also, according to the lexicon of The Party, we rebels understand that civility is no longer based upon the defeated ideals of honesty and integrity, but rather is defined as an absence of logical debate because such debates disrupt the emotions of the Responsive Citizen. Unresponsive rebels realize that cutting student loans will cause banks to raise loan rates on everyone else needing a bank loan and that raising the minimum wage is an unnecessary encroachment of government into private business. The Party has perfected the art of spending other people's money in a way that shows them to be charitable and magnanimous. So feel really good about yourself as you pay that extra dollar for your super-sized burger combo deal and realize that Congress is requiring you pay your burger chef more, because they care.

The truly devout thought criminals, those daring to doggedly adhere to religious beliefs and tenants find the idea of saving lives by growing embryos in laboratories for harvest more than a little bit creepy. The new thinking radicals wonder about the government pursuing a course in embryonic stem cell research when private investment in the research is stalled because there has been no real evidence of success. It’s the classic Tom Foley thought pattern: “Because there is no evidence is the reason we must investigate.”

And finally, concerning the energy problem, the absolute rebellious citizens wonder why the hell we haven’t dropped a Hughes Tool drill bit into the frozen ground of ANWAR or begun building new refineries for oil production. Shouldn't energy production provide for the near future and then the distant future?

This is the letter from the President’s Congressman concerning his seat of power in The Party and the future direction of the revolutionized America. It’s twilight in the middle of the day. I see the iron bars settling around me, so where’s the front for the counter-insurgency? Because as a great leader in a Central American Revolution said, “One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist” and Republicans must recognize on what side of that phrase they fall.

Promoting the Culture of Learning

To continue the discussion began by Russell Eisenman at American Thinker concerning education and teaching all kinds of students, I begin my topic where Mr. Eisenman left off: understanding the culture of students. In offering my ideas, I readily admit that I was not a university teacher, but rather a mere, but very successful remedial reading teacher in a small town’s middle school. I agree with Dr. Eisenman’s view that having a sense of humor as you teach helps when you are trying to maintain control while surfing the wild waves of the reluctant to learn adolescent heart. With a sense of humor I was able to taunt my students with declarations like: “Reluctant to learn? What are you? Stupid?” or “Why don’t you just gnaw off your arm so you can really be handicapped?” and actually make a point with my loveable little knot heads. However, Dr. Eisenman left off just as he began to discuss culture and learning and I believe that topic needs redirection in education today.

Our present education system is caught in the culture trap. A generation ago, culture was roughly singing and dancing. Before that, we worried about culture; meaning knowing what fork to use in case the boss invited you out to dinner. Today, culture has come to mean simply race and all the accoutrements ascribed to race. In a radical manner, I would like to return to the Miss Manners/Emily Post definition of culture in the subject of education and propose that common decency and good manners is more relevant to the culture of learning than in understanding the culture of race. Good manners and treating others in a fair and gentle way trump racial profiling every time when it comes to establishing a culture of learning in our public schools.

Children have a great sense of justice and when a wise instructor wields this tool effectively even a discipline problem child willingly accepts punishment for disregarding a well-stated campus or classroom rule. In fact, having a just response for infractions is the bedrock in promoting a culture of self-discipline, which in itself is the foundation for the building blocks that comprise a culture of learning. My favorite years of teaching came when working for a principal that promoted a universal discipline program for the entire campus. Each teacher adhered to the disciplines of the program and I never taught at a campus that worked better. The hierarchy of authority was clear and understood by all, which allowed teachers and students alike to thrive in the liberty that existed.

Personal achievement in self-discipline sets a pattern for achievement in learning. As the Shakespeare line states: “This above all: to thine ownself be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.” Success is simply building upon achievement and setting a pattern that promotes success. Through the establishment of a campus culture built upon self-discipline the turmoil that describes many public school campuses becomes a non-issue. Our campus culture was a casual quietness that allowed for the development and revelation of the uniqueness of the individual for both students and teachers. With discipline under control, the joy of teaching flourishes and the students are introduced to the joy and success of learning.

Our classrooms were a culture of learning because it was enhanced by the culture of Miss Manners. Learning the rules of civil conduct is of great value in the culture of education. As Voltaire sardonically quipped, “To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered.” Good manners are a great equalizer regardless of race, home-life, or even intelligence. Knowing how to interact with others in a proper manner is the basis for civil society and to ignore this fact is to do disservice to our children and the future of our civil society in political terms. A classroom operating in this manner produces safety. For students living in a volatile home life the campus and classroom becomes an orderly and safe environment where individuals operate in an understandable and systematic manner. For students struggling to grasp the lesson being taught, there is patience without ridicule. For the achiever there is respect along with development of humility.

There was something wonderful that happened in these classrooms. The students opened up and participated in discussions about the lessons that revealed that they were not only learning and processing the information, but were internalizing the material into their own personal experiences. Now, that is the holy grail of learning. Because I observed that my remedial reading students failed geography, Texas history, and American History, I developed a curriculum of novels and biographies to enhance their historical context. (I should also note that this curriculum also naturally reinforced American ethics rather than the social anarchy being taught in many schools.)

Everything had a bigger purpose as we practiced their reading skills. Development of reading skills such as the main idea, vocabulary and context clues were mixed in with education in historical perspective sprinkled with discussion of character development both of the novel’s characters and that of the students. The program was very successful in real educational terms even in light of the absolute reluctance of some students when it came to standardized tests. The culture of kindness in the classroom allowed me to humorously joke with those that I knew were Christmas tree patterning as they filled in the dots of their scorecard. The reluctant to learn young man is a hard nut to crack and humor is a much better hammer than a screeching woman. The point is that having a principal that promoted a campus culture of self-discipline established the healthy environment for the fragile commodity of the culture of learning.

I would advise all educational experts to resist the sociological drift of the culture of racial profiling and instead study methods of establishing the culture of self-discipline and order in our public schools. It is plain sophistry to believe that race plays a part in learning as if parents of differing races want their children to be ignorant. When discipline is presented as a student’s responsibility, administrators are freed from the culture of political correctness and are able to effectively silence any silliness a parent may use to explain away their child’s bad behavior. (And believe me, silly parents exist.) This idea also effectively reveals incompetent administrators (who exist in alarming numbers), which alert school boards can effectively remedy. An effective community of parents can then hold school board members accountable for their inaction through the ballet box. This idyllic world’s only requirement is a culture of self-discipline: in the community, by the parents and administrators/staff, and ultimately imparted effectively to the students. The culture of education happens when an aura of administrative competence on a campus fosters development of student self-discipline, which in turn establishes order, which engenders the culture of manners, which in turn protects and allows the fragile culture of learning. It sounds so simple that we find we must complicate the absolute simplicity of the truth with educational and sociological scatology. Self-discipline, everyone, self-discipline.