Set to Cede Sovereingty?

There's an interesting excerpt from a speech Lord Christopher Monckton gave on October 14, 2009 going around the internet, where he claims that President Obama will actually cede US sovereingty when he signs the United Nations World Climate Change Treaty in Copenhagen in December 2009 . Lord Monckton is a former advisor to Margaret Thatcher, and a noted climate change skeptic. He successfully sued to keep Al Gore's climate change movie, "An Inconvient Truth," from being shown in British schools citing numerous inaccuracies. The British judge ruled in Lord Monckton's favor and ordered 9 serious errors to be corrected before the film could be shown. Lord Monckton has repeatedly challenged Mr Gore to a debate about climate change. Mr Gore has repeatedly declined.

According to Lord Monckton, the text of the treaty actually sets up a new form of world government; one that has the ability to force the "rule of law." Lord Monckton intreprets the language in this treaty to transfer wealth from western governments to third-world countries in satisfaction of "climate debt," and that the ultimate purpose of this treaty is to set forth a communist world government on the world. Lord Monckton believes that the US Constitution's Supremacy Clause, which gives treaties the force of law, will enable the terms of this treaty to supercede the terms of the Constitution.

Interesting. I don't know if Lord Monckton is prophetic or nutty. Judge for yourself. Here's a 4-minute exercpt from the speech:



h/t Smiley

Flu Shots

Have you gotten your flu shot yet?



see more Epic Fails

PBS's Frontline & "Obama's War"

The PBS show Frontline has posted a great video on their website. Click here to go to the site. The video, titled "Obama's War," follows Echo Company of the 2d Battalion, 8th Regiment as they moved into Helmand Province in July and the efforts the Company has taken to hold Combat Outpost Sharp (named for a member of their Company who was lost the first day of the push into Helmand). The video is extremely well done and discusses the strategy behind counter-insurgency and what the Marines of Echo Company are asked to do to implement the strategy. The video is actually part 1 of a series that Frontline will air on October 13th. Good stuff and a "must watch," particularly for anyone with a loved one fighting in Helmand.

Happy Birthday My Son

Today is my son's birthday. I remember when he was born....not all that long ago. He was such a big baby, compared to his sisters. He was all male, right from the beginning; a charmer, sweet and cute, until he wanted to eat....then Heaven help us if he didn't get food immediately. From the time he was a little boy until he was a teenager, I could tell when he was starting a growth spurt....the cereal would magically disappear. The kid would have cereal for breakfast, cereal for after school snack, cereal for dessert, and cereal before he went to bed. I think I was personally responsible for keeping General Mills' profit margin high during those years.

He was a good kid, even though he suffered from "teenage boy disease." You know, inability to wake up to an alarm clock, total fascination with electronic gaming, and a firm belief that parents know absolutely nothing. That's "teenage boy disease." Nevertheless, he was a pretty good kid. He understood responsibility and consequences; something some kids never learn. He was an athlete and loved sports, something he still enjoys. He was an all-state football player and played baseball. (His baseball coach told me that he let my son run the team.) He's a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, just like his dad and the rest of the family. He's even converted his wife. He's still a charmer. He's still cute (ok, handsome). He's still athletic. He's always been a natural leader. He's a Marine.

God Bless you, my son, and may He bring you home safely to those who love you. Happy Birthday.

Something's Very Wrong Here.....

I find this video very disturbing. It's a video showing elementary school children in New Jersey being taught to sing President Obama's praises. Now, I have nothing against patriotic songs, nor do I have anything against teaching children respect for the office of the Presidency or other governmental entities. (Although, as an adult, I often wonder if I can ever respect for the persons filling those positions.) What disturbs me is teaching children to praise the person not the institution. Why can't we teach children about the Constitution, our Democratic form of government, and ideals of freedom and self-reliance? Isn't there something ultimately wrong to teach children to praise a person filling a governmental office, and not teach them to say the Pledge of Allegiance?

Timeless Words of Wisdom

Gotta love Sgt Joe Friday! Watch this to see what he has to say to President Obama.....



h/t FJM

Every Household Should Have One.....

To honor our 44th President, the makers of Chia Pet are offering the Chia Obama. No kidding. Check out their website and "celebrate change right in your own house."

Gratitude Salute

Now here's something that is a pretty good idea. Hope it catches on! Seems like a guy from Seattle wondered, like a lot of us do, how he could best convey his thanks to those who choose to serve in the military. He came up with the gratitude salute. It's a simple, unobtrusive way to say thanks and to let our military know that we appreciate them and their service. Check out the video:




hat tip: Dianne

Said this before...."gotta love the Marines"

I absolutely support what this Marine vet said at this townhall meeting. We need more and more members of the formerly-silent majority to speakup and speak their mind! Marines....gotta love 'um!



h/t Ally via Hot Air

Jake's Post

My blogger friend, Jake of Jake's Life, has a post asking for support for his friend, Clay. Clay is riding in the "Ride to Recovery," a bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The ride is to raise money to purchase rehabilitative bicycles for wounded warriors; an extremely worthy cause! Clay, a former-Marine who himself was a wounded warrior, is trying to raise $5000 through his ride. Take the time to read Jake's post about Clay's ride on his blog, then go to the Ride to Recovery website and sponsor Clay Hunt. Let's help him meet his fundraising goal!

News

Those of you who follow this blog know that two of my children are currently serving overseas, my daughter in Iraq and my son in Afghanistan. Well, I have some news. Florida-girl, my wonderful daughter-in-law, called me this morning. She let me know she had received a phone call from my son earlier in the morning. She said he sounded wonderful, and apologized for not being able to call on their Wedding Anniversary, which was earlier this week. She said he was his normal self....joking around and teasing her. It was great news! But then she told me that a little bit later in the morning, she received a call from HQ Marine Corps, with a "casualty report." They told her that my son had been knocked unconscious by an IED a couple of days ago, and medevac'ed to a medical facility with a serious concussion and that he was under observation with headaches and nausea. Of course, he hadn't told her any of this news earlier, probably in an effort to protect her, not knowing that the Marine HQ would call. (He's like that....he told his grandmother and I not to watch the news while he's gone; even though he knows we will.) Florida-girl was upset, of course, but she said the worst part was the Marine who called used the term "casualty report" and not something more innocuous like "injury report." She said her stomach had hit the ground, before she realized what the Marine on the phone was trying to tell her. Can't say I blame her. My stomach is still near my ankles. Good thing is that he seems to be OK....at least he was able to call his wife and joke around with her; even if he didn't let her know about his concussion. Gotta love protective men.......their heart's in the right place, even if you want to kick them in the backside for not giving you information!

"I think we can all agree....."

I've been watching the news coverage of the "Great Health Care Debate" with great interest. I'm extremely pleased that citizens of our great Country are taking the time to become educated, to read the proposed bills, and to speak out about their thoughts. To me, this is what Democracy is all about; citizens participating in their governance. I just hope that our politicians listen, but somehow I doubt it....and I'll tell you why.

It seems like just about everyone who supports the bill (in one form or another) starts their conversation about health care with the statement, "I think we can all agree...." Interesting. Most DON'T agree; that the health care system in irretrievably broken, that costs are totally out of control, or that it's the government that has to do something about health care. By starting their argument with the statement "I think we can all agree...." proponents of health care reform (whether their politicians or press), are using a classic debate tactic. They're trying to set the stage for the argument by getting their opponents in the discussion to agree to a premise that may (or may not) be faulty. Lawyers use this tactic all the time to get a witness (generally on cross-examination) to agree to a crucial fact or premise the lawyer wants to establish. I just hope that opponents of the proposed government takeover of health care who do not agree that the current system is irretrievably broken take the time to correct the premise. After all, if the system is broken, politicians will not be able to help themselves....they'll believe they have to get involved to "fix it."