70 Years Old and Still Going....

"Good heavens, something's wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake," he said, in an appropriately dramatic tone of voice. "Now it's another one, and another. They look like tentacles to me. There, I can see the thing's body. It's large as a bear and it glistens like wet leather. But that face. It...it's indescribable. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it. The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate....The thing is raising up. The crowd falls back. They've seen enough. This is the most extraordinary experience. I can't find words. I'm pulling this microphone with me as I talk. I'll have to stop the description until I've taken a new position. Hold on, will you please, I'll be back in a minute."

It was 70 years ago today that Martians invaded Grover's Mill, New Jersey. News of the invasion was broadcast on CBS radio's program Mercury Theater On the Air. This War of the Worlds broadcast has become a legend for the panic it produced and the conspiracy theories it generated. While the program was a fictional play based on a popular science fiction novel, the newscast format of the program, dance music interrupted by simulated "live" news reports from reporters on the scene led listeners to believe the reports were true. As could be expected, the program, which was broadcast nationally, started rumors and caused some folks throughout the US to panic; particularly in New York and New Jersey. Citizens in one town, Concrete, Washington, panicked as a result of a pure coincidence. At the point in the broadcast where the Martians are invading small towns and killing people with poison gas, a power failure at a Portland Cement plant caused the electricity to go out all over the town of Concrete. There were reports of people fainting, people grabbing their families and heading for the hills, and readying their guns to defend their homes. Needless to say, Concrete made the news.

Naturally, conspiracy theories abound. Some, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, say that the program really was an actual broadcasts of a Martian invasion, and it was later called "fictional" to cover up the fact that the aliens had really landed. Others say that the program was an experiment in psychological warfare designed to allow study of mass hysteria. What ever it was; radio drama, reality, or cruel experiment, it has staying power. You can still listen to the show over the internet. Enjoy!

Scared Yet?

Peter Ferrara, writing on The American Spectator website, has a very interesting look at a possible Obama presidency. His Special Report is titled “The Hugo Chavez Democrats.” I’ll hit the high points, but it’s a good read and I recommend following the link and seeing what Mr. Ferrara has to say.

According to Mr. Ferrara, an Obama presidency would bring the end of prosperity, a decline in our ability to defend the Nation, forced unionism, restraints on free speech, “Brown Shirt” thugs threatening anyone who doesn’t agree with the administration, and a massive swing to radical socialism. Perhaps Mr. Ferrara is a bit of a pessimist, but then again, perhaps he isn’t.

Mr. Ferrara thinks that during an Obama presidency, one supported by a highly-liberal Democrat Congress, there would be a rise in every major Federal tax, which would increase government spending and regulatory costs in order to pay for social programs. Mr. Ferrara points out,

”Obama has the entire country mesmerized by the promise of a measly $500 income tax credit for ’95% of Americans. . . . Yet another government check like that is not going to do anything to change the fundamental incentives, and so will do nothing to advance the economy. Indeed, it will harm the economy as the credit is swiftly phased out at higher income levels, effectively increasing marginal tax rates further by imposing another penalty as income rises.”

Interesting, isn’t it. I know that I’m mostly preaching to the choir, but Senator Obama’s rhetoric about cutting taxes for the average American and making the rich and corporate fat cats pay “their fair share” is really starting to sound like an old, broken record. As he told Joe the Plumber, the real purpose behind his tax and spend policy is to redistribute wealth. I tend to agree with Mr. Ferrara that Senator Obama’s proposed tax cuts are really “tax credits that would send new government checks to those paying little or nothing in federal income taxes” rather than true tax cuts; for anyone.

Mr. Ferrara also questions whether we can “really trust these ultraliberals with our nation’s defenses?” Good question. Liberal Democrat, Congressman Barney Frank, wants to cut national defense spending by 25%, even though Iran is trying to gain nuclear weapons, Russia is threatening its neighbors and trying to reassert itself on the world stage, and China is playing games. How does it make sense to cut defense spending when we have not yet quelled Islamic terrorism or when Iran is trying to build a nuclear capability? Senator Obama has said that he’ll sit down, without preconditions, and talk to Iranian leaders. But Iran has issued its own set of preconditions. They will not talk to us unless we withdraw all our forces from the Middle East (including Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey) and cut our ties with Israel. Remember that Iran is totally committed to the destruction of Israel. Why in the world would anyone think that cutting defense spending and talking to potential enemies would help defend our way of life? Amazing!

Mr. Ferrara also describes how the ultraliberals in an Obama presidency want to eliminate the secret ballot for union elections. The unions, big supporters of the Democrat ticket, think secret ballots are unfair; probably because they lose more elections than they win. A change to federal law would require employers to recognize a union simply when the union presents “union authorization cards” signed by a majority of the company’s employees. If there is no secret ballot, the union will be able to intimidate, threaten, and coerce employees into signing the cards. Anyone who doesn’t want to join the union would still be required to do so; and be forced to pay high union dues and let the union bargain on their behalf. As Mr. Ferrara says, under this scenario “the employer has lost control over his company” the minute union activists show up at their door with cards signed by a bare majority of workers.

Under an Obama presidency, state and local governments would be forced to recognize mandatory unions for public workers, including police and firefighters. Why should we require our “finest” and our “bravest” belong to a union before they can be our first responders. Does that make sense? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have a national right to work law that gives individual employees the right to decide whether, or not, to join a union? Isn’t that what freedom really means; the right to make our own decisions?

Then there’s the question of whether free speech can be fair. According to Mr. Ferrara, an Obama presidency would impose drastic regulation of the “public airwaves” that would require a “mandatory balance between competing viewpoints on public policy issues.” Obviously, this “fairness doctrine” is aimed at conservative talk radio, particularly since network news (now called the mainstream media) is exempt. You see, they are totally objective . . . right, sure they are! Under an Obama presidency, free speech is limited by government bureaucrats who will decide what is “balanced” based on totally subjective standards. What a recipe for abuse of power!

But then the Obama presidency is well primed for abusing power. The Obama campaign has already demonstrated it’s readiness to use legal processes, intimidation, and threats to shut down opposing views. Mr. Ferrara refers to these “minions” as “The Brown Shirts.” Consider this. The Obama campaign has sent letters demanding criminal prosecution of an advocacy organization and its primary donor because they sponsored TV advertisements critical of Senator Obama’s association with homegrown terrorist, Bill Ayers. The campaign has sent letters threatening FCC investigations of their broadcast licenses to TV stations that have run NRA-sponsored ads critical of the Senator’s anti-gun record. They have sent “WARNING letters” to potential GOP donors, threatening investigations into “their business and personal affairs” by the IRS, media, or watch-dog groups. The campaign in Missouri has even organized a “Truth Squad” made up of local prosecutors and law enforcement-types who will target anyone who “lies” about Senator Obama. Take a look at what happened to “Joe the Plumber.” Because he spoke out against Senator Obama, local government officials invaded his privacy; releasing information about his taxes, his support payments, and his driving history. Why? Finally, in Chicago, Senator Obama called for his minions to sabotage a WGN talk radio show because the host invited a writer critical of the Senator to appear on his show. The Senator said the writer did not deserve “time for his divisive, destructive ranting on our public airwaves.” Senator Obama, just who “owns” those public airwaves? I’m really not sure it’s Senator Obama or his minions. Mr. Ferrara warns,

”If this is how Obama and his people are behaving now, what will they be like when they take over the Justice Department, and the FCC, and the entire federal government.?”

Good question. Are you frightened yet? I am. But if you’re not convinced that an Obama presidency would let the “Hugo Chavez Democrats” run wild, Mr. Ferrara ends his Special Report with this:

”I have left out Obama’s support for driver’s licenses and Social Security for illegal aliens, his massive proposed spending increases, including a new global war on poverty financed by U.S. taxpayers, recently totaled in the Wall Street Journal as amounting to $4.3 trillion over 10 years, his proposed government takeover of health care, his specified central economic planning for our energy industry, his support for the most liberal-left Supreme Court appointees in history, modeled after former ACLU General Counsel Ruth Bader Ginsburg, his support for federal legislation to repeal every state restriction on abortion, including parental notification, his ardent support for partial birth abortion, his promise to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and his opposition to making English the official language of America (he said Americans need to teach their children Spanish).

Scared now?

Arrogance of Power

Have you ever known someone that thinks they’re indispensible? These are the folks that think they’re the only one who can finish a project the “right” way, or only one who really “understands” the issues, or that their proposed “solution” is the only one that will really work. You see a lot of these folks in leadership positions. They’re generally well-intentioned, highly-motivated, and extremely competent folks. But for some reason, they develop a kind of myopic arrogance that leads them to believe their way is the only way, or their view is the only view. I don’t know if it’s the exercise of authority or power that leads to the growth of this arrogant belief in their own power, or if it is something in the person’s makeup. But, I do know that someone who is a great leader never thinks they’re indispensible. Great leaders are confident in them selves, and may even be a bit arrogant, but they are not arrogant in their power. They listen to other’s ideas and make a decision on the best course of action without believing that they’re always right.

It seems that politicians often develop this arrogance of power. They start out leading others with good, well-intentioned ideas and motives; and end up so confident in their own abilities and point of view that they lose track of what’s really important. They lose track of the idea that a politician is a public servant, and become invested in the idea that the public is there to serve them. They become so arrogant in their power that they will do anything to get elected or re-elected. It’s a great argument for term limits, isn’t it?

Col. Oliver North has an interesting post on FOXNews, titled When Leaders Get Messiah Complexes that touches on the impact of what I call arrogance of power. Col. North agrees with me that leadership matters, and that (unfortunately) many leaders develop this arrogance in their own power. Col. North describes it as a “messiah complex;” that these leaders come to believe they are the only ones who can provide what is necessary at the time it’s needed. Col. North cites several examples of leaders who developed a “messiah complex; including Napoleon (who had himself declared Emperor of France because he thought he was essential to France’s future), Hitler (who claimed he needed to preserve the Aryan race), Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and Kim Jung Il.

According to Col. North, American’s have resisted following leaders who possess this arrogance of power or a type of messianic complex. Most of our leaders have been humble men, like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Harry Truman. For the most part, Americans tend to like limited government and want public servants to be just that; someone who serves the public good.

Col. North, however, witnessed an event that he found disturbing and shook his belief that the American public understands the dangers of believing a leader, particularly a political leader, is somehow a savior. Col. North describes,

”During Wednesday afternoon’s rush hour, I was making my way home on the “Dulles Greenway” when a phalanx of police motorcycles and cruisers stopped all traffic and ordered us to pull or vehicles off the highway onto the shoulders. Over a loudspeaker we were told to stay put until the Obama campaign convoy passed, on the way to a rally in Leesburg, Virginia.

Instantly, hundreds of people were out of their cars. Directly in front of me a group of supporters—evident by their bumper stickers—jumped out with cameras, cell phones and banners. They began chanting: “The Messiah! He’s coming! Obama is coming!” The shouting only intensified as the candidate and his entourage—motorcycles, police cars, black Secret Service Suburbans and busses—roared past us.”

Col. North found the event profoundly upsetting, because he saw so many who apparently believe that Senator Obama, if he is elected the next President, could save us from ourselves. That somehow only Senator Obama has the key to a brilliant future. I agree with Col. North that this almost messianic belief that many of our countrymen (and women) have developed is a recipe for disaster. Senator Obama, and many of his advisors, are sufficiently invested in their beliefs that they’ve developed that arrogance of power, that messianic complex, and believe that their way is the only way. Col. North reminds Senator Obama that “humility is a virtue that has distinguished our greatest leaders.” Personally, I think that reminder has come too late. If you look at Senator Obama’s entire presidential campaign, from his ads, to the Greek-columned acceptance speech, to the attempt to suppress opposite views, to the manipulation of facts; it’s clear to me that the arrogance of power is firmly established in his belief that only he can be the agent of hope and change. Scary, isn’t it?

25 Years Later

Twenty-five years ago, America lost 241 Marines when a suicide bomber drove a yellow delivery truck through several fences and into the lobby of the Marine Barracks at Beirut, Lebanon. Although it's been a quarter of a Century since this senseless act of violence took the lives of our brave Marines, we shouldn't forget those who lost their lives, nor that at least one Federal judge has found that Iran was behind the terrorist attack. With this act Hezbollah ushered in a new method of inflicting terror; the suicide truck bomb. Islamic extremists have used this method of inflicting death and terror against our Embassies in Africa, our troops in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and (modified by using airplanes) our citizens in New York and Washington.

We should all join the Marines in mourning their brethren who died that day 25 years ago. . .and we should never forget. Jim Maceda, a reporter who was in Beirut that day, remembers in a blog post on MSNBC. CJ at A Soldier's Perspective remembers by posting a letter from Colonel Timothy Geraghty, the commander of the Marines at Beirut that day. It's a wonderful post. We should join Mr. Maceda, CJ, Col Geraghty, and everyone else who remembers the horrors of that day in mourning the death of these men. Most of all, we should all remember that terrorism has no place in this world and its sponsors must be held accountable.

Bella, or Not?

I write this blog using a pseudonym, but I just have to post this one. I love the Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series, and can't wait for the movie's release. Meantime, I just had to take the internet quiz that identified which character in the book is most like your personality. Well...


Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

As the website, Twlighter's Anonymous, says, as a Bella,

You are observant, diplomatic and often aim to please. You are unaware of your attractiveness and despite being uncomfortable with any form of attention, people enjoy your company. You can be impatient, stubborn and headstrong, but you are true to your word and mature for your age, often taking care of your family and enjoying a good book over chatting with girlfriends on the phone.

What do you think? Am I a Bella?

Can't Decide?

Like everyone, I'm getting tired of debates and political speeches. Well, I think I've found a new way to decide what candidate to elect....check this out!

Heroes are Everywhere

Heroes can appear anywhere, suddenly and without warning. It's amazing how many heroes a person can find if you open your eyes and look. There's the obvious heroes: the first responders to an accident or disaster and our service men and women. Police and firefighters are always heroes in my book, as are those who volunteer to protect this Country and its ideals. But then there's the less obvious heroes. Those who quietly go about their business, yet still manage to impact the lives of others in a positive way. I kind of agree with journalist Ellen Goodman who wrote, "I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people who are convinced they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference after another."

I guess that's why I was touched by a story on FOXNews.com about civilian doctors who volunteer to work alongside military doctors at Landstuhl Military Hospital in Germany as a part of a visiting scholars program. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the Orthopedic Trauma Association sponsors the program, where civilian doctors who have at least 10 years of trauma experience travel to Landstuhl to train military surgeons. The goal is to share knowledge and experience so that military surgeons can save the lives of our service men and women injured in combat. In my opinion, these doctors, the military docs as well as the civilian ones, exemplify those quiet heroes that "struggle to make one small difference after another."

It's clear that these Doctors don't want adulation or praise. They just want to help, to learn, and to make a difference. They want to serve. As one of the civilian doctors who participated in the program, Dr. Dean Lorich, said, "From my standpoint, you just can't say no to going. No matter how much of an inconvenience--if you believe what our country is about, you go when you're asked." Now that's the attitude of a hero. Dr. Lorich understands that being a hero isn't all about doing big things to get your name in lights, its all about (to paraphrase Bob Dylan) understanding the degree of responsibility that comes with freedom.

Dr. Lorich also treated a few heroes while participating in the program. He treated a Special Ops Soldier who broke both his legs in and IED attack. When Dr. Lorich told this highly trained Soldier that he wouldn't have normal function on his left side, and might do better if the leg was amputated. The Soldier said to do whatever was necessary to get him back to his unit. According to Dr. Lorich, that Soldier's dedication to his mission and his unit inspired him and changed the way he looked at life. Dr. Lorich said, "It's a totally humbling experience. You leave different from when you went. It makes you appreciate your home and your family. It was just life altering." According to Dr. Lorich, the military doctors he worked with and trained are also real heroes. He was impressed with their caring and dedication to their patients. He said, "You just can't believe what these guys do.' Dr. Lorich wouldn't hesitate to go back to Landstuhl and work with these heroes.
Although he was the trauma expert, sent there to train our military surgeons, he said that he "definitely took more away from it that I gave." Those are the words and the attitude of a hero.

Bud & the Yuppie

G. Smiley strikes again. He sent me this story in an email, and it's so funny, I just have to post it here. I can imagine it's one of those emails that's making the "rounds," so if you've seen it...just enjoy it again.

A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in Dakota country when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.

The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, 'If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?'

Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, 'Sure, Why not?'

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer,connects it to his Cingular RAZOR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg , Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response. Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, 'You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves.'

'That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,' says Bud.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then the cowboy says to the young man, 'Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?'

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, 'Okay, why not?'

'You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government', says Bud.

'Wow! That's correct,' says the yuppie, 'but how did you guess that?'

'No guessing required.' answered the cowboy. 'You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows...this is a herd of sheep.'

'Now give me back my dog.'

God Bless Young Man

The milblog community lost one of its own with the death of Army Specialist Stephen Fortunato, 25, on Tuesday. He was killed on his first patrol after returning from a leave home to visit his family, when the vehicle he was riding in was hit by an IED. His mother found an entry dated August 30th on his blog and forwarded it to the Boston Globe who published it. I agree with CJ at A Soldier's Perspective and Brat at Tanker Brothers, this young patriot's words need to be spread far and wide. So, I'll do my part to honor him, his family, and his service by doing so.

If I may …

I'd like to say something....Just to get it out there so it is clear.
To all the pampered and protected Americans who feel it is their duty to inform me that I am not fighting for their freedom, and that i am a pawn in Bush's agenda of greed and oil acquisition: Noted, and [expletive deleted] You.

I am not a robot. i am not blind or ignorant to the state of the world or the implications of the "war on terrorism." i know that our leaders have made mistakes in the handling of a very sensitive situation, but do not for one second think that you can make me lose faith in what we, meaning America's sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers in uniform are doing.

I am doing my part in fighting a very real enemy of the United States, i.e. Taliban, Al Qaida, and various other radical sects of Islam that have declared war on our way of life. Unless you believe the events of 9/11 were the result of a government conspiracy, which by the way would make you a MORON, there is no reasonable argument you can make against there being a true and dangerous threat that needs to be dealt with. i don't care if there are corporations leaching off the war effort to make money, and i don't care if you don't think our freedom within America's borders is actually at stake. i just want to kill those who would harm my family and friends. it is that simple. Even if this is just a war for profit or to assert America's power, so what? Someone has to be on top and I want it to be us. There's nothing wrong with wishing prosperity for your side.

I am a proud American. i believe that my country allows me to live my life more or less however i want to, and believe me, i have seen what the alternative of that looks like. i also believe that our big scary government does way more than it has to to help complete [expletive deleted]-ups get back on their feet, a stark comparison to places where leaders just line their own pockets with gold while allowing the people who gave them their power and privilage to starve. I have chosen my corner. I back my country, and am proud to defend it against aggressors. Also, if you dare accuse us of being inhumane, or overly aggressive because we have rolled into someone else's country and blown some [expletive deleted] up and shot some people, let me remind you of just how inhumane we COULD be in defending ourselves. Let me remind you that we have a warhead that drops multiple bomblets from the stratosphere which upon impact, would turn all the sand in Iraq to glass, and reduce every living thing there to dust. Do we use it? No. Instead we use the most humane weapon ever devised: the American soldier. We send our bravest (and perhaps admitably craziest) men and women into enemy territory, into harms way, to root out those whom we are after and do our best to leave innocent lives unscathed.

...One last thing...a proposal. i know it has been stated time and time again but i just think it is worthy of reiteration. If you find yourself completely disgusted with the way America is being ran, and how we handle things on the global stage, you can leave. Isn't that amazing? No one will stop you! If you are an anarchist, there are places you can go where there is no government to tell you anything. That's right...you are left solely to your own devices and you can handle the men who show up at your door with AKs in any way that you see fit. Just don't try good old American debate tactics on them because you will most likely end up bound and blind-folded, to have your head chopped off on the internet so your parents can see it. However if you insist on staying here and taking advantage of privilages such as free speach and WIC, keep the counter-productive [expletive deleted] to a minimum while the grown ups figure out how to handle this god-awful mess in the middle east.

God Bless, young man, you never lost faith; and neither shall we. Rest in peace and know that your brothers and sisters in arms continue the work you did so well.

Why Can't All Political Speeches Be This Good?

As I was visiting Grim's Hall, I saw this video of Senator McCain speaking at an annual charity dinner last night (in two parts). It's fantastic! I agree with Grim....where have they been keeping this guy? He hits Senator Obama, Senator Clinton and her husband, ACORN, Joe the Plumber, MSNBC, and his own campaign's foibles; and does it with a wonderful sense of humor and a lot of class. Watch it, it's worth your time and you'lll get a great laugh, or three!





Senator Obama also spoke at the dinner, right after Senator McCain. His speech is also extremely funny! Here's his speech:

Joe the Plumber & Britney's Headache

I'm afraid Joe the Plumber is finding out just how dangerous it is to publicly question the policies of Senator Obama and the liberal establishment. He found his "15-minutes of fame" with his cogent, intelligent, and relevant question to Senator Obama about the Senator's tax plans, and his astute analysis of the impact to small business and to "the little guy." Unfortunately, like the child who pointed out the Emperor wore no clothes, Joe's question prompted an answer from Senator Obama that revealed the naked truth of Senator Obama's tax plan; he wants to redistribute dollars from those who earn to those who do not.

As a result, the liberal establishment, bloggers and the mainstream media alike, are now trying to discredit Joe the Plumber. It seems that everything is fair game. So he's not really a licensed plumber. He works for one. So he really doesn't make $250K a year. He never said he did. He only said he might have the opportunity in the future to buy a small business that could make $250K. So he had a lien for unpaid medical bills. The bills have been paid and the lien lifted. So he might owe back state taxes. So his name might be spelled wrong on voter registration lists. SO WHAT??? In a great quote, Joe said that "I'm kind of like Brittney Spears having a headache. Everyone wants to know about it."

What gives the press and the liberal establishment the right to go after and make public every little bit of dirt they can possibly uncover about Joe the Plumber? He's an intelligent and responsible voter, who just wanted to ask a candidate about the candidate's policies. That the candidate's answer honestly showed what the candidate really thought, instead of what the candidate wants the public to think, does not mean that Joe needs to be painted as something other than a concerned voter trying to figure out who to vote for.

The liberal reaction to Joe the Plumber and his 15-minutes of fame is telling; and very scary. It shows that they react to dissent by vilifying the dissenter. It shows that they will go to any lengths to stifle dissent by anyone who doesn't agree with them. When you couple what's happened to Joe the Plumber (an everyday citizen) with the Obama campaign's attempt to use law enforcement to stop dissent in St Louis, or the lawsuits brought against conservative commentators, and the cry of "racist" or "racism" raised every time someone disagrees with Senator Obama or his policies; you get a very scary picture. Add the liberal attempt to re-institute the wrongly named "fairness doctrine" and you have a very clear picture of the liberal mindset: we know what's good for you, whether you agree or not, so you better not rock the boat or we'll make it difficult for you. Scary when you think of it that way, isn't it.

What's next? Re-eduction camps? Oh wait, those are called charter schools these days....

UPDATE: Check out this great article at American Thinker that says what I wanted to say, but does it so much better!

Joe the Plumber

"Joe the Plumber" gave a wonderful interview to Dianne Sawyer on Good Morning America. Watch it below. Remember Joe? He's the plumber who asked Senator Obama why he thought it was a good idea to raise taxes, and prompted Senator Obama's unscripted answer that really proved Senator Obama was "all about" redistribution of wealth. Joe really comes across as a "regular guy." He's concerned with working hard, providing a living for himself and his son, and doesn't want to be penalized for his hard work with higher taxes just so someone who doesn't work as hard (or doesn't want to work) can have the benefit of his sweat. He's articulate and likeable; but best of all, his analysis is right on the money (tax money, that is).