I've lived in Mtn Home since 1989, so that's...hold on...I'm thinking...WOW! Exactly 25 years! Boy, I think I can almost declare myself an Idahoan. But my family is British and I grew up in Louisiana around lots of other Brits so I still think I'm a little bit of a mutt. Those of you who have been around awhile may remember when I used to blog all the time. My opinions weren't very accepted and there was always an issue because I work for the county. That really wasn't fair because I NEVER blog at work! And I am still entitled to my opinions and thoughts about city and county issues, right? However, it stirred a lot of pots and those pots certainly can make a lot of noise! Since I'm a writer, I took what I wrote in my blog seriously so I spent a lot of time researching things which got exhausting to do when you're not even get a paycheck for it. So I stopped. That was a blessing to many! However, to this day, I still have people stop me and ask me why I wasn't blogging and t! hey missed it. I've missed it. Mainly because there are so many issues that come up and I have no voice except around my friends and I'm sure they are tired of it.

America, wake up! We've been used!

Posted Monday, March 30, 2009, at 11:25 PM

Obama has been in office for a short time and yet long enough to take a country from a democracy to a dictatorship. He did exactly what I knew he would. He took control of AIG then today, he fired the head of GM. I am sick inside! Did this man not play the game? Was he not doing exactly what the President wanted? Maybe he said the wrong thing? Remind me again what country I'm living in. Did I fall asleep in the USA and wake up in a communist country. Somebody pinch me, please!

I heard Glenn Beck read a letter from an AIG employee. After reading the entire letter, I felt so upset that I cried. So today, I went to the New York Times (a 1st for me) and read it for myself. It was a letter to the head of AIG from a man who was working for a mere $1.00 a year. His dept had nothing whatsoever to do with the bad investments that caused the problems. He was told over and over that if he stayed the company would honor their contract. He lost a significant amount of money that he worked years to earn for retirement. The retention bonus was a promise to get everyone to stay and keep working. The company told his dept. on 3 occasions that the AIG would "live up to its commitment" to honor the contract guarantees.

Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of the AIG's financial products unit, wrote:

"After 12 months of hard work dismantling the company -- during which A.I.G. reassured us many times we would be rewarded in March 2009 -- we in the financial products unit have been betrayed by A.I.G. and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials. In response to this, I will now leave the company and donate my entire post-tax retention payment to those suffering from the global economic downturn. My intent is to keep none of the money myself."

11 years of dedicated service; an entire year of working 12, 14, 16 hours away from his family and what did he get for it? Lied to and turned into a criminal who hasn't broken any laws, yet hated by strangers who terrorize his co-workers from a chartered bus. What law did they break? What crime did these people commit other than stick it out with faith that in the end their contracts would pay them for their services. How many of us would agree to work those kind of hours for $1.00? How many of us would turn down high-paying positions to stay with a failing company out of a sense of ethics only to have the entire company spit in your face?

Suddenly, these people who gave up everything, working 14 hour days and promised that their loyalty would be honored, are being lied to, thrown to the wolves of angry mobs thinking that these people are living high on the hog. Busloads of people are showing up to terrorize the innocent families. Did anyone stop them? Why is the Attorney General Blumenthal of Connecticut screaming for names and stalking these people for blood, yet hasn't yelled for Christopher Dodd's blood? He is a resident of Connecticut and was responsible for having made the promises in writing that the contracts would be honored. He wants the innocent and ignores the guilty. How sick is that?

It is also interesting that over the past 6 months, not once did the President of AIG request that these people renegotiate or break these contracts. They worked long hours and have done nothing wrong to be treated in this manner. They have been lied to and cheated out of the income that they have rightfully earned. There was a time with a man's word was his bond, then it turned to, "get it in writing" and now there is no such thing as a legal contract. There are no promises kept. The government created exactly what they needed to gain the control. It is mass hysteria caused by evil underhanded planning to produce this exact reaction.

I'm sorry if this is just too crazy for you to stomach. But go to the New York Times and read the letter yourself.

http://www.nytimes.com and type in Resignation of AIG employee. Read how his life has been destroyed by the mere fact that he stayed when the company begged him to.

Read this statement: "That is why I have decided to donate 100 percent of the effective after-tax proceeds of my retention payment directly to organizations that are helping people who are suffering from the global downturn. This is not a tax-deduction gimmick; I simply believe that I at least deserve to dictate how my earnings are spent, and do not want to see them disappear back into the obscurity of A.I.G.'s or the federal government's budget. Our earnings have caused such a distraction for so many from the more pressing issues our country faces, and I would like to see my share of it benefit those truly in need...I'm not sure how you will greet my resignation, but at least Attorney General Blumenthal should be relieved that I'll leave under my own power and will not need to be 'shoved out the door.'"

America, we have been used to cheat our own people. The media reported with malice that the evil AIG employees were getting paid enormous bonuses and were laughing at the taxpayers. They convinced everyone that these people were living high on the hog with our taxes. They stirred the coals of rage and fear. We have turned on our values, our morals, our faith and persecuted these people because our lives were spiraling with the fear of poverty. Rather than search out all sides of the story, we allowed ourselves to be the screaming voices, "they should be put in prison!" There was a time when I wrote that Obama was nothing but a puppet doing what the democrats wanted. However, now I have to admit it. And no matter how much we want to put our heads in the sand, live in our righteous angry denial, we must admit it! We are the puppets!

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Kim don't normally do something like this but I have to put this e-mail on your blog to go along with what you had to say.

A German Lady Remembers and Speaks

Lori Kalner

In Germany, when Hitler came to power, it was a time of terrible financial depression. Money was worth nothing. In Germany people lost homes and jobs, just like in the American Depression in the 1930s, which we have read about in Thoene's Shiloh books. In those days, in my homeland, Adolph Hitler was elected to power by promising "Change."

He blamed the "Zionists" around the world for all our problems. He told everyone it was greedy Zionist Bankers who had caused every problem we had. He promised when he was leader, the greedy Zionist bankers would be punished. The Zionists, he promised, would be wiped off the face of the earth. So Hitler was elected to power by only 1/3 of the popular vote.

A coalition of other political parties in parliament made him supreme leader. Then, when he was leader, he disgraced and expelled everyone in parliament who did not go along with him.

Yes. Change came to my homeland as the new leader promised it would. The teachers in German schools began to teach the children to sing songs in praise of Hitler.

This was the beginning of the Hitler Youth movement. It began with praise of the Fuhrer's programs on the lips of innocent children.

Hymns in praise of Hitler and his programs were being sung in the schoolrooms and in the playyard.

Little girls and boys joined hands and sang these songs as they walked home from school.

My brother came home and told Papa what was happening at school. The political hymns of children proclaimed Change was coming to our homeland and the Fuhrer was a leader we could trust.

I will never forget my father's face. Grief and fear. He knew that the best propaganda of the Nazis was song on the lips of little children.

That evening before he said grace at the dinner table, he placed his hands upon the heads of my brothers and me and prayed the Living Word upon us from Jeremiah 1:4-5:

'Now the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

Soon the children's songs praising the Fuhrer were heard everywhere on the streets and over the radio. "With our Fuhrer to lead us, we can do it! We can change the world!"

Soon after that Papa, a pastor, was turned away from visiting elderly parishioners in hospitals. The people he had visited to bring comfort of God's Word to, were "no longer there." Where had they vanished to while under nationalized health care? It became an open secret.

The elderly and sick began to disappear from hospitals feet first as "mercy killing" became the policy.

Children with disabilities and those who had down syndrome were euthanized.

People whispered, "Maybe it is better for them now. Put them out of misery. They are no longer suffering. And, of course, their death is better for the treasury of our nation. Our taxes no longer must be spent to care for such a burden." And so murder was called mercy.

The government took over private business. Industry and health care were "nationalized." (NA-ZI means National Socialist Party). The businesses of all Jews were seized (Perhaps you remember our story in Berlin on Krystalnacht in the book Munich Signature).

The world and God's word were turned upside down. Hitler promised the people economic change. Not change, it was, rather, Lucifer's very ancient Delusion leading to Destruction.

What began with the propaganda of children singing a catchy tune ended in the deaths of millions of children. The reality of what came upon us is so horrible that you in this present generation cannot imagine it. Our suffering is too great to ever tell in a book or show in a black and white newsreel.

When I spoke to Bodie about some of these things, she wept and said she could not bear to write them.

Perhaps one day she will, but I asked her, "who could bear to read our suffering?" Yet with my last breath I warn every Christian and Jew now in the name of the Lord, unless your course of the church in America is spiritually changed now, returning to the Lord, there are new horrors yet to come.

I trembled last night when I heard the voices of American children raised in song, praising the name of Obama, the charismatic fellow who claims he is the American Messiah. Yet I have heard what this man Obama says about abortion and the "mercy killing" of tiny babies who are not wanted.

There are so few of us left to warn you.

I have heard that there are 69 million Catholics in America and 70 million Evangelical Christians.

Where are your voices? Where is your outrage? Where is you passion and your vote? Do you vote based on an abortionist's empty promises and economics? Or do you vote according to the Bible?

Thus says the Lord about every living child still in the womb:

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you."

I have experienced the signs of the politics of Death in my youth. I see them again now. Christians! Unless you stand up now, you will lose your freedom of religion.

In America some priests and preachers have already lost their freedom to speak openly from their pulpits of moral danger in political candidates.

They cannot legally instruct you of which candidate holds fast to the precepts of scripture! American law forbids this freedom of speech to conservative pastors or they will lose their "tax exempt" status. And yet I have heard the words of Obama's pastor damning America!

I have heard the words of Obama damning and mocking all of you in small towns because you "cling to your religion."

But I am a woman whose name is unknown. My life is recorded as a work of fiction. I have no fear of reprisal when I speak truth to you from the pages of a book. I am an old woman and will soon go to be with my Lord. I have no fear for myself, but for all of you and for you children, I tremble. I tremble at the hymns to a political leader which your children will sing at school (though even now a hymn or a prayer to God and our Lord Jesus is against the law in public school!). I pray you will personally heed this warning for the sake of your children and your grandchildren. Do not be deceived.

The Lord in Jeremiah 1:7-8 commands every believer to speak up!

"Do not say, 'I am only a youth,' for to all whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you, declares the Lord!"

I am in Prayer for you, and for the Church! Spoken to you in the authority of Jesus the Christ, the Name Above All Names,

Lori Kalner

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IT IS NOT FICTION. IT IS REAL. AND IT IS KNOCKING AT OUR DOOR. MAY GOD BLESS THE PERSON WHO WROTE THESE TRUTHS AND MAY GOD FORGIVE US ALL.

-- Posted by Eagle_eye on Tue, Mar 31, 2009, at 4:00 AM
Dear Eagle-eye, I can' stop crying! I can't stop! I just put my blog on Intense Debate before even seeing that you had posted this comment. Now, I pray that others outside of our little town will read what you posted. Thank you so much! Though it hurts to read it. Though my heart hurts and my eyes can't stop shedding tears. I needed to read it. Everyone should! Where did you find that? Where can I find her? I want to talk to her.

-- Posted by kimkovac on Tue, Mar 31, 2009, at 7:19 AM
Kim, great post. Eagle, great post also. Where is our "outrage" and where are the voices of the people? I am Jewish and retain pieces of Nazi history for future generations. That way, when our youth are told "it did not happen" I will have some small bits of proof that it did. I will never forget.

-- Posted by OpinionMissy on Tue, Mar 31, 2009, at 7:38 AM
Kim, I don't even know if the name on what is posted is real or not, all I can tell you is I got it in an e-mail a few days ago and wasn't going to do anything with it until this blog of yours so I had to add it to your blog. I knew it would upset some people, but decided to go ahead and share it. Thanks for the reply.

-- Posted by Eagle_eye on Tue, Mar 31, 2009, at 9:54 AM
I googled it and I saw many many posts but Haven't found who she really is yet. I know that everything she wrote is truth whether people want to recognize it or not. It is a dose of reality. People back in those days never ever believed that their country would become killers but it happened.

-- Posted by kimkovac on Tue, Mar 31, 2009, at 10:04 AM
One fact that is left out of this is that the Depression that hit Germany was caused by a vastly different set of circumstances. That depression was the biggest economic meltdown in the history of civilization. Ours did not hold a candle to it. Do your history and you will know that the similarities are few and irrelevant.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Tue, Mar 31, 2009, at 12:33 PM
twilcox

Maybe you would like to enlighten us all about what we don't know about by posting the links you are reading

-- Posted by Eagle_eye on Tue, Mar 31, 2009, at 4:45 PM
Kim;

I was sent this link from a friend and thought I would share it. You have to get past the first two shots and then you can hear the speaker. The man speaking is the Honorable James David Manning. I had to listen to it all the way through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTp_atr2G9E

-- Posted by midea on Tue, Mar 31, 2009, at 7:07 PM
Religion is irrelevant in this case. One can believe or not believe. Point is that there are documented cases of 1000% inflation per DAY in Germany. Now, you can lie to yourself and be ignorant but our current situation is nowhere near that. Their currency depreciated from one mark being worth 79 cents to in 1932 it being worth .000005 dollars. Do some math. yes, times are tough but not to that degree. Hitler capitalized on a situation where only 1% of the population was ABOVE the poverty line. If you need to read that again to understand it, feel free.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Tue, Mar 31, 2009, at 10:59 PM
Twil, you said, "Now, you can lie to yourself and be ignorant but our current situation is nowhere near that." I wish with all my heart that I can take comfort in that statement. The rational person in me wants to cling to that belief. This is not about comparing inflation! It is the situation that is similar. People who need a savior and Germany thought Hitler was just that. He took them into the worse era of our history. And when the people began to wake up from the trance He had put them into, it was too late.

Your statement that religion is irrelvant kills the comfort of rational thinking. Hilter wanted people to think that God was dead. There is no moral law; nobody to question the evil that men do if the world will think that He is irrelvant. Belief or not, doesn't change the real truth. God told us that this would happen. The evil ones of this world snare us all with their words and they want us to discount anything related to God so that we will not realize just how important God is. If we believe in the Supreme, then they can't take us where they are leading us. You can't get a following of people with evil words. Obama must speak the words that people want to hear. A molester doesn't get his victims by acting in a threatening manner. A molester lures his prey with goodness, with the illusion of kindness. The Great Deceiver is and will always be an angel of light; beauty that shines and mesmerizes his prey so that they will follow. You wish to discount religion? That gives you comfort that rational thinking will win. Religion has become so corrupt that it is easy to push it out of your mind. But God? No, God is relevant. You have been deceived.

-- Posted by kimkovac on Wed, Apr 1, 2009, at 7:03 AM
sorry believe what you want but religious arguments fall flat. What about other situations, are you going to explain Pol Pot, Nicolai Caecescu, Franco, Mussolini in religious terms. Hitler inherited a situation where a once proud people were starving. The economy was in shambles and having lost millions of lives in WWI. Yes, religion got pushed aside because if you have done your history, the church was behind the misery of the Middle Ages. There is not the desparation today. Our economic meltdown is minor compared to that. Ours was caused by greed and in reality the boom should never have occurred.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Wed, Apr 1, 2009, at 9:54 AM
I will quit after this one. Religion gets me in a frenzy so pardon me. The economic and social conditions of Germany in 1929 cannot be compared to today. I dont see 99% of Americans being under the poverty line and starving. That's all. Have a great day, everyone.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Wed, Apr 1, 2009, at 11:40 AM
Kim,

You are correct, "the situation is similar". people are looking for a "Savior". to get them out of their/our situation. When Obama told the American people that only government could get us out of this economic situation,I knew for sure that no good was going to come out of it. So far I have pretty much been able to surmise the next move. Just go back in history, as it repeats itself. I truly believe we are also going to see a lot of fall-out from this G-20 conference. I do believe people are in a trance. I also see a lot of eyes already beginning to open. Some of the newspapers are making small but noticeable comments that surprise me.

On another note: Way back in 60's, my Uncle said that we don't have to worry about Russia or Cuba. He said we have to worry about China. People would laugh at him. But, I took it to heart and have watched China slowly grow from a tiny nation to a nation who can now loan money to the Great United States!!! China basically owns the U.S.. They have loaned us money, invested in our businesses, have a trade program with the U.S. that would devastate us if we were to tick them off, and now they are fearful that their investment in the US will devalue to nothing. We are so very indebted to them so far. What is next? Stay tuned - The G-20 Summit is going to surprise a lot of people I think. Could be wrong-but we'll see.

-- Posted by midea on Wed, Apr 1, 2009, at 2:14 PM
twilcox, Hitler inherited NOTHING. He used economic situations to help get him into power. He did nothing to help the plight of the everyday German. He wanted to absolute ruler and used subterfuge and outright lies to get what he wants. He used gangs of men to go out and destroy neighborhoods causing people to flee. A country with nothing to hope for will turn to the first person to show them the light. I sany of this sounding familiar?

Obama used the economic situation to get himself elected. He used subterfuge and lies to get elected. (Remember ACORN?) He wants to build a "National Defense Force". For what reason? does he want a military force that is loyal to him. Is he worriede that the miltary will not back him when ordered to attack AMERICANS? So far Obama has done nothing but spout glorious speeches to the common man. Have you personally seen ANY of the stimulus helping you? Obama is a grand orator that can whip the masses into a frenzie then direct them like a puppet. The first people Obama will want to opress and get rid of will be people like Bazooka and myself. He will find ways to keep us underfoot and starving. He will take people with a weak mind and wrap them around his finger and get them to do his bidding. He will promise the moon and only deliver government cheese. He will promise light but only show you that it is in the distance. All the whiel he is raping this nation of everythng it has stood for.

Look through the lies twilcox. If you find that you can't rely on religion to bolster your faith in the world then find something that will. Otherwise you will find yourself one of the sheep being led to the showers to be cleansed.

-- Posted by mhbouncer on Wed, Apr 1, 2009, at 3:41 PM
Maybe inherited was not the best word but the concept is the same. Hitler was on the political scene at a time of complete desparation and poverty. I know the history well and know that in economic terms comparing it to today is apples and oranges. America does not face the hyperinflation and shortages that plagued Germany and most of Eastern Europe in the years of 1926-1933 roughly. Am I reasonable to point that out.

As for Obama, I am a different breed apparently. I dont give politicians all the credit in the world. I know that they are just one person. They fill a niche in society just like anyone else. This doomsday theory that i read on the blog reminds me of Jim Jones. Not to marginalize anyone but economies have ups and downs. Politicians contrary to popular opinion do not control it. The SEC and the Federal Reserve are the primary authorities. Politicians on both sides of the fence are fickle and opportunistic. Its a give-in.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Wed, Apr 1, 2009, at 4:44 PM
the federal reserve does not lay down mandates that are absolute. They keep the monetary system functioning. People have shown over time to be paranoid and be the agents of their own destruction. Laziness, rampant speculation on Wall Street, and paranoia were the main causes of the Depression. There are others of course but those are the dominant ones. I dont agree with politicians having their hands on it. Some are smart but most of them do not have the foresight needed in economic terms. If not for the Fed Reserve, black Friday in 1987 would have led to a surefire depression. Politicians in their great wisdom thought that this would blow over and everything would be ok. Well lets be thankful that some clear minded individuals took over and averted disaster.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Thu, Apr 2, 2009, at 12:48 PM
To divert this a bit. It makes me wonder why there is a movement to make everything national in scope. Why not localize and make it simpler. For instance, banking. The rules of their game are uniform across everyone. Why not make local banks that are hit harder than others make different decisions. that is not to say that they should cheat or do illegal activities but rather adjust for the times. the rules of Idaho are not always the best when applied to North Dakota and so on.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Thu, Apr 2, 2009, at 4:12 PM
And his wife is an ICON now! She is being compared to Jackie O. Wow. Did his aunt that was illegal ever get deported...or does she live in the White House with grandma? How could he stand to live in such a nation with us? Arrogant and hateful. I guess most "forgot" the racist comments made by Mrs. Osama herself prior to the election. Funny how things work. Mr. Obama is correct...we are arrogant. Only an arrogant nation hand over billions and billions of dollars to a company with NO rules...no regulation. And only an arrogant nation allows it to be done over and over again which is where hate comes in. We hate the decisions. We hate the lack of accountability. We hate the arrogance of those we have elected who do NOTHING to protect OUR money. We hate that we have been lied to over and over but are too arrogant to admit it. If the shoe fits...

-- Posted by OpinionMissy on Sat, Apr 4, 2009, at 10:41 AM
Obama Osama, oshama, whatever. Give me one good solid, non-political answer to why him going to school in Indonesia matters? Now I know you will dodge the question. Your strategy of isolating ourselves failed once before in epic fashion. Now again pretend to not understand (play stupid)but if one knows their history then one will know that the US shutting themself off from the world was a monumental blunder in the early 30's.

Splintering the country up or seceding from the union would be great for a movie like the Postman or Waterworld but can you really think ahead and foresee what that would entail. It might help your feelings of being a maverick or standing up to the big man but would it make anybody's life better other than your own. Again, I know that you will choose not to answer than logically and without using politics but I shall hold out hope.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Sat, Apr 4, 2009, at 2:01 PM
We're screwed.

-- Posted by BruceGibson on Sun, Apr 5, 2009, at 5:39 AM
now thats a start but now can you give logical answers that have no political persuasion and cant be refuted. Does your solution maximize benefit across all members of society? Factoring in ALL things not just the ones that affect you. You do know that if you only improve the lives of few that the others will rebel or not undertake actions that benefit the whole. If you need examples, look at the former Soviet republics. Maverik, chiefs, traditionalists did not improve anyone's life.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Sun, Apr 5, 2009, at 8:35 PM
Again, you dodged it. Are you a politician or a preacher? Idaho could not maintain its standard of living without being in the union. If your currency became worth nothing tomorrow and you had to live off the land. No power, no running water, no phone, no computer, etc. would you be as content?

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Mon, Apr 6, 2009, at 9:25 AM
We are a county of hateful, arrogant, and I'll add materialistic people. If not we wouldn't go around killing each other, bad mouthing each other, thinking were better than other and wouldn't think we should get something just because we want it and not have to work for it (credit card debt).

-- Posted by small town on Mon, Apr 6, 2009, at 11:52 AM
If you are so bent on being anti-social, what are you doing here? If you are such the renegade, tough man who takes nothing from anybody go live somewhere else. You obviously participate in society with its perks and flaws. If you dislike it so much then move on.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Mon, Apr 6, 2009, at 4:41 PM
Again, you complain about society as a whole being too liberal and flawed. So again, what is stopping you from moving on. I have been poor and come from a very modest family so I am no stranger to the conservative side of life. I come from the old school which states that one does not just complain about it, you take action. taking on the big bad government could be a daunting task. One that rifles and blind vigilante types wont bring down.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Mon, Apr 6, 2009, at 5:08 PM
Some government is always going to exist. Anarchy is impossible. No one is that selfless. Individuals do not think past themselves so getting rid of it completely would work for the short term only.

Americans fundamentally changing would be best. Armed and violent revolution would have consequences that few could live with. Again, just look at the French Revolution. It did not give them what they wanted. They lost 4 MILLION LIVES. the change came much later when they refused to take wage cuts. However unguided their actions were, when they refused to participate they got results. Those results would not work for us but could be a useful example.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Tue, Apr 7, 2009, at 9:49 AM
First he didn't give the queen an ipod full of speeches, it had music and photos from the times of her life. The rest of his speech about our company being arrogant also states the Europe has also been guilty of it and that it is time that the world works together instead of against each other and that the US is ready to lead.

-- Posted by small town on Wed, Apr 8, 2009, at 10:06 AM
Yes, you are right. We had to bail the french out twice. I use that example because they had a bloody violent revolution that solved nothing. Citizens were not ready to take on the French military and lost 4 MILLION LIVES again. They could have achieved a lot more than they did if they had taken a bit wiser approach. In fact, the changes that had been desired in 1785 occurred when they finally pulled their head out and had a general boycott of the government later on. Point being that raising our rifles and taking on the military would be foolhardy. I guess I just dont value valiant and glorious suicide. If the point of all of this was to die in a blaze of glory then why bother with living.

About defense, the budget in the Bush years was WAY above what it should have been. Bringing it down to a more natural but sustainable level would be fine. Cutting it down to the bare bones would not be wise, of course. Give me numbers that show that we cutting our military budget down to practically nothing and I will listen. But as it always goes, all that you bring is empty, unsupported propaganda.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Wed, Apr 8, 2009, at 10:26 AM
I dont believe every word that he says and treat it as gospel. He is only human after all. His diplomacy seems to be a bit contrived. If it were needed, fine but this seems more like a game than formulative action.

Well in the end its the differences that make life happen. Trade, communication, and reproduction are dependent on people not being exactly the same.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Fri, Apr 10, 2009, at 10:16 AM
Next Wednesday is the National Tea Party Day. Would any of you be willing to meet somewhere for lunch and a little free discussion here in town. A small "Tea Party" of our own. Would love to get together with other PATRIOTS here in town. Just a thought.

-- Posted by mhbouncer on Fri, Apr 10, 2009, at 1:58 PM
Defense cuts?!?!

From the Web site of libertarian magazine Reason: "Cindy Williams, a defense scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and former assistant director of the Congressional Budget Office, points out that Obama wants to spend 2 percent more (on defense) in the next fiscal year than President Bush allocated for this year, and 9 percent more than we spent last year.

Bush also planned for the defense budget (apart from Iraq and Afghanistan) to shrink slightly each year starting in 2010. Obama's blueprint calls for the defense budget to remain about the same. 'Spending will actually be higher under Obama's plan than under Bush's,' says Williams."

From the Hartford Courant: "The (Obama) defense budget would increase the number of standing Army and Marine troops by the end of this year, increase military pay 2.9 percent and provide more money for barracks and dormitory improvements and medical care for wounded soldiers."

And, on missile defense, from Philip Coyle of the Center for Defense Information: "Missile defense is the most expensive defense procurement program in history. Since President Reagan's famous 'Star Wars' speech in 1983, the U.S. has spent at least $120 billion on missile defense. ... Yet today U.S. missile defense hardware still has no demonstrated effectiveness against an enemy missile attack under realistic operational conditions."

So, the question was, how do real Americans stand beside a President more concerned with the safety, health and well-being of American soldiers than with throwing more money at defense contractors for a program that has NEVER worked? Easily. Really easily.

-- Posted by ExInternMike on Sat, Apr 11, 2009, at 12:44 AM
Does it really matter if we are "christian nation" or not? Regardless of the mix, the nation was built upon being tolerant of all and assimilating them. Yes, christians are the majority but we owe our prosperity in part due to the fact that we are not a theocracy.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Sun, Apr 12, 2009, at 3:11 PM
I agree Bazooka, too bad it took 5 days and a lot of heart ache on the part of the family to get it done. I figured there would be SEALs involved and I was right. While the 16 year old pirate watched from the fantail, three highly devoted marksmen took out the other three. Ohhh to be there to see that. Now there is a disagreement on who is going to prosecute the one left alive. Hopefully someone will show a little intelligence and back off that turf war so justice can be done.

I agree with some of the cuts being done to the military. Some of the High Tech crap works such as the predator drones, yet some of it is usspect at best. Maybe it's because we built it as a deterrent more then to be used ie: Patriot Missles. Yes they worked some of the time in the first Gulf War but it trully was a skeet shoot with them. Cutting the F-22 in favor of producing more of the F-35 JFS has sound reasoning. Three different platforms from one air frame for three different armed services, what a concept. Although I will miss the sounds of F-15's in burner taking off. Putting more emphasis on better vehicles and body armor for the soldiers, capital idea. The HUMMV was great for what it was built for but now with IEDs and all the armor and weapons they are putting on it it's time to rethink the JEEP again. I was talking to a good friend who just got back from Iraq. He's Army EOD, in one month alone they disarmed 119 IEDs along the roads as they were the advance force for convoys carrying supplies. He said their average speed was 5k an hour while advancing. Now the Army is testing and implementing several vehicles that can withstand IED explosions and serves with better armor for the operators and occupants. Let's keep that in mind in our defense budget.

-- Posted by mhbouncer on Mon, Apr 13, 2009, at 11:35 AM

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