THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

Much better than Roseanne Barr's national anthem rendition.

THE ULTIMATE FLASHLIGHT

Never be afraid to walk your dog at night - in the dark - again.

ASSESSING MOTIVES

By HeavyHanded

Judging or assessing someones' motives is pointless, yet it is done all the time.

It is quite impossible to ever be certain of another's motivation for doing something. We cannot be certain as to why someone is taking a certain action.

Not only is judging motives pointless, it is often destructive. We can easily exaggerate the angelic nature of our motives, while assigning villainous motives to others. We start down a dangerous road when we start in engaging in "thought police" activities.

We need to judge our actions, and the actions of others, and the results. It is what we do that counts, not what we say or what we intend.

This is true whether it be on the micro level or the macro level.

On the macro level, think globally; communism serves as a good example. Many people look at communism in a favorable light because they see it as a form of government that is fair. They see good motives originating from communism, such as an end to slavery, and equality for all. And since mankind is an emotional species, motive based arguments are powerful and often persuasive. These motives seem good because they appeal to our emotions.

But, the results of communism have been horrific.

Dont judge motives, judge deeds; judge actions not intentions.

We would all do well to remember this when we try to set public policy.

Liberty vs. Socialism (or Freedom Lovers vs. the Nanny Nazis)

“We believe that liberty can be measured by how much freedom Americans have to make their own decisions, even their own mistakes.” -- Ronald Reagan

Handouts or Hand-ups?
By HeavyHanded

Most Americans I believe, both on the right and left, simply wish to be left alone by the government.

The big difference between the two groups is the "doers" and the "do-notters."

The "doers," the conservatives for example, are not asking the government for other people's resources, i.e, money, time, or industry.

On the contrary; they want to be free to own a gun, free to invest their money the way they see fit, free to donate their own money to charities and churches as they see fit, pray openly when they feel like it, be allowed the choice to home-school their children if they feel it's in their best interest, and to control their own destiny.

"Plan for the future because that's where you are going to spend the rest of your life."
-- Mark Twain

"For glory gives herself only to those who have always dreamed of her."
-- Charles de Gaulle

"Control your destiny or somebody else will."
-- Jack Welch

Our opposition is the "do-notters." They don't want the government telling them how to run their lives either, but they want the government telling others how to run their lives. They want the government involved in their lives only to the extent that they get taken care of, get their handouts, get their "fair share" of everyone else's riches and hard work; and then to be left alone.

“Freedom was given to humanity by God. But, governments, if they can help it, never give freedom. They just hand out slavery with slogans.” — Taylor Caldwell, author, (1900-1985)

And is that not what you become? A slave? A slave to the government - waiting for your handouts?

As Grover Norquist puts it, these are the "do nothing takers." They are the heart and soul of the tax-and-spend left. They do nothing or next to little. They paint themselves to be "victims." Often, they do not believe that rules, laws, or morals apply to them and they look at government as the one to "level the playing field."

This country is much richer, obviously, today then in the 1950's, but we are more liberal and socialistic than in the 50's. I only see that this slow march will continue.

And yes, in the process, our liberty and freedom will be torn away from us.

This is how socialism works. It does not overthrow a government through force as a tyrannical dictator or despot might; it creeps in slowly over time, like the frog in the pot of cold water analogy, in which you slowly turn up the heat until your as.. um .. goose is cooked. You wake up one day and wonder how in the hell it happened.

“A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” -- John Adams

True and complete freedom only comes from a democracy AND a free market system embracing capitalism.

Socialism, by definition, is incapable of providing this. Socialism will level the playing field all right - creating equal misery for all. Well for most that is. The elites and our elected officials will retain their wealth, but the middle class will evaporate and be nothing but a memory.

And so sadly, while we are becoming richer as a country, we are becoming more populous, and we are accumulating too many "victims" and "do-notters."

And socialism marches on......

---------

“Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness.”
-- John Adams

"If there is a form of government, then, whose principle and foundation is virtue, will not every sober man acknowledge it better calculated to promote the general happiness than any other form?"
-- John Adams

"No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffusd and Virtue is preservd. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauchd in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders."
-- John Adams

"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If `Thou shalt not covet' and `Thou shalt not steal' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free."
-- John Adams

"Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks-no form of government can render us secure. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea....
-- James Madison

Rebecca Hagelin:
Preserving "Liberty's Best Hope"

Listening to more than a few liberals, you'd think that the biggest problem in the world today is the United States. The "blame America first" crowd also foolishly wants us to give up our sovereignty, our security and our heritage.

(Read more)

Government Usurpation of Volunteerism
By Paul M. Weyrich

From the beginning of our history, Americans have actively and spontaneously engaged in civic and political life by forming voluntary associations. This week the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on H.R. 2857, the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, more creatively known as the GIVE Act. If passed and signed into law, the bill would revise and reauthorize appropriations for numerous community service programs through Fiscal Year 2012. It puts Congress in the business of specifically encouraging community service by Baby Boomers. Who knew this was one of the obligations and enumerated powers of Congress under the Constitution?

Dems’ Budget Full of ‘Gimmicks, Tax Hikes, Wasteful Spending,’ Republicans Say
As the House Budget Committee started work on its Fiscal Year 2009 budget Wednesday, Republicans promptly blasted Democrats for supporting wasteful spending and “the largest tax increase in American history.”

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday again shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama nationally by five percentage points in the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. For the second straight day, it’s Clinton 48% Obama 43%. (More)

RASMUSSEN POLL

Pennsylvania Democratic Presidential Primary:
Clinton 52% Obama 37%

"In Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton has opened a fifteen percentage point lead over Barack Obama. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows Clinton attracting 52% of the vote while Obama earns 37%.

In late February, before Clinton's comeback victories in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island, the former First Lady's lead in the Keystone State was just four percentage points. The big difference between that poll and the current result is found a among men. Clinton now leads by seventeen percentage points among women and eleven among men."

More..

Obama: Bible Teacher?

—Albert Mohler

"At a campaign event in Ohio this week, Barack Obama defended civil unions for same-sex partners by citing the Sermon on the Mount. He also dismissed St. Paul's condemnation of sex between two people of the same gender as coming from an "obscure passage in Romans." In fact, that discussion by St. Paul is in the first chapter of Paul's magnum opus and is anything but obscure.

Senator Obama's exegetical sloppiness is astounding--including his reference to the Sermon on the Mount as somehow providing support for the concept of civil unions. Equally puzzling is the lack of attention paid to this and other answers from Senator Obama to questions surrounding his faith and his home church. After a year of probing questions related to the Mormon faith of Mitt Romney, you'd expect the media to jump all over Senator Obama's decision to rely on Providence as the author of his position on gay marriage or civil unions.

The conduct of mainstream media throughout Campaign 2008 has been bizarre from start to finish--and it just keeps getting more so every day."

Resurrect King Dollar

By Lawrence Kudlow

If Sen. John McCain wants to run as a candidate of change, and if he’s interested in distancing himself from President Bush on some issues, he should reverse the declining fortunes of the Bush wartime dollar. America’s prestige is on the line.

With inflation spurting in the U.S., the sinking dollar is being ridiculed both at home and overseas. The falling dollar is perceived as a sign of American decline -- which is a very bad sign.

Main Street voters hate soaring......

Tony Blankley:
Border Insecurity

Less than two weeks ago, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced at a news conference that a high-tech "virtual fence" project along part of the U.S. border with Mexico finally was ready for service.

Liberty Versus Socialism

By Walter E. Williams

A fortnight ago, I wrote about Mississippi Legislature House Bill 282 that would have imposed fines or revoked licenses of food establishments that served obese people. Fortunately, the measure died in committee. State Rep. Ted Mayhall, one of the bill's sponsors, justified it by saying that he wanted to bring attention to the fact that "Obesity makes people more susceptible to diabetes, which puts a further strain on the state's financially-challenged Medicaid program."

His sentiments were expressed by quite a few readers who didn't necessarily support such a measure but opined that if a particular behavior or lifestyle imposed costs on others through tax-supported health care, the government had a right to intercede.

Similar justification was used for laws requiring....

Read more.

Bill Murchison:
The Government and the Marketplace

We may not know precisely, we Americans, what we want the next president to do about energy prices. What we shouldn't want him -- or her -- to do is as plain as a gasoline pump primed to deliver at 3-bucks-plus per gallon......

The U. S Economy

"The most remarkable thing is the ability of the U.S. economy to absorb record-high oil prices without going inflationary. This is because oil consumption in the United States today is not much higher than it was in the 1970s. It is not simply a matter of efficiency; it is also a reward for de-industrialization. By shifting from an industrial to a technological/service-based economy, the United States insulated itself from commodity-driven inflation."

- George Friedman, Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report

Read "The U. S Economy and the Next 'Big One' " in its' entirety here.

Democratic Draw

WSJ.com

Clinton exposes some Obama weaknesses.

GENEROSITY

“Liberals, it has been said, are generous with other peoples’ money, except when it comes to questions of national survival when they prefer to be generous with other people’s freedom and security.” —William F. Buckley, Jr.

HELLO DARKNESS .... MY OLD FRIEND

“Corruption is no stranger to Washington; it is a famous resident.”

—Walter Goodman

DEFINE YOUR TARGET

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the people you need to concentrate on.” —Robert Strauss

SOCIALISM'S METHODICAL MARCH

“The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of ‘liberalism’ they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.”

—Norman Thomas

SOCIALISM'S METHODICAL MARCH

“The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of ‘liberalism’ they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.”

—Norman Thomas

EMPTY SUIT

“Voters need to understand that the supposed ‘new politics’ of Obama smells very similar to that of the same old lies and empty rhetoric we have heard from the Beltway for decades. And without that ‘new politics’, Obama is nothing more than an empty suit with a pleasant voice.”

-- Ed Morrissey--

VIRTUE

"A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader."

-- Samuel Adams --

McCain believed over 'Times,' survey says

From USA Today:

"Two-thirds of adults in the U.S. heard or read about" a Feb. 21 story in The New York Times "alluding to a potentially inappropriate relationship between Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain and a female lobbyist during his presidential bid in 2000," according to a new survey from the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey. Of that group, 41% said they believe McCain — who said there was no improper relationship and that he did the lobbyist no favors. Just 21% believed the Times.

Washington Times:
Qatar seen bankrolling Hamas

Harvard U. gym sets up man ban

Chicago Sun-Times:
Establishes hours for Muslim women only

Well who wants freedom anyway?

Global Warming Schemes Will Curb Freedom, Czech President Says

Advocates of man-made global warming theories in Europe and the U.S. are pushing cynical political schemes that will erode individual liberty, curtail the standard living and stymie economic growth, said Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic... (more)

Freedom just causes problems anyway.

Darn that big ol' yellow ball in the sky......

Natural Forces, Not Man, Causing Global Warming, Scientist Says

Natural forces, not human activity, are primarily responsible for any global warming taking place, prominent atmospheric and space physicist Fred Singer declared Monday at the Heartland Institute’s 2008 International Conference on Climate Change in New York City. The issue is settled, he said... (more)

A dangerous man with a dangerous plan

Obama’s YouTube Defense Talk ‘Bizarre,’ Analyst Says

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is facing renewed criticism over his national security policies. In a YouTube video Obama made for a liberal pacifist organization last year, the senator called for major cuts in defense spending, slowing the development of future combat systems, and cutting investments in America’s ballistic missile defense program. Some conservatives have expressed surprise at the extent of Obama’s proposals..." (more)

If you don't protect yourself, who will?

Who says there's no money in politics?

Pelosi’s Bill Could Benefit Husband’s Stock Holding

One week after executives at the pharmaceutical firm Amgen contributed more than $20,000 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s campaign, Pelosi reintroduced a bill that could boost Medicaid coverage of HIV-related drugs, including Procrit, which is manufactured by Amgen and marketed by a firm in which Pelosi’s husband owns at least $250,000 in stock, according to Pelosi’s disclosure forms...

Marine Lt. Colonel Chessani Thrown Under the Bus for Political Reasons; Fair Trial an Illusion

News:

ANN ARBOR, MI – “Military Judge Colonel Stephen Folsom’s, USMC, ruling yesterday refusing our request to take the deposition of Congressman John Murtha, D-PA, is the latest indication that it will be impossible for Marine Lt. Colonel Chessani to get a fair trial regarding November 19, 2005, Haditha incident,” said Richard Thompson, Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, the Ann Arbor, Michigan based public interest law firm defending Lt. Col. Chessani.

“This entire prosecution is politically motivated and stinks to high heaven......."

Continue reading at Thomas More Law Center

What's it Going to Cost ?

Caps and Trade-offs: Presidential Candidates Embrace Massive Penalties for Emissions

All three frontrunners have declared support for energy legislation that would cost consumers and businesses lots of money.

By Brianna Cardiff and Will Collins
Business & Media Institute

"The 2008 campaign season features sharp disagreements among the leading presidential aspirants from both parties. Climate change, however, seems to be the exception that proves the rule, as all three frontrunners have embraced broadly similar policy prescriptions that would supposedly combat global warming......" (read more)

Phyllis Schlafly:
Judges Getting the Message About Illegal Immigrants

Four children including two brothers were killed, and 12 others were hospitalized with injuries, in Minnesota last week when a van reportedly ignored a stop sign and barreled into a school bus.

Bill Steigerwald:
Cool News About Global Warming

If you are a vigilant observer of the global warming debate, you know how inconveniently cold it is in the Arctic this winter for Al Gore and his army of climate alarmists.

Washington Times:
Clinton: Damaging stories about Obama have just begun

USA Today:
Obama aides on defensive over Canadian memo

Business and Media Institute:
Weather Channel Founder Blasts Network; Claims It Is 'Telling Us What to Think'

TWC founder and global warming skeptic advocates suing Al Gore to expose 'the fraud of global warming.'

Raúl Castro 'Playing with Fire,' Analyst Says

Washington - Although Cuba apparently won't ring in an era of democracy any time soon, its new president, Raúl Castro -- a Communist and the brother of Fidel Castro -- likely will introduce valuable reforms for the island, a leading Latin American expert said Monday..... (read more)

Saudi Al Qaida commander killed in Mosul

BAGHDAD — The U.S.-led coalition has reported the killing of a leader of the Al Qaida network in Iraq.

The U.S. military said Jar Allah, a Saudi national, was killed in Mosul on Feb. 27 in an operation by Iraqi and U.S. forces, Middle East Newsline reported. Jar Allah, also known as Abu Yasir Al Saudi, and Hamdan, was identified as the Al Qaida commander of southeastern Mosul..... (more)

FROM YAHOO NEWS

Pentagon's annual report: China speeding pace of military buildup

File photo shows Chinese amphibious tanks and marines storming a beachhead in an amphibious assault drill on the Shandong Peninsula. China's defence budget will rise 17.6 percent this year, a parliament spokesman said Tuesday, a day after the United States expressed concerns over the Asian nation's expanding military power.

(AFP/Xinhua/File)
AFP photo

U.S. captures Iranian special forces commander near Baghdad

U.S. captures Iranian special forces commander near Baghdad BAGHDAD — The U.S.-led coalition has captured a senior Iranian operative who helped finance and equip Shi'ite militias..... (more)

Terror site provides travel guide for Iraq-bound jihadists

Terror site provides travel guide for Iraq-bound jihadists An Internet site has posted instructions that walk terrorists through routes to Al Qaim and Mosul in Iraq to fight with Islamists in the insurgency. Jihadists are expected to walk across the border from Syria to Al Qaim. BBC

The two routes pass through Syria, and one respondent noted that a coordinator was needed to avoid capture. Syrian security is active in the Al Bukman area.

The two routes include flying to Syria or to Lebanon and then Syria. Once in Syria jihadists are told how best to reach Al Qaim or Mosul.... (more)

Coalition rolls up 100-woman suicide cell in raid of Iraq safe house

BAGHDAD — Iraq has captured an Al Qaida-aligned cell that recruited and deployed women for suicide operations...... (more)

HA, HA. THIS IS JUST TOO RICH

From NewsBusters:
Time's Halperin Ignores Obama's Liberal Record, Sees 'Centrist'

Ignoring National Journal's recent finding that Barack Obama had the most liberal voting record in the U.S. Senate in 2007, Time Magazine's senior political analyst Mark Halperin, appearing on Thursday's American Morning on CNN, claimed that both Obama and John McCain were "centrists" as he explained New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's recent decision not to run for President. Citing Bloomberg's intent to run only if both major parties nominated extreme candidates, Halperin explained: "He ended up with two guys who are centrists."

What a joke: Obama is a centrist. If this is true, then any day now monkees will fly out of my .... Oh, never mind.

You can see National Journal's 2007 rankings here.

Obama’s NAFTA Dance: Goolsbee “misquoted”

Clinic That May Have Infected 40,000 With HIV, Hepatitis Closed

FOXNews.com:

The city of Las Vegas has shut down a clinic where up to 40,000 people may have been exposed to hepatitis C and the HIV virus through the reuse of syringes and vials, officials said on Sunday.....

Bill Clinton: The Bitter Half

By Karen Tumulty

The former President was supposed to be a major weapon in his wife's campaign. But is he to blame for its problems?

Colombia accuses Chávez of funding Marxist terrorists
Guardian, UK

Venezuela and Colombia were locked in a tense stand-off yesterday, with Bogotá making explosive accusations against Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez a day ...

Afghanistan: Mobile-Phone Towers Are Taliban's New Target

RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY:

Local officials in Afghanistan's southern Helmand Province said gunmen destroyed a mobile-phone tower in the Sangin district on March 2.

It follows two attacks on telecommunication towers in neighboring Kandahar Province on February 29 and March 1 after a Taliban demand that all telephone signals be turned off during the evening and overnight......

Mark Hillman:
If principles matter, so does McCain

Will our nation trend in a direction that is generally conservative or one that reverses modest gains of the past 28 years and lurches toward cradle-to-grave paternalism?

Washington Times:
South America on brink of war

BBC:
Monitors criticize Russian election

South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP:
US Launches Airstrike in Somalia

U.N. council imposes new sanctions on defiant Iran

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council ratcheted up sanctions on Iran on Monday for refusing to suspend nuclear enrichment and other sensitive activities, but Tehran dismissed the decision as illegal. FULL STORY.

Top U.S. Democrat: accord near on spy bill, immunity

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives may soon resolve a stalemate that has blocked efforts to renew an anti-terrorism spy law and shield phone companies from lawsuits, a key Democrat said on Sunday.......

Support the Troops by Untying Their Hands
By Chuck Muth

Barack Obama’s website says, “Support the Troops. End the War.” But if Democrats like Obama truly want to “support the troops,” they’d put pressure on the Pentagon to stop prosecuting them for doing their jobs. The latest outrage is this month’s court martial of two heroic Marines over the so-called Haditha “massacre.” War is hell. And those civilians died because Iraqi insurgents tried to hide in the civilians’ homes after trying to blow up an entire squad of Marines…

Obama’s Former Friend
By Robert D. Novak

As Sen. Barack Obama nears the Democratic presidential nomination, a corruption trial of his former fund-raiser Antoin (Tony) Rezko on charges of influence peddling begins in Chicago on Monday. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s operatives have tried frantically, but not effectively, to interest U.S. news media outside Chicago in Obama’s possible connection with his home state’s latest major scandal…

RELATED NEWS:
Reuters:
Trial Begins for Obama Fundraiser

Americans See More Progress in Iraq, Poll Says
The latest Pew Research Center poll shows that most Americans now believe the war in Iraq will succeed; that Republicans, Democrats and Independents all see signs of growing progress in the effort; and that only 14 percent of those polled want an immediate withdrawal from Iraq...

Obama: Sermon on Mount Justifies Same-Sex Unions
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told a crowd at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, Sunday that he believes the Sermon on the Mount justifies his support for legal recognition of same-sex unions. He also said his position in favor of legalized abortion does not make him “less Christian” .............

Republic of Fear

Germany's political class is paralyzed as the country drifts to the left.

Budget Binge

Populism trumps growth in India's new budget.

What should we think of mothers who urge their children to become terrorists?

Read Worshippers of Death
BY ALAN M. DERSHOWITZ

Well according to many on the left, if we could only sit down and "talk with them" and get rid of Bush and promise to end pollution and stop global warming and let them destroy Israel and convert to Islam and turn the entire world into one large caliphate then maybe ... just maybe ... we would not have mothers doing this kind of thing....

Anyway, go read what Mr. Dershowitz has to say, here.

Obama and Chicago Mores

WSJ.com:

On Tuesday, Barack Obama may well wrap up the Democratic nomination. Yet how he rose so quickly in Chicago's famously suspect politics -- and who his associates were there -- has received little scrutiny. That may change today as the trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, Mr. Obama's friend of two decades and his campaign fund-raiser, gets under way in federal court in Chicago. Mr. Rezko, a master fixer in Illinois politics, is charged with....

President 'Whatever'

WSJ.com:

Russians yesterday "elected" 42-year-old lawyer Dmitry Medvedev, but the truth is that Vladimir Putin made sure power would stay in his hands. Mr. Medvedev gets a new office and some powers of appointment. But Mr. Putin will soon become Prime Minister and can count on support from cronies across the government who depend on him for their survival. Mr. Medvedev refused to debate his notional opponents, all pre-approved by the Kremlin; gave no press conference; and spent a single day campaigning.........

“We now have a pro-American President of France. And, in spite of what some radicals say, I think we should have a pro-American President of the United States.”

—Martin Silbermintz

“We may not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex—but Congress can.”

—Cullen Hightower

“We’d all like to vote for the best man but he’s never a candidate.”

—Kin Hubbard

“The government solution to any problem is usually at least as bad as the problem.”

—Milton Friedman

Chávez Sends Forces to Colombian Border

New York Times

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela threatened Colombia with war on Sunday, mobilizing troops, tank units and fighter jets near the border between the countries after Colombian security forces killed a senior guerrilla in a rebel group that has warm ties with Venezuela’s government......