Bloviating Zeppelin

• Obama: War Against The Catholic Faith
  "You have to pass the bill so that you can find out what's in it."
  
  --Nancy Pelosi on ObakaKare, one of the most idiotic statements ever made in politics
  
  
  
  And apparently people are beginning to finally realize what's in it, and they're not much amused. Particularly when people sense that it declares open war on the Catholic faith.
  
  Let me make this clear: I'm not Catholic. I keep my religious faith close, not public. And I realize that the Catholic Church isn't perfect -- certainly not any number of its priests. As a matter of fact, I may as well write it now: I'm not a large believer in organized religions. When I wrote the post "Church or Heart," I summed it up: I keep God in my heart. I don't believe you need an edifice to worship the Lord. Jesus didn't need one. And, frankly, I'm not much of a "joiner."
  
  That said, here is a truthful letter from Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput which sums up Obama's assault on religion:
  

  February 1, 2012
  
  Dear friends in Christ,
  
  The United States Department of Health and Human Services announced on January 20 that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception. Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those “services” in the health policies they write. And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.
  
  In so ruling, the current Administration has undermined both the principle of religious conscience and the First Amendment to the Constitution in an unprecedented way. Unless the ruling is overturned, faithful Catholics will be forced either to violate our consciences, or to drop health coverage for our employees and suffer the penalties for doing so. The Administration’s only concession was to give our institutions a one-year delay to comply. This is not merely inadequate. It is dangerous. And it betrays the good faith of many Catholics who -- until now -- have supported the current Administration with an honest will.
  
  Bishops and lay Catholic leaders across the United States have made it clear that we cannot comply with this unjust law without compromising our convictions and undermining the Catholic identity of many of our service ministries. This is not just another important issue among the many we need to be concerned about. This ruling is different. This ruling interferes with the basic right of Catholic citizens to organize and work for the common good as Catholics in the public square.
  
  Today, I ask of you two things. First, we need to pray for our country, for our Church, and for our own right to work freely as a believing community through our ministries in the public square. Second, we need to act. Please visit the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference website at www.pacatholic.org to learn how to contact your federal Representative and Senators. Write them, call them, visit them -- and help them understand the deep resistance of Pennsylvania Catholics to this dangerous ruling. Please also visit www.usccb.org/conscience, to learn more about this attack on religious conscience, and how to work to reverse the Administration’s decision.
  
  Your action on this issue matters -- not just today but for many years to come; and in ways that will shape the ability of the Church to witness the Gospel publicly through her ministries well into the future. Please know that you have my gratitude and daily prayers. And please remember me in your prayers as well.
  Sincerely yours in Christ,
  
  Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. Archbishop of Philadelphia

  
  ObakaKare mandates that hospitals -- all hospitals -- provide, essentially, free hot and cold running abortions. And not only if you "take" federal funds. Across the board. Period.
  
  Hugh Hewitt writes about this here, and here, and here, and here.
  
  Finally, let me close with this quote, please:
  

  When the Nazis came for the communists,
  I remained silent;
  I was not a communist.
  
  When they locked up the social democrats,
  I remained silent;
  I was not a social democrat.
  
  When they came for the trade unionists,
  I did not speak out;
  I was not a trade unionist.
  
  When they came for the Jews,
  I remained silent;
  I wasn't a Jew.
  
  When they came for me,
  there was no one left to speak out.

  
  Our current completely secular government is coming for the Catholics. Clearly, they've purposely managed to not read any of the quotes literally "etched in stone" on numerous historic DC buildings, the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights.
  
  And this is wrong.
  
  You have made a terrible, terrible mistake, Obama, and HHS.
  
  BZ
  
  
  
  
• More of the Same
  Not only does Mr Obama require a TelePrompter to spit out this drivel, but his drivel never changes. Rentoon, rentoon, rentoon:
  
  

  
  

  BZ

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
• Read This:
  
  Here.
  
  
  Then tell me what you think.
  
  
  BZ
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Super Bowl Sunday: 21 to 17, New York Giants WIN
  New England Patriots or New York Giants?
  
  
  BZ
  
  
  P.S.
  How about this urban myth:
  
  
  Flushing the toilet at halftime is perfectly fine. There's an urban legend that our nation's sewer system is put on the brink of collapse during halftime of the Super Bowl, since so many people will be flushing at the same time. It's not. Who better to debunk this myth than the fine people at Roto-Rooter? They say it's fine ‒ municipal sewer systems are built to handle anything you can throw at them. Flush freely.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Egypt: DON'T Use Our Constitution As An Example
  
  Just when you thought you've heard or read the most frightening things. . .
  
  
  
  
  
  . . .up steps the former General Counsel for the ACLU and now SCOTUS jurist, Ruth Bader Ginsburg -- sworn to uphold the US Constitution -- telling another country, Egypt, that she doesn't believe in the US Constitution.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Asked by the interviewer if she thought Egypt should use the Constitutions of other countries as a model, Ginsburg said Egyptians should be “aided by all Constitution-writing that has gone on since the end of World War II.”

  
  

  “I would not look to the U.S. Constitution, if I were drafting a Constitution in the year 2012. I might look at the Constitution of South Africa,” says Ginsburg, whom President Clinton nominated to the court in 1993. “That was a deliberate attempt to have a fundamental instrument of government that embraced basic human rights, had an independent judiciary. … It really is, I think, a great piece of work that was done. Much more recent than the U.S. Constitution.”

  
  

  
  
  People tend to characterize the US Constitution in an incorrect fashion. As I wrote here, back in May of 2010, our Constitution addresses positive as well as negative rights.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And that's what Leftists don't care about.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Again, as I wrote back in 2010:
  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  POSITIVE vs NEGATIVE RIGHTS:

  
  
  

  Our current Constitution frames much of what we value in terms of what we cannot do.
  

  
  

  - The government cannot engage in unreasonable searches and seizures

  
  

  - It cannot inflict cruel and unusual punishment

  
  
  

  And therefore, the individual has a right to NOT be subject to various items, and so forth.

  
  
  

  By our current Constitution, it does NOT "guarantee" so-called "rights" to such things as housing, clothing, food, jobs -- rights that place upon the state to obtain the resources from other citizens to pay for them.

  
  
  

  Let me make this abundantly clear: "RIGHTS THAT PLACE UPON THE STATE TO OBTAIN THE RESOURCES FROM OTHER CITIZENS TO PAY FOR THEM."

  
  
  

  Leftists wish to enable a solid "privileges or immunities clause" which becomes open-ended and -- therefore -- susceptible to specific 'interpretation" by such pre-chosen federal judges!

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The clear and sad bottom line is this -- but, in truth, considering the individual, none of us should be shocked -- RBG doesn't believe in nor advocates the Constitution that she has foresworn to uphold. Because it's old. It's staid. It's not a proverbial "Living Document." And it doesn't take into account the laws of other nations.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I'd care to remind you that it was, again, Ruth Bader Ginsburg who, in 2009, said that justices should take foreign laws into account when making their SCOTUS decisions.
  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says it’s ok for U.S. judges to use foreign law for guidance in their own decisions.

  
  

  The courts four conservative members – Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas – oppose the use of foreign law in constitutional cases.

  
  

  “I frankly don’t understand all the brouhaha lately from Congress and even from some of my colleagues about referring to foreign law,” Ginsburg said Friday in a symposium honoring her at Ohio State University, The New York Times reports.

  
  

  Ginsburg says she’s fine with the idea that a U.S. court shouldn’t consider itself bound by the precedent established in international law.

  
  

  But she’s also fine with the idea that a U.S. court can be influenced by strong reasoning from overseas.

  
  

  “Why shouldn’t we look to the wisdom of a judge from abroad with at least as much ease as we would read a law review article written by a professor?” she says.

  
  

  The Supreme Court’s reluctance to take into account foreign law has caused its global influence to wane, Ginsburg argues.

  
  

  Frankly, I must admit, I couldn't care less about how our Supreme Court is viewed globally. I only want SCOTUS to utilize domestic precedence in their considerations.
  
  I suppose that either makes me a zealot or a terrorist. Take your pick. Damn me for believing that our Supreme Court should take only our national laws into consideration in terms of its rulings.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Imagine purple Leftist skies. Imagine Whirled Peas. Now imagine the United States unconstrained by its ancient and outdated document created by elderly white boys.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  BZ
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The Forgotten Man
  
  By Jon McNaughton.
  
  What does this mean to you?
  
  BZ
  
  
  
  
• Israel & Iran: The Nuke Issue
  
  
  

  Israel Vice PM: Military strike can hit all of Iran's nuclear facilities

  Speaking at Herzliya Conference, Moshe Ya’alon calls the possibility of a nuclear Iran a 'nightmare to the free world,' says explosion at Iranian missile base targeted missile system that would have threatened the U.S.

  All of Iran's nuclear faculties are vulnerable to a military strike, Vice Prime Minister and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Thursday, calling the potential of a nuclear Iran a "nightmare to the free world."

  
  
  But here's the point:
  

  Speaking of the possibility of a military strike of Iran's nuclear facilities, the vice PM said that "the West has the ability to strike, but as long as Iran isn't convinced that there's a determination to follow through with it, they'll continue with their manipulations."

  
  That said, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta commented on the issue, reported in The Washington Post:
  

  Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has a lot on his mind these days, from cutting the defense budget to managing the drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. But his biggest worry is the growing possibility that Israel will attack Iran over the next few months.

  Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June — before Iran enters what Israelis described as a “zone of immunity” to commence building a nuclear bomb. Very soon, the Israelis fear, the Iranians will have stored enough enriched uranium in deep underground facilities to make a weapon — and only the United States could then stop them militarily.

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t want to leave the fate of Israel dependent on American action, which would be triggered by intelligence that Iran is building a bomb, which it hasn’t done yet.

  Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak may have signaled the prospect of an Israeli attack soon when he asked last month to postpone a planned U.S.-Israel military exercise that would culminate in a live-fire phase in May. Barak apologized that Israel couldn’t devote the resources to the annual exercise this spring.

  President Obama and Panetta are said to have cautioned the Israelis that the United States opposes an attack, believing that it would derail an increasingly successful international economic sanctions program and other non-military efforts to stop Iran from crossing the threshold. But the White House hasn’t yet decided precisely how the United States would respond if the Israelis do attack.

  The Obama administration is conducting intense discussions about what an Israeli attack would mean for the United States: whether Iran would target U.S. ships in the region or try to close the Strait of Hormuz; and what effect the conflict and a likely spike in oil prices would have on the fragile global economy.

  Let me be blunt: there is only one reason that Leon Panetta would publicly proffer a timetable for Israel to potentially attack Iran. And that is to actively foil said potential attack by Israel, because the United States' policy is to be uninvolved and to, instead, rely upon harsh language, sarcasm and "sanctions." Mr Obaka would still rather "monitor" and be "concerned."
  
  And this in the face of new information indicating that Iran has no problem whatsoever in hitting the US on its own sovereign soil, as reported here by The Washington Post.
  
  I've already written about the threatened closing of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and its likely results. That would be here, and here, and here, and here.
  
  This may be a very dangerous and unstable summer on any number of levels. Be forewarned and forearmed.
  
  BZ
  
  
  
  
• Taxes and More Taxes: CBO
  
  Mr Obama is lowering taxes every day. He tells us this every day.
  
  
  He feels your pain. He knows you want jobs. Good jobs. Well-paying jobs. Starting at $50,000 a year for doing nothing, with no requisite training, education or experience.
  
  
  He's already created 974,000,000 new jobs, created 179,000 new Fortune 500 companies, saved the global auto industry twice, turned water into wine, and shined your shoes while you were asleep last night.
  
  
  Really?
  
  
  Then why does the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) -- your CBO, Mr Obama -- indicate that taxes will "shoot up by more than 30%" between 2012 and 2014?

  (CNSNews.com) - The amount of money the federal government takes out of the U.S. economy in taxes will increase by more than 30 percent between 2012 and 2014, according to the Budget and Economic Outlookpublished today by the CBO.

  
  
  And why is it that the CBO also indicates actual unemployment is at 10%?

  Had that portion of the decline in the labor force participation rate since 2007 that is attributable to neither the aging of the baby boomers nor the downturn in the business cycle (on the basis of the experience in previous downturns) not occurred, the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2011 would have been about 1¼ percentage points higher than the actual rate of 8.7 percent" translation: CBO just admitted that the BLS numbers are bogus and real unemployment is 10%. Thank you.

  And since we're on a truth kick, how about Truth In Housing:

  The U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday that the nation's homeownership rate fell to 66% in the fourth quarter, continuing a seven-year drop from a fourth-quarter peak of 69.2% in 2004.

  At the same time, U.S. home prices fell 1.3% in November from October and were 3.7% below 2010 levels, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index indicates.

  Falling homeownership — and prices — reflect the worst housing downturn since the Great Depression. And while there are signs that the housing industry's downturn may at least be nearing a bottom, the impact of the collapse will be evident for years to come, economists say.

  
  
  So let's yell "hoo-rah!" once again for Mr Obama and his whirlwind "Break America In 2012" tour! So far, so good, sir!
  
  
  BZ
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Fornicalia: Broke By March
  
  And this is news?
  
  Jerry Brown has been lying to the electorate ever since his installation as current governor in 2011. And so has the Demorat-controlled legislature. It is unbridled and profligate spending, by Demorats, that has put Fornicalia in its current untenable and dangerous position, lowered its credit rating and guaranteed this March outcome.
  
  There can be no doubt that this was done purposely by Demorat politicians.
  
  It amazes me that people appear to be actually shocked at this outcome. What part of "you spend more than your revenues" do people not comprehend? Particularly in light of the fact that, unlike the federal government, Fornicalia cannot print its own money.
  
  Out of every Fornicalia politician, State Controller John Chiang -- yes, a Demorat himself -- has had more balls than every other state politician combined. Yes, the John Chiang who, when Fornicalia didn't reach a budget last year, had the temerity to withhold checks to politicians. And they sued! Because they were pissed! Because there were actual consequences to being stupid! How dare there be consequences! We're Fornicalia politicians! We are inviolate! Untouchable! How dare you disturb our feeding!
  
  Imagine that.
  
  Fornicalia politicians continue to live in an alternate reality, one not encountered on this planet or in this dimension. In their reality, increased taxes create more jobs, increased regulations create a more perfect peace, and embracing illegal immigrants and paying for their schooling and medical care creates a symbiosis and greater vote base. [That much, however, in re the votes, is correct.]
  
  More and more Fornicalians -- or, as I should more precisely say, denizens -- simply want more and more Free Cheese.
  
  From my local newspaper, The Sacramento Bee:
  

  January 31, 2012

  Controller: State to run out of cash in March without action

  California will run out of cash by early March if the state does not take swift action to find $3.3 billion through payment delays and borrowing, according to a letter state Controller John Chiang sent to state lawmakers today.

  The announcement is surprising since lawmakers previously believed the state had enough cash to last through the fiscal year that ends in June.

  But Chiang said additional cash management solutions are needed because state tax revenues are $2.6 billion less than what Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers assumed in their optimistic budget last year. Meanwhile, Chiang said, the state is spending $2.6 billion more than state leaders planned on.

  The Assembly budget committee approved a bill today that would enable $865 million of borrowing from existing state accounts, Senate Bill 95. Chiang, after consultation with the Department of Finance and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, is also seeking about $2.4 billion in delayed payments to universities, counties and Medi-Cal, as well as additional borrowing from outside investors.

  Absent these actions, the state would fall below its prudent $2.5 billion cash cushion on Feb. 29, Chiang estimated. On March 8, the state would actually end up $730 million in the red. The state would be below the safe cash cushion for several weeks ending April 13, save for several days at the end of March.

  Fornicalia politicians come and suck at the public trough, sue when their paychecks are withheld for not doing their jobs, and then act stunned when confronted with common sense and reality.
  
  Again, did I mention: the state is controlled by Demorats. And business continues to flee Fornicalia -- businesses huge and small -- in droves, as documented in great detail here.
  
  Imagine that.
  
  Fornicalia Demorats are shocked! Shocked, I tell you!
  
  BZ
  
  
  
  
• Monday Conundrums
  
  I write this post on Sunday, in reflection of the day in general and a conflucnce of incidents that have somehow managed to place us all here, today, in this precise locus and flow of time and events.
  
  
  I aim to tie it together; my aim may be off and I admit that freely up front. I am a small blog in a huge, HUGE pond and -- it still amazes me -- if I continue to have readers I can be placed into the "astounded" category.
  
  
  I can only THANK my readers for sticking by me through thick and thin and all points in between. I am not the slickest blog or the prettiest blog or the most technical blog and -- again -- I admit this readily up front. I am akin to a Techno-Luddite.
  
  
  That said, I can only hope that people may still continue to read me because I proffer some truths now and then.
  
  
  Some truths that you can't or won't read on other media forms because people fear this. They fear the truth. They fear the consumate triumvirate of training, education and -- mostly -- experience.
  
  
  Which leads me to an overall evaluation of our current state of Conservative Politics. As of today: Monday, 1-30-12.
  Romney and Gingrich are fighting each other. My take on both:
  
  
  ROMNEY:
  Too slick for his own good. Never a hair out of place. I couldn't care less about his Mormonism -- BUT -- his Mormonism wasn't evidently sufficiently in place for him to object to abortions earlier. Or gay marriage. Or state-mandated healthcare. Or increased taxes. A publicly-hocked lugie wouldn't stick to his visage. And he has more money than Croesus. On the other hand:
  
  
  Romney has a private business acumen that is rivaled by few. He took Bain Capital to new heights. He actually DID create NEW jobs as opposed to Obaka Spiritual Jobs. He turned the Olympics around. He is known, to a select few, as an Improver. You give him a private sector problem and he'll turn it around for profitability. The problem he must overcome is this: profit is now considered EVIL and, with it, himself as EVIL. Bottom line: if anyone can fix capital problems, it's Romney.
  
  
  His religion keeps him personally faithful. But is everything else up for grabs? Is he what you wish to be when you wish him to be it?
  
  
  But WHO is he -- exactly??
  
  
  GINGRICH:
  Yes, former Speaker of the House. And no one, NO ONE, disputes his innate intelligence. Wherever he goes, no one with a whit of brainpower denies that he's "the smartest man in the room."
  
  
  That said, is he and will he be the most Sensible Man In The Room?
  
  
  Truly, no one knows. Gingrich is Jekyll and Hyde. One face one day or moment, another face or moment another day or moment.
  
  
  And like a number of men in power, he went through women like some people go through toilet paper. It's about the power. No more than that.
  
  
  If it was terrible for Clinton, it should be terrible for Gingrich. But it isn't. Because things are skewed. Gingrich married his squeezes. Clinton just fucked them and moved on with impunity and predominantly wasn't called on it until the very end of his White House.
  
  
  CLINTON vs GINGRICH:
  The former wife of Newt Gingrich made reference to an "open marriage" and, now, Newt is taken to task for that.
  
  
  Contrast and compare:
  
  
  When was the last time, do you think, that Hillary and William actually enjoyed conjugal relations? Or even slept in the same zip code?
  
  
  RON PAUL:
  Mr Paul is a Truther and a Nutcase. He associates with white supremacists. He has great ideas about our monetary system and the Rederal Reserve. He tends to go Constitutionalist. He is for Less Government. No debt. States' rights.
  
  
  He thinks drugs should be legalized. He thinks our borders should be porous. He thinks we should have no interest or reference to extranational affairs.
  
  
  That crazy crap just can't stand.
  
  
  And so: imagine that Republicans haven't come to a one-focal-length intensity point.
  
  
  Illuminate me. Tell me where I'm wrong.
  
  
  Hit me on second base.
  
  
  BZ
  
  
  
  
• Sunday Thoughts: A Doctor Responds to The Greatest Generation
  
  And this isn't simply a roundly e-mail, it's based in fact from the late 1990s regarding The Greatest Generation:
  
  PRELUDE:
  

  Stephen R. Ellison

  Dr. Stephen R. Ellison is a native of San Marcos, TX and a graduate of Jack C. Hays high school in Kyle, TX. He received his B.S. in Biology from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, TX in 1987 before enlisting as a Private First Class medic in the U.S. Army, serving in the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, GA. He was the Enlisted Honor Graduate of his Ranger School class and participated in the parachute assault of Torrorrijos/Tocumen Airport, Panama during Operation: Just Cause.

  In 1991, then Sergeant Ellison was accepted to medical school at the University Of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio on a U.S. Army scholarship. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree and promotion to Captain in 1995. His transitional internship was performed at Brooke Army Medical Center. He then served as the initial company commander and program director for the new Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center, Ft. Bragg, NC.

  In 2001 he Graduated from the joint Brooke Army Medical Center – Wilford Hall Medical Center Emergency Medicine Residency in San Antonio, TX and was promoted to the rank of Major. While stationed at Ft. Hood, TX assigned to the 36th Medical Evacuation Battalion, Major Ellison was deployed in support of Operation: Iraqi Freedom during the initial phase of combat operations into Iraq. Attached to the 3rd Infantry Division, Major Ellison was one of the first medical personnel to arrive at Saddam Hussein International Airport on April 5, 2003 during the initial operations to secure Baghdad.

  Dr. Ellison currently resides in Central Texas with his wife and children. He resigned from the Army in 2004 but continues to see many military retirees and dependents in the Emergency Departments he now attends.

  RESPONSE FROM A DOCTOR:
  
  

  RESPONSE FROM A DOCTOR

  RE: Earn This:

  Your note about the movie Saving Private Ryan touched me deeply. As you know I am a doctor specializing in Emergency Medicine in the Emergency Departments of the only two military Level One trauma centers. They are both in San Antonio, TX and they care for civilian emergencies as well as military personnel. San Antonio has the largest military retiree population in the world living here because of the location of these two large military medical centers.

  As a military doctor in training for my specialty I work long hours and the pay is less than glamorous. One tends to become jaded by the long hours, lack of sleep, food, family contact and the endless parade of human suffering passing before you. The arrival of another ambulance does not mean more pay, only more work. Most often it is a victim from a motor vehicle crash. Often it is a person of dubious character who has been shot or stabbed. With our large military retiree population it is often a nursing home patient. Even with my enlisted service and minimal combat experience in Panama prior to medical school, I have caught myself groaning when the ambulance brought in yet another sick, elderly person from one of the local retirement centers that cater to military retirees. I had not stopped to think of what citizens of this age group represented.

  I saw Saving Private Ryan. I was touched deeply. Not so much by the carnage in the first 30 minutes but by the sacrifices of so many. I was touched most by the scene of the elderly survivor at the graveside asking his wife if he’d been a good man. I realized that I had seen these same men and women coming through my Emergency Department and had not realized what magnificent sacrifices they had made. The things they did for me and everyone else that has lived on this planet since the end of that conflict are priceless.

  Situation permitting I now try to ask my patients about their experiences. They would never bring up the subject without the inquiry. I have been privileged to an amazing array of experiences recounted in the brief minutes allowed in an Emergency Department encounter. These experiences have revealed the incredible individuals I have had the honor of serving in a medical capacity, many on their last admission to the hospital.

  There was a frail, elderly woman who reassured my young enlisted medic trying to start an IV line in her arm. She remained calm and poised despite her illness and the multiple needle-sticks into her fragile veins. She was what we call a “hard stick.” As the medic made another attempt I noticed a number tattooed across her forearm. I touched it with one finger and looked into her eyes. She simply said “Auschwitz.” Many of later generations would have loudly and openly berated the young medic in his many attempts. How different was the response from this person who’d seen unspeakable suffering.

  A long retired Colonel who as a young USN officer had parachuted from his burning plane over a pacific island held by the Japanese. Now an octogenarian, his head cut in a fall at home where he lived alone. His CT scan and suturing had been delayed until after midnight by the usual parade of high priority ambulance patients. Still spry for his age, he asked to use the phone to call a taxi to take him home then realized his ambulance had brought him without his wallet. He asked if he could use the phone to make a long distance call to his daughter who lived 70 miles away. With great pride we told him that he could not as he’d done enough for his country and the least we could do was get him a taxi home, even if we had to pay for it ourselves. My only regret was that my shift wouldn’t end for several hours and I couldn’t drive him myself.

  I was there the night MSG Roy Benavidez came through the Emergency Department for the last time. He was very sick. I was not the doctor taking care of him but I walked to his bedside and took his hand. I said nothing. He was so sick he didn’t know I was there. I’d read his Congressional Medal of Honor citation and wanted to shake his hand. He died a few days later.

  The gentleman who served with Merrill’s Marauders, the survivor of the Bataan Death March, the survivor Omaha Beach, the 101 year old World War I veteran, the former POW held in frozen North Korea, the former Special Forces medic now with non-operable liver cancer, the former Vietnam Corps Commander. I remember these citizens. I may still groan when yet another ambulance comes in but now I am much more aware of what an honor it is to serve these particular men and women. I am angered at the cut backs, implemented, and proposed, that will continue to decay their meager retirement benefits. I see the President and Congress who would turn their back on these individuals who’ve sacrificed so much to protect our liberty. I see later generations that seems to be totally engrossed in abusing these same liberties won with such sacrifice. It has become my personal endeavor to make the nurses and young enlisted medics aware of these amazing individuals when I encounter them in our Emergency Dept. Their response to these particular citizens has made me think that perhaps all is not lost in the next generation.

  My experiences have solidified my belief that we are losing an incredible generation and this nation knows not what it is losing. Our un-caring government, and ungrateful civilian populace should all take note. We should all remember that we must “Earn this.”

  Rangers Lead the Way!

  ©Copyright April 2000 by Captain Stephen R. Ellison, MD

  Author’s Note: This letter was written as a personal correspondence to a friend, Mr. Gene Tuttle, in April 2000 while Captain Ellison served in the U.S. Army under the administration of then President Clinton. Although not intended for widespread circulation, the email was forwarded to many others and has continued to circulate around the world. It is hoped that this letter will help bring focus to the difficulties faced by those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the United States.

  Dr Ellison’s article prompted the response, “From a Psychiatric Nurse” – ©Copyright April 2005 by Tish Mathis.

  Majoribus ingenero dies.
  

  BZ
  
  
  P.S.
  This is for you, Dad.
  
  
  
  
• Pushing The Envelope, Part VIII:
  The human being has always pushed the envelope into and beyond the realms of danger. This is the eighth of various weekend postings displaying how restless Man is with the mundane and how he purposely crosses the threshold into danger willingly -- and sometimes unwillingly.
  
  
  
  
  Car: 2004 Ford Mustang Cobra, 550 hp.
  
  
  Bikes: Triumph Speed Triples.
  
  
  BZ
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Tom McClintock on SOPA and PIPA:
  Again, how lucky I am that Mr Tom McClintock is my representative:
  
  
  
  As I wrote here, SOPA and PIPA are dangers to our very own First Amendment.
  
  It was reconsidered but only upon a hue and cry raised by the Groundlings of this nation. With Mr McClintock's voice officially and publicly included alongside!
  
  The transcript here, and below:
  

  House Chamber, Washington, D.C. - January 23, 2012

  Madam Speaker:

  Long ago, Jefferson warned, "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground." The exceptions to that rule have been few and far between recently, and ought to be celebrated when they occur.

  One did this past week with the announcement that supporters of the so-called "Stop On-Line Privacy Act" and the "Protect Intellectual Property Act" have indefinitely postponed their measures after an unprecedented protest across the Internet.

  SOPA and PIPA pose a crippling danger to the Internet because they use the legitimate concern over copy-right infringement as an excuse for government to intrude upon and regulate the very essence of the Internet - the unrestricted and absolutely free association that links site to site, providing infinite pathways for commerce, discourse and learning.

  It is not the Internet per se that has set the stage for the next quantum leap in human knowledge and advancement - but rather the free association at the core of the Internet. And this is precisely what SOPA and PIPA directly threaten.

  But as dangerous as this concept is to the Internet, it pales in comparison to the danger it poses to our fundamental freedoms as Americans.

  It is true that rogue web sites operating from off-shore havens, are stealing intellectual property and then selling it.

  We already have very good laws against that, as evidenced by the arrest yesterday of Mr. Kim Schmitz and his associates in New Zealand, who now stand accused of operating one of the biggest of these rogue sites.

  Theft of intellectual property is fundamentally no different than the theft of any other kind of property. It should be taken no less seriously than the thefts perpetrated by the likes of Bernie Madoff, John Dellinger or Willie Sutton.

  It is no different and it should be treated no differently. In every such case, it is the individual who commits the theft and the individual who is culpable and accountable to the law. And it is the individual who is accorded the right of due process, including the presumption of innocence, while he stands accused.

  This is what SOPA and PIPA destroy. Upon mere accusation, these measures would allow the government to shut down web sites, ruin honest businesses, impound property, disrupt legitimate speech and dragoon innocent third parties into enforcing laws that may or may not have been broken.

  When property is stolen, we hold accountable the individuals who knowingly commit the act, and place the burden of proof on the accuser. The accuser must demonstrate to the satisfaction of a jury that the defendant stole property or that he received property that he knew was stolen.

  Yes, it is a ponderous system. Yes, it means you actually have to provide evidence. Yes, it means you have to convince a jury. Yes, it means we can't catch and successfully prosecute every criminal. But the experience of mankind over the centuries has proven that this is the best possible way to protect the innocent and to protect our freedom while also punishing the guilty. In part, we punish the guilty to discourage others we might not be able to punish.

  And as the arrests yesterday in New Zealand prove, it works. Let Mr. Schmitz and his confederates be extradited and let them have their day in court. Let evidence be presented. Let a jury be convinced of that evidence. And if convicted of one of the greatest thefts in human history, let us mete out the full measure of punishment provided by the law to stand as a fearsome example to others.

  That doesn't and won't stop all theft and it isn't perfect. But to replace it with one where mere accusation can bring punishment or inflict ruinous costs upon innocent third parties, would introduce a despotic and destructive concept that is antithetical to the ancient rights that our government was formed to protect.

  The developments of the last few weeks have saved the Internet and saved these fundamental principles - at least for now. But Jefferson was right that the natural order is for government to grow at the expense of liberty. That is why we have our Constitution.

  And to the protection of that Constitution, the Internet has now empowered its rightful owners, "We, the People," to defend it more effectively than ever before.

  Which leads me, Madam Speaker, to conclude that because of the events of this past week, we will see many more victories for freedom in the days and years ahead.

  
  

  You can be guaranteed that the assaults upon our freedoms will continue under the current regime.
  

  Thank you for reading.
  
  BZ
  
  
  
  
• Brewer Stands Up To Obama
  
  And a nice photograph it is, also.
  
  Finally, a Republican who can stand up to Mr Obama. Directly. From ABCNews:
  

  Longstanding tension between Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Democratic President Barack Obama flared into the public spotlight Wednesday just after Air Force One touched down in Phoenix.

  Brewer, who was on the tarmac to greet Obama, hand-delivered a letter before engaging the president "intensely" for several minutes, including pointing her finger directly at him, according to Politico's Carrie Budoff Brown, acting as a pool reporter for other media outlets.

  Accounts from both camps later said the terse talk focused on Brewer's book - "Scorpions for Breakfast: My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media and Cynical Politicos to Secure America's Border."

  The book, which was released in November, describes a June 2010 Oval Office meeting between Obama and Brewer aimed at diffusing conflicts surrounding Arizona's controversial state immigration law and the administration's immigration policy.

  It is of great interest that I note these thoughts from Governor Brewer:
  

  Brewer complains in "Scorpions for Breakfast" that she and her staff were treated coldly by White House aides, prevented from taking pictures in the holding room outside the Oval Office and that their cell phones and cameras were "confiscated" by Secret Service.

  "Too bad we weren't illegal aliens, or we could have sued them," she writes.

  During her meeting with the president, Brewer said Obama was "condescending" and professorial, "lecturing" on his efforts to promote comprehensive immigration reform.

  "It wasn't long before I realized I was hearing the president's stump speech," she said. "Only I was supposed to listen without talking. Did he care to hear the view from the actual scene at the border? Did the opinions and observations of the people of Arizona mean anything to him? I didn't think so."

  "He was patronizing," she said. "Then it dawned on me: He's treating me like the cop he had over for a beer after he bad-mouthed the Cambridge police, I thought. He thinks he can humor me and then get rid of me."

  Imagine that. Obama patronizing, arrogant, lecturing, thin-skinned. I am shocked. Shocked, I tell you.
  
  BZ
  
  
  
  
• Israel, Iran and Syria: Two Months To Conflict?
  
  Candice Lanier in HumanEvents.com writes:
  

  Recent events in the Middle East would indicated that Israel, Syria and Iran are all making preparations for a regional war. According to information acquired by DEBKAfile, the conflict would likely ensue some time within the next two months.

  
  With that in mind, the Debkafile indicates that Mr Obama contacted Israeli PM Netanyahu in what was typified as an "angry phone call" following the unattributed killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan last Wednesday, Jan. 11th. The Debkafile writes that DC thinks Israel is going to attack Iran unilaterally. Following that phone call from Obama, in two words, Israel was pissed off. Further:
  

  Debkafile's exclusive sources report that the differences between the US and Israel surfaced before the tough Obama-Netanyahu conversation last Thursday (January 12th -BZ). Political, military and intelligence officials privately voiced resentment over the strong and unusual condemnation the White House and Secretary Clinton issued over the death of the Iranian nuclear scientist.

  By denying "absolutely" any US involvement in the killing, the administration implicitly pointed the finger at Israel – an unusual act in relations between two friendly governments, especially when both face a common issue as sensitive as a nuclear-armed Iran.
  

  Obama seemed to suspect that Israel staged the killing to torpedo yet another US secret effort to avoid a military confrontation with Iran through back channel contacts with Tehran, while the administration's extreme condemnation is seen as tying in with its all-out campaign to hold Israel back from a unilateral strike.

  Again with that in mind, it was Israel's Netanyahu who called off the joint powers exercise, Austere Challenge 12 -- and not Washington as reported -- because, as Debkafile notes:
  

  Netanyahu acted when he judged the Obama administration's resolve to preempt a nuclear Iran to be flagging. His action also aimed at freeing Israel's hands for a unilateral strike on Iran's nuclear sites - if necessary.

  
  Finally, from Debkafiles:
  

  The new round of European sanctions will not stop Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned in a radio interview Tuesday, Jan. 24. debkafile: The Obama administration and EU delayed oil sanctions to July 1 for back-channel contacts to ripen and produce a fresh round of nuclear talks with Tehran. Barak stressed Israel's hand was always near the trigger and advised taking "very seriously" Israel's military option which had not been taken off the table.

  To me, it appears obvious that Israel is on its own. Mr Obama has made it abundantly clear that he is no friend of Israel but still manages to find time to honor various and sundry Islamic persons and events, despite their clear goals.
  
  Any intervention by any country or entity into Iran with regard to its nuclear program will be painful, very painful, for the United States or any Western Nation dependent upon Middle Eastern oil. I've written about this countless times, most recently here.
  
  On the other hand, when the whip comes down, please remember that it was Mr Obama, the Demorats and the Religious Left who REFUSED to allow a Canadian oil pipeline into the country so that LOCAL and not MIDDLE EASTERN oil could more readily be supplied to the country.
  
  We are sitting, ourselves, on the Bakken Reserves -- an oil field that is thought to be equal or larger than any extant in the Middle East. We have large, untapped fields of natural gas. We have huge fields of oil off our very own coasts. And another large field in Alaska's ANWR.
  
  All of which we are NOT allowed to tap, so that we are FORCED to rely on the political intransigence of Middle Eastern countries, the chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz, and all the hate and discontent that naturally brings.
  
  When the lights go out, when the gas stops, when heating oil deliveries cease, perhaps it's time for these four words: "Thank you, Mr Obama."
  
  BZ
  
  
  
  

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