Author Archive

Renew Our Membership? We Think Not!

Comment:
We have received several emails claiming to be letters written to specific officials. As is our policy, we try to authenticate each one before we publish it for your review. This letter from Walt and Cyndy is indeed a true letter that was sent to the Executive Director of AARP. We believe that it is important to share it with you as it shows that the American People’s confidence in their President and Congress affects all aspects of their lives. ~ Editor

Response to Renewal Request

Dear Mr. Rand,

Recently you sent us a letter encouraging us to renew our lapsed membership in AARP by the requested date. I know it is not what you were looking for, but this is the most honest response I can give you. Our gap in coverage is merely a microscopic symptom of the real problem, a deepening lack of faith.

While we have proudly maintained our membership for several years and have long admired the AARP goals and principles, regrettably, we can no longer endorse it’s abdication of our values. Your letter specifically stated that we can count on AARP to speak up for our rights, yet the voice we hear is not ours. Your offer of being kept up to date on important issues through DIVIDED WE FAIL presents neither an impartial view nor the one we have come to embrace. We do believe that when two parties agree all the time on everything presented to them, one is probably not necessary. But, when the opinions and long term goals are diametrically opposed, the divorce is imminent. This is the philosophy which spawned our 200 years of government.

Once upon a time, we looked forward to being part of the senior demographic. We also looked to AARP to provide certain benefits and give our voice a power we could not possibly hope to achieve on our own. AARP gave us a sense of belonging which we no longer enjoy. The Socialist politics practiced by the Obama administration and empowered by AARP serves only to raise the blood pressure my medical insurance strives to contain. Clearly a conflict of interest there!

We do not understand the AARP posture, feel greatly betrayed by the guiding forces that we expected to map out our senior years and leave your ranks with a great sense of regret. We mitigate that disappointment with the relief of knowing that we are not contributing to the problem anymore by renewing our membership. There are numerous other organizations which offer discounts without threatening our way of life or offending our sensibilities.

This Presidential Administration scares the living daylights out of us. Not just for ourselves, but for our proud and bloodstained heritage. But even more importantly for our children and grandchildren. Washington has rendered Soylent Green a prophetic cautionary tale rather than a nonfiction scare tactic. I have never in my life endorsed any militant or radical groups, yet now I find myself listening to them. I don’t have to agree with them to appreciate the fear which birthed their existence. Their borderline insanity presents little more than a balance to the voice of the Socialist mindset in power. Perhaps I became American by a great stroke of luck in some cosmic uterine lottery, but in my adulthood I CHOOSE to embrace it and nurture the freedoms it represents as well as the responsibilities it requires.

Your website generously offers us the opportunity to receive all communication in Spanish. ARE YOU KIDDING??? Someone has broken into our ‘house’, invaded our home without our invitation or consent. The President has insisted we keep the perpetrator in comfort and learn the perp language so we can communicate our reluctant welcome to them.

I DON’T choose to welcome them.

I DON’T choose to support them.

I DON’T choose to educate them.

I DON’T choose to medicate them, pay for their food or clothing.

American home invaders get arrested.

Please explain to me why foreign lawbreakers can enjoy privileges on American soil that Americans do not get?

Why do some immigrants have to play the game to be welcomed and others only have to break & enter to be welcomed?

We travel for a living. Walt hauls horses all over this great country, averaging over 10,000 miles a month when he is out there. He meets more people than a politician on caffeine overdose. Of all the many good folks he enjoyed on this last 10,000 miles, this trip yielded only ONE supporter of the current administration. One of us is out of touch with mainstream America. Since our poll is conducted without funding, I have more faith in it than one which is power driven.

We have decided to forward this to everyone on our mailing list, and will encourage them to do the same. With several hundred in my address book, I have every faith that the eventual exponential factor will make a credible statement to you.

I am disappointed as hell.

I am scared as hell.

I am MAD as hell, and I’m NOT gonna take it anymore!

Walt & Cyndy
Miller Farms Equine Transport

May 27, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Manhattan Project Engineer Writes President Truman

Dated May 24 1945, the letter was from an unknown engineer named O.C.Brewster of 23 East 11th Street, New York City. He worked on uraniumisotope separation for S-1, but who, since the defeat of Germany, had been tormented over what the release of the energy “locked up in the atom” might mean for the future of the world.

“Dear Mr. President,
The idea of the destruction of civilization is not melodramatic hysteria or crackpot raving. It is a very real and, I submit, almost an inevitable result. Obviously, however, so long as there was any chance that Germany might succeed at this task there was only one course to follow and that was to do everything in our power to get this thing first and destroy Germany before she had a chance to destroy us…So long as the threat of Germany existed we had to proceed with all speed….

With the threat of Germany removed we must stop this project.

I do not, of course, want to propose to jeopardize the war with Japan, but horrible as it may seem, I know it would be better to take greater causalities now in conquering Japan than to bring upon the world the tragedy of unrestrained competitive production of this material….

In the name of the future of our country and of the peace of the world, I beg you, sir, not to pass this matter off because I happen to be known,without influence or name in the public eye.

O. C. Brewster
May 24th, 1945″

In the early stages of the project, like many others, Brewster had hoped it would prove to be conclusively impossible. The letter was addressed to President Harry Truman prior to the president’s approval of the“atomic bomb” attack on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Brewster urged a demonstration of one “atomic bomb” on a target in Japan, but then no further production of nuclear material.

Comment:

It was 1945 and the aircraft carrier INTREPID, was operating off the coast of Japan with Task Force 38/58. The VBF Squadron was flying F4U4s in preparation for the invasion of Japan when we learned that President Truman had approved of the use of an atomic bomb. The Enola Gay, a B-29, and crew had departed Saipan armed with one nuclear bomb. They dropped a single bomb and “nuked” the Japanese city of Hiroshima; killing hundreds of thousands of people and totally destroying the city.

On board the INTREPID there were cheers, shouts, and celebrations. “How to go Harry!” We won’t have to invade Japan! World War ll in the Pacific was over.

It took the Allies years during World War ll at a cost of millions of lives, millions of tons of bombs, and tens of thousands of aircraft to subdue Berlin, the German capitol and ultimately end World II in Europe.

A single B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, and its crew armed with an “atomic bomb” totally destroyed Hiroshima, a major Japanese city, and killed and maimed millions ofJapanese in a single day and ended World War II in Asia.

A new and dangerous world was born. Today, every American Citizen, our Nation and the Free World are threatened as O.C Brewster predicted sixty three years ago with “unrestrained competitive production of this material”….

May 24, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

National Maritime Day 2010 ~ Presidential Proclamation

A Proclamation

Even before our Nation declared independence, our forebears recognized the importance of merchant ships and seafarers to our economic and national security. Since 1775, America’s maritime fleet has risen to the challenges before them and worked to meet our country’s needs in times of peace and war alike. On National Maritime Day, we recognize the men and women of the United States Merchant Marine for their contributions to America’s leadership in the global marketplace, and to our security.

Civilian mariners and their ships have played an important role in equipping our military forces at sea in national conflicts. During World War II, they executed the largest sealift the world had ever known, and thousands gave their lives to help convoys with desperately needed supplies reach our troops. Their service to our Nation continues today. Merchant mariners support military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as humanitarian missions, including the delivery of supplies to Haiti following this year’s devastating earthquake.

The United States Merchant Marine also shepherds the safe passage of American goods. They carry our exports to customers around the world and support the flow of domestic commerce on our maritime highways. They help strengthen our Nation’s economy; bolster job creating businesses; and, along with the transportation industry, employ Americans on ships and tugs, and in ports and shipyards. Today, we pay tribute to the United States Merchant Marine, and we honor all those whose tireless work is laying a foundation for growth, prosperity, and leadership in the 21st century.

The Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 20, 1933, has designated May 22 of each year as “National Maritime Day,” and has authorized and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation calling for its appropriate observance.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 22, 2010, as National Maritime Day. I call upon the people of the United States to mark this observance with appropriate activities, and I encourage all ships sailing under the American flag to dress ship on that day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

May 22, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Tribute to Bill Mauldin

Bill Mauldin stamp honors the grunt’s hero. The post office gets a lot of criticism. Always has, always will. And with the renewed push to get rid of Saturday mail delivery, expect complaints to intensify.

But the United States Postal Service deserves a standing ovation for something that happened last month: Bill Mauldin got his own postage stamp.
Mauldin died at age 81 in the early days of 2003. The end of his life had been rugged. He had been scalded in a bathtub, which led to terrible injuries and infections; Alzheimer’s disease was inflicting its cruelties. Unable to care for himself after the scalding, he became a resident of a California nursing home, his health and spirits in rapid decline

He was not forgotten, though. Mauldin, and his work, meant so much to the millions of Americans who fought in World War II, and to those who had waited for them to come home. He was a kid cartoonist for Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper; Mauldin’s drawings of his muddy, exhausted, whisker-stubbled infantrymen Willie and Joe were the voice of truth about what it was like on the front lines.

Mauldin was an enlisted man just like the soldiers he drew for; his gripes were their gripes, his laughs their laughs, his heartaches their heartaches. He was one of them. They loved him.

He never held back. Sometimes, when his cartoons cut too close for comfort, superior officers tried to tone him down. In one memorable incident, he enraged Gen. George S. Patton, who informed Mauldin he wanted the pointed cartoons – celebrating the fighting men, lampooning the high-ranking officers – to stop. Now!

The news passed from soldier to soldier. How was Sgt. Bill Mauldin going to stand up to Gen. Patton? It seemed impossible.

Not quite. Mauldin, it turned out, had an ardent fan: Five-star Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe . Ike put out the word: Mauldin draws what Mauldin wants. Mauldin won. Patton lost.

If, in your line of work, you’ve ever considered yourself a young hotshot, or if you’ve ever known anyone who has felt that way about him or herself, the story of Mauldin’s young manhood will humble you. Here is what, by the time he was 23 years old, Mauldin accomplished:

He won the Pulitzer Prize, was featured on the cover of Time magazine. His book “Up Front” was the No. 1 best-seller in the United States .

All of that at 23. Yet, when he returned to civilian life and grew older, he never lost that boyish Mauldin grin, never outgrew his excitement about doing his job, never big-shotted or high-hatted the people with whom he worked every day.

I was lucky enough to be one of them. Mauldin roamed the hallways of the Chicago Sun-Times in the late 1960s and early 1970s with no more officiousness or air of haughtiness than if he was a copyboy. That impish look on his face remained.

He had achieved so much. He won a second Pulitzer Prize, and he should have won a third for what may be the single greatest editorial cartoon in the history of the craft: his deadline rendering, on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, of the statue at the Lincoln Memorial slumped in grief, its head cradled in its hands. But he never acted as if he was better than the people he met. He was still Mauldin, the enlisted man.

During the late summer of 2002, as Mauldin lay in that California nursing home, some of the old World War II infantry guys caught wind of it. They didn’t want Mauldin to go out that way. They thought he should know he was still their hero.

Gordon Dillow, a columnist for the Orange County Register, put out the call in Southern California for people in the area to send their best wishes to Mauldin. I joined Dillow in the effort, helping to spread the appeal nationally, so Bill would not feel so alone. Soon, more than 10,000 cards and letters had arrived at Mauldin’s bedside.

Better than that, old soldiers began to show up just to sit with Mauldin, to let him know that they were there for him, as he, so long ago, had been there for them. So many volunteered to visit Bill that there was a waiting list.

Here is how Todd DePastino, in the first paragraph of his wonderful biography of Mauldin, described it: “Almost every day in the summer and fall of 2002 they came to Park Superior nursing home in Newport Beach , California , to honor Army Sergeant, Technician Third Grade, Bill Mauldin. They came bearing relics of their youth: medals, insignia, photographs, and carefully folded newspaper clippings. Some wore old garrison caps. Others arrived resplendent in uniforms over a half century old. Almost all of them wept as they filed down the corridor like pilgrims fulfilling some long-neglected obligation.”

One of the veterans explained to me why it was so important: “You would have to be part of a combat infantry unit to appreciate what moments of relief Bill gave us. You had to be reading a soaking wet Stars and Stripes in a water-filled foxhole and then see one of his cartoons.”

Mauldin is buried in Arlington National Cemetery . Last month, the kid cartoonist made it onto a first-class postage stamp. It’s an honor that most generals and admirals never receive.

What Mauldin would have loved most, I believe, is the sight of the two guys who keep him company on that stamp.

Take a look at it.
There’s Willie. There’s Joe. And there, to the side, drawing them and smiling that shy, quietly observant smile, is Mauldin himself. With his buddies, right where he belongs. Forever.

May 17, 2010 | 109 comments | View Post

“United In Strength” ~ Armed Forces Day 2010

On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department — the Department of Defense. Each of the military leagues and orders was asked to drop sponsorship of its specific service day in order to celebrate the newly announced Armed Forces Day. The Army, Navy and Air Force leagues adopted the newly formed day. The Marine Corps League declined to drop support for Marine Corps Day but supports Armed Forces Day, too.

In a speech announcing the formation of the day, President Truman “praised the work of the military services at home and across the seas” and said, “it is vital to the security of the nation and to the establishment of a desirable peace.” In an excerpt from the Presidential Proclamation of Feb. 27, 1950, Mr. Truman stated:

Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America’s defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense.

The theme of the first Armed Forces Day was “Teamed for Defense.” It was chosen as a means of expressing the unification of all the military forces under a single department of the government. Although this was the theme for the day, there were several other purposes for holding Armed Forces Day. It was a type of “educational program for civilians,” one in which there would be an increased awareness of the Armed Forces. It was designed to expand public understanding of what type of job is performed and the role of the military in civilian life. It was a day for the military to show “state-of-the-art” equipment to the civilian population they were protecting. And it was a day to honor and acknowledge the people of the Armed Forces of the United States.

According to a New York Times article published on May 17, 1952: “This is the day on which we have the welcome opportunity to pay special tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces … to all the individuals who are in the service of their country all over the world. Armed Forces Day won’t be a matter of parades and receptions for a good many of them. They will all be in line of duty and some of them may give their lives in that duty.”

The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated by parades, open houses, receptions, and air shows. In Washington D.C., 10,000 troops of all branches of the military, cadets, and veterans marched pass the President and his party. In Berlin, 1,000 U.S. troops paraded for the German citizens at Templehof Airfield. In New York City, an estimated 33,000 participants initiated Armed Forces Day “under an air cover of 250 military planes of all types.” In the harbors across the country were the famed mothballed “battlewagons” of World War II, the Missouri, the New Jersey, the North Carolina, and the Iowa, all open for public inspection. Precision flying teams dominated the skies as tracking radar were exhibited on the ground. All across the country, the American people joined together to honor the Armed Forces.

As the people gathered to honor the Armed Forces on this occasion, so too did the country’s leaders. Some of the more notable of these leaders’ quotes are stated below:

“Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America’s defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense.” ~ Former Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson

“The heritage of freedom must be guarded as carefully in peace as it was in war. Faith, not suspicion, must be the key to our relationships. Sacrifice, not selfishness, must be the eternal price of liberty. Vigilance, not appeasement, is the byword of living freedoms. Our Armed Forces in 1950–protecting the peace, building for security with freedom–are “Teamed for Defense …” ~ General Omar N. Bradley, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

“Real security lies in the prevention of war–and today that hope can come only through adequate preparedness.” ~ General Omar N. Bradley, 1951, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

“Armed Forces Day this year should serve to emphasize the practical application of unification in action, and to remind us of the continued need for unity in our Armed Forces and among all of our citizens in the interests of security and peace.” ~ Robert D. Lovett, Former Secretary of Defense

“It is fitting and proper that we devote one day each year to paying special tribute to those whose constancy and courage constitute one of the bulwarks guarding the freedom of this nation and the peace of the free world.” ~ President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953

“Today let us, as Americans, honor the American fighting man. For it is he–the soldier, the sailor, the Airman, the Marine–who has fought to preserve freedom. It is his valor that has given renewed hope to the free world that by working together in discipline and faith our ideals of freedom will always prevail.” ~ Admiral Forrest P. Sherman

“Our Armed Forces and our national defense system represent a judicious investment of the nation’s resources in the cause of peace. The return on this investment, in terms of national strength, shows the determination of the American people to preserve our way of life and to give hope to all who seek peace with freedom and justice.” ~ The Honorable Neil McElroy, 1959, Former Secretary of Defense

“Close understanding between members of our Armed Forces and members of civilian communities is most important to preserve the high level of national readiness necessary for safeguarding the free world.” ~ General Nathan F. Twining, 1959, Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

“We cannot, in this day of exploding world competition on all fronts, be content to maintain the status quo. We must also realize that the preservation of our freedom in the years ahead may require greater sacrifices from us than those made by Americans who have walked before us.” ~ General Nathan F. Twining, 1960, Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

“Today we are strong enough to meet today’s challenge. But the very fact that we are strong may put off the challenge to another day. The Soviets think that time is on their side. We believe otherwise. But meanwhile we cannot afford to lower our guard.” ~ The Honorable Robert S. McNamara, 1961, Former Secretary of Defense

“…Word to the Nation: Guard zealously your right to serve in the Armed Forces, for without them, there will be no other rights to guard.” ~ President John F. Kennedy, 1962

“Only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.” ~ President John F. Kennedy, 1962

“The support of an informed American people is increasingly important to the Armed Forces in these days of rapid technological advance, quick reaction time, and grave threat to our freedom. I, therefore, encourage members of the DoD to observe Armed Forces Day by informing the American people of our ‘Power for Peace’ and by confirming their faith that in our strength we will remain free.” ~ The Honorable Robert S. McNamara, 1962, Former Secretary of Defense

“… Our Servicemen and women are serving throughout the world as guardians of peace–many of them away from their homes, their friends and their families. They are visible evidence of our determination to meet any threat to the peace with measured strength and high resolve. They are also evidence of a harsh but inescapable truth–that the survival of freedom requires great cost and commitment, and great personal sacrifice.” ~ President John F. Kennedy, 1963

“…Their contribution to our freedom and safety is measureless. Our national security depends on the maintenance of alert military forces as a deterrent to any possible aggressor.” ~ President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964

“Armed Forces Day, above all, honors the dedicated individuals who wear the uniforms of their country. Each serviceman, wherever he may be, whatever his task, contributes directly and importantly to the defense of the nation. The task of each one is the task of all the Armed Forces: to protect the freedoms which underlie the greatness of America.” ~ General Earle G. Wheeler, 1967, Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

“Our servicemen and women shoulder the burden of defense as one of the responsibilities of citizenship in this free country. Having participated in protecting our rights and having met oppression on the battlegrounds of the world, they are able to appreciate and savor the blessings of citizenship in the country they serve.” ~ The Honorable Melvin Laird, 1970, Former Secretary of Defense

“At home and abroad, military men and women are showing purpose and dedication in defending American ideas. They are performing in our country’s best traditions under circumstances both difficult and complex. Thanks to their determined spirit of patriotism and professionalism, our country has a powerful and unified defense team, employing its forces in the constant quest for peace and freedom.” ~ The Honorable Melvin Laird, 1972, Former Secretary of Defense

The first Armed Forces Day came at a time of increased world tensions, political volatility and communist aggression. Some notable events that marked America’s first Armed Forces Week were as follows:

Bolivian police broke up “alleged” revolutionary communist-led general strike in LaPaz.
Two U. S. government buildings in Canton, China were taken over by the Chinese Communist Government. The buildings were U. S. property acquired prior to the Communist takeover.
The Burmese Army recaptured the city of Prome, a strategic communist-rebel stronghold.
Nicaraguans elect General Anastasio Somoza to a regular six-year term as president.
French and West German governments expected to talk shortly on the merger of the coal and steel industries of the two countries.
Communist China lifted the ban on daylight shipping along the Yangtze River due to the decline of Nationalist air activity.
Norway receives first US military aid in the form of two Dakota planes.
U. N. Secretary General Trygive Lie seeks West’s acceptance of Red China in the U. N.
Iran announced close range news broadcasts to the Soviet Union with $56,000 worth of Voice of America equipment.
Cuba celebrated the 48th anniversary of the establishment of its republic.
The Red Cross celebrated its 69th birthday.
Britain ended rationing of all foods except meats, butter, margarine, and cooking fat.
The U. S. Congress voted to extend the draft. “A Bill to extend registration and classification for the Draft until June 24, 1952 passed the House 216-11.”
The Allied Command announced it would “ease” the burden of occupation on Austria and would name civilian high commissioners to replace present military high commissioners.
Soviet authorities in Berlin withdrew travel passes of the U.S. and British military missions stationed at Potsdam in the Soviet zone of occupation.
The Soviets returned 23 East German industrial plants to East German authorities. The plants had been producing exclusively for the benefit of reparations to the USSR.
Twenty-eight Soviet vessels, consisting of tugs, trawlers, and supply ships remained in the English Channel as the Western Alliance prepared for air and naval maneuvers. Observers noted that many of them carried rollers at their sterns for trawling nets although no nets were visible.
Pravda denounced Armed Forces Day, calling it the militarization of the United States. “The hysterical speeches of the warmongers again show the timeliness of the appeal of the Permanent Committee of Peace Partisans that atomic weapons be forbidden.”
Western Powers renewed their promise to help Mid-Eastern states resist communism. They also announced an agreement to sell arms to Israel as well as to the Arabs.

May 15, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Obama Cancelled 2010 White House National Day of Prayer Ceremony

Obama cancelled 2010 White House National Day of Prayer ceremony. The National Day of Prayer has historically been the first Thursday in May, since Harry S. Truman put it into effect in 1952, but wasn’t official until the days of Ronald Reagan.

For eight years, the White House held a celebration on the National Day of Prayer, and last year Obama cancelled the celebration, and the ceremony has been cancelled for 2010. In 2009, CNN reported that Obama was toning down the National Day of Prayer by cancelling the White House ceremony, but that the official day was not cancelled.

The National Day of Prayer was created to remind people to pray for family, friends, the country, etc. It wasn’t created for a specific religion, but for anyone who wanted to participate.

In the past, many Presidents worried that making the National Day of Prayer official may cross the line at keeping church and state separate. While cancelling the National Day of Prayer ceremony has some people upset, and others have no opinion.

Kevin Coburn, from Salt Lake City said, “People shouldn’t care about the National Day of Prayer being cancelled. If people want to pray, they should, but they don’t need a special day set aside for it.”

~ By Marci Stone, Salt Lake City Headlines Examiner

May 06, 2010 | 1 comment | View Post

Geert Wilders, Incumbent…..His Films……Dutch Legislator…..

Geert Wilders

It was in February of 2009 that Geert Wilders was denied admission to Great Britian by the British Government. The denial of access was caused by an uprising of British Muslims protesting the admission of Geert Wilders and his anti-Muslim efforts to explain the dangers of Muslim Invasions of democratic nations. It should have been a shock to all free men that an individual, a former Dutch legislator, an outspoken spokesman for those who oppose Muslim immigration in their nation. It wasn’t and the British government responsible for this outrageous decision should be called to task.

However, the brutal power of Muslim populations in democratic nations is a fact of life and the American People should be on notice that the Muslim invasion is occurring here in the United States. It should be exercising its muscle, its power and its influence in just a few short years. Currently they’re laying low. Oh! You’ll get your rare news stories where the women refuse to remove their hijab which virtially covers them from head to toe. Well enough said, read what Geert Wilders has to say. He is far more experienced on the Muslim threat than we here in the United States. …..

Geert Wilders assumed office in the election in the Netherlands in 2008. He was born in Venlo, the Netherlands in 1963, he was member of the VVD from 1998 to 2006 and then transfered policital party PVV in 2006. He attended the Open University in the Netherlands and has trained to become a professional politician. You can find him on his website which is www.geertwilders.nl.

Geert Wilders’ films dramatically demonstrate his point as to how an invasion of Muslims can challange the governments and the peoples of democratic nations. His film “Finta” will challenge the viewer and possibly be a turn off. However, they do report Muslim action groups at work in various venues in the Middle East. You can view them by clicking on http://www.themoviefitna.com/documentary-the-threat-of-radical-islam.

Geert Wilders (born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician. He has been a member of the Dutch Parliament since 1998, first for the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy and from 2006 on the Party for Freedom, a party which he founded and of which he is the political leader.

Early Life and Career

Wilders was born in Venlo, Netherlands, in the province of Limburg, where he was raised a Roman Catholic. He received his secondary education at the Mavo and Havo of the “R.K. St. Thomas College” in Venlo. He followed a health insurance course at the “Stichting Opleiding Sociale Verzekeringen” in Amsterdam and gained several Law certificates at the Dutch Open University. His father was a manager for the printing and copying manufacturing company Océ.

After working in the health insurance industry, Wilders became a parliamentary assistant to Frits Bolkestein in 1990, in that time keeping up a heavy travel schedule. In 1997, Wilders was elected for the VVD to the municipal council of Utrecht, the fourth largest city of the Netherlands. A year later, he was elected to the national parliament.

Political Career

In September 2004, Wilders left the liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD in Dutch), having been a member since 1989, to form his own political party, Groep Wilders, later renamed Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV or Party for Freedom). He left the liberal party over a dispute within the VVD in late August 2004 about, among other things, his refusal to endorse the party’s position that EU-accession negotiations must be started with Turkey. Geert Wilders has been in the Tweede Kamer since 1998.

His party program states that Wilders’ party is committed to “freedom of the individual”; Wilders believes that the Netherlands has been held hostage by elitist (mostly social democrat and left-wing liberal) politicians for decades. He claims to want to give it “back to the people”, and in this respect he has been labeled a populist by the establishment.

His political views (and so the ones of the PVV as well) often overlap those of the murdered Rotterdam politician Pim Fortuyn and his List Pim Fortuyn. There are strong resemblances, certainly on socio-economic issues, to libertarianism. Wilders wants to lower taxes, cut most welfare programs, raise highway speed limits and minimize state regulations by making it mandatory to scrap two legal rules for every new one to be instated. He also wants to reintroduce the mandatory army service. On the crime issue, he has supported a U.S.-style three strikes law with mandatory life sentences after three separate acts of violent crime.

In polls released following the assassination of Theo van Gogh, it was estimated that Wilders’ party could win as many as 29 (out of 150) seats in the Dutch parliament. With the uproar over the killing of Van Gogh subsiding, this number declined to a low of one in October 2005. In February 2006, after the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, it rose again to three seats.

A few weeks after the assassination, Geert Wilders stayed away from regular meetings in parliament for several weeks. Even though a member’s presence is not mandatory, it is uncommon not to show up for weeks on end. Wilders claims that he did this out of concern for his personal security. Having been assigned a new seating position in the parliamentary meeting hall (one further away from the public observation area), he has once again started to attend meetings.

Wilders is under constant security protection because of frequent threats to his life. On 10 November 2004, two suspected terrorists were captured after an hour-long siege of a building in The Hague. They had three grenades and have been accused of planning to murder Geert Wilders as well as then fellow MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The men in question were presumed members of what the Dutch intelligence agency, the AIVD, has termed the Hofstadgroep. In September 2007, a Dutch woman was sentenced a 1-year prison term for sending out more than 100 threatening emails to Wilders.

In recent interviews, Geert Wilders more than once indicated that the Dutch constitution and European Convention on Human Rights should be amended or temporarily suspended to protect citizens from Islamic extremism. He is in favor of stripping criminals with dual nationality of their Dutch citizenship and deporting them to their country of origin.

In response to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy Wilders posted the cartoons on his website (1 February 2006), in support of the Danish cartoonists and freedom of speech. Following his publication, Wilders stated he had received more than 40 death threats in just two days.

In November 2006, PVV won, in its first parliamentary election, 9 of the 150 open seats.

The Dutch newspaper Telegraaf reported in May 2007 that Geert Wilders had been shadowed by the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service for years, when he was foreign affairs spokesman for the VVD. During that time, Wilders had been regularly meeting officials at the Israeli Embassy in The Hague. Sources in the security service said that the agency was surveilling conversations between Wilders and Israeli personnel. The security services denied the allegations, insisting it had never shadowed or eavesdropped on Wilders.

On 15 December 2007, Wilders was declared politician of the year by NOS-radio, a mainstream Dutch radio station. The parliamentary press praised his ability to dominate political discussion and to attract the debate and to get into publicity with his well-timed one-liners. The editors eventually gave the title to Wilders because he was the only one who scored high both among the press as well as the general public.In response to Wilders’ outspoken statements, a countermovement was organized in December 2007 with the stated aim to “stop evil”.

Political Views

He is for free market, for unrestricted freedom of speech, for a small government and against multicultural relativism and politically correct dogmas. Geert Wilders favors the restriction of immigration to the Netherlands, particularly from non-Western countries.

As defender of free speech and critic of Islam, he believes it to be in conflict with Dutch law.

Israel

In the past twenty five years Geert Wilders has visited Israel about forty times, where he says he has met Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert personally.

Originally, Wilders wanted to move to the Jewish state because he thought one could, as opposed to the Netherlands, ‘work for your own money’.Wilders worked in bread factories and a moshav. With the money he earned, he traveled through Israel and some near countries. He started to love Israel, or as he states it in his own words in 2003: “The past years I have visited many interesting countries, from Tunisia to Turkey and from Cyprus to Iran, but nowhere I have that special feeling of solidarity that I always get if I set foot on the Israeli Ben Gurion Airport.”

Wilders has, in the eight years he has served in the Dutch Parliament, consistently supported Israel and attacked countries he perceives as enemies of Israel.

Furthermore, Wilders has made some proposals in the Dutch Parliament inspired by Israel. For example, in 2005 Wilders proposed implementing Israel’s administrative detention in the Netherlands, a practice heavily criticized by human rights group Amnesty International. Also, at the time Wilders was member of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, he had an employee who directly came from the Israeli Embassy.

Islam

Referring to the increased population of Muslims in the Netherlands, Wilders has said: “Take a walk down the street and see where this is going. You no longer feel like you are living in your own country. There is a battle going on and we have to defend ourselves. Before you know it there will be more mosques than churches!”

Later, Wilders suggested that Muslims should “tear out half of the Koran if they wished to stay in the Netherlands” because it contained ‘terrible things’ and that Muhammad would “in these days be hunted down as a terrorist”.

On 8 August 2007, Wilders opined in a letter to the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant that the Koran, which he called a “fascist book”, should be outlawed in the Netherlands, like Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. He stated that: “The book incites hatred and killing and therefore has no place in our legal order.”

On 15 August 2007, a representative of the Prosecutors’ Office in Amsterdam declared that “dozens of reports” against Wilders had been filed, and that they were all being considered. Due to this position on Islam, the Dutch-Morrocan rapper Appa, when interviewed about Wilders for a newspaper, said “if someone were to put a bullet in his head, I wouldn’t mind”. Wilders charged him with threatening with death. Appa denied this, saying that he wouldn’t care (if it happened), accusing Wilders of harboring the same attitude towards Muslims.

Jordan has summoned Wilders to court, as his film, “Fitna” was deemed to incite hatred.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Wilders stated that Muslims “have to give up this stupid, fascist book” (the Quran) in order to be able to assimilate. The interviewer notes that this idea “seems unlikely to win many converts.”

Fitna

Fitna is a 2008 short film by Geert Wilders that explores Qur’anic motivations for terrorism, Islamic universalism, and Islam in the Netherlands. The film’s title comes from the Arabic word fitna which is used to describe “disagreement and division among people”, or a “test of faith in times of trial”. It is the subject of an international controversy and debate on the limits of free speech.

May 03, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Nearly Half of U.S. Households Escape Federal Income Tax

Tax Day is a dreaded deadline for millions, but for nearly half of U.S. households it’s simply somebody else’s problem. About 47 percent will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009. Either their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their liability. That’s according to projections by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research organization.

Most people still are required to file returns by the April 15 deadline. The penalty for skipping it is limited to the amount of taxes owed, but it’s still almost always better to file: That’s the only way to get a refund of all the income taxes withheld by employers.

In recent years, credits for low- and middle-income families have grown so much that a family of four making as much as $50,000 will owe no federal income tax for 2009, as long as there are two children younger than 17, according to a separate analysis by the consulting firm Deloitte Tax.

Tax cuts enacted in the past decade have been generous to wealthy taxpayers, too, making them a target for President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress. Less noticed were tax cuts for low- and middle-income families, which were expanded when Obama signed the massive economic recovery package last year.

The result is a tax system that exempts almost half the country from paying for programs that benefit everyone, including national defense, public safety, infrastructure and education. It is a system in which the top 10 percent of earners — households making an average of $366,400 in 2006 — paid about 73 percent of the income taxes collected by the federal government.

The bottom 40 percent, on average, make a profit from the federal income tax, meaning they get more money in tax credits than they would otherwise owe in taxes. For those people, the government sends them a payment.

“We have 50 percent of people who are getting something for nothing,” said Curtis Dubay, senior tax policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation.

The vast majority of people who escape federal income taxes still pay other taxes, including federal payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare, and excise taxes on gasoline, aviation, alcohol and cigarettes. Many also pay state or local taxes on sales, income and property.

That helps explain the country’s aversion to taxes, said Clint Stretch, a tax policy expert Deloitte Tax. He said many people simply look at the difference between their gross pay and their take-home pay and blame the government for the disparity.

“It’s not uncommon for people to think that their Social Security taxes, their 401(k) contributions, their share of employer health premiums, all of that stuff in their mind gets lumped into income taxes,” Stretch said.

The federal income tax is the government’s largest source of revenue, raising more than $900 billion — or a little less than half of all government receipts — in the budget year that ended last Sept. 30. But with deductions and credits, especially for families with children, there have long been people who don’t pay it, mainly lower-income families.

The number of households that don’t pay federal income taxes increased substantially in 2008, when the poor economy reduced incomes and Congress cut taxes in an attempt to help recovery.

In 2007, about 38 percent of households paid no federal income tax, a figure that jumped to 49 percent in 2008, according to estimates by the Tax Policy Center.

In 2008, President George W. Bush signed a law providing most families with rebate checks of $300 to $1,200. Last year, Obama signed the economic recovery law that expanded some tax credits and created others. Most targeted low- and middle-income families.

Obama’s Making Work Pay credit provides as much as $800 to couples and $400 to individuals. The expanded child tax credit provides $1,000 for each child under 17. The Earned Income Tax Credit provides up to $5,657 to low-income families with at least three children.

There are also tax credits for college expenses, buying a new home and upgrading an existing home with energy-efficient doors, windows, furnaces and other appliances. Many of the credits are refundable, meaning if the credits exceed the amount of income taxes owed, the taxpayer gets a payment from the government for the difference.

“All these things are ways the government says, if you do this, we’ll reduce your tax bill by some amount,” said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

The government could provide the same benefits through spending programs, with the same effect on the federal budget, Williams said. But it sounds better for politicians to say they cut taxes rather than they started a new spending program, he added.

Obama has pushed tax cuts for low- and middle-income families and tax increases for the wealthy, arguing that wealthier taxpayers fared well in the past decade, so it’s time to pay up. The nation’s wealthiest taxpayers did get big tax breaks under Bush, with the top marginal tax rate reduced from 39.6 percent to 35 percent, and the second-highest rate reduced from 36 percent to 33 percent.

But income tax rates were lowered at every income level. The changes made it relatively easy for families of four making $50,000 to eliminate their income tax liability.

Here’s how they did it, according to Deloitte Tax:

The family was entitled to a standard deduction of $11,400 and four personal exemptions of $3,650 apiece, leaving a taxable income of $24,000. The federal income tax on $24,000 is $2,769.

With two children younger than 17, the family qualified for two $1,000 child tax credits. Its Making Work Pay credit was $800 because the parents were married filing jointly.

The $2,800 in credits exceeds the $2,769 in taxes, so the family makes a $31 profit from the federal income tax. That ought to take the sting out of April 15.

by Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Writer, On Wednesday April 7, 2010

Apr 15, 2010 | 2 comments | View Post

Army Day

Army Day can be traced back to a little-known Defense Test Day, which was observed only twice: once in 1924 and once in 1925. Congress then disallowed any further observances of this day. In response, the Military Order of the World War under Colonel Thatcher Luquer established Army Day. Army Day was first celebrated on May 1, 1928. That date was chosen in hopes of dampening Communists’ celebration of Workers’ Day, which also occurs on May 1. But, starting in 1929, Army Day was changed to April 6, the anniversary date of the United States’ entry into World War I.

Army Day was established as a nationwide observance to draw public attention to national defense and to acquaint the public with Army activities. In addition, the day was used to stress the need for military preparedness, which the nation had lacked as it entered earlier major conflicts. “The failure to make adequate preparation for the inevitable struggle, the consequent suffering from disease and death entailed upon the armies which were hastily raised, the prolongation of the conflict far beyond the time which sufficient and equipped forces would have required for victory, and the heavy costs of reconstruction” were caused by the lack of preparation of the nation.

On April 4, 1936, President Roosevelt issued a proclamation that Army Day be recognized by Congress as April 6 and observed nationwide. On March 1, 1937, Congress passed Resolution #5-75 which officially recognized Army Day.

Army Day was last observed nationally on April 6, 1949.

Apr 06, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

ACORN Is Dead (But So Was ObamaCare, Once)

ACORN made it official this week that its national organization will cease to operate as of, ironically, April 1. Alas, the community organization never recovered from the blow inflicted by undercover filmmakers James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles, whose acting job as pimp and prostitute may not have been Oscar-worthy but was certainly good enough to incriminate workers at several different ACORN field offices.

While their remaining employees whined about “right-wing activists,” “partisan operatives” and attacks “unprecedented since the McCarthy era,” the reality is that many of the key local operations have already re-formed under new names — sleeper cells, if you will. “I don’t think it’s really dying,” said Matthew Vadum of the Capital Research Center, a conservative think tank. “It’s just retreating for the time being until it thinks it’s safe to resurface.” Kind of like rats and cockroaches do.

The “demise” of ACORN comes at a time when one of its main goals, registering voters in so-called under-served areas (which coincidentally run rampant with voters targeted by Democrats), could be called into play as Congress takes up yet another amnesty program later this year. As Investor’s Business Daily points out, “There’s still $4 billion at stake in federal government funding for ‘neighborhood stabilization activities’ out there. By changing its name, the former Acorn can continue its business as usual without any legal sanctions.” Hope ‘n’ change, baby.

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Mar 29, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Patriots Patrol