Monthly Archives: November 2008

Why Conservatives Should Be Using Twitter And 200 "People" You Should Be Following

By Duane Lester - - 14 Comments

Almost every Twitter related article that aims to explain the appeal of Twitter starts the same way:

When Twitter first came out, I didn’t get it. Now I do.

I hate to be trite, but it’s the same story for me. I looked at Twitter and just didn’t see a reason for it, and ignored it. Today, I find myself near addicted to the service.

What is Twitter

Twitter is an online service that allows you to enter short messages (140 characters or less) to your “followers.” You can also choose to “follow” certain users, which shows their “tweets” (the Twitter term for your messages) on your home screen.

Twitter is set up to allow you to send “tweets” from your mobile phone or from your computer. This feature allows people to tell what they are doing where ever they are, which is really great for on the spot reporting of news that hasn’t made the main stream media yet.

You can choose to make all your “tweets” private, which means no one will see your Twitter stream unless you want them to. While this can limit your followers, that might be exactly what you want.

(For a more in depth guide for beginners, you should check out CNet’s Newbie’s Guide to Twitter.)

Why Conservatives Should Be Using Twitter

Twitter is a great way to build online communities. For example, when the Republicans staged a protest last summer and refused to leave for summer recess, Eric Odom and a few other Twitter users were sending updates using the hashtag “#dontgo.” That hashtag allowed people to see the news relating to the dontgo movement as it was happening and morphed from a Twitter stream to an organization Michelle Malkin called “the new gathering place for conservative activism.”

Twitter helped to create this new conservative community.

Twitter is also a great way to get news as it happens. There are other great news services that send out “tweets” during the day. Fox News and Sky News are two that come to mind that send out news updates day and night. If you follow them, they will send the news directly to your computer or cell phone. I’ll have more news services listed below that you should follow.

There are also conservatives using Twitter to post news and blog posts. If you follow a right-minded Twitter user, every “tweet” they send out will be seen by your account. That means every article they choose to share, you get to see. I have learned of some interesting news this way, news I may of otherwise missed.

How to Get Started

Getting started using Twitter is simple. The service is free, so just go to Twitter and click “Join the Conversation!” The form to join is short and simple. If you use an online name on other forums or web sites, you should use it here. For example, I have always used Bodhi1 when starting a new account, so when I started my Twitter account, I used that for my name.

This way my friends from other sites could find me on Twitter. Others recommend you use your real name, so your friends can find you easier. It’s all up to you.

Following the sign up page you can find your friends already using Twitter via your e-mail accounts. After that, you are ready to start finding people to follow. Pretty simple.

Tools to Make Twitter Better

Simply using the Twitter interface on the site is boring, and honestly, not very efficient. Every time you want to send a “tweet” you have to go back to the site and type it in. However, there are plenty of tools to streamline the process. In fact, Mashable has two articles (here and here) that list 200 different Twitter tools to make the service better.

At a minimum, you should install a third party interface like Twhirl, which will update your stream and allow you to post without being on the site. Twitterbar allows me to send “tweets” from my Firefox address bar. This makes sending URLs easy. Have a Blackberrry? Use Twitterberry. Have an iPhone? Use Twitterific. You can even use that on your iPod Touch. MakeUseOf has a post that shows you 9 different ways to Use Twitter – no website necessary.

(Since I wrote this, Tweetdeck has become my favorite Twitter interface, followed closely by Seesmic.)

If you are a blogger, you can also add your blog’s RSS feed to your Twitter stream with Twitterfeed. There are quite a few conservative blogs that are doing this, which allows you to get blog updates as they happen (or soon after.) By the way, did you know Free Republic is doing this? You can get all the “Latest Articles” with one click.

There are new ways to make your Twitter experience better everyday. A great site to help you keep up with them all is Darren Rowse’s new blog, TwitTip. It’s a site dedicated to “capturing some of the lessons that I’ve been learning about Twitter and how to use it more effectively.” Great resource.

200 “People” to Follow

First of all, click here and follow me. Follow me because I am a conservative who tweets a lot and second because this list took me HOURS to complete. Show me a little love.

Here are 199 others to consider:

News Services/Journalists/Columnists

Military

  • US Marine Corps
  • US Army
  • US Air Force
  • US Coast Guard
  • uscgd13 – Coast Gaurd in the Pacific Northwest
  • My Navy, My Future – Working with the U.S. Navy to share information about the Navy experience and to answer any questions related to the Navy life
  • 648 TACC – The 618th TACC is the hub for Air Mobility Command operations worldwide.
  • USJFCOM – U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) is one of DoD’s ten combatant commands and has several key roles in transforming the U.S. military’s capabilities.
  • AMC Public Affairs – Air Mobility Command’s Public Affairs team
  • Great Americans – A video-sharing Web site that showcases the stories of men and women who serve our nation in uniform.
  • Military Updates
  • Soldiers Angels – May no soldier go unloved
  • Mail Our Military – Supporting our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and National Guard since 2001

Politicians/Government

Bloggers

Conservative Organizations

Conservatives

I haven’t even scratched the surface yet. There are many conservatives and libertarians on Twitter. Don’t think that I left you off for a reason. There are just so many, it makes the list ridiculously long. So I would love to have you add your Twitter account to the comments below and add people you follow that I didn’t list above.

Let’s use this as a tool to share the conservative message and build a stronger online conservative community.

 

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Top posts on All American Blogger from 17th November – 23rd November

By Duane Lester - - 0 Comments
Too many posts to handle? If you missed out on a great post from last week, here’s a quick digest of some of the top posts that you may want to check out:
  • Missing Person Alert – Lansing Michigan
    Posted on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
    Our friend Elizabeth has told us that her sister is missing. This is for our readers in and around Michigan.This is urgent. She lives in Lansing, Michigan and goes to MSU. Any information you can provide to the whereabouts of Krista – please report to the authorities immediately. Her name is Krista Lueth.
  • Joy Behar: “Homeschool Kids Are Demented.”
    Posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
    On the liberal, woman-centered daytime talk show “The View,” Joy Behar called homeschool children “demented.” Let the video load and skip ahead to around the 7:00 mark:”A lot of those kids are demented…” Here are a few of the “demented” children who were homeschooled: Twelve year-old Bryceson Harvey, winner of “the 14th annual ‘Can You Find the Mapman?
  • House Negro… Seriously?
    Posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
    Osama bin Laden’s second-in-command says President-elect Barack Obama is a “house Negro.” In his latest audio recording, Ayman al Zawahri says to Obama, “You represent the direct opposite of honorable black Americans like Malcolm X.” He accuses Obama of betraying his race and father’s Muslim heritage and criticizes the President-elect for supporting Israel.
  • Arizona Governor to Head Department of Homeland Security
    Posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
    Obama has tapped the governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, to be the Head of Homeland Security.I don’t know that much about Gov. Napolitano, but this blogger from Arizona does:A couple ways to look at this one. First off, it’s a tremendous positive for my state of Arizona. Napolitano has helped bankrupt our local government, yet she is somehow the only electable Democrat in the state when it comes to national office.
  • Liberals Attack Lansing Congregation In The Middle Of Sunday Worship
    Posted on Friday, November 21st, 2008
    We now live in a country where the extreme left feels justified in making open attacks, not only on religion, but on the members of a congregation during thier Sunday service.Prayer had just finished when men and women stood up in pockets across the congregation, on the main floor and in the balcony.
  • eHarmony Forced to List Gays
    Posted on Friday, November 21st, 2008
    eHarmoney, a Christian online dating service, has been sued by a gay man to force them to offer gay listing. eHarmony, rather than taking it to court, has settled:The Pasadena-based dating website, heavily promoted by Christian evangelical leaders when it was founded, has agreed in a civil rights settlement to give up its heterosexuals-only policy and offer same-sex matches.
  • Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
    Posted on Friday, November 21st, 2008
    She has accepted it:Mrs. Clinton came to her decision after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role and his plans for foreign policy, said one of the confidants, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the situation. Mr. Obama’s office told reporters Thursday that the nomination is “on track” but Clinton associates only confirmed Friday afternoon that she has decided.
  • Victory in Iraq Day
    Posted on Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
    Today is being declared “Victory in Iraq Day” by the rightosphere.  It isn’t an “official” day, nor has the government declared victory, but it is clear that our military has won the war in Iraq.  I am proud of our men and women in uniform who sacrificed so much to serve our country.
  • Religious Conservatives Should Leave the GOP!
    Posted on Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
    If I have said it once, I have said it a dozen times! The Republican Party no longer wants conservatives, especially RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVES! As if one needed proof, here comes an article by Kathleen Parker to end the discussion. The article is titled: “ Heresy and Other Truths.” In her article, Ms.
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Religious Conservatives Should Leave the GOP!

By Duane Lester - - 0 Comments

If I have said it once, I have said it a dozen times! The Republican Party no longer wants conservatives, especially RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVES! As if one needed proof, here comes an article by Kathleen Parker to end the discussion. The article is titled: “ Heresy and Other Truths.” In her article, Ms. Parker says:

“As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit.
Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D.
I’m bathing in holy water as I type.
To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn’t soon cometh.”

You can read the entire article here.

This underscores the on-going battle within the Republican Party these days. Religious conservatives are flat-out at odds with the moderates and liberals in the party and they (The moderates and liberals) want us (The conservatives, including the religious conservatives) gone. In fact, they seem to want GOD gone from the party.

I am indebted to Ms. Parker for “backing up” what I have been saying for many years now. Conservatives need to get out of the GOP and found their own political party and be done with it. When I refer to CONSERVATIVES, I, of course, mean the religious conservatives because there are very few, if any, non-religious conservatives. You must understand that, in my opinion, the term “religious conservatives” means ALL conservatives.

There has been worry in recent years that the union of social and religious conservatives and the Republican Party is beginning to fray. I beg to differ. As far as I am concerned, it isn’t fraying. It is threadbare! It’s OVER! It’s long since time for conservatives, social, AND religious, to move on.

Look, as a social, and religious, and fiscal, and political, and every other kind of conservative, I can tell you, with no hesitation, conservatives need their own party. We are not wanted any longer, if we ever were, in the GOP. It is getting embarrassing for me as a staunch conservative to maintain my allegiance to a party that so obviously wishes I would LEAVE!

Turning the tables on the GOP would taste very good at this point. They know they have a snowball’s chance of winning another election without conservative support. If we leave the party they will be forced to come to us and beg for our support in any future elections. That’s fine by me!

Yes, founding a third party is going to be tough. Yes, we may never have a Conservative Party candidate on a national ticket. But, conservatives would be able to swing elections and you had better believe our support would be sought. That alone would give us more input into future elections than we have now. Much more.

I am a conservative first and a republican second. I am a republican because there was no conservative party, as such, to turn to. Given a choice, I would have joined the Conservative Party and never been a Republican in the first place. There are hosts of southern voters who feel the same way. I suspect there is another host of voters across the other regions of the country that feel the same way.

In two years we have another extremely important election coming up. If conservatives want to see any gains for conservatism in the Congress we had better get ourselves organized and ready. We cannot do that by staying in the Republican Party.

Authot: J.D. Longstreet

Originally published at WesternFront America

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President Obama’s Promises

By Duane Lester - - 0 Comments

Well Senator, you did it. Honestly, it was probably inevitable. You were an amazingly charismatic African-American senator who picked the right campaign theme in the right year. You trounced McCain. I’ll admit it. You won, and you won handily. With style. Good for you.

Now, however, I’d like to remind you of a small detail: your campaign promises.

Candidates make lots of promises (read my lips: no taxes) on the stump, yet somehow forget them in the White House. Even you forgot your promise to “run a different kind of campaign” (though honestly, McCain is no better). Now, I’d like to take some time to remind you of just a few of your promises.

Editor’s 2012 Update:

Our list fell into disrepair a couple of years into the Obama Presidency. Rather than keep an incomplete list on the site, we’ve removed it.

Instead, we will refer you to PolitiFact for a more up-to-date list.

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Victory in Iraq Day

By Duane Lester - - 0 Comments

Today is being declared “Victory in Iraq Day” by the rightosphere.  It isn’t an “official” day, nor has the government declared victory, but it is clear that our military has won the war in Iraq. 

I am proud of our men and women in uniform who sacrificed so much to serve our country.  I am also impressed with the Iraq citizens who stood tall in the face of evil and didnt blink.  Without your efforts, the war might still be raging.  Thank you both.

20081122vid

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Michigan Congressman Shows What's Wrong with the GOP

By Duane Lester - - 2 Comments

This is the problem with the GOP.  This moron Joe Knollenberg could not have made it any clearer than he does following the first question Neal Cavuto asks him. When dealing with the bailouts, Neal asks, “Why do you draw the line with our money?”

Knollenberg, a supposed Republican, responds, “It is not your money!”

Un. Be. Lievable.

Where did the money come from Congressman?  It came from the wallets of the people, the people who give you the consent to govern them.  Where is the GOP outrage on this?  The rightosphere is all over it:

  • “Knollenberg is a fine argument for term limits for Congressmen.” – Holy Coast
  • “If this isn’t a prime example of why Republicans got wiped out, I don’t know what is.” – Conservatives with Attitude!
  • “Someone needs to remind this guy, who thankfully lost his bid for reelection, that the government is not independently wealthy but funded by the taxpayers.” – Neal’s Nuze
  • “Is it any wonder why Michigan is and has been one of the nations most economically depressed states for such a long long time?” – Stormin’s Morning Java
  • “Excuse me? The money being used to bailout the financial institutions and the money that would be used to bailout the auto industry isn’t the taxpayer’s money? Exactly whose it is, Congressman Knollenberg? Yours?” – The American Pundit

  • “The Constitution expressly forbids this kind of spending, but not only do you ignore that in violation of your oath of office you then arrogantly claim that money being spent by the government somehow doesn’t in actuality belong to the people.

    If the party were healthy, the conservative leaders in the GOP would be lining up to have press conferences to absolutely blast this RINO cretin.” – Save the GOP

As Boortz noted, Knollenberg was defeated in the last election, but what difference does it really make.  I don’t think he was ousted because of his looting attitude, but more because of the Obama-mania in his district.

The GOP is rife with people like Joe Knollenberg, which is the problem.  Sure, you find your occasional Jeff Flake or Tom Coburn, but for the most part, the GOP doesn’t get the idea of limited government anymore.  This is illustrated by the fact that when they had to chance to take a stand on earmarks, they chose to continue them rather than stop them.

Someone needs to make a stand in Congress.  Someone needs to call out these RINOs, these big spending Republicans, for what they are doing to the party, but more importantly, what they are doing to the country.  The country is headed down the same road the Soviet Union went down.  Our spending habits are going to be our destruction, and the party that could take the wheel and steer us away from it is giving directions to the ash heap of history.

Where are the Reagan conservatives and why are they afraid to scream from the rooftops, “I’M MAD AS HELL AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!”?

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America’s Group Hug Is About to End

By Duane Lester - - 2 Comments

As I watch, read, and listen to the MsM report the news of Obama’s selection of those people he wants to serve in his administration, it occurred to me that the change he had promised was simply a “change… back“ to the Clinton Administration (… or something very much like it!).

Remember how it is when you begin watching a TV show that is a rerun, but you are not aware of it in the opening moments? As the characters begin to flash onto the screen and the plot becomes more and more familiar it slowly dawns on you that you have seen this show before. As I watch Obama gather his merry band together, that is exactly the feeling I get. I have seen this show before. Eight years ago. So… it IS “Change BACK”!

Well, what about HOPE? Ahhh.  One must remember… Bill Clinton was “The Man From HOPE!”

Look, the dems are nothing if they are not persistent. They don’t seem to have had a NEW idea in decades. They are still running elections with the same promises and pledges and even the same phraseology in their speeches that FDR used in his. So it should not be surprising that the Obama Administration looks so very much like the Clinton Administration because, for all intents and purposes, it IS the same. All Democratic Party Presidential Administrations are the same.

As soon as Americans stop slapping themselves on the back and congratulating themselves for making history, and overcoming “White Guilt”, and ending racism, and all that baloney, it will dawn on them that they have been had… again.

Soon, it will become clear that Americans, well, SOME Americans, are expecting entirely too much of Obama. Too much was promised and too little will be delivered.

Lowering expectations is the order of the day on the democratic side of the aisle. Very serious democrats, in and out of the Mainstream Media, and in and out of the Democratic Party apparatus, are telling us to not expect so much from Obama. Of course, that is exactly the opposite of what they were telling us just a few weeks ago. Way back then they were promising miracles, hinting that Obama could heal the sick, make the lame to walk, the blind to see, the mute to speak, and there was a better than 50/50 chance that Obama could walk all the way across the Potomac… on his bare feet! And yet, today, we are told that we should lower our expectations. This is all a bit much. But this is what you get when the candidate is a blank slate upon which the voters can write their own expectations, their own desires, and, yes, their own fantasies.

That American group hug, we mentioned at the beginning of this article, is slowly breaking apart as Americans begin to look up and cast their eyes in the direction of Obama’s “selectees” for his cabinet. There’s some anxiety about its reflection of the Clinton Administration. Then, too, the confirmation that among Obama’s foreign policy plans is one to lean on Israel to retreat all the way back to it’s borders as they were before they were attacked by their Arab neighbors in 1967 and had to fight for their very existence. In the war that ensued, Israel recaptured the old city of Jerusalem thereby reuniting it. Now, apparently, the US is going to insist Israel turn it back over to the people who call themselves Palestinians. This has caused a stir in Israel and there is now some strain between Jews in Israel and those Jews in America who supported the Obama campaign. They are NOT a happy bunch, at the moment. Neither are the Evangelical Christians in America and around the world. But, then, Evangelical Christians did not support Obama… and won’t.

And there is more, much, more to come.

Too much is being expected of Obama by the Germans, the Iraqis, the Afghanis, the Georgians, most of eastern Europe, and all of Africa. Here at home, in America, too much is being expected of Obama by the African-Americans, the White Americans, the Spanish-Americans, the Gay Americans, the unborn Americans, the poor Americans, the sick Americans, the old Americans, the young Americans, even those busy breaking into America across our wide open southern border in hopes of change with Obama.

Disappointment comes first. Then comes dissatisfaction. Then comes disaster. After all, Obama is but a man. How he handles these three “D” words will define him for history.

Unlike George Bush, or any Republican President, Obama will have the added luxury of a Mainstream Media to justify his mistakes, his shortcomings, his disgraces, etc, to the nation and the world. After all, he is THEIR man and they will not allow him to fail.

Clear thinking Americans, both republican and democrats, know whom America elected and they are worried. They have reason to worry. America is as vulnerable as it was before World War Two… and every bit as naive. In a country like America, vulnerability and naiveté can bring on disaster. Anything can happen. Like a blind man negotiating a minefield, America must tread softly, and carefully, over the next few years.

Inexperienced leadership was not what the country needed, but that is what we have. Americans are now trusting in blind luck to get us through.

Me? I pray a lot.

Author: J.D Longstreet

Originally published at WesternFront America

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

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She has accepted it:

Mrs. Clinton came to her decision after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role and his plans for foreign policy, said one of the confidants, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the situation. Mr. Obama’s office told reporters Thursday that the nomination is “on track” but Clinton associates only confirmed Friday afternoon that she has decided.

Bob Woodward says Obama must be smoking something:

Being president is about control, and tell me who ever controlled Bill or Hillary Clinton. They can’t control each other. … I think it’s because Warren Buffett and Paul Volcker and others have convinced Obama, ‘You’re going to have to focus like a laser on the economy. That’s issue Number One. And give Hillary and Bill the world.’ … I think people are fantasizing or smoking something if they think Joe Biden’s going to call Hillary Clinton up and say, ‘This is what we want you to do.’

Between the Clintonites and the lobbyists, the Democrats should have just nominated Hillary. It really wouldn’t be that different.

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eHarmony Forced to List Gays

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eHarmoney, a Christian online dating service, has been sued by a gay man to force them to offer gay listing. eHarmony, rather than taking it to court, has settled:

The Pasadena-based dating website, heavily promoted by Christian evangelical leaders when it was founded, has agreed in a civil rights settlement to give up its heterosexuals-only policy and offer same-sex matches.

EHarmony was started by psychologist Neil Clark Warren, who is known for his mild-mannered television and radio advertisements. It must not only implement the new policy by March 31 but also give the first 10,000 same-sex registrants a free six-month subscription.

This is so wrong. Not because I am anti-gay. I’m anti-government screwing with the free market.

The fact reamins that there are plenty of online dating services for gays. A quick Google search for gay dating 3,680,000 results. Why does this guy have to force a business to provide a service they don’t offer?

And where does this stop? Does JDate.com have to offer listings to atheists? Does Qiran.com have to offer listings to Jews? Or gays? Does SoulSingles.com have to offer listings to Klan members?

You can find more on this at:

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Liberals Attack Lansing Congregation In The Middle Of Sunday Worship

By Duane Lester - - 0 Comments

We now live in a country where the extreme left feels justified in making open attacks, not only on religion, but on the members of a congregation during thier Sunday service.

Prayer had just finished when men and women stood up in pockets across the congregation, on the main floor and in the balcony. “Jesus was gay,” they shouted among other profanities and blasphemies as they rushed the stage. Some forced their way through rows of women and kids to try to hang a profane banner from the balcony while others began tossing fliers into the air. Two women made their way to the pulpit and began to kiss.

Their other props? I’ll let them tell you in their own words… from another of their liberal blogs:

“(A) video camera, a megaphone, noise makers, condoms, glitter by the bucket load, confetti, pink fabric…yeh.”

The video camera they put to good use as they attempted to provoke a violent reaction. The image of the pink-clad folks above is one of theirs, stating in a picture worth more than a thousand words the goals of the Michigan left.

The “open minded” and “tolerant” liberals ran down the aisles and across the pews, hoping against hope to catch a “right winger” on tape daring to push back (none did). And just in case their camera missed the target, they had a reporter in tow. According to a source inside the church yesterday there was a “journalist” from the Lansing City Pulse along for the ride, tipped off about the action and more interested in getting a story than in preventing the vandalism, the violence and anti-Christian hatred being spewed by the lefties. We’ll see what he files and what his editors see fit to print. [RightMichigan.com]

If this had been a group of Christian activists pulling a stunt like this at a GLAD meeting or some other ultra-liberal event, the press would have been all over it.

These protesters certainly have a right to their opinion, and I support their right to protest anything they don’t like, but disrupting a church service with such offensive behavior is uncalled for. I respect the people of this congregation for not kicking the living crap out of these liberal idiots. I’m not sure I’d have had the same amount of restraint.

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Nation's Capital Implements Measures Violating Rights & Property

By Duane Lester - - 0 Comments

As the nation’s capital, Washington DC is often looked to for various approaches on how to handle a number of growing issues around the country.  Usually government eggheads like to formulate their grandiose schemes from their comfortable halls of power and impose them upon areas of the heartland so far from scrutinizing eyes that very few end up seeing what is actually going on.  However, there are now a number of policies being implemented within the city that will soon be at the forefront of efforts to undermine life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

In the episode of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” titled “Past Tense”, areas called Sanctuary Districts were established in mid-21st century America as places in major cities in which to corral the economically challenged irrespective of their criminal status.  Though initially established in the name of the well being of those assigned to reside there, according to the entry at Star Trek Wiki Memory Alpha, “This internment, in fact, amounted to nothing less than imprisonment.”

Those thinking their feet are more firmly planted on the ground and heads out of the clouds will no doubt respond that all that is just a story that could never become reality.  Think again.

In order to curb the crime in the Trinidad neighborhood of Northeast, Washington, DC, police established  “Neighborhood Safety Zones” where checkpoints were set up blocking access.  It’s bad enough if law enforcement just about literally points a gun at the head of everyone coming into the neighborhood compelling motorists to permit officers to ransack through vehicles regardless of whether or not anything suspicious is going on.

However, things have gone beyond the limits of conscience when American citizens that have neither been convicted nor accused of a crime are then forbidden from proceeding down a free public street.  Supporters of these police state tactics will counter that those entering the neighborhood with a “legitimate purpose” such as “going to a doctor, to church, or visiting a relative” could be granted access.

For starters, who are police to determine if an activity that does not violate pre-established law is of a legitimate purpose or not?  Secondly, people that must divulge their law abiding activities to law enforcement who then pass judgment as to whether or not such innocent undertakings are appropriate are dangerously close to losing one of the most basic of fundamental liberties that at one time set this country apart from the lesser nations of the earth.  Do we really want to further condition the American people into embracing their status as docile little Pavlovians who eagerly wag their tails every time the government blows its whistle and demands that we reveal additional information about ourselves?

Though it was claimed motorists would be granted access if they had legitimate reasons to enter the neighborhood, individuals with valid reasons in fact claim they were turned away.  What part of public in “public street” don’t these Keystone Cops not understand?

For now, these blockades are often temporary.  What is to prevent them from being made permanent and expanded in the future?

What is to stop authorities from turning the entire federal city into a Neighborhood Safety Zone with anyone barred entry that cannot prove either residency or occupational status in the district?  Already in the name of preventing terrorism,  Americans are denied access to structures we are repeatedly told through propaganda belong to all of us such as the Capitol building in Washington, DC and the Statue of Liberty in New York City.

If there is power now to tell us whether or not we are to be granted access to structures belonging to “the people” and once deemed public, makes you wonder if there might come a day that they might tell you what otherwise lawful discretionary activity you can and cannot enjoy in your own home.  Wait, they are already trying to do that now.

If these checkpoints are constitutional, what is to stop them from being implemented across the United States either independently by various municipalities or through the promulgation of a presidential executive order such as those already quietly drafted basically saying the government can essentially take from you anything it wants and do to you anything it wants including compulsory civilian involuntary servitude during a time of so-called “national emergency”.

Through implementing nationwide “safety zones”, only those granted police or bureaucratic approval would be permitted to move within or without specified jurisdictions.  There are likely those such as Al Gore and even Barack Obama (who chastised Americans for eating too much and driving SUV’s even though he has been seen locomoting in this particular kind of vehicular conveyance on numerous occasions who would probably have no qualms about implementing such measures in the name of the environment.

The way in which the Nazi and Soviet regimes were implemented would not be successful here in the United States.  Those seeking to control every last aspect of people’s lives have noticed that at least here in America they must quietly implement their policies step by step so that Americans are stealthfully goaded into eventually embracing the future being planned for them by the elites of the New Order.

According to social planning, the new urbanism, sustainable development, or whatever other flurdelore you want to dress it up with, it is no longer satisfactory to allow concentrated areas of population to develop, expand, or contract in compliance with forces attributed to Adam Smith’s invisible hand.  Rather, these areas are to be remodeled into the image seen fit by heavy-handed public-private partnerships even if it means ruining the lives of upstanding citizens in the process so long as it gives corporate tycoons what they want and makes politicians intoxicated on the narcotic of media attention look good in the press.

Social welfare programs instituted by government are often justified on the grounds of improving the lives of those experiencing hardship.  However, often such assistance has very little to do with getting the unfortunate back on their feet but rather about fostering a state of dependence that will keep the tentacles of the government expanding often at the price of the individual’s well-being, especially if the individual could actually get their life back together though private charity rather than public means.

In the District of Columbia where the city government is dominated by Democrats and the like who claim government’s most important function is safeguarding the economically disadvantaged, it seems playgrounds for the hyperrich (commonly referred to as ball stadiums) are a greater priority than those struggling to make it on their own.  According to a March 26, 2008 Washington Post article titled “Straining In The Stadium’s Shadow”, a number of those providing charitable and business services in the vicinity of the Nationals’ stadium where in fact forced out using a variety of strategies.

One of the hardest hit is the group known as Positive Nature, which counsels troubled youth.  In the course of about two years, taxes on the organization’s property went  from $9000 to $83,000.  As a result, Positive Nature may have to close up shop, possibly causing those getting assistance from the organization to be taken away from their parents and placed in a variety of state run institutions such as psychiatric hospitals and possibly even in prison.

Maybe that is exactly what those thinking government is the only solution for what’s plaguing the human condition want.  Instead of providing for oneself or seeking assistance from other private sources, the individual is to seek purpose and solutions to life’s problems from the state.

Others already capable of sustaining themselves through the efforts of their own toil might no longer be able to do so.  Those trained to salivate on cue for their government handout might snap businesses ought to be soaked to provide for the havenots.

Oh really?  Does this include small businesses and sole proprietorships with tax bills that went from $600 to $16,000 and from  $1500 to $22000.  If that is the bribe one must pay to the state, why not just throw in the towel and become a welfare leech and suckle off the system as well?

According to the Washington Post story, the stadium was marketed to citizens forced to pick up the tab for this playground for millionaires as a way to raise revenue for schools, roads, and subsidized housing.  But as with all the other grandiose promises made by tax boosters throughout history, downplayed is how these assessments are also enacted as a means of social and economic engineering with any money raised a secondary matter compared to the implementation of a far more comprehensive agenda.

Considerable grassroots backlash has arisen against the Kelo decision in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of forcing owners to sell property to developers in the name of economic improvement.  But now, instead of drawing out this process as reluctant owners might put up a fight in an attempt to retain homes and businesses, all governments have to do to get people out is to raise taxes to either force owners to sell or (even better in the eyes of bureaucrats)  get the owner to fall behind in their taxes so revenuers can move in to seize the property without having to pay a dime in order to acquire it.

Furthermore, by tinkering with tax rates and the like, governments, developers, and other organizational monstrosities such as public-private partnerships can economically corral undesirable populations into parts of town deemed appropriate for those not deemed worthy of living amongst the elite even if those no longer deemed worthy of an area have lived their for decades.  Ultimately, such populations can be forced into low-cost housing where the movements of such individuals can be more effectively monitored, controlled, and even curtailed.  Thus establishing, in essence, “sanctuary districts” quite similar to those described earlier in this essay in a manner less shocking than they may have sounded initially.

The concepts of private property and freedom of movement as we once knew them are endangered species going out of existence.  In their place will arise a new system where those once knowing liberty will be manipulated into clamoring for more and more control all for the rotting pottage of prosperity and security.

Author: Dr. Frederick Meekins

Originally published at WesternFront America

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House GOP Refuses Earmark Moratorium

By Duane Lester - - 0 Comments

Rep. John Boehner and Rep. Jeff Flake get it. Well, Jeff Flake does. I am not completely sold on Boehner. Anyway, these to introduced a moratorium on GOP earmarks until February 16.

The rest of the House GOP rejected it. They just don’t get it:

Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio and Eric Cantor of Virginia had unveiled late Wednesday a moratorium on GOP earmark requests through Feb. 16 while a new panel of Republicans comes up with proposals for permanent restrictions and disclosure requirements for earmarks

But Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, who is an appropriator, offered an amendment to strip the requirement for an earmark moratorium. And Tiahrt’s moratorium-killing proposal was approved by the full caucus, said several GOP aides. The amended rules package was then adopted.

Tiahrt has been a staunch defender of earmarks, and has been a rival of outgoing Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling of Texas, one of the strongest proponents of a permanent earmark moratorium for all Republicans. Tiahrt lost a bitter head-to-head race against Hensarling for the chairmanship of the RSC at the start of the 110th Congress, and later opted to leave the conservative faction.

Before we go any farther, here is Tiahrt’s website and a link to his e-mail. The phone number to his Washington, D.C. office is 202.225.6216. His Wichita office number is 316.262.8992.

He stopped a key message to the American people. The message being, “Hey, we hear you. We lost our way. Limited government, fiscal responsibility, less spending. Here’s our way of showing you we hear you.”

Had this passed, it would have done a lot of good towards repairing the damage the Republicans have done to their brand. The fact they rejected it says a lot about them. They don’t get it and they will continue to damage themselves, the party and America.

I can only shake my head in disbelief that they didn’t embrace this idea.

As for Boehner, the day after he is elected, he betrays consevatives:

House Republicans are not shifting to the political right, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) told CNSNews.com on Wednesday, just hours after two of the top three GOP leadership spots were won by conservative lawmakers in an internal leadership election.

Members Reps. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Mike Pence (R-Ind.), and John Mica (R-Fla.), however, told CNSNews.com that they think the conference is shifting to the political right.

But Boehner said, “No, I don’t think it’s right or left. It’s what are the issues Americans are concerned about, and how do we build solutions on our principles? It’s not left or right.

“That’s minimizing and marginalizing the situation.”

Marginalizing the situation? What an idiot! This guy doesn’t get it at all. I don’t want a person with leftist principles leading the party, and those who voted for conservative leaders in the House show that.

What do you vote for if it isn’t someone who represents your beliefs and principles?

With this guy leading Republicans in the House, you can expect more losses in 2010.

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