How the progressive left has changed America

The progressive left has done a wonderful job of marginalizing our country.  Now that I have time to look back at the whole thing I can see how it was done without much of a battle.  The formula goes like this: First you take out the ultimate being from our lives, the one we fear most to cross.  Of course I speak of God as it was the fear of God that kept so many in line over the decades.  You take out the teachings like the Golden Rules and the eye for an eye.  Then you allow the father figure to be taken out of the home and marginalized removing another fear factor and with more and more working mothers the children are many times raising themselves without any religion or any other disciplines to learn from.  The radicals of the 60's the same ones that disowned their mothers & fathers and their religion for their morality are now teaching our kids in school in many cases and using the same tactics molding their young minds to progressive ideology.  Hell their running our government using the tactics of Cloward and Piven two socialist Columbia professors from the 60's and 70's who advocate converting our country to socialism by making the population dependant on government. Khrushchev the Soviet Premier recognized what was happening to America in 1962 when he pounded his shoe on the table and announced that Socialism and Communism will take over America without firing a shot.

Well now that we have arrived at this point what do we do?  We can't go back to McCarthyism  to ferrate out progressive teachers and professors but we can demand a voucher system so we can send our children to schools that have our values. We can demand to sit in classrooms where teachers are suspected of trying to shape minds to their way of thinking right or left.  We can participate in school programs and school board meetings that decide what type of curriculum is being taught.  We can take an active role in the education of our children by watching what type of extracurricular activities they are taking part in. Can you imagine what life will be like in 10 or 20 years if the American dollar falters and more and more citizens are taking benefits from a government that is deeper and deeper in debt.

Right now we are in the hands of an Oligarchy, a government run by a few with little or no consideration for the masses.  All of our laws and rules come from the minds of less than 1% of our population.  These same people make laws that do not apply to themselves but anchor us with the results.  We call them our representatives, our President and our Supreme court justices and our Legislators.  Their main job once they arrive in a position of power is to remain there.  They are put there not by us their constituents, but by the big money from Pac's and political parties.  Either they play  the game or their out the next term. The only way for us to take the power back is to take away outside donations from our local representation.  Only the people who actually live in the community can donate to their cause.  This will bring the power of the people back to our society.  To eliminate lying and overstating facts from campaigns the politicians must prove their statements before being sworn in if challenged.  God help us if we continue down the same path we now travel we will be the Rome of the 21st century.         

What is America?

What is America all about?  I hear the left and the Rino’s talk about the Tea Party as if they are the problem in our culture.  The last time I checked it was a grass roots movement of the people, just what is more American than that?  The political machines on both sides of the aisle have totally forgotten who they work for.  The egotism and the self preservation that is prevalent in both houses shows why we are desperately in the need for term limits.  Let’s face facts the people we send to represent us are not elected by the people of their communities, they are elected with huge sums of money from outside their districts sponsored by pacts and party leaders from all over the United States.  The day of local representation is gone, the loyalty to their communities is gone, they represent the people who pay for their re-election.

We have a President that seems to have little empathy toward our historic American culture and leans more toward a European style of governance and a type of liberal socialism that has failed so badly in Eastern European countries.  He was elected to represent all the people but has surrounded himself with only the far left.  He is penalizing the builders of our society by promising a share of their wealth to those who do the least for making America great.  He is a believer in throwing money at every problem even when history has shown it does little to make things better.  The problem is that it is our money and we can do little to replenish the treasury other than pay additional taxes in light of the weak economy that his policies are responsible for.   For several years now we have been printing money to pay our debts, a program that will lead to chaos as the value of the dollar drops in the world currency. 

I know I am like a tree falling in the forest, it makes a lot of noise but nobody is there to hear it.  Until we join together in programs like the Tea Party to make our voices heard and do something about our election process to stop outside money from electing our representatives, we will continue to lose power as a people.  Our Constitution that is supposed to protect our rights has been successfully circumvented in many areas by an assumption of executive privilege.  This should bother you regardless of what party you are affiliated with, as once established it can go both ways depending on who is in power.  Trust is something that has to be earned and nothing that our government has done recently gives me a feeling of trust, how about you are you willing to trust these people with the lives of your children and grand children?   

Short term fix

Congress has the upper hand in the ongoing battle over the debt limit increase if they use their leverage in a positive way.  The American people want action, the rhetoric coming from both sides of the issue is driving a deeper wedge into our whole political system.  Asked about the trust felt in politics and politicians as a whole and the people themselves will tell you they don’t trust any of them.  It seems there is an ulterior motive in every move made by either side.  The reason I say the Congress is in a better position is that they have it in their power now to pass a temporary increase with a pre laid out agenda for discussion.  These discussions should be open to the public on CSpan and any other network that wishes to be part of the program with no back door politics involved.  Congress should be represented by 5 republicans including the Speaker and 3 democrats including the minority leader.  The senate should be represented by 5 dems including Reid and 3 republicans including the minority leader.  The White House should be represented by 3 economic advisors including the treasury sec.  Each would have equal voice and be moderated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  The extension should be no more than 45 days and carry a mandate to get things accomplished or the entire matter would be handled legally by a case brought by the people in the Supreme court. 

The President would have the right to step in and sit in place of the Treasury secretary as he wished but with the understanding that his voice is no more important than the other players.   No more politics as usual cloaked in secret deals and backroom fixes.  Put our politicians on display and let the public see their political heroes in action.

An old duffer speaks

I feel so fortunate to have been born in 1941.  I know you may consider me an old duffer beyond my prime but let me tell you what I really am;  For one thing I was raised to be a patriot and grew up in a time when the people ran the country, not an elite bunch professional buffoons.  I was raised to understand that no one owed me anything, that I would have to earn my own way in life.  I was never in a position to go on to a higher education, a fact that probably allowed me to develop my own philosophy and not that of some elitist professor.   I got married at 18 to a girl that I pledged to spend my life with and enlisted in the military, we are still together 54 happy years later.  Marriage wasn’t on a trial basis back then it was a commitment to your spouse and made before God.  I can’t say I missed much by not going to college as I have had a very successful career mostly because of the values ingrained in me from childhood.  I have always felt that you can be anything you want to be as long as you have the right attitude and work ethic. I’ve noticed today that many people are more interested in what’s in it for them when looking for work rather than the attitude of old, where we actually tried to bring something of value to the company.  You can see the same thing in how people live their lives, many put in just enough to get by and take advantage of every entitlement offered often cheating to do so.  Others build their lives around personal pride and do everything in their power to find new and innovative ways to bring honor to their position. 

I have lived long enough to see God removed from almost every aspect of our lives and strangely as his absence increased so have the values of this society and the strength of our union diminished.  The Utopian promise of the leftist progressive movement of everything from never suffering anguish or having to understand what losing feels like has left this country weaker and susceptible to a population of takers rather than the doers I grew up with.  Sporting events for children where they are taught that no one loses if you don’t keep score and the lack of family unity that comes from the failure to discipline because it may cause later trauma in the child.  Ask yourself who are the children of today’s heroes, who do they look up to and who do they want to emulate?    

Political correctness is just another way to gloss over life’s challenges so we don’t have to face the agony of normal life experiences.  A person advocates the destruction of America and I can’t call him a terrorist as it might hurt his feelings.  The fact that the terror wrought on the world by radical Muslims is growing right here inside our country, being preached in Mosques all across the land and protected by the political correctness that says we cannot profile those who would do us harm.  This in my mind has turned us into a nation of spoiled, entitled weaklings who could never have survive things like the Great Depression or even World War I or II.  America’s best days may have died with many of the last generation.  Our fervent hope is that out of the mess that is to come, leaders of the caliber of our forefathers will emerge and be charismatic enough to lead our children and grand children to build a new and stronger nation, one that understands and teaches personal responsibility and a respect for our gloried history.  Our forefathers mortared the bricks of this nation with their belief in God and just as quickly we have allowed a just a few to destroy its very foundation. 

Whether you believe in the hereafter or you are an agnostic you must admit that removing the fear of God and the basic rules of life taught by his teachings has diminished the moral fiber of the nation and left a void that is being filled by drugs, violence and lack of hope.  

Our biggest financial problems are still ahead

I write this out of fear for my country.  As anyone my age may remember the British Sterling was the money standard for the world for years.  In the 70's the liberal Parliament decided that they needed to spread the wealth around similar to what has happened here and the financial strength of the pound went south eventually being devalued by 14%.  This sent the entire economy of the British into chaos.  Interest rates soared, jobs were lost and the Sterling was replaced by the U.S. dollar as the world economy went into a spin.  Right now China, Russia, Japan, Korea and several Arab countries have challenged the value of our dollar because of the amount of new money we are printing in order to pay our outstanding debts.  Once the dollar is no longer considered the world currency standard our treasury will be forced to quit augmenting our debt with its printing press and we will be facing our monumental world debt head on.  The number that is being bandied around in the press is $17 Trillion when if you include the total responsibility for debt that the United States is under it will amount to closer to $35 Trillion with just the Social Security, Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac losses, public employees union benefits on top of the world debt accumulations.

Right now our interest rates are being artificially held down by the Fed to anywhere from 0% to .25%.  Should this be stopped by the loss of status as the world moves to remove our currency from this position and the interest rates go to market levels we will be in a disaster that will make 2008 look like fun.  No longer having the opportunity to print our way out of debt our obligations will soar as interest rates climb.  Just a 4% rate will bring our debt to the level of well over $60 Trillion if paid over a standard 30 year amortization.  That is if we stop immediately over spending and reduce our annual spending to match our gross income.  The United States has reach the point of no return prophesized in 1776 when it was said that when the people of America realize they can vote themselves benefits from the treasury, they will, and it will soon deplete the reserve required to continue.   We have now reached the point where over 50% are now on some type of governmental assistance leaving few to replenish the pot of gold that was America.  Every year we are asked to raise our debt ceiling and have been told it is an inconsequential necessity to continue our way of life.  I don't know about you but in my family we can't seem to do that, we are forced to pay our bills out of what we earn and when the government takes more and more of what we earn we are forced to lower our standard of living. It's time to stop this folly and face the crisis we have created or our children's children will have nothing left to live for.

 

Why not us?

Why not us?  Why has the administration left the American public out of the loop when it comes to exemptions from the Affordable Care plan?  We have all of Congress and the Executive and Judicial exempted as well as Federal employees and many major corporations, yet we the ones that contribute the most are totally forgotten.  I don’t know about you but I like the medical plan I have and the payments as they were three or four years ago.    Our company plan has had to be reduced over the last couple of years significantly due to cost increases.  If I understand this whole thing we are paying more because of those who were uninsured roughly 30% of the population.  Now we are being told that 20% of the population will still be uninsured and if the young millenniums fail to buy in, our rates will go sky high.  Not only the financial loss but the loss of privacy will affect us greatly.  The idea that our medical records will suddenly be on a government data base is scary.  If you are old enough to remember the Social Security program was never supposed to be used as an identification and now your social security card is the most common form of identification.  What happens if later they decide our medical records can be used for things like the ability to repay loans etc.  Hackers also have been able to break into many government highly secure data bases, what happens if our medical records become the next Wiki leaks project.

The United States has always been known through-out the world for the most outstanding medical services and advances as well as the ability of its population to access this system.  Now because of one man’s narcissistic attempt to build his legacy we are forced to accept this program.  They say it’s the law duly legislated by our Congress but in reality it was done in a clandestine operation in the middle of the night by a lame duck legislative body.  We were told that they had to pass it in order to know what’s in it.  Well now we know and It’s not a pretty sight.  The so called glitches in the online program have caused access to be denied to most of those who have tried to get additional information.  One who did get through had the shock of her life at the reality of the situation; 

 4:45 PM [kcmana] [3:42:16 PM] iz is here: [3:40 PM] Suzie ~ miyushu: <<<OBAMACARE Reality Shockwave Has BEGUN... From a forum I visited:

I just saw a repost from a Facebook page - An alleged comment on the Affordable Care Act FB page states that a person had signed up online, under the $45-55,000 income range, pre-existing condition of type I diabetes. They chose the "Silver" plan...

4:45 PM [kcmana] Their premium came back as $597 per month, with an almost $14,000 annual deductible!  And when the person clicked the "opt out" option, they shortly received an e-mail stating that their fine would be $4,037, and could be attached to their annual tax return.

 4:45 PM [kcmana] And if you don't have the $4,037 on time, then the repercussions for non-payment begin with your drivers license being suspended until the fine is paid, and if it goes 24 months without payment, a tax lien is placed on you property. It gives you the option to provide your bank info so your penalties can be withdrawn weekly, or biweekly, etc.

Posted by Florence Markovich 
870-424-4090

Why not a shutdown

We're being threatened with a "Government Shutdown." Hmmm...imagine if that were really to happen and the American citizenry could pick and choose how it could be reassembled. What would you want to leave out of the new one? Maybe the following will give you some thoughts . . .

•  “We only have one goal, and that is to have all of Detroit working together for one Detroit, with the Obama administration as a key partner.”  That's from Director of the National Economic Council, Gene Sperling. He and Detroit's key partner, Barack Obama, gave $320 Million of our money to the city of Detroit Friday.

•  The Army sent checks totaling $16 Million to AWOLs and deserters over the past two years. Said it was a "glitch" and they're working to correct it. Who could be so dumb as to allow a 16 million dollar glitch?

•   In 2010, the Internal Revenue Service spent $4.1 million on a lavish party for 2,609 of its employees in California. Expenses included $50,000 for line dancing and "Star Trek" parody videos, and $64,000 in conference perks like rubber duckies for employees ... plus free meals, cocktails and hotel-suite upgrades.

•  In 2012, the Department of Agriculture spent $300,000 on activities pro­moting caviar produced in the land-locked state of Idaho.

•  The Federal Communications Commission spent $2.2 BILLION in 2012 to provide cell phones to low-income Americans, up from $819 million in 2008. This despite a review that found that 41 percent of the over 6 million recipients were either ineligible or failed to prove their eligibility for the program!

 

•  The Department of Energy's Savannah River facility spent $7.7 million on severance pack­ages for 526 temporarily hired contract workers instead of issuing layoff notices. That's over $14,600 per "temporary" employee. Pretty nice "gratuity."

•  Taxpayers spent $700 million in stimulus funds on the Department of Energy's Smart Grid Demonstration Program. An audit found that $12.3 million in reimbursements lacked required supporting documentation.

 

•  The U.S. Secret Service spent $23 million to purchase a new fleet of luxury parade limousines. They didn't bother asking for competitive bids ... paid full price to the dealers.

•  The White House is currently spending $376 mil­lion on a four-year renovation of the Executive Mansion, which includes a second Oval Office for the president to use during the dusty renovation.

•  The General Services Administration's inadequate oversight of 33 courthouse-construction proj­ects from 2000 to 2010 cost taxpayers $835 million in extra building expenses.

 

•  The National Endowment for the Arts gave a $100,000 grant to fund development of a video game about a female superhero sent to save planet Earth from climate changes (darn, I missed it!)

•  The Transportation Security Administration has let 5,700 pieces of unused security equipment worth $184 million sit idle in a Dallas warehouse, costing taxpayers $3.5 million annually to lease and manage.

 

•  This year the U.S. government will pay $65 per year EACH  in service fees to keep 13,712 of its empty bank accounts on the books, costing taxpayers $891,280 (gee, that's almost as much as the Postmaster General earns in a year...).

 

•  Medicare was found to have OVERPAID hospitals and clin­ics for one kidney dialysis drug to the tune of $800 million per year, a continuing error that they won't get around to correcting until new rates are established in 2014.

 

•  In 2012 the Treasury's Inspector Gen­eral for Tax Administration admitted to $757 mil­lion in fraudulent income-tax refunds to prisoners in 2010.

 

•  Due to poor oversight, over 1,000 Pennsylvania prisoners were able to collect weekly unem­ployment benefits over a four-month period, costing taxpayers $7 million.

 

•  A fis­cal 2011 Performance and Accountability Report from the Social Security Administration (SSA) found it overpaid $2.11 BILLION in Social Security benefits.

 

•  The same report found that the SSA OVERPAID old-age, survivor and disability insurance benefits by $934 million in fiscal 2010 alone.

 

•  Also in 2010, 117,000 individuals received $850 million in cash benefits by double-dipping into Social Security's disability insurance pro­gram AND the federal unemployment insurance program.

 

•  The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded a $149,992 grant to researchers at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey to study college students' on-campus dining selections.

 

•  The Office of Naval Research conducted a $450,000 study to determine whether babies would pay attention to unin­telligent robots.

 

•  In a study costing $681,387, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research confirmed that men bearing firearms appear taller, stronger and manlier than those who don't carry firearms (wonder where I could rent a bazooka?).

 

•  The same U.S. Air Force office also conducted a $300,000 study that concluded that the first bird on Earth probably had black feathers.

 

Now come on, fess up. Couldn't we get by without all of these government guys for a few days? So far they've managed to run up an unpaid bill of $16.8 TRILLION (and look at the great job they've done!). Of course, it won't happen ... at least for long. Where else could a bunch of dimwits have so much fun mismanaging OUR money?

 

Please read this article

  www.supertimes.com/sad.htm

It's time to stand up for America

How long are we going to put up with Radical Muslims recruiting and training terrorists right here in our country.   We have enclaves of disenfranchised groups that are prime targets for these ghouls to go after.  The question is why.  Many of these ghettos are self imposed because the people who live there are unwilling to participate in the American way.  They have not taken advantage of the liberal educational programs that have been offered, they have not tried to assimilate into American society or even learn our language yet they have their hands in our welfare system and other so called entitlements.  Mosques have been the primary place where recruitment has taken place yet we still allow them to continue to preach their hateful rhetoric. 

Solution; if the so called moderate Muslims will not do anything to rid their Mosques of this cancer we as Americans must.  The concept that is being taught by these radicals is not a religion, it is a lifestyle and a criminal one according to our laws.  It’s time to quit sheltering it under the laws of the 1^st Amendment and call it what it really is.  Our laws prohibit multiple wives, they prohibit Sharia Law or the killing of women in the name of family honor, yet in these conclaves it is being practiced daily.  The local police in areas of Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas and   Massachusetts just to name a few have given up even patrolling these areas.   You may remember the little girl who fled her home and had to go through a big court hearing to get away from a forced marriage arranged by her father.  I believe she was like 12 years old.  Or about the two daughters in their late teens who were killed by their father for dishonoring the family by going on a movie date with non Muslims.  The recorded pleas from these girls fell on the deaf ears of their enraged father yet brought those who heard them to tears.  The freedoms that are inherent to our American way of life have escaped these people, yet they live here in the United States.  This is not a religion it is a forced way of life dictated by radicals who hide under our 1^st Amendment for protection.  It’s a huge problem and it’s growing at a rate faster than our own population.  Soon they will be sending their own to Washington to regulate and initiate our laws. 

America was built by the assimilation of many cultures who came together to form the greatest free society in world history.  Emigrants from all across the world fought to preserve the freedoms promised in our Constitution and Bill of Rights in World War II.  The immigrant today many times is not here to become part of the world’s greatest free country but to use it for nothing but personal gain or in many cases to spread hate and discontent among the susceptible in these communities. 

What have we become?

I’ve worked hard all my life to bring comfort to my family.  I’m not rich by any means yet I do not resent those who are.  Everyone has a different level of ambition, some are obsessed with material things that show their wealth to the point that they tend to be obnoxious.  Some have no tendencies for ambition and go through life on the back of others.  In either case they do not represent what the average American family is all about.  We are not looking for a free ride nor will we stand by and be taken advantage of.  We talk about the greatest generation being that of the decades from the 20’s through the 40’s.  They lived through the Great Depression plus while they were still recovering from it they helped save Europe from the horrific mad man Hitler.  I remind you of this because as we sit now we are becoming Europe and we are ripe for history to repeat itself.  We are becoming a 2^nd rate power with little or no clout in the world.  We are in the process of reducing our military to a level below that of tactical requirements.  We are surely going to wake up one day and be in the middle of a fight for our survival in the world.  We will need to call upon the inherited strength of those who have gone before us.  One huge problem though is that too few are left who have the ability to call up that personal strength as so many have become weak and dependent on others for their subsistence. 

America by nature is a capitalist country that was built on investment and the risk of those who aspired to wealth by building powerful corporations.  The Carnegies, the Rockefellers, Henry Ford or Thomas Edison were all extremely ambitious and built a huge amount of wealth.  In doing so they built the foundation of our industry and with it the strength of the United States.  Yes they were cruel task masters taking advantage of a population starving for work, in many cases working men to death in unfit conditions for little wages and even less humane treatment.  The saying that power corrupts comes from these examples, Rockefeller hated Carnegie and Carnegie hated Rockefeller over power and money and they set out to destroy each other squandering millions in the effort.  America found a solution for tempering these icons of industry by forming together in unions giving a voice to the common man once again.  These unions were not designed to control their workers but to bring safer working conditions and livable wages to their members.  For a few decades America flourished the 50’s and the 60’s brought a pride in workmanship that was felt throughout the western world.  When something had a Made in America label you knew it was a good product. 

Remembering what I said about power corrupting we fast forward to the unions of today where so much power is wielded by so few that even elections are won or lost by their support.  Where deals are made that the common worker has no say, where the dues money collected is used to further the power of the union and their political cohorts rather than the premise of creating better conditions for the workers.  To maintain their power these leaders have bullied companies into benefits that they cannot afford to maintain.  Retirement packages that were never the original intent of the founders, contracts where the employer has no power to replace lazy or problem workers.  The Progressive Movement in the United States found its start in these organizations and have brought the concept to our elected officials throughout government unionizing city, state and federal workers.  State and federal pensions have become so encumbering that whole cities have filed bankruptcy destroying the fiber that was America. 

Now we have a situation where our political parties have neutered the whole process of government with stalemate and political pandering.  The progressives have the power of the press gained through years of infiltration of our educational system.  It is now to the point that the information coming to the people is so tainted that it will take a giant wake up to shake the slumber from our huge silent majority.  It will most probably take another stab at once again being the Greatest Generation ever and I’m sure those who have gone before us would rise up and cheer at the site.  Please wake up America, soon we’ll be lucky to be able to find our way home.      

The Navy Yard affair

Once again we are faced with senseless violence that should have been avoided.  Whoever was responsible for the vetting for security of this person should be held responsible for his actions.  These companies that take on the responsibility for security clearances must be held to higher standards.  The last affair with the NSA leaker Snowden, (The Spy who loved us so much he gave all our secrets to our enemies) should have set off red lights everywhere in government.  We have many shrill voices in the legislature screaming for gun control every time something like this happens.  Just once I’d like to hear a reassuring voice of reason calling for a commonsense approach the problems.  For example; something as important as the security of the United States should not be left in the hands of a contractor because he has presented the low bid on a government contract.  I would like to see how these bids are awarded and what criteria are used in allowing companies to be involved. 

In my mind the problem doesn’t lie with the gun but with the ability to ferret out individuals who are mentally ill.  A sane person doesn’t just walk into a building and start shooting people, something in his background will show a tendency for violence and should have been identified by the security firm charged with his clearance evaluation.  Of course if we adhered to a program of stringent evaluation most of our legislatures and White House officials would be unable to buy a gun.  In the past the FBI looked into drug use and other illegal activity like draft dodging and falsifying documents when checking security clearances.  Barry Soetoro might have had some difficulty himself being a foreign exchange student and all.

Until we bring commonsense into the equation and eliminate the fog of political correctness government will continue to produce possibilities for these type events.  As a young man in the Navy even as common yard birds we were held to a much higher standard than many today.  The definition of Treason was clearly defined in the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) and believed by all to be real.  In that era under the same circumstances had I done what Jane Fonda did I could have been executed and had I done what Edward Snowden did I surely would have been charged with treason.  The more we weaken our penalties the weaker we become as a nation.  Right is right and only commonsense provides the answers not the political correctness that is being shoved down our throats by a progressive society that is trying to alter the direction and definition of America.   

September 11, 2001

Each of us in our own way will always remember where we were on that horrifying day in September 2001.  Each of us felt the loss and recognized that our world would never be the same.  I pray for my children and grand children that they may solve the puzzle that is the Middle East, that they will find leaders who through strength of character with a real commitment to our way of life will defend their existence as freedom loving Americans.  We as a country have for decades survived through strength, strength of commitment to our military, and with a strong commitment to patriotism taught at every level of our growth.  The pride that accompanied the singing of the National Anthem or the presentation of our flag, I still remember how proud we were when chosen to lead the pledge of allegiance as a child in school.   Now we are plagued with what many call political correctness a scourge that weakens our society.  We can no longer choose and go after our enemies but are forced to wait for them to strike even when we know who they are and what their goals are. 

Our forefathers must be so proud, they hand us a glorious country with a wonderful Bill of Rights and a Constitution that protects and serves all mankind and we have surrendered it for what, political correctness so we don't insult our known enemies.  We have taken the God that they called upon while building this nation and thrown him out as to not offend those who seek to tear us down.  We have elected to allow our representatives to become an elite group who have used their power given them by us to insure their future existence.  They are more concerned with their personal power than the welfare of those they represent.  They buy their power by offering benefits to their constituents that our system cannot afford.  They have made us weak and meek in the eyes of our foes and it's just a matter of time before we are tested once again, the only question remains is when and where will they strike.

There will never be peace as long as it is the goal of one side to devour the other.  The religious fervor that emits from the Middle East is the cancer that will destroy the world if it goes unchecked.  We must find the will to say no to the false security offered by those who use us for their own benefit and demand to return to the strength of the eagle who our forefathers so proudly chose as our symbol of freedom.  Peace through strength, peace through personal commitment means a lasting peace for our children and the world.