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11-28-11    A Poem Worth Reading     by: Unknown
10-30-11    Nero In The White House    by: Mychal Massie
10-10-11    A Browning-Obama Parody    by: Anonymous
09-21-11    Da Can    by 1Tea-edTexan
04-27-11    Cattle Rustling, Gunfights...    by 1Tea-edTexan
03-27-11    What Has America Become?    by Ken Huber
03-11-11    Annie Get Your Gun    by 1Tea-edTexan
02-24-11    The Fix    by Unknown
01-29-11    Nullification    by Laurence Burke
12-17-10    The Day Before Christmas    by Jerry Evans
12-17-10     A Night at the Opera    by 1Tea-edTexan
12-08-10    The Fact Of The Matter    by 1Tea-edTexan
12-02-10    The Liberals Christmas Gift    by1Tea-edTexan
11-17-10    Veterans' Days Remembered    by 1Tea-edTexan
11-17-10    Texas Declares War on the USA...    Author Unknown
11-11-10    The Fallen Knights    by Kenneth Cook
10-22-10    Obamacare   by 1Tea-edTexan
10-15-10    Columbus, New Mexico 1916    By 1Tea-edTexan
10-08-10    Snookered  by 1 Tea-edTexan
10-01-10    If You Ain't Mad, You Should Be!  by 1 Tea-edTexan
  9-24-10    The Cimarron Strip - No Man's Land  By 1Tea-edTexan
  9-19-10    Cracker Jack vs. Obamacare  by 1Tea-edTexan
  9-10-10    Remember in November  by 1Tea-edTexan
  8-27-10    Hiding Behind THE Bush  by 1Tea-edTexan
  7-23-10    I'm 63 And I'm Tired  by Robert A Hall
  7-18-10    It's Our Fight Now  by Laurence Burke
  7-09-10    Obama lives outside the Constitution   by Lynn Vogel
  6-24-10    Something to Reflect On - The Reflecting Pool by 1Tea-edTexan
  6-24-10    The Arizona Experience  by TJ Woodard
  6-17-10    The Ass Kicking Messiah Has Spoken  by 1Tea-edTexan
  5-28-10    Pants on the Ground  by 1Tea-edTexan
  5-21-10    OH MY GOSH!  That IS Fundamental Transformation    by 1Tea-edTexan
  5-07-10    Oh My Gosh! That's Exactly What's Happening to Our Country  by 1Tea-edTexan

Nero In The White House
Is The American Way Of Life Over As We Know It?

"Three significant historical events have been eclipsed by Obama:
1) Jimmy Carter will no longer be looked upon as the worst president in American history;
2) Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton will no longer be recognized as the greatest liars in presidential history;
3) Clinton's stain on Monica's dress, and what that did to the White House in general and the office of the president specifically,
will forever pale in comparison to the stain and stench of Obama."
Read the rest of Mychal Massie's Commentary here

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The Following poem was sent to me by 1Tea-edTexan. The author is unknown and the only title to it is "A Poem Worth Reading"
This is well worth it and deserves a proper title if you have any ideas EMAIL US them to us.   I doubt if the author will complain if we give this wonderful tribute to our Soldiers a name of our own.

He was getting old and paunchy And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, Telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly For they knew whereof he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer, For old Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer For a Soldier died today.

He won t be mourned by many, Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,  Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family, Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing, 'Tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing, And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution To the welfare of our land,
Someone who breaks his promise And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate, To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier, Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal And perhaps a pension, small.

It is not the politicians With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out, With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier-- His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier, Who would fight until the end?

He was just a common Soldier, And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict, We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING, A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

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A Browning-Obama Parody
by Anonymous

How do I loathe thee, let me count the ways
I loathe thee to the depth, and breadth and height
My soul can reach when feeling my
loss of employment and economic calamity.
I loathe thee from the profound humiliation
Of applying for public welfare and loss of self-worth
To the bitter anguish of my trust betrayed
I loathe thee for the needless sacrifices and hardships
You have heaped upon my family,
my friends and my countrymen
I loathe thee for spawning social discord among all people
and stirring civil unrest
I loathe thee for providing aid and comfort to our enemies
While allowing our borders to remain violated
I loathe thee for squandering public treasure
and oppressing future generations with the bondage of debt
I loathe thee for usurping constitutional authority
And bringing shame to our most revered office
that you were chosen to occupy
And should you be reelected to that office
I will loathe thee even more.

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 Da Can
by 1Tea-edTexan
I never knew if the expression, "back in '02", referred to 1902, 1802 or '02 B.C., but it was commonly used in my growing-up years. In general, it meant that whatever event we were talking about happened a very long time ago. It was mostly used (sometimes sarcastically) when we
couldn't remember the date, and the exact date was not all that important. It just meant "way
back when".

Well, "back in '02", and that would be long before television became everyone's baby-sitter, before children were addicted to video games, and before parents were enslaved to the whims and wishes of their children, before the poliferation of automobiles and three car garages, before cell phones, I-pads, emails and instant messaging, before many dirt streets in my hometown were paved and curbed, and that would be "way back when" most folks rode a city bus or walked to their destination. Yeah....I go back that far.

The sandy roads that criss-crossed the piney woods region of East Texas were our pathway to the familiar and our gateway to the unknown and adventure. Come Summer, the sun-bleached roadbeds became rivers of superheated granules to torment bare feet that dared to trespass on their firey surfaces. Come Fall and throughout Winter, the earthy roadbeds would often transform into semi-solid streams of muck and mire to challenge driving skills and the durability of odd looking autos that would look at home in a Keystone Kops movie.

In time the earthen roadways began to disappear. The sound of heavy equipment invaded our quite neighborhoods as roadgraders began preparing the roadbeds and barrow pits (bar ditches).The air became heavy with the offensive smell of petroleum as huge tankers arrived, spewing their black liquid cargo over the freshly graded surfaces. The "age of the blacktop" had come. Travel would become easier but the offensive smell of petroleum would never go away.

In today's theater of political drama, conflicting ideologies, career politicians and competition for voters support, the expression, "kicking the can down the road", has become a catch-all phrase
to hide political incompetence. It has been overworked by political leaders who are unable or afraid to make decisions, to compromise or resolve important issues. It has been exhausted by pundits, journalists and bloggers who recognize the political ineptitude but refuse to address political bungling as failure. The expression has become so stale that it his been stripped of the meaning of the activity it is intended to describe. The remainder of this narrative is an attempt to restore and clarify the truer meaning of the phrase, "kicking the can down the road'.

Simply stated, "kicking the can down the road" is a metaphor for procrastinating. It is used as a shield to describe the inability or failure to act or resolve an issue, However, "kicking the can down the road" had it's beginning in a real activity that gave rise to today's metaphor.

"Kicking the can down the road" is an activity of my generation. It is a mindless, pointless noncompetitive activity without consequences or rewards. It is nothing more than a childish attempt to escape boredom while traveling from point "A" to point "B". It began "back in '02" when dirt roads across the country were being transformed into blacktop thoroughfares. At the same time, home canning of fruit and vegetables had began to fade in favor of store-bought canned commodities and the use of metal containers for beverages began to challenge their glass counterpart. In an era before serious enviornmental issues were of great concerns, "tin cans", as they came to be called, were not always properly disposed of and were found along most roadways.

Kids did a lot of walking "back in '02". They walked to school and to church; they walked to town and to Friday night football games and to the old swimming hole. That was all part of the unfolding American scene and no one thought of it as a hardship. In the endless journeys around town, kids would walk along with their companions or meet new ones along the way. Rarely did they walk alone.

I began" kicking the can down the road " at the age of six while walking with other first graders to public school. "Kicking the can down the road" was not a particularly fun thing to do. It was just something to do. There was no competition involved; there were no rules to follow; there were no goals to achieve and there were no points to be scored. It was a totally aimless, useless activity and an absolute waste of energy whose only benefit was the temporary relief of childish boredom from long walks on frequently traveled pathways. The only object of "kicking the can down the road" (if any) was to keep the can in play, but if the can was kicked into the bar ditch and out of play, it was of no concern. There would always be another "can" to kick just down the road apiece. The companions who walked along with us would join in the can kicking activity, Sometimes they would find their own can along the way and there would be more than one can in play. But it was OK to kick their can, it was even expected. Whoever was closest to where the can came to rest was the next to kick the can, so sooner or later, someone else would be kicking your can.

The can would be kicked in a general direction with no predetermined end in mind. It made a tinny clanking noise as it advanced down the irregular surface of the blacktop, bouncing from one side of the road to the other. Sometimes a can would become so dented and worn till it was no longer suitable for our activity. When it was no longer useful, it was summarily kicked into the nearest bar ditch, never to be thought of again. Likewise, when "kicking the can down the road" was no longer amusing, or when we simply tired of the activity or when "kicking the can down the road" itself became boring, it was promptly kicked into the nearest bar ditch and immediately forgotten.

Interestingly, once the affairs at our original destination were completed, it was not at all unusual to find ourselves kicking the same can down the same road but in an opposite direction.

Thus exposed as the mindless, pointless childish activity it represents, it is easy to see how conveniently "kicking the can down the road" fits into today's political dialog and how appropriately the phrase defines the inaction of our elected representatives. It is, however, an evasion of the responsibility of their elected office and an admission of their inability or unwillingness to deal with the complex issues at hand.

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Cattle Rustling, Gun Fights, Public Hanging, Crooked Politicians and Cowboy Poetry
by 1Tea-edTexan
What does cattle rustling, gun fights, public hanging and crooked politicians have in common with cowboy poetry? Of Course! They are all a part of our culture, all part of our Western heritage. You can throw-in bushwhacking, horse theft and claim jumping into the same mix. Just like Cowboy Poetry, they are all a part of the great American scene. But is it the responsibility of the taxpayer to fund a "cowboy poetry festival" in northern Nevada. Harry Reid, (D. Nv) thinks so. He goes so far as to characterize Republican efforts to reduce the budget by cutting funds to National Endowment of the Humanities and National Endowment of the Arts, as "mean spirited". Reid also argues that the cowboy poet roundup in his home state of Nevada will create jobs. He fails to mention that those jobs, if any, will be temporary and of very short duration.

Don't get me wrong here. Born and raised in Texas, I have a healthy appreciation of our Western way of life. From the Silver Screen riders of yester year, like Hoot Gibson, Tom Mix and Tim McCoy, through the age of Roy, Gene and Hoppy to Eastwood and the" Duke", to the hard working ranchers of Arizona and the butt-busting wranglers in Wyoming, the American cowboy and the Code of the West are a large part of my core values. I acknowledge my bias to Western values and I admit that I adopt them knowingly and voluntarily. At the same time, I recognize that a longshoreman in New York or an architect in Atlanta may be influenced by other factors and have somewhat different values and other "worthwhile" projects to promote in their respective locations. So the question comes to mind, should an auto-mechanic in Terre Haute or a registered nurse in Portland be required to fund, through taxation, any event with so narrow an interest and of so temporary benefit to so small a region. Harry Reid thinks so. Reid is so convinced that federal funding for the "Cowboy Poetry Festival" in Elko, Nevada, is so critical to his state that he is willing to hold up (and I do mean holdup) legislation on the national budget. But, any temporary jobs will
be gone within a week and tourist will have moved on. How dumb is that?

Several years ago, while in Dallas, I learned that there was to be a "Cowboy Poetry Reading" at a popular coffee house not too distant from where I was staying. My affection for anything Western, led me to believe that it would be a novel way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Shucking our street clothes in favor of jeans and boots, my three companions and I arrived at the informal eatery early
to get the best seats and sample an amazing array of freshly ground and highly overrated coffee.
We secured an up-front table, perfect for viewing the recitation that was to come. The small "stage" was set-up, complete with lighting, microphone and an overstuffed leather chair that, in retrospect, looked far to cushy for any self-respecting cowboy. In the center of it all, stood a "tip jar" that was obviously and unashamedly preloaded with five and ten dollar bill, alongside of a not
all together inconspicuous sign saying "Donations Accepted" So,.. OK, I'm good with that. Everybody has to make a living.

The performance began promptly at two o'clock with a brief introduction which also stated that the performing cowboy poet would be reading from his own compositions and the compositions of other poets. Our seven-bucks-a-cup coffee was served just about the time the first reading began. Well...the coffee was just OK. (hardly worth seven bucks) but I figured that helped to pay for the entertainment. Between tips and whatever the proprietor agreed to pay , the poet would make out pretty good (with no financial support from the government) for two hours of "work" on a Sunday afternoon. Tip jar started to fill as the performance continued.

The subjects, all things being Western, were excellent. The topics of sagebrush, and prairie dogs, cattle drives and ponies, hardships and lost loves, were blended in romantic stanzas of rhyme and
rhythm that evoked nostalgic imagery of frontier life and simpler times. Even the reading was near perfection, with every vowel and every syllable spoken perfectly and every period and comma rigidly observed. In fact, the readings were far too perfect to be the utterance of a humble American cowboy. All the hype and the Western regalia worn by the poet, the hat, the boots, the buckle and the bolo tie, could not conceal the sophistication of the voice that spoke. Closing my eyes and listening with no visual clues, the "cowboy poet" sounded more like a professional actor or an undergraduate in English studies. Still I listened attentively, but somehow feeling that cowboy poets ,at least in this case, were pretty much of a sham. I rationalized those negative feelings away, thinking that maybe this cowboy poet is, like me, not a cowboy in the literal sense, but nonetheless a cowboy at heart.

Did I enjoy the performance? Immensely! Would I attend another performance? Quite likely, if all things were favorable. Would I pay taxes for a festival in Nevada or anywhere else? Not voluntarily! Do I think a dentist in Orlando, or carpet layer in Detroit should pay taxes to fund a "cowboy poetry festival" anywhere in the world? HELL NO. Let local or regional areas provide for their local or regional activities. They are the ones that will benefit,

If Reid's arguments are valid, and taxpayers are required to fund the Cowboy Poetry Festival, simply because it is part of our culture and will create temporary jobs, then the same consideration must be given to the Maple Syrup Festival in Wakarusa, Indiana and the Gilmer Yamboree Festival, in Gilmer, Texas, celebrating the YAM. It naturally follows that equal consideration must be given to the 300+ festivals in Indiana alone, plus countless other festivals, in the remaining 49 states. There is an endless variety of state. and county fairs, and festivals of every description. To name a few, there are: food fest, jazz fest, wine festivals, beer festivals, country music festivals, mountain music festivals, film fest, strawberry festivals. sugar mill festivals, and in Marshall, Texas there is a fire-ant festival, in Mississippi there is a World Catfish Festival, there is a juke-joint festival, and in Euphrates, Wa. there is a Fresh Paint Festival while Anacortes, Wa. promotes a What The Heck Festival and in Mississippi there is an Elvis Presley Festival. The examples are endless with new events springing up every year. All are worthy projects that benefit state tourism and local economies but none are worthy of federal funding. ARE WE REALLY READY TO OPEN THE FEDERAL CHECKBOOK TO THIS VAST ARRAY OF LOCAL PROJECTS? CAN WE AFFORD TO? I don't think so.

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What Has America Become?

Please note: The following is a letter written to the editor of Iosco County News Herald of Michigan on June 9, 2010.
Written nearly a year ago and we still face the same problems today. Is the change here to stay?

Editor,

Has America become the land of special interest and home of the double standard?

Lets see: if we lie to the Congress, it’s a felony and if the Congress lies to us its just politics; if we dislike a black person, we’re racist and if a black person dislikes whites, its their 1st Amendment right; the government spends millions to rehabilitate criminals and they do almost nothing for the victims; in public schools you can teach that homosexuality is OK, but you better not use the word God in the process; you can kill an unborn child, but it is wrong to execute a mass murderer; we don’t burn books in America, we now rewrite them; we got rid of communist and socialist threats by renaming them progressive; we are unable to close our border with Mexico, but have no problem protecting the 38th parallel in Korea; if you protest against President Obama’s policies you’re a terrorist, but if you burned an American flag or George Bush in effigy it was your 1st Amendment right.

You can have pornography on TV or the internet, but you better not put a nativity scene in a public park during Christmas; we have eliminated all criminals in America, they are now called sick people; we can use a human fetus for medical research, but it is wrong to use an animal.

We take money from those who work hard for it and give it to those who don’t want to work; we all support the Constitution, but only when it supports our political ideology; we still have freedom of speech, but only if we are being politically correct; parenting has been replaced with Ritalin and video games; the land of opportunity is now the land of hand outs; the similarity between Hurricane Katrina and the gulf oil spill is that neither president did anything to help.

And how do we handle a major crisis today? The government appoints a committee to determine who’s at fault, then threatens them, passes a law, raises our taxes; tells us the problem is solved so they can get back to their reelection campaign.

What has happened to the land of the free and home of the brave?

- Ken Huber, Tawas City

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Annie Get Your Gun

"Annie Get Your Gun" was an Irving Berlin Musical that opened in New York in May of 1946. Ethel Mermen starred in the fictional role of Annie Oakley when Annie worked as a sharpshooter in the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. "Annie Get Your Gun" was the third longest running musical of the 1940s and was performed on stage over a thousand times. The play was adapted for the screen in 1950, and Betty Hutton played the role of the "crackshot" but somewhat boorish Annie.

Today, when I say Annie get your gun, what I'm really saying is, 'Hey Lady, you better git out there and find yourself a weapon to protect yourself with and to defend your home with.' And do it NOW, while you still can.
But you don't like guns. Right? And you detest violence. Correct? Well understand this about guns, The only people that "love" guns are gun collectors. Responsible gun owners regard their guns as tools that can be used to provide or protect. All others are either criminal or whacko. Let's face it, women are the most frequent victims of rape, assault and abuse and they should take all possible measures to protect themselves.

Maybe you have a guy in your life that owns a gun or two and feel that he will protect you. Unfortunately, It doesn't always work out like that. What if your guy is at work, or maybe on a fishing trip or elsewhere? What then? Criminals and abusers tend to watch their prey and to lay in wait for a moment of weakness or an opportunity to attack. How many violent crimes are committed in a crowd? Not too many, I suspect. Even if your guy is present there is always the probability that he may be outnumbered, overpowered or outgunned. You just could be the last line of defense for your guy as well as for yourself and any youngsters that may be present. Scout's motto, "BE PREPARED"

There are plenty of reports and analyses on Violence and Crime Against Women that you can view on the internet so I will not try to scare you or impress you with the numbers, but the numbers speak for themselves. I will say that one report states that over 600 rape and sexual assaults occur EVERY DAY.
 
Times being what they are, with so many unemployed and many resorting to crime, things are likely to get worse, much worse. In Astabula County, in Ohio, one county judge is advising (maybe warning) residents in his county to arm themselves. Severe downturn in the economy has caused huge layoff of peace officers. Their county jail can hold well over 100 prisoners but the county can afford supervision for less than fifty. There are over 700 convicted law breakers WAITING for "their turn" to serve their time. One sheriff’s car now patrols the 700 square mile county jurisdiction. Wonder what their response time is???

What should be of even greater concern is the polite remarks and the "civil conversation" about Islam and the introduction of Shariah-law. It is the worst possible thing that could happen to women and ALL women should be livid with outrage. There is nothing civil about Sharia. Stoning and amputation go way beyond cruel and unusual punishment, it is barbaric, and women get the worst end of it. It IS NOT something that I would want for my daughter or granddaughters. Every woman, every wife, every mother, every daughter should badger, pester and nag, bother and annoy and worry unceasingly every male in their life to MAN-UP and put an end to any further discussion. Raise some holy hell with every politician in your city, county, state and nation. BUT, Annie Get Your Gun first! What has happened to the fever of women's suffrage and more recently women's lib. Have we become so "civilized" that we will stand aside and yield to barbaric rule. God help the women of America if the men of America fail them.

by: 1Tea-edTexan

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The Fix

There recently was an article in the St. Petersburg , Fl. Times. The Business Section asked readers for ideas on:
"How Would You Fix the Economy?" I think this guy nailed it!

Dear Mr. President,

Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.

You can call it the "Patriotic Retirement Plan":

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They MUST buy a new AMERICAN Car. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.
It can't get any easier than that!!

Author Unknown

P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress pay their taxes..
Mr. President, while you're at it, make Congress retire on Social Security and Medicare. I'll bet both programs would be fixed pronto!

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Nullification

GOP Invokes 1700's Doctrine In Health Care Fight - Yahoo News Article
I am a big fan of "Nullification", so if you read the above article I would like to weigh in that the article assumes certain things which are either incorrect, or are lies. 

While Nullification may be difficult for some to understand (especially those who are educated in public schools) all one really needs to know to "get it" is to remember why we have a constitution in the first place:  The authors of our Constitution, as representatives of the various states, had a great fear that a centralized government would force its authoritarian will, by legislation, on The People and States. And through that legislation The People and the States would relent to tyrannical laws and that the federal government could eventually do anything it wanted.... even in opposition to the will of the people. 

The concept  that federal employees, even in the form of a Supreme Court, should have the final say in Constitutional matters would have been a ludicrous proposition to  those representatives who were meeting for the sole purpose of preventing just that sort of situation.  The Constitution would never have been ratified if that was its intent.  There would be no reason to ratify a document dictating restrictions and authority over the federal government if that  federal body should have the final authority to say if they were working within the confines of  the document....obviously that situation would relegate the whole document to worthlessness.  And I believe that is the intent of many of those currently in power and in the federal bureaucracy....just as the authors of our Constitution warned us.

Nullification is thought by many today to be a nonviable option.  But this is true only because We The People and the various States have lacked vigilance and courage in our patriotic obligation to stand up to Big Fed. However. whether or not people want to call it "Nullification", there have been instances recently where individual states have passed laws which have in effect nullified federal laws.  Even left-leaning California has passed laws which assert that state's right to sovereignty in the matter of making legal the medicinal use marijuana in direct opposition to federal statutes.  And many states have passed legislation asserting our right to bear arms that contradicts federal edicts.  And recently many states have passed state laws in an attempt to nullify health care legislation and against federal immigration regulations in those states  By not acting in these instances Big Fed has acknowledged that Nullification does indeed have some teeth if The States and The People assert their right and duty to stand up to unconstitutional legislation.  Even if the appointed federal employees on the nation's highest court divine the federal regulations to be Constitutional.

It is our right and our duty as citizens to stand up to Big Fed and not obey unconstitutional legislation and to remove those who would initiate such regulations from power.  If we allow the federal government to dictate over us which laws are Constitutional, dictators is exactly what we will have.

by Laurence Burke

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A Night at the Opera

The subdued light of early morning filtered through the partially open blinds to announce the near arrival of daybreak. The coolness of a winter night still lingered in the bedroom causing some
light chill. Sinking back into the softness of my pillow, I pulled the coverlet over my left shoulder and felt the comforting warmth such covers afford. How undeserving, I thought, that I should wake so early every Saturday morning, while much of the planet remained asleep. My two weary eyes cried out to extend their term of rest and I deliberately fought against consciousness with some small hope of returning to my dream state. But sleep would not return.

My diminished state of awareness gave way to foolish thought as if to understand or even justify this malevolent Saturday morning sleep disorder I knew, all too well, that my lifetime custom of rising early had evolved into this dreaded habit that gave me no relief. Still in that whimsical stage of morning stupor I pondered, could this be some dark curse for some evil deed I committed in another life now cast upon me by some unknown Voodoo princess? What utter nonsense, I thought, as i sank lower in my pillow.

For a time I lay there, hunkered down lest I offend my ageing joints with further movement. while trying to clear my mind of all foolish thoughts and prepare my wit to deal with activities of the coming day. Amusingly, and with much surprise, some old forgotten law of physics popped into my brain, seemingly to rationalize my resolve to remain prone between the sheets. I was momentarily entertained and smugly pleased with my own cleverness in making convenient use of the principals which state , "a body at rest tends to remain at rest" to validate my loss of morning vigor. Sounded ever so much better than the underlying truth of the matter that advancing age was the root of it all. It did.

Presently, certain areas of my body began to speak to me of pain, sending their urgent messages with increasing frequency and intensity. Clearly my bio-feedback, judging by the rising level of my discomfort, was finely tuned and in perfect working order on this morning. This was nature's
diabolical way of warning me that those certain body parts, now done with their rest did not choose to remain locked in their current position indefinitely. It was their call to action.
I had no wish to make them suffer more so. with some reservation, I agreed with myself, that I would get a move on, just as soon as I could make a move. Past experience with old body parts proves that those parts which speak of pain when they tire of resting, will scream in loud protest when they are put in motion. On the other hand, certain other body parts which are most content to remain at rest will protest even louder once disturbed. While I cowered in my warm and sacred place of refuge, dreading to make that first move, I recalled another law of physics which states that "a body set in motion, tends to remain in motion" , but it gave me little comfort. I knew what was to happen next and I cringed.

I choose not to repeat the expletives I muttered as I struggled to sit erect on the bedside and I forbid so crude an utterance to be inscribed upon my tombstone. I had successfully, so I thought, made the transition from my increasingly uncomfortable prone position to a semi-upright sitting position somewhat resembling a limp pair of pajamas and not altogether unlike my current state of mind at that early hour. A short time later, I was able to visually verify my own existence and I began to stretch and yawn and gasp for breath, all in a single motion, while my feet searched blindly for my slippers somewhere on the floor below. Gradually the pain subsided but it did not go away.

This morning ritual may seem morbidly strange to many, but it has become my normal routine on Saturday morning as well as on all other days. In the beginning, it was a matter of some concern, but in time I came to value this exercise as a daily rite of passage in order to maintain my senior hood status and I fear that should I fail to observe this propriety, even for a single day, I will cease to exist. Of greater concern is the morning ritual of the dear lady that sleeps beside me. Some amazing going-ons continue to occur on that side of the bed, which I will not mention on pain of certain death.

With no particular sense of urgency on this first Saturday in December. I made my way to the kitchen to complete my first, my most important and possibly the only task that I would undertake on that day. The Brewing of the Coffee. Passing through the living room, I picked-up the remote, and without bothering to look, pressed the power button, then paced off the remaining steps to the kitchen. Many things were happening in international affairs and national politics that week and Congress was to vote on some important issues , so , my hastily contrived plan was to watch the early news while savoring my precious brew. I assembled "the fixings", placing the filter in the basket with a measured amount of aroma roast grounds and filled the reservoir to it's proper level and waited for the brew to make. The vaguely familiar melody of some Hungarian (or was it Russian) rhapsody coming from the surround sound in the adjacent room took the place of the annoying hype for some commercial product , then was followed by the sound of a recognizable voice... it was the voice of that madcap comic, Groucho Marx.

With my stimulant of choice in hand, I returned to the living room and settled in my recliner, reaching again for the remote, fully intending to switch from the movie to a news channel. A Marx brothers movie was playing but it was near the end. The caption on the screen gave the title of the movie as "A Night At The Opera", starring the Marx Brothers.

The narrative presented below is not intended as a critical review of "A Night at the Opera", the cast, or the medium. I have no letters of degree that qualify me for such an undertaking and I have no wish to make such an assessment. The movie has been widely acclaimed as a classic and, according to many, rates among the best of that genre. The recent broadcast of the film was indeed the stimulus for this article and while some specific scenes, events or characters may be mentioned they are of little consequence to this presentation and there is no attempt to judge , rate, enhance or discredit their performance, appropriateness or desirability. They are important only in what they may represent. Before I continue, I will point our that I am not a devotee of the Marx brothers, but have on occasions watched them perform. Their satirical blend of burlesque, vaudeville, surrealism, comedy and drama is not my choice of amusement or entertainment, however, I acknowledge and respect that others may view them differently. All references to the film or to the cast are used only to illustrate how art often imitates life. In this case most proficiently.

I cannot say precisely why I did not act on my intent to find some source of news on that Saturday morning or why I the tele remained tuned to that broadcast while I watched the final minutes of mayhem. Most likely some bizarre antic or senseless remark caught my attention and held my curiosity captive. Having tuned in to the movie so late, I could only guess what the plot might be, and I guessed that the brothers (all three) were trying to get a contract signed and would stop at nothing to accomplish their goal. Later reading a short review of that movie proved my guess to be right.

For those who have not seen the movie, I offer this brief summary of the final scenes:
Patrons of the opera, all suitably dressed for the occasion , the men in tuxedos and women in formal evening wear, were properly seated waiting the opening of the opera. (Pretty stuff -shirt stuff), while the Marx brothers ran around back-stage committing their usual madcap atrocities on reasonably sane members of the cast. The brothers had earlier. replaced the sheet music for the opera with the score of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". When the curtain opened , the brothers were creating havoc among the opera performers and when the music began, two of the brothers were in the orchestra. After a brief time of pretending to conduct two sections of the orchestra., the music changed to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", and the two brothers began playing pitch. Following more outrageous shenanigans, one of the tricksters wound up climbing around in the staging (ropes) that ;operate the large canvas background scenes, causing them, to rise and fall haphazardly and finally ,swinging from the ropes, one brother crashed through one of the large canvases The opera was in total disarray, however the contract did get signed and the final musical number went off reasonably well. While all the madness and mayhem was taking place, more rational members of the cast were trying to restore or maintain order. The situation is beyond my limited ability to describe, so I suggest. if you wish to see things more clearly, you rent the video.

When the curtains rose in the opening scene of the opera, the prim and proper patrons were dismayed by the unexpected butchery of the script and the music and they raised their voices in protest. As the lunacy continued, becoming even wilder at times, the dismay of the audience began to subside and when the final act was finished, the audience rose to a standing ovation. The audience who at first resembled some degree of normalcy and had responded so negatively to the opening chaos was reduced to a level of complacency and acceptance of the madness taking place all around them, by the behavior of three demented players.

In only a few moments of watching this movie, the similarity of the frenzied and deranged behavior and dialog of the film to all that is taking place on capitol hill became strikingly clear. While We The people raise their voice in protest and Conservatives try to maintain some degree of order, more Liberal members of Congress ignore the voice of the people and continue to cause havoc and pandemonium. The remarks by Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi that "we have to pass the bill so we can find out what's in it" is as insidious a remark as any insane line from A Night at the Opera. The poignant question remains unanswered. will We The People become like the patrons of the opera and succumb to the forces of fundamental change and morph into some unknown, unspecified social ideology , or will We The People cast off the uncertainty of the unknown and restore the status quo on which to build a future for our children?. Which do they deserve? We own the present, they inherit the future.

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Fact of the Matter

Fact of the matter is...there's a couple of things that have troubled me for a good long while and "fact of the matter" is, I'm "sick and tired" of the many journalists, pundits, analysts, editors,. celebrities, faux comedians, media experts, presidents, janitors. late night talk show host, certain professors that appear regularly on TV and all others who preface their OPINIONS and REPRESENT THEM AS FACTS, with the worn-out, over-used and highly abused expression "FACT OF THE MATTER". I hear it on Fox, on CNN, on talk radio and in the pool hall, .....it's everywhere,.....wherever armchair experts congregate, from the White House to the craphouse and it really gets my goat. Listen for it! Can the idiots who use that stupid phrase actually believe it validates their remarks or adds to their credibility? It is incredulous that anyone would think so. Must they so often avoid personal responsibility for their own opinions by alluding to some evidence they never present, and expect us to take their word as fact simply because they say it's fact. That's a rickety crutch that should send an instant warning to Watch Out For This Guy, He's Got An Issue To Spin:. . Most of us are like Sergeant Joe Friday, "We just want the facts, Mam. Just the facts". If we cannot believe whomever may be speaking, why would we be any more inclined to believe them when they preface their remark with "fact of the matter is"?
Fact of the matter is.... it's all pretty dumb..
"Fact of the matter is", as much as I abhor the use of the Fact Of The Matter ploy (and this ain't no spin) , there is another overworked expression used by too many congresspersons that I find even more offensive. It's the old "Just A Drop-In-The-Bucket" PLOY. You know what I mean. It's that ELECTED congressperson whose casual remarks may go something like this, , "Well, that 128 million dollars earmarked to make an environmental friendly habitat for SPANISH MOSS is 'JUST A DROP IN THE BUCKET', much too small an amount to be bothered with so we'll just go ahead and invest that 128 mil. on behalf of Spanish moss, or some other similar asinine DROP IN THE BUCKET remark about some un-needed, unwanted, costly and totally useless window dressing project for their district. See what I mean? Far too many of the bums we send to the capitol who are supposed to represent us and who ARE EXPECTED TO BE GOOD STEWARDS of taxpayers money are far to cavalier with the tax dollars that working folks are required to pay, while their only product is division. Try putting a container under a drip sometimes and see how much it accumulates.
Yeah! I know, We are in the season of Peace and Goodwill, Hope and Love and that my rant would be more appropriate at a different time, so I will say no more but with so many workers unemployed for so long a time and knowing the sadness they must feel, my contempt for the breakdown in national leadership shades the cheerfulness of this season.
Still, I wish for one and all, a Safe, Glorious and Christ filled Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. God Bless Us, Everyone.
by 1Tea-edTexan

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The Liberals Christmas Gift

This just in, Alert! Alert! I heard it on the news
Tis naught to fear Save Fear itself If you will pay my Dues
Big Brother bids you come to me and bend unto my Will
Sip from my Cup of Bitter Wine and Taste my bitter Pill

I beg you give me of your Praise and Homage that I Crave
My Favors I will grant to you from Cradle to the Grave
All bitterness will fade and pass as we become as one
To change the Fate of all Mankind and bring the End of Christendom

Come let me fill your earthen Cup with all that you desire
And Social Progress be the path to all that we aspire
Our hearts and minds so intertwined And filled with Social Swill
Will be the Savior of our kind And all our Dreams fulfill

More perfectly this Orb will be With all of one accord
When those who struggled to be free Have failed beneath my sword
Big Brother bids you walk away From Gods that once you knew
Tis for the Greater Good, you know, But only for us Few

Fear not your Loss of Liberty, So Minor of a thing
So small the Ransom to be paid to make Big Brother King
Both king and Godhead now in one Will save us in his keep
And feed us with his table scrap But Rob us while we sleep

Big Brother knows what's Best for you His Insight all Supreme
But Hark! We've heard that Trill before Tis' but the Same old Scheme
The Omnipresence Brother brings His Thought Police and More
Reflect the Horror once foretold in nineteen-hundred-eighty-four

Nineteen-hundred-eighty-four refers to the futuristic novel ("1984") by George Orwell, first published in 1949. It deals with a central character whose work is to change history
by rewriting old newspaper accounts to conform with "New age truths" as determined by
Party elitists. (Note Michelle Obama's remarks about changing our history) The novel was later made into a movie with Richard Burton a co-star. War has become perpetual with shortage and rationing of all commodities. An oppressive Big Brother government is the antagonist with Thought Police, Word Police and Food Police....and more

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Texas Declares War on the USA

Editors note, the following was sent to us as an e-mail. In these trying times it is good to see that some people still have a sense of humor.
I have no idea who wrote this it but it is great! Thanks for sending this Dilbert.

Texas Declares War on the USA....ONLY IN TEXAS ????

President Barack Obama was in the Oval Office when his telephone rang. "Hello, President Obama” a heavily accented southern voice said.
"This is Archie, down here at Goliad Texas , I am callin' to tell ya’ll that we are officially declaring war on ya!"

"Well Archie," Barack replied, "This is indeed important news! How big is your army?"

"Right now," said Archie, after a moments calculation "there is myself, my cousin Harold, my next-door-neighbor Randy,
and the whole dart team from Hooters. That makes eight!"

Barack paused. "I must tell you Archie that I have one million men in my army waiting to move on my command."

"Wow," said Archie. "I'll have ta call ya back!"

Sure enough, the next day, Archie called again. " Mr. Obama , the war is still on!
We have managed to acquire some infantry equipment!"

"And what equipment would that be Archie?" Barack asked.

"Well sir, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Harry’s John Deere tractor."

President Obama sighed. "I must tell you Archie, that I have 16,000 tanks and 14,000 armored personnel carriers.
Also I've increased my army to one and a half million since we last spoke."

"Lord above", said Archie, "I'll be getting back to ya."

Sure enough, Archie rang again about twenty minutes later.. " President Obama , the war is still on!
We have managed to git ourselves airborne!
We up an' modified Harolds's ultra-light with a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four boys from the Legion have joined us as well!"

Barack was silent for a minute then cleared his throat. "I must tell you Archie that I have 10,000 bombers and 20,000 fighter planes.
My military complex is surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites.
And since we last spoke, I've increased my army to TWO MILLION!"

"Well, crap," said Archie, "l'll have ta call you back."

Sure enough, Archie called again the next day. " President Obama ! I am sorry to have to tell you that we have had to call off this here war."

"I'm sorry to hear that" said Barack . "Why the sudden change of heart?"

Well, sir," said Archie, "we've all sat ourselves down and had a long chat over a few beers,
and come to realize that there's just no way we can feed two million prisoners.."

TEXAS CONFIDENCE CANNOT BE SHAKEN

IN GOD WE TRUST

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Obamacare

Editors Note: 1-Tea-edTexan is a contributor to RednecksForAmericans.com   If any of you are musically inclined and can offer any assistance putting music to the following please EMAIL US and we will see that he gets in touch with you. Thanks Radical Richard

Obamacare, Obamacare                                          George Bush is gone

Look what you've done to me                                             It's your job now

You took away the things I love                                You can't blame him again

And gave me misery                                               He ain't your whipping boy no more

No work in sight, my bills past due                            Don't try that crap again

 I'm running  out of luck                                           You had your chance

You say it's for the greater good                               You screwed it up

But you don't give a....(Pause 2-3 beats.)                  You blew it all away

Tinkers damn                                                         You took the country

Cause you just pass the buck.                                 Down the tube

                                                                             And now it's time to change your ways.

Obama gave away my job

And shipped it overseas                                          Obamacare, Obamacare

He gave away our country's wealth                           Look what you done to me

And brought us to our knees                                    You took away the things I love

He wiped away my IRA                                            And gave me misery

and   my security                                                    No work in sight,  my bills past due

And left a level playing field                                      I'm running out of luck

Of equal poverty                                                      You say it's for the greater good

                                                                              But you don't give a.....(Pause 2-3 bets)

Obamacare, Obamacare                                          Tinkers damn

Look what you done  to  me                                     Cause you just pass the buck

You took away the things I love

And gave me misery

No work in sight,  my bills past due

 I'm running out of luck

You say its for the greater good

But you don't give a......(pause 2-3 beats).

Tinkers damn

Cause you just pass the buck 

In the chorus where it calls or a pause of 2-3 beats, Slapping the guitar twice may be effective. 
A simple melody with some good "pickin" would  be great.

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 Columbus, New Mexico 1916

Columbus, New Mexico, named after the early explorer Christopher Columbus, is a small farming and ranching village situated in Luna county in southwestern New Mexico, just three miles north of the border. The tranquil atmosphere and hard but unhurried rural lifestyle bears little resemblance of earlier days when Columbus was, for a brief period, the largest settlement in New Mexico bustling with noisy commercial and military activity.  A turn of the century railroad depot has been refurbished and converted to a Railroad Depot Museum with authentic relics and photographs of an earlier time when the Mexican bandit/folk hero/ insurgent, Pancho Villa with his Villistas, and other desperadoes raided villages along the border to support their resistance to the leadership of Mexico's president, Venustiano Carranza. The early history of Columbus brings to mind scenes from the 1960 cinema, The Magnificent Seven" with Eli Wallache playing the role of Calvera, fictional ruthless leader of a band of Mexican outlaws that periodically  raided and terrorized a poor Mexican village.

The events leading up to Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus began  some six years earlier with the start of the Mexican Revolution in1910 .  In preceding years, the wealth and power of Mexico had been controlled by an elite minority led by General Diaz.  In 1910, under pressure from Francisco Madero, General Diaz was forced to hold an election in which Madero garnered a significant number of votes and public support.  Feeling that the general population of Mexico was too ignorant and just not ready for democracy, Madero was sent to prison by Diaz.  After his release from prison, Madero continued his resistance to Diaz and attempted to have him overthrown.  Other insurgents fighting against the Diaz regime were Emiliano Zapata in the southern region and Pancho Villa in the northern region.  Unable to control the insurgants, in 1911, Diaz resigned and fled to France.  Madero became president but was heavily opposed by Zapata.  In November of the same year, Zapata denounced Modero as president and claimed the title for himself but Zapata only controlled the southern state of Morelos where he confiscated the estates of property owners, drove them out  and divided the land among the peasants.   In 1919, Zapata was assassinated under the orders of General Pablo Gonzalez.

Rising to the rank of General, under the Porfirio Diaz  administration, Victoriano Huerta pledged his support to the new president Francisco Madero when Diaz went into exile.  However, Huerta plotted with Henry Lane Wilson, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and Felix Diaz (Nephew of Porfirio) to overthrow Madero.  The conspiracy is known as
La decena tragica in Mexican history.   In February 1913, the conspiracy was completed when Huerta had Madero and his vice president, Jose Suarez arrested and sent into exile.

In early 1914, Mexico was in the middle of a civil war. Venustaino Carranza and Pancho Villa fought to overthrow the Victoriano Huerta regime.  Earlier, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, not wishing to get involved in the internal struggle,  had recalled the US Ambassador from Mexico City and dispatched US warships to the ports of Tampico and Veracruz to protect US interest and property.

Coming ashore at Tampico, in an unarmed whaleboat from the  gunboat, USS Dolphin, to pick up a supply of gasoline, the unarmed sailors were taken into custody by federalist troops and detained at Huerta's military headquarters.  The American sailors were later released, unharmed, and allowed to return to their boat.  General Ignacio Zaragoza contacted the American consul and apologized for the events, also  sending  his regrets to Rear Admiral Henry Mayo, anchored offshore.  Mayo demanded that the American flag be raised and saluted in the city and that a formal apology be made.  Huerta's government refused to raise and salute the American flag and President Wilson began moving additional naval forces to the Mexican coast.  On April 20th. Wilson addressed Congress detailing the incidents that demonstrated Mexico's (Huerta's)  contempt for the United States and asked for Congressional approval to use military action, if necessary, to maintain the dignity and authority of the United States.

While Wilson's request was stalled in the Senate, the State Department was tracking a shipment of small-arms aboard the Hamberg-American liner, SS Ypiringa.  Wilson had refused to recognize the Huerta administration as the official government of Mexico  and did not want the small arms to go to Huerta to be used to crush the rebellion.  Without waiting for Congressional approval, Wilson instructed the Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels to "take Veracruz at once" and to seize the small arms shipment.  With a landing force of about 350 leathernecks and 300 bluejackets, the custom house, post office, telegraph office, railroad terminal, the rail yard, and power plant were captured.  The waterfront and the port had been secured. On April 30th, the U.S. Army 5th Reinforced Brigade arrived and occupied the city. for seven months  ending in late November. American casualties numbered 19 killed and 72 wounded.  Mexican losses amounted to 172 killed and 250 wounded.  When American forces were withdrawn, Mexico severed diplomatic relations with the United States.  Wilson's provocative action had served to unite the two Mexicans competing for political power, Venustiano Carranza and Victoriana Huerta.

Following the occupation of Veracruz, and the ascendency of Venustiano Carranza  to the presidency and the recognition of his government by the United States. in October 1915, relations between the two governments were hampered by outlaw gangs and insurgents operating along their common border. Francisco "Pancho" Villa, commanding revolutionary forces in northern Mexico (now rebelling against Carranza) was angered when the United States recognized the Carranza government as the official government of Mexico. In retaliation,  Villa and his Villistas began  attacks against American citizens.  In the northern state of Chihuahua, the Villistas stopped a train and removed seventeen American passangers and executed them. Other attacks occurred along the border as targets presented themselves.

In the predawn hours of  March 9, 1916, Villa and 500 of his men crossed the border  and made a savage attack on the village of Columbus, New Mexico and the detachment of the 13th US Cavalry Regiment stationed there.  Eighteen Americans were killed and eight were wounded.  Villa lost about 67 of his rebel band but was successful in confiscating a number of horses, mules and guns to support his revolution.

The assault on Columbus was the first act of aggression by a foreign entity on US soil since the Revolutionary War and Americans were outraged.  Villa's incursion into the United States forced President Woodrow Wilson to initiate an appropriate military response.  Wilson gave the order to Secretary of War, Newton Baker, to undertake a punitive expedition into Mexico  and to  capture Pancho Villa.  Brigadier General John J. (Black Jack) Pershing, veteran of the Indian Wars, was to lead the expedition.  Pershing marshaled his forces that included horses and pack animals, and 10,000 troops, airplanes and a convoy of trucks at Columbus. With permission from Mexican President Carranza to pursue Villa within the state of Chihuahua (but no farther) Pershing began what was to become known as Pancho Villa Punitive Expedition. COVERING THEIR REAR, IN JUNE  1916, PRESIDENT WILSON CALLED-UP 110,000 NATIONAL GUARDSMEN  AND DEPLOYED THEM ALONG THE BORDER.

Long before Villa's attack on Columbus and Pershing had made ready for his incursion into Mexico, Pancho Villa had become legendary for his resistance to the corruption and oppression of successive governments.  His status as a folk hero or a freedom-fighter had won the hearts of most Mexicans.  Even those who hated Villa hated the American intruders even more when Pershing's forces entered their homeland.  The situation for American troops was farther complicated when President Carraza's federal troops attacked the Americans on April 13th near Parral. Villa had disappeared into the rugged countryside and could not be found.  After eleven months on the trail and many small firefights with Villistas, including one at San Geronimo, American forces never encountered Villa's main body of  bandits.  In May, a detachment led by a young officer, George S. Patton, located and killed the commander of Villa's bodyguard.  Patton was credited with the kill.  Tension continued to flair when, in June, Mexican Federal troops engaged the U.S. 10th Calvary near Carrizal with seven Americans killed.

Negotiations between the two governments taking place at El Paso, Texas, produced an agreement that the United States would withdraw their military forces if Mexico (Carranza) would guarantee to control Villa.  On February 5th. 1917, the last of the American forces were removed to Fort Bliss, Texas and the Punitive Expedition was officially concluded.

On a side note:  General Pershing admitted that the expedition had failed to accomplish it's objective to capture Villa and that Villa had outwitted him (Pershing) and out-bluffed him at every turn, and he complained that President Wilson had placed too many restrictions on the expedition.

The expedition gave birth to the first mechanized military supply train, in which Dodge trucks were used to ferry supplies and equipment from Columbus to the theater of operations;  The first armored vehicles, which were the forerunners of modern day tanks, were used here for the first time;  and motorcycles were, for the first time, used in combat; the mission also involved the first use of airplanes in combat conditions, Our entire air force, consisting of eight planes, was reassigned to Columbus,  Captain Benjamin Foulois' First Aero Squadron, Flying JN-3/4 Jenny's provided scouting and reconnaissance for the expedition, flying so low that they carried grenades for defense and shot back at ground troops. Much of the logistical and tactical experience gained in the expedition was  to be utilized in America's involvement in WW1 that would soon follow.
 
In recent years, Woodrow Wilson, 28th. President of the United States, has come under critical review for his Progressive  agenda and his efforts to create a League of Nations. While some authorities scorn him, others regard Wilson as one of the greatest U.S. Presidents because of his leadership in World War I.   Wilson "kept us out of the war" in his first term, but with Germany's resumption of submarine warfare, the sinking of the Lucitania and the interception and decoding  of the Zimmerman Telegram by British intelligence, America was drawn into the struggle. ( The Zimmerman Telegram was a coded dispatch in which Germany offered US territory (Texas, Arizona and New Mexico) to Mexico if Mexico would join the war with Germany.  Mexico did not accept the offer, but it became clear that Germany planned to extend the war to the United States.)  In the final days of the war, Wilson took personal control over negotiations with Germany, including the armistice.  His contribution to world peace earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919.

With border violence ever increasing, our President should and must take more aggressive action to curb border violence, illegal immigration, the flow of illicit drugs, and to secure our border. Already, one Mexican border town has been raided with seventy two innocent people killed.  A deputy sheriff has been killed on the American side and more recently, an American citizen has been murdered while boating on Falcon Lake.  This week , the lead investigator in the Falcon Lake murder case has himself been murdered,  beheaded, and his head delivered to the police station in a suitcase.  The body of the boating victim has not been recovered but  Mexican officials have already called off the search.  Some areas in the United States have been declared unsafe with travel and access restricted because of armed drug smugglers. (See Cimarron Strip)

The bold action of President Wilson in authorizing the 1916 Pancho Villa Punitive Expedition, sending 10,000 troops into Mexico in pursuit of the outlaw Villa and his gang, and his deployment of 110,000 National Guardsmen along the border effectively quelled the violence, restored security to the border land  and  forced the Mexican government to deal more effectively with it's internal criminal elements.
Must history repeat itself?  MUST WE HAVE ANOTHER COLUMBUS BEFORE WE SECURE OUR BORDERS ???????????????

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 Snookered

Now there's a word that I haven't heard or used for a good many years.  It was pretty commonplace way back when, when I made a bi-weekly pilgrimage to the local pool hall, but in recent years it has all but dropped from frequent usage.  It's a good word tho and very similar to another old expression "behind the eight ball".  Snookered comes from the word snooker, which is a game of pocket billiards, said to have been invented in 1889, by British officers serving in India.  In the game of Snooker, "snookered" means to make a shot deliberately leaving the cue ball in a position so that the next player does not have a clear shot at the next target ball so that the shooter must play the cue ball off a cushion,  In general usage, "snookered" is given to mean to have deliberately led someone  or to have been deliberately led, or  to have deliberately left someone, or to have been deliberately left in a position in which all possible choices are undesirable, or to have deliberately  trapped someone or to have been deliberately trapped, or, to deceive (Note:  snooker or snookered is an act of deliberation.)

"Snookered" came back into play several weeks ago during the Sherry Sherrod debacle.  Andrew Breitbart, released a three minute snippet of a speech of  Sherrod speaking at a NAACP meeting.  Sherrod, an African-American, was commenting on an event that happened earlier in her career (1986)with the Department of Agriculture, that forced her to deal fairly with a white farmer in spite of her initial feelings to do otherwise.  She concluded her presentation by noting that the issue was resolved with fairness and honor and Sherrod's action was instrumental in saving the white man's farm.

The short excerpt from the forty-three minute speech gave the impression that Sherrod had acted improperly and denied assistance to the white farmer along racial lines.  However, this was not the case but that fact was not made clear in the portion of her speech that was released by Breitbart..  The focus of Sherrod's  story was to illustrate how she, as an African-American, had to overcome her own bias, perhaps using her own example to  encourage members of her audience to do the same.

When the selected extract from the Sherrod speech hit the public airways, she received a phone call from a government official, presumably from the Department of Agriculture, telling her that the White House wanted her to resign.  And the caller demanded that she resign immediately and over the phone.  Acting solely on the video clip, and without bothering to verify the accuracy of the information, "White House officials"  impulsively decided to discharge this 62-year old grandmother.

After the entire video of Mrs. Sherrod's speech was shown and the true context of her statements were made known, Tom Vilsack, Department of Agriculture Secretary, offered an apology  along with a job offer.  President Barack Obama followed-up with a phone call of pacification, urging Sherrod to take the job offer.  And Benjamin Jealous, National President NAACP, stated "With regard to the initial media coverage of the resignation of USDA Shirley Sherrod, we have come to the conclusion we were snookered by Fox News and Tea Party Activist Andrew Brietbart into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias". 

Later, Jalous added, "Having reviewed the full tape, spoken to Mrs. Sherrod, and most importantly heard the testimony of the white farmer mentioned in this story, we now believe the organization that edited the documents did so with the intention of deceiving millions of Americans". 

Bret Baier, Fox News anchor to "Special Report" responded to the allegations by saying that Fox News did not "snooker" the NAACP or anyone else over the story.  Baier said that Fox News didn't even do the story, that they (Fox) posted it online.

The story, in and of itself, is noteworthy but hardly deserving of the reactionary response by White House officials or the explosive media commentary  that followed.  It is, however, a classic example of how easily we are all distracted from more pressing concerns and we are too often snookered by a media sideshows.

WAKE UP AMERICA!  YOU HAVE BEEN SNOOKERED!  You have been snookered all right.  You and me and the guy next door, the whole lot of us.  Makes no difference if you are Democrat, Republican, Independent, a Tea Party person or someone who just plain don't give a hoot about politics or politicians or the world we live in.  This is the United States of America and WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, and we will sink or swim together.

WE'VE BEEN LIED TO, PALS!  We've been lied to so publically, so openly and so frequently that we don't even challenge it anymore. We have been lied to by  Progressive politicians and an agenda driven media, all  of whom are the intended benefficiaries of their  own prevarications.  Since the turn of the last century,  the lies and distortions of the Progressive movement have advanced their agenda, year after year,  in small increments, until the once passive-aggressive resistance by the movement has become an open  assault on Capitalism and Democracy, spurred on by some egalitarian dream.

The big push for the Progressive agenda began in earnest in February 2008 when Michelle Obama, wife of presidential candidate Barack Obama , started to debase America by saying  that she had been  never proud of her country.   Two weeks later, in a campaign speech in Wisconsin, she continued to scorn America by saying that our country is "just downright mean".   Other contemptuous remarks  by Mrs. Obama  suggesting that life in America was far from good were, "we are guided by fear",  we are a country divided,  and we are a nation of cynics, sloths and complacents.

This negative and totally false  assessment  of America has been echoed many times over by Progressive  politicians at every level of government to rationalize a need for their "brand" of redistributive change or "fundamental transformation".  We've heard it over and over...."the status quo is broken", Capitalism doesn't work anymore", "the economy is not sustainable", "the Constitution is a  charter of negative liberties",  "the Constitution does not work in this modern day society"....and the list goes on....THESE ARE THE LIES THAT YOU HAVE HEARD AND THESE ARE THE LIES THAT PROGRESSIVES WANT YOU TO BELIEVE.  T H E Y   W A N T  Y O U  T O  S U R R E N D E R    T O  T H E I R  S O C I A L   A G E N D A!

Well, HEADS UP AMERICA,  We have been snookered!  We have been deliberately led to a place  where most of us do not want to be, where  the future is unclear and decision making is hampered by lies, distortions, half truths and false hope.  But this one thing is crystal clear...... mid-term elections will either put us back on the path of tried and true Constitutional government or we'll plunge headlong down that dark and  uncertain  path leading to the often tried but always failed  socialist form of government.  Beware of global government.....Do not let our country become an endangered species.

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Cracker Jack vs. Obamacare

By 1Tea-edTexan

Cracker Jack is that tasty molasses covered peanut and popcorn confection introduced to the public at the Columbia Exposition, 1893 Chicago's World Fair.  Elevated to a cultural icon in the "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" lyrics, "buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack", this palate pleasing treat has remained a favorite among youngsters and brings out the kid in everyone.

From the official Cracker Jack website: "Cracker Jack, prior to being associated with the Carmel coated popcorn and peanut treat, was slang for something considered really great.  Much the way people today use the word "awesome", people then used the word" crackerjack". 

Packaging was redesigned in 2002, but formerly Cracker Jack  came in a brightly colored box that featured the image of a sailor (perhaps from the British term Jack tar meaning sailor) and his dog Bingo.  Taste like that needed little additional incentive to purchase, still the offer of a "prize in every box " was a strong factor in the marketing strategy and overall success.  Each box was prominently marked " Prize in Every Box", but the nature of the prize was never known prior to the purchase.  YOU HAD TO BUY THE BOX TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS IN IT!  It was a crapshoot and the "prize" was often disappointing.

Prizes came in a variety of  materials with  assorted themes.  From small leaf of paper featuring a cartoon or word puzzle, to miniature plastic charms and metallic whistles and diminutive  devices that spin.   The prizes were novel but of no commercial value .  Consequently  most were discarded and destroyed.  Today, collectors look for early Cracker Jack premiums.  Early pieces, particularly  baseball cards from 1915 era, are prized among collectors and though they have no utility or usefulness, they bring premium prices on the collectors market.

But enough about Cracker Jack.  The point I'm trying to make here is the Democrat packaging of Obamacare and the way it was sold to the public.  It was a crapshoot, a madness to vote on federal legislation that few, if any, congressmen had read on the insane urging of Speaker, Nancy Pelosi that "we have to pass it so we can find out what's in it".

Now that some of the provisions and the cost and effects of Obamacare are becoming known, many are  disappointed, disillusioned and  concerned with cost.  The bill was packaged like Cracker Jack,  but it  IS NOT a novelty and it IS NOT  a prize.  It is a staggering piece of stupidity and it should take the path of early Cracker Jack inducements. 
REPEAL THE BILL!

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Remember in November

By 1Tea-edTexan

Remember in November........I LOVE IT!  I cannot claim ownership of that slogan but I claim a strong kinship to the message because those three simple words speak loudly of what has happened to our Republic and how it got this way.

In mid-August, New York Times columnist and dirt merchant, Maureen Dowd, in her column related to the Ground Zero Mosque, also known as the 9/11 Victory Mosque, recently and more affectionately known as the Park 51 Project, titled, "Going Mad in Herds", after stating that ..."Obama is the head of the dysfunctional family of America -a rational man running a most irrational nation, a high-minded man in a low-minded age", continued her verbal assault on opponents of the mosque, which, by the way, included family and friends of  9/11 casualties, by adding....."The dispute over the "Islamic Center"(note: no longer called a mosque) has tripped some deep national lunacy",....then went on with her insensitive rant  to say  that "many Americans haven't flushed the trauma of 9/11 out of their system...".......WOW!

Pity, pity.  poor Maureen.  Seems her acid wit must have  eaten away whatever  grey matter this once-upon-a-time Pulitzer Prize winner may have ever had.   Now  unable to recognize   danger till it knocks on her door.(I hear it knocking from here)  But hang-in-there Maureen,  The country will get right back to you when we recover from our "deep national lunacy" right after the  "weird mass nervous breakdown" you alluded to.  You can put that on your calendar for  around  November the 3rd., you know, the day  after mid-term  federal elections.  Maybe we'll even start buying newspapers again, maybe even the Times.  Gosh, won't that be great?

Maybe fraulein Maureen should compose a follow up to her "Going Mad in Herds" critique.  She might label  it, "Getting Mad in Droves", and to make it real, real easy for liberals (and a lot of us rednecks)  to understand, she could explain why politicians and journalist are scared to call those who took down the two trade towers terrorists, but have no compunctions about calling teaparty participants fear mongers and hate mongers.  and, and, and, WHY they say that people who behead the infidels, stone their women and keep blowing up shit, are of a peaceful religion.  There just has to be a  simple and logical reason but I just don't get it.

Look around lady!  There's millions of us out here that have not flushed the horror of the holocaust out of our system;  there's millions more who have not flushed away the memories of December 7, 1941 and the bombing of Pearl Harbor; HELL lady, I ain't over the massacre at the Alamo.  We ain't supposed to forget.  For most of us, it just ain't that easy to flush away the awareness and the appreciation of those who have ensured our liberty with their life's blood, including your freedom to critique those who see things differently, Remember the Maine, Remember the Marne, Remember Pearl Harbor, Remember the Alamo...and we will remember the trauma of 9/11.  HELL, WE DON'T WANT TO FORGET!

And We Will Remember in November.  WE will remember  members in the House of Representatives and  members of the United States Senate   who schemed and connived, coerced and bribed members of their own party to support grievous and unwanted  legislation that has  sabotaged our economy and subverted our culture.  And we will remember the president, Barack Hussein Obama, who has usurped the will of the people and supplanted it with his own.  WE will remember.  We will remember in November.  We will remember and WE WILL VOTE. We will remember how we gathered  in townhall meetings and teaparty rallies across the country to express our concerns.  We will remember that we were rebuffed, ignored, criticized, vilified, demonized and insulted in every way possible .  We will remember the ridicule, the arrogance, the name calling and the obvious contempt our legislators hold for those they are "supposed" to represent.  We will remember those who stoke the fires of racial discord, shred our Constitution and  divide us into factions.
YOU BET WE'LL REMEMBER!  There is too much at stake.
 
I'll bet my size 11 West Texas Cowboy Boots that WE WILL REMEMBER  but I will not wager the future of my grandchildren on some "soon to be forggotten" promise by  some high minded, slick talking, career seeking, power grabbing  son of a gun from academia.

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Hiding Behind THE Bush

By 1 Tea-edTexan

When in doubt.......Take a Vacation.  That seems to be the prevailing attitude of the Obama family. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!  Everyone knows how difficult it is to make ends meet on four and a half million a year and how stressful it is to entertain so many socialites and celebrities between  trips to the links  impersonating the Tiger. .   But five vacations in six weeks (Martha's Vineyard escape being an eleven day respite) just seems like too much of a good thing and it makes those of us who are sick and tired of paying for those blatant excesses a little sicker and a little tireder.  And most of us are sick and tired of  corrupt officials, misallocated funds,  government waste, excess spending, pork, coercion, bribery, deceit, false hope, half truths , closed doors and  total lack of transparency.  We have been sick and tired so long that we are now sick and tired of  being sick and tired,  even  sick and tired of others complaining  to be sick and tired  and are we ever  tired of that!. But, are those frequent and costly vacations truly for therapeutic reasons, or, are they, more likely, staged photo ops attempting  to convince the American people that they are real people,  just like us?  IT AIN'T WORKING!  Or might it be a duck and dodge routine to avoid tough issues, of maybe he just plain doesn't know what to do next?

One of the most irksome issues on today's political scene is a president, with his many czars, and  a Congress with one party majority in both Houses, who proclaim on a daily basis that they "inherited this mess".  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Barack Obama did not inherit the Presidency any more than the Democrats Party inherited the Congress.  THEY BOUGHT IT!  THEY BOUGHT IT WITH ALL IT'S INHERENT PROBLEMS! They bought it with  huge contributions and support from the entertainment industry, THE NEWS MEDIA, college professors,  public educators, unions, lawyers and Wall Street financiers that expected   to receive some benefit or special consideration (usually of a financial nature)   and with smaller contributions from an electorate they filled with  false  hope  whose only expectation  was a better and more secure America.  No Indeed!  They did not inherit anything.  THEY BOUGHT IT ALL!  And they paid dearly for i!.  From an  Open Secrets Blog (Investigating Money in Politics)  a communication released by the Center for Responsive Politics, dated October 22,2008, predicted that the 2008 federal election for the presidency and Congress would be the most costly in history and estimated that the cost would be more than $5.3 billion dollars and that the cost for the presidential election alone would be nearly $2.4 billion and that ain't exactly small change.   The president, the Democrats, the liberals and the progressives  begged for  it and they bought  it with your dollars.  They begged for your dollars and for your vote, they begged  in every community , in every state and they passed out  promises they could  never keep.  The old "inherited this mess" cliché  just don't fly.  It never did!

But they still don't get it.

Ironically, the presidential candidate who pledged a new era of  hope under his administration, while denouncing the failures of his predecessor, never acknowledging that, for two years,  his party was in control of both houses and  jointly responsible ,continues to hide behind THE Bush.  Almost daily, the president, his allies including his friends in the media continue with the same old worn out campaign rhetoric disparaging George Bush and the Republican Party, hiding behind Republican  failures and never admitting their  own. This is a total copout that never  ends.  HEY! .there's only one batter at the plate and he is responsible for his  own performance.  If the previous batter strikes out, SO BE IT!.  You don't berate him forever, There's only one head-coach on any team. The team may take a shellacking but.....as the liberals say(when it suits them), GET OVER IT....MOVE ON.   How shameful  that George and the Republicans did not leave the office a bit tidier for the new president.  Would leave ever so ,much more time to apply for  more Nobel Prizes,  more time for  vacations, time on the links , hobnobbing with celebs.  Alas!  George left office with some issues  unresolved and now we  wonder will  that articulate young senator from Chicago that took his place be on the job tomorrow or will tomorrow be another, ho-hum,  vacation day? (with pay  of course).  Still Waiting!  Still Hoping! 

Truth is, and it's equally ironic that so many  professors, educators, czars  and politicians (but not all that  many statesmen)  have partnered with the president  to prescribe (like it or not)  what is best for this country.  This elite group, by virtue of their greater sensitivity (smile) and their concept of  morality (you can laugh now)  profess to  know exactly what is best for the Republic. It is, so this elite group of pseudo moralists say, a "moral imperative" to disregard the will of the governed for  "the greater good".  Oh Joy!   Its kind of like "giving up the radical pose for the radical ends"  Did I get that right Jonesy?   . Perhaps it may seem a bit  irreverent  to question or challenge either the wisdom or the intent of so wise a league of gentlemen who are so long and (very) closely associated.  However,  the remark has been made by the president that  Republican. leaders haven't come up with  "'a single solitary new idea" to help the American people recover from the economic recession.  He went on to say, at a Democratic fundraiser in Atlanta, that "voters have a choice in the November midterm elections between what he calls the failed policies of the past (I think he means the very recent past) or his administration's agenda which Obama says has pulled the country back from the brink of a depression" (Oh, is that "back from the  brink" phrase  ever so tired? Delete from teleprompter,   New speechwriter please!)

With all due respect to the Office of the President, and without being willfully contentious with all the czars, felons, terrorists, socialists, communists, progressives and pseudo moralists that surround the acting president,  there is an somewhat different  school of thought that advances the idea that Democratic leaders haven't come up with "a single solitary new  idea" in government since the failed policies of Carl Marx and that voters have a choice in the November midterm election between the failings socialist  policies of Barrack Obama and a return to constitutional government, by, for and of the people.

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I'm 63 And I'm Tired

I'm 63.  Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and and I'm tired. Very tired.
  
I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.  
 
I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in their homes."  Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money.  
 
I'm tired of being told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood Entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe , the freedom of the press of China , the crime and violence of Mexico , the tolerance for Christian people of Iran , and the freedom of speech of Venezuela .
 
I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.  
 
I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" in the post-racial world of Obama, when it's all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment of U.S. Senators from Illinois.  
 
I think it's very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.   
   
I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and mandrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America , while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.  
 
I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a  three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.  
 
I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I'm tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.  
 
I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers," especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare or crime. What's next?  Calling drug dealers, "Undocumented Pharmacists"?  And, no,  I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, and it's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion.  I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person, who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military.... Those are the citizens we need.  
 
I'm tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people than themselves. Do bad things happen in war?  You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave?  Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years and still are?  Not even close.  So here's the deal. I'll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims, who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were Christian. Then we'll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.  
 
I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers; bums are bipartisan. And I'm tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I live in   Illinois , where the "Illinois Combine" of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years. Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama's cabinet.  
 
I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.  
 
Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn't have that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor." The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.  
 
I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.  
 
Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter.  
 
Robert  A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts   State  Senate.

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Its Our Fight Now

If the Constitution is a "living breathing document", as the modern, so-called liberals would have us believe, it has also been crying from the abuse to its broken heart by the Big Fed three headed monster (Administrative, Congressional, and Judicial).

The Instrument by which the wise Founders implemented the wonderful, Natural, notion that government served at the will and consent of the governed has been turned upside down. That which clearly defined the powers granted to the federal government and protected the governed from tyrannical abuses has been interpreted (by Big Fed itself) to now impose restrictions on the citizenry and allow seemingly unlimited powers to The Monster. Just the opposite of their clear intent for the Constitution they so carefully crafted.

Through the perversion of two clauses in the constitution, the "Commerce Clause", meant to facilitate commerce between two, or more, states, and another clause, (intentionally misnamed the "Elastic Clause" for political reasons) meant to restrict Congress from passing unnecessary legislation, or laws not Constitutionally proper, the Monster has passed unwanted legislation to force citizens to buy a service from other citizens. It has "borrowed" money from a generation of Americans not yet in high school to spend foolishly to bailout failing businesses (thereby punishing the businesses who functioned properly) and waste billions of dollars that have not created the jobs the Monster promised.

This out of control Monster has failed to do its duty to protect our borders yet overstepped its duty by taking over our children's schools and our nation's health care. They are considering an array of innovative taxes to further separate us from our money and property, and are seeking methods to deny our right to openly criticize the Monster on radio and the Internet. The Monster wants to tell us what we can eat and what temperature is appropriate in our homes. In fact, I cannot mentalize what area of our lives the government does not want to control.

I believe we are at the crossroads of the last chance to pass on to our posterity any semblance of liberty and a government truly run by the citizenry. While this next round of elections is crucial, I believe the real work is just starting as I have no real confidence that anybody we elect to the federal level will long serve as our protector from the Monster...whenever we cut off one of its heads the Monster soon grows it back. My thinking is that we only slay this Monster at the state, county, and local levels. And as individuals we must work at those levels, and refuse to obey unconstitutional legislation. We the people, not the federal government, should be the interpreters of the Constitution. After all, the Constitution was initiated to keep the federal government in check.....does it make any sense to let the subject being held in check to interpret whether or not it is operating properly and its actions are necessary.

I strongly, urge all citizens to vote in all elections at every level. If your own state doesn't allow citizen initiative on its ballot elect legislators who will vote it in. Learn all you can about the process of Nullification. A great place to start is at the Tenth Amendment Center web site. This is OUR fight now. It is not enough to beg our representatives to "please don't overstep your delegated authority", WE can't just sit here and hope our judges will rule in a strict Constitutional fashion.

It IS up to us....and its our last chance.

Yours in Liberty, Laurence

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Something to Reflect On----The Reflecting Pool

The IRS in Andover Mass. will soon have their very own reflecting pool, thanks to the American taxpayer and the generosity of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. What a lovely idea! Just Imagine.
Your overpaid Internal Service Agent can lounge in the splendor of a reflecting pool while reflecting on ways and means to take more of your money. Marvelous. Other amenities include an art gallery, naturally, an amphitheater (oh joy!), a 7,000 square-foot cafeteria (why not?) and, of course, indoor gardens. It was not formally announced, but, most likely, the refurbished facility will have running water and indoor bathrooms. The "green upgrades" to the 400,000 square foot facility will cost taxpayers an estimated $92,000,000.00
(Yes, $92 million). The project is said to be "visionary". (But of course it is!
we can see visions of $92 mil flying away).
Jonathon Levi, architect of the renovation, said, "It will be a comfortable, collaborative environment". Levi went on to say, "It will be welcoming for the people who use it" and it would foster "community and belonging". Isn't that the sweetest thing you ever heard?
1 Tea-edTexan

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The Arizona Experience

Posted on Rfa 6-24-10
May 01, 2010
Report from Cochise County, Arizona
By T.J. Woodard
Being an avid AT reader, and living on the Arizona border in Cochise County, I thought I would provide those who wish to be informed some insight into the truth about the state of the U.S.-Mexican border -- at least in this part of the state.

I moved to Cochise County after retiring from the Army in 2008 to take a position working at Fort Huachuca (pronounced "wa-choo-ka," an Apache word meaning "place of thunder" and referring to the time after the summer monsoon season). Having lived here in 1991 for eight months while attending an Army school, I soon realized that the place had changed considerably in the eighteen years of my absence.

The first thing I noticed was how many border patrol vehicles were on the roads in the city of Sierra Vista. The Border Patrol has a large station near here in the city of Naco. There are far more Border Patrol vehicles in the area than SV police cars. They come in many forms -- trucks for off-road work, trailers carrying all-terrain vehicles, pickups with capacity for carrying large numbers of people once apprehended, and even a staff car for the area chaplain. The Border Patrol presence has grown substantially, so one would think the border area was nice and safe.
Not so.
Within a short time after arriving in southern Arizona while on my way to work, I noticed eight illegal immigrants on the side of the road. Fortunately, they were in the custody of capable and attentive Border Patrol agents. Unfortunately, they were less than a hundred feet from my daughter's bus stop. She gets personal service to school now, as the school district refuses to enter the gated community in which we live.

There is a nice wash, a valley into which the rainwater drains during the monsoons, which provides a nice route for the illegals to follow into the city, and therefore into their locations for pickup by the vehicles that will get them farther north.

Later, after I attended a movie on a Friday night, a car passed by me in the next lane going nearly a hundred miles an hour. It took a few seconds before I saw the police behind -- way behind -- with lights and sirens, trying to catch up. Surprise, surprise -- the next morning's paper discussed a Mexican drug runner being caught by County Sheriff's Deputies. On several occasions, the Border Patrol's helicopter has flown low and slow over the neighborhood, rattling windows and shining its spotlight in our backyard. When this happens, I strap on my pistol, grab a flashlight, and look and listen. Fortunately, I haven't found anybody within a hundred yards of the house -- yet.

Working on a U.S. Army fort, one would think we were fairly secure from these threats. Just not true. Reading the Fort Huachuca newspaper one morning, I noticed an interesting part of the "community" page. It asked for volunteers to assist in cleaning up "dumps" on posts where the illegals would drop their supplies used to cross the border and change clothing. They do this in order to blend in and not look like they just spent a day or two crossing the border in the dust and heat of southern Arizona. The most frightening part of this is that Fort Huachuca is the U.S. Army Intelligence Center, where the Army trains its intelligence soldiers -- analysts, interrogators, radio intercept specialists, and counterintelligence agents -- for operations overseas. If we can't secure the fort we use to train our intelligence soldiers, how can we secure anything else?

Much has been discussed about the new law in Arizona making it unlawful to be in Arizona in violation of federal immigration statutes. However, much less has been discussed about the shooting of rancher Robert Krentz. Robert was killed on his ranch on March 28, 2010. His ranch, on which the family began grazing cattle in 1907 (Arizona became a state in 1912), is a large, 35,000-acre area in remote Cochise County. It is so remote that the original Cochise, an Apache leader, used the mountainous terrain near it to hide from the U.S. Cavalry in the early 1870s. But much less is being said about the eight illegal immigrants and their load of 280 pounds of marijuana seized the day before Krentz was killed.
So Arizona should be boycotted because its people would like to keep it safe? Somebody please explain the logic of that for me. It doesn't take a bullet from a drug runner's gun to make those of us down here near the border understand that this is drug-related violence -- and Rob's death proves it.

It also doesn't take much more reading to see that the drug dealers are a huge problem with far-reaching capabilities. On April 27, 2010, a large drug bust took place here in Cochise County. Among those arrested was Angelica Marie Borquez, the secretary for the Drug Enforcement Division of the Cochise County Attorney office. Allegedly, Ms. Borquez was tipping off the drug runners to counter drug operations conducted by the county. She was so bold that she used the phone in the County Attorney's office to make some of her calls.
This isn't a blatant effort by drug cartels to obtain control here in America?

Many have already called Arizona residents racists. They are concerned that police will profile Hispanics and disproportionally harass them. But we understand something others in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco don't seem to remember -- we border Mexico. The fact is that most illegal immigrants coming across the border here are, WELL, Mexicans. Those of us down here facing the danger every day really don't care what some Hollywood actor has to say about the issue. Nor do we care about what the Colombian government or the Latino music community thinks of it. We just want to stay safe.

This is not about race; it's about facts. Use a few of these facts the next time somebody wants to engage you in discussion about the border. Tell him you learned these things from somebody who can see Mexico from his front porch.

T.J. Woodard is a retired Army officer who lives less than ten miles from the Mexican border. He carries a pistol even in his own house (my underline) in order to be prepared to defend his family whenever necessary

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1Tea-edTexan wrote 5-28-10:

                       Pants on The Ground                            

"Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, looking like a fool with you pants on the ground,,,,,", catchy and amusing lyrics by General Larry Platt,   befitting the most recent scandal of the Obama administration, the Joe Sestak bribery attempt.

The plot thickened and new dimensions were added to the White House improprieties when former President William Jefferson (I did not have sex with that woman) "Bill" Clinton admitted that it was he who had offered a "non paying position on a presidential advisory board" to Sestak if he would drop out of the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary.  Not the first time Clinton has been caught with his pants down.

Echoing the repeated statement "nothing inappropriate happened" by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, in a recent news conference, President Obama stated that "nothing improper took place".  Despite the less than reassuring remarks by   Gibbs and Obama, Clinton's obvious attempt to dismiss the alleged bribe as insignificant, mistrust of the Obama administration continues to grow while many valid questions remain unanswered.

This allegation of the attempted bribe, which occurred in the previous June and July, first came to light in February when  Sestek told a local television show host, Larry Kane,  that the White House had offered him a "high level job in the Obama administration" if he would drop out of the race against turncoat Arlen Specter (D. Pa).   Public disclosure of Sestak's allegations sent the White House into a "cover your ass" mode.  First came the standard denial followed by a period of comparative silence on the matter.  White House press secretary Robert Gibbs continued to dance around the issue deflecting questions with his standard "no comment" reply, or "I have nothing to add".  On the other hand, Sestak, refusing to elaborate on his story, danced around the opposite end of the issue as he continued to reaffirm his allegations and repeatedly said that he "wasn't lying" .  It is becoming more certain that there was "a whole lot of "dirty dancing" going on.  AND THE DIRTY DANCE CONTINUES!

But now the status quo in Washington has changed.  The White House and the Democratic Party that vigorously supported Specter while plotting against Sestak finds themselves in the awkward position of having to support the candidate they had so visibly opposed in order to defeat the Republican rival, Pat Toomey in the general election.  So much egg on so many faces!  WOW!

On the other hand, Sestak, now a serious contender for a Senatorial seat, suddenly found favor with the White House and party officials, and must come to their defense.  The bribery allegations he made, seemingly so important during his primary campaign, he must now minimize and dismiss as unimportant.  Failure to do so could result in severe sanctions by his own party. AHOY ADMIRAL!   TIME FOR YOU TO COME ON DECK AND MAN-UP!  THIS IS YOUR WATCH!  TIME FOR YOU TO DO THE RIGHT THING!

With no disrespect to Rep. Sestak or his service to this country, I reprint exerps from the website militarycorruption.com:

"It took the new Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Mullens, less than 24 hours to dump one of the most disliked officers among the Navy's top brass.  Vice-Admiral Joe Sestak, an arrogant and obnoxious "bully-boy", who delighted in being rude and unreasonable and getting away with it, found he was expendable the minute his mentor went out the door."

"It was Clark, a left-over from the Clinton Administration, who promoted Sestak to this three-star and made him deputy chief of naval operations for Warfare Requirements and Programs.  Those who dared to complain about Sestak's abusive "management style" were ignored or punished."

Sestak, a Harvard graduate served under former President Clinton as Director of Defense Policy on the National Security Council and Director of "Deep Blue", providing advice to the Chief of Naval Operations.

Because of Sestak's long association with the former president, Clinton may have appeared to be a logical choice to act as a go between.

HOWEVER, Clinton had no official position in the government and no authority to make such an offer on his own.  Any legitimate offer of a job or "position" had to be made under the direction of the White House.  Either President Obama or Rahm Emanuel had to authorize the offer.

Remember now that the original allegation was, they offered me(Sestak) a high level JOB in the Obama administration. More recently, Clinton tried to diminish the importance of the offer by stating that he had offered Sestak a "non-paying" POSITION on an advisory board in exchange for Sestak dropping out of the primary.  No stretch of the imagination can reconcile the implications or the intent between the two statements. 

One pressing question which both Clinton and Sestak have failed to answer is "Which high level job"  and/or which "non-paying POSITION on which board" was offered.  Clearly, suspicion of wrongdoings and outright mistrust of the Obama administration will not go away until these questions are addressed.

The White House must also explain why a non-government associate, Clinton, with no official authority (but with some political clout) would be used to deliver the offer in question.  One must at the same time wonder what may have been given or offered to Clinton (or Hillary) to induce him to act as intermediary.  And WHY the lengthy delay in bring out the Clinton tie-in?  Nothing, so far, adds-up.  Only one thing is clear.  Voters will not be satisfied until a full disclosure of all the facts is made.

A complete and thorough investigation by honest and impartial investigators is urgently called for.

Let no guilty party go unpunished and let no one who tries or conspires to "fix" or "rig" an election ever succeed.

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1Tea-edTexan wrote 5-21-10:

OH MY GOSH!  That IS Fundamental Transformation

This is a continuation of my previous submission relating to the Arizona Immigration Law.

OHMYGOSH!  OHMYGOSH!  The words  kept going through my mind.  This is exactly what is happening to our country. 

As the last of the flavorful beverage flowed into the drain and vanished, the gurgling sound grew quiet until all that remained was the empty container.  The only evidence  of what was once pure and  beautiful, sweet and vibrant, was an empty and lifeless bottle.  OHMYGOSH!  This IS Fundamental Transformation.  I could never think of an analogy so bold or so strikingly accurate as the  comparison of  "pouring of the wine and it's passage down the drain"  to the concept of fundamental transformation.

Since childhood, I can remember hearing the expressions, "going down the drain" and "going down the tube".  Both phrases have been tossed about so casually and carelessly that "I" never gave much  thought to their true or deeper meaning.  How could "I" ever have been so inattentive? 

How could "I" ever have been so dense?   Today, the dreadful meaning of both expressions has become frightfully clear. " OHMYGOSH!  This is a horribly ugly but objective representation of  fundamental transformation" .  We  can throw  "to Hell in a hand basket" into the mix, as well.  They all mean the same.  They are all like different drains feeding into a common sewer line that leads to a  colorless, tasteless and spiritless altered state. 

After awhile, my thoughts returned to Arizona's immigration dilemma, now compounded by remarks from  the White House,  the Justice Department and by officials of other cities.  I began to think, there must be something more that I can do.  Heck yes, it occurred to me, there is!  I take a vacation every year.  This year I will not go to San Francisco.  Honestly, I had no intentions  of going there in the first place but now SAN FRANCISCO IS ON MY NO FLY LIST.  Won't be going to Knottsberry Farm or Los Angeles either...Hollywood is definitely out and I will not spend a dime in any sanctuary city in any state.   Matter of fact, the whole darn state of California will be on my no fly list.   Add  this on top of my one man boycott of California wine.  Now I am getting someplace, I thought, but  there was more to follow.   I planned  to extend my wine boycott to include anything and everything  raised, canned, brewed,  bottled, manufactured or imported in, by or through California, including fruit and produce, textiles and you name it...CDs, DVDs, electronics, etcetera, etc...... If it has California on the label, it's on my list.   I  also intend to boycott all movies.    On the other hand,  Arizona has  so much more to offer than just the Grand Canyon.

I have no illusions about how much difference I can or cannot make.  I only know that whatever difference I can make, I will make.  I'm small potatoes and I know it.  But I will not spend my dollars where any portion of those dollars  might go to support a state government that spends excessively and  foolishly and  subsidizes illegal immigration  and encourages  more of the same.

President Truman said, "the buck stops here".   My version of that is "THE BUCK STARTS HERE".  That's right,  The buck starts right here and  "I" will exercise monetary control.   "I" will decide how, where and when I spend my dollars.  I'm small potatoes all right but my home is a very large potato bin and I am kin to millions of small potatoes.  Some may have the resolve to start their own one person boycott, others will not.  But if we don't, WHO THE HELL WILL?  

We do not need a leader.  We do not need organization.  We do not need  structure.  We do not need to join anything, sign anything, buy anything, pledge anything, contribute anything or say anything.  We do not need to take to the streets, march in protest, carry signs or resort to violence.  We need only to resolve to withdraw and with-hold any and all support from persons, celebrities, businesses, industries, politicians and legislators and governments that lobby or labor for any cause or measure not consistent with the Constitution, and to remain true to our resolve. 

I look forward, eagerly, to November, when I  cast my vote to oust those who so poorly serve so great a country.

I will end this article by saying that all who reads these words should be empowered by the knowledge that "THE BUCK STARTS HERE" and collectively, we can make a difference

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1Tea-edTexan wrote 5-7-10:

Oh My Gosh! That's Exactly What's Happening to Our Country

The comments about to be made relate to issues concerning the newly enacted Arizona Immigration Law and your article appearing on Freedom Trail.  My comments, I fear, will be far too lengthy to post on RFA, so I send them directly to you in the form of an attachment.

Before proceeding, on behalf of many, I (We) thank you for providing this website and for a forum where  the least of the least and the smallest of the small can exercise their freedom of speech and their voices can be heard, not just by those  within ear-shot, but across this country and beyond.  Thank you Richard!  Thank you Deanie!

Illegal immigration is not a new concern in the Lone Star State.  Texans have talked about it, lived with it and dealt with it for decades.  Early on, for the most part, illegals tried to stay inconspicuous and to blend-in with the population  as much as possible.  Few ever became troublemakers and even fewer were criminals.  Most were honest and hardworking, God fearing, family oriented  and  self supporting.   Most went about their business almost un-noticed.   Perhaps some would draw attention when causing a delay in a check-out line because they did not speak our language or understand our currency.  A minor inconvenience at the most and not worthy of making a fuss or any  legislative action.  There were no drug cartels and what ever gang violence that existed was mostly in the big cities of the northeast and that was people of  other races.   Texans were complacent about illegal immigration , as were most other Americans.   After all, there were already federal laws on the books and there were agencies who were supposed to deal with immigration.  Sooner or later, we thought, the government would get around to enforcing immigration  laws and besides, that's not our job.  (Heard something else like that recently, like: "that's above my pay grade")  anyway,  we were all too  busy.  We were all so busy  making a living, raising kids and preparing for the future that we could not see what was just down the road.  Because change occurs slowly over time, none can say precisely when change occurs, only that change has happened.   Because of that, change is more often than not, described in terms of time periods or eras.  We can look back over time and discern that change has occurred, but, change, like a cancer, occurs almost unnoticed until it demands our full attention.

And then it happened.....CHANGE CAME......American jobs were exported abroad  with no corresponding importation of jobs.  Jobs that Americans once held  were now being filled with immigrants both legal and illegal..  At the same  time, there was a growing dependency on state and federal welfare subsidies from which many would never escape.  Illegal immigration skyrocketed as millions of desperate Mexicans migrated north.   Trafficking in humans, with it's inherent dangers, took root.  Violence erupted along the border as the drug cartels fought for territorial control.  More violence, including kidnapping and murder spilled over into peaceful towns north of the border.   This was the face of  change, pal, THIS WAS REAL CHANGE.   While the job market and the  economic landscape was "evolving", long respected social norms were cast aside in favor of more Progressive and Liberal concepts.  Facts are, and statistics will bear this out, that progressive and liberal  thought has eroded our trust in government, reduced our sense of national purpose, lowered our standing in the global community and perverted national morality. We have become more focused on the NFL, AFL, NBL, NBA, batting stats, soap operas, happy hour  and late night comedians than we are on the direction and future of our country.   More recently we have become less of a nation of laws, to become more of a nation of rock stars.   And the more that the government picks and chooses which laws to enforce (or not enforce) OR who will or will not be prosecuted, the less of a nation of laws we become.  And all this for the greater good and the betterment of society?  GIVE US A BREAK!

Let no one construe or misconstrue my remarks as being anti-government.  I believe,,,, no, I know, that we have the best system of government that man has ever devised and that it is well founded in our Constitution.  At the same time, I believe that our country and our Constitution is poorly served by corrupt politicians who wish to alter or circumvent the fundamental laws of our land  and the structure of our Republic.

In regards to the Arizona Immigration Law, I was a bit more than pleased to hear of it's passage.  I salute the Arizona State Legislature and Governor Jan Brewer for their courage and their devotion to their state and to their duty in taking this bold action.  I thought, wishfully, that Arizona would set a new standard for other states to follow or, at very least, it would cause so much embarrassment to  the federal government  that  government  officials  would make at least a face-saving attempt at securing our borders and dealing with illegals in an effective way.  Such has not been the case. 

Before the weekend was over, agitated protestors took  to the streets in major cities shouting out demands on our government and condemning all who oppose them as raciest and hate mongers.  Not surprisingly they were joined by public officials, members of the clergy and mass media who echoed their demands and jeers.

I was a little annoyed by the tenor of the protesters and by the nature of their demands, but they were not burning cars, looting  or bursting windows, so I was cool with the demonstrations.  As news of the day came  in,  San Francisco City Attorney Darrell Steinberg called for his city to terminate all business  (economic ties) with Arizona  Excuse me, EXCUSE ME!  I equate that action to  cutting  diplomatic relations with a foreign government.  That was plenty bad enough but it did not end there.  Steinberg went on to send a letter to the governor urging him to cancel contracts with Arizona.  Still it did not end.  A call was made to discourage Californians from visiting Arizona and others called for cancelling some sporting events.   EXCUSE ME!  What the Hell business does the San Francisco City Attorney   or anyone else have to meddle in the business of a neighboring state.  Maybe it's because they have  screwed up their city and their state so badly and misery loves company .   Darn right, I got way past annoyed  with all that crap and I wanted to do something about it.  But I don't live in either state, I cannot vote in their elections, so what's left for me to do? 

I can say that  I support Arizona and their right to defend their citizens.  That's  easy enough but it   isn't enough.  I want to, I feel compelled to do something more.  Emails and conversations with others verified that many other  non-residents of Arizona are sympathetic for Arizonians and want to help in a meaningful way.  This issue has occupied much of my thought for several days now but still  I did not know what I could  do.............until today.

About mid morning, I made a foray on my pantry in search of some canned vegetables and THERE IT WAS!   Right up front,  in plain sight, smack-dab between a row of  black-eyed peas and a row of  tomato puree, stood one tall and beautiful bottle of Ernest & Julio Gallo's White Zinfandel , straight from the Ernest & Julio Gallo California Vineyards.  WOW!.  I recall now that we purchased this bottle along with several others back around last Christmas.  This one had not been  opened and was put away in the pantry and forgotten.  This was definitely not a fancy wine, it was not a French or Italian wine, just a fairly common and inexpensive  table wine but to me it would be special.  It was a California wine and it would become my sacrificial wine....and no, I was not going to get smashed. 

I knew instantly what I would do with the White Zin.  I knew that I would pour it down the drain and before I reached the kitchen sink area I had made a resolution to never buy another wine from California.  I would do this thing without witness or fanfare and few would ever know.  The pouring of the wine would be a private and spirit(ual) sacrifice to signify my commitment to my resolution.

And with that  that I would begin a one man protest, a one man boycott of California wines.  OK,....so neither  Ernest & Julio Gallo nor the California wine industry will ever know of my puny efforts, but I will know.  And they may never feel the punishing blow of my epic economic sanctions  but at least I would have done something and I would know it.

Finally the cork was removed.  I took one final sniff, drawing the fruity aroma into my nose and recalling that  this wine had been served at many family gatherings.  Then, tipping the bottle,  I began a slow and thoughtful pour.  The rich  pink liquid swirled around in the sink-basket, emitting a gurgling noise as it disappeared into the darkness of the pipe below.  As the bottle began to empty, I closed my eyes to visualize the path to be taken by this sacrificial fluid.  In my minds eye, I could see it passing from the sink basket, into the dark opening, down to the P-trap empting into a pipe going through the slab and into the drain line, flowing out to the sewer line where it combined with slime and sludge and human waste of many other drains and pumped to a far away place where it combined with billions of other particles and was processed and filtered and things added and things removed  until finally it re-emerged as a clear, colorless  and tasteless liquid with no resemblance to it's earlier form.  The color has been removed, the taste has disappeared  and the effervescence is no more.   Capable of sustaining life, Yes,  but that is all.

OHMYGOSH!  That is exactly what's happening to our country. 

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