Reply to MD Eastern Shore: Four And Twenty Blackbirds

MD - You make a great point! Look, either there is coincidence or there’s not. If not, then nothing could possibly exist. So, obviously there must be a guiding hand behind everything. As far as people who just love to claim credit for nearly everything are concerned, their credit generally extends to no more than simply being there.

Same with people who do things that they may wish to distance themselves from. Therefore, the most plausible excuse is to say, “I wasn’t there.”

But we were all there! We elected Obama. We never bothered to find out who he was and what he was trying to do. All that has happened to date since Obama took office is to a large extent - not only his, but - our fault. There are no coincidences.

While we may heap either praise or blame on any specific individual (or individuals) for ‘being there’ we cannot remove ourselves from the equation. As far as all that’s happened since Obama’s been in office - none of it good for America - I, at this point, would not put anything past our leadership. There have been oil spills, rising unemployment, rising fuel and food prices, rolling blackouts, constitutional crisis, stolen elections, housing slumps, terrorist threats, Wikileaks, revolutions, and the head honcho of China even flipped us the bird to boot; and Obama was there the whole time, and so were we. And I don’t see things getting any better. If you ask me, the whole bunch of them should be thrown in jail for one thing or another.

Wikileaks was said to be a factor in the Egyptian revolution and in various other diplomatic unpleasantness (mostly involving us), yet I never heard the president say much about it. An executive of Google was said to have played a role in getting the people of Egypt all riled up. And I see Google itself closely tied in with this administration. And it smacks very much of incest. Wall Street is said to be thriving; and, there too, I see a connection - while my 401K remains on life support. Now they’re thinking of moving Wall Street lock, stock, and barrel over to Germany.

In other words, I’m growing extremely suspicious of the way the president is handling things. Even though we’re out here too, asking questions; we seem to have been shunted aside and denied a fair hearing.

To me it’s criminal what has happened to our nation. Assange is not the only one at fault here. To focus on him alone is missing the point. There are lot of hands involved in the making of this pie. And we, as it turns out, happen to be the blackbirds.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Reply to Dr. Yo: One Last Nod

It goes beyond the idea of a ‘caliphate‘. There’s every indication that the leaders of Iran (and imams worldwide) devoutly believe in the 12th Imam who is to be birthed in blood - Jewish blood in particular. They don’t seek western concessions or political advantage. They seek the bomb which they know will put an end to their own earthly suffering and humiliation. This view expresses itself daily - not just in the reckless words and actions of the leadership, but - in the willingness (all the way down to the grass roots) to die for a higher cause while wrapped in explosives. These suicide bombers have essentially made their peace with God. They do not fear death.

They see themselves as already dead. This makes them invincible. Jihadis believe that they will ultimately be rewarded with eternal bliss after their earthly bodies are spent. It is remarkable how this mindset trumps even the most basic human interaction - that between mother and child. Islamic mothers seem to revel in the prospect of their children becoming cannon fodder. They see no future on earth.

The Israelis, in contrast, are more or less normal. You are right; they will seek to protect themselves. But at most, they’ll only make a show of it. I happen to believe it’s a myth that - as we are told - Israel is able and willing to go it alone. It’s designed to put our own minds at ease while we do nothing to help. (Later, we’ll say, oops!) Israel has always relied heavily on U.S. support. Well, the U.S. has now turned against them (along with all others). Who supports Israel these days? Can you name anyone?

Will Israel strike out against it’s aggressors, risking WWIII (that is likely to go nuclear)? I think not. The Israelis are divided as we are. There are hawks and doves on the fringes. First strike, and even retaliatory strikes, are effectively off the table. When push comes to shove, they will once again line up for the showers. They will see it as their contribution - one last nod to conscience and civility - in the face of spreading madness.

How We Came To Be A Day Late And A Dollar Short

The following is taken from a transcript of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s address last Friday to mark the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic revolution as reported by AFP:

"We will soon see a new Middle East materializing without America and the Zionist regime and there will be no room for world arrogance in it."

Addressing the people of Egypt directly, he said, "They (the United States) have adopted a friendly face and saying 'we are friends of people of North Africa and Arab countries', but be watchful and united. You will be victorious.

“(The) Iranian nation is your friend and it is your right to freely choose your path. (The) Iranian nation backs this right of yours.

“(The United States is an) accomplice to the oppression by the Zionist regime.

"Come and take away the Zionist regime which is the source of all crimes... take it away and liberate the region. Free the region and give it to the people and take this regime, which is the child of Satan, out."

This is the second time Ahmadinejad has made such statements since the Egyptian protests began. The first time he proclaimed that every government in the region that has aligned itself in any way with the United States will fall.

This got me to thinking (again) that these people are serious. Their hatred for Israel is the cause they are willing to die for. Israel knows this. It has been in its interest to promote the notion that the destruction of Israel will not be the end of it; that Islamic appetites will also aim to devour Europe and even America.

Nobody has been listening. And I myself predict that once Israel has been destroyed, the West will remain quite safe for a time. Islamic hatred of the West is solely focused on the West’s recognition and support of Israel.

Today Mubarak resigned. The Muslim Brotherhood will assume power. The rest of the Middle East will fall into Islamic extremists’ hands. Ultimately, Israel will be attacked. This time, the Islamists will win.

At this point, the West will mobilize to defend itself. (It has always been in its power to do so. All it would ever have required is tapping its heels together.) There will ensue a great purge of everything Islam. At the same time, the Left - which has aligned itself with Islamic extremism - will be sent packing. The world will return to some semblance of normalcy; now, of course, burdened by the stain of momentous, insufferable guilt.

Already today, the leaders of Europe have come out with a statement proclaiming that multiculturalism is not working. It can only get worse from here.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

The Philadelphia Route

Besides showing that Obama has no credible plan (that he can publicly articulate) for the Middle East, the current crisis in Egypt points to America’s waning influence in the region. Yesterday, our president was absurdly trying to position himself to take credit for what he thought was about to happen from reading headlines in the papers. It is clear that his name had been struck from the list of those who need to know. As such, he knew as much as we do. So much for the billions our government spends on intelligence.

It might be useful to remember why Mubarak has been in power for 30 plus years: Egypt is the only country in the Middle East to sign a peace treaty with Israel. This means that Egypt has been the only country in the region to acknowledge the fact of Israel’s existence. Previous American administrations understood that this was the only requirement for Mubarak to stay in power.

As our current president has continued to make it clear that Israel no longer matters to him, Mubarak’s role also diminished in importance. Other aspects of Mubarak’s rule were now subject to full exposure.

Mubarak was basically America’s cop in the Middle East. He was properly rewarded by the U.S. to keep the peace within his limited jurisdiction. He has done an admiral job of it, suppressing the murderous attitudes among his own people, sometimes by force. He essentially put those who were crying out for Israel’s destruction in jail. We do the same with people who repeatedly voice threats of bodily harm towards others.

In recent years, it has come to be widely accepted that it is Israel that is actually at fault here; that Israel no longer deserves our protection. Therefore, the cop, Mubarak, was no longer needed. The Muslim Brotherhood - long committed to Israel’s destruction - had now served its sentence (and had hopefully learned its lesson) and was now to be released from confinement.

As the Brotherhood enjoys great influence and popularity throughout the Middle East (where Israel is universally despised), Obama initially thought that freeing Mumia Abu-Jamal (sic) would earn him some accolades. There have already been prison breaks in Egypt. Mumia (sic) will be freed (if he hasn‘t been already). Accolades for Obama? No (neither here nor there).

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Aaron Copeland

A celebration of America.

There Is No Middle Ground

‘Common ground’, ‘working together for the good of the American people’, ‘getting the job done’ - all wonderful sentiments, designed to say nothing and, at the same time, placate the masses.

There remain huge differences in the underlying understanding of just what ‘the job’ actually entails. Oh, we can talk about getting unemployment down to 8%, especially if it involves fudging the numbers. We can cut the federal budget the same way. We can improve our education results by giving every graduate a test showing three objects and asking which two are alike. We can offer the people healthcare, houses, and rice (cakes on the fourth of July). We can even fly the flag at sporting events and ‘cut and paste’ the words of the National Anthem onto a teleprompter. We can open our borders and invite everybody who wants to come in. We can export our industries, our secrets and our livelihoods to the hungry abroad. We can take a hands-off approach to brutality and genocide. We can do all these things, but there is one thing we can never do: regain trust in our government.

The way things are today, you’re either for something or against it. It all depends on what you ultimately wish to accomplish. It’s like we’re surrounded by trees in the forest and we can’t find our way out. Each tree demands our undivided attention - each one, a life and death decision - sapping our strength and resolve. Every step involves us in banal argument. What we lack is the long view.

The long view is out there. It’s being consummated right now as we speak - while we argue about this and that.

Egypt is a perfect example. Listening to today’s developments, you’d get the idea that it’s complete and utter chaos over there and that our government doesn’t have the slightest clue about what to make of it. I don’t happen to buy that. I think they know exactly what they’re doing and that it’s playing out exactly the way it was envisioned. No surprises there.

I had to laugh when I heard that Mubarak wants to go to Germany after he steps down. He was our dictator, after all! You mean to say we don’t have a place for him right here in the good ol’ USA? Or maybe, he doesn’t really want to come here, knowing what we did to him.

I still remember how we kept saying that Bush single-handedly made us into the most hated nation on earth. From what I can see, this hasn’t much changed under Obama. In fact, we’ve managed to lose quite a few friends along the way. We certainly haven’t made any new ones. We’re about to lose Israel, and the Suez Canal to boot. What’s that supposed to get us? In case nobody has noticed, the Latin American dominos are falling one by one. What does anyone want to bet we won’t have a communist government on our border with Mexico after their next election?

John Batchelor cites ratings, civility and a depth of understanding the issues; when he should be shouting from the rooftops. Ditto, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy. Either you want to kick over the sand castle or you don’t. There is no middle ground.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

The Nightingale And the Rose

Pardon me while I don’t quite bite. Anything can be spun, including facts and numbers - like ‘the economy is improving’ and ‘unemployment is decreasing‘ and ‘green‘ jobs are the future. It’s generally done by introducing a ‘new’ method of counting, using ‘new’ parameters and a different basket of assumptions. In education, overall results are generally improved by lowering the bar and dumbing down tests.

All this frantic fudging does not change a single thing of significance. Obama is still a socialist (whether we say it or not). And he may even be a card-carrying member of the Muslim Brotherhood for all we know (whether we even dare ask the question).

Partisanship has nothing to do with it. The proof is in the pudding. America is slipping, the dollar is slipping, our educational system is not producing and we are making mistakes in every area of endeavor relative to the rest of the world.

Whether we point it out or not, whether or not we’re turning off our radios because we’re sick of hearing about it, it’s happening at an alarming rate.

I note that the Batchelor show has one big advantage over everybody else in the business: he doesn’t take calls. Therefore he’s spared the tedious bleating of the inarticulate, the partisan poisoned, and the uninformed. Batchelor only talks to ‘experts’; meaning, that what has made them experts is in large part their familiarity and comfort level regarding language. This translates well to radio. It does not mean, however, that the ‘great unwashed’ - the rest of us - have nothing to say.

While everyone likes to claim the people’s support for whatever murderous scheme they might find themselves accessories to, they remain prepared to drop public opinion for expediency’s sake. In Beck’s case, I am not so sure his being dropped from major markets has so much to do with poor ratings as with his fingering of the great puppet master himself: Soros, who seems to have his fingers in every conceivable pie - just as I never believed that the re-elections of Reid and Pelosi were entirely free of electoral fraud.

I just finished reading ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’ by Oscar Wilde. It is one of the stories that came in a volume published by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin. Like Grimm’s fairy tales, the themes in these stories are not necessarily all clover and honey. Some serious issues are explored here under guise of clear language and simple metaphor. ‘Nightingale’ for instance explores the notion of personal sacrifice for a lost cause. It can bring tears to a child’s eyes and continue to haunt into adulthood.

In America, there have been many more such sacrifices than those currently living here. In fact, it could even be said, that every grave in America holds the remains of a martyr who had some sense of the eternal. What would any of them say if they were to come back today and watch the rose tossed carelessly aside to be crushed by an unseeing wagon wheel? Would they be impressed by the gloss of manipulated polls and surveys? Or would they be moved to weep at the flag (they fought and died for in some cases) being dragged through the muddy streets of our relentless discontent?

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/