Wednesday, August 31, 2005

New Orleans Quote of the Day

Our hearts go out to the victims of Katrina and we are glad to know that most are not falling prey to despair, but are actually ready to get on with their lives. One of the best examples of this "get on with life" attitude was provided yesterday, in a remark made by a man who had just lost everything that he had. It's nice to know that amidst all of the destruction left by Katrina, in New Orleans, some people can still smile. This man, who was being interviewed on TV, put the whole New Orleans recovery effort into perspective, with this observation.

"Hey. If we can clean this city up every year after Mardi Gras, cleanin' this up ought'ta be a snap."

Ok, so it's a little overstated. But having been there at the end of Mardi Gras, I have to admit that there is certainly a ring of truth to that statement. It also tells you a lot about the resilience of the people of New Orleans.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

What happened to, "If you're not with us, you're against us"?

President Bush talked a good talk, right after the 9-11 terrorists attacks. But, when it comes right down to making good on his promises, he just makes excuses.

In particular, it was recently uncovered that the Italian Red Cross aided and abetted terrorists, behind the backs of the US and that they did so with the knowledge of the Italian government. Specifically, they hid four terrorists, who had been wounded by US soldiers, smuggled them through US checkpoints to a hospital and treated their injuries, in a deal to secure the return of two Italian aid workers. The Italian government agreed with the decision to keep the US in the dark.

Here we have a country and an organization who both aided and abetted terrorists. This is a perfect example of the "against us" that Dubya spoke of. But, what do we get from his administration, when asked about the situation? A State Department spokesman simply dodged the question and ended by saying that Rome and Washington were "close friends".

Both France and Germany have shown that they are also "against us" and with the terrorrists, but it has been primarily by their words and inaction, rather than their action, that they showed their true colors. In this case, Italy knew what the Italian Red Cross was doing and went along with it.

Italy has now positively demonstrated that they are "against us" and with the terrorists. So, when is Dubya going to make good on his implied threat?

I suggest that you don't hold your breath, while you wait. Dubya will talk the talk, but he won't walk the walk. He stumbled onto doing the right thing, when he attacked Iraq. He is more than willing to hold firm on his promise not to meet with a few leftist war protesters, but when we have a so-called ally, who turns out to be covertly aiding and abetting terrorists, he suddenly forgets his previous statements.

As for me, although I intend to send support to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, I will not send my donation via the Red Cross, (even the American Red Cross). That's because neither the American Red Cross nor the Intenational Red Cross have even issued a letter condemning the shameful actions of the Italian Red Cross. Instead, from now on, when I want to donate to help disaster victims, I will do so through one of the local churches that is sending aid independently. I suggest that you do the same, since the Red Cross has finally lost their last vestage of neutrality. Besides, more of your donation should reach the actual victims, if you donate through a local church.

Just remember that it's not just the Red Cross. It's the Italian government, too. But, don't expect Dubya to hold them accountable. He needs to change his slogan to, "If you're not with us, we don't care".

Friday, August 26, 2005

The FairTax Book

Last evening, I had the pleasure of meeting Neal Boortz. He was at a local Borders Bookstore, signing copies of his new book, "The FairTax Book". I realized that we had not yet said anything about this great book on either our webzine or on this blog. Well, that is being remedied.

I want to encourage our readers to buy a copy of "The FairTax Book", by Neal Boortz and John Linder and read it through. It clearly lays out the case for replacing the income tax with a National Retail Sales Tax. For the record, this book went to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List in its first full week of publication and stayed there in its second week.

If you don't know what the FairTax is, then this book will explain it. If you do know what the FairTax is, you should read it anyway, because there is even some confusion among some of its supporters, about exactly how the FairTax works and how US taxpayers benefit. Even if you already know all about it, this book lays it out so clearly that it will make you a better advocate.

Then, after you have read it and understand it, fire up your email and telephone and start leaning on your representative and senators, to co-sponsor the FairTax, if they have not already done so. The next thing to do, is to loan your copy of this book to a friend. Pass it around. The more people who get the chance to read it, the more people there will be contacting their congresscritters and asking them to co-sponsor the FairTax.

The huge popularity of this book proves that this is a battle that we can win.

For more information on why the FairTax is a battle that we must win, see the articles in the Tax & Economy section, on the Action America web site. Pay particular attention to the article, "The Economy Bomb - Ticking Down Faster".

Monday, August 22, 2005

No words vile enough...

In the last week or so, we have noticed a lot of press being given to someone who deserves to be ignored more than any person who ever lived. Because of this, we wanted to say something, but since this person deserves to be ignored, we wanted to keep it short, which is why I am posting this statement here, rather than on ActionAmerica.org, where we normally post longer articles. The statement is simply this:

I would never have imagined that a sane person would be able to stoop so low as to, for her own selfish reasons, disgrace the honor and heroism of her own son, who gave his life for the greater good of his country.

The case of which I speak, does however, speak very well for Casey Sheehan's own innate character, that he was able to develop into such a brave and honorable man, in spite of having a mother who is such a total waste of flesh and oxygen. Casey Sheehan was on his second enlistment and had volunteered for the rescue mission on which he was killed and earned the Bronze Star in the process. In every sense of the word, this man deserves the title, "hero". Patriots like myself, will remember him for his bravery and heroism. But, because of his mother's disgraceful actions, it is likely that most people will only remember him for being the son of "one of those anti-war protesters".

There are not words vile enough in the English language to describe his mother. Perhaps, in the future, when people want to curse someone who represents the lowest of the vile and obscene, they will simply call that person a "Cindy Sheehan". For selfishly undermining the great honor that her son so justly earned, having her name become the lowest of insults, is a legacy that she will have justly earned, as well.

Let's hope that the media will soon give her the disregard that she so richly deserves.