The roots of Total War

Where did the Neocons get the idea they could obliterate any who stand in their way? From the Radical Republicans, of course. A great piece by Al Benson, Jr.

U.S. Role in Iraq Threatens Security

9/11 demonstrated that intervening where you don't belong is going to blowback on you sooner or later. At least, that's what it showed most of us. To Bush's handlers, it wasn't a lesson; it was an opportunity. Though it was sold to a frightened, confused public as retaliation for the death of nearly 2,000 innocent Americans, it was later justified as a pre-emptive invasion to keep Americans safe.

But that was disproven, too:

Indeed, an April 2006 National Intelligence Estimate concluded that “the war in Iraq has become a primary recruitment vehicle for violent Islamic extremists, motivating a new generation of potential terrorists around the world whose numbers may be increasing faster than the United States and its allies can reduce the threat,” and that “the Iraq conflict has become the ‘cause célèbre’ for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement.”

In other words, instead of stopping the brutal interventions that led to 9/11, the Bushies decided to toss even more fuel on the fire.

McCain takes campaign to liberal blogs

Sounds to me like McCain has once again demonstrated his distaste for conservatives:

On yesterday's call, Mr. McCain fielded seven questions, including three from non-conservative bloggers: Kate Sheppard, political reporter for environmental Web site Grist.org; Joanne Bamberger of PunditMom (http://punditmom1. blogspot.com); and Erin Kotecki Vest, who blogs at catchall site BlogHer.com as well as liberal sites HuffingtonPost.com and MOMocrats.com.

"I give them an A for effort," Ms. Vest said in a phone interview after the conference call.

I'm sure environmentalists like Ms. Vest was impressed with McCain, seeing as how he's embraced global warming -- another bouquet from McCain to his actual constituency.

And this exchange regarding McCain's reversal on setting a timetable for pulling out of the Iraq fiasco is priceless:

She asked Mr. McCain whether the vision he laid out yesterday of U.S. troops succeeding in Iraq by 2013 didn't amount to the sort of timetable he has criticized when Democrats propose a specific date for withdrawal.

Mr. McCain shot right back: "Either you didn't read or didn't understand my speech. One of the two."

Ms. Vest said she "read it and understood it just fine, and I don't understand how 2013 isn't a date."

Sure, Johnny. Whatever you say.

Bill Kristol wants a domestic surge

I suppose Neocons have to express everything in military terms -- even reform:

What was the surge about? It was Dave Petraeus changing the way the U.S. military works, and it worked. It succeeded. Why can’t we do this for the rest of the U.S. government? Lots of the U.S. government is broken. We need, in effect, a surge, a reformist surge, for the whole U.S. government.

That's because they're hypnotized by top-down power. Here's another example, from the Weekly Standard's editor Fred Barnes, explaining that Neocons differ from real conservatives in their promotion of big government:

Sure, some conservatives are upset because he has tolerated a surge in federal spending, downplayed swollen deficits, failed to use his veto, created a vast Department of Homeland Security, and fashioned an alliance of sorts with Teddy Kennedy on education and Medicare. But the real gripe is that Bush isn't their kind of conventional conservative. Rather, he's a big government conservative. This isn't a description he or other prominent conservatives willingly embrace. It makes them sound as if they aren't conservatives at all. But they are. They simply believe in using what would normally be seen as liberal means--activist government--for conservative ends. And they're willing to spend more and increase the size of government in the process.

Alliance for the Separation of School & State

Here's a practical step you can take to monkeywrench the Empire: take your children out of the government schools. Don't have kids? Then donate to a church or private school, or to a homeschool association. By denying the government propaganda mills of victims, you pave the way for future generations to take this country back. The Alliance for the Separation of School and State is one organization providing materials for returning sovereignty to parents. Here's their website and intro:

The brightest future for education begins here.

We believe parents, and not the state, should be in charge of their children's education. That control may take many forms and levels of involvement, but the state will never be part of the picture.

If this seems like an impossible idea, consider that 8 million children already learn free of state control. We're not starting from scratch here. The snowball of educational independence is already rolling.

The coming crash

Smell that? It's the smell of fear -- and it seems to be coming from the Stupid Party:

A third-straight special election defeat in as many months left congressional Republicans reeling Wednesday, seriously concerned about what the November elections have in store for their party.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, called the defeat a "wakeup call."

"We have to show Americans that we can fix the problems here in Washington and fix the problems that they deal with every day," Boehner said.

But Congressman, DC is the SOURCE of nearly all of our problems. A wrecked economy, instability in the Middle East jacking up the price of gas, a crime wave fueled by illegal immigration -- so why do you think we look to you to fix ANYTHING?

Here's the latest Republican bellyflop that's got them worried:

Democrat Travis Childers defeated Republican Greg Davis on Tuesday in a Mississippi district that hasn't voted Democratic in more than 15 years, one where George W. Bush defeated John Kerry by 25 points in 2004.

It was a result that even Republicans admit is ominous sign of what could happen in the fall.

And they can't say they didn't give it everything they have -- including a visit from Mr. Sunshine himself, "Deadeye" Darth Cheney:

Republicans and conservative independent groups pulled out all the stops to defend the seat, pouring upwards of $2 million into the contest and dispatching party heavyweights there in the final days to drum up support, including Vice President Dick Cheney.

The American people are sickened by both sorry excuses for political parties. But there is a bright side -- with the choices narrowed down between two Open Borders globalists, the Evil Party and Stupid Party are making the idea of secession look better EVERY DAY. So, thanks, fellas -- we couldn't buy better spokesmen than you to make our case.

John McCain: Illegal immigration no longer a problem

Not only has he declared victory in Iraq, McCain has now announced that the illegal immigration problem is fixed, and that we shouldn't worry our little heads about it any more.

No, really:

Border state governors have certified and the American people recognize that after tremendous improvements to border security infrastructure and increases in the border patrol, and vigorous prosecution of companies that employ illegal aliens, our southern border is now secure. Illegal immigrants who broke our laws after they came here have been arrested and deported. Illegal immigration has been finally brought under control, and the American people accepted the practical necessity to institute a temporary worker program and deal humanely with the millions of immigrants who have been in this country illegally.

In his next surprise announcement, McCain will reveal his cure for the common cold and how to make teenagers keep their rooms clean.

McCain announces Iraq withdrawal timetable

With Democrats winning elections even in conservative districts, it's time for the Republicans to reverse their disastrous course. So McCain has taken a bold but necessary first step to end the ongoing disaster in Iraq by declaring victory and announcing a timetable for withdrawal:

In a speech he's about to give shortly at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Ohio, Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, will for the first time talk about a specific date for when he envisions direct American military involvement to be over in Iraq.

It's January, 2013. By then, he says, American combat involvement will be over and most U.S. troops back home.

McCain's surprising remarks this morning are an early indicator of a significant shift in the former fighter pilot and POW's stance on the controversial and unpopular war. ...

Maybe you remember during their most heated debate exchange of the Republican primary season, McCain going right after former Gov. Mitt Romney for even hinting at a vague timetable for U.S. troop withdrawals because the Arizona senator alleged it would be taken by the enemy as a sign of surrender and a date they need only await.

Yes, we do remember. But McCain is finally admitting to the inevitable: the Neocon project in Iraq is a dismal failure. Instead of lasting 6 weeks, it's now going on into its sixth year. Instead of paying for itself with stolen Iraqi oil, its spiralling costs are wrecking the US economy. And instead of reconstructing Iraq into a model of democracy, the war has delivered the region into the hands of the Iranians.

But will McCain's actions save face for the once swaggering, now stumbling Republican party? I doubt it. Much damage has been done to American prestige. American resources, both human and economic, have been squandered -- and the damage is far from over. McCain knows this. He will continue to play Nixon and try to back away from a bloodletting while pretending to have won it, but the public isn't going to buy it anymore. Despite Obama's many negatives, his antiwar rhetoric alone might win him the election.

Meanwhile, Clio draws a dark line through the name of yet another empire mortally wounded by imperial overstretch.

Bush sacrifices for the dead and wounded troops

I swear, I cannot tell the difference between reports from this insane administration and Onion satire. Guess what this is:

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Tuesday he quit playing golf in 2003 out of respect for the families of Americans killed in the war in Iraq.

"I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the Commander-in-Chief playing golf," Bush said in an interview with Yahoo and Politico.com.

"I feel I owe it to the families to be as -- to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal," he said.

Sadly, this one's for real.

UPDATE: And then, maybe -- just maybe -- this swaggering coward lied to us again.

Can the West be saved?

If it is saved, it will first have to be saved from its leaders, as Serge Trifkovic warns us:

Topping the list is elite hostility to all forms of solidarity of the majority population based on shared historical memories, ancestors, and common culture; the consequences are predictable:

- the loss of a sense of place and history among Europeans and North Americans;
- rapid demographic decline, especially in Europe, unparalleled in history;
- rampant Third World (and in Europe, overwhelmingly Muslim) immigration;
- collapse of private and public manners, morals, and traditional commonalities;
- imposition of “diversity,” “multiculturalism,” “sensitivity”; and
- demonization and criminalization of any opposition to any of the above.

The end-result is the Westerners’ loss of the sense of propriety over their lands.

And how do they accomplish this? The government indoctrination system -- which we refer to as "public schools" -- cranks out enough brainwashed converts who welcome multiculturalism as the inevitable wave of the future -- even though the multicultural "ideal" is a fantasy of the American ruling class.

But the more insidious method is that of undermining the opposition, and that's where they're achieving their greatest success. They do that by convincing us that conservatism is a universal ideology, instead of the accumulated wisdom of generations which aims to preserve our traditional heritage. Look at the chief spokesmen of the universalists -- Bush, McCain, Lindsey Graham -- all Open Borders advocates, amnesty peddlers, and friends with La Raza.

McCain is the worst of them all. Let's not forget his blatant pandering to the Open Borders lobby during the Republican presidential debates. In response to Tom Tancredo's plea to call a "time out" in record levels of Third-World immigration, McCain dismissed the idea with, "It's beyond my realm of thinking." I suspect that for once, McCain was telling the truth. Cultural revolution is his one and only goal.

And how can we forget how McCain later mocked those of us determined to preserve our culture:

"A questioner asked Mitt Romney to explain his tough talk against illegal immigration, in light of political ads the former Massachusetts governor is airing in Spanish. This presented another moment for Tancredo to pontificate on the need to preserve the English language. When it was McCain's turn, he couldn't resist quipping, "Muchas gracias."

Cute, huh? That was a deliberate slap in the face to Americans who do not want to be colonized by Latin America. And yet, he calls himself a conservative -- at least, he does when he wants our votes. It is that bait-and-switch with genuine conservatism that enables the neoliberals and Neocons to convince us that America is not an historical nation founded on Western, Christian heritage, but the "proposition nation" that Abraham Lincoln imposed on us.

Both socialists and Neocons sneer at Pat Buchanan's defense of the traditional America as "blood and soil" conservatism. These pro-amnesty ideologues have managed to turn "blood and soil" into the worst possible insult, thanks to enforcers of political correctness such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and a compliant corporate media. They know that by slandering those who seek to preserve our "historical memories, ancestors, and common culture" as racists, they are attacking the social cohesion that makes limited, Constitutional government possible, thereby paving the way for the authoritarian, socialist government they are determined to impose on us.

And it's working.

McCain's Latino Fifth Column

The Open Borders propagandists are becoming even more brazen in their assertions. Here's the latest example -- but be warned -- it's a doozy:

I first met McCain 10 years ago when I was a working at the Arizona Republic. What I remember is that, in a political climate where so many elected officials — Republican and Democrat alike — were wearing themselves out pandering to racists who demanded action on illegal immigration, McCain was one of the few who didn't play that game.

That's right, it's just those "racists" who want action on illegal immigration. Because everyone knows only goose-stepping, cross-burning, Archie Bunker types want to enforce Federal immigration law.

In 1998, while Texas Gov. George W. Bush made headlines for earning an impressive 49 percent of the Hispanic vote in his re-election, McCain walked off with an unheard-of 65 percent in his Senate re-election bid. Six years later, he did even better, earning around 70 percent of the Hispanic vote.

Translation: You think George W. Bush was a sell-out? Wait until Presidente McCain gets his hands on the levers of power -- he'll set a new standard for selling out the American people.

Another Hispanic Republican called McCain the original compassionate conservative, someone who wore that label before there ever was a label. And, she said, as someone who has faced his share of challenges in life, McCain's compassion bleeds over to anyone picked on or preyed upon.

Except he doesn't have compassion for Americans who've lost their jobs to illegal aliens -- but then, they don't count.

And here are my favorites:

"If you look at Latino families, we've all got someone who has been in the military," said Ruben Alvarez, a McCain supporter and principal at the Molera Alvarez Group, a public affairs firm in Phoenix. "The fact that McCain is so patriotic is a draw for many Latinos." ...

But there's another factor that helps explain McCain's appeal to Hispanics — he's spent 20 years quietly recruiting them into his campaigns and building up personal relationships in that Arizona community.

McCain marked Cinco de Mayo by launching his Hispanic outreach effort, which includes a Spanish-language Web site. Those gimmicks don't hurt.

It's called character, and Hispanics — like many other Americans — may not always be able to define it. But they know it when they see it.

So if you oppose McCain, you're not patriotic. And you lack character. Because nothing proves your patriotism and character like selling out your country to illegal alien invaders.

Community colleges to bar illegal immigrants

Looks like the citizens of the Great State of North Carolina have at least one advocate in government:

The community college system will no longer admit illegal immigrants to degree programs based on an advisory letter from the Office of the Attorney General, the system announced today.

Bernie Thuersam, the State Chair of the North Carolina League of the South, had this to say about the importance of effective demonstrations:

[This] is good news. It was certainly helpful that our Chapter was represented strongly at the so-called May Day "immigrant rights day" protest rally in Raleigh. The rally was so effective that the planned "pro-illegals" march disbanded.

The turnout of those demanding that our State government secure our own borders, send illegals out of our State, and deny criminals access to our publicly supported education system, was obviously effective as seen below. As you know, the leftists who dominate our educational system wanted to allow children of illegal aliens into our community colleges, and charge them the same as North Carolina citizens.

Yay, Bernie!

The Bush Administration Politicizes Tragedy in Burma

The Bush regime, which fancies itself the ultimate arbiter of right and wrong in the world, has once again stuck its nose where it doesn't belong, harming those it claims it wants to help. Here's what Burmese have to say about Bush's ironic criticism of the Burmese junta for its failure to act after a devastating flood:

Even Burmese dissident groups criticized the timing of the administration’s rhetorical onslaught against the junta—declaring that it made getting rapid relief to the desperately needy that much more difficult. According to the Washington Post, exiled Burmese political analyst Aung Naing Oo called Laura Bush’s verbal harangue “totally and utterly inappropriate. She is trying to score political points out of people’s disaster.”

Well, it worked with 9/11 ...

Our choices for 2008

... can be summed up as "Damned if you do, and damned if you don't."

Consider Obama. Here's a smooth-talking politician who barely conceals his contempt for the majority in this country. His close association with his "mentor" Reverend Wright will provide plenty of ammunition for the Republican smear machine (a formidable weapon). The race hustlers will insist that any attack on Obama, or even failure to support him, HAS to be due to racial hatred, which will further confound those who are concerned with issues, and not race:

Pollsters have found it difficult to accurately measure racial attitudes, as some voters are unwilling to acknowledge the role that race plays in their thinking. But some are not. Susan Dzimian, a Clinton supporter who owns residential properties, said outside a polling location in Kokomo that race was a factor in how she viewed Obama. "I think if it was somebody other than him, I'd accept it," she said of a black candidate. "If Colin Powell had run, I would be willing to accept him."

And Obama's left-wing policies will most assuredly repulse most Americans...

...except for his stance on Iraq and the economy, that is. Obama is perceived as the anti-war candidate (which he is certainly not), and as the economy continues to tank, due in large part to the strain of borrowing billions to finance the democratization of the Middle East, anyone who isn't associated with the Republicans will look good.

Then there's Mad John McCain. This hotheaded, foul-mouthed globalist will continue the Bush regime's policy of "Invite the world, invade the world" that has not only weakened this country's security at home and abroad, but poisoned its reputation. Bet your bottom dollar (which shrinks in value every day) that McCain will find a way to grant amnesty to his new amigos from south of the border. Bet on it.

Add to this volatile stew an increasingly rebellious electorate that overwhelmingly feels "the country's seriously off on the wrong track."

So who knows what will happen? When the media-savvy insurgency in Iraq turns up the heat to influence the election, will Obama's fortunes rise? What happens when there's another terrorist attack on US soil? Will that help or hurt McCain?

Who knows? All we can be sure of is that things are getting stickier every day, and there's no sign things are going to get any clearer. We're in a political pea soup without a GPS. Talk about interesting times ...

Quotes from The White Rose

The White Rose was a German resistance group whose members were imprisoned and executed during Hitler's reign for creating and distributing anti-Nazi leaflets. Here are some select quotes from these brave young people - but these statements are so fitting for the times we're in today, it's scary. Every statement made against the Nazis applies to today's Neocons and their Beloved Leader. Take a look for yourself:

- Nothing is so unworthy of a civilised nation as allowing itself to be governed without opposition by an irresponsible clique that has yielded to base instinct.

- It is impossible to engage in intellectual discourse with National Socialist Philosophy, for if there were such an entity, one would have to try by means of analysis and discussion either to prove its validity or to combat it. In actuality, however, we face a totally different situation. At its very inception this movement depended on the deception and betrayal of one's fellow man; even at that time it was inwardly corrupt and could support itself only by constant lies.

- Every word that comes from Hitler's mouth is a lie. When he says peace, he means war ...

- The imperialist ideology of force, from whatever side it comes, must be shattered for all time.

Big Brother gets a new tool

... to watch over you and keep you safe, of course.


"This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector." -- Plato, circa 400 BC
Thanks to Mike Scruggs!

Confederate Memorial Day address in Thomasville, NC

I was honored to serve as the main speaker at the Thomasville, NC Sons of Confederate Veterans candlelight service on Saturday. Here is the text of my remarks:

It’s wonderful to see so many families represented here today. Honoring our families and their place in history is what this gathering is all about.

It is that sense of belonging, of community, and duty that made our Confederate ancestors the heroes that they are. And our message today is that their Cause is not over. The South is still alive. We are still here, we are still Southerners, and some people can’t stand it. Despite the odds, we are still a distinct people. If you compare the maps of the 1860 and 2004 elections, you’ll see they've hardly changed east of the Mississippi. Dixie is the heart of what they call the Red States. Southerners are predominantly Scots-Irish. Senator James Webb of Virginia wrote a book about us titled “Born Fighting.” Here’s what he wrote about us in that book: the Scots-Irish are "family-oriented, take morality seriously, go to church, join the US military, support America’s wars, and listen to country music." In other words, we're the heart and body of America.

Observances like this are going on all over the South today, and they’re not just celebrating who we were, but what we are today. Honoring our Confederate heroes says a great deal about our role models, about what we aspire to be. And I’d like to take a somewhat different look at these heroes through the wisdom of another Southerner you may not have heard of.

Edward O. Wilson was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He’s a bug man. That's what he calls himself. But he's not an exterminator. He's a scientist who studies bugs. Dr. Wilson is a Harvard professor who founded the study of sociobiology, which focuses on the biological basis of behavior. Wilson wanted to explain altruism, that is, the sacrifice of oneself for others. Why do they do it? Why do heroes risk their lives? Wilson’s research has influenced not only the fields of biology and ecology, but also psychology, sociology, and political theory.

Little attention has been given to how his Southern upbringing influenced his career and his thought. In his autobiography, Dr. Wilson wrote about his childhood in Alabama:

Young men could aspire to no higher calling than officer rank in the military. The South continued her antebellum dream of the officer and gentleman, honorable, brave, unswerving in service to God and country. He comes to our mind, the newly graduated second lieutenant, clad in dress white, escorting his bride, pretty and sweet, out of the church beneath the raised crossed sabers of his classmates, as his proud family watches. His conduct will henceforth affirm the generally understood historical truth that we lost the War Between the States for lack of arms and the exhaustion of battle-depleted troops. Our men, and especially our officers, were nonetheless individually the finest soldiers in the world at that time. They were Southerners, men not to be trifled with.

Now you understand why commanding officers interviewed on television at Vietnam firebases so often spoke with Southern accents. (Naturalist, p. 18)

Up to college age I retained the Southerner’s reflexive deference to elders. Adult males were “sir” and ladies “ma’am,” regardless of their station. These salutations I gave with pleasure. I instinctively respect authority and believe emotionally if not intellectually that it should be perturbed only for conspicuous cause. At my core I am a social conservative, a loyalist. I cherish traditional institutions, the more venerable and ritual-laden the better.

I have a special regard for altruism and devotion to duty, believing them virtues that exist independent of approval and validation. I am stirred by accounts of soldiers, policemen, and firemen who have died in the line of duty. I can be brought to tears with embarrassing quickness by the solemn ceremonies honoring those heroes. The sight of Iwo Jima and Vietnam Memorials pierces me for the witness they bear of men who gave so much, and who expected so little in life, and the strength ordinary people possess that held civilization together in dangerous times. (p. 25)

You know, Dr. Wilson’s last sentence says much about the worldview that led him forward in his insights into how societies work. The basic teaching of sociobiology, the discipline he founded, is that social behavior can be explained by the biological drive to preserve one’s genetic inheritance. Parents sacrifice for their children, warriors sacrifice for their tribe, and soldiers sacrifice for their nation to ensure the survival of their kin.

Society is held together by the loyalty and affection of extended families – in other words, their blood ties and shared history. This continuity with the past not only provides the individual with identity and purpose, but maintains social order and cohesion, preserving the traditions and way of life that reflect our God-given character as a people. As Edmund Burke observed, the proper balance of liberty and order can only be maintained if “... the whole great drama of national life [is] reverently received as ordered by a Power to which past, present, and future are organically knit stages in one Divine plan.”

And it is that respect for the history that made you what you are that inspires you to respect your elders, and makes you address them as “sir” and “ma’am” as Edward Wilson wrote about his childhood, and everyone here knows what he’s talking about. That respect is what holds society together. I would add that the loss of that respect is why society is tearing itself apart these days.

Not long ago, a Northern transplant wrote this letter to the editor:

I find it disturbing that these white southerners have chosen to identify with their Confederate past. If they wanted truly heroic ancestors to venerate, how about those patriots who defeated the British Empire and created a free nation on this continent? Or the “Greatest Generation,” which survived the Depression and won World War II?

And every now and then, you'll see another slam against the South for honoring the "losers" of the Civil War.

Well, now. As a matter of fact, we Southerners do venerate the heroes of the American Revolution and of World War II. We consider them role models. George Washington’s image was on the official seal of the Confederate States of America. And any objective history of the American Revolution will tell you the war was pretty much lost in the North, but saved by the South. The next time some know-it-all Yankee tells you we Southerners are traitors, remind him that New York contributed more volunteers to the British Loyalist army than to George Washington’s rebel army. The American Revolution was won in the South through the heroism of such men as Francis Marion, known as the Swamp Fox, and Daniel Morgan, who defeated the British at the Battle of Cowpens. After the bloody Battle of Guilford Courthouse, the British met defeat at Yorktown, largely thanks to Southern militias. The principles of 1776 were frequently invoked by Southerners during their own war for independence.

We Southerners have nothing to apologize for. We have sacrificed our flesh and blood for this country far out of proportion of our numbers. That devotion to duty that Dr. Edward Wilson wrote about still inspires young Southern men. We Southerners are only about 25% of the general population, but the South has provided more than her fair share of troops for the wars the United States has fought. Southerners made up 26% of the armed forces during WWI, 34% during WWII, 35% of the troops in Korea, 36% of the men in Vietnam, and an astounding 41% in the Persian Gulf War. In WWI, Alvin York of Tennessee was the most highly decorated and recognized American soldier. In WWII Audie Murphy of Texas was the most decorated American soldier.

And what do you think motivated the men who fought to defend their civilization against foreign invasion in World War II? They weren't fighting for an ideology, or some meaningless abstraction. The were instead determined to fight and die to preserve their way of life, their rights, and their existence as a distinct people, rather than submit to foreign conquest. They are heroes to us because they embody the ultimate example of patriotism, which is loyalty to one’s own people, their history, their culture, their unique identity.

And that’s what our Confederate heroes fought for. Did they lose? Just look around, and you’ll see two things – that our culture is still alive, but – that it’s also under attack. That means one thing – that there’s a battle for this generation to fight as well.

As for Southerners honoring losers, off the top of my head, I can say, well, we’re not the only ones, and thank God for that. Think about the 300 Spartans who died holding back the Persian army more than 2,000 years ago, saving Greece, and maybe all of Europe from Asian conquest. Think about the heroes of the Alamo. 200 men holding off an army of 3,000, knowing they were risking their lives – which they lost. Or how about the Warsaw uprising 100 years later in Poland? In the middle of WWII, Jews in Warsaw rose up against the Nazis who were murdering their people. They held them up for five months. All three of these heroic actions ended in defeat and death. But even though they lost their battle, they inspired others who went on to win their greater battles. Greece would have died, and there would never have been a Republic of Texas or an independent Israel if these fighters had not sacrificed themselves for their own people.

Every people has its own heroes, men and women who sacrifice to preserve their heritage. Every people has the right to exist, to be proud of its own, and to strive to continue their heritage into the future. Carrying on a cultural heritage means loving and perpetuating those things that make us what we are, and rejecting those things that diminish our uniqueness. Understanding one’s place in the story of one’s people gives meaning and direction to our lives.

We hear about young people who are lost in a world of drug addiction and crime. Over and over, we hear that they feel unconnected to the world, that they do not know who they are. Modern society and political correctness have stolen that from them. I cannot think of a greater crime against young people.

We are here today honoring our Southern heroes, and at the same time, exploring our own connections to our past, to our heroes. These are connections that are vital, noble, and worthy of honor. We are not living in the past, but are instead acknowledging the heroes, the sacrifices, and the loyalties that make our future possible. For that reason, we gather here to proudly say, “God Save the South!”

Obama giveth and Obama taketh away

Just a reminder to those of you who're new to this blog, or may have forgotten: there is no pro-freedom, anti-war candidate with a prayer of winning the White House. Yes, 68 percent of the American people oppose the Iraq war, but that means nothing to our handlers except that they must continue to handle us. How? By offering an "anti-war" candidate who, if somehow elected, will only divert resources to another front. Our tax dollars will continue to flow to the military/industrial racket. So Obama's just managing our expectations -- and he is good at it:

Obama campaigned Saturday in the Northwestern city of Bend, Oregon, and again said he would end the Iraq war as soon as possible. "Our nation is involved in two wars--one war that has to be won, the war against al-Qaida and the terrorist networks in Afghanistan and in Pakistan--one war that was a war of choice and I believe should have never been authorized and should have never been waged, the war in Iraq that I want to bring to an end," he said.

If McCain loses in November, Obama will instantly pump up operations in Afghanistan, continuing DC's hare-brained scheme of forging the tribes there into a Western-style nation-state, while making a show of withdrawing from Iraq. Of course he won't really withdraw -- as this story reminds us, the US has a cozy little castle for its permanent occupation forces, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste. And who cares what the Iraqis think? It's the price of being libertated:

"It is a symbol of occupation for the Iraqi people, that is all," says Anouar, a Baghdad graduate student who thought it was risk enough to give her first name. "We see the size of this embassy and we think we will be part of the American plan for our country and our region for many, many years." The 104-acre, 21-building enclave – the largest US Embassy in the world, similar in size to Vatican City in Rome – is often described as a "castle" by Iraqis, but more in the sense of the forbidden and dominating than of the alluring and liberating.

The Empire intends to continue growing, no matter what we silly voters say.

Is It Time to Invade Burma?

Since the US sees itself as a social worker with a machine gun, I suppose this idea fits with that image. After all, after Iraq's WMD failed to materialize, the Bushies post-justified their invasion as a war of liberation, and "good news" from Iraq consists of a fresh coat of paint on a school -- nevermind that the kids were blown up by a suicide bomber. So now we're actually considering invading Burma so we can do good deeds there, too:

The cold truth is that states rarely undertake military action unless their national interests are at stake; and the world has yet to reach a consensus about when, and under what circumstances, coercive interventions in the name of averting humanitarian disasters are permissible. As the response to the 2004 tsunami proved, the world's capacity for mercy is limitless. But we still haven't figured out when to give war a chance.

After the debacles in Vietnam and Iraq, it should be clear: only to defend America from invasion. Only.

Confederate Memorial Day

Elmwood Confederate Cemetery, Charlotte, North Carolina
"We feel that our cause is just and holy; we protest solemnly in the face of mankind that we desire peace at any sacrifice save that of honour and independence; we ask no conquest, no aggrandizement, no concession of any kind from the States with which we were lately confederated; all we ask is to be let alone; that those who never held power over us shall not now attempt our subjugation by arms." President Jefferson Davis - 29 April 1861

Study Shows 25 Percent Of L.A.'s Welfare Goes To Illegal Aliens

According to new data from the Department of Public Social Services, nearly twenty five percent of Los Angeles County ’s welfare and food stamp benefits goes directly to the children of illegal aliens, at a cost of $36 million a month -- for a projected annual cost of $432 million.

Obviously, the Los Angeles Department of Social Services is staffed by neo-Nazi, racist hate-mongers.

Barack Obama wants to be president of these 57 United States

Is Barack Hussein Obama smarter than a 5th grader? Or is the campaign stretching out a little toooooo long? What else could explain this:

"It is wonderful to be back in Oregon," Obama said. "Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go."

Maybe he was including all the provinces in Iraq after it breaks up and they become part of the DC superstate.

Wait -- what's this coming in?

(UPDATE: At a later stop Obama was talking with reporters and expressed concern he'd also mis-stated the number of potential cyclone victims in Burma. He said, "I hope I said 100,000 people the first time instead of 100 million. I understand I said there were 57 states today. It's a sign that my numeracy is getting a little, uh." At that point, an aide cut him off and ushered journalists out. Before he could mis-speak again?)

Uh-oh.

Don't blame me, I voted for Jefferson Davis!

A reader responds:

Actually, I came to a different conclusion than the one reached in your fascinating and well-written piece, [ah, shucks! - MT] albeit one that basically accepts most of your premises and factual elements.

This past week I cast my vote for Hillary. While I totally accept your negative assessment of McCain (and he has done nothing recently to change that), I have come to the realization, based on various (and in some cases, fairly tenuous) factors, that, incredibly, Senator Clinton is now the "lesser evil." I never dreamed I would say this--my dear parents must be turning over in their graves!

I must admit that I never had the temptation to stray to Obama; his messianic, politically-correct Marxism, his quasi-religious commitment to remodel what is left of the USA (and the South), without recourse to any realistic understanding of history or our traditions---scares me even more than the worn-out liberal left nostrums of Hillary. At least with her we know what we would get; it's all there for anyone to see. And, perhaps even more significantly, when it comes down to it, the lady (if I may call her that) is willing to sacrifice just about anything (including some of her principles) to succeed. Is there any better comparison than with Lady Macbeth? In a sense, then, she is a wheeler-dealer. Perhaps that is not much, but for me that is preferrable to the messianic, unyielding ideologue that Obama assuredly is.

Our experience as a people with ideologues in power has not been a particularly felicitous one. One can certainly argue whether Lincoln was one, and the verdict of history seems to offer a lot of confirmation. Woodrow Wilson's intransigeant internationalism, it may argued, was the product of a warped Protestant messianism, and the results were disastrous for both Europe and the United States. And, then, there is a whole series of national leaders since World War II, some influenced by various socialist visions of utopia and egalitarianism, others, more recently, infected with neo-conservativism, who have continued to attack what was left of "old" republicanism, constitutionalism, and states rights. Obama seems to me to combine the very worst of these strains in American intellectual history, and that, very frankly, sends shivers up my spine.

In the end, if Obama is nominated (as it looks now), I suspect that I shall do what I did in 2004, the Bush vs. Kerry election. I wrote in the name of "Jefferson Davis," with the view that it is better to vote for a good president who is dead, than a bad one who is alive.

So, you see, I can indeed proudly sport that bumper sticker on my car: "Don't blame me, I voted for Jefferson Davis!"

Boyd Cathey

Everything you say about the Great O is true. He is indeed a HallMarxist, spouting off a revolutionary creed in the soothing tones of Grandpa Walton. The great threat here is that McCain also has a revolutionary agenda; it begins with amnesty for illegal alien invaders and ends with unleashing the fires of hell in the Mideast -- which will no doubt ignite similar fires around the globe, including here. If it could happen in New York, Madrid, and London, there's no limit to where such a malfire could reach. (Malfire may not be a word, but it sure wouldn't be a bonfire, now would it?)

I voted for Hillary, too (yes, like you, I registered to vote in the days when all Southerners were yellow-dog Democrats -- and was too lazy to change it). I think -- I hope -- that Southerners and conservatives will react to the socialist agenda the Democrats will attempt to force down our throats. While McCain could get away with pushing through his globalist agenda in the name of "conservatism," neither Hillary or the Great O could. So when they do it, people should react -- assuming there's any backbone left out there among the people. I think there is, and that's what I'm betting on.

Broadcasting Obama

Great post here on the Great Scam of Multiculturalism. It's an ideal so other-worldly and unworkable that only Americans could believe in it. And the notion that electing the son of a Kenyan ne'er-do-well will dazzle the world with our goodness makes even less sense, especially now that the rest of the world is putting the brakes on their own discredited Open Borders policies. The old imperial goal of forcing different peoples into a one-size-fits-all political system is being energetically rejected:

As you read this, Europe grows less tolerant still, with far-right nationalists making their way to higher and higher office. Still, Europe is a hippie musical compared to Asia and Africa, where ethnic and religious segregation is not only institutional, but fatal. Moving east to west: There are frequent, sometimes deadly, clashes between Hui Muslims and Han Chinese. Throughout the Arab world, racism against blacks is rampant, and in Mauritania pockets of Arab-on-black chattel slavery still exist. Then backtrack a little to the Levant. In 2006, when Condoleezza Rice was on a diplomatic mission to the Middle East, the daily Palestinian Authority periodical, Al Hayat Al Jadida consistently referred to her in racist terms and ran a cartoon of the Secretary of State pregnant with a monkey.

Once again, the world is learning that good fences make good neighbors. The solution to ethnic and racial conflict is not to subdue others, and force them to live under a hated regime, but to let them go their own way. And remedial tolerance classes will not accomplish anything but provide jobs to otherwise unemployable tolerance coaches.

Indeed, says the author, the multicultural ideal can only be propped up by constant effort within a society possessing unlimited resources and the willingness to remain blind to reality:

The notion that there’s a soft and cuddly world just waiting for America to catch up is not “global consciousness” but the very opposite: it is an American fantasy born of prosperity and isolation. If neoconservatives are criticized for their arrogance in assuming the universality of American ideals, how will Obama supporters of this stripe answer similar charges?

Community colleges should admit illegal immigrants

So says Governor Weasel of North Carolina:

Gov. Mike Easley says the state's community colleges should stick to a policy of admitting all eligible illegal immigrants.

Easley made the suggestion Thursday, a day after Attorney General Roy Cooper's office said the lenient admissions policy should be dropped.

So now the sovereign people of North Carolina have to get permission from DC before we do anything?

Oh, for the days of Ellis and Vance, when North Carolina governors represented their people, rather than serve as the local administrator of Federal control.

MLK national memorial said to be reminiscent of art in totalitarian states

You don't say?


AP photo
Looks like a perfect tribute to me. After all, the mythology of Martin Luther King justifies DC's unconstitutional power to reconstruct the world according to his vision -- and if politically connected persons and groups make a few billions in the effort, then so much the better.

Quote of the day

...I know not what treason is, if sapping and betraying the liberties of a people be not treason... Cato

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right

What's a Southerner to do?

This is clearly the most repulsive set of choices for president I've ever seen. Judging by the remarks of other bloggers, even those who still support the Neocon Wars, and conversations with other activists, I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Yes, it remains true that we cannot look to DC to restore our stolen liberties or preserve our way of life -- not when DC is the chief threat to both. But we cannot ignore what goes on there. Every independence and autonomy movement is and has been a reaction to the goings-on in the seat of an oppressive government, and we need to know what to expect from it.

Clearly, we don't want John McCain, the Neocon dauphin who promises to accelerate the multicult and militarist agenda under the cover of conservatism. Southerners in particular feel betrayed by a candidate who seemes to go out of his way to spurn us and our concerns.

Here's just one example:

"The Confederate flag is offensive in many, many ways, as we all know. It is a symbol of racism and slavery." — John McCain, January 9, 2000, South Carolina

Since supporting McCain was out of the question, I considered either Democratic prospect to be useful to our long-term goals. So at first, I felt a victory by either Hillary of Obama would rile enough folks to jump-start a healthy backlash against the Democrats' socialistic agendas, which we could expand into a larger movement toward self-determination. After all, the League grew nicely under the first Clinton administration, and languished during W's reign, especially in the immediate days after 9/11 days when "we were all New Yorkers." I saw a Hillary Rodham Clinton regime as a reprise of the good ol' days of taking in new members angered by an openly hostile and leftist Federal government, and a Barack Hussein Obama regime as the same, only super-sized.

But here's what I'm afraid of now. Supporting Obama may be over-reaching. His voting record is the most liberal in the US Senate. While Obama may do well in Democratic primaries, he's poised to fall flat on his face in a national contest -- and the Republican knives will be dangerously sharpened and shining by then. Besides, the demographics indicate he really doesn't have a chance:

What do you call a candidate who wins 90 percent of the African-American vote, between 30 percent and 50 percent of the Hispanic vote and 40 percent of the white vote in a tight Democratic primary race? A general election loser.

Even Hillary agrees that Obama's success will be pretty much confined to the racial and ethnic groups that have already gravitated to the Democratic party:

"I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," she said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me."

"There's a pattern emerging here," she said.

Yes, and it isn't a very pretty one. While Hillary would have a good chance to win in a general election, an Obama candidacy could very well guarantee that Mad John McCain would be a shoo-in.

Bottom line: I'll vote for Obama before voting for a man who will very likely blow the world up. The question is: does he have a chance?

Will we?

Paulville?

Here's an idea I think we'll see more of in the future. Small, self-selecting groups will organize themselves into self-regulating communities -- like this one:

The goal of Paulville.org it to establish gated communities containing 100% Ron Paul supporters and or people that live by the ideals of freedom and liberty.

The process is forming a co-op of people buying shares in the community and these people would be granted land use at a minimum of 1 acre per share, for as long as they homesteaded the land. The community would be privately held by the co-op to establish private property for the general community thus preserving the community is 100% freedom and liberty lovers.

Seeing as how the Homeowners' Associations at most gated communities are composed of nit-picky control freaks with toooooo much time on their hands, an association of libertarians sounds pretty good.

The Cascadian Independence Project

The US northwest and British Columbia compose "Cascadia," a region characterized by spectacular beauty and limited development. The independence movement seeks to preserve the unique bioregion, as well as the spirit and way of life in the mostly rural communities. There's no loyalty toward the distant seat of government in DC, which the Cascadians see as the greatest threat to the environment and way of life they are determined to preserve.

Their strategy can be described as "creeping secessionism":

It is the goal of the Cascadian Independence Project to strengthen and build our communities and neighborhoods to decrease our dependence on the federal government, while strengthening and building our own base of operational support. We are a non-electoral party, choosing instead to accomplish our long term goals through the use of referendums, legislative policies and initiatives of the people.

Too far-fetched? Unthinkable? Not when the mayor of Seattle has already brought the idea of secession before the public (see Greg Nickels' rebel yell).

As hundreds, then thousands, of similiar movements spontaneously arise in reaction to DC's short-sighted, exploitative policies, the dinosaur will find itself helpless to stop them. Now that's progress.

Abbeville Institute

If you haven't checked out the Abbeville Institue, you don't know what you're missing. When you visit, be sure to stop by the Lecture page, which connects you to great on-line lectures.

And they're free! What are you waiting for?

Florida secession debated

I love reading about modern-day secession, even on a scale as small as this -- because it clears the path toward bigger projects.

The seeds of secession have been planted in the sandy soil of South Florida.

Discontented by what they perceive as a Capitol snubbing, the mayors of two small Broward County cities have raised the battle flag of rebellion, pitting, once again, north against south.

North Lauderdale, a 5-square-mile city of about 42,000 in the center of Broward County, may become the cradle of the new confederacy. The city commission there recently passed a resolution on forming two Floridas: one in the north and one in the south.

I have suggestions for names -- Southern Manhattan and North Cuba. And for the remaining Southerners left in the Sunshine State, there's always Lower Alabama.

Who will Watch Over Ya?

What a perfect metaphor for what illegal immigration is doing to this country:

Federal prosecutors are investigating Wachovia Corp. as part of a broad probe of alleged laundering of drug proceeds by Mexican and Colombian money-transfer companies, according to people familiar with the matter.

The first lesson we can draw from this is that if you stick your toe into the seductive world of lawlessness, you're only going to be drawn in deeper. And that's exactly what Wachovia did.

Lured by the prospect of handling all those millions illegal immigrants wired annually from the US to Mexico, Wachovia cozied up to the casas de cambio, or money-exchange houses near the US-Mexican border that specialize in remitting money to Mexicans.

Problem was, those casas were also involved in laundering drug money. Oopsies.

But what did these financial geniuses expect? Illegality breeds illigality. We already know that illegal immigration spawns identity theft, gang crime, and routine tax evasion as employers pay illegal immigrant labor under the table. And the same routes used by human smugglers are used to bring in illegal drugs, as documented in this National Public Radio story:

"Ice" is a crystallized form of meth also known as crystal. It is produced in relatively larger quantities in so-called "superlabs." Most are based in Mexico; they ship drugs to the United States by UPS, FEDEX and Greyhound bus, as well as in cars and trucks with secret compartments. For more than a year, a two-story Victorian home in Aurora, one of the nicest in the neighborhood, was at the receiving end of one trafficking route. "This individual had the direct contact in Mexico," Batson noted. "[He] brought the crystal meth from Mexico to this location
and dispersed it from here." The Mexican dealer in Aurora distributed 100 pounds throughout southwest Missouri. That's as much as 180,000 doses, with a street value of as much as $4.5 million. Southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas are home to poultry farms and processing plants that hire Mexican workers. "The Hispanic population in town here is a hardworking bunch of people," Batson said. But "there are those in the group who go in the other direction. They have access to [meth] in Mexico, so they take advantage of that."

Notice that report didn't come from those terrible nativists at VDARE or the League of the South, but from the liberal NPR.

So you have to wonder -- what ELSE is coming across that border we're not supposed to monitor, since to do so would be "xenophobic"?

But we're not supposed to ask questions like that. Instead, we're supposed to focus on all the money we're saving by importing cheap immigrant labor, and how all these illegal immigrants are going to finance Social Security for retiring Baby Boomers. Now when I hear that, I wonder who's going to finance all those immigrants when they retire -- but then, I'm not a financial genius like the management of Wachovia.

Supporting the troops

How could keeping our troops in this never-ending nightmare be considered "supporting" them?

The Defense Department estimates that slightly more than 4,500 troops have been killed in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The RAND study determined that up to 300,000 returning U.S. troops from those wars suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The same study concluded that 320,000 troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have suffered traumatic brain injury, with only half of those veterans seeking treatment.

During Tuesday's hearing, Peake told lawmakers that the number of suicide attempts could be more than 1,000 a month because of "underreporting" within the VA. Dr. Ira Katz, deputy chief patient care services officer for mental health at the Veterans Health Administration, testified that his earlier estimate of 1,000 suicide attempts per was based on only three months of data from the department's mental health co-coordinators.

I think I'd rather not have this kind of support.

Come Home, Conservatives!—to the Antiwar Conservative Movement

Real conservatives oppose war -- except as a last resort, and then only to protect lives and liberty. Think of war as the outward expression of an interventionist government; one form of aggression fuels the other, as Robert E. Lee warned us years ago when he wrote, "... the consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded it."

Thomas Woods, Jr. has written a review of Bill Kauffman's Ain’t My America: The Long, Noble History of Anti-War Conservatism and Middle-American Anti-Imperialism. It's not just about famous men such as Russell Kirk and Robert Taft, but it's also about others, including a Southern opponent of the Neocon Wars, Congressman Jimmy Duncan (R-TN). And here's another Southern conservative few readers have encountered, one who bravely voted against America's entry into WWI, probably the most senseless of the military adventures DC has launched:

Along the same lines Kauffman cites Senator James K. Vardaman, Republican [actually, a Democrat] senator from Mississippi, who like most Americans at the time believed neither in integration nor racial equality but who sacrificed his career for the cause of peace as Woodrow Wilson was pushing his country into the Great War. His friends tried in vain to persuade him to support the president, but he would not budge. Losing his Senate seat was as nothing, he said, compared to the lives and liberties that Americans would lose if the country entered the war. In 1918 he was defeated for re-election by Democrat Pat Harrison—who, by the way, was pro-war and pro-segregation.

Great ammunition as we fight to reclaim America's soul, starting with reclaiming its past.