The goal of the left is to destroy the moral underpinning and education of America so that there will be no resistance to their agenda. As they dumb down America and confuse the understanding of the difference between REAL rights (given by God), and merely privileges, they also work to incrementally take away our RIGHT to free speech and religion.
Contrary to what the left will have you believe ATHEISM IS A RELIGION. A religion is nothing more than a set of beliefs about the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe. Christians and followers of religions which believe in a higher power believe we were created, while atheists believe we are simply an accident or coincidence. I happen to believe that we were created by God, and I have the right to say that in public. You have the right not to listen. Atheists believe that God doesn’t exist and that they evolved from amoeba and monkeys. They also have the right to express that belief in public, and I have just as much right not to listen.
Notice that there is NOT a right NOT TO BE OFFENDED mentioned ANYWHERE in the constitution. The simple sight of you might offend me, but there is little I can do about that unless the reason your appearance offends me is because you are breaking decency laws by running around naked in public, or you are appearing in my home which I can ask you to leave at any time. The simple fact is that free expression of all ideas WILL put something out there that WILL offend some. As long as the expression is in a form or venue where people have a CHOICE of whether or not to listen, that expression SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED. If it’s on TV, I can change the channel. If it is at City Hall, I can choose not to attend on that occasion. When it is in a public location where people must see it every day, and people work in that environment, then there better be equal time given to opposing view points. But if the atheists, homosexuals, muslims, and followers of whatever belief system are going to cast dispersions on the other religions, they better be prepared to have a few insults thrown their way as well. As it stands now, they can say anything they want about Christianity or Judaism and get away with it, but if a Christian preacher INSIDE HIS OWN CHURCH expresses the belief that homosexuality is a sin, or that atheists will go to hell, then that is HATE SPEECH. If you don’t like what the preacher is saying, get up and leave. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=123565FAITH UNDER FIRE
A political candidate in this week’s primary election for the office of comptroller in Illinois has filed a lawsuit against the state charging it officially expressed “hate” and “hostility” toward Christianity and other religions that include a belief in God by allowing atheists to post a sign in a state building at Christmas.
That sign, posted by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, said,:
At the time of the winter solstice, let reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is just a myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.
It was placed in the Illinois Capitol Building, through which GOP comptroller candidate William J. Kelly, a cable television executive, was required to travel for his responsibilities as a candidate.
(Read complete article HERE)
I don’t think you’ll find a better, more clear example of how the left and the progressives operate. Straight up communist doctrine and right out of Saul Alinsky’s playbook. Intimidate into silence. At first in this country it was done slowly by sneaking in small, unconstitutional laws that most people were to complacent to resist. The first “big stick” used against the church in this country was MONEY. LBJ had a law passed making it illegal for preachers to speak out for or against political candidates because he didn’t like that fact that they usually spoke out against HIM. The IRS were his “Brown Shirts.” They would revoke the tax exempt status of a church found in violation of this law. Sadly, far too many churches and preachers let themselves and the Gospel be pacified by this intimidation, which has resulted in a much more timid church and body of Christians overall in America. Now that most have been pacified over time, the left is stepping up its campaign to silence the church completely. They are boldly employing thug tactics that have never before been seen in America, and haven’t been seen in a western country since 1930’s Germany.
Rules challenged as violating ‘principles of free expression’
Posted: January 30, 2010
12:10 am Eastern
By Bob Unruh
WorldNetDaily
Arguments have moved to the appellate court level in a California case in which a man talking to two willing strangers in a shopping mall was arrested because the subject of the conversation was God.
The case developed several years ago when a youth pastor was arrested at the Galleria Mall in Roseville, Calif., for having a conversation about religion with two other people.
Matthew Snatchko, who works with youth at his church, was interrupted in the middle of a conversation by a security guard. A second guard joined the confrontation and told Snatchko he was being placed under citizen’s arrest for “trespassing.” (Phony charges to silence and intimidate since they knew they couldn’t arrest him for what he was doing.)
The pastor said he agreed to leave but instead, the guards grabbed him, roughly shoved him against a storefront window and handcuffed him tightly enough to draw blood. Snatchko later was taken to the police station where he was booked on charges of battery and trespassing.
A short time later the charges were dropped, but officials with the Pacific Justice Institute decided to pursue a case against the mall over the impact of the policy on free speech. (Again, they were sending a warning. “Don’t speak about any of that God stuff, or next time we won’t go so easy on you.” These are the intimidation tactics of the left. Look at Hitler’s National Socialist Party and his Brown Shirts, Stalin’s purges, and Mao’s tyrannical reign.)
After a Placer County Superior Court judge in 2008 affirmed the mall’s regulations, an appeal was launched to the 3rd Appellate District in Sacramento, and the briefs have just now been completed for that court’s review.
“It’s surprising that mall owners think they can arrest patrons for engaging in casual conservations,” said PJI Staff Attorney Matthew McReynolds. “While a ‘don’t talk to strangers’ rule may be good for kids, enforcing it against adults is absurd, and we think it violates California’s free speech guarantees.”
The case is being pursued under the state’s constitutional provision for free speech, which extends protections to private locations, because the 1st Amendment to the Constitution deals directly with government restrictions.
McReynolds said had the case been argued in federal court, it would have had to focus on the discriminatory nature of the mall’s restrictions.
“Singling out religious speech for punishment violates our most basic principles of free expression,” said PJI President Brad Dacus. “If anyone can be arrested for wearing a Christian T-shirt or mentioning God in a shopping mall, we have lost not only our freedom, but our sanity as a society.”
Free speech is only free if it agrees with them. Otherwise it is “hate speech” and must be silenced.
The ends justify the means as long as you get what you want. (i.e. cheating is OK if liberals do it).
Use morals, values, and rules against conservatives since they don’t matter to liberals.
Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It’s hard to counterattack ridicule, and it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.
The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative. Avoid being trapped by an opponent or an interviewer who says, “Okay, what would you do?”
Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it. Don’t try to attack abstract corporations or bureaucracies. Identify a responsible individual. Ignore attempts to shift or spread the blame.
MSNBC television and syndicated radio host Ed Schultz declared that he would stuff the ballot box in Massachusetts if he could to prevent Republican Scott Brown from upsetting Democrat Martha Coakley in the race to fill the state’s Senate seat formerly held by Edward M. Kennedy.
Whatever it takes to keep “the bastards” out of power.
“I tell you what, if I lived in Massachusetts I’d try to vote 10 times,” said Schultz on his Friday radio show. “I don’t know if they’d let me or not, but I’d try to. Yeah, that’s right. I’d cheat to keep these bastards out. I would. ‘Cause that’s exactly what they are.”
Audio of Schultz’s statement can be heard below:
Schultz’s statement was broadcast on “The Ed Schultz Show,” which is aired weekdays, 12-3 p.m, as well as on satellite radio. His show’s website boasts Schultz is “the most listened-to progressive radio talk show host in America” and “the first progressive talker to hit 100 affiliates, both satellite networks and the Armed Forces Radio Network.”
His comments about cheating to turn the tide of an election, however, have already sparked heavy criticism.
Talk radio commentator Brian Maloney of The Radio Equalizer scoffed at Schultz’s statement by rephrasing it: “Who needs democracy when it leads to outcomes one might not like?”
Noel Sheppard of Newsbusters.com quipped, “Who says there’s liberal bias in the media?”
Sheppard also points out that Schultz’s comments came on the same day fellow MSNBC host Chris Matthews lamented that Democrat operatives couldn’t “buy” enough votes in Massachusetts to ensure Coakley’s victory:
“You know, in the old days – maybe I shouldn’t be harkening back to the old days – if the Democrats faced this kind of a disaster in the works, you’d go back to your ones, the people you were sure are going to vote Democrat, and you’d make sure they got to the polling place, you’d get them lunch, you’d get them a car,” Matthews said. “You’d make sure they got there, and in some cases you’d be buying people to get them, not officially buying them, but getting them there as block secretaries, as block captains, you’d be getting them there with street money – legitimate, but it’s a little bit old school.”
Commented Sheppard, “The good folks at General Electric and NBC must be thrilled to know that two of their on-air personalities are so biased in their political views that they publicly advocate cheating for their party to be victorious.”
WND contacted “The Ed Schultz Show” for clarification or comment on the host’s statement, but has yet to receive a reply.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
I believe it says freedom OF speech, not freedom FROM speech. If you are offended by what I am saying, you have a right not to listen. Simply walk away. If I don’t like what is on television, do I sue the network which airs the programming? No. I simply change the channel.
These liberals (the article originate in the UK, but there are similar examples in the US, and will be more, I’m sure.) who move into a neighborhood where a church has been for nearly half a century worshiping the same way virtually the entire time, and then complain about the noise are blatantly gaming the system. They are just like idiots who move into a neighborhood under the approach/departure path of a large airport that has been there for decades, and then complain about the noise. The argument is at best frivolous. If we refer to what the Bible calls “sin” as “sin,” then according to liberals we are guilty of hate crimes. If we endorse candidates from the pulpit (who most likely won’t be liberal), then churches risk losing their tax exempt status. Now they will stand right outside our doors and complain that they can hear us and it bothers them. This is part of why liberals and communists want to remove God religion from the public square. Liberals just can’t stand the concept of “sin.” If no one tells them what they are doing is wrong, they can feel better about themselves. The other part of the process is the destruction of the moral underpinning of society. The communists have always known that a populace with no moral foundation is easy to control. You can see the fruits of their labors in the dumbing down of our society and the emergence of moral relativism, or the concept of the “gray area.” In reality, EVERYTHING is either right or wrong. It is man’s lack of understanding of where the demarcation line between the two lies that makes it seem “gray” to many. Once you see something as gray, you are open to manipulation by proponents of EITHER side of the argument.
If you are a Christian, you should be encouraging your pastors to preach the word boldly, and you should be standing shoulder to shoulder with him to resist the onslaught of liberal attacks. If not, you will soon lose both your freedom of speech, and your freedom to exercise worship in the religion of your choice.
Even if you are not a Christian, and you don’t go to church, the same still applies to you. You must protect the freedom of speech and exercise of religion for all (What about islam, you ask? When an entire religion teaches that you or I must be converted or killed, then the protection no longer applies. The freedom of your fist ends at the tip of my nose). If one of us loses these precious rights, all of us will. Whether they be lions, liberals, or muslims, if you appease them by sacrificing your brother, it just delays the inevitable. They’ll be coming for you next. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=121972
A Christian legal organization in the United Kingdom is reporting a skirmish victory in the latest war against Christians and their churches – the demand that they essentially be silent in their worship.
Cases have cropped up in recent months both in the U.K. as well as the United States in which governmental bodies have demanded that Christian groups essentially be silent – so that no one can hear their worship.
The Christian Legal Centre in the U.K. is reporting a victory in a battle, although the war remains.
The group said this week there has been a “last-minute out of court settlement” that will allow a 600-member church in London to continue its worship.
The Lambeth Council previously had issued a noise abatement notice to the All Nations Centre in Kennington which prevented the church from using any amplification for its worship music and its pastor’s preaching.
No allowance was made for any of the seniors in the congregation, some of whom have hearing difficulties, officials said.
The noise abatement order was issued last fall without warning or discussion, shortly after the church, which has been in the same location for more than 45 years, began to publicize its services in its own neighborhood. (This is just like idiots who buy a house under the approach/departure path to a large airport that has been there for decades, and then complain about the noise. Why do we have to suffer for their stupidity? This is about freedom OF speech, not freedom FROM speech.)
(Read complete article HERE)
Europe is already lost. They have become dhimmi’s to their muslim invaders. The muslims they have capitulated to did not originally come brandishing guns and knives. They came en masse due to the idiotic open borders policies put in place by Europe’s socialist governments. Now the muslims are the largest minority, and in many cases are about to outnumber the citizens of several European countries.
Europeans have almost completely capitulated to the demands of emboldened muslims in their countries. Muslims are allowed to govern themselves according to sharia law and have separate courts and justice systems. The European citizens can’t voice any criticism of islam or the muslims for fear of rioting, being killed, or beheaded. To appease the muslims, the spineless Dutch have now decided to try Geert Wilders (produced film “Fitna”) for a “hate crime.” Apparently it’s OK for muslims to parade through the streets carrying signs threatening all western nations with another 9/11, with beheading, and other violent forms of demise. Apparently it’s OK for muslim clerics to preach hate and violence against non-muslims. Apparently it’s OK for muslims to criticize and belittle ALL non-muslims and their religions and lifestyle choices. But apparently it is not OK to speak the truth or voice an opinion about a religion that has proven itself to be violent, dangerous, and incompatible with the rest of the world. Geert Wilders expressed an opinion backed up with demonstrated facts, and because the truth upset the poor little downtrodden muslims, Mr. Wilders is now being tried for a “hate crime.”
This is already starting to happen in America. We have the same open borders, and the same disregard for illegal immigrants and those who wish us ill coming across our borders. Spineless liberals are starting to cave to muslims anytime they demand something. “Separation of church and state” is strictly enforced when it comes to Christianity and Judaism. But the government will spare no expense to make muslims happy by installing foot baths and providing places to “worship” and practice their religion on public and government property. Hypocrisy.
If we do not stand up and protect our own freedoms, they will be taken away from us. Liberals already try to silence us by calling us names and slinging mud to keep us quiet. Because we speak out against ILLEGAL immigration they call us racists. They call us Nazis because we disagree with a government takeover of our healthcare system, our banks, our private businesses, and anything else we have.
But I will not be silenced. I will hold to and speak the truth boldly. I will give my last breath to speak the truth. I will not be enslaved by liberals, by muslims, or by anyone. I will resist any attempt to oppress me with any means at my disposal. I will protect and defend the constitution of the United States of America until God calls me home.
Do you value your freedom enough to defend it? Are you willing to give your life to defend our constitution and our way of life?
Start at the ballot box. Elect representatives who will uphold their oath to defend the constitution, unlike the current crop of misrepresentatives who are actually trying to destroy it.
Be active in educating yourself and others on the truth. Do not be intimidated into silence by those who disagree with you. You have a right to speak, and they have a right not to listen.
Hold to your 2nd amendment right to keep and bear arms. It was meant as a last line of defense between the citizenry and a tyrannical government. It is the American insurance policy.
Wilders previously was banned from Britain – a move later overturned in court – because of the subject of “Fitna,” which features Quranic verses shown alongside images of the 9/11 terror attacks, the 2004 attack in Madrid and the 2005 attack in London.
The film calls on Muslims to remove “hate-preaching” verses from the text of their holy book.
Wilders, the leader of the Dutch Freedom Party, has been living under 24-hour protection from police since 2004. Al-Qaida has called for his murder.
According to a report from the Christian Institute, a ministry promoting Christianity in the United Kingdom, a court ruling this week removed the last obstacle to Wilders’ trial, dismissing his objections to the prosecution.
The report said Wilders’ lawyer argued his client should not be prosecuted for discriminatory statements since the Dutch superme court last year found that insulting a religion did not automatically “imply an insult to its believers.”
A lower court, however, concluded the provision did not mean Wilders could not be put on trial based on charges that originated from complaints filed by Dutch lawyer Gerard Spong on behalf of several clients.
The report said Wilders’ remarks included suggesting Muhammad should be tarred and feathered and expelled from the Netherlands and declaring no Muslim should be allowed to enter the nation.
Prosecutors originally chose not to file any action against Wilders, the report said, citing their conclusion the comments were “in the context of societal debate.” But the case was resurrected after a campaign urged people to complain to the courts.
Wilders has called the prosecution an “attack on freedom of speech.”
“In this country, you are apparently allowed to criticize only if you are politically correct in how you express yourself,” he has said.
Blogger Diana West wrote on Wilders’ website, “It is not just the repression … of Islam that Wilders is outspoken about… He is equally if almost singularly outspoken about the political remedies necessary to halt the extension of Islam’s law. Such remedies include stopping Islamic immigration and deporting agents of jihad. These are simple measures any democratic state that wished to repeal Islamization would take. … It is a political trial, then, in the worst sense, that we are about to witness. And it is about more than the future of freedom of speech. The trial of Geert Wilders is about the future of freedom.”
Wilders’ 17-minute documentary, “Fitna,” meaning “strife,” likened the Quran to Adolf Hitler’s manifesto, “Mein Kampf.”
Early critics had expressed fears the Wilders film would show a copy of the Quran being destroyed, but the ending offered a slight surprise.
As someone leafs through the Quran, a sound of tearing is heard.
“The sound you heard was from a page [being torn out] of the phone book. It is not up to me, but up to the Muslims themselves to tear the spiteful verses from the Quran,” text on the screen reads. “Stop Islamization. Defend our freedom,” the film concluded.
Wilders has received numerous death threats. His police protection has been in place because of the 2004 murder of Theo Van Gogh, the director of a film that exposed violence against women in Islamic societies.
Since the Van Gogh murder, the government of a nation proud of its liberal social attitudes has cut back on generous welfare programs to immigrants and made Dutch-language classes mandatory for newcomers.
Van Gogh’s film, “Submission,” was written by Wilders’ former political ally, Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
A plan is being pushed by the 57 members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to “protect” Islam from what they perceive as criticism.
The resolution, pending in one form or another since 1999, originally was called “Defamation of Islam.” The name later was changed to “Defamation of Religions,” but Islam remains the only faith protected by name in the proposal.
The proposal is based on the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam. The declaration states “that all rights are subject to Shariah law and makes Shariah law the only source of reference for human rights.”
However, the latest vote on the nonbinding proposal came just weeks ago at the U.N. and showed falling support, with 80 votes in favor of the proposal, 61 against and 42 abstentions. A year ago there were 86 yes votes, and two years ago the support came from 108 votes.
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The liberals are DESPERATELY clinging to power, and are pulling out all the stops to hang on to it. They are slinging mud, calling names, making plans to stiff-arm Brown’s confirmation until they can swing a vote on health care, and planning to get that vote by circumventing the constitution by using a voting measure intended to keep governments from shutting down when a budget must be passed.
Harry Reid, Obama, Pelosi, Dodd, Frank, and all the rest of these tyrants must go. They care nothing about the American people, only about power and setting up a system that gives them and/or people they designate more of it.
Time is growing short. Donate via the internet to Scott Brown’s campaign so he can fight back against the onslaught of deceit from Coakley and the democrats that is sure to happen this weekend.
Expect an “October surprise” this weekend. The democrats will likely come out with some outlandish charge on Sunday or Monday before the election that will not give Brown enough time before Tuesday’s election to effectively counter it. The thing he needs is AIR TIME, and that’s expensive. Let’s help him have the ammunition to fire back. I’ve already donated twice from my last two paychecks. It wasn’t much, but it was all I could afford to give. It all adds up. Donate what you can.
Schumer Pulls ‘Tea-Bagger’ Card on GOP Candidate Brown
FOXNews.com
New York Sen. Charles Schumer, who famously hammered then-Sen. Alfonse D’Amato for calling him a “putz-head” in their hot 1998 campaign, was accused Thursday of stepping into the gutter himself after he sent out a fundraising e-mail in which he called Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown a “far-right tea-bagger.”
(Complete article HERE)
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aPg2UfFaCh9c&pos=9
Health Bill Can Pass Senate With 51 Votes, Van Hollen Says
By Jonathan D. Salant
Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) — Even if Democrats lose the Jan. 19 special election to pick a new Massachusetts senator, Congress may still pass a health-care overhaul by using a process called reconciliation, a top House Democrat said.
That procedure requires 51 votes rather than the 60 needed to prevent Republicans from blocking votes on President Barack Obama’s top legislative priorities. That supermajority is at risk as the Massachusetts race has tightened.
…
Using reconciliation would likely force Democrats to scale back their health-care plans. The procedure is designed to make deficit-cutting easier by reducing the number of votes needed to pass unpopular tax increases and spending cuts. Lawmakers can’t include policy changes that the parliamentarian deems have only an “incidental” connection to budget-cutting, and senators would need 60 votes to override those rulings. (Reconciliation was NOT intended to pass these kinds of bills. “The constitution and the law be DAMNED!” say the democrats. “We want what we want, and we want it now. We don’t care about America.”)
(Complete article HERE)
I can speak from personal experience to back up and expand on this story. The political correctness forced upon the military by the politicians over the last two or three decades has all but paralyzed the military when it comes to policing its own ranks. An atmosphere of fear has been created where service members are afraid to bring up concerns about fellow service members because of the well founded fear that it will be seen as as discrimination in one of the areas of “race, creed, sex, (sexual preference), religion, or national origin.” If you voice a concern, you become the criminal and the person whom you complain about becomes the victim. I have seen this many times, and seen the careers of officers and NCO’s ruined over nothing more than an unfounded accusation. Granted, there are some sleaze bags out there who need to be dealt with, but in the Military Equal Opportunity arena you are guilty until proven innocent, and then you are not innocent, they just couldn’t prove you did whatever you were accused of.
So, rather than policing our own ranks and doing our job as military men and women, what do we do? We waste countless hours in “sensitivity training,” various forms of anti-discrimination briefings, and an ever increasing barrage of material and briefings that teach that white males of Angl0-Saxon descent are oppressors. We can’t have an open, honest discussion about our differences that might actually help us learn about one another. We are forced to remain silent and simply accept what we see lest we potentially OFFEND someone.
I’ve read the entire constitution, and I can’t find anywhere in the document that says you have the “right not to be offended.” By the nature of the institution, freedom of speech is somewhat curtailed in the military, but I’m pretty sure there is still no “right” in the military “not to be offended.”
I will remind everyone what the mission of the military is SUPPOSED to be. The United States military’s job should be to be ready, willing, and able to kick anybody’s butt, anytime, anywhere in the defense of America and her interests. There is no room for political correctness or the other extraneous crap that is forced upon the military when politicians decide to use us as their “social laboratory” when they can’t get the public to buy into their idiotic social programs. As good a military as we STILL are in spite of the interference, we would be so much more effective for a given size if we didn’t have all of the extraneous crap to deal with.
Now let’s talk about the “accountability” that is suddenly being thrust upon the military for the failure to identify and stop Nidal Hasan. As I’ve highlighted inorangein the article below, the head cutting in this case will likely stop at the rank of colonel. Why is this important? Unless it is politically expedient for the president, any president, you will seldom if ever see anyone above the rank of 1-star (brigadier general) be punished for anything. These officers are confirmed and appointed by the president, so embarrassing them embarrasses him. The ranks of general officers are kind of like the mafia. a 1-star is a “wise guy,” trying to make a name for himself. He’s still expendable. 2-stars and above are “made men.” They haven’t necessarily been picked for their leadership ability, although once in a while a general has managed to hide the fact that he can lead until AFTER he gets promoted. Generals are usually picked for their compliance and lack of political backbone.
Here are a few examples of the “wise guy” analogy.
The Beirut barracks bombing. The 1-star in charge warned of the dangers and begged for the resources and permission to protect his men. He was told to “shut up and color,” and then punished and made a scape-goat when the barracks were actually attacked killing dozens of marines. No one above 1-star was punished.
The shoot down of two Blackhawk helicopters by F-15’s in northern Iraq. The Blackhawks weren’t squawking as per the theater SPINS (transmitting the proper Identification Friend or Foe codes prescribed by special instructions). The flight of F-15’s intercepted them and IMPROPERLY identified them as Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters. There were several breakdowns in operations as crews tried to adhere to an extremely complicated, politically driven and designed set of ROE (Rules of Engagement). Several of the front line folks were strung up, but no one above 1-star was touched, including Lt. Gen. Charles Heflebower who was in charge at the time, or any of those responsible for putting the rules in place and signing off on them.
The CT-43 crash in Dubrovnik, Croatia in which then commerce secretary Ron Brown was killed.Brig. Gen. William E. Stevens, the 1-star wing commander, was fired because he pushed the VIP airlift planes and pilots to break rules in order to please the VIP’s whom the wing served. He had higher headquarters guidance that would have severely hampered operations, but he sat on it so as not to take heat from VIP’s who would be unable to get to their destinations. His deputy, Col John Mazurowski, was also fired because he knew of this guidance but said nothing. Maz was a good guy who regrettably failed to do the right thing. Stevens, the 1-star, was the tallest tree to get clipped. Remember Heflebower? He was in charge during this debacle as well. Untouched. An excerpt from this article (http://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/08/us/air-force-cites-command-failures-in-brown-crash.html?pagewanted=all) summarizes Heflebower’s leadership (or lack their of) role in the incident, and in general.
Perhaps the most explosive deposition taken by the investigators came from Lieut. Col. James A. Albright, former commander of the squadron to which the doomed plane belonged.
In his testimony, Colonel Albright described an atmosphere in which safety concerns may sometimes have been secondary to on-time performance, and in which pilots were required to fly jets with outdated equipment into airports that offered only the most primitive navigational aids.
Powerful Government officials and their staffs, Colonel Albright said, often demanded that Air Force planes on which they traveled fly through dangerous weather or to airports with poor navigational equipment. (i.e. Ron Brown and various senators, congressmen, and other staff flunkies. I experience this pressure SEVERAL TIMES 1ST HAND.)
“I think there is an atmosphere of fear,” said Colonel Albright, who was removed from his command five days before the crash because of differences with General Stevens, his superior. “In the matrix of safety versus mission, Stevens is mission first.”(Absolutely true, from 1st hand experience.) (Albright was a gifted leader, but lacked enough tact to survive in the extremely political environment. He and Stevens had a history, and Stevens was looking for an excuse to fire him. Albright called Stevens out on an issue in front of various other commanders in a staff meeting, giving Stevens the excuse he was looking for.)
Colonel Albright also said that Maj. Gen. Charles R. Heflebower, the commander of the 17th Air Force, the parent command of General Stevens’s 86th Airlift Wing, had a “reputation for intimidation and pushing pilots to do things that are blatantly illegal” from a safety standpoint and that General Heflebower himself had made illegal and potentially dangerous maneuvers while flying Air Force planes.(Again, absolutely true, witnessed 1st hand by me, and reported to my chain of command prior to the accident, and during the investigation.)
In their own depositions, both General Heflebower and General Stevens denied Colonel Albright’s accusations.
And now you have the Fort Hood debacle. No one will speak the truth because of the oppressive atmosphere of fear of reprisal for speaking out. We are not allowed to call the enemy the “enemy.” We are not allowed to say anything potentially offensive about the people who want to kill us. In the 80-90 page report that Secretary Gates released on the incident, the word “islam” was not mentioned ONCE.
In general, not discriminating because of race, creed, religion, sex, or national origin is a noble practice. However, when one or more of those categories are attempting to KILL YOU, it may be time to make an exception. http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,583083,00.html
Officers May Be Punished for Fort Hood Rampage
Friday , January 15, 2010
As many as eight Army officers may be punished for failing to heed warning signs and take action against suspected Fort Hood gunman Maj. Nidal Hasan, a U.S. official said Thursday.
First reported in the Los Angeles Times, an official familiar with a Pentagon review of the case, which will be discussed at a briefing Friday, said the officers who face discipline hold ranks of colonel and below.
The review reportedly found that superiors allowed Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, to advance within the ranks despite his failings to meet physical and professional standards. Hasan avoided physical training, was overweight and frequently late, but was seen by superiors as a rare medical officer and thus avoided corrective action.
“Had those failings been properly adjudicated, he wouldn’t have progressed,” the official told the Times.
Additionally, the Pentagon review into the deadly rampage that killed 13 found that the Defense Department does not do an adequate job of sharing information about internal personnel, and it focuses more on hunting spies than ferreting out extremists.
The Defense Department made public its own review of the rampage earlier this week and found that doctors overseeing Hasan’s medical training repeatedly voiced concerns over his strident views on Islam and his inappropriate behavior, yet continued to give him positive performance evaluations that kept him moving through the ranks.
Both reviews seem to point to the fact that supervisors failed to heed their own warnings about an officer ill-suited to be an Army psychiatrist.
Recent statistics show the Army rarely blocks junior officers from promotion, especially in the medical corps.
Hasan showed no signs of being violent or a threat. But parallels have been drawn between the missed signals in his case and those preceding the thwarted Christmas attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner. President Barack Obama and his top national security aides have acknowledged they had intelligence about the alleged bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, but failed to connect the dots.
Hasan remains under guard at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where he is paralyzed from the upper chest down, his lawyer John Galligan told Fox News. Hasan also has “several other medical issues” related to his gunshot wounds, Galligan said.
Scott is gaining ground on his liberal opponent, but we can't give up now. The slime throwing, character defamation, outright lying, ACORN ballot box stuffing, Black Panther voter intimidation, dead people voting, and every other play from the liberal play book is about to be used by the democrats in their desperate bid to hold onto their power.
How desperate are they? The campaigner-in-chief, the commander-in-grief, Chairman Maobama, the undocumented president himself is going to Massachusetts this weekend. I guess he will be returning to his roots as a thug street organizer whipping up or intimidating support for his communist candidates.
We must do EVERYTHING we can to break the left's tyrannical stranglehold on our government before they strangle America.
To the citizens of the great state of Massachusetts who are awakening from their 3 decade slumber, God bless you. Stand strong. When the Black Panthers, and the SEIU and ACORN thugs try to intimidate you and keep you from the polls, overwhelm them and push back. They are trying to steal YOUR VOICE. If you see ANY irregularities concerning this election, DOCUMENT IT WITH VIDEO AND PICTURES. Don't let them steal this election from you. I have a feeling that this election is more in Scott Brown's favor than the polls show, but with the lopsided liberal money and corruption advantage they are like cornered animals. They are very dangerous.
Stand up, America! Donate whatever you can to help the people of Massachusetts shirk the bonds of liberalism, and in turn send the message that the rest of America won't stand for this bum rush toward socialism, communism, and oppression.
Original Post:http://texan2driver.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/defeat-a-liberal-stop-obama-care-support-scott-brown-for-ma-senate/ The Hill newspaper has just broken the big news story that Barack Obama is heading to Massachusetts this weekend in a desperate attempt to save the Senate seat for the Democrats in this Tuesday's Special Election.
This comes as Democrats have just dumped MILLIONS of dollars more into the race. Check out these 24-hour filings from the FEC from Planned Parenthood, the League of Conservation Voters, and big unions:
The very same rich, limousine liberals who complain that "rich" conservatives are funding this "right wing conspiracy" are themselves throwing MILLIONS of outside dollars into a local campaign. Mr. Brown has raised a fraction of what his liberal opponent has raised, and most has come from donations less than $100 each.
And that's not all. This news report just out documents some of the millions of dollars that Democrats have dumped into the race this week to defeat Scott Brown. It's astounding.
An email from Ted Kennedy's widow raised $600,000 for the Democrats. MoveOn.org raised another $650,000+. Harry Reid, Chris Dodd & Al Franken raised another $500,000. Democrat committees dumped in excess of $1 million.
You can see it for yourself in the report here:
Limousine liberals struggling to keep their grasp on power.
We must keep up our momentum and fight back against this late push by the Left. The final deadlines for us to purchase advertising for Scott Brown for Senate is the end of the day Monday. This is it, there are no more tomorrow's - we must make our final push now!
You can make a contribution to our campaign effort for Scott Brown - HERE.
We must take action, for if we can pull out a victory, we stop the Democrats dead in their tracks in their effort to secretly ram through their socialistic healthcare plan.
That's because Scott Brown wholeheartedly opposes the Democrat's government-run healthcare plan and has made his opposition to it a central part of his campaign. If Brown wins then he will be the deciding vote to kill the socialistic healthcare monstrosity in the Senate! (WHEN he wins, don't let the tyrants in the senate delay is confirmation just so they can get their health care vote through!)
