Monthly Archives: February 2007

Free Hugs! (for war supporters)


Free Hugs! (for war supporters)


So, you support peace. Most of us do. But you can

The REAL


The REAL

Don


Don

Phone Rage


Phone Rage


Lately I find that I

The Long War Of John Kerry


The Long War
Of John Kerry


An old joke, perhaps apocryphal, goes that an admirer of Adlai Steven approached him on a campaign trail in 1956 and said, “Mr. Stevenson, every thinking American will vote for you.” Stevenson, with his characteristic wit, replied, “Thank you. But I do require a majority to win this election.” That explains John Kerry

Give Exactly What A Chance?


Give Exactly What A Chance?


“This country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq, and I ask you to give it a chance to work.”


Get It Right, Mr. Kemp


Get It Right, Mr. Kemp


There continues to be much discussion among Iraq War supporters, most notably the reference of former Congressman and Vice-Presidential candidate Jack Kemp comparing U.S. involvement in Iraq to the events of WWII Europe. Mr. Kemp is correct in his assertions, but has his facts inside out.


Consider the following: Germany, without provocation, invaded the sovereign nation-state of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, sound familiar?


The following year, they crushed the Maginot line like a Tinker Toy, occupying France from 1940-44 as the Vichy Regime, sound familiar?


The Germans established their own so-called Green Zone in The City of Light along present day Boulevard Hausmann, sound familiar?


They also established state-of-the-art military bases throughout the country. Sound familiar?


The French Nation of which I love dearly was sadly anti-Semitic, sound familiar?


Captains of industry along with German corporate titans including Bayer Pharmaceuticals had aided and abetted the Occupation. Sound familiar?


Banks in neutral Switzerland were busier than a Chinese Laundry. Sound familiar?


To the south, Spains fascist leader Franco, having seen enough of a young Marshal Tito in their 1938 civil war also decided on neutrality. Sound familiar?


In The Fatherland, the so-called man on the street remained indifferent and disengaged from reality. Sound familiar?


German propaganda ruled the day. Sound familiar?


French General Charles De Gaulle took refuge in London where he gave what is arguably the greatest call to arms speech of the 20th Century, sound familiar?


Many within the French military had collaborated with the German occupying force, sound familiar?


And yes, there were even perceived terrorists, among those my own family, shot and taken prisoner of war while operating as the Free French, sound familiar?


So Mr. Kemp, although the intention may differ in these two wars, the result remains the same. That is, on one hand you have the intent of state-sponsored fascism and the other of democratizing the Middle East.


How can you, sir, justify both your intent and result without respect to the present conditions no less? America has repeated the barbarism of
the past disguised as a benevolent intent.


The French have an old saying, ” The more things change, the more things stay the same.” How pathetic and demeaning of our beloved America, sound familiar?


Daniel J. Smiechowski is a columnist for the Hillcrest News in San Diego, Calif. He is a former public school teacher with a diverse academic background in Sociology, Politics, French, Linguistics and Education. He has traveled abroad 18 times including study at the University of Paris, France, “La S

Where Will All The Flowers Go?


Where Will All The Flowers Go?


Honey bees are disappearing. Nobody seems to know why. Perhaps another casualty of pollution and global warming. With the latest gloomy report of environmental scientists, it appears we humans are short-listed for extinction on our doomed planet along with polar bears, whales, and the already vanquished do-do bird.


No doubt the first to go will be those who will be unable to afford to get to higher ground or pay what is certain to be a very high premium to live there. In other words, they will look a lot like the thousands left behind after Hurricane Katrina. Only, this time, they will number in the millions.


Already we

Cowboys, Sodbusters Fight Over Cheap Land


Cowboys, Sodbusters Fight Over Cheap Land


The Borden County courthouse was the scene of a no-holds-barred wrestling match on Feb. 27, 1904, as cowboys and sodbusters fought over cheap land in a once-in-a-lifetime sale.


A favorite subject of motion pictures and television has long been the “range war,” violent clashes between ranchers and homesteaders for the wide-open spaces. While the West Texas real-estate row in the opening decade of the twentieth century featured plenty of bumps, bruises and bloody noses, the fact that fists were the weapon of choice prevented the loss of a single life.


By 1880 Texas had set aside an area the size of North Carolina for public education and given away the equivalent of Maine to the railroads. Ranchers bought up the iron-horse sections that came onto the market and later doubled the grazing range for their huge herds by leasing school land for as little as eight cents an acre.


A farmer friendly legislature tried in April 1901 to loosen the cattlemen

Greg Abbott, Defender of Holy Faith


Greg Abbott, Defender of Holy Faith


Speaking at a Republican Party dinner Friday night in Lake Jackson, Greg Abbott told Brazoria County Republicans that the national results of the November elections do not represent the dawning of a new age for Democrats in Texas. According to a Feb. 18 story in the Brazosport Facts, Abbott urged the group, “All we need to do is stand on our principles.”


The Brazosport Facts story continues, “During an introduction speech by state Rep. Dennis Bonnen, the Angleton Republican told the audience Abbott stood for those values, as exhibited by his defense before the U.S. Supreme Court of the Ten Commandments statue on the Texas Capitol grounds.”


In June 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the statue could remain on the Capitol grounds. In his well-documented typical fashion, Abbott milked the case for all the grandstanding he could squeeze out of it. He made a huge, high-publicity production of flying to Washington, D.C. to argue the case personally at the Supreme Court, then held another grand press conference when the Court later issued its decision.


During his recent re-election campaign, Abbott mailed voters a glossy brochure containing a full-page picture of him at the side of the Ten Commandments statue, exhibiting himself as the defender of holy righteousness. (No doubt the photograph used in the campaign mailer was taken by Abbott

We Must Reject Ronald Reagan As An Icon, He Destroyed Education In America


We Must Reject Ronald Reagan As An Icon
He Destroyed Education In America


As Uncle Hugh used to say, “If you want to be a prophet, all you have to say is,

Standardized Tests Produce Nothing


Standardized Tests Produce Nothing


Ever since government hacks began to define education as an assembly line process, filtering out the concept of thinking and throwing it away, students in America have been robbed.


The concept of standardized testing as a necessity was built on a lie as a means to politicize a system that wasn

Hats Off

FT. DAVIS, Texas


AUSTIN

U.S., Israel Skirt New Palestinian Coalition


LONDON

Southern Baptists Become New Focus Of Sex Abuse Advocates


NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Justice Dept. Fudges


WASHINGTON

European Dissent Increases Over Proposed U.S. Bases


LONDON

Cheney Receives Cold Greeting In Australia


SYDNEY, Australia

British PM Calls For Troop Scale-Back — UK Army Chiefs Advocate Faster Pullout


UK Army Chiefs Advocate Faster Pullout


LONDON

February 2007
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