Category Archives: Media

Find your own iceberg Mr. Polar Bear, this one’s mine…

Posted on 2012/01/26 by

No questions please!

So frightened are the Progressive Environmentalists and their friends in the “main stream” media, about the questionable data implicating civilization in all of our planetary woes by way of “fossil fuel” consumption, that they are now pressuring states to include in their respective public school curriculums, a kind of “climate change denial” course. Huh? I guess this must be meant to convince our young ones not to be swayed by the “naysayers” and to fully embrace what is being “taught” them by way of the complicit academics.

Putting aside for a moment the mounting evidence that much of the rhetorical “global warming” pabulum being spoon fed to our children has been at the very least exaggerated, and some cases even down right manipulated to suit a particular political agenda, one has to ask: Can we send our children to school any longer without fear of them being indoctrinated as opposed to educated?

Listen up parents! It’s time you do your homework and make sure that your children are getting the facts. There are literally thousands of legitimate and noted scientists offering qualifying information about the effects of carbon emissions on our planet and its atmosphere. Dozens of agenesis have put forth challenges to the science of “global warming” but have been rebuffed by the “main stream” media when attempting to make their case. Only when one of the environmentalist hacks gets caught red-handed “cooking” the books are they forced to tell the story. Only when entire data collection firms are outed for manipulating results at the behest of agenda driven lobbies and their political enablers, do we learn the truth about the real numbers and the reality that goes with them.

Truth be told, I catch a lot of flak for some of my stances past and present concerning the “human footprint”. I think there is in fact much we can do to ensure a cleaner planet for our posterity. Having said that, the intentional mischaracterization of mans impact on this planet, combined with a clearly agenda driven approach to the problem and to the degree which it may or may not exist, does nothing but threaten our economy and ultimately our very way of life. Notably, the recent “push back” by Americans, as described by those who walk in the “evolutionary science circles”, is simply a reflection of doubt, not necessarily about the information, but about how and by whom it is being compiled and subsequently passed on to our children.

Additional note: It befuddles me the way in which Progressives continually portray themselves as purveyors of the debate, and then do everything in their power to silence the opposition?

Posted in "Patriot64", America, Congress, Economy, Environment, Fred Comella, Green Energy, Media, Politics, Right vs. Left, Socioeconomic | Tagged , | 2 Comments

More of the same…

Posted on 2012/01/26 by

The State of the Union address was a campaign speech. I knew it would be so I was not compelled to respond with an immediate salvo of criticism. The President struck an uncharacteristic and populous tone with much of the usual lofty rhetoric short on facts and substance. He was content to frame his argument in the form of questions most would answer “of course” too, but as usual left out key components of the debate which make that answer wholly inadequate. For instance, his rhetoric on taxes was particularly amusing considering the facts. But it sure sounded good in the context of his overall approach to the speech. Obviously, class warfare and the politics of division will be the Presidents weapons of choice this campaign cycle, and he made it very clear Tuesday evening he would not hesitate to use those weapons at every possible juncture.

Not unlike the Liberal playbook of old, Mr. Obama will put all of his marbles on the notion that most folks won’t fact check his assertions and that emotion will drive the vote. That may in fact work against him this time. There seems to be an equal amount of emotion with folks looking very carefully at his record. And running on a record is very different from running on simply “hope and change”.

In the end I found the speech to be no different from other SOTU’s from Presidents on both sides of the aisle. Lofty rhetoric with little substance and boat loads of political satire, are usually the jumping off points for politicians running for re-election.

I did take exception with one thing he mentioned regarding to the “Situation Room”. I think this POTUS has to some degree “declassified” the office of President. There are just things better left off the table as a matter of respect for the high office. Americans want there to be a kind of hands off notion about the President when he acts on our behalf militarily. We don’t necessarily need to know the gory details. Just the fact he is doing his Constitutional duty to protect the nation will do. With the precisely timed release of the first S/R photos taken as “Operation Neptune Spear” unfolded, it was clear this Administration meant to capitalize in every way they could when President Obama carried out President Bush’s standing executive order to neutralize Osama bin-Laden. I think the fact he flew that flag again Tuesday night was regrettable. It wasn’t he or Bush who killed the terrorist leader but rather Seal Team Six, and I feel their role is diminished when the Commander-in-Chief attempts to emphasize his part by way of dramatizing what goes on behind the closed doors of a clandestine military operation. It just seems to trivialize a truly heroic and significant moment in our nation’s history.

With that said, I will not expand beyond these few observations, as it will ultimately be the collective Electorate who will decide if the POTUS was grandstanding, campaigning or if he was truly sincere beyond the politics of the moment.

 

Posted in "Patriot64", America, Campaign 2012, Congress, Fred Comella, Media, Military, Politics, Right vs. Left | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Romney’s America…

Posted on 2012/01/12 by

I think Mitt Romney’s sometimes contradicting and confusing resume in many ways personifies what is troubling America today. I don’t mean this as a negative per-se, but more as a window into what I see as the nation’s posture in 2012. To put it mildly, there are far more Americans willing to turn a blind eye to societal and socioeconomic decline today, than at any time in U.S. history. “Middle of the road” politics or the so called “Independent” vote shaped the election of Barack Obama as President in 08 and will certainly factor into Election 2012. The willingness of many Americans to forego the ideals and principles of their fathers and grandfathers, by way of political correctness or some perceived social acceptance clause, has paved the way for the slow and steady erosion of our American culture, a culture that once defined “We the People” to the world. Moreover, that indifference has trickled into many important areas and aspects of our lives, as well as every corner of American government, from the halls of Congress to the Judiciary.

Now I’m not suggesting that Governor Romney is the cause exclusive of our national woes, however it is clear that the division within the Republican Party regarding the way forward is shaping the debate. In a manner of speaking, the Right/Left pull “within” the GOP mirrors what we will hear on the campaign trail once the nominee is chosen. Unfortunately this plays right into the hands of the Democrats who have no such primary or candidate vetting issues in this election cycle and are loving the head start.

Personally, I’m an old school political junkie who still believes the primaries are a mechanism to examine each candidate and their belief systems before making a decision. I’ve always thought that was the intended purpose. Sadly, the “main stream” media and the 24 hour news cycle have transformed the primary into a focused blood bath highlighting a manufactured negativity in ways it would never been highlighted before. Inevitably, it will be up to whoever emerges from the ashes to reshape the message into one which appeals to the “likely voter”, that voter who is cognizant of reality and truly concerned about their children’s America. I can only hope there are enough of those folks left to make a difference.

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“Come on man”..!

Posted on 2012/01/03 by

Really?

It should come as no surprise that our eight year olds are being indoctrinated as opposed to educated within the public school system today. The topics more closely resemble brawls I had with some of my professors of “higher” Ed back in the day. Fact is, the extraordinary influence of the (Teachers Unions) is undeniable and has been chronicled across the country over the last decade or so. I am personally compelled to monitor my son’s education in ways I frankly would not have imagined were necessary just a generation ago. As a result I struggle every day with the cost of private schooling as an alternative, but remain on the sidelines as my boy has grown attached to friends and location.

Anyway, it still irks me when I hear some disingenuous bureaucrat spouting off about this controversy surrounding a song, allegedly written and performed by some little ones about the “occupy protests”. Now I may be a bit out of touch, but the topic of class warfare as it is being argued in the arena of partisan politics, is hardly an issue for 3rd or 4th graders. (http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/school-defends-occupy-song-for-8-year-olds.html) My little guy is nine and smart as a whip to be sure, and I can tell you that while he is definitely attune to his daddies political leanings, the NE Patriots, “Call of Duty” and someone named Gabrielle are the real focus of his day.

So I think my message to Virginia School District Representative Phil Giaramita with regard to “Part of 99” as sung by the Woodbrook Elementary 3rd Graders, and his assertion this was exclusively the efforts and ideas of these little “crumb crunchers” is —- “Come on man”!!!!

Back to the NFL Network…

 

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2012…

Posted on 2011/12/31 by

For the children...

2012 is sure to be remembered by historians and political junkies as a defining year. Many things I thought would surely be part of my son’s lifetime are somehow coming to pass in my own. I would not profess to be able to explain this, but will admit it is disconcerting for me to bear witness to it at times.

With my pessimism as a backdrop to this New Year’s Eve, I ask my readers to consider something other than the present tonight. I ask that you consider and then promote a future solidified by the ideals and principles on which this great nation was founded. Accepting our faults and frailties, and in the interest of our posterity and legacy as a nation, let us celebrate our exceptionalism and all that has allowed us to triumph in the face of adversity while thriving in the acknowledgement of (one culture) come from many.

My faith tells me of a certain inevitability for which I should always be ready. Every day I do my best to aspire to that faith. However, I also look at the gifts we enjoy as a country and wonder how we may control that which we can. I respond in writing daily to the questions of politics in the 21st century. I argue the finer points of my beliefs and ideals until my fingers and neck hurt. But when all is said and done, I keep coming back to the same question that haunts me, and which seems to define all the rest. I ask myself how a child anywhere in this modern world can go to bed hungry. What are we doing wrong?

So as we begin the 12th year of this 100, shame on those who see this analogy as overly majestic or hyperbole. For my part, I think that if I do anything right in 2012, it will be to steadfastly pursue an answer to that question.

May God bless and keep all of you this New Year…

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Campaign 2012, let it begin…

Posted on 2011/12/30 by

As we get ready for the Iowa Caucuses I must admit it has been an interesting campaign thus far for the Republican nomination. Once again however, I get the feeling we will have to accept a certain candidate because the media has either destroyed the others or they have destroyed themselves. There is one thing that has always frustrated me though, and that is Republican’s never seem to be able to make the case for the social issues without stepping in it. Ironically, the Democrats don’t have this problem. It’s always easier to run from the Left because anything goes and the base will always support you no matter any questionable personal short comings or views. They get a pass. Their only primary issues seem to be reconciling “John Kerry like corny theatrics” against the real issues of the day. Republicans however always seem to be running against themselves. I know this sounds like a bit of an oxymoron in a primary situation, but they just keep stumbling over each other grappling for that “Conservative” mantle when all they really need to do is admit imperfect, albeit human status, and make the message about aspiration or the pursuit. Now before my readers hammer me on this one, let me explain.

We are all imperfect. The advent of modern media has made our lives an open book, especially in the public eye. Therefore, it is pointless to try and weasel out of a past admission or regrettable position on any issue, social or otherwise. One is far better off explaining that position (without lying about it) and how one has come to believe what one does now. We all make mistakes. Very often it is because we proceed from bad information and don’t necessarily do our homework all of the time. It is part of that “pursuit” I mentioned and “We the People” will always find out and make up their own minds.  I’m often reminded of my youth and my beach cleaning dolphin loving days by those within “the circle”. We often laugh at how my Dad’s wisdom eventually sunk in, along with the truth so many in Washington don’t want you to know.

Anyway, my message today is for the man who will inevitably be, (and yes, who I have decided to endorse and will explain why later), the Republican nominee for President of these United States: Wipe that deer in the headlights look off your face Mitt and stop acting like every debate is a war. Your debating skills are evident but prepare to make the upcoming campaign about the real problem, that being the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Reconcile who you are now, where you’ve been and where you feel the country needs to go to the camera, and promise the American people that you will do your level best to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help you God”. Political expediency at the expense of our (your) children’s futures is no longer an option.

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Christmas 2011…

Posted on 2011/12/22 by

The sound of little voices singing Christmas music conjures up the spirit like nothing else for me. There is something magical and uplifting that comes from listening to children singing about the Christ Baby, a quiet innocence that speaks to the purity of God’s gift to his people. It’s times like those when I reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and my role to play in this life. I think about my own sins and faults and struggle with how to get hold of them. I wonder if we are not missing an opportunity to teach our own children something by way of history. And I consider the future in ways I don’t necessarily the rest of the year.

Now I don’t know about all of you out their reading this, but I am finding it hard this year to see a bright future. And no, not because Barack Obama is President, and not because we are still battling the Islamofascist murderers, and not even because you are more likely to be injured or killed trying to secure an “iPhone 4s” as a Christmas present than you would be if you were driving in the Daytona 500. No, it is because our value system and those things we cherished just a couple of generations ago seem to be fading from memory.

I’m not quite sure what an argument over the public display of a manger scene or what to call a Christmas tree would have looked like back in the days of my parents, or if it would have even taken place. I’m not sure if Americans would have entertained the notion of leaving behind the value set, decency and common sense which provided for the freedom that guarantees the right of the argument itself. And I question whether some Americans today have the same resolve as their forbearers to defend the principles which have guided us through generations of strife and success.

Usually I am able to put aside my pessimism and reach for the good in humanity this time of year. Christmas has always given me hope. Regrettably, and as I take stock of national and international events, it is proving difficult in 2011. I cannot help but tie my faith to this analogy because I feel if we continue to turn our backs on the ideals which have made us who we are, and continue to redefine our successes in terms of just what we have,  inevitably we will continue the backslide into complacency and blissful ignorance up to the point that the America we see is America in name only. At that point, both sides will agree for good or bad, the means we somehow justified led us to the end.

I suppose every generation has its “Great Depression” or “WWII”, and every generation endures the pain of growth in some form or another. America is no different and the road to “Super Power” has not been without bumps. But it occurs to me that our strength has always lied in our collective ability to recognize the good and true things about ourselves and our country. This has allowed us to persevere where other nations have collapsed and or descended into the darkness of indecision and anarchy.

I think what I’m trying to say here is that if I were allowed to give one present to the nation, it would be the gift of clarity, clarity without the filters of unmovable ideology so we might see and more clearly understand the basic tenets of this free Republic which has changed the world for the better, despite the “professors” revisionist “opinion”.

I know this sounds very “pie in the sky” and has a “miraculous” tone to it. But if I have come to understand anything about Christmas, it is that He makes all things possible. So with that in mind, and as I listen to the children singing about the “good news”, I pray that we have not completely closed our hearts and minds and that we would recognize and acknowledge the fundamental issues which have contributed so much more to our current“condition” than I think most would like to admit.

Anyway I’ve gotten off track and don’t want my message for the Christmas Holiday Season to be lost. So please take a moment to remember our Soldiers in harms way and all of their families back home this holiday. God please keep and protect them so they may return to their families when the mission is done. Please also remember those less fortunate and all the parents who will spend their holiday in the hospital by the bed of a sick child.

Please remember the reason for the season and I pray and wish all of you a very Merry, safe and healthy Christmas. I’ll be back before the New Year with my thoughts moving forward…

 

Posted in America, Holidays, Media, Politics, Religion, Right vs. Left | Comments Off on Christmas 2011…

Nauseous…

Posted on 2011/12/20 by

Rich? I'd say...

If I hear one more Liberal whining about how the rich keep getting richer, or how there is some grand conspiracy to facilitate “Corporate rule”, I’m gonna vomit. Turns out the truth is richer Americans, those making in excess of $340,000.00 a year are the most volatile and most likely to lose it all group of all the “classes”. Moreover, a number of studies now confirm that lower-income brackets are far more likely emerge from recession with lesser percentage losses than the “rich”, with the higher income folks more often going completely belly up. This debunks many of the Liberal talking points like “the rich are rich forever, inherit their money, and/or benefit from some exclusive tax code”, while certainly not working for their money. Unfortunately, this has and will continue to be what the Left is taught and subsequently what they embrace. For this reason, and as we’ve seen recently, many of them will wind up protesting one thing or another with the luckiest among them going on to become Massachusetts politicians instead of making the most of their God-given freedom to succeed, each according to their will and effort…

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Charity 101…

Posted on 2011/12/18 by
The joy of self-reliance…

The holidays are threatening to pass me by yet again. It seems our efforts to shape Christmas into what we believe will make us happy sometimes, actually end up diluting the true meaning of the holiday. Thankfully I am always able to extract something that I may relate to commemorating the momentous birth of my Lord and Savior.

I have always been one to frown upon the superficiality many often apply to this time of year with the “Black Friday” stuff and all. But it is truly heartwarming to see some folks step up and bring about the change I know is in line with the life and teachings of the Man whose birth we are about to celebrate. This includes those of different faiths whose hearts are appropriately positioned, large and squarely in the middle of their chests. Performer Dan Zanes is just such a person.

Zanes champions a cause which appears to be directly in line with the greatest charity we may bestow upon the less fortunate, that being the means by which they may be self-supporting. Sadly, the number of hungry in this world is once again on the rise and has been for the past few years. Political symptoms of this travesty aside, the fact that over 1 billion people, many of them children, will go to bed hungry this day is something Jesus would certainly have been addressing.

This brings me to (Heifer International), an organization which promotes the food source not just the food. They accept donations in order to purchase and provide life giving farm animals, which in turn provide sustainability and a transferable means of food provisions to the impoverished around the world. Now it remains admirable that we support charity(s) which give immediate and necessary food, medicine and clothing to those in need, but what could be better than giving the gift of a consistent food source that in turn would facilitate better health and a platform to produce those very same necessities of life. Moreover, one could then pass that gift on to others in need by way of the offspring of their betterment.

I do not have many “collective” thoughts about the world. This is a political distinction on my part and has to do with my ideological belief that much of the suffering in this world may be attributed to the Socialist, Communist and/or Theocratic application of government, which negates individual freedom and allows absolute and unchecked power. That discussion aside, and from a purely humanistic point of view, it is simply unconscionable that any person should go hungry in a 21st century world.

Please take a moment this Christmas and check out this web site. https://secure1.heifer.org/gift-catalog/joy-to-the-world-collection.html

It just makes sense…

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Iraqi freedom…

Posted on 2011/12/17 by

Our troops performed admirably and have accomplished their mission. Our brave men and women may return home with heads held high and to a well-deserved hero’s welcome. For the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and too those who will suffer the ailments of war for years to come, let us pledge our unending gratitude by way of the proper and necessary support they deserve immediately.

Iraq as a nation has elected not to be part of any “Persian Empire” as promoted by rogue Mullah’s like those who currently rule over Iran. A quarter million have signed on to protect Iraqi sovereignty from just such a threat, and the murdering tyrant who ruled over her with a bloody hand for so long is no more. The politics of the war itself will certainly be debated for generations to come. The above are facts however, and they are undeniable.

This brings me to the question of whether the President may take any credit for the victory, and for that matter whether or not he should even address our troops regarding the war in Iraq. I would only say that Barack Obama is our elected Commander-in-Chief and therefore has a “responsibility” to address and thank the brave men and women of the United States Military for their sacrifices and a job well done. I would say however, that his speech to troops at Fort Bragg the other day was certainly over the top. His soaring and majestic references to the conflict and our role in it, were clearly in direct contrast to his well-publicized positions regarding the onset of hostilities in Iraq and subsequent surge.

I would only hope politics be laid aside for the time being and the focus be squarely on the returning soldiers and their families, so they may re-acclimate and receive all they need to carry on. President Obama must understand this and be cognizant of his role. Simply put, the POTUS has every right, and certainly a responsibility, to declare victory in the name of those who fought and died in “Operation Iraqi Freedom”, but using that victory as a political tool considering his stated ideological positions is something he should consider very carefully in terms of perception as well as his legacy.

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