The Median Sib

Each afternoon on my way home from work, I listen to the last few minutes of the Dave Ramsey show - I’m a major fan of his.   Then there’s a few minutes of news, and then there’s the Phil Valentine show.  I had never listened to Phil Valentine until his show was moved recently to the 4:00 - 7:00 time slot.  I knew he had a radio show, but it wasn’t on at a time that I could listen to it.  I actually taught his oldest son a few years ago when the son was in fifth grade.  He was in one of my math classes…which is kinda funny since I’m now a reading specialist.  But I’ve always loved math, too.   

I digress.  Back to Phil’s radio show.  Recently he has been saying that we don’t need to deport illegal immigrants.  If we de-magnetize America - stop making it so attractive to illegals - they’ll leave on their own.  He’s having a town meeting this Thursday in Franklin, Tennessee to discuss the issue.  Here is part of what he has written about the situation:

America is finally at the boiling point and it’s as much over our inaction as it is the illegal aliens’ action. Americans were paying close attention at not only the numbers but also the message. Protesters carried signs reading, ‘If you think I’m “Illegal” because I’m Mexican, learn the true history because I’m in my homeland’ and ‘North America: The Stolen Continent.”

This is the part of the story that is not being reported by the mainstream media. It’s also the part that bothers Americans the most yet they’re not sure exactly why. It’s just a gut feeling.

It’s time to trust your gut.

What all these signs and all these Mexican flags mean is the movement of Reconquista is now out in the open. Reconquista, or Reconquest, is a huge movement within the Latino community. It refers to the section of the United States taken in the Mexican-American war after Mexico invaded Texas, which had fought for and won its independence from Mexico several years prior. Apparently a significant number of Mexicans have held a grudge down through the generations and they have been plotting to take the territory back. One Mexican-American activist offered this warning: “We are reconquering Aztlan without firing a shot, house by house, block by block!” Aztlan is what we know as Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Some hard-line reconquistas also throw in Utah, Nevada, Wyoming and Colorado.

The really scary part is they’ve convinced a good number of what the border patrol calls OTMs, or Other Than Mexicans, to join their cause. The plan is to invade America with enough Latinos to vote in their own representatives who are loyal to Mexico. That’s why there’s such a big push for election-day voter registration that Hillary Clinton is so fond of. That’s why such a stink has been made over Georgia’s law requiring photo ID in order to vote. This is all being fueled by organizations like La Raza, a racist Hispanic organization that places La Raza (The Race) above all else.

At Phil’s website, you will also find links to two sites that are helpful in gathering information about illegal immigration:  FAIRUS.org and NumbersUSA.com.

Others blogging on illegal immigration: The Irate Nation, bRight & Early, My Country-My View, Michelle Malkin, Blame Bush!, Southern Sass, A Lady’s Ruminations, Free Constitution, Red Satellites, Musings of a Real Texas Cowgirl, Conservative Cogitation, Red Hot Cuppa Politics, The Uncooperative Blogger,

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email me and let me know at what level you would like to participate.

Open Trackbacks: Send a trackback to this post, and it will be listed here.

Trackback for this post: http://themediansib.com/wp-trackback.php?p=492

As a teacher who’s not real keen on the NEA, I was happy to find an article in the April issue of NEA Today that was supportive of the military - at least on the surface.  The article is entitled “Heat, Bugs, and Bullets,” and it’s about the experiences of education support professionals (ESPs) as citizen soldiers in the Army Reserves.First of all, what are education support professionals?  They’re people who hold such jobs as school bus drivers, cafeteria workers and fleet mechanics in school systems. Schools couldn’t make it without them.

The NEA Today  article highlights three ESPs who left their jobs temporarily to serve our country.  Karen Mahurin, president of the National Council of ESPs says:

“When our country calls ESPs, it’s hard for them, having to leave their families and jobs.  But they don’t hesitate to defend America and everything we stand for.”

Staff Sgt. James Smith, a school bus driver in Las Vegas, tells about being in Iraq and driving a truck in an army convoy.

“Cars would come up beside you and start shooting, or kids would run up to the truck and throw a grenade in the cab.”

Spc. Kimberley Potter, a school bus driver from Las Vegas, tells that:

“In other places people would sometimes shout at us and slide their index finger across their throat.”

Staff Sgt. Kenny Ham, a fleet mechanic for a school services board in New York who flew combat missions as a door gunner while in the Middle East, writes of the poverty suffered by the local people he saw during several humanitarian missions to Afghani villages in Kandahar. He tells us how:

“People came running out of their homes - which were mud huts made of straw.  As word spread, more and more people came on foot, by camel and donkey.  It was chilly, and the kids were barefoot, wearing a single layer of clothing.  Their little hands were chapped and weathered. (Afghanistan) is so far behind the modern world, it is beyond belief.”

These soldiers left their civilian education support jobs in the United States to go to a combat zone to fight for their country.  I know I’m not alone when I write that I would like to see MORE reports about the extraordinary people who give of themselves to protect the rights of the useful idiiots back home to protest and otherwise endanger more of these fine warriors with their anti-everything blatherings.

Beth, at My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, writes about a REAL American hero, Staff Sgt. Martin Richburg.  Beth heard about the story from The Anchoress.  Since the MSM generally determines that we don’t need to know about such stories, it hasn’t been in the news much - if at all. Go read it.

I just read a post by Cassandra at Villainous Company about “The Star Spangled Banner” and how so many American citizens don’t know the words and don’t sing along or show respect whenever they hear it.  Cassandra was responding to a New York Times article by Lawrence Downes suggesting that the lyrics and tune of “The Star Spangled Banner” are just too difficult, and we should replace our national anthem with an easier song, such as “God Bless America.”   Downes writes:

“The Star-Spangled Banner” is a song nobody can sing, commemorating an event nobody cares about, in a war nobody remembers. It should never have become our national anthem, but since it did, we appear to be stuck with it, at least until something better comes along.

I admit that when I read that, my heart sank.  It hurts to think that there are American citizens who feel that way. I’ve read about Francis Scott Key and how he came to write “The Star Spangled Banner,” and each time I hear our national anthem, I think of how he must have felt to see that flag still waving that morning.  That’s not how Downes views that moment, though.  Here’s his take on that moment:

. . . a punchy, sleep-deprived Francis Scott Key scribbled his fretful ode to battlefield anxiety in 1814, then grafted to it the melody of a well-known ditty of the day.

“A fretful ode to battlefield anxiety”?  A decidedly cynical view, to say the least.  It seems rather in vogue these days to be cynical.  For me, it is irrelevant whether or not “The Star Spangled Banner” is difficult to sing or the words difficult to remember.  Changing to another national anthem won’t change anything.  Cassandra hits the nail on the head when she writes:

. . . patriotism is not invested in a song. . . . It is a value we Americans no longer bother to teach our children. We no longer consider it worth the time. . . . And that, in a nutshell, is why replacing the anthem with a shorter, easier-to-remember song won’t make any difference.

Even Downes admits that “The Star Spangled BannerR” will almost certainly not be replaced with another song.  There are too many people who don’t want that change.  Yes, it is a difficult song to sing.  Apparently I’m one of the few Americans who knows the words and the tune.  I can’t hit the high notes, but I sing along as much as I can whenever I hear it.  It is so much more than merely a good way to start ballgames or an effective way for TV and radio stations to sign off for the night.

It’s not just about respect for our national anthem, but about respect for our country.  Cassandra ends her post with a paragraph that says it all:

Our material possessions mean nothing without the blessings of freedom secured by the sacrifices of those men and women who have been willing to fight to defend the ideas in our Declaration of Independence. And those rights will go away unless every one of us is still willing to stand up and defend the land we love.

Amen.

There’s a fascinating story in the news.  One account, in the Post-tribune and written by Danielle Braff, illustrates just how bizarre our society has become. 

Vikram Buddhi, a Purdue University graduate student wrote in an online message board that he wanted to kill George Bush, Laura Bush, Dick Cheney, and  Donald Rumsfeld.  He also wrote calling on his readers to bomb the United States, kill ALL Republicans, and rape and mutilate white women.

Here’s the kicker: 

Since this is a very busy time for college students, being immersed in studying for their upcoming finals, Buddhi’s attorney John Martin said he hopes his client will be released from jail Wednesday following his detention hearing so he can return to studying.

Buddhi told investigators he posted the message, along with other derogatory messages aimed at the president, but Martin said Buddhi’s actions should be covered by the First Amendment since Buddhi would have never actually carried out his threats.

“What was allegedly said certainly is derogatory and may be inflammatory,” Martin said. “But there’s no real serious threat more than it was chat on the Web.”

Buddhi is a teaching assistant at Purdue University in the industrial engineering department.

Buddhi was arrested Friday and told investigators he is not suffering from any mental illnesses nor is he taking any illegal or prescription drugs.

How much you want to bet he not only gets off but keeps his job at the university?

Others: Random Thoughts of Yet Another Military Member, The Dread Pundit Bluto,

There’s an excellent article written by Rabbi Aryeh Spero at Human Events Online.  He describes our current situation in regards to illegal immigration and terrorism.  DEFINITELY worth reading.

What makes citizens of a country submit to the demands of people who are not even citizens? What is it that makes people here for decades and centuries cower in front of those here illegally, arriving only yesterday? What is it that makes people unwilling to lay claim to their own land and country?

It is guilt. It is fear. It is a brainwashing that has convinced so many that every member of the world is entitled to U.S. constitutional and welfare “rights.” It is a society that no longer believes in itself as a specific culture or even a sovereign country. Worse, it is a society so emotionally weak that it will accept disease, terrorism, crime, bankruptcy and the disintegration of its own chosen laws rather than being called racist, even though such charges are false.

Forty years of sick liberalism has created a public so unsure of its own legitimacy yet so sure of every other culture’s and nation’s goodness that it cannot say “no” to anyone perceived outside the mainstream. Being an outsider proffers today a nobility and entitlement to “rights” that is beyond the scope and hope of those viewed as merely regular Americans.

In fact, in today’s America, the more hostile one is to the country and the more brazen against its historic mores, the more protection and concern comes one’s way. Why? Because what greater way to demonstrate one’s “tolerance,” “sensitivity” and “understanding” than when given precisely to those who are your greatest threat. Showing goodness to your own is labeled “tribalism” while being tolerant of those that differ and even despise is the most shining example of “tolerance.”

In today’s America, tolerance is God, and the faithful will sacrifice all — even their security — to their secular God. Never in history has there been such a need for people to feel good about themselves as is happening in the West. Never have a people become so insecure that they feel unworthy absent the approval of those who deride their ways. Thus, can the foreigner in the land rise with impudence against his benefactors, demanding from them and daring them to say “no.”

Whereas common sense dictates that the way to find a criminal is by investigating the men who match the description of those seen at the crime scene, emotionally enfeebled America searches in airports for benign grey haired old ladies with blue eyes and dainty cheek bones rather than young Muslim/Arab men with angry facial muscles, simply because to do the rational may invite the accusation of profiling and thus “racism,” albeit every terrorist has thus far been an Islamic jihadist, not to mention how it is radical Islam that encourages terrorism not Lenox, Mass. Unitarianism.

NBC’s Dateline looks for racism not by Muslims against Christians but in NASCAR Christians against Muslims, even though North Carolina Protestantism does not speak of others as infidels as does today’s Islam, constantly. NBC represents the corrosive elitist notion that those foreign are harmlessly noble while mainstream Christian America is congenitally racist and must, therefore, every day prove itself non-racist and tolerant.

This already forty year brainwashing job on Americans by academia and the media has created an American public so tentative about itself and so submissive that it rarely sticks up for its own rights and needs when in conflict with a “minority” out of fear of being labeled a racist and, worse, feeling that it is indeed racist.

I can hear the “amens!” ringing out as you read this.  He continues:

. . . many spearheading the flouting of our laws regarding immigration are the Barney liberals who never believed in an indigenous American culture or a truly sovereign America. They, in fact, subscribe to a borderless America. They are universalists and transnationalists who view America as nothing special and have no understanding of how and why this country achieved its greatness. Others are simply grownup children, bereft of any knowledge of history and reality.

Many are old fashioned communists who take up any cause they see as disruptive to America, its institutions and its establishment. Masquerading as human rights activists, they are fascists craving an America socially engineered under their hegemony. Unfortunately, while most Americans do not see themselves on the left, they have been snookered by the high-sounding terms of multiculturalism and unearned “rights for all” used by the left to disenfranchise regular, good willed Americans. We have become, unwittingly, complicit in our own demise.

Though I bear no ill will to the illegals and know many of them, I’m disturbed by how this issue has revealed an American weakness that if not reversed imperils our longevity as a specific and distinct culture. I speak not of race but values; not of place of origin but a common American ethos and love and pride in Americanism.

I fear what will happen to an America ruled not by its republican laws but emotion, not by what is right and legal but by who screams the loudest — mob rule, the jungle.

A people no longer able to assert its right to say “no” out of fear and guilt as to what others will say or charge is a nation that is allowing its mores and habits, its heritage and distinctiveness, to be determined by those accusing the loudest. Not only will America loose the immigration issue but the war on terror itself.

Watching America fold to La Rasa and other race mongers, how afraid of America can the jihadist enemy be, knowing that Americans will not protect themselves if by so doing they are accused of “Islamophobia,” the latest concocted form of “racism”. To think, a great and powerful nation brought to its knees not by a power stronger militarily but simply because it was afraid of being called a name, simply because it craved its enemy’s validation over its own security.

I have not read a more succinct and intelligent summary of what is going on today.

 **This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.

Entire text of the following is cross posted from Right Truth:We already have a ‘guest worker’ program for illegal immigrants (criminal invaders), but most people don’t know about it.  On the surface the “H” Visa appears to allow only highly skilled, or professional, workers into the US.  But that is NOT the case.  Skilled, unskilled and agricultural workers  can all enter the US under the “H” Visa.  According to Bill West’s article in FrontPageMagazine:

What we do historically have, and have had for many years, is…a guest worker program.  That is the “H” Temporary Worker visa.  Seldom in the current clamor over illegal alien workers and legalization and “guest workers” is the existing “H” visa program even mentioned.

“H” visas traditionally have been used by many high-tech employers, especially in recent years employers like computer engineering firms, to bring in well educated foreign technicians, engineers and scientists who, while on paper are paid the equivalent of their US counterparts, in reality are paid less.  This brand of white-collar corporate fraud has not been aggressively investigated by INS in the past and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) currently, thanks primarily due to lack of manpower and other investigative priorities set by management.  Congress has essentially ignored this issue.  Therefore, this “H” visa abuse became widespread and mostly ignored.

The understanding of the “H” Visa is misleading.  It sounds  like ONLY highly skilled workers can enter the USA on this visa, but in fact, “A review of the “H” visa system reveals that it is actually quite broad. The H-1B category, the most common one encountered, covers “specialty occupation” workers.  H-1C is for nurses.  H-2A is for temporary agricultural workers.  H-2B is for other temporary workers, both skilled and unskilled. “ Another very important fact that Mr. West makes is that there is already a procedure in effect for legalizing illegals who are already in the country. It is called ”Cancellation of Removal and was revised under the 1996 version of the Immigration and Nationality Act and is found at Title 8 US Code,  Section 1229b.”

Essentially, an illegal alien who has been in the US for ten years or longer, … will be eligible for cancellation of removal and would be allowed to remain permanently in the US and eventually be allowed to apply for naturalized US citizenship.

One of the key elements to obtaining cancellation of removal, however, is the alien must be in removal (deportation) proceedings before an Immigration Court. This means the alien, if not caught by immigration authorities, must surrender himself to those authorities to be placed in such proceedings so they can apply for the relief. source

Excuse me, but doesn’t that sound a bit retarded?!?! We who are fighting against criminal invaders to our country don’t understand why current laws are not enforced.  But, if this law were to be enforced, thousands and even millions, might turn themselves in to authorities and the entire “system now would very quickly collapse”.

Essentially, an illegal alien who has been in the US for ten years or longer, who meets the qualifications noted above, will be eligible for cancellation of removal and would be allowed to remain permanently in the US and eventually be allowed to apply for naturalized US citizenship.  One of the key elements to obtaining cancellation of removal, however, is the alien must be in removal (deportation) proceedings before an Immigration Court.  This means the alien, if not caught by immigration authorities, must surrender himself to those authorities to be placed in such proceedings so they can apply for the relief.

Mr. West suggests that while we are debating all these new potential bills and laws, we might just want to look at the laws that are already on the books and try enforcing them! Good luck with that Mr. West!

________________________________________________________________________________

Related reading:

From My Country - My View, “Corpus Christi, TX - KRISTV.COM - Minutemen using aircraft to report illegal immigration to Border Patrol
Thumbs up to our Minutemen! Doing the job that our government won’t,  Go read her article here

From Ace in the Hole, ”Georgia Governor Signs Sweeping Immigration Law”

The state of Georgia approved a sweeping measure on Monday to crack down on illegal immigrants and the people who hire them as a passionate debate on immigration heats up in the United States.
Go read it all   From Yahoo! News
Cross Posted with: Public Figures…Beware
And now Michelle Malkin is on the job too… The more the merrier…

From Blogbat, May 1st, 2006,Mark Johnson of Human Events Online has posted a fun little piece reminding us of the upcoming holiday: Conservative Shopping Day, or, as I call it, Shop America Day. Excerpts below:

As you no doubt know, illegal aliens and their handlers plan to hold their next Senate intimidation rallies on May 1,

From Mike Jerihco at Adversus Monstrum, “Small Oversight”

Suspiciously blonde Hispanic man temporarily overlooks the fact that the Hispanic peoples originally came from Spain. Meanwhile, in New England, counter-protestors who have the temerity to point out that illegal aliens are, well, illegal, are righteously beaten by righteous people:  Go read it all and see the picture

UPDATE: Always on Watch has an excellent article today, you must go read it: “Profiting From Illegal Invasion” Below is an excerpt, but she has graphs, links, advice, …. Go on, scoot and read it.

When I saw the television coverage of immigration demonstrations throughout the United States, including the Heartland and areas with which I did not immediately associate a high population of immigrants, and the above graph, I wondered, “How did they get to be all over the United States?”

Greg at DeMdeiacratic Nation says to our politicians, “Don’t Just Pass Anything…”

“If the Senate wants to be successful in passing immigration reform, its first priority should be to approve a bill to secure the borders and increase interior-enforcement infrastructure .” Go read it

_________________________________________________________________________________
**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.

I heard on the news that Jane Fonda was asked in an interview why she wasn’t touring the United States speaking out against the war.  She said (and I’m paraphrasing here from what I remember from the news report) that she decided not to do that because she has too much baggage as a result of her protests during the Viet Nam war.  Also, she said, Cindy Sheehan is doing a much better job than she could.  Does anyone take Jane Fonda or Cindy Sheehan seriously anymore?   At least we can thank God for Jane’s baggage.  Without it, we’d be subjected to even more of her self-serving political idiocy.  Some people don’t learn from their past.

Enough of Jane. 

I read a great post by David at Third World County.

Make yourself watch an evening of MTV analytically. Or do the same with any network or cable TV channel. Heck, watch The History Channel analytically. In any and all of those examples, among the many, many media outlets I could cite from Hollyweird to Nashville and on, what we generally view as harmless entertainment is framing our references.

David is so right. I challenge you to give it a shot.  Listen and watch with a critical eye.

It’s open trackback day.  Send a trackback to this post, and it will be listed here.

Trackback for this post: http://themediansib.com/wp-trackback.php?p=477

Please visit others with open trackbacks: Blue Star Chronicles, Adam’s Blog, TMH’s Bacon Bits, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns,

It’s really quite simple.  When you VALUE something, you protect it, and you take care of it.  You don’t allow others to devalue and demean it.  Others take their cue about the value of something from how the owners feel about it.

Is it any wonder that illegal immigrants are marching and demanding their “rights” when Americans have acted like it’s no big deal to enter our country illegally?  Why should they obey a law that isn’t enforced and obviously hasn’t been a big deal to us for a long time? 

Our MSM and liberals act like someone from another country shouldn’t have to do anything to be an American citizen.  To them, citizenship isn’t something of value.  Democrats are even urging illegals to vote - a rather desperate and transparent attempt to gain votes. 

But what happens to any organization that doesn’t have any admission requirements?  When anyone can join without doing anything to support the group or make it better?  Here’s what happens: The organization is without any strength or standards.  No conscience or consequences.

Just as a house that is neglected soon falls into disrepair, our nation has fallen into disrepair because we have not held our elected officials accountable for upholding our laws.  Our news channels and liberals are so busy criticizing all things American and highlighting and emphasizing everything negative that other nations are following suit.  We can’t expect others to respect the United States when we don’t do it ourselves.

Until all Americans can stand up and support our country and be proud of it, insist that our laws are upheld and that citizenship is worthy of effort and honor, we’ll continue to struggle with illegal immigrants and worldwide disdain.

Linked to: And you thought YOU were crankly? Committees of Correspondence, Common Sense America, Free Constitution, Freedom Watch, Latina Advocate, Random Thoughts Of Yet Another Military Member, Red Satellites, Right Truth, third world county, Uncooperative Blogger, Blue Star Chronicles

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email CAII and let them know at what level you would like to participate. and let them know at what level you would like to participate. and let them know at what level you would like to participate.

Open Trackbacks!Trackback for this post: http://themediansib.com/wp-trackback.php?p=462

I was listening to talk radio on my way home from work.  Of course the topic of conversation was the protests throughout America in favor of giving the illegal immigrants amnesty.

One caller declared, “Give them all white t-shirts before they cross the border illegally and on the shirt have ‘I’M A REPUBLICAN AND I BELIEVE IN JESUS!’” and the MSM and the Democrats would get serious about working to stop illegal immigration.

Ain’t that the truth!  

The following post was written by “cowgirl” over at Musings of a Real Texas Cowgirl.

Cross posted at Ace in the Hole and Coalition Against Illegal Immigration

What a week this has been! We have been working very hard, watching and reporting. In one week, we have sighted and reported over 400 illegals on the properties we are operating on. The total number for the last month-long operation, October, was 800. The number of captures is far more than our reportings, as the border patrol is looking at us as real helpers this time around. 

The folks here are just great people. They are the kind of people you would invite over for dinner and a game of dominos. I love to watch the way everyone pulls together to figure out how to solve an equipment or logistical problem in preparation for some special operation. These are regular people from all walks of life, who would never have met under normal circumstances. Yet, here we are, spending time with one another, all trying to preserve our country.

The media is all but ignoring the month-long Minuteman operation. If you can put any pressure on Fox News or any of the other networks to give us some publicity, it would be great.

Spirits were down when it looked like the Senate had reached a compromise on that completely ridiculous immigration bill, thereby pursuing politics rather than the preservation of our country. In case you missed it, there were 3 classes of illegal aliens set out in the bill, which is ludicrous on its face (are there 3 classes of income tax evaders?). The first class involved a road to citizenship without leaving the country for people who had been here 5 or more years. OK. These are “undocumented” workers. How are they going to prove they have been here 5+ years? You can just scratch out the other 2 classes of illegals, because they will ALL say they have been here for 5 years. Just how stupid do our elected representatives think we are? Give me a break.

We were all relieved when Congress went on Easter break. I’d kinda like them to stay on break. That way they can’t pass any more assinine bills, thereby fouling things up even more.

Bottom line. All that needs to be done is for the government to enforce the laws now on the books, and to seal the borders to prevent more invasion. And, I intentionally used the word invasion. We don’t need more laws….. we already have just what we need. There is also that little document known as the Constitution of the United States, that assigns the federal government the duty of defending America’s borders. Enforcement of existing laws is all we need.

Well, maybe that’s not exactly accurate. Enforcement and Generation 3 night vision equipment is what we need. We could use some more of that. The coyotes have better toys than we do. If anyone would like to donate directly to the Texas operation so we can have the best toys, the HQ number is 361-325-5121.

Of course, if you want to be a Minuteman, get online and register, and then phone the HQ number. The more people we have, the more territory we can watch.

Thanx to everyone for your kind wishes and moral support. One very tired cowgirl, signing off.

Linked to: And you thought YOU were cranky?, Committees of Correspondence, Common Sense America, Free Constitution, Freedom Watch, Latina Advocate, My Country-My View, Random Thoughts Of Yet Another Military Member, Red Satellites, Right Truth, Southern Sass, third world county, Uncooperative Blogger, Blue Star Chronicles

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email CAII and let them know at what level you would like to participate.

My Saturday Salute is to a blog that I enjoy reading on a regular basis.  There are so many wonderful blogs that it is hard to narrow it down to only one.  I’ll discount family members’ blogs for now, and instead salute one from outside the family.

So today I salute Uncivil Rights which has a post of Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech of March 23, 1775.  The post is dedicated to liberals and pacifists.  It is a powerful speech to read today. Whether you’re liberal or conservative, Republican, Democrat, Independent, whatever… it is helpful and enlightening to read one of the great speeches from our American history.  Perhaps you’ll find something there that applies to the situation today.

Go to Uncivil Rights to read the commentary there.  Here is the speech:

No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The questing before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?

For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted?

Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope.

If we wish to be free–if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending–if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained–we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength but irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power.

The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable–and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come. It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace–but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?

What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

 

Our country was founded on immigration, and through immigration our country has been enriched and blessed.  We are truly the melting pot of the world.  I applaud people who have the courage to leave oppressive and burdensome lives elsewhere to immigrate LEGALLY to America where there are more opportunities.  I also applaud people who stay in their homeland and work to obtain the freedoms and opportunities for their own country that are available here.

The line has formed to get into America, and illegal immigrants have snuck in under the fence to keep from paying for their ticket.  Illegal immigration is a slap in the face to all the millions of people who have entered America legally since the union was first formed.  LEGAL immigrants have given their time, effort and resources to follow the law and become Americans. Illegal immigrants, for the most part, aren’t interested in becoming Americans.  Instead, they want our culture to change and adapt to their culture.

I hope we don’t give in to all the rallies and protests and speeches.  No one from another country DESERVES to be here until they follow the same procedures that the immigrants before them followed. America was founded on equality - not on making accommodations for special interest groups.

Cross posted at: The Uncooperative Blogger, A Lady’s Ruminations

.

Please read more from members of the Coalition Against Illegal Immigration at: Right Truth, The Uncooperative Blogger, Uncooperative Blogger (take 2), Freedom Watch. Common Sense America

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.

Open Trackback Weekend:
Trackback for this post: http://themediansib.com/wp-trackback.php?p=455 

Linked to: Blue Star Chronicles, Third World Country; Conservative Cat; Stuck on Stupid; The Cigar Intelligence Agency; Outside the Beltway; Adam’s Blog

For more on various absurdities in the world, check out Carnival of the Rant

My Tuesday Tantrum is about what will likely happen in the case of Zacarias Moussaoui. Today a federal grand jury found Moussaoui “eligible to be executed.” The news story is here. Afterwards he declared,

“You’ll never get my blood. God curse you all.”

He definitely isn’t winning any non-Muslim friends with his vitriolic outbursts, but sadly, he is probably right. He’ll probably never be executed. The anti-death penalty folks(who, in a baffling inconsistency, are often pro-abortion….i.e. “Save the criminals. Kill the babies.”) will start protesting. The people on the left who are horrified that someone other that George W. Bush might be blamed for something will get busy with their spin.

Moussaoui will become a “victim.” He will be characterized as a poor, misguided and mentally confused Muslim who was desperately trying to martyr himself for Allah by lying about his part in Osama’s 9/11 plans. The racism card will be played extensively. After all, he supposedly experienced racism in France because of his Moroccan heritage. And as we have learned from the MSM, experiencing racism entitles a person to do just about anything with impunity.

The appeals, debates and protests will go on for years, and Moussaoui will be laughing at us behind his scowl.

Others blogging on Moussaoui: The Liberal Wrong Wing, In The Bullpen, Michelle Malkin, Atlas Shrugs, Stop The ACLU,  Sister Toldjah

Tuesday Open Trackbacks

Linked to: Third World County, TMH Bacon Bits, Stuck on Stupid, Rhymes With Right, Adam’s Blog, Is It Just Me,  Blue Star Chronicles, The Real Ugly American, The Liberal Wrong Wing, Uncooperative Blogger, Votes Wagon, Mark My Words, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Free Constitution, The Comedian, Jenee, Cigar Intelligence Agency, Random Thoughts of Yet Another Military Member, Mudville Gazette

Okay - a little controversy for a Thursday: Being a Democrat (i.e. “progressive”) means living with some major disconnects in thinking.

(Note: These aren’t mine - they were sent to me by a friend)
1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.

2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than U.S. nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical documented changes in the earth’s climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV’s.

6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural.

7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.

8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can’t teach 4th-graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.

9. You have to believe that hunters don’t care about nature, but activists who have never been outside of San Francisco do.

10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make The Passion of the Christ for financial gain only.

12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.

14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Robert E. Lee, Thomas Edison & A.G. Bell.

15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.

16. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn’t worked anywhere it’s been tried is because the right people haven’t been in charge.

17. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.

18. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag, transvestites, and bestiality should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

19. You have to believe that illegal Democratic Party funding by the Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest to the United States.

20. You have to believe that it’s okay to give Federal workers off on Christmas Day but it’s not okay to say “Merry Christmas.”

H/T to B.W.

Others with open trackbacks: Blue Star Chronicles, TMH Bacon Bits, Adam’s Blog,  The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Conservative Cat, Cigar Intelligence Agency

This quote from The Anchoress says it all. The only thing I can add is that you should go and read the rest of the post. It is worth your while.

We know there are Muslims in the Middle East who wish to be free of the jackboots of Extremism and Fascism. Our president has been trying to do what no one else in the world is willing to do: break the stranglehold and allow the great majority of Muslims to live in liberty - respected by the rest, free to make their own way in the world, in peace. A year ago, we were making great headway, and so it’s not surprising that the Islamofascists are doing what they can to strike back. What is surprising - what is a damn shame - what may end up being an unforgiveable sin, is that so many people in the press and on the left are so willing to submit to Dhimmitude out of fear and (even worse - morally MUCH worse) out of sheer hatred of George W. Bush, who cannot be permitted to succeed in his visionary and noble endeavor.