George Washington's Farewell Address - A Warning Across the Ages

As we, as a nation, are now faced with the greatest threat to our freedom and liberty - and as inconceivable as it would seem to those who pledged their "...lives, (their) fortunes, and (their) sacred honor..." this threat emanates in and from, the person and policies of the current president of the United States, and his willing accomplices on the Left - it is instructive to contemplate a portion of the words of warning offered by our first, and arguably, most-beloved president, as he publicly bid farewell to the nation he loved so dearly.

His words, though somewhat anachronistic to the modern ear, echo still, down through the ages.

We ignore them at our peril.

(EMPHASIS MINE.)

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp

...Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all-important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion.

Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.

The UNITY OF GOVERNMENT which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, FROM DIFFERENT CAUSES AND FROM DIFFERENT QUARTERS, much pains will be taken, MANY ARTIFICES EMPLOYED to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which THE BATTERIES OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ENEMIES WILL BE MOST CONSTANTLY AND ACTIVELY (though often covertly and insidiously) DIRECTED, it is of infinite moment that YOU SHOULD PROPERLY ESTIMATE THE IMMENSE VALUE OF YOUR NATIONAL UNION to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; AND INDIGNANTLY FROWNING UPON THE FIRST DAWNING OF EVERY ATTEMPT TO ALIENATE ANY PORTION OF OUR COUNTRY FROM THE REST, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.

For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. THE NAME OF AMERICAN, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism MORE THAN ANY APPELLATION DERIVED FROM LOCAL DISCRIMINATIOINS. With slight shades of difference, YOU HAVE THE SAME RELIGION, MANNERS, HABITS, AND POLITICAL PRINCIPLES. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes...

...IN CONTEMPLATING THE CAUSES WHICH MAY DISTURB OUR UNION, it occurs as matter of serious concern that ANY GROUND SHOULD HAVE BEEN FURNISHED FOR CHARACTERIZING PARTIES BY GEOGRAPHICAL, Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. ONE OF THE EXPEDIENTS OF PARTY TO ACQUIRE INFLUENCE WITHIN PARTICULAR DISTRICTS IS TO MISREPRESENT THE OPINIONS AND AIMS OF OTHER DISTRICTS. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heartburnings which spring from these misrepresentations; THEY TEND TO RENDER ALIEN TO EACH OTHER THOSE WHO OUGHT TO BE BOUND TOGETHER BY FRATERNAL AFFECTION...

...To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a government for the whole is indispensable. No alliance, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute; they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, YOU HAVE IMPROVED UPON YOUR FIRST ESSAY, BY THE ADOPTION OF A CONSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT BETTER CALCULATED THAN YOUR FORMER FOR AN INTIMATE UNION, AND FOR THE EFFICACIOUS MANAGEMENT OF YOUR COMMON CONCERNS. This government, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. BUT THE CONSTITUTION WHICH AT ANY TIME EXISTS, TILL CHANGED BY AN EXPLICIT AND AUTHENTIC ACT OF THE WHOLE PEOPLE, IS SCAREDLY OBLIGATORY UPON ALL. (AND ESPECIALLY, I SUBMIT, THIS INCLUDES THE PRESIDENT, HIMSELF) THE VERY IDEA OF THE POWER AND THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ESTABLISH GOVERNMENT PRESUPPOSES THE DUTY OF EVERY INDIVIDUAL (INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT) TO OBEY THE ESTABLISHED GOVERNMENT.

All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; TO PUT, IN THE PLACE OF THE DELEGATED WILL OF THE NATION THE WILL OF A PARTY, OFTEN A SMALL BUT ARTFUL AND ENTERPRISING MINORITY OF THE COMMUNITY; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.

However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, BY WHICH CUNNING, AMBITIOUS, AND UNPRINCIPLED MEN WILL BE ENABLED TO SUBVERT THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE AND TO USURP FOR THEMSELVES THE REINS OF GOVERNMENT, DESTROYING AFTERWARDS THE VERY ENGINES WHICH HAVE LIFTED THEM TO UNJUST DOMINION. (REMIND YOU OF ANYONE?)

Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you RESIST WITH CARE THE SPIRIT OF INNOVATION UPON ITS PRINCIPLES, HOWEVER SPECIOUS THE PRETEXTS. ONE METHOD OF ASSAULT MAY BE TO EFFECT, IN THE FORMS OF THE CONSTITUTION, ALTERATIONS WHICH WILL IMPAIR THE ENERGY OF THE SYSTEM, AND THUS TO UNDERMINE WHAT CANNOT BE DIRECTLY OVERTHROWN. (SCOTUS, ANYONE?) In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that for the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property...

...It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A JUST ESTIMATE OF THAT LOVE OF POWER, AND PRONENESS TO ABUSE IT, WHICH PREDOMINATES IN THE HUMAN HEART, IS SUFFICIENT TO SATISFY US OF THE TRUTH OF THIS POSITION. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositaries, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. BUT LET THERE BE NO CHANGE BY USURPATION; FOR THOUGH THIS, IN ONE INSTANCE, MAY BE THE INSTRUMENT OF GOOD, IT IS THE CUSTOMARY WEAPON BY WHICH FREE GOVERNMENTS ARE DESTROYED. (OBAMA: I'M ISSUING THIS EXECUTIVE ORDER BECAUSE IT'S "THE RIGHT THING TO DO!") The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit, which the use can at any time yield.

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, RELIGION AND MORALITY ARE INDISPENSABLE SUPPORTS. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, REASON AND EXPERIENCE BOTH FORBID US TO EXPECT THAT NATIONAL MORALITY CAN PREVAIL IN EXCLUSION OF RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLE.

It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?...

... Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it - It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? CAN IT BE THAT PROVIDENCE HAS NOT CONNECTED THE PERMANENT FELICITY OF A NATION WITH ITS VIRTUE? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices?...

...In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated.

How far in the discharge of my official duties I have been guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public records and other evidences of my conduct must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself to be guided by them...

...Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence; and that, after forty five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, THE FAULTS OF INCOMPETENT ABILITIES WILL BE CONSIGNED TO OBLIVION, AS MYSELF MUST SOON BE TO THE MANSIONS OF REST.

Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natural to a man who views in it the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations, I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat in which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free government, the ever-favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers.

Geo. Washington

What We All Must Now Do

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/06/28/todays-scotus-decision-dooms-obama-presidency

I hope you're right, Mike. We ALL have to do our part this year.

As we approach this most important election of our lives, allow me to make a few suggestions:

First and foremost - if you can't say with certainty that you already are - GET RIGHT WITH GOD.

(And make sure that everyone you care about does the same.)

No matter WHAT happens this Fall, how we all respond to God's gift of salvation, which He made available to us through the sacrificial, substitutionary death of His one and only Son on the Cross, will determine where each of us will spend Eternity.

When all else is said and done, when our lives are over, and each one of us is standing before the Creator of the Universe, giving an account of those lives to the Ancient of Days - something the Bible tells us we will ALL have to do someday - none of the rest of this is going to matter.

On that day, it won't matter how smart you were, how much money you made, how big your house was, how many titles were before your name, or how many degrees after, how good a person you were, or how often you went to church. None of that will matter.

The only thing that WILL matter is if your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. (Revelation 20:11-15)

If you are unsure how to go about doing this, or simply have questions, here are a few websites worth visiting:

http://www.joelrosenberg.com/

http://www.cru.org/how-to-know-god/would-you-like-to-know-god-personally/index.htm

http://www.godandscience.org/

My prayer for all who read this and are NOT believers, is that God would reveal Himself to you in a supernatural way, and that you and your loved ones would experience God's mercy and grace, and you would come to know the love of Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. (Revelation 3:20)

(Now, back to the small matter of sending Obama and his lovely bride back to Hyde Park next January where they belong, taking back the Senate, strengthening the Republican majority in the House, and then, finally, REPEALING OBAMACARE - AND TAKING OUR COUNTRY BACK!)

By any and all means, get informed - i.e., read Conservative websites, listen to Conservative radio/satellite radio, go to Glenn Beck's website and sign up - http://www.glennbeck.com/ and http://www.gbtv.com/

(Read Glenn's book, The Original Argument. I also recommend Mark Steyn's After America and Ed Klein's The Amateur.)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Original-Argument-Federalists-Constitution/dp/B006W3Y5UK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341147382&sr=1-1&keywords=the+original+argument

http://www.amazon.com/After-America-Get-Ready-Armageddon/dp/B0076TKQ8E/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341147487&sr=1-1&keywords=after+america+mark+steyn

http://www.amazon.com/The-Amateur-Edward-Klein/dp/1596987855/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341147535&sr=1-1&keywords=the+amateur+edward+klein

Go to a rally, give money to CONSERVATIVE candidates, tell all of your friends and family what's at stake this November, and make sure that EVERYONE you know is registered to vote - well, everyone, that is, except your LIBERAL friends. In fact, you might consider telling them that THIS year, the election will be held on Election WEDNESDAY, not Tuesday as they might have remembered. ;)

BTW, if you are wondering what to do with the kids this summer, why not take your children (or grandchildren) to the nearest Civil War battlefield and tell them the story of all those brave men who gave their lives so that ALL men (and women) could live free?

If you can get there, you can't hardly beat walking the hills and fields of Gettysburg. I also recommend a tour of Antietam, Maryland, as well as Fredricksburg/Spotsylvania, Virginia. My boys and I did this last year and it was tremendous.

Also, if you DO decide to take a drive on I-95 this summer and you happen to pass through Savannah, Georgia, check out the Eighth Air Force museum - it's right off the highway, you can't miss it. Just follow the signs.

Many are aware of the horrendous loss of life that occurred during Civil War battles like Gettysburg and Antietam.

But many are unaware of the tremendous losses suffered by "The Mighty Eighth."

In a little more than three years of aerial combat during WWII, the 8th suffered more than 47,000 casualties, and more than 26,000 fatalities, roughly half of all casualties suffered by the entire United States Army Air Corps during the entire war.

If you decide to stop in, the tour of the 8th Air Force Museum will only take a couple of hours. Trust me - it is time well spent.

These are just a few of my ideas. Feel free to come up with your own.

Pray that God would continue to shed His grace on the United States of America.

And while you're at it, pray for the peace of Israel.

Ding Dong, Khadafi is Dead! Long live...Sharia Law?

So Khadafi is finally dead. Thus always to tyrants.

In the grand scheme of things, does this change anything for the better in Libya? In the Middle East?

Probably not. 

There will now be a power struggle within Libya to fill the vacuum. As is no doubt true in Egypt, and contrary to the false narrative of the Western Media, after the inevitable descent into factionalism and possibly, civil war, The Flying Curmudgeon predicts the emergence of an Iranian-style Islamic theocracy in the oil-rich nation.  

Farther east in the Mediterranean, with eyes on the glory days of the Ottoman Empire, and designs on a greater influence throughout the region, a reemergent Islamist Turkey has already begun to stick its fingers into the Libyan morass.

 http://articles.cnn.com/2011-08-25/world/libya.turkey.funds_1_libyan-rebels-mustafa-abdul-jalil-transitional-national-council?_s=PM:WORLD

Now that President Obama has announced the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of the year, Iran and its proxies inside the country sit gleefully on the sidelines, waiting for their time to move, while the mullahs continue their relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons.

And with the dominoes falling all around it, Israel's window of opportunity to act against this growing Iranian threat is quickly drawing to a close. Benjamin Netanyahu, having a strong grasp of Israel's history, and an acute awareness of the sacred trust bestowed upon him as the leader of a free Jewish people, is not about to become the Israeli prime minister who presided over the Second Holocaust, without doing everything in his power to prevent it.

It's now not a question of IF Israel finally hits Iran's nuke sites - but WHEN.

As 2011 ends, the election year of 2012 portends to be a pivotal one for the United States - and for the rest of humankind, as well.

UPDATE: (24 October 2011) And in more sad news involving Turkey, there's been another major earthquake there.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204777904576650613185173524.html

Somewhat prophetically, a WorldNetDaily article from last Spring spoke of the increasing severity and frequency of earthquakes throughout the world in recent years.

TFC reports, you decide.

And may God have mercy on us all.


http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=274761

TFC

Marxist "Consensus" Shuts Down Civil Rights Icon

Although The Flying Curmudgeon admires his courage for standing up for civil rights as a young man, he's never been a particular fan of Rep. John Lewis' brand of knee-jerk Leftism.

However, watching this video, TFC has to say he felt sorry for the man, as even he was stunned by this shocking display of mindless collectivism - a frightening reminder of why "pure democracy" is just another way of saying "mob rule."

This is EXACTLY why the Founders created the United States as a "representative republic," and NOT as a "democracy" - and why we are a nation of laws, and not men.

TFC

President Silver-tongued Devil

TFC

The Americans Who Risked Everything - Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.

As we prepare to celebrate the 234th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, The Flying Curmudgeon thought he might share a bit of the history surrounding that momentous event - history of which many may not be aware.

As poor as the American History instruction has become in many of our public schools and institutions of "higher learning," one would assume that most Americans are at least somewhat familiar with the names Thomas Jefferson, John and Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin.

These are four of the more well-known men, whose signing of the document which affirmed our God-given right to "...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," we commemorate each July 4th.

But as another Independence Day celebration draws nigh, with all that that entails: hot dogs, hamburgers, and home-made ice cream, as well as stirring fireworks displays bursting high in a mid-summer night's sky, The Flying Curmudgeon thought it might be worthwhile to reflect on the stories of some of the not-so-well-known men who mutually pledged "...their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor..." on that hot July day, so many years ago.

This speech, taken from Rush Limbaugh's website and reproduced in the July 2010 issue of The Limbaugh Letter, is a speech that Rush's father, Rush Limbaugh Jr., would regularly give on occasions such as the 4th of July. Thank's to Rush's generosity, The Flying Curmudgeon has linked to this marvelous, moving story, and offers it in honor of Independence Day, 2010, and in memory of all those, throughout our nation's history, who have "risked everything," so that all Americans might live in Freedom and Liberty.

God bless them, and God bless the United States of America.

The Americans Who Risked Everything - Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.

"Where Have You Gone, Rahm Emanuel?"

Looks like Rahm Emanuel's days in the Obama White House are now officially numbered.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/7837686/Rahm-Emanuel-expected-to-quit-White-House.html

Though likewise from Chicago, Emanuel was never considered part of Obama's "inner circle," such as fellow Chicago-land denizens David Axelrod and Valerie Jarret. He was hired for his familiarity with Washington, his previous White House experience, (as one of Bill Clinton's closest advisors), and his ability to "get things done."

As chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006, for example, he was credited with helping wrest control of the House of Representatives away from the Republicans. By fielding candidates in conservative-leaning districts who were right of the mainstream Democrat party - later known as "Blue Dog" Democrats - by capitalizing on voter fatigue with Republican Party scandals and fiscal irresponsibility, and by riding the wave of voter frustration with President Bush and the War in Iraq, Emanuel helped take back the House for the Democrats, and set the stage for Barack Obama's election as President, two years later.

But in his success lay the seeds of his undoing.

The "Blue Dogs," by their very nature, had a tendency to buck the party establishment, especially Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. During the Health Care Debate, Pelosi even suggested that the Blue Dogs should "Take One for the Team."
 http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Pelosi-tells-vulnerable-Dems-to-take-one-for-the-team-on-Obamacare-85778682.html

And in the end, the "Stupak Coalition" notwithstanding, that's exactly what they did. Of 253 House Democrats, only 34 - many of these in vulnerable seats - voted against the Health Care Bill. 219 voted for it.

All 176 House Republicans voted against.

The lesson here? There ARE no "moderate" or conservative Democrats anymore. Call them "Blue Dogs," "Yellow Dogs," or "Whatever Dogs," when it gets down to brass tacks, they are all Democrats -FIRST, LAST, and ALWAYS. As such, in the end they will all vote in lock-step with whatever their party masters tell them to.

However, Nancy Pelosi has a long memory, and she blames Emanuel for much of the grief his "Blue Dogs" have caused her as Speaker.

Couple that with the inherent ideological clash between Emanuel's more "pragmatic" style, and the "idealism" of Obama's inner circle, not to mention Emanuel's stated desire to spend more time with his kids, and his early departure from the Obama Administration was somewhat pre-ordained.

"Never let a crisis go to waste," he'd famously said, shortly after Obama was sworn into office.

With the economy still in tatters, with trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, with 10% unemployment as the "New Normal" and no end to the recession in sight, with thousands of gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico every day, with Islamic extremists relentlessly and continually trying to attack us, and with Iran on the verge of having nukes, whenever his departure may be, Rahm Emanuel can look back on this latest time in the White House and say, "Mission Accomplished."

To which The Flying Curmudgeon says, "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

TFC

"Tomato, Tomahto, McCaffrey, McChrystal - Let's Call the Whole Thing Off"

"You say 'Tomato,' I say 'Tomahto,'
You say 'McCaffrey,' I say 'McChrystal,' 
'Tomato,' 'Tomahto,' 'McCaffrey,' 'McChrystal,'
Let's call the whole thing off."

Okay, that's not REALLY how the song goes.

But last week's brouhaha involving Gen. Stanley McCrystal reminded The Flying Curmudgeon about another dustup between a President and another Irish-American, U.S. Army general officer, the last time there was a Democrat in the White House.

One day back in 1993 - shortly after William Jefferson Clinton was sworn in as the nation's 42nd president - the Director of Strategic Plans and Policy, and Assistant to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, (Gen. Colin Powell, Chairman), one Lt.Gen. Barry McCaffrey was strolling along the South Lawn of the White House, in uniform, when a female member of President Clinton's transition team approached.

As a West Point graduate, (Class of 1964), and a highly decorated officer and gentleman, when McCaffrey greeted the young woman in the customary fashion, she is said to have replied, "I don't talk to the military."
http://books.google.com/books?id=AMNQ_JDo5t4C&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=barry+mccaffrey+female+clinton+staffer&source=bl&ots=Vkc1zn8XDZ&sig=uqPO8Ciz_COik5ctnGvuNb859Qk&hl=en&ei=lbsmTLSsB4Oclgem8qnWAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CC4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false

This "alleged" incident came on the heels of two other "alleged" Clinton White House imbroglios, one involving Chelsea Clinton's refusal to ride to school with one of the junior officers assigned to the Top Secret, White House basement communications center, when her regular Secret Service driver was unavailable, and the other, the "alleged" attempt by Hillary Clinton to ban military uniforms in the White House. In the first incident, the young Chelsea reportedly rebuffed the young Navy lieutenant with a terse, "We don't like the military in my house." (Gee, where could she possibly have learned something like that?). In the second, in keeping with their general disdain for all things military, Hillary Clinton, again "allegedly," floated the idea of banning military uniforms in the White House. After a predictable back-lash to this monumentally stupid idea, the Clintons denied ever having floated that particular trial balloon in the first place.

In the interest of fairness, a number of left-wing media outlet's have sought to debunk these claims. Among them, the following link is from a slate.com article that attempts to do just that. http://www.slate.com/id/2162672

(Aside: The Flying Curmudgeon cannot speak to Hillary's "alleged" attempt to ban uniforms at the White House. He'll have to let others address that. However, back in 1998, when TFC was still a member of the U.S. Navy Reserves, he attended a Navy school in San Diego, during which one of his fellow classmates confirmed that one of his close friends had been the Navy lieutenant in question, and confirmed the basic gist of the story. Though it's been twelve years, TFC seems to recall that these two officers had served together at the Naval Weapons Station in Dahlgren, Virginia.

To be clear, The Flying Curmudgeon HAS NO INDEPENDENT INFORMATION to corroborate this "alleged" incident. Nevertheless, this classmate from the Navy school TFC attended in 1998 - ironically, during the same time that the Clinton impeachment hearings were being held - was emphatic in the story's telling, and at the time, your humble correspondent had no reason to doubt its veracity. And, should it be necessary, the class roster should be easy enough to obtain, with a list of active and reserve assignments. A cross check of officers assigned to the White House communications center during the period in question, the Naval Weapons Station, Dahlgren, Virginia, and the class roster from FITCPAC, San Diego, California, during Nov/Dec 1998, should produce the necessary name(s) verification.

BTW, another classmate at the time was the chief legislative aide to a senior Republican U.S. senator who has since retired, and should be able to vouch for conversations with your humble correspondent re: this issue, as well as other issues pertaining to his capacity as this Senator's aide, should it be necessary.

The reader will have to take all this for what it's worth.)

Getting back to the topic at hand, in the wake of the above "alleged" incidents, Clinton's closest advisors, including then-Chief of Staff Mack Mclarty, Clinton's childhood friend from Hope, Arkansas, James Carville, and George Stephanopolous knew they needed to do something to quell the rapidly growing rift with the military, before it spun out of control.

In those early days of what would become the first of Clinton's two terms, before the famously undisciplined Mclarty was replaced as White House Chief of Staff by former California Congressman Leon Panetta - who brought a much-needed level of "adult supervision" to the Clinton White House - it was considered "quality time" with the President if one could be scheduled to go jogging with the fast-food loving "Bubba."

So, lo and behold, shortly after the "alleged" South-Lawn dissing, who is Bill Clinton seen jogging with in Vancouver, British Colombia, one morning in April of '93, while Clinton was in Canada for his first face-to-face with Russian Premier Boris Yeltsin?

None other than Lt. Gen. Barry McCaffrey, United States Army.

At the time, The Flying Curmudgeon had said to himself, "Gee, wouldn't it have been interesting to have been a bird perched on a tree limb, as these two came jogging by?" The conversation must have gone something like this:

"General, play ball with me, and in six months when the furor dies down in the press, I'll see that you get your fourth star, and a major command."

Well, as anyone who knows anything about the military is aware, one does not get to flag rank without being able to play the political game. And, as rumors were swirling around at the time, the whole reason McCaffrey had been at the White House in the FIRST place was because he didn't get along with Joint Chiefs Chairman, Gen. Colin Powell. So McCaffrey had been sloughed off to the White House, to serve as a "special liaison" from the JCS.

Smelling an opportunity, and, (as it turned out), being a good, life-long Democrat himself, McCaffrey did what he'd been told, and kept his mouth shut about the whole "alleged" affair. Six months later, just as Bill Clinton had predicted, it was announced in the press that Lt.Gen. Barry McCaffrey would be getting his fourth star and command of U.S. Southern Command in Panama. Next came a job as the head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy: Clinton's Drug Czar. At last report, McCaffrey was enjoying a rather lucrative, post-government career as a consultant for NBC, and as a public speaker.

Fast forward seventeen years.

Another Democrat is now president. And another Army, senior flag-officer with an Irish name finds himself in the center of a political storm.

Following an ill-advised interview with the left-wing Entertainment rag, Rolling Stone, the aforementioned Gen. McChrystal has been relieved of his command as the head of all U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. In a ramblingly cynical screed - complete with the usual, obligatory profanities, de rigeur for the magazine which has had, in recent years, less to do with music, and more to do with its publisher, Jann Wenner's, increasingly radical, Far-Left politics - the author, Michael Hastings, shows his gratitude for the exclusive access he was granted by Gen. McChrystal and his staff by writing the following:

The next morning, McChrystal and his team gather to prepare for a speech he is giving at the École Militaire, a French military academy. The general prides himself on being sharper and ballsier than anyone else, but his brashness comes with a price: Although McChrystal has been in charge of the war for only a year, in that short time he has managed to piss off almost everyone with a stake in the conflict. Last fall, during the question-and-answer session following a speech he gave in London, McChrystal dismissed the counterterrorism strategy being advocated by Vice President Joe Biden as "shortsighted," saying it would lead to a state of "Chaos-istan." The remarks earned him a smackdown from the president himself, who summoned the general to a terse private meeting aboard Air Force One. The message to McChrystal seemed clear: Shut the fuck up, and keep a lower profile.

The funny part of the above is the fact that, prior to this meeting, according to McChrystal himself, President Obama had spent exactly 10 minutes with his top general for Afghanistan, in a meeting one of McChrystal's aides characterized as a "photo op."

A few sentences later, Hastings writes:

When Barack Obama entered the Oval Office, he immediately set out to deliver on his most important campaign promise on foreign policy: to refocus the war in Afghanistan on what led us to invade in the first place. "I want the American people to understand," he announced in March 2009. "We have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan." He ordered another 21,000 troops to Kabul, the largest increase since the war began in 2001.

What Hastings FAILS to mention in this attempt to make Obama appear tough is the fact that the 30,000 troops he EVENTUALLY agreed to send were 10,000 fewer than McChrystal had requested, and then, only after months and months of dithering over the decision. Dithering no doubt engaged in, as Obama and his Chicago consiglieres attempted to gauge the potential fall-out from their left-wing base, prior to rendering a decision.

If it weren't so tragic for our nation, and disastrous for those in harm's way, it would almost be funny to watch another Democrat president twist in the wind, as he struggles to reconcile a deep-seated revulsion for - and lack of interest in - foreign affairs and all things military, and his responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief. Michael Dukakis wearing a helmet, and sitting in a tank, anyone?

The whole sorry affair begs the question, just how many U.S. troops died needlessly, while Obama vacillated in making a decision?

Shades of LBJ choosing targets in Vietnam? Hmmm?
"Hey! Hey! LBJ. How many kids did you kill today?"

Perhaps an updated version might go something like this:
"Hey! Hey! Barack Obama. How many caskets d'ya send home to Mama?"

More from Hasting's piece:

In March, McChrystal traveled to Combat Outpost JFM – a small encampment on the outskirts of Kandahar – to confront such accusations from the troops directly. It was a typically bold move by the general. Only two days earlier, he had received an e-mail from Israel Arroyo, a 25-year-old staff sergeant who asked McChrystal to go on a mission with his unit. "I am writing because it was said you don't care about the troops and have made it harder to defend ourselves," Arroyo wrote.

Within hours, McChrystal responded personally: "I'm saddened by the accusation that I don't care about soldiers, as it is something I suspect any soldier takes both personally and professionally – at least I do. But I know perceptions depend upon your perspective at the time, and I respect that every soldier's view is his own." Then he showed up at Arroyo's outpost and went on a foot patrol with the troops – not some bullshit photo-op stroll through a market, but a real live operation in a dangerous war zone.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236

After reading the entire piece, the first thing that popped into TFC's head was, "What the HELL were you guys thinking? Rolling Stone? Are you serious? How could you guys, admittedly some of the "best and the brightest" our country and military has to offer, have been so unbelievably tone-deaf as to agree to letting a guy like Hastings tag along?

They might as well have given an interview to the Village Voice, for crying out loud.

For someone as accomplished and politically astute as McChrystal obviously is, one would have thought he understood the chance he was taking allowing a reporter from such an avowed left-wing publication as Rolling Stone to "embed" with he and his staff. Someone on that staff obviously failed to do his due diligence where Hastings was concerned. Did anyone even bother doing a Google search for any of his previous work?

Apparently not.

What, then, COULD he have been thinking? Was it arrogance? Hubris? A combination of the two?

Then again, as he admitted in the article, McChrystal voted for Obama. Though he doesn't get into his political beliefs aside from the fact that he "pulled the lever" for Obama for President, maybe he is as staunch a Democrat as Gen. McCaffrey, and had designs on a post-government career akin to McCaffrey's, when he finally retired from the Army.

(TFC will make a prediction here. That retirement just got a whole lot closer.)

Maybe this is payback for helping to inflict Obama on the rest of us who DIDN'T vote for him.

Who knows?

The sad part of this story - which was also true of Gen. McCaffrey and Bill Clinton two decades ago - is that regardless his personal politics, Gen. McChrystal served his country with great distinction for thirty years, and the truth remains, the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is not worthy to shine his shoes.

It's an unfortunate confluence of fate and politics - and a strong argument for requiring some kind of American History/Civics test prior to allowing people to vote - that such utterly unqualified men like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, who disdain everything that the uniform of the United States military represents, should ever be allowed to be Commander in Chief.

Every generation or so, we are reminded how dangerous it is when a Democrat is elected President. In the past, we've always been able to recover from the damage they've inflicted before it's too late.

With the unbelievable amount of damage Barack Hussein Obama has managed to inflict on this wonderful country in less than two years - both on the domestic and foreign policy fronts - The Flying Curmudgeon fears that this time, it might be too late.

God save the United States of America.

TFC

Congress Shall Make No Law...

"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."
- the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

Does THIS look like a government that is upholding the First Amendment rights of its citizens?


Can you imagine what would be happening now, if these were MUSLIM evangelists trying to proselytize Christians? Lawsuit city.

How have we come to a place in this country where Sharia law trumps the Constitution of the United States of America?

Wake up, America! Think it can't happen here?

It's already happening.

TFC

The Greatest Generation: VJ Day in Honolulu - 14 August 1945

The Flying Curmudgeon found this great video and had to share it.

From those of us who are living in this wonderful country, and enjoying the fruits of your sacrifice: Thank you.

May we not squander the precious gift of Liberty you have given us.

Enjoy.


VJ Day, Honolulu Hawaii, August 14, 1945 from Richard Sullivan on Vimeo.

The Decline and Fall of Algore

Poor Al Gore. Always a bridesmaid, and never a bride.

After serving for eight years in the shadow of William Jefferson Clinton, (and, of course, having to check for stray bodily fluids, prior to sitting down with the 42nd President inside the "Oval Orifice"), when it came time for his shot at top billing back in 2000, Albert Arnold "Al" Gore Jr. was ultimately unable to seal the deal with the voters.

And so he joined a rather short, ignominious list of former Vice-Presidential, Presidential also-rans who were unable to move up to the top spot:

Henry Wallace (FDR's VP, lost the 1948 general election); Hubert Humphrey (LBJ's VP, lost the 1968 general election): Walter Mondale (Jimmuh Carter's VP, lost the 1984 general election).

For those other, former vice-presidents, as for Al Gore, the knowledge that MOST former VPs who try for the top slot eventually achieve it must have been an especially bitter pill to swallow.

And let's face it, being the Vice-President is not exactly a glamour gig.

The Flying Curmudgeon's memory escapes him, but didn't someone once say that the only thing the vice-presidency was good for was attending state funerals?

As for the current holder of that august position, Vice President Joseph "That's Just Joe" Biden, thanks to some former staffers of the former commanding general for Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, he will forever be known by his new moniker: Vice President "Bite Me."

All of the "Civilian-Control-Over-the-Military" issues aside, in the immortal words of Larry the Cable Guy: "That's funny, right there. I don't care who you are."

Getting back to Algore - one can't help but wonder what would have happened had Dan Blather NOT called Florida early on election night 2000?

As much of the pan-handle of Florida is in the Central Time Zone, at the time of the 2000 election, some political pundits noted that there was a distinct possibility that many of those western Florida voters (read: disproportionately military, and likely REPUBLICAN voters) may have decided NOT to go to the polls, following the esteemed FORMER CBS anchor's calling Florida for Gore.

Imagine that. Coincidence? To coin a phrase, "The Flying Curmudgeon reports - YOU decide."

Also, one has to wonder just how many absentee ballots, (again, read as: deployed military overseas, likely REPUBLICAN votes) were disqualified by the army of democrat lawyers who descended on the state, within hours of Al Gore's challenging the vote count.

Sadly, The Flying Curmudgeon submits had these two things NOT occurred, the likely outcome of the Florida recount wouldn't have even been close. However, just like the mystery surrounding just who WAS behind JFK's assassination, as long as there is a Left and a Right in this country, the controversy surrounding Bush-Gore 2000 will continue into perpetuity.

But contrary to what most Bush haters would have us believe - and still refuse to admit - under every recount, even those commissioned by the likes of The New York Times and The Washington Post, Bush won. The irony is, before the 2000 election the mantra coming from Al Gore's camp was, "Well, George Bush might win the popular vote, but it's the Electoral College that counts."

As history was to show, after the Post-Election Recount, Hanging-Chad Debacle, the mantra quickly became: "Gore got more votes." Unfortunately for Al and the Left in this country, the Supreme Court saw it differently.

They've hated George W. Bush ever since.

In the intervening years, however, Algore has managed to enrich himself to the tune of nearly a billion dollars, by jumping on, and to a large extent, driving the Global Warming bandwagon.

One can purchase a lot of ego-stroking for nearly a billion dollars. But even with all his millions, he still can't seem to close "The Deal."

And now that he and Tipper have decided to go their separate ways - could what is in the link below have had anything to do with it? - with this "alleged," clumsy attempt at receiving some "TLC" during a private massage session hitting the news, perhaps Algore's former boss might be willing to give him some tips on how HE manages to have HIS (ahem) "ego" stroked.

"It's really simple, Al. All ya got to do is, depending on what the definition of IS, is. Ha! Ha! I made a joke, Al. Get it? Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, it's real simple, Al, when the girl starts to move her..." (Clinton stops, and starts to look around.) "Hey Al, you didn't happen to see a cigar lying around here anywhere, did you, Pal? Oh, here it is, lying next to the check I got for my last speaking gig. Boy, you should have seen the jugs on the gal who picked me up at the airport. Now where was I? Ha! Ha!"

You can almost see the look on Al's face, can't you?

(Sigh) That damn Bill Clinton. Some guys have all the luck.

http://my.earthlink.net/article/us?guid=20100624/01c33ed3-c57b-4520-95af-c6f4b0135a8d

TFC

The "Peaceful" Flotilla Activists from the "Peaceful" Religion of Islam?

Here is conclusive video evidence of the evil intent of the Islamic terror...er, "peaceful activists" that were onboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara on the 31st of May, which culminated in a violent clash with Israeli special forces while on its way to Gaza

There is now no doubt this was done with the express intent of provoking an Israeli response, and to thereby foment international condemnation against Israel's understandable act of self-defense.

It is high time for the Obama Administration to quit pussyfooting around and condemn the actions of Turkey, its radical president, its growing ties with Iran and its equally radical president, its growing ties with radical elements of the Muslim world, and to unequivocally declare its support not only for the state of Israel's right to exist, but its right to defend itself from those who would seek to destroy it.

Otherwise, Turkey should be threatened with sanctions, as well as loss of U.S. aid.

The Flying Curmudgeon will NOT be holding his breath in anticipation of this forthcoming Obama Administration statement.

TFC

Memorial Day 2010/Ronald Reagan in 1942's Desperate Journey

Who'da thunk that our beloved, late president, Ronald Reagan, could have beaten Chevy Chase to the comedic punch by some forty years? (cf. - Chase's turn as a bumbling, buck-toothed airplane mechanic in his 1985 comedy Fletch.)
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/3b7bfc0da3/fletch-mechanic-from-fletchfan

Get a load of the hilarious stream of gobbledygook Reagan feeds his Nazi interrogator, from the 1942 film Desperate Journey, when asked about the high-altitude characteristics of his aircraft's engines.

Enjoy.



Coincidentally, this is exactly the kind of misdirection - albeit, without the comedic flare - that The Flying Curmudgeon was taught to employ if ever in a Prisoner-of-War situation, when he went through SERE School (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) at Warner Springs, CA, back in March of '86.

On this Memorial Day, God bless all the brave Americans throughout our history who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could live in Freedom.

TFC

Did You Hear the One About the Prophet Muhammad...?

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/what-did-you-say-about-muhammad/2/Returning from Munich in September 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain waved a piece of paper over his head and declared it was "...peace for our time." Within the month the German army was rolling into the Sudetenland. Less than a year later, Hitler would unleash Blitzkrieg on Poland, plunging Europe into the nightmare of World War II.

After the British Parliament gave its seal of approval to Chamberlain's Munich Agreement - effectively ceding Chechoslovakia to Hitler - soon-to-be Prime Minister Winston Churchill observed, "England has been offered a choice between war and shame. She has chosen shame and will get war."

If history has shown us anything, it's that appeasing tyranny only leads to more tyranny. The opposite is also true. The more tyranny is opposed, the less prevalent it becomes. Just like in the schoolyard, the quickest way to get the playground bully to leave you alone is by punching him in the nose.

Shame on Comedy Central/the creators of South Park, and all who would attempt to appease radical Islam, as well as those who would forcefully impose their ideology on freedom loving people everywhere.

With that in mind, and in the spirit of opposing tyranny in all of its forms: Did you hear the one about the Prophet Muhammad and the two, traveling Jewish salesmen?

It's the Seventh Century and the two merchants are in Mecca on business. Standing in a local bazaar, the two men are surprised when the Prophet Muhammad himself comes riding along on the back of a rather well-endowed dromedary.

The first merchant turns to the other and says, "Oy! Get a load of the schmuck on THAT camel!"

TFC

"Like Sands Through the Hourglass..."

"...What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." - James 4:14

When The Flying Curmudgeon was a child, his father was in the Navy and spent a lot of time away at sea. For a long time, he hardly ever saw his father.

The Flying Curmudgeon always swore that if he ever had a family, he would be home more than his father was. Unfortunately, in his job as an airline pilot, TFC often finds that he is a guest in his own house.

Last year, when his oldest son graduated from high school, this was his class song. Watching him march off with this classmates in his cap and gown, holding onto his diploma, the sound of John Ondrasik's piano and lilting falsetto played in the background. It tore The Flying Curmudgeon up then, and it still tears him up now, whenever he hears it.

"All right, Mr. The Flying Curmudgeon," the loyal reader is no doubt asking. "Just where, exactly, are you going with this post?"

The answer is simple, yet profound: Life is short, too short to spend precious time on unimportant things.

And the time we have with our children and our families is priceless.

In the spirit of this post, as another graduation season is upon us, with the generosity and gracious assistance of Five for Fighting's YouTube channel, The Flying Curmudgeon presents: 100 Years

"I (State Your Name) Do Solemnly Swear That I Will Support and Defend the Constitution..."

“I, (state your name) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” - the United States Uniformed Services Oath of Office

Twenty-six years ago today, The Flying Curmudgeon raised his right hand and swore to defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign AND domestic. Sadly, what is becoming increasingly evident, and to an even greater extent than with William Jefferson Clinton, President Barack Hussein Obama appears to be a domestic enemy of the Constitution of the United States.

On a daily basis and in frighteningly rapid fashion, he is systematically dismantling everything that has made this country great, and the world's last best hope for Freedom, since its founding nearly 234 years ago. With each bow to a foreign leader, and with each apology, it seems clear that this man does not love this country - the country that has afforded him the opportunity to become the leader of the Free World.

As TFC stops to reflect on what has changed since that Spring day in 1984, he is also reminded of the many friends over the years - often, prior to reaching their thirtieth birthdays - who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of this wonderful country, as well as the countless other young Americans throughout this nation's history, who have suffered and died to secure and defend Liberty. The thought of their sacrifice, and the legacy of Freedom that they have bequeathed us makes all that Barack Obama is doing to dishonor that sacrifice all the more tragic.

But how could it have been otherwise?

The product of the peculiar coupling of an angry, East African, post-colonial, Marxist black father, and a socially awkward, 60's Radical, white American mother, (whose own tone-deaf, insensitive father went so far as to name "Stanley"), after being abandoned by these two self-centered "parents," the then pre-teen "Barry Soetoro" was sloughed off to live in Hawaii with his "typically white," pre-Jack Kerouac, beatnik grandparents. A few years before, these two native mid-westerners had moved to Hawaii to "drop out" of main-stream society, long before it would become fashionable to do so.

Once there, while his grandmother worked long hours in a bank, his dead-beat grandfather would introduce young Barry to the person who would ultimately become his mentor: Frank Marshall Davis. Davis, a black nationalist and member of the Communist Party U.S.A., would later become known, not only for his tutelage of the future president, but also for his radical writings, which included works of poetry filled with pedophilic and homo-erotic imagery.

For the racially confused and insecure young man, this culturally and politically-charged "mentoring" would begin a lifelong pattern of associations with an increasingly bizarre cast of radical characters, a pattern which would follow him, ultimately, all the way to the White House.

In his own words, from his first days at Columbia University, he would seek out the Marxist professors and gravitate to the Marxist student groups. Years later, after moving to Chicago, in order to shore up his "street creds" he would eventually make his way to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright's radical Trinity United Church of Christ.

For the next twenty years, he would sit through one hate-filled, America-bashing "sermon" after another. The "Good Reverend's" liturgy was so extreme that another, one-time congregant by the name of Oprah Winfrey would eventually find it necessary to leave, lest she offend her primarily white, middle-aged, middle-of-the-road female audience.

It strains credulity to believe that Obama could have sat there, week in and week out for years, while the man who would eventually marry he and his wife Michelle, and baptize their two daughters spewed his venomous and hate-filled, racist diatribes, and not have heard/been present for any of those particular "messages."

How stupid does he think Americans really are? Can anyone imagine the uproar if it had become known that John McCain had sat in a white supremacist church for twenty years?

In spite of all this, during the 2008 Presidential campaign, only Sean Hannity and Fox News, along with Rush Limbaugh, Neal Boortz, Michael Savage, and a handful of other radio talk show hosts bothered to report on the then-Illinois senator's long association with the radical reverend, as well as his ties to former 60's terrorist Bill Ayers, black separatist Louis Farrakhan, and Palestinian mouth-piece Rashid Khalidi, among others.

It was only after the Rev. Wright story finally had reached a "critical mass" that the "mainstream media," or what used to be known - in a more quaint era - as the "Fourth Estate," finally picked up the story. And then, only to dismiss it all as much ado about nothing.

As Sean Hannity so succinctly puts it, 2008 was the year that mainstream journalism died in this country.

President George Washington once said, "Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your reputation; for its better to be alone than in bad company."

As Barack Obama seems to feel an affinity for our beloved Sixteenth President, or at least seems to want to be identified with the Savior of the Union - what with the slow train ride from Illinois to Washington D.C. prior to his Inaugural, his use of the former president's Bible for his swearing in ceremony, as well as his recent speech at New York's historic Cooper Union - it's too bad our current president doesn't seem to have his fellow Illinoisan's character, humility - or love of country.

Would that he also viewed his role as president, and his concomitant responsibilities thusly:

"I freely acknowledge myself the servant of the people, according to the bond of service -- the United States Constitution; and that, as such, I am responsible to them." - Abraham Lincoln, in a letter to James Conkling, August 26, 1863

If one is known by the company he keeps, what do Barack Obama's many unsavory, radical, America-hating associates say about the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?

Domestic enemy?

What would George and Abe think?

Auld Lang Syne 2009 - A Farewell to Freedom?

(Note: For background on the tradition of the New Year's Day poem, see TheFlyingCurmudgeon post for Monday, 31 December 2007: A New Auld Lang Syne)

0001 - 01 January 2010

Auld Lang Syne 2009 - A Farewell to Freedom?

Auld lang syne, 2009, another year's come, and one's gone.
A year, somewhat bitter, we stop to consider, on this January "One."
As the Bard - yet again, picks up his...pen? And begins this lyrical ode,
With all that's passed, will Liberty last? And what will the new year bode?

'Twas one year exactly, when matter-of-factly, Flight 1549 departed
La Guardia Airport. "Switch to Departure," the Tower instructed.
And while a new frequency's tuned, with a sudden loud banging, a terrible shudder,
And the smell of burnt feathers, like "that," the airplane's a glider.

"We've hit birds," said the captain, calm and collected,
"We're turning back to the airport," he stated.
But both engines were dead, an emergency - dread. Alas, it wasn't to be.
So heavy and slow, toward frigid waters below, Sully guided the A-320.

"We'll be in the Hudson," he told the controllers,
While his co-pilot ran the procedures,
For a loss of two engines. Meanwhile, back in the cabin,
The flight attendants did what they could. Then,

They shouted instructions, "Heads down, stay down!" Over and over,
And did their best to prepare them. While the passengers took cover,
As the aircraft descended, three sobering words were now heard,
"Brace for impact!" A jolt, and a splash - thank God, none was injured.

A short five days later, in the Capital City, awash with pomp and pretension,
A wind just as bitter, blew from the River, while millions more, 'cross the nation,
Along with Sully and crew, saw a man raise his hand, and swear, "...to protect and defend..."
The United States Constitution. Barack Obama, the first "African-American"

President. While the stock market crashed, his Chief-of-Staff, unabashed,
Freed the cat from the bag, "Let not a crisis be wasted."
So the "Messiah" and friends, the march leftward, beginning,
Engaged in an orgy of spending. In less than a year, accumulating

More debt than all prior presidents - combined. A trillion spent here, another spent there,
The numbers just boggle the mind. If Senator Dirksen were here,
What would he say, to this feckless display, a mere four decades hence?
"The country is bankrupt..." We all need to fess up, it's just plain, common sense.

As Pelosi and Reid, the economy, seized, while evil men still plan our destruction,
Obama bows low, to tyrant and foe,  and they laugh at his genuflection.
Like it or not, our enemies plot, nothing short of our complete subjugation,
Will make them cease and desist, their "Global Contingency Operation?"

With euphemisms abounding, "Man-made Disasters" surrounding, we have to be clear,
The War on Terror persists, and though the critic resists, we mustn't give in to our fear.
And like our Forefathers - for Freedom, we all STILL must pledge, one to another,
For the sake of Posterity, "...Our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

"History does not long entrust the care of Freedom to the weak or the timid."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Happy New Year.

The Flying Curmudgeon

"Burying the Lead" May Bury Us

(Disclaimer: To be completely clear on this point, to avoid any confusion, and the entirely understandable accusation of not practicing what he preaches, The Flying Curmudgeon will now clearly state the lead of this post, from the very beginning of said post:

"Burying the lead" in a news story - especially for the sake of political correctness, in a news story dealing with the War on Terror/Radical Islam - may have potentially disastrous consequences for our nation - and for its people.

Now...onto the post.)

Imagine it's December 8th, 1941.

You are downtown in any major metropolitan city in the United States - New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, etc. It doesn't matter. You pass a newsstand and pick up the local paper. Above the fold, in bold, black letters, you read the following:

Nationwide Welders Strike Called - Dust-Up in the Pacific

As you delve into the riveting details of the impending job action, (dateline: Morgantown, West Virginia), half-way through the article, (which, after turning to page 5, you dutifully continued to read), you see the following sentence: "Yesterday's cowardly attack on our fleet at the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, means even more demands will now be placed on these over-worked, under-paid, and under-appreciated men," a union spokesman was quoted as saying.

Or it's the 23rd of November, 1963, and you're walking past a newsstand in Times-Square. You spot a stack of that morning's edition of "The Gray Lady" and see this:

Many Floats to Appear in Parade, Despite Yesterday's Tragedy

Purchasing your own copy, you step away from the newsstand and continue reading.

Completely engrossed in the story, upon turning to page 8 you learn that after speaking with newly sworn President Lyndon B. Johnson, the head of Macys has bravely decided NOT to cancel this year's annual Thansgiving Day gala, on account of the tragic assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas the day before.

Relieved, you continue walking towards Times Square, glance up and sure enough, the News Ticker confirms the good news: "...The Parade Must Go On, Macys Head Says..."

"Phew, that was close. For a minute, there, I was afraid I'd have to tell the kids there'd be no parade this year."

Both of these admittedly absurd examples are illustrations of what is known in the news business as "burying the lead."

The "lead" of a news story is the "Who," "What," "When," "Where," "How," and "Why" of a story. It is, by definition, the main thrust or point of a news story. As such, it is crucial to get to the lead of a story as soon as possible, preferably within the first few sentences.

Therefore, to "bury" the lead of a news story is to relegate the most important part of that story to a less than prominent place within said story.

And as any first-year journalism student can tell you - well, okay, back when The Flying Curmudgeon was a first year journalism student, anyway - "burying the lead" is something "professional" journalists are taught NOT to do.

When the average person picks up a newspaper, he or she will typically skim the headlines, and maybe the first few sentences or paragraphs of a given news story, to see if it's worth the time and energy to continue reading.

If the article's writer uses crisp, engaging prose, provides the pertinent facts early on in the story, (the "lead"), and captures the reader's imagination from the beginning, then the reader is more likely to commit his or her precious time and energy to reading the entire story.

As the reader continues, he or she is then more likely to read the entire newspaper, and in the process, come across the all-important advertising contained within.

If not, then the reader quickly becomes bored and will likely discard the paper - without coming across the ads.

And whether one is talking about the 19th Century's New York Tribune, or today's New York Times, the bottom line in the newspaper business is advertising.

Without advertising, there are no newspapers.

As we begin the second decade of the 21st Century, with the Internet providing an ever-increasing number of cyber-news options - and traditional newspapers failing at an alarming rate, or at the very least, forced to make massive cutbacks - it is even more crucial for those papers that are left to hold onto their remaining readers.

With that in mind, consider the following scenario:

This morning, as is his custom following an overnight hotel stay, The Flying Curmudgeon went down to the lobby to pick up a paper, and then to partake of some nourishment.

Picking up the December 31, 2009 edition of The Wall Street Journal, he then went into the restaurant for some breakfast. Having made his selection from the menu, with coffee cup in hand, he began to peruse the paper.

On the front page, above the fold, below and to the right of the main headline, which read 2009: Banner Year for Stocks, he saw a secondary headline which read U.S. Probes Cleric's Tie to Jetliner Bomb Plot. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126222205417710939.html

"Hmmmh." Intrigued, The Flying Curmudgeon began to read.

In the first sentence, he learned that a certain, American-born, radical Muslim cleric of Yemeni-extraction by the name of Anwar al-Awlaki, had "...surfaced in multiple terror probes..." and was "...emerging as a central part of the Christmas Day airline bomber investigation..."

"So far so good," TFC thought to himself. "But, al-Awlaki, al-Awlaki, where have I heard that name before?"

He continued reading and learned that U.S. investigators had "...uncovered intelligence 'chatter' indicating contacts between "Mr." al-Awlaki...and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a wealthy Nigerian who is accused of trying to down Northwest Airlines Flight 253 with explosives hidden in his underwear."

In what remained of the article on the front page, the authors wrote of the U.S. intelligence community's prior failure to connect "Mr." al-Awlaki, a known associate of Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch, and the aforementioned Nigerian bomber. As the article reached the end of the column, the reader - in this case, your humble correspondent, The Flying Curmudgeon - was instructed to "Please turn to page A5."

As he turned to page A5, TFC was struck with the thought: "I know I've seen or heard the name Anwar al-Awlaki before. But where?"

Continuiing on page A5, lo and behold, there was a picture of "Mr." al-Awlaki, in traditional Muslim dress. He immediately recognized the man in the picture

"He certainly looks familiar, " thought TFC.

Continuiing to read, in the third paragraph on page A5 finally, there it was - the proof he had sought.

Halfway into the article, it's three authors - Evan Perez, Margaret Coker, and Siobhan Gorman - had written, " 'Mr.' Awlaki was in contact with an Army psychiatrist charged in a shooting spree last month at Fort Hood Army base in Texas. "

"That's where I'd heard the name before."

" 'Mr.' Awlaki was in contact with an Army psychiatrist charged...?" The Flying Curmudgeon repeated to himself. "How could this be?" The authors had buried the lead - in a BIG way.

He felt at once vindicated, and at the same time, a bit sickened, as the impact of what he had just read struck TFC like the breakfast omelet he'd just eaten, hitting his stomach.

As hard as it was to believe, the authors had waited until page A5 to reveal the most important part of the story, the fact that "Mr." al-Awlaki, the former imam and spiritual advisor to the (ahem) "alleged" Fort Hood shooter, U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was also linked to the erstwhile 2009 Christmas Day Bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Incredulous, The Flying Curmudgeon immediately turned back to the front page, and took another look at the masthead.

Nope, it clearly read The Wall Street Journal, and NOT The New York Times.

Strange?

Burying the lead for politically correct purposes was de rigeur for the editors of The Gray Lady.

They'd engaged in such shameless, harmful conduct for years.

This sort of thing was NOT what The Flying Curmudgeon had come to expect from the folks at The Wall Street Journal.

A bit saddened, he pressed on anyway.

Turning back to page A5, seven paragraphs later he then read "With his strong English skills, 'Mr.' Awlaki built a substantial following in the U.K. with video and audio recordings of his sermons."

"Strong English skills?" The Flying Curmudgeon thought to himself. "The man was born in the United States, for crying out loud. He's a native speaker of English. Of COURSE he has 'strong English skills.' "

Just when he'd about given in to his dejection, TFC saw it. There was STILL hope in Mudville!

After dancing around the subject for half the story, the authors must have suddenly realized their journalistic faux pas. (Perhaps their editor was out for the holidays?)

In a small box in the middle of the text, they wrote:

"Mr." Awlaki was in contact with an Army psychiatrist charged in the shooting at Fort Hood.

Oh well, better late than never. :(

Happy New Year!

The Flying Curmudgeon

"I deplore...the putrid state into which our newspapers have passed and the malignity, the vulgarity and mendacious spirit of those who write for them...As vehicles of information and a curb on our functionaries, they have rendered themselves useless by forfeiting all title to belief...This has, in a great degree, been produced by the violence and malignity of party spirit." - Thomas Jefferson to Walter Jones, 1814

(Note: Both of the "headlines" used in the opening were actual sub-heads taken from side-bar stories, from actual U.S. newpapers on the aforementioned dates: The Kinsgport (Tennessee) Times, and The Parkersburg (West Virginia) Sentinel, respectively.)

FLY AWAY, LITTLE BIRD

"Fly away, little bird, now fly away home.
Your time here is done - in the sky, you must roam.

Spread your wings and take flight. Above all the pain,
Looking down from on high, none can hurt you again.

Fly away, little bird, though your time here is passed,
For those who have loved you, your memory will last.

On this earth, little bird, you knew heartache and sorrow,
But now, in the sky, there's always tomorrow.

Look there, little bird, look at the clouds, how
They've come out to play. So won't you, right now?

Over there, little bird, there's a dog and a cat,
And a smiling young boy, with a ball and a bat.

Dance and play, little bird, in the sky, bright and fair,
For the things of this world, can't bother you, there.

Fly high, little bird, from there you will see,
That God really does love you - and, so do we.

Be at peace, little bird, and while you are gliding,
Know that one day, in Heaven, we'll all be abiding,

With our Lord - in whose arms - and seeing His face,
You now are at rest - in His Light and His Grace.

For you see, little bird, you've left this world early,
But, for the rest of us, here, the same journey

Awaits. And we'll all, someday, take it,
Cross that Divide, in hope that we make it,

To that very same place, where the Bible has said,
'Where, Oh Death, is your victory, Oh where is your sting?'

For on that day, little bird, we'll join our voices and sing,
To the sound of the Trumpet. First, the Dead will arise,

With the voice of the Archangel, they'll take to the skies.
Then those who are left, we'll all join together,

With Jesus, our Lord. With Jesus, our Savior.
And know this, little bird, on that Glorious Day,

In His mercy - these tears - God SHALL wipe away.
So fly away, little bird, fly. Fly away,

Once Eternity's here, together, we'll stay."

Rest in Peace, Marcus.

M.G.E.

(September 8th, 1983 - August 23rd, 2008)

Memorial Day - 2008: Are We Squandering Their Sacrifice?

"Happy Bloody Christmas!" he said to his comrades, as he dropped the firewood next to the hut.

It was indeed.

Behind him in the snow, Private Jedediah Smith of the Continental Army had left bloody footprints, his bare feet wrapped in filthy rags. Staggering over to the small fire, he sat on the ground - his legs straight out, feet to the flames.

It had been nearly three months since he had owned a pair of shoes. Now, in the bitter cold and snow of Valley Forge, shoes were not the only thing the young soldier and his comrades lacked.

They were low on everything, including food and ammunition. Desertion was on the rise. Just the day before, three men had stood before a firing squad, shot as an example to the rest of the army.

As he rubbed his feet, trying to restore the circulation, Smith had a thought. "Maybe those buggers they shot are the fortunate one's, eh?"

"Aww, shut up, will you? Here, have some firecake."

One of his hut-mates threw the piece of hard "bread" in Smith's direction. He tried to eat the lump of flour and water, but gave up, and threw it in the fire instead.

"No thanks, I'd rather be hungry."

Private Smith was not alone in his misery.

By the time they had moved into their winter quarters along the Schuylkill River, half of General Washington's army was barefoot. Most lacked proper winter coats. Diseases like typhus, dysentery, and pneumonia threatened to kill those that didn't starve.

Out of a total force of 12,000 men, on any given day nearly 4,000 were listed as "Unfit for Duty." But in spite of the hunger, disease, and general privation suffered by those first American soldiers, the winter of 1777-1778 would prove to be the turning point of the American Revolution.

As they left their bloody tracks in the snow, Baron Friedrich Von Steuben, the Prussian officer who had served on the staff of Frederick the Great, whipped the rag-tag army into shape. By the following summer, they were pursuing the British into New York.

The training and discipline soldiers like "Private Smith" received that terrible winter, turned a bunch of farmers into a fighting force that, a short five years later, would defeat the most powerful army in the world.

"Naked and starving as they are, We cannot enough admire, The incomparable Patience and Fidelity of the Soldiery. - George Washington.

Four score and six years later, at a small, Pennsylvania crossroads town less than 100 miles away, two large armies would be locked in an epic battle. That battle would prove to be the turning point in another war. When the slaughter ended three days later, over 50,000 men had become casualties. Of these, neary 8,000 were dead.

The previous Fall, near a place in Maryland called Antietam Creek, America would be sad witness to the bloodiest single day in its history. Before the carnage ended that terrible day, 22,720 Americans would lay on the crimson battlefield - wounded or dying.

At places that became known to History as Miller's Cornfield, Dunker Church, and the Sunken Road, nearly 4,000 Americans died the 17th day of September, 1862.

Though he spoke the words for the men who had fallen at Gettysburg, they most assuredly would apply to all those others who fell, during those four bloody years in our nation's history:

"...The world will little note...what we say here...but it can never forget what they did here...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion...we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain...that this nation, under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

-Abraham Lincoln

Throughout our history, in times of peace and times of war, young men and women have sacrificed their lives, in the service of Freedom. From the Revolution to the Civil War. From the battlefields of France - in two separate wars - to the islands of the Pacific. From the frozen fields of Korea, to the sweltering jungles of Vietnam, the mountains of Afghanistan, the desert sands of Iraq, the blood of America's youth has been shed, so that we could enjoy the blessings of liberty.

As we celebrate Memorial Day 2008, The Flying Curmudgeon wonders if we are honoring that sacrifice, and preserving the legacy so many have died to bequeath us.

"No Taxation without Representation!"

What would those who died at Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill and Yorktown think of the profligate spending of an out-of-control Congress, some 230 years later?

Staring into cannon loaded with grape-shot, as they marched across the killing fields of Gettysburg and Antietam, at Shiloh and Spotsylvania Courthouse, what would those who, mere moments later, would literally be blasted into Eternity, think of the corruption of 21st century elected representatives?

Would they believe in term limits?

The Statler Brothers had a hit, thirty or forty years ago, called Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott?

Though he would go down in history as one of the legendary defenders of the Alamo, before his date with Destiny, Davy Crockett had served as a U.S. congressman from his home state of Tennessee. From 1827-1833, Crockett championed the rights of ordinary people, and throughout his abbreviated career, would be known as a political reformer.

Upon his defeat in 1833, he famously said:

I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not...Since you have chosen to elect a man with a timber toe to succeed me, you may all go to Hell, I will go to Texas.

And so he went.

Maybe Rush Limbaugh's resident musical parodyist, Paul Shanklin, could come up with the song:

"Whatever happened to Davy Crockett...?"

As we reflect on the tens of thousands who have died to secure and sustain liberty over the last 232 years, as Americans we owe it to all of our honored dead, not to squander the legacy of freedom that they bought - at such a terrible price.

In honor of our fallen heroes, during this election year, The Flying Curmudgeon asks all Americans to remember those who have sacrificed so much, and not let their deaths have been in vain.

Let's not sacrifice freedom for a false sense of security. We need to rein in the entitlements and the earmarks.

Let's take back Washington, and return it where it belongs - to the people.

It's time to push for balanced budget legislation again.

Let's end the tyranny of political careerism. As unlikely as they might seem with the current Washington status quo, we need to keep pushing for term limits. Let every representative serve for six years, then go home. Senators could serve for ten.

Every tax-paying American needs to get behind the Fair Tax. Its time to take the purse strings away from the congressmen and their pals on "K" Street.

It's the least we can do for our dead....

and for our children.

God Bless America!

TFC