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by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

It was inevitable.

Sooner or later the mounting scandal allegations, combined with the NSA surveillance program, would take their toll on the administration of President Obama. With his approval ratings in almost free fall it is apparent this has happened.

Ultimately the President is held to account and deemed responsible for the inner workings of the government the people of the USA entrusted him to LEAD.

CNN - President Barack Obama's approval rating dropped eight percentage points over the past month, to 45%, the president's lowest rating in more than a year and a half, according to a new national poll.

The CNN/ORC International survey released Monday morning comes as the White House has been reacting to controversies over a massive U.S. government surveillance program; the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of tea party and other conservative groups who applied for tax-exempt status; the administration's handling of last September's attack in Benghazi that left the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans dead; and the Justice Department's secret collection of journalists' phone records as part of a government investigation into classified leaks.


The poll indicates that for the first time in Obama’s presidency, half of the public says they don't believe he is honest and trustworthy...

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The president's approval rating stands at 45%, down from 53% in mid-May. And 54% say they disapprove of how Obama's handling his job, up nine points from last month. It's the first time in CNN polling since November 2011 that a majority of Americans have had a negative view of the president.

"The drop in Obama's support is fueled by a dramatic 17-point decline over the past month among people under 30, who, along with black Americans, had been the most loyal part of the Obama coalition," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

The president also dropped 10 points among independent voters, from 47% last month to 37% now, with Obama's disapproval among independents jumping 12 points to 61%.

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Six in 10 disapprove of how Obama is handling government surveillance of U.S. citizens, which is higher than the 52% who disapproved of George W. Bush on the same issue in 2006, when government surveillance was also in the headlines.

Obama's approval rating on terrorism, although still above 50%, has taken a 13-point hit since mid-May. By contrast, his approval rating on domestic issues such as the economy, immigration and the deficit only dropped by two to four points, within the poll's sampling error.

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The number of Americans who think he is honest has dropped nine points over the past month, to 49%. Fifty-seven percent of those questioned say they disagree with the president's views on the size and power of the federal government, and 53% say he cannot manage the government effectively. Fifty-two percent say the president is a strong and decisive leader. That's still a majority, but it's down six points from last month.

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Forty-three percent of the public says that the Obama administration has gone too far in restricting civil liberties to fight terrorism, with 38% saying the administration has been about right and 17% saying it has not gone far enough.

"That's roughly the same reaction that the public had to the Bush administration in 2006 when the details of a similar program to gather phone records were made public," says Holland. {Read More}

Indeed the President's luster seems to be dulling, fast.

Note also the Canter interview. The proverbial pot calling the kettle black.

Via: Memeorandum

UPDATE:

CNN - ... Even more surprising: The overall decline in his approval rating was partially fueled by a plunge in support from younger Americans, a huge base of Obama's support.

Last month, nearly two-thirds of those in the 18-29 age group gave the president a thumbs up. His approval rating among that bracket fell 17 points in Monday's poll and now stands at 48%.

The CNN/ORC International survey was conducted last Tuesday through Thursday.

It comes as the White House has been dealing with controversies over a government surveillance program; IRS targeting of tea party and other conservative groups; continuing fallout over the deadly terror attack on the diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya; and the Justice Department's secret collection of journalists phone records as part of a government investigation into classified leaks.

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"Today, there are only minor differences between older and younger Americans on that measure, but a month ago, two-thirds of younger Americans considered Obama honest -- at least 10 points higher than any other age category. So maybe one reason why Obama fell so far with younger Americans is that he had farther to fall," he said. {Read the Full Story}

Via: Memeorandum

A reward of $8,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of a suspect or suspects in the brutal and fatal golf club beating of a Delevan snapping turtle.

Arizona's Proposition 200 (2004) requiring voters to proof citizenship when registering to vote over exceeded federal law, Supreme Court decided on a vote of 7-2.

Have you ever been so tired that you have trouble forming a full sentence? That would be me.

I told y'all about the 50th anniversary party we were set to have at our house on Saturday but while I got ready for that last week I also had a surprise 4-day hospital stay (the hubs and he's OK now), an unexpected tree removal, out-of-the-blue plumbing problems and a sudden downpour.

But the Sister Sledge in me held on and I survived. And more importantly, 60 people had a great time. If you follow me on Instagram you got a few sneak peaks, but I'll do a proper party post after I sort thru the tornado that is my house and see if I got any good pictures.


Until then here is the welcome wreath that greeted guests at the front gate.

So what did I miss last week? Anything exciting happen? Share, share!

Obama's Syrian Mistake
Obama And al Qaeda Team Up In Syria!
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
*************

If I was a cynical person, which, of course, I'm not, I'd probably say something like:  "Boy, America's Syrian Adventure will sure divert the Media's attention away from some of Obama's problems here at home, right?"  But, see, I'm not at all cynical, so I didn't say that, now did I?

Having said all the above, I must, in all honesty, admit that I DO have a, uh, sneering disbelief in the selflessness of, uh, certain politicians on the national and international scene -- and -- some who stand astride both.  But I shall put forth my usual monumental effort toward refraining from expressing contempt or ridicule for those poor dolts as we investigate and comment on their most recent -- totally idiotic machinations -- as they pertain to another Middle Eastern hellhole/dung heap referred to simply as -- SYRIA.

I very nearly titled this piece:  "Obama Takes sides in Islamic struggle dating from the Seventh Century"  But then again, most Americans, ignorant of history as we are, would have absolutely no idea what the heck I was talking about. But make no mistake -- that is the way most of Islam will see Obama's decision to drag America into the Syrian civil war.

I must begin by asking a simple question:  What -- exactly -- IS America's (the country's) interest in Syria?  Anyone?

The silence is ear-splitting.

If there is none, then why are we about to spend more of America's treasure and most likely -- blood -- in another fight in which there are no good guys?

Look.  I don't mind a good fight when there is a reason, such as a bone fide American interest.  But, for the life of me, I don't see America's interest in the brew-hah-hah that is Syria today.

Actually, watching America's enemies eviscerate each other to learn which side can either maintain (or establish) the most vicious dictatorship over their fellow Islamic citizens is far more satisfying than joining the brawl -- at our own expense, I might add,  with zero chance of an out come that will be advantageous to any degree for America.

On the other hand: could this be nothing more that a micturating contest between Obama and Putin?  If so, my money is on Putin!  Somehow, I don't see our "Hamlet in the Rose Garden" participating in such manly pass times.

The all out riot that is Syria today is a proxy war for certain. Problem is, who the heck is America's proxy?  There is one, and believe me, Americans are not going to like it when it is revealed! 

There's Russia, Iran, Assad's Syria, and now America acting through regular and irregular troops on the ground. 

Now that Obama has agreed to supply the rebels with arms (Like we weren't already doing that!  See: "Benghazi") the US will be arming AL-Qaida forces with arms that, no doubt, at some future date will be turned against Americans.  If you can see the sense in this maneuver you are way better at ciphering than this humble scribe.

I sometimes think America's famously short memory is exceed in its "shortness" only by the collective memories of its leaders.

Does anyone remember the debacle of Afghanistan in which the US supplied weapons to a group known as the Taliban only to have those weapons turned against America's troops a few years later?  Normally one learns from such mistakes.   Not, however, the good ole US of A.

The only friend America has in the region, Israel, shares a border with Syria.  That is a problem.  Israel has, unarguably, one of the best militaries in the world.  They also have one of the best intelligence services on the planet. Being where they are -- geographically -- and knowing what they know, even Israel is tip-toeing around the Syrian mess.

I can't help but believe that Obama is being pressured by the soon-to-be new UN Ambassador, Samantha Power, to act under the UN's "R2P" or "Responsibility to Protect" policy.

"The RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT ("RtoP" or "R2P") is a new international security and human rights norm to address the international community’s failure to prevent and stop genocides, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity."  SOURCE:  http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/ 

If the US subscribes to R2P, it seems to me, it virtually guarantees America will be continuously at war for as far into the future as the eye can see.

R2P is just another of those leftist warm and fuzzy policies that feels good, and looks good on paper, but in reality only adds more paving stones on that infamous road to hell.

A few RINO Senators are demanding a NO-FLY ZONE be established by America over certain parts of Syria.  Have they forgotten the Russians have supplied Assad with their very efficient S-300 surface to air missiles?  Are those same senators willing to accept the consequences when an S-300 knocks one of the American aircraft out of the air killing a pilot, or worse -- having the pilot survive, be captured on the ground and beaten or tortured to death with his body dragged though the streets of Damascus by a mob shouting "God is Great!"?
 
Again I ask -- for what?

Too late.  We're in it now. No.  I mean we ARE REALLY IN IT THIS TIME!

The UK's Independent recently said this:  "Washington’s decision to arm Syria’s Sunni Muslim rebels has plunged America into the great Sunni-Shia conflict of the Islamic Middle East, entering a struggle that now dwarfs the Arab revolutions which overthrew dictatorships across the region.

For the first time, all of America’s ‘friends’ in the region are Sunni Muslims and all of its enemies are Shiites. Breaking all President Barack Obama’s rules of disengagement, the US is now fully engaged on the side of armed groups which include the most extreme Sunni Islamist movements in the Middle East."  (Emphasis mine) SOURCE:  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-to-send-4000-troops-to-aid-president-assad-forces-in-syria-8660358.html 

The same article in The Independent makes this hair curling statement:  "The very Sunni-Wahabi Islamists who killed thousands of Americans on 11th September, 2011 – who are America’s greatest enemies as well as Russia’s – are going to be proxy allies of the Obama administration."  (Emphasis mine) SOURCE:  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-to-send-4000-troops-to-aid-president-assad-forces-in-syria-8660358.html

I'm just happy our President is deeply concerned over our involvement in Syria and spending every waking moment as Commander-in-Chief pondering how to prosecute America's part of the war and not gallivanting off on some jet-setting playboy vacation to the Dark Continent.
Uh, wait ...

© J. D. Longstreet 

My last outfit in New York is the one that I wore at the BCBG Max Azria Showroom. I wanted a mix of casual pieces with some inserts of electric accessories. So, I paired these Rag and Bone jeans with this beautiful embroidered blouse from Paul and Joe and Zara silver pointed shoes that seems to work great with every single color or pattern. Volia!





                                                                            Blouse: Paul and Joe/ I also love this one Here
                                                                            Jenas: Rag and Bone/ Here
                                                                            Pointed- Toe shoes: Zara
                                                                            Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim/ Here
                                                                            Sunglasses: Foster Grant/ option Here 

Click to enlarge.

I finally pulled into first place on the Playstation 3's version of the Rocksmith Scale Runner mini-game.

Note the "wide" margin of just 3,200 points out of 162,498,000 points. Hey, it sucks to be in second place right now. Not my problem! ;)

In all seriousness, it is not a coincidence that the margin is so small. I played for many, many hours today. I felt no great desire to pad my score once I reached my goal. I could have added roughly 100k had I improved just one of the 11 scales by just one note. It was certainly doable. What's the point though? I expect to improve my score in the months ahead anyway. I don't think I've peaked yet.

I've only hit 274 notes in a row twice so far. Fortunately, both were in the same game today (on two different scales). It made getting into #1 a bit easier. It still took most of the day to get there though. 8 hours of play? This marks the most I've ever played this game in one day. I'm definitely ready to face plant.

As if my posting activity wasn't low enough, don't expect much from me for the rest of the summer (unless the economy implodes again). I'll be spending more time outside. I should post my weight charts but I'm just not motivated enough I guess. I'm not even tracking my weight on a daily basis any longer (for those interested, I think the seasonal effects are finally working in my favor now).

Climbing an extra 20 flights (or more) every day has definitely become a permanent habit. It's not even a question of motivation. It's kind of like brushing my teeth. For what it is worth, I managed to climb 20 flights on the stair climber in just 2 minutes and 57 seconds on the 8th of June. I don't know what my previous record was, but that definitely blew it out. Hiking season here I come! :)

See Also:
Two
Four
Five
Nine

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

After Hurricane Sandy

There are lots of reasons to like New Jersey Governor Christie. The following is just one of many...

THE HILL - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) raised eyebrows among Republicans last year, when he heartily embraced President Obama in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which hit shore just days before the presidential election.

On Friday, Christie doubled down on his bipartisan outreach, appearing with former President Bill Clinton at a seminar in Chicago for the Clinton Global Initiative.

The appearance came while other top Republicans were gathering in Washington, D.C., for Ralph Reed's annual Faith and Freedom Coalition conference, an illustration of the basic tension facing the New Jersey governor: appeasing both voters in his traditionally Democratic home state while minding the dyed-in-the-wool conservatives who dominate the Republican nominating process.

Clinton and Christie recognized the high-wire political act, with the former president joking that the governor was "consorting with a leper."

But the duo heaped praise on one another, with Clinton applauding the way Christie navigated New Jersey through the aftermath of the storm.

"We need to redefine leadership beyond how you just respond to an emergency to how you keep emergencies from happening, and he's done a good job," Clinton said.

Clinton told Christie that while he got "praise and damnation for ignoring the political differences you had and still have with the president," his efforts to prepare his state for future disasters should win bipartisan support.

"We've got to stop waiting for something horrible to happen and then spend ten times as much," Clinton said.

Christie agreed that disaster preparedness and response could unify Americans across party lines. {Read More}

2016?

Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Santorum said Republicans must talk to working-class people, not CEOs. | AP Photo

Ex Senator and failed Republican Presidential candidate jockeying to capture the populist platform for 2016. I was brutal on Santorum the Fundie during the 2012 campaign. Having said this I must be fair and balanced. His recent remarks following are ones many can relate to an agree with.

POLITICO - Rick Santorum ripped Mitt Romney’s campaign Thursday for mishandling President Barack Obama’s “you didn’t build that” gaffe last summer.

The former Pennsylvania senator recalled all the business owners who spoke at the Republican National Convention.

“One after another, they talked about the business they had built. But not a single—not a single —factory worker went out there,” Santorum told a few hundred conservative activists at an “after-hours session” of the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington. “Not a single janitor, waitress or person who worked in that company! We didn’t care about them. You know what? They built that company too! And we should have had them on that stage.”

“One after another, they talked about the business they had built. But not a single—not a single —factory worker went out there,” Santorum told a few hundred conservative activists at an “after-hours session” of the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington. “Not a single janitor, waitress or person who worked in that company! We didn’t care about them. You know what? They built that company too! And we should have had them on that stage.”

Santorum did not mention Romney, whom he challenged in the primaries, by name during a 21-minute speech in a dim ballroom at the Marriott (a company on whose board Romney sits). But there was no doubt who he was talking about.

“When all you do is talk to people who are owners, talk to folks who are Type A’s who want to succeed economically, we’re talking to a very small group of people,” he said. “No wonder they don’t think we care about them. No wonder they don’t think we understand them. Folks, if we’re going to win, you just need to think about who you talk to in your life.”

Trying to carve out a role as a leading populist in the 2016 field, Santorum insisted that Republicans must “talk to the folks who are worried about the next paycheck,” not the CEOs. {Read More}

Perhaps Santorum actually understands why the concerns of the "common man" is important for the republican party to understand if it is to survive. Now, if only he would temper his frothiness a bit with respect to his fundie religious proclivities.

Via: Memeorandum

The US Military Finally Destroyed
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
*******************

It would almost be funny if it were not so serious -- the reports of sexual assaults coming out of the various divisions of the US military today.

I have to ask:  What the heck did they expect???  I mean, of course, the so-called experts who insisted that adding women to combat units within the military and then -- to really set the entire experiment up for failure -- adding homosexuals openly serving in the military to the mix.

A complete blithering, slobbering, idiot could see this coming from a league away. (OK -- a league is THREE miles -- 15,840 feet)

Look.  I'm a veteran.  But today, I am embarrassed to have the Army stickers on my truck! They'll soon come off. I cannot support the organization masquerading today as the US Army. 

Since its founding America has taken great pride in it's military. But no longer.  The pride is lessening as each day passes and Americans become more aware of what has happened to our military, to our soldiers, to our boys.

Consider this from the Daily Beast: " ... male-on-male sexual assault. In the staunchly traditional military culture, it’s an ugly secret, kept hidden by layers of personal shame and official denial. Last year nearly 50,000 male veterans screened positive for “military sexual trauma” at the Department of Veterans Affairs, up from just over 30,000 in 2003. For the victims, the experience is a special kind of hell—a soldier can’t just quit his job to get away from his abusers. But now, as the Pentagon has begun to acknowledge the rampant problem of sexual violence for both genders, men are coming forward in unprecedented numbers, telling their stories and hoping that speaking up will help them, and others, put their lives back together. “We don’t like to think that our men can be victims,” says Kathleen Chard, chief of the posttraumatic-stress unit at the Cincinnati VA. “We don’t want to think that it could happen to us. If a man standing in front of me who is my size, my skill level, who has been raped—what does that mean about me? I can be raped, too.”   SOURCE:  http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/04/03/the-military-s-secret-shame.html

The article in the Daily Beast goes on: "In fact, it is the high victimization rate of female soldiers—women in the armed forces are now more likely to be assaulted by a fellow soldier than killed in combat—that has helped cast light on men assaulting other men. For most of military history, there was neither a system nor language in place to deal with incidents of soldier-on-soldier sexual assault. It wasn’t until 1992 that the Defense Department even acknowledged such incidents as an offense, and initially only female victims were recognized. But last year more than 110 men made confidential reports of sexual assault by other men, nearly three times as many as in 2007."  Source:  http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/04/03/the-military-s-secret-shame.html

My friend, Alan Caruba, said in an article published in January of this year:  "In recent times, two Presidents, Clinton—a draft dodger—and Obama have had no military experience to draw upon. Over the objections of their generals, both introduced policies to include and protect homosexuals in the U.S. military services. Now the doors have been opened to permit women to fight beside men. The military is not a place where one conducts social experiments. It’s a place where men go in harm’s way to protect the nation." SOURCE:  http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com/2013/01/destroying-us-military.html

In an article entitled:  "Destroying The U.S. Military From Within," at cnsnews.com,   Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. writes:  "The Obama administration's announcement that it is going to put women in front-line ground combat positions is but the latest example of a deliberate and systematic wrecking operation it has conducted against the armed forces since 2009." - SOURCE: http://cnsnews.com/blog/frank-j-gaffney-jr/destroying-us-military-within#sthash.MfjXHzm3.dpuf

Gaffney goes on:  "It is impossible as a practical matter to provide for separation of the sexes in frontline positions. That guarantees a loss of privacy and greatly increases the chances of pregnancies and harassment that: profoundly affects the personnel immediately involved; causes degrading of their units' warfighting capabilities; and traumatizes their families or, at a minimum, erodes the essential support for uniformed service that those loved ones provide." - SOURCE: http://cnsnews.com/blog/frank-j-gaffney-jr/destroying-us-military-within#sthash.MfjXHzm3.dpuf

Gaffney continues:  "The disastrous effect on the U.S. military of such wholly avoidable wounds is compounded by such other Obama administration-directed measures as:  The imposition of the radical homosexual agenda on an institution that has, until 2010, by culture as well as by law, prohibited openly gay individuals from serving in its ranks." - SOURCE: http://cnsnews.com/blog/frank-j-gaffney-jr/destroying-us-military-within#sthash.MfjXHzm3.dpuf-

Now take all this and add to it the loss of two wars (The War in Iraq and soon the war in Afghanistan)  and there can be no question that the American military is coming undone -- is coming apart.

The loss of moral support by the civilian public at home, alone, will gut the US military of, perhaps, it's greatest source of strength.

Heretofore, young men were encouraged to join the US Military.  It was famously said: "It will make a man of you!"  That can no longer be said, except in jest.  I suspect that "... looking for a few good men." will be dropped as well.

As the deterioration of the US military continues, I believe the US will, in years to come, be better served by an army of mercenaries than by our regular forces. 

It will take a while, but eventually the ranks will be purged of moral, God-fearing troops from the officer corp down through the lowliest Private. Already, they are being told they are not welcome into today's military. 

Consider this:   On September 16, 2010, Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of personnel matters made a speech regarding the pending repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell". He was reported as saying, "Those serving who oppose the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) agenda are no longer welcome."  SOURCE:  http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/writers/john-mcternan/declaration-of-Gods-holiness.htm

It is not much of a stretch to believe that as God-fearing troops are driven from the military, America will eventually have a military made up of godless, mind-numbed robots of the political left who will, without thinking, carry out the orders given them -- including orders to act against the American civilian population.  America will be left with a military that will have no qualms about acting against the American people.

It should be clear now why our Founding Fathers did not support a standing army for this new country.  Nearly two and a half centuries ago they could see the danger we are about to face with our modern standing army.

I have heard the protestation that the US doesn't need as strong an army as we have had in the past.  We have all the new electronic gadgets, drones, missiles, satellite guided weapons, even computerized artillery to fight our wars.  They go on to say that even the weakest of women can push a button taking out hundreds of the enemy's soldiers at one shot.

That is true, as far as it goes.  But aren't we forgetting that a single EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) artillery shell, or missile, or bomb will instantly throw us back to the time of the American Civil War and have our troops struggling on the battle field, man to man, hand to hand, with nothing but small arms and bayonets, or as sometimes happened during the Civil War, with bare fists, sticks, and clubs.

The danger has always been with the new advanced weapons of war that we would become far too reliant upon them.

I could go on and on with scenario after scenario but the simple truth is this:  We have compromised our military and, by extension, the defense of the country.  And there is no acceptable excuse for it.

We have already begun to pay the price in lost souls, lost lives, lost wars, lost treasure, lost pride, and --- if we aren't very careful -- a lost country.

© J. D. Longstreet

With our failed education system few Americans today are aware that Democrats are the party of Slavery in our history. In fact the former democrat senator Robert Bird was a Grand Wizard for the KKK. The liberal media tries hard to hide the history of the Democrats and the connection of Leftists and liberalism to tyrants and dictators. Here is some additional info on the leftists and Nazis.

1930's Redux?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
****************

Over the past few weeks I have been wondering why none of what's happening today in America seems new, or even surprising.  A short time ago it became clear.  We've experienced it before.  We've seen this movie before. It's pre-1945 Germany -- all over again.

"The U.S. had been moving toward a total police state since about 1913; but in 2012 the final nail in the coffin of democracy and justice was hammered into place with the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act. NDAA allows for the U.S. military to arrest, imprison, and torture American citizen without due process of any kind!

Contemporary America has adopted the identical police state, economic-military imperialist policies and operations that Nazi Germany did--though the enactment of those policies differs to some degree. The sound of Gestapo jackboots is now heard in the land of Jefferson, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt."  SOURCE:  http://www.hermes-press.com/germany1930.htm

Oh, yes.  I expect to get hammered for even broaching this subject.  Any time a conservative points out the obvious -- especially when it has to do with Hitlerian Germany -- we are hammered by the political left. 

Problem is -- there are still a few of us around who remember those days, and the war, and the years after the war when so much more was uncovered about the leftist movement in Germany that produced Nazism and nearly destroyed the world.

In his book:  "Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change," Jonah Goldberg reminds us that the original fascists were really on the left, and that liberals from Woodrow Wilson to FDR to Hillary Clinton have advocated policies and principles remarkably similar to those of Hitler's National Socialism and Mussolini's Fascism.

The sad truth is -- they are doing it again.  This time America is their target and, unfortunately the average American citizen is so ignorant of politics, so ignorant of their own country's history and its founding documents they are allowing a leftist dictatorship to roll-up America as they stand idly by fiddling with their latest electronic gadget totally oblivious to their loss of freedom.

So why speak up now and risk bringing an excrement shower down on our heads?  Because we have a duty to our fellow man to issue a warning.

Those of my generation remember these few words well.  They are burned into our psyche:  

"In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't communist.

They they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionists.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.

Finally, they came for me, but there was no one left to speak up."

Those words were penned by Martin Niemoeller, a Lutheran Pastor who was sent to the Dachau Concentration Camp in 1938.  He paid the price.

We could easily insert the words "Tea Party", "The Press," "Christians," "Conservatives" into the Rev Niemoeller's words above and they would fit, exactly, where we are today in modern America.

In an oped piece for the Washington Times back in 2009, Walter Williams, a professor of economics at George Mason University, said this:  "The path we're embarked upon, in the name of good, is a familiar one. The unspeakable horrors of Nazism, Stalinism and Maoism did not begin in the '30s and '40s with the men usually associated with those names. Those horrors were simply the end result of a long evolution of ideas leading to consolidation of power in central government in the name of "social justice." In Germany, it led to the Enabling Act of 1933: Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Nation. After all, who could be against a remedy to relieve distress? Decent but misguided Germans, who would have cringed at the thought of what Nazi Germany would become, succumbed to Hitler's charisma.

Today's Americans, enticed, perhaps enchanted, by charismatic speeches, are ceding so much power to Washington, and like yesteryear's Germans, are building the Trojan horse for a future tyrant."  SOURCE:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/13/americans-love-government/

Consider this from John Myers:  "It seems the Obama-media and members of Congress have not read a word of history. They seem to have never heard of a democratically elected leader who enslaved Europe and started a war that killed 60 million people while his government, police and justice system turned a blind eye to every excess. All they have to do is a Google search for “Adolf Hitler.” Maybe they don’t do that because it would be a record of subversive inquiries."  SOURCE:  http://personalliberty.com/2013/06/12/warning-obamas-secret-police-know-you-are-reading-this/

I came across an article entitled:  "26 Similarities Between America and Nazi Germany -- Three Forces Destroying the America We Know" By Brannon Howse recently. I'd like you to consider a few of those similarities Mr. Howse points out:

In 1935, under Hitler's rule, prayers ceased to be obligatory in schools. In 1962, The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed school prayer.

Hitler eliminated Christian holidays in the schools first by calling Christmas "Yuletide." Most American public schools now call Christmas vacation a "winter break."

 Hitler took Easter out of schools and instead honored that time of year as the beginning of spring. It has likewise become common for schools in America to refer to time off at Easter as "spring break."

Hitler controlled the church using intimidation and threats. A half-century ago, U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Baines Johnson, promoted a bill that included an amendment to use the Internal Revenue Service to remove the non-profit status of a church that speaks against the election of any specific political candidate.  (We all KNOW what the IRS has recently publicly admitted to doing.)

Hitler enticed thousands of pastors to promote paganism in their congregations. Neopaganism is one of the fastest growing religions in America, doubling every 18 months according to a June 2008 article in The Denver Post.

Hitler was an environmentalist and vegetarian. Marriages performed by the Nazi state frequently included blessings of "Mother Earth" and "Father Sky." Today Americans increasingly accept radical environmentalism, pantheism, and the celebration of Earth Day.

Hitler was fascinated by eastern mysticism. Today an increasing number of American pastors encourage their followers to become "mystic warriors".

Hitler's holocaust killed between 8 and 11 million Jews and non-Jews. Americans have killed an estimated 50 million babies since abortion was legalized through the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973.

By 1938, all private schools were abolished by Hitler and all education placed under Nazi control. There is constant pressure from federal and many state education authorities to require that Christian schools use state-mandated, humanistic textbooks.

Hitler prevented dissenters from using radio to challenge his worldview. Many powerful liberals in America have made clear their intent to reintroduce the "Fairness Doctrine" that would require conservative and religious radio stations to offer equal time to anti-Christian, anti-conservative worldviews.

Pastors who spoke against Hitler's worldview and his murderous regime found themselves on trial and frequently imprisoned for "Abuse of Pulpit." In America, hate-crime legislation has the potential to criminalize Christians and pastors who speak out against the homosexual agenda.

Hitler outlawed the cross and replaced it with the swastika. Today many churches, Christian colleges, and universities have willingly removed the cross from their buildings. Numerous court cases sponsored by the ACLU have required the removal of the cross from public grounds. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the Ten Commandments cannot be posted on public grounds for religious purposes.

Hitler exploited the economic collapse of Germany to take over as dictator and usher in his brand of socialism. America's financial crisis has given liberals in both political parties the opportunity to grow the size of government and implement freedom-robbing socialism at lightning speed.

Hitler was obsessed with globalism, and many of America's most powerful political leaders are willing to subjugate American sovereignty to contemporary globalism.

Many Germans responded to Hitler by retreating into neutrality. Today most Americans prefer to remain neutral on moral issues that they think don't affect them personally. 

On trial after World War II, Hitler's henchmen used the defense that they had not broken any laws. True, they had not defied the laws of Germany since those had been re-written to fit the goals and objectives of Hitler. The Nazi leaders were nevertheless found guilty because the courts at the time recognized a "law above the law." Yet now the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the law of nature and nature's God by claiming that as society evolves, morals evolve, and so the law, too, must evolve.

Calling upon Darwinian evolution, Hitler convinced the German people that purging millions of people was acceptable because of the need to create a pure race; also referred to as eugenics. American students across the board have been educated in Darwinian evolution because the Supreme Court has ruled that creation cannot be taught in our schools-even if both creation and evolution are taught side by side.

Germans accepted socialism to avoid pain. Today's Americans are rejecting capitalism in exchange for government-sponsored "free" healthcare, education, and countless other government handouts.

America is rushing toward government-sponsored, national healthcare. (Obamacare is already the law of the land in America.) We already have a form of this in Medicare and Medicaid. Hitler, too, expanded and centralized Germany's healthcare system. As Melchior Palyi explained, "The ill-famed Dr. Ley, boss of the Nazi labor front, did not fail to see that the social insurance system could be used for Nazi politics as a means of popular demagoguery, as a bastion of bureaucratic power, [and] as an instrument of regimentation."

There is much more in this article and we recommend you read it -- whether you agree with it or not. You will find it here:  http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=4881

I don't know about you, but I experienced an involuntary shudder as I read the similarities above.  It's akin to reliving a terrifying nightmare.

What's even more distressing is watching my fellow Americans happily and energetically promoting and then voluntarily lining up for the FREE hot government showers.

It has been said that the only foes that threaten America are the enemies at home, and these are ignorance, superstition, and incompetence. I would add one more -- apathy.    

Many conservatives are losing hope today that America can survive. Unless there is an act of God, I feel certain America will install another president in the mold of the current occupant of the Oval Office in 2016. I believe that will truly mark the end of days for America.

America rode to the rescue of the world in the 1940's.  But there is no one, no country, remotely interested in riding to America's rescue today.  So, if America is to be rescued, she must rescue herself.

And therein lies the deepest hurt of all.

There is virtually no homogeneity in America these days.  There is precious little similarity, or comparability in kind or nature amongst Americans anymore.  Diversity and multiculturalism took care of that.  We have so little in common with our neighbors and fellow countrymen that we really could not care less what happens to them and -- by extension -- to our country.  Thus our vulnerability. 

It is not enough to ask as the ancient Psalmist did:  "If the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" -- Psalm 11:3.  It seems so inadequate to answer by sounding ONLY the alarm.

But America is not alarmed -- not yet!  Until she is -- and until she is ready to pay the fiddler, her race to self immolation will continue.  

© J. D. Longstreet