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A short break from my New York outfit posts because I want to share with you a great GIVEAWAY. 
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Obama: The American Chávez ... J. D. Longstreet

Obama: The American Chávez   ...   J. D. Longstreet
Obama: The American Chávez
The President Who Would Be Dictator
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

*****************

“These last few years we’ve seen an unacceptable abuse of power at home. We’ve paid a heavy price for having a president whose priority is expanding his own power.”    You'd never guess it today, but these words are from a speech by President Obama back in 2007 when he was a candidate for President.   You may read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/03/19/186309/obama-turning-to-executive-power.html#storylink=cpy

Washington -- We've got a problem!

Just last year, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, from the floor of the US Senate said: “The president looks more and more like a king that the Constitution was designed to replace.”

The senator is correct.  Current presidents have entirely too much power.

OK.  So I KNOW the constitution grants presidents the power to issue executive actions and orders.  But it seems to me, The Founders never suspected the American people would elect people of questionable character to such a high office. 

BOY, did we EVER blow THAT ONE!

We have amended the constitution 27 times already.  (The 21st is simply the repeal of a different one -- the 18th, prohibition). A number of other amendments have been offered but have not been submitted to the states for ratification.

Methinks it is time to offer another, a 28th Amendment, to the constitution that will limit the power of the President. The authority of that office is obviously too powerful to be entrusted to modern human beings.
 
The intent of my proposed amendment would be to end the power of the Executive Office to issue executive orders -- especially such orders as would instruct the creation of any rule or regulation that would have the "effect" of law.  

With the Congress split as it is, with democrats holding the Senate and republicans holding the House of  Representatives, it is impossible to get such an amendment through both houses and on to the states. 

But WAIT!  That isn't necessary.  The states, themselves, can call an "Article V Convention."  It must be called by two-thirds of the states, and ratified by three-fourths of the states or by three-fourths of conventions thereof, the method of ratification being determined by Congress at the time of proposal.  SOURCE:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amendments_to_the_United_States_Constitution       

Just because a President is upset that the Congress is not bowing to his every whim, just because Congress is dead-locked, is no reason, in my estimation, for a political coup de tat by a president of either party. 

The current generation of "instant gratification" Americans are dumb as a post about the constitution and how their government is supposed to work under that constitution.  Our government was not designed to rubber stamp a president.  It was designed to deliberate, to debate, to mull, to argue, disagree, to thrash out, and finally, FINALLY, produce legislation that is the least restrictive of the freedom of all Americans.

Look.  We have a staid congress these days compared to those Congresses of yesteryear.   It's been a while since we have had a brawl, or a fist fight, or a physical beat down on the floor of either of the houses of Congress.  But we have had them.

Consider this: "Tension was high and tempers flared during every Congressional session in the years leading up to and including the Civil War period in history. In an 1850 debate about slavery, Thomas Benton, a Democrat from Missouri who opposed slavery, became so angry at his fellow Democrat, Henry Foote of Mississippi that he verbally attacked him on the Senate floor. Foote drew a pistol from his Senate desk and pointed it at Benton. Their colleagues stopped the argument before Foote could pull the trigger. The Senate was adjourned so the members could leave for a "cooling off period" prior to returning the next day.

Foote would later become governor of Mississippi.
SOURCE:  http://thelmac.hubpages.com/hub/Violence-in-the-US-Congress-Fistfights-on-the-Senate-Floor

Here's another example (from the same source) of, uh, shall we say, loss of decorum in the Congress: "In 1798 when Roger Griswold, a Federalist Congressman from Connecticut got into a heated debate with Matthew Lyon, a Vermont Democratic-Republican. Griswold made the mistake of calling Lyon a scoundrel (a word that was considered profanity at the time). Lyon then spit in Griswold's face and there was no stopping the ensuing melee. Neither Griswold or Lyon believed in the proverb, "forgive and forget". A few weeks later, Griswold attacked Lyon on the Senate floor with a cane and then Lyon went after him with a pair of fire tongs.

Lyon was the first Congressman to be charged with an ethics violation due to the spitting episode. The Ethics Committee recommended he be censured but the matter was ultimately dropped."


And WE think gridlock is terrible!  WE plead for bipartisanship when partisanship is NORMAL. We complain when Congress does not pass laws.  Never once do we stop to consider that every law Congress passes deprives some Americans of freedom.

Americans are clambering today for a strong central government which is antithetical to the constitution.  Why?  Because, in my opinion, we have so many immigrants who come from countries with strong central governments. They are, in my opinion,  uncomfortable with personal responsibility, personal and individual liberties, and had rather have a centralized government they can learn to "play" and to "milk" for everything they can get --  while not taking responsibility for anything.

THAT is flat-out un-American!   At least it has been until today.

Our Machiavellian President, with cunning and duplicity, is happy to oblige -- assuming a Hugo Chávez type administration and ruling by fiat, otherwise known as Executive Orders.


This must be stopped.  If it requires a constitutional amendment to stop it, then by all means, let's get on with it. The sooner, the better.

© J. D. Longstreet

Nine


Click to enlarge.

I made it to number nine on Rocksmith's Scale Runner mini-game. It took me 5 1/2 hours of continuous play to get there (in addition to the massive number of hours played over the past 7 weeks). I hobbled my way off to a hot bathtub after making the attempt, lol.

9 (number)

The Japanese consider nine to be unlucky because in Japanese the word for nine sounds similar to the word for "pain" or "distress".

Anecdotal evidence sides with the Japanese on this one, not that I'm complaining! :)

In related news, the economy continues to hobble along as well. I suspect many investors may someday take a bath after their attempts to set new high scores in the S&P 500. Once again, this assumes that the Fed hasn't permanently put a stop to recessions even as our economy remains incredibly weak. Just a theory!

For Progressives and Conservatives It's Simply a One Way Proposition, Their Way Or the Highway...

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




One of the things about progressives that has always intrigued me is their belief that being tethered to the ideology of state controlled and mandated programs is the way to achieve social equality and harmony.

Perhaps it is just me, but somehow giving the government this level of control over ones life means giving up (your)individual control and acknowledging that others, in this case the Leviathan bureaucracy knows better what is good for you (and your family) than you do.

Somehow, and for good cause (IMNHO) this has always bothered the hell out of me. Being the small 'L' libertarian and Objectivist that I've been since 9th grade it was natural to argue in opposition to this restrictive and self immolating philosophy.

Some things never change. Reality often does however and often when you're least expecting it.

Just the other day when having an after dinner brandy while engaged in lively political debate something occurred to me. Actually it hit me like a ton of bricks falling on my head. Not only are many progressives locked into an "ideological" straight jacket, so are most conservatives as well as many libertarians.

Having a philosophy and guiding principles are of course necessary to ones life for many and obvious reasons that most understand. Having an ACTIVE mind, one that is INQUISITIVE and questions everything, including ones own preconceptions is critical to making rational decisions. Or so it seems to me anyway.

So, to the point of this rather to be short post.

This nation, and the political parties and people that make up our government have been so preoccupied with proving their own ideology right they have forgotten how to talk with each other. Pointing fingers at one another and attacking opposing views is certainly something we have learned to do well. I the process we have forgotten how to solve mutual problems affecting us all in a manner that best will strengthen OUR country.

I know this for a fact. Because I, no doubt like some of you, have been guilty of this counter productive and in fact destructive practice.

Isn't it time the political parties of the United States, the individual people who make up these parties, and most importantly the representatives in government that have been elected by the people begin to act like the mature nation it should be?

The rational self interest of our republic, being the representative democracy it is, rests in finding the best and most inclusive compromise possible. A nation of over 320 million people cannot be effectively governed by the singular ideology of any one party.

The nation's future lies in OUR response the these and a myriad o other pressing issues.

Thank you, and good night.






Impossible to Understand Such Bigotry and Racism...

Impossible to Understand Such Bigotry and Racism...
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty
- vs- Tyranny


The following video content is as disturbing as anything could possibly be. Racism and bigotry... are they still alive and and well in America? As pathetically evil as ever it seems as it indeed still exists. You be the judge...



In a land that was founded on the principles of freedom,liberty, and equality it is incomprehensible to any thinking person that the proceeding mentality could exist in the United States of America in the 21st.

More detailed commentary on this subject can be found here. A must read.

Via: Memeorandum

Birthday girl in red...




Hello everyone!
I'm back from my birthday trip to New York and I have for you a few lovely posts. If you followed me on Instagram probably you saw a few sneak peeks, including this outfit that I wore for Hunter boots photoshhot on Sunday. I was asked by the Hunter boots USA to participate in their S/S 2013 campaign  along with other 9 fashion bloggers, 5 from London and 5 from NY(including me) and I couldn't be more happy to say: YES! For years I've been a fan of the brand and working with them was such a great experience! I got to choose the location for this photo-shoot and at the end Bogdan and I took these photos! I always like to add a little special touch when we celebrate something! And now it was my 31 Birthday! This photo-shoot was planned for Saturday( my birthday) but because of the snowy weather everything was reschedule to the next day. I was lady in red at the Brooklyn Bridge :)
More photos for the Hunter boots campaign soon!!!





                                                                             Trench coat: thanks to HunterHere
                                                                             Boots: thanks to HunterHere
                                                                             Bangle bracelet: thanks to CooeeHere
                                                                             Top: vintage
                                                                             Skirt: Asos/ option Here
                                                                             Sunglasses: Foster Grant/ option Here



Pope Francis WILL Impact YOUR Life ... J. D. Longstreet

Pope Francis WILL Impact YOUR Life   ...   J. D. Longstreet
Pope Francis WILL Impact YOUR Life
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

****************

I am waiting for one slip, one false step, one mispronunciation, one SOMETHING for the world's media to turn on Pope Francis and tear him to shreds.

It's coming as surely as night follows day.

But before that happens, I'd like my readers to pause, take a deep breath and consider how Francis' life -- from here to his dying day -- will affect the lives of every single one of us, catholic or not. 

I am not a Catholic, though as one who subscribes to "Old Lutheranism" you can imagine I am not particularly in awe of this pope or any pope for that matter.  But, having said that,  I respect the office as one of the most powerful and influential political and religious positions on earth.  

(I have been queried a number of times about what I mean when I refer to myself as a subscriber to "Old Lutheranism."  When I say I subscribe to Old Lutheranism I mean the old Lutheran Church, which stood on "Sola Scriptura" (Scripture Alone).

Sola scriptura was a foundational doctrinal principle of the Protestant Reformation held by the Reformers ... most importantly (to me, anyway) by Martin Luther, the Great Reformer, himself.

OK.  So what exactly does it mean, this Sola scriptura? 

Well, simply put,  it means the Bible contains all the knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness. Consequently, sola scriptura demands only those doctrines are to be admitted or confessed that are found directly within or indirectly by using valid logical deduction or valid deductive reasoning from scripture ... ALONE.  Read more on sola scriptura at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sola_scriptura   

Martin Luther once said, "A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it".  And, yeah, I agree with Brother Martin.  

Luther also said this:  "The true rule is this: God's Word shall establish articles of faith, and no one else, not even an angel can do so."

In some Evangelical and Baptist denominations, sola scriptura is stated even more strongly: it is self-authenticating, clear to the rational reader, its own interpreter (meaning it interprets itself), and is so complete as to be the final authority of Christian doctrine ... PERIOD. 

When my branch of the Lutheran Church (in the US) left its sola scriptura foundation -- I left the church.)


I have no idea what kind of Pope Francis will turn out to be.  At this point, I suspect NOBODY really knows. 

Even if one does not subscribe to Apostolic Succession, and the infallibility of the Pope, one must still realize Pope Francis has an awesome responsibility to God and to man. 

From what little we know of the man, it would appear he is aware of the unique "burden" he will carry to his death.  One must remember the Pope is the head of the Catholic Church -- AND -- the Bishop of Rome --AND -- he is also the head of the sovereign city-state, Vatican City. (Whew!)

Now, as if that were not enough the Vatican maintains diplomatic relationships with more than 100 nations.  He is the foremost public representative of Catholics. In speaking to the media and in making public announcements, the pope helps shape how Catholicism is perceived by the rest of the world.  (Read more: What Are the Duties & Responsibilities of a Pope? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_6681628_duties-responsibilities-pope_.html#ixzz2NzwxlwzR )

I may not be  Roman Catholic, but I understand the importance religion has played, does play, and will play in the affairs of man on this planet. Even for those who claim to be non-religious, it is inescapable. 

Collectively, man has decreed he needs a god to worship.  That feeling of "incompleteness" without a god is so strong that man will actually create a god to worship from practically anything he can lay his hands upon.

The three things for which a man will most readily lay down his life are: his God, his family, and his country.

So, it is not inconsequential, nor trivial, that when a new pope burst upon the scene, all the eyes of the world turn toward Vatican City enclaved within the ancient city of Rome.  He is the religious leader of well over a billion human beings on earth.

No matter your Christian denomination, no matter your faith, the plain truth is -- what this man does WILL impact your life to one degree or another.

So.  With that in mind, may I be so bold as to suggest that those of us who pray, ask our chosen deity to extend His protection, and His blessings of wisdom and guidance to the man who sits on the papal throne in the Vatican.

After all, the Pope may be a "special" man, but beneath the robe, the alb, the crown, all the vestments of the priest, he remains -- JUST a man.

Frankly, (no play on words here.) knowing no more than I do now of this man Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio), I believe he would tell you exactly the same thing.

© J. D. Longstreet

one room challenge - the reveal

The big day has finally arrived - reveal day! Six weeks, 20 bloggers and one room later, my girls' have a new bedroom and I have a new manicure coming my way (catch up on weeks 1-6 of work on the ORC here).

So in the words of Jennifer Grey in Ferris Bueller, 'let's not ruin this with a lot of talk.' Let's get right to the good stuff.

If you follow me on instagram, then you've been getting little sneak peeks for the past few days. Here is where we started.


And six weeks later, here is where we are today.








Learn more about the silhouettes here.





Learn more about the heart artwork here.


Watercolor by Mai Autumn.




Learn more about the vanity here.




Learn more about the dresser here.




And with that I am spent. Happy but spent.

I want to thank all of you for following along and for your encouraging comments and support. I accept this Oscar on behalf of all the....oh wait, that's a different speech.

If you are new, please come back often as this project has actually triggered several others through out the house (I'm sick, I know). And for you regulars, big hugs and kisses to you.

And a big thanks to my friend Linda for including me. My first two cocktails tonight will be in your honor my dear.

Make sure to check out my fellow ORC ladies to see their beautiful spaces as well. It's like Christmas morning I tell ya.

Now about that cocktail...

If our government does not protect us from ourselves, who will?

If our government does not protect us from ourselves, who will?


New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg literally believes he is his brother's keeper, and in fact the keeper of all the millions of New Yorkers and visitors to the city. He was thus compelled to ban the sale by restaurants and other venues of sugary drinks in doses larger than 16 ounces, citing an ethical mandate for someone to do something to protect people from themselves.

Such feelings are at the root of boundless dictates from governments at all levels, and are frequently the product of folks who believe not only that they know better than we do what is best for us, but also feel led to control our behavior for our own good.

However, New Yorkers may rest marginally easier now that a state Supreme Court Judge has properly ruled that the Bloomberg Ban is "arbitrary and capricious," and is now null and void.

This penchant among the nation's nannies produces varying degrees of damage. Some actions, like the Bloomberg Ban, are relatively harmless, merely restricting the personal liberty our Founders provided for us to pursue happiness.

Others, like the ban on Edison's incandescent light bulbs that have served us economically and dependably for well more than a century, have more serious effects. The newly mandated compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are said to use less energy and last longer than their predecessors, but are far more expensive, do not fit in many fixtures that incandescent bulbs do, and contain mercury, a substance that in emissions from coal burning electricity plants is viewed with great alarm by environmentalists, but is just peachy in CFLs. If you are unfortunate enough to break one of these bulbs, you must declare a minor hazmat emergency and execute a rigorous, time consuming and inconvenient cleanup routine. None of this is deemed nearly as important as the minuscule reduction in electricity use that CFLs provide, however.

Hyped-up environmental fears have spawned legions of regulations and initiatives, among which is the development of green cars that either run on electricity, or hybrids that alternate between conventional gasoline power and electricity. At the heart of this movement is concern over those dastardly carbon emissions produced by burning gasoline and diesel fuel. Electric cars emit no carbon dioxide and hybrids only do so when operating in gasoline mode.

 We are told that if we do not take dramatic action immediately to reduce carbon emissions, the world will heat up and it will be even worse than the sequester. But the degree to which the activities of humans affect the world's temperature is a subject of (excuse the term) hot debate among scientists, and the evidence thus far -- when all the fraudulent and contrived data is omitted -- fails to support the doomsday prediction.

Nevertheless, President Barack Obama thought this was important enough to set a goal of having 1 million green cars on the road by 2015. But like CFLs, green cars are not consumer friendly, and sales in 2012 totaled a mere 50,000, well below what is needed to achieve Mr. Obama's goal. Consumers do not trust the immature technology and do not like their higher sticker prices.

Worse, you aren't told that environmental benefits are far less than we've been led to expect. A report by the National Center for Policy Analysis discusses the problems, noting that while electric cars do not contribute to "global warming," that is true only in the sense that they do not emit carbon dioxide. Building an electric car produces more than twice as much carbon-dioxide as building a conventional car, and because electric vehicles use electricity typically produced with fossil fuels, it indirectly emits about six ounces of carbon dioxide per mile compared with 12 ounces for a conventional car. Buying a green car that costs a lot more, uses an untrusted technology and contributes very little to environmental improvement holds little appeal for most people.

A Cato Institute report quoted former president Ronald Reagan: "Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves," and then suggested that "today’s policymakers would do well to heed Reagan’s words," noting that "Lawmakers at all levels of government have shown increasing contempt for personal responsibility and an increasing tendency to employ the power of the state to influence behavior. Government today pressures us to avoid risks, even risks that many of us knowingly and willingly take. There seems to be a consensus among nanny-statists that, with enough public service announcements, awareness campaigns, and social engineering efforts, Americans will start behaving as the nanny- statists want them to."

Yet, the nannies in both the public and private sectors ignore evidence that Americans prefer to think for themselves, enjoy the personal liberty we were given, and pursue happiness as we decide to, even if there is some risk attached to it.

Don't lie to us about the condition of the environment to gain control or force foolish changes to how we live, or force us to eat better or act differently for our own good. Just go away and leave us alone.

Mourning the Passing of the USA ... J. D. Longstreet

Mourning the Passing of the USA   ...   J. D. Longstreet
Mourning the Passing of the USA
The Darkened City On A Hill
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

*******************
"This is a president (B. H. Obama) who has presided over an imploding economy, a ballooning deficit, a deteriorating international situation, an out-of-control Department of Justice, a diminished military, political and racial divisions that are tearing the nation apart, the specter of restrictions on freedom of expression, the appointment of indisputable incompetents and highly dubious characters to sensitive positions of authority (read: Kew, Hagel, Brennan and Kerry, who are only the most recent), and a de facto alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood whose self-admitted project is the destruction of the United States and whose installment in power in Egypt, as Barry Rubin definitively shows, “was a conscious and deliberate strategy of the Obama administration, developed before the ‘Arab Spring’ began.” Indeed, this is a president who traffics in blatant lies, cover-ups and misdirections at the cost of American interests and consequently merits being suspected of nefarious designs."  SOURCEhttp://frontpagemag.com/2013/david-solway/the-end-of-the-republic/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=60c711b9d6-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag

"The Republic" is dying, dear reader, and I have no clue what to do about it.

America's closest friends can see it, too, and they, too are frustrated by the obvious attempts to destroy America and the lack of interest in her citizens to save their country.

David Solway, the author of "The End of the Republic" from which the opening remarks of this article were taken, issues this warning within the same article:  "I say this to my American readers: One way or another, your trophy president is going to bring down your country. All the evidence points to the likelihood that he is not only an enemy of the United States of America, but its most formidable enemy in the world today. As I wrote in 2009, “I do not fear Abbas, Zelaya, Putin, Chavez or the rest of that disreputable bunch. I am alarmed when I consider Ahmadinejad and Khamenei. But I am scared to death of Obama.” You should be too."  SOURCE:  http://frontpagemag.com/2013/david-solway/the-end-of-the-republic/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=60c711b9d6-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag

Much blame is being laid at the feet of the "low information voter" for returning Obama to the Oval Office last November.  I must tell you, I totally agree with that, though I do not think it was the problem entire, only an extremely important part of the Obama/Democratic Party strategy to win.

One of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, said this:  "This will be the best security for maintaining our liberties. A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins."

Thomas Jefferson another Founding Father of the USA said:  “No nation is permitted to live in ignorance with impunity”

 Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh in an article entitled:  "The End of an Empire" published one day after the most important election in the history of the world, wrote the following words:  "Our Constitutional Republic died a peaceful death on November 6, 2012. Having reached the point of no return in a comatose state after years of progressive and illegal immigration assaults, the fabric of conservative society is now completely unraveled and Uncle Sam’s America is no more.

The United States of America is now relegated to the dust bin of history as a “has been” empire. The Shining City on the Hill, the hope of so many millions since July 4, 1776, no longer exists. What rises from the ashes is a country that few of us will recognize, like, or learn to accept submissively.

After 236 years of existence, a new country emerges today, run by secular progressives who rejected our Constitution, what we stand for, and who we are as a nation. The Supreme Court will be forever altered after its last conservative members will be replaced by the liberal academics who call themselves “progressives.” The rule of law will be implemented by Executive Orders, making Congress irrelevant.

The communist motto “Forward” that resonated with so many ignorant Americans will plunge us into many years of darkness from which we will never be able to recover. We have proven our Founding Fathers right, they did give us a Constitutional Republic and we were unable to maintain it."
  SOURCE: http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/50871 

It has been four months since that fateful election and I now think I have some inkling as to how the people of France felt when the Nazi's marched beneath the Arc de Triomphe at Place de l'Étoile and down the Champs-Elysees.   In movies houses, as a lad, I watched the news reels of the grief-stricken French, their shoulders slumped, their eyes wet with tears, and anguish written large upon their faces as the triumphant barbarian brigades of "supermen" smashed their freedom with the "clump" of each Nazi jack boot upon the avenue built to celebrate French victory.

Eventually, though, it was America, and her allies, shedding the blood of their people on French soil to re-purchase France's freedom.

I can only wonder -- who will ride to America's rescue?  Who? 

No one.  That's who. 

If America is to be rescued, Americans will have to do it themselves.

In closing her article Dr. Paugh says:  "I mourn today the loss of my adopted country. I have fought hard over the last four years to prevent its overt and accelerated destruction but the darker forces stronger than many of us have overcome concerted efforts by millions of Americans to maintain the Republic. Mediocrity, sloth, godlessness, dependence, cowardice, using the law selectively or ignoring it, and hopeless corruption will define the new country. Only God can save us now with his mercy and grace."    SOURCE:  http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/50871          

Those Americans who actually pay attention to their government, understand that the last flicker of hope for saving America was outed on November 6th, 2012.  The last, best, hope for freedom-loving people of earth is gone.  Those of you struggling for freedom around the world -- understand: We can not save you.  We could not even save ourselves.

Today we are left with only the stench of a decomposing republic.  There will be no resurrection.  We had best get used to the idea that the free America we knew is dead and gone FOREVER. And we must accept that where one nation existed before, there  are now TWO nations existing within the same space -- and -- like matter and anti-matter they cannot exist in the same space simultaneously.  There is an explosion coming.

The precursor to the coming cataclysm was the so-called Great Recession.  It was the precursor ONLY --  NOT the cataclysm itself. 

There is nothing so promising as a light at the end of our current tunnel.   NOTHING! But -- it is said that one must hit bottom before one is able to climb back to the top.  I feel compelled to tell you -- the bottom is in sight.

Only a few million Americans will have the gumption, fortitude, determination, and pure grit to climb out of the hole, and create a new and a FREE, nation where once stood proud America.

History is replete with stories of governments that defy their people, their laws, and most importantly -- the laws of God.  Every single one has fallen.  And yet man's arrogance overrules his innate common sense and the cycle begins over and over again to end -- every time -- in the same disaster. 

My beloved America has now fallen -- and quickly.  Hardly out of her infancy, she adopted the terminal illness, that killer of nations, "progressivism" (Its real name is  SOCIALISM) and-- predictably -- it killed her.

Revolutionary firebrand Patrick Henry said: "Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.”
 
And finally, JFK once said:  "A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today - and in fact we have forgotten.”

Well, SOME of us have not forgotten.  As we view the "event horizon" in our metaphorical rear view mirror, it is critical that we understand that it falls to us to carry that memory into the formation of a new nation AFTER the coming cataclysm.

May God hasten the day when freedom reigns supreme once again for those who will accept nothing less than a government, which listens to -- and governs by -- the voice of its people through the original founding documents of the old nation formerly known as the USA.

© J. D. Longstreet