Not Til 1909

Coinage honoring kings and tyrants were relics of the Old World, something foreign to these shores. This was a constitutional republic, one that respected laws and not the public servants who administered that law.

Before 1909, not a single coin put out by the U.S. Mint contained the image of an actual person.

In 1909, the first year of the Taft presidency, the Lincoln penny made its appearance. But the wheels had been put in motion for the design years before during the administration of that most "Progressive" of Republican presidents, Theodore Roosevelt. No doubt Teddy, a man who nurtured the lore about his own-self, would have loved the coin to have been of perhaps another president. But these were the days of decorum and avoidance of shame, and so it simply would not have been proper for that sort of presidential deference if not reverence.

Over the years our coins started to lose the images of Liberty and American Indians in various poses, to be replaced by respected presidents and founders. So it's not too surprising to see that the notion that we were a nation of laws and not of men started to become a foreign concept to the children of today -- or even those my own generation. Those of our coins that carried that implication are now essentially out of circulation.

Is the noble concept they implied now also lost to antiquity?

Look how far you have "progressed" America. It's not about coinage and dead presidents any longer. Aren't you proud?



********* UPDATE 10/17/09 ***********

The notorious "mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm, Barach Hussein Obama" School-Children Indoctrination Worship Song was blocked, apparently due to the extreme embarrassment it gave to the President who was simultaneously just overcoming the infamous "I am God's Partner in matters of life and death" that he had been overheard saying.

So here is a new version. If anyone notices that this one is also removed, please inform me. Thanks.

Rot, More Rot, and the Totally Deaf

Pascal just took a call from the leading conservative non-profit.

They thanked him for his membership, and wished him to continue this year.

P asked: "Well, now that we have a completely radical White House, when are you going speak to them in language that is fitting to that reality?"

Voice: "Oh we hear you sir. We have to get the economy moving again so that all these other issues will take care of themselves. Would you....?"

P: "Take care of themselves! Even if by some miracle the economy started chugging along again tomorrow, the "Green" legislation and the healthcare bill alone would torpedo any nascent recovery."

Voice: "Oh we hear you sir. But we need to fund our economists so that they are available to the White House when they...."

P: "And you still believe the White House gives a damn about anything you have to say? I'm not convinced many Republicans even give a damn about you or us. And that's the problem right there. The Democrats and the Left-wing media have been dragging the whole agenda left, and the GOP and your organization meekly follow along in the same direction rather than get angry and force a showdown. The majority of the country is to the right of every one of our institutions, and that includes yours. You know we're angry because we know that we can't play nice with radicals because they view that as license to walk all over us. We are waiting to hear you get angry too. Are you even aware of how angry we are out here?"

V: "Oh yes. We hear it all the time. You know we would like you to renew your membership at $500. We need...."

P: "Your needs will be filled when you start showing some spine. I'm looking for a new organization that is not going to stand still while those in power drag the country down into this all-controlling tyranny. Are you going to force me to start a new organization of my own?"

V: "[Laughs] Yes sir. We would like you to renew...."

P: "[sigh] You're wasting your time."

V: "Thanks for taking my call."

Cut Off His Nose to Spite His Face

Troll says: "I want a public option, because I am tired of getting screwed by health insurance companies."

Holy mackerel.

After the fold in "Self Preservation - pt. 2," I showed how the UN's World Health Organization could rank the USA as 37th in health care: their criteria gave favorable ratings to any social democratic regime who forced workers to pay for the health care of the indolent and destitute. But for quick access to aid when you need it, the USA is second to none in health care -- using the UN's own criteria.

That is, the UN biased ranking system -- undoubtedly hanging a facade that proclaims "better than the Americans" on something the rest of the world's people are victimized saddled with -- smiles favorably upon heathcare as financed along the lines of Karl Marx. How could anyone be surprised? (I can answer that too if asked).

Troll did not disagree. In fact, said troll says he's a working stiff and doesn't favor such handouts.

However, troll "wants a public option" because one must presume he believes he'll get less screwed by Uncle Sam.

Virtually nothing the government provides today that is also available from private sources is better than the private sources. Be it mail services, or schooling, or roads, or medicare without medicare gap insurance. So is he nuts?

Why would he want a public option for himself knowing that however disappointed he is with his current CHOICE of medical insurance provider, he has more choice now -- and probably better coverage -- than he would ever have under "government is your only choice" system?

So I have got to conclude that he so hates his current CHOICE of insurer, he'd rather take a sure-fire worse option as long as everybody else (politicians and family excluded of course) has to suffer too.

Trolls are renowned to be ugly and ill-tempered. So it should be no surprise that our troll would like you to cut off your nose to suit his face. Misery likes company.

Self Preservation - pt. 2

For no apparent reason other than what passes as normal trollicity (to distinguish from troll idiocy), a troll threw out this factoid in the midst of his response to something unrelated.

Why are 37 countries ranked as having better health care than we do?

For those unfamiliar with this factoid, it arose from a study, World Health Report 2000, produced by the World Heath Organization (WHO) of the United Nations.

Of course this is a conclusion favorable to those who wish to use it to push for health care reform insurance destruction in the United States, a factor that ought to promote inquiries as to who helped fund the WHO study.

But that is not the point that is arousing my Pascal fervor today. The instinct that is reflected by the title of this thread -- self preservation -- is driving me. Are you listening troll?

When looking at the study, one finds that five factors went into WHO's calculation:

• Health level, as defined by a measure of life expectancy, which shows how healthy a country's population is. This factor gets a 25 percent weight.
• Responsiveness, which includes factors such as speed of health services, privacy protections, choice of doctors and quality of amenities. This factor gets a 12.5 percent weight.
• Financial fairness, which measures how progressive or regressive the financing of a country's health care system is — that is, whether or not the financial burdens are borne by those who are economically better off. This factor receives a 25 percent weight.
• Health distribution, which measures how equally a nation's health care resources are allocated among the population. This factor receives a 25 percent weight.
• Responsiveness distribution, which measures how equally a nation's health care responsiveness (which we defined above) is spread through society. This factor gets a 12.5 percent weight.

The choices and definitions of the weighting factors clearly have a qualitative bias in them. That means someone, or most likely a select group of someones, chose the factors and decided what weight to assign to them. Of course that has provoked controversy. Yet that also is not my point today.

To advance the cause of self preservation, I am highlighting a single point that was raised by PolitiFact.com:

For instance, judged on responsiveness alone, the United States ranked No. 1 in the world.

What I am suggesting is that if you understand how health care and insurance operates in the United States, and if you make provisions to address what it takes, it means that you can get the quickest and most certain care here -- in the United States -- as it now stands.

That seems to me to inhere the essential aspect of "self-preservation." No third party can currently get between you and your chosen solution. Your healthcare provider is free to say: "the color of your money looks fine to me."

Are there other issues currently in play? Yes. But has self preservation always been your goal? That means you are not now a johnny-come-lately to that realization and are not now demanding others pay for you squandering your earlier opportunities to make proper arrangements. Then one happy circumstance remains true. It is even now true for emergency room care even if you were a foolish youngster. And it even is true if you are an illegal alien. That is, for the most part, you are in the number one place on the planet to get a quick response in your moment of need.

Key word: SELF Preservation.

Oh, and one more observation and a question for my readers below the fold.
MORE....

Government is the Solution

Really?

(hat tip to ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ at Eternity Road)

Tell me how impressed you are with the Fed's inspector general.

Now go on from here to explain to me how you think the federal government is the best all around solution for health care, and environmental management, and education and a whole host of issues.

Maybe -- just maybe -- the men who intended for our federal government's powers to be strictly limited were a wee bit smarter than our contemporary politicians megalomaniacs?

Click here for follow up.

Self Preservation

If what you seek is self preservation, and I mean that in the longest sense possible, then start planning to abandon the concept of Left versus Right, and start thinking in terms of tyranny versus liberty.

The concept of Left and Right was derived from the fact that opposing factions in revolutionary France were seated on either side of an aisle. Now both sides of the aisle have become dominated in various ways by forces that are dragging our government relentlessly towards total statism; i.e., every aspect of your life under control of one government bureaucracy or another. Essentially there is no "side" that takes the position that government growth favors top down tyranny and government dissolution favors individual liberty.

You town hall and "Tea Party" participants and supporters represent the individual liberty faction that remains in our society. Were you to continue to get scant respect from either side of the aisle, it becomes pretty clear that there is no aisle. Government becomes clearly of and for itself, and not "of, by, and for the people."

It is safe to say that the Left includes the vast majority of shock troops. Either those on the dole, or those who pass out the dole, provide bodies, and usually while they are being paid by government. They come out at your expense and demand more and continued government payouts at your expense. (It is only this year that we are seeing tea-partiers turn out in record numbers.) So the large numbers of Leftist shock troops, aided and abetted by Leftist Media, have generally led the Left further left, and dragged the Right with them.

This has been going in one way or another for all of my long life, and at a variety of speeds at various points. But today it is happening at alarming speeds, and more and more of us who are targeted to become subjects are seeing it. What we have not heard yet is language sufficient and clear that identifies the problem so we can fight it adequately.

Instead of a constitutional republic which allows government among men to exist only under limiting constraints, power seeking forces seem now to feel pretty comfortable that their creation of a Platonic republic of mutually recognized elites is now beyond prevention. That is, they believe that there is no way any resistance to them can succeed.

These wannabe rulers will succeed if you continue to think only in Left or Right rather than freedom or slavery.

The Only Remaining Liberal Things...

about "Progressives" that I can see is their application of government to "solve" everything; their brazenness in lying about what they have done when caught; and their gall at projecting their own lies and misdeeds onto their critics.

Not Taking Anything For Granted...

When troll "Reaper" (surprisingly? diffidently? jealously?) asked me:

GD, how many trolls do you have?

it required a bit more information before I could answer:

Including The One in the White House? [rimshot]

****Update****
Including this one too?
Be forewarned. One reader said they were sorry they clicked on the above link! LOL

Bama Bummer Bumper

Which is your favorite font?

Boomers Cum Obummers

^♫Talkin' 'bout my generation.^♫

We are the people who ^♫try to put us down.^♫

^♫Talkin' 'bout my generation.^♫

We did sing ^♫hope I die before I get old,^♫ dint we?

^♫Talkin' 'bout my generation.^♫

Well, our ObamaNation brings us ObummerCare.

^♫My Generation! My generation, baby.^♫

We've laggard so that ^♫Things they do look awful cold.^♫

^♫Talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-g-generation.^♫

^♫Why don't we all just f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-fade away?.^♫

^♫Talkin' 'bout my my my generation, baby.^♫
♫my generation, my generation, my generation,
my generation, my gereration....^♫

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't thank me folks. Thank my troll -- Ms Ann Thrope -- for the inspiration.

At What Cost Comity?

Our dilemma is well known and appreciated by the bastards at the top of the heap. They know because they have been active in its building.

The despot cares less that you love him provided you don't love one another.

Oh he provides alright! Money buys influence and attains power. And once attained, it then can use your money to deploy distractions and discord as the need arises. A.C.O.R.N. anyone?

But that is relatively easy where factions are naturally occurring. But what of infighting within a faction? What then? As Mark Alger reminds us:

In-fighting is invidious. Let's have a little less of it.

Knowing of the tyrant's wishes to sow discord where none exists, and to nurture it into open warfare where it does, finding agreement when we can, comity, is certainly a preferred outcome. We have a bigger fish in need of frying.

However, what about balance?

On one hand, we all know the ludicrous tale of the boy who murdered his parents and then begged mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan. On the other hand, none of us would have faulted George Washington what he was apt to do had he captured Benedict Arnold. These are easy cases. The harder ones need more care. After all, we encumber Justice with her great and omnipresent scales for good reason.

I found cause to disagree with a couple of likable fellows, Roderick Reilly and Life of The Mind, at the Belmont Club early today. They had commented favorably on a well heeled, well spoken, often diplomatic but always partisan Democrat, the late senior senator from New York, Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Never, never, never, revere any politician too much, because they all have feet of clay.

Moynihan said many nice sounding things which made him seem well-anchored in principle, such as his famous “Defining Deviancy Down.”

The Tax Reform Act of 1986, pushed by Reagan, was very popular, and pretty much remains so today except by the Left. As head of the Senate finance committee, Moynihan shepherded the bill through very well. Sounds like he was uniquely bipartisan and had the well-being of the country in mind right?

Well, he inserted into the tax code, at the last minute of conference committee sessions where committee chairs are rarely challenged, words written by lawyers at one company that hugely benefited that company.

That section of tax code solely targeted every engineer and programmer in the country, while costing the taxpayers more as well. That company was run by his wife’s family. Anyone who thinks he didn’t benefit directly from that is beyond hope.

And then there are those who will know or accept what I just said is true, but will be members of the apologist brigade. Their line is “So what? They all do it.”

There is the problem in a nutshell. It’s similar to those who defend RINOs when they help the GOP attain a majority (no matter how Pyrrhic a “victory” it be).

When personal gain and betrayal of principles become acceptable in any republic, even long after the fact and after so many others have followed the same path to personal gain (via passing law that restrict liberties and eradicate constitutional restrictions), how do you ever hope to regain order? You should remember your acceptance of betrayals when you later bemoan threats to your personal liberties.

Betrayal, too often dismissed, will be costly. It should have been costly to the betrayers, but instead it costs the acceptors of the betrayals and their posterity.

The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones -- Shakespeare

How especially true it is (because others watch and see no downside to perfidy) when we remember too kindly such men.

I chose to record this exchange here at my blog because it touched on a very important aspect about seeking justice when we find someone has betrayed our nation -- as did Senator Moynihan when he chose to carry his own water albeit in "expected" fashion. He knew we knew he knew better. So much more the shame to whatever good may have been a part of his legacy.

Such shame is certainly not lessened when we find someone in our own faction has been aiding and abetting the other faction a bit too much. Another reason we so distrust MSM is that it frequently bestows a glow of approval to the word bipartisan. But it is horrid to the individual who discovers -- as if burgled by a thief in the night -- that the sum total of his liberty has been diminished due in great measure to his very own representative agreeing, in the dark of some committee, to allow power-seekers to override limits on our government that had been written into our constitution for the good of all time -- solely because someone demanded that each "crisis" not be allowed to be wasted.

Bottom line? At what cost do we gain comity? Do not for a moment deny to yourself who pays.

Betrayal, too often dismissed, will be costly. It should have been costly to the wicked as justice would discern. Someone will pay. When wrong-doing is too easily (or shortsightedly) forgiven, the costs are shifted to the acceptors of the betrayals and their posterity. Indeed, that is the greater crime.

So Much to Say That Focus Suffers

Even though you've picked up the pace of your blog entries in the last two months, there are times when there is quite a bit of news and yet you don't seem to publish. Why Pascal?

I really haven't been idle these past few weeks. The thing which has troubled me is: "to whom should you address your thoughts?" I find that I'm not that far ahead of many people, and indeed sometimes lag. Thus it may be less effective if I continue to address my essays to the ordinary person. I could write with scorn directed at those who think and -- what is worse -- behave as if they are better than ordinary people. I've done that a few times already, and it is not without effective precedent. If you look at the introduction at the top of this blog, you can see that I believe we may achieve some relief by writing in that manner.

The question arises: Will anyone in higher stations notice such an affront to their self assessment? In at least one instance, I know I have pierced those who afflict us, so I know it is possible.

Here are the working titles of incomplete essays (often because Mr. OCD is not satisfied) and the dates I started on them, along with a short synopsis.

1. The "Progressive" Sneer - Aug 16 - The stage that follows brazen.
2. Repression Viewed As Progress - Aug 28 - Going over a comment I made in 2007 about the film I Am Legend that foresaw our present political state.
3. "Reactionary" -- A Reorientation - Sep 6 - Now that they own the Establishment, it is a designation that better fits "Progressives" who wish to retain their power rather than the "conservative" individual who merely wants to be left in peace.
4. Know Your Role - Sep 8 - One cannot rely on professional politicians to preserve your rights.
5. America Once Viewed Egotism As Disqualifying - Sep 9 - I suggest we need to restore humility and gratitude as a key cultural value: the meaning of Thanksgiving. Perhaps if we demanded more humility of our leaders we might actually receive better government.
   
6. The Ruling and Subject Parties - Sep 9 - The professional politicians versus the rest of us. Betrayal is too often dismissed when it should be costly. This involves reviewing and reworking one of my very oldest analyses of political reality in order to understand what it is that is fighting us.
   
7. What Convinced You That the Death Cults Were Going Mainstream? - Sep 9 - Reviewing the earliest months of GWBush's presidency.
   

In many ways, each of these topics overlap many others, some not listed above; individual ragged-edged pieces of an immense jigsaw puzzle. If anyone gives a damn what my opinion is on one or more of these subjects, please leave a comment or contact me by email. Maybe you will help me focus on what is most important -- at least in your opinion.

"This is MY Townhall Meeting"

More evidence of shamelessness, although somewhat less brazen given this Congressman's closing lines.



To his constituents attending the meeting:

"This is my town hall meeting for you. You are not going to tell me how to run my congressional office. The reason I don't allow filming, because usually the films that are done end up on You Tube in a compromising position."

Compromising position congressman? Damn, facts sure are stubborn things; wouldn't want any hard evidence of them now, would we?

This is not the language of a public servant with very much humility. This sounds more like a member of a ruling class.

Apologize to your children: "America never had a ruling class before. I am very sorry that I allowed one to spring up during my generation. Please forgive me."

Hat tip to DrewM

Dinged By Webdings

A couple of days ago I published this entry. Somehow, possibly because I had added ♫ to the video screen subheading, the Blogger editor invoked webdings font into its style designation -- automatically. I did not know that this had happened because my version of firefox does not respond to such font designations. I suspect many other firefox users have a similar non-response.

But if you use IE, you saw half a page of gibberish instead of this ^♪♫ Cuz they're power hungry and malicious. ^♫♪ Where letters should have been, Webdings sprawled unintelligibly across the page under the video screen instead. The "Progressives," whose behavior I was declaiming, could not have been more pleased. (IE is a product of Bill Gates --- hmmmm.)

Anyway, thanks to the concerns of helpful readers who use IE (I don't normally), it has since been fixed. Thank you very much.

I hope you all have seen it. Tim Hawkins' The Government Can is humorous and dazzling.

More Brazen

Here is more evidence of what I say is true.

I keep telling you folks to reveal these things to other folks: the "Progressives" facade has moved on to the brazen stage. This sample I've presented today reveals more than simple hypocrisy.

In order to get them to do their classic "two steps forward, one step back" dance, you must be the one to apply pressure, cuz Minitru ain't gonna do it unless the particular hack is out of favor with the higher ups.

Where you don't get them to back off, they move on. You will not like their next stage.

• Do you think you'll have the nerve to fight back then?
  
• Are you absolutely sure you'll still be able?

The Government Can

^♪♫ Cuz they're power hungry* and malicious. ^♫♪

Hat tip to Ace.

*As I've labored for ages to convince the gullible (as only the government accredited skooled can be), this has always been what drives the "Progressives." Their drive is so insatiable that, left unchecked, it must lead to deaths in such massive number that most decent individuals are unwilling to believe such megalomania exists.

Our Hollowed Institutions

What used to be hallowed are now so hollowed out that cynics and fear mongers spend real money to make appeals to our sense of loss and betrayal.



The segment I found most startling was when he sticks his head through the "glass" facade and sees the vast emptiness behind. I felt a touch of Neo's nausea when he found out the truth about The Matrix.

Don't you wish that this ad was to alert you to a new, basic American values, political party?

Yeah. Me too!

I've Not Yet Begun To Fight

You may recall these scenes from the video I highlighted last October.





















Well, this morning I found this on the web to signify that my wished for Turnabout has not yet turned about.




I have friends and relatives represented amongst the Obamacized lemmings above (some may call them Eloi given the industry that has sprung up for spare human parts).

I have not yet begun to fight.

How about you? Maybe you can start small, as in this sticker, bumper or not, discovered and promoted by Og last night:

Desperation Exploited

Seen on the web:

RINOs will never come to their senses; they are the most disingenuous liberals there are. They’re not even honest enough to call themselves Democrats.

Sarah Palin has enormous appeal to the American mainstream, and the MSM fools that sought to marginalize her defeated themselves by giving her so much press. Now the people know who they can count on. She speaks the honest, unassuming language of truth.

The set up is text book Orwell.
Suckers will respond to what they want to hear and the statists knows what that is, and the Ministry of Truth will give it to them. I was the first -- in early September last year -- to predict that a Palin Derangement Syndrome would top Bush Derangement Syndrome.

Persecution of her has been deliberately ginned up to play conservatives, gallant by nature and values, for suckers. There are enough Christians among them to have read or heard the teaching, "You will know them by their fruits," But that thought will be only momentary. The unfairness and intensity of the hate campaign against Palin overrules our judgment over some of her liberal stances, such as social policies and environmental views.

Yes she SPEAKS truths we all want to hear from national politicians. I for one have longed for someone to address the misanthropes, and so should have welcomed her speaking of Death Panels. But there has to be more than just speaking of things I want to hear spoken of. Her inclinations to accept AGW hogwash is inconsistent with fighting negative population growth (death seeking) policies. That is one big inconsistency!

The same game was played to force conservatives to defend W. We spent so much time fighting completely crazy charges against him, that those things he did do, of which conservatives disapproved, appeared minor in comparison. And there were no end of RINO influenced conservatives who lumped in with crazy Democratic critics all of us who legitimately criticized W's socialist policies. We wound up fighting amongst ourselves, and W successfully put Dem favorable policies in place.

In short, the stupid charges essentially overwhelmed the meaningful ones. And Statism continues to advance and tighten its grip.

Stop being so desperate to hear a leader who says things that your opponents know you want to hear. They can arrange to elevate their own opposition. W was never the opponent we needed against Democratic domestic gains and corruption. I sorely suspect Palin would not be either.

This Statist ploy to exploit conservative decency and hopes tires me so.
I wish I could convince many more of my fellow Americans to tire of it too. We need to fight the meaningful battles and find champions not of our opponents' choosing. I will never forget that McCain chose Palin, and then Dems and RINOs and even McCain forced us to defend her.

Small Fuses Ignite Big Bombs

The following interchange in the comment stream to an Andrew Klavan commentary published at Pajama's Media may serve as good soundbites in the fight against the Obama Health Plan.

Them: but, regardless, the [end of life] counseling part of the bills that lead to the death panel stuff, are an inconsequential part of the bills as i read them....

You: The bigger the bomb, the more inconsequential seems the fuse.

Them: ...what if congress just dropped [the death panels]? How would you feel about the proposed reforms then?

You: After finding and diffusing one mine, better to avoid a proven minefield entirely.

Advice to You who are fighting the ObamaCare proposals that Congress will try to ram down your throats in the coming weeks: Repeat these bold answers in your own words every time you find the chance.