Common Sense Democracy

"…the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."

– Herman Goering

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This transcript below was supposedly from Andy Rooney said on “60 Minutes” a few weeks back. I’m usually not a big fan of these “we are the United States, so screw yourself” diatribes, but I must admit that some of what he says is logical. I tend to lean towards the view that we, as Americans, need to realize we are part of a larger group of humanity. That we live in a world community and are not just isolated on our own little planet of America. We are the new kids on the block as far as world history goes. We need to learn to play well with others. That doesn’t mean we can’t be patriotic, but it should mean we aren’t blind to the culture around us.

Anyway, here is his thoughts:

I don’t think being a minority makes you a victim of anything
Except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund,
Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black
America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College
Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or
Miss White America; and see what happens…Jesse Jackson
Will be knocking down your door.

Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.

I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, that is
Why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts!
ARE YOU LISTENING MARTHA BURKE?

I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.

I have the right “NOT” to be tolerant of others because they
Are different, weird, or tick me off.

When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in
Cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial
Profiling, it is the Law of Probability.

I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of
Cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in
English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American
Citizen, you should have to speak English!

My father and grandfather didn’t die in vain so you can leave
The countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.

I think the police should have every right to shoot your sorry ass if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can’t understand the word “freeze” or “stop” in English, see the above lines.

I don’t think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government
Sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business.

We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their interpretations.

I don’t hate the rich I don’t pity the poor.

I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn’t stop you from watching them.

I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that’s better, and put your name on&nbs p; ; the building.

It doesn’t take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid; and smack their little behinds when necessary, and say “NO!”

I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but
Please don’t pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals. I don’t want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me French fries!

I am sick of “Political Correctness.” I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa; so how can they be “African-Americans”? Besides, Africa is a continent.
I don’t go around saying I am a European-American because
My great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was
From Europe. I am proud to be from America and nowhere else

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The New Orleans mayor is pissed. He said so in a radio interview. And as well he should be. Things in New Orleans are very bad. Every morning I wake up to read the news and it continues to get worse intead of better. George Bush is on his way in the ravaged area to take charge. A Yahoo! News article reports:

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin blasted the federal government as emotions spilled over in an angry radio interview, saying he was “pissed” at the lack of help the historic city had received.

“I need reinforcements. I need troops, man. I need 500 buses, man,” he said. “Now get off your asses and fix this. Let’s do something and let’s fix the biggest goddam crisis in the history of this country.”

“We authorized $8 billion to go to Iraq, lickety split. After 9/11 we gave the president unauthorized powers, lickety split to help New York and other places,” he said. “You mean to tell me that a place where most of your oil is coming through … that we can’t figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need,” said Nagin.

Police have locked themselves in their own headquarters in fear of the looters and shooters.

I’m not in it and I can’t see first hand. Nor am I the Mayor of the city or an emergency services planner, so I can’t just sit here a few thousand miles a way and critique the operation. I can just say how deeply let down I am by what has unfolded. It doesn’t seem possible the the richest nation on earth can completely lose control of one of it’s most famous and charismatic cities. This is the true nature of humanity when it’s starving, thirsty, dying and abandoned without civil rule or law. We all criticize the chaos in the streets of Baghdad and the middle east and we say, “how could those barbaric people treat each other this way and live that way, shooting each other, bombing and looting buildings. How do they get to that point?” Well, this is how. We are watching it first hand.

Read the full article at Yahoo! News.

Technorati Tags: hurricane+katrina, katrina, New+Orleans, Disaster+Relief, flood+relief

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Last Saturday we made a post that laid out the evidence that George Bush lied about the justification for the war with Iraq. We said that the Bush administration engaged in a elaborate charade to convince the world that we had to invade Iraq because of the urgent need to get rid of his nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons of mass destruction, which was a huge let’s-fool-the-public lie.

Today’s New York Times reports that 89 members of the House have sent a letter to the White House asking for an explanation of the facts that were reported in Britain two weeks ago, which we laid out in Saturday’s post. The White House has brushed off the letter, but I forecast that this is going to become a major scandal. Lying to Congress. Lying to the United Nations. Lying to the American people. This is going to be George Bush’s $200 Billion Watergate.

Technorati Tags: Iraq War, George Bush

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Although the actual dates vary, May 12th, 1653 marks the date when England took a small step closer to democracy. Oliver Cromwell dissolved the existing parliament in order to establish a new one, thereby creating England’s first written constitution called the Instrument of Government.

After leading the overthrow of the British monarchy, defeating King Charles I and bringing to an end the monarchy’s claim to absolute power, Cromwell ruled England as a Republic from 1653 until his death. Although many agree that Cromwell ruled the commonwealth as a military dictator, his contribution to the written government constitution and thereby the power of the people, is indisputable.

Read more on Oliver Cromwell at Wikipedia.
Read more about the Instrument of Government.
Technorati Tags: Oliver Cromwell, Commonwealth, England, Instrument of Government, Government, constitution, King Charles I, Republic

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