The Wrap at Ask Marion 6.08.14 Thru 6.15.14

Our weekly wrap… Sunday to Sunday… Please share! Ask Marion

America is now teetering as far forward over the edge as a country possibly can before it falls over the cliff and is no longer recognizable.  We either wake-up immediately and get-involved or there will be no America, at least not as you knew her, for your children and grandchildren… nor anything to take care of you from the benefits you already paid for!

This has been quite a week…  Graduations around the country (I am sad to report that traitor Jane Fonda spoke at my alma mater UCLA and President Obama spoke at UCI… thank you Janet Napolitano), Flag Day, Father’s Day, the end of the Hockey and Basketball finals (congrats to the Los Angeles Kings and San Antonio Spurs) and the World Cup is underway in Brazil… plus more negative news has surfaced about the VA (that keeps growing), the IRS and the Benghazi Scandals.  Yep seems the IRS has conveniently lost Lois Lerner’s emails in their Tea Party Targeting scandal… really?  Unfortunately many of the biggest stories were again missed, barely touched on or edited and censored by the mainstream media, leaving far too many Americans completely unaware and uninformed. Iraq is virtually lost and in the midst of the birth of the Islamic Caliphate. They are slaughtering and even crucifying Christians and anyone who stands in their way.

#2 Republican in the House of Representatives, Eric Cantor, who was expected to be the next Speaker of the House made history in defeat.  For the first time ever someone in a House leadership position lost their primary, due to the hard work of grassroots patriots in Virginia with the help of some conservative pundits including Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin and Ann Coulter.  But nobody in the mainstream media expected it nor were prepared to report on it until it already happened. Not even the Cantor Team predicted or expected it.  But our pal from the Watcher’s Council and VA Right, Tom White, who was actively involved on the ground predicted it. The primary win by Dave Brat over Eric Cantor was a loud and clear message to Washington that Virginia wanted representation and that Americans are against Amnesty and the Dream Act, just as the Obama administration is in the middle of an orchestrated campaign that is bringing hundreds if not thousand of illegal unaccompanied kids over the border daily.  Meanwhile Meriam Ibrahim and her children and Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi are still sitting in jails without any help from the President, unlike his intervention for traitor Bergdahl. (Check out Top 8 Begdahl Lies) Last Thursday, a group of bikers set out on a 1,300 mile journey from Shiner, Texas to Tijuana, Mexico to protest for the release of the U.S. Marine, Tahmooressi, from his Mexican prison, according to the Examiner. Others are joining them.

This Week On #MediaBuzz

This Week On #MediaBuzz (some good videos there): Laura Ingraham said the media failed to cover Eric Cantor's race in part because they are pro-amnesty and explained why she endorsed his opponent. Kirsten Powers blamed the media's inability to understand the Tea Party. Lauren Ashburn said newsroom cutbacks and the fading of door-knocking reporting played a big role.

Mary Katharine Ham said television anchors asked appropriately tough questions of Hillary Clinton, but Kirsten said NPR's Terry Gross was way out of line on the gay marriage question. Brit Hume said Iraq became too expensive and distant to cover once American troops pulled out--and warned that anchors who interrupt Hillary too much risk becoming a distraction. David Zurawik said the O.J. case changed the media forever and hit CNN for airing a George H.W. Bush "documentary" funded by the Bush library foundation.

Tickets for Beck’s ‘We Will not Conform’ anti-Common Core Event went on sale, and Dinesh D’Souza’s movie will open in theaters on July 4th, 2014, based on his book America: Imagine a World without Her. “If Hillary Clinton is elected in 2016, the baton will have passed from one Alinskyite to another. In this case, Alinsky’s influence will have taken on a massive, almost unimaginable, importance. Obama will have had eight years to remake America, and Hillary will have another four or perhaps eight to complete the job,” he wrote.

–> Dinesh D’Souza’s ‘America’ warns Hillary Clinton will ‘finish off’ the country <–

Hillary kicked off her book tour for Hard Choices in which she is still lying about and blaming a video for the Benghazi attack, even though we all now know the video had nothing to do with the attack and that it was part of Hillary and Obama’s planned cover-up… and that isn’t the only problem with her chapter on Benghazi.  And in Hillary’s interview with Diane Sawyer, Hillary came across as out of touch with average Americans and very touchy in general. Hillary had a bit of a False Start to her campaign… uh book tour this week.But in the end, the Clintons have no scruples nor do they ever change… but, It Does Make A Difference To Hillary… Now

And where was President Obama?  In Colorado and California… fundraising, hanging out with friends, giving speeches and playing golf…

• Happy Father’s Day 2014
• THE NARRATIVE AND POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
• Flag Day
• The Council Has Spoken!! This Weeks’ Watcher’s Council Results — 06/13/14
• Ted Cruz: Meriam Ibrahim Update on the Kelly File
• Virginia Conservative Blogger Tom White Called the Cantor Defeat – NewsMax
• Glenn Beck’s “We Will Not Conform” Addresses Common Core Education in Cinemas for Two Nights Only This July
• Obama Facilitates The Rise Of The Caliphate
• Gun Phobia Is a Serious Problem… Time For Gun Therapy for Liberals!
• Palin on the Historic Upset in Virgina GOP Primary and a Lot More – Hannity Exclusive
• Watcher’s Council Nominations – Borders? What Borders? Edition
• Hillary False Start
• Counterpatriotism — Flag Of Inconvenience
• VA Chief: 100,000 Vets Were On FAKE WAIT LISTS
• David Brat Defeats House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a Shocking Upset to Many… But Not So Shocking To Others
• Cloward-Piven at Our Border…
• Forum: Should Bowe Bergdahl Be Tried For Desertion? Will He Be?
• Judge Jeanine Pirro Calls For Obama’s Impeachment Over Bergdahl Swap
• Bergdahl Deal and Obama’s Failed Foreign Policy: How Did We Get Here?
• Don’t let your kids miss doctor’s appointments
• The Wrap at Ask Marion 6.01.14 Thru 6.08.14

Also

Remember: NY Senator Senator Kirstin Gillibrand (and others) admitted “We All Knew” Prez Was Misleading About ObamaCare (Video)

And even people like former DNC Chair, Howard Dean, have now admitted that Sarah Palin was right and there will be death panels under ObamaCare!

• McCain Knew!
• Good News for Justina Pelletier: She May Finally Get to Go Home
• VA Chief: 100,000 Vets Were On FAKE WAIT LISTS
• Therapeutic benefits of music being used to treat Alzheimer’s, addiction, and depression
• Production of Rat Poison Halted d-CON… Will Cease Production in July
• Linda Ronstadt Inducted Into Hall of Fame…. No Show After Revealing Parkinson’s Diagnosis
• Did the NSA Blackmail Roberts to OK ObamaCare?
• Her Baby Died During Birth, But Mom Asked To Hold Him; Two Hours Later, She Heard A Gasp

Health Related Book Suggestions: Special Heart: A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage and Love by Bret Baier is a must read!!

SPECIAL HEART is a deeply touching personal story told through the eyes of a journalist as he faces the most daunting challenge in life – far more frightening than reporting from battlefields, infinitely more momentous than interviewing newsmakers of the day: caring for his critically ill newborn son.

Baier reflects on past challenges as he looks forward with hope, chronicling the steps on his path to national prominence as a television anchor, as well as his unexpected journey into the world of pediatric cardiac disease.

With the finely-honed insight of a seasoned reporter, and the deep love of a husband and father, Baier shares with readers the behind-the-scenes stories and emotional narrative of young Paul’s life thus far, including the heart-wrenching fears and decisions he and his wife, Amy, have faced together. Surviving every parent’s worst nightmare, Bret and Amy emerge – just like their brave young son – scarred but infinitely stronger, and clearly understanding what matters most in life.

Reliving three open-heart surgeries and seven angioplasties, the story continues today as the Baier family faces a long road toward a normal healthy life for Paul. Told by a loving father and master storyteller, this hope-filled account offers an inspirational glimpse into the family of a man who just happens to be someone millions turn to for the day’s news.

One hundred percent of what the author receives from the sale of this book is donated to various non-profit pediatric heart causes.

And: Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar–Your Brain’s Silent Killers by Dr. David Perlmutter and Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health By William Davis

Read more at: The AD, ADD, ADHD, Autism, Aging… Inflammation and Nutrition Connection…

The rate of occurrences of Alzheimer’s-Dementia (AD), ADD, ADHD, Autism (ASD), and debilitating Aging symptoms are through the roof. Everyone I know either suffers from one of these conditions (themselves); has a child, grandchild, parent, or grandparent who is afflicted; or they know someone, if not several some-ones, within their close circle that suffers from one or more of these diseases and conditions.

We are drowning in epidemics and dying of inflammation.

Love, Prayer and Laughter are the Best Medicines… And may soon be all you can count on!

As Well As The Best Anti-Depressants!

Dogs of War – Photos From the Frontlines Revisited

• Kids with autism connect, cuddle with future service dogs: ‘I love them’
• Pet Dads With Their Furkids
• Triple Crown… California Chrome Owner Steve Coburn Stands By His Remarks  -  There Will Never Be Another Secretariat: Thank you, Miss Penny
• Friends Do Not Make Friends Wait in Hot Cars
• I WOULD RATHER SAVE 1 OF OUR HERO WAR DOGS,THAN TAKE BACK THAT DESERTER WHO COST THE LIVES OF GOOD MEN!
• Production of Rat Poison Halted d-CON… Will Cease Production in July
• Summer Cautions and Safety Tips For Pet Owners

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. -Mahatma Gandhi

Knowledge is Power… Which Demands Action, Usually at a Cost!

There are Certain Actions that Should Never Be Forgotten or Excused!

What Was That About the Tea Party Being Dead?  Ask Cantor!

TEA = Taxed Enough Already… Aren’t You??

And now they can’t get healthcare, are dying because of it and often can’t even get buried.

Wake-Up America:‘We Have a Commitment’ from Boehner on Amnesty This Year Says Valerie Jarrett

Yet This is What is Happening:  Cloward-Piven at Our Border…

And Freedom Isn’t Free… It requires sacrifice and an engaged populace!

Book(s) of the Week:  Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General By Bill O’Reilly and Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obama’s Impeachment By Andrew C McCarthy

Readers around the world have thrilled to Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever, Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot, and Killing Jesus — riveting works of nonfiction that journey into the heart of the most famous murders in history. Now from Bill O’Reilly, anchor of The O’Reilly Factor, comes the most epic book of all in this multimillion-selling series: Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General, to be released in September but available for pre-order.

General George S. Patton, Jr. died under mysterious circumstances in the months following the end of World War II. For almost seventy years, there has been suspicion that his death was not an accident—and may very well have been an act of assassination. Killing Patton takes readers inside the final year of the war and recounts the events surrounding Patton’s tragic demise, naming names of the many powerful individuals who wanted him silenced.

Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obama’s Impeachment: We still imagine ourselves a nation of laws, not of men. This is not merely an article of faith but a bedrock principle of the United States Constitution. Our founding compact provides a remedy against rulers supplanting the rule of law, and Andrew C. McCarthy makes a compelling case for using it.

The authors of the Constitution saw practical reasons to place awesome powers in a single chief executive, who could act quickly and decisively in times of peril. Yet they well understood that unchecked power in one person’s hands posed a serious threat to liberty, the defining American imperative. Much of the debate at the Philadelphia convention therefore centered on how to stop a rogue executive who became a law unto himself.

The Framers vested Congress with two checks on presidential excess: the power of the purse and the power of impeachment. They are potent remedies, and there are no others.

It is a straightforward matter to establish that President Obama has committed “high crimes and misdemeanors,” a term signifying maladministration and abuses of power by holders of high public trust. But making the legal case is insufficient for successful impeachment, leading to removal from office. Impeachment is a political matter and hinges on public opinion.

In Faithless Execution, McCarthy weighs the political dynamics as he builds a case, assembling a litany of abuses that add up to one overarching offense: the president’s willful violation of his solemn oath to execute the laws faithfully. The “fundamental transformation” he promised involves concentrating power into his own hands by flouting law—statutes, judicial rulings, the Constitution itself—and essentially daring the other branches of government to stop him. McCarthy contends that our elected representative are duty-bound to take up the dare.

What are “High Crimes and Misdemeanors”?

Impeachment is rare in American history—and for good reason. As the ultimate remedy against abuse of executive power, it is politically convulsive. And yet, as the Framers understood, it is a necessary protection if the rule of law is to be maintained.

But what are impeachable offenses? There is widespread confusion among the American people about the answer to this question.

Article II of the Constitution lists treason and bribery, along with “other high crimes and misdemeanors as the standard for impeachment. Despite what “crimes” and “misdemeanors” connote, the concept has precious little to do with violations of a penal code. Rather, it is about betrayal of the political trust reposed in the president to execute the laws faithfully and “preserve, protect and defend” our constitutional system, as his oath of office requires.

At the constitutional convention in 1787, the delegates concurred that the “high crimes and misdemeanors” standard captured the many “great and dangerous offenses” involving malfeasance, incompetence, and severe derelictions of duty that could undermine the constitutional order.

The Framers were clear that “high crimes and misdemeanors” involved misconduct that did not necessarily break penal laws; it might not even be considered criminal if committed by a civilian. It would apply strictly to “the misconduct of public men … or the abuse or violation of public trust,” as Alexander Hamilton put it. “High crimes and misdemeanors” are of a purely political nature as they “relate to injuries done immediately to the society itself.”

To be clear, “high crimes and misdemeanors” is not a standard conceived for normal law enforcement. It applies instead to oath, honor, and trust—notions that are more demanding of public officials than the black and white prohibitions of criminal law.

While the standard is high-minded it is not an abstraction. The Framers were very clear: betrayals of the constitutional order, dishonesty in the executive’s dealing with Congress, and concealment of dealings with foreign powers that could be injurious to the American people were among the most grievous, and impeachable, high crimes and misdemeanors.

Above all, the Framers had in view the president’s oath of allegiance to our system of government, a system in which the president’s highest duty is faithful execution of the laws. The mere attempt to subvert the constitution would be a breach of trust that warranted impeachment and removal.

A free country requires the rule of law. But the rule of law is a sham if lawlessness is rampant among those who govern. This was the deep political truth that the Framers of this country recognized in the providing for the impeachment of an errant executive. It is a truth that we ignore at our peril.

Faithless Execution Author Q&A

You are a well-known conservative commentator – how would you answer the accusation that Faithless Execution is just a partisan stunt?

McCarthy: Well, ‘conservative’ does not mean ‘Republican’—in fact, the book is not very flattering when it comes to GOP fecklessness in the face of the president’s lawlessness. But the main point is: Faithless Execution argues against partisan hackery. I analyze the legal case for impeachment as a former prosecutor who would not go to court without a sufficient case. And as far as the politics goes, I argue that, despite the sizable majority Republicans hold in the House, articles of impeachment should not be filed unless and until there is a strong public will to remove the president from power—one that transcends party lines.

Many Republicans say an effort to impeach Barack Obama is political suicide for the Republican Party. How do you respond to this?

McCarthy: The failure to pursue impeachment is likely to be suicide for the country, which is much more important than the political fate of the Republican Party. But, again, making the case for impeachment—which would probably help not only Republicans but any elected official who defends our constitutional framework—is not the same as moving forward with articles of impeachment, which should not happen absent public support.

How does the case for Barack Obama’s impeachment compare to the campaigns to impeach Nixon and Clinton?

McCarthy: Obama’s presidency is a willful, systematic attack on the constitutional system of separation of powers, an enterprise that aims to bring about a new regime of government by executive decree. This is exactly the kind of subversion the Framers designed the impeachment power to address. The Nixon and Clinton episodes involved misconduct that did not aim to undermine our constitutional framework.

You describe impeachment as a political and not a legal remedy. What’s the distinction?

McCarthy: Legally speaking, a president may be impeached for a single offense that qualifies as “high crimes and misdemeanors”—a breach of the profound public trust vested in the president, a violation of his constitutional duty to execute the laws faithfully. But real impeachment requires the public will to remove the president from office. You can have a thousand impeachable offenses, but without that political consensus, impeachment is not an appropriate remedy.

The wolves are at the door!!

The GOP can beat Hillary with the right candidate.  The left is going to use the same ploy with Hillary as they did with Obama… They will make themselves look like the Heroes because they are putting up the first women, as they did, the first black American, for President. It was what the campaign of lies against the GOP has been leading up to… the made up Republican War Against Women has been part of the plan to run Hillary with that carrot, all along.  The Election of 2016 will be the battle for America’s soul and future and the key to the Republicans… Conservatives, the American Middle Class winning that battle is fighting fire with fire… pitting our strongest women against Hillary. The key to stopping Hillary Clinton is Sarah Palin!

Breitbart.com: The Economist/YouGov survey asked respondents in a series of polls last week which female candidate not named Hillary Clinton they would want to run for president.

Palin is first in the national survey with 9%, followed by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and former Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice with 8%. Michelle Obama is fourth with 2% of the vote.

In other national polls, Palin has the highest favorability rating among Republican presidential primary voters. If Sarah does not run in 2016, her influence and potential endorsement could tip the GOP presidential contest as the GOP may be the most split from within in the past 40 years.

2016 – The Election of the First Female President of the United States?

RNC Chairman Says Hillary 2016 Candidacy is Set… And Female Presidency Will be the Carrot

Palin Derangement Syndrome Revisited

James Delingpole: God, I wish Sarah Palin would stand for president??

Two Women, Two Paths… The Choice

The Case for a Palin Candidacy for President in 2016

Join the Movement… Palin-Cruz 2016 – @PalinCruz_2016 – #PalinCruz2016

Be sure to come visit us here at Ask Marion regularly and subscribe to receive the latest posts first… as well as visit: Just One More Pet, True Health Is True Wealth!!, Knowledge Is Power, the Daily Thought Pad and Palin-Cruz 2016

And Join in on Twitter at @AskMarion @JustOneMorePet and @PalinCruz_2016  #PalinCruz2016 Governor Sarah Palin tops a national poll of female candidates that Americans want to run for president

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Happy Father’s Day 2014

A hundred years ago, Sonora Smart Dodd was sitting in church one Sunday when she came up with the idea of a national Father’s Day on the order of Mother’s Day. It took 57 years before President Lyndon Johnson issued a proclamation in 1966 making it the national holiday we celebrate today.

“Any man can be a Father, but it takes a special person to be called Dad.”

The Dads and Moms in this world are the people, the real parents (birth parents, adoptive parents, stepparents, grandparents and mentors), who loved us everyday… and who were there for the good, the bad, the fun, the boring, the daily routine, the tough and the special  times.  They are the parents who invested in us… with their time, their money, their energy, their advice, their wisdom, their love…)

A few years ago, I received a Father’s Day card from my son Tim. On the front of it was a picture of a little boy sitting up in bed. Terror was written on his face. His hair was standing straight up, and the card said, “Dad, I want to thank you.”

Well, I wondered, a Father’s Day card with this boy terrorized, had I done that to my son? I opened the card up and it said, “I want to thank you for helping me kill all the dragons of my mind so I could go out and fight the real ones.

Dad: Are You Part of “The Great Conversation”?

Originally Posted on June 20, 2010 by Marion Algier - Ask Marion – Reposted by request

A few weeks ago, John Mackey, founder and CEO of Whole Foods, invited me to a social event at his ranch west of Austin.

Wandering through his home, I couldn’t help admiring the beautiful artwork on the walls, much of it depicting Eastern mystical traditions. I asked John if he had an interest in oriental philosophy.

“Some,” he said, adding at one point, “I’m a perennialist.”

What a thought-provoking self-description, one you seldom hear these days.

Perennialists believe you should learn – and pass along to your children and students – those things that are of everlasting importance to all people everywhere, as discussed in Wisdom: The Greatest Gift One Generation Can Give To Another by Andrew Zuckerman

What are those things? Humanity’s best ideas about how to live.

Some will insist, of course, that we’ve hit a snag right out of the gate. After all, the world is full of divergent views. People simply don’t agree on these matters.

But perennialists counter that enlightened people everywhere agree on certain coreprinciples. These are handed down from generation to generation, through the ages, and across nations and cultures.

The phrase Philosophia Perennis – the Perennial Philosophy – was coined by the German mathematician, philosopher and polymath Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716). In more recent years, Aldous Huxley, Mortimer Adler, and Huston Smith, among other writers, have carried the perennialist torch, beckoning us to take part in what they call “The Great Conversation.”

It’s a broad discussion about what constitutes the best life, one that encompasses everything from the Analects of Confucius to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics – the sound, practical and undogmatic ethics of common sense – to the mystical truths of the world’s great religious traditions. (It is the kind of thought that would have brought Thomas Jefferson, a man who believed in God but not steeped in any one particular Christian religion or even organized religion at all, to make the conscious choice of using Judeo-Christian Values as a basis for American law and that would have brought him and theFounding Fathers to choosing to make America a Republic rather than a Democracy.)

The conversation is ongoing and evolving, never static. The best ideas about how to live are hardly new, of course. But discoveries are sometimes made and old ideas are enlarged or restated for a modern audience. Recent books that touch on the perennial philosophy include Roger Walsh’s Essential Spirituality, Karen Armstrong’s The Great Transformation, and Robert Wright’s The Evolution of God.

Perennialists understand the connection between compassion and successful living. They offer, for example, that:

* Everything worthwhile in life is created as the result of love and concern for others.
* Humanity is one great family. Our similarities are deep, our differences superficial.
* The Golden Rule, expressed in some way in every society, is the cornerstone of human understanding.
* The giving of time, money, support and encouragement can never be detrimental to the giver.
* Character development – the path from self-absorption to caring and consciousness – is paramount.
* Problems are life’s way of getting the best out of us. They are opportunities to grow.
* It is important to nourish your mind with the thoughts of history’s wisest thinkers.
* Courage and self-awareness are required to live fully and follow your heart.
* You should develop the ability to reason accurately and independently rather than accepting ideas based solely on authority or tradition.
* Our egos cause us to cherish opinions, judge others and rationalize our beliefs. Perennialists ask “would you rather be right or be happy?”
* We should exercise humility. Not because others find it attractive – although they do – but because, if we are honest with ourselves, we have much to be humble about.
* We should practice forgiveness. When we forgive others, we find that others forgive us – and that we forgive ourselves.
* Moral development comes from strengthening our impulse control, prioritizing personal relationships and fostering social responsibility.
* Our lives are immeasurably improved by expressing gratitude and generosity.
* Development of the heart is essential. Our actions are the mirror of our inner selves.
* Whenever we act, we are never just doing. We are always becoming. If we aren’t growing, we are diminishing.
* Integrity is everything.

Rather than quarreling over sectarian differences, perennialists are interested in the nuggets of truth at the heart of every great tradition.

Two years ago, for instance, a friend and I bumped into Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author ofThe Black Swan, at a bookstore in Vancouver. (This was no great coincidence. All three of us were speaking at an investment conference at the Fairmont down the street.)

Taleb indicated that he was planning to write a book on religion, whereupon my friend and he got into a brief dispute about whether a particular theological point “was true.”

Like many conversations of this nature, there was more heat shed than light. Frustrated at one point, Taleb waved an arm toward the fiction section. “How about all those books over there. Are they true?”

“Of course not,” my friend said. “They’re novels.”

“But they are full of universal truths,” I added.

Taleb turned and jabbed a finger in my direction. “Exactly!”

Consciously or not, he was advocating the perennial philosophy. Perennialists seek enlightenment wherever they can find it. It doesn’t matter whether the source is ancient, modern, mythical, foreign, mystical or verified by the latest scientific findings. It only matters that it’s true – and that it has some practical application for more skillful living.

As the historian Will Durant wrote in The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time… Time, “We are born animals; we become human. We have humanity thrust upon us through the hundred channels whereby the past pours down into the present that mental and cultural inheritance whose preservation, accumulation and transmission place mankind today, with all its defectives and illiterates, on a higher plane than any generation has ever reached before.”

What is that higher plane? An upward spiral of caring – from me to us to all of us.

It doesn’t always come naturally. And for some, unfortunately, it doesn’t come at all.  (But The Great Conversation ends up being a bridge for many who find it hard to pray or believe, after which Prayer becomes the result and pinnacle of The Great Conversation )

But perennialists try to absorb as much as they can of our three-thousand-year heritage and take an occasional moment from their hectic lives to ask, “Am I becoming the kind of person I want to be? Am I part of The Great Conversation?”

Carpe Diem,
Alex

Alex Greene is the Investment Director of The Oxford Club (and one of my favorite inspirational writers). The Oxford Club Communique, whose portfolio he directs, is ranked among the top 5 investment letters in the nation for 10-year performance by the independent Hulbert Investment Digest. Alex is the author of The New York Times bestseller “The Gone Fishin’ Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy…and Get on With Your Life (Agora Series)” and, more recently, “The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters.” He has been featured on Oprah & Friends, CNBC, National Public Radio (NPR), Fox Newsand “The O’Reilly Factor,” and has been profiled by The Wall Street Journal,BusinessWeek, Forbes, and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, among others. He currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia and Winter Springs, Florida with his wife Karen and their children Hannah and David.

God and Dad — A Father’s Four Lessons of Faith

Why are men abandoning God?

Religion is increasingly a woman’s domain in America.  Two-thirds of church and synagogue attendees are women, studies show, with young men fleeing the pews even faster.  On any given weekend, 13 million more women than men will attend religious institutions.

Home is even worse.  Moms are usually the ones talking about God at the dinner table.  When the topic turns to faith, dad is usually out to lunch.

What a shame.  Fathers can find great inspiration in faith.  For the last dozen years, I’ve traced the influence of the Bible through the Middle East and America looking at how religious figures from the past are relevant to today’s families.  In Walking the Bible, I climbed Mount Ararat, crossed the Red Sea, and spent weeks recreating the Exodus through the desert.  In Where God Was Born, I continued that journey through the second half the Bible in Israel, Iraq, and Iran.  In America’s Prophet, I explored how the story of Moses has influenced Americans from the Liberty Bell, through the Statue of Liberty, through Cecil B. DeMille and Charlton Heston.

Two years ago this week I was struck by a life-threatening illness and suddenly my travels took a more personal turn.  What lessons of faith would I pass on to my three-year-old twin daughters (or sons)?  My new book, The Council of Dads, includes a Father’s Four Lessons of Faith.

1.  Wrestle with God.  In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestles with a messenger of God.  The two come to a standstill, and the messenger leaves a mark on Jacob.  The scar does not end up on Jacob’s hand, nor on his head, his heart, or his eyes.  Humans experience God, the text suggests, not by touching him, imagining him, feeling him, or seeing him.  Jacob is scarred on his leg, for the essential way humans experience God is by walking with him.  Forever after, Jacob is called “Israel,” one who wrestles with God.  Don’t be afraid of doubt.  The true way to experience the divine is struggle with him.

2.  Befriend the Stranger.  There’s a reason the Exodus story has inspired so many Americans.  It’s a narrative of home.  “This year we are slaves, but next year we can be free.”  History is not set in stone.  It is not an immovable pyramid.  The pyramid can be flipped.  When you despair, when you hurt, when you fear – and especially when you encounter those feelings in others – remember the slaves who first groaned under bondage.  You should read the Israelites’ story and remember: There is a moral dimension to the universe.  Right can prevail over might; justice can triumph over evil.  Flip a few pyramids yourselves along the way.  Overturn injustice.  Befriend the stranger, for you, yourselves, were strangers once in a land with no hope.

3.  Plunge Into the Waters. One reason Moses is America’s true founding father is that he evangelizes action; he justifies risk.  He gives ordinary people the courage to live with uncertainty.  The visionaries who have been inspired by him – Christopher Columbus,Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King – were not born to greatness.  They became great by tapping into the anger and hope within themselves.  Imagine your own promised land, girls, plunge into the waters, persevere through the dryness, and don’t be surprised – or saddened – if you’re stopped just short of your dream.  Because the ultimate lesson of Moses’ life is that the dream does not die with the dreamer, and the true destination in a narrative of hope is not this year at all.  But next.

4.  Be Reunited With the Ones You Love.  My book, “The Council of Dads” tells the story of my “lost year” fighting cancer and the men I asked to be father figures to my daughters.  Today I am cancer-free, and I learned a powerful lesson during that experience.  The Liberty Bell has a quote from Moses on its side, “Proclaim Liberty throughout the world, unto all the inhabitants thereof.”  This line refers to a tradition whereby every seven years, farmers are obliged to give their fields a year of rest.  Every 49 years the land gets an extra year of rest, during which all families are reunited, and all people reunited with the ones they love.  That fiftieth year is called the jubilee year.  That tradition perfectly captures my experience.  My “lost year” was my jubilee year.  I was needy.  I was a stranger.  I was reunited with the ones I love.  Don’t forget to slow down, girls.  Reunite with the ones you love.

Take trips.  Take chances.  Take off.

Feiler was featured on the Glenn Beck Show on Friday 6.17.10

By Bruce Feiler -  the bestselling author of “Abraham,” “Walking the Bible, “America’s Prophet” and “The Council of Dads.” Click here to buy The Council of Dads.  Or click on the title to purchase America’s Prophet, which Glenn Beck called “the best book of narrative history I have ever read.  I cannot recommend it highly enough.”  To learn more, or watch a video of Bruce talking about the life lessons of his fathers, please visit www.councilofdads.com.

As we find ourselves in the midst of perhaps the greatest fight for American values including, our Judeo-Christian heritage, our inalienable rights and freedoms (the U.S. Bill or Rights enumerates many but is only the beginning), our way of life, free market Capitalism, and perhaps our Republic itself, the greatest question that we must be asking ourselves is why? 

At the center of our problems seems to be our National Character that has been purposely attacked by a progressive left movement for the past 100 years. The present onslaught under the present administration and leadership in Washington is actually the 3rd attempt to destroy the American way of life, which has been weakened through a methodical plan which includes the weakening of the family unit, the diminishment of religion being replaced by secularism or even environmentalism or sustainable development as a religion,political correctness, and the loss of connection with Americans with our history and the Founding Fathers through the focused dumbing down of America, which includes re-writing history, drugs and chemicals in our water and food supplies, vaccines, media brainwashing and diversion from core responsibilities and activities, and an onslaught of progressive thinking in all areas of life.

There is a new brilliant documentary out called Generation Zero that every American needs to see, that makes it all very clear. It pulls together everything from the past 40-years into a concise package, explaining how we got here and what we have to do to get ourselves out. If we make a U-turn and do what is needed, no matter how hard it is, we will make it. If we do not, we will fall by the way side like all former empires and superpowers that became arrogant and narcissistic.

Generation Zero is the film of the discussion and thoughts that every fiscal conservative and American who has uses their common sense has had many times over, without necessarily knowing all the facts. I know I and many of my friends have had this conversation many times, however, I didn’t realize how close the country came to collapse during the dark days of September 2008. This film makes it clear how close we came to the abyss. The film opens and closes with video from CSPAN that reflects the anger of middle-class America and how close we came to a complete and utter meltdown on September 18, 2008 when there was an electronic bank run that was hurtling out of control. Watch this clip to understand the situation. It also explains to those who still don’t get it, where the Tea Party and other like movement have come from.  (Read Full Article)

Everyone needs to see this movie: Generation Zero

We, spoiled baby-boomers raised by the Greatest Generation who wanted to spare their kids of hardship, have created The Lost Generation that desperately needs help to be turned around. Unfortunately turning the tide we have created is like righting the Titanic once she started to sink, if it is possible, it will be an extremely difficult and slow process and unfortunately not in time to stop the affects of the damage for families like the Schullers and many others… as well as for America herself. (However, in 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family… by Rebecca Hegelin, she out lines some great steps of where to start, and start we must with our kids being taught that they know better than their parents in both school and through programs like Americorps.)

The spoiling of our children and taking our eye off what might be argued as our greatest responsibility is rampant throughout America and not restricted  to any one group. Not to kick someone when they are down, but a sad example can be gained from the Schullers of Crystal Cathedral and Hour of Power fame:  Pianist Roger Williams:  (spoiled) Schuller Kids Spoiled Crystal Cathedral.

Dads, Moms, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents and all Americans must take up the gauntlet to restore our values.

Pet Dads With Their Pet (Furkids)

Related:

Deliberate Dumbing Down of America – E Book download is NOW FREE TO ALL!!!
Right click and “Save Link As” 
Click here to begin download
File is 6.75 MB

 

Technorati Tags: Perennialists,Father’s Day,Dads,education,Families,furkids,Pets,responsibilities,parenting,leadership,holidays,passing the gauntlet,Books,Neckties,Hillary,character,values,Schullers,Oxford Club,The Great Conversation

Flag Day

Photo:  Reuters

History Lesson: Poor forgotten Flag Day is like the awkward little brother of July 4th.  If you are still the owner of a paper calendar, you will find Flag Day noted on June 14th. The date commemorates the day in 1777 when the Second Constitutional Congress adopted the 13-stars and 13-stripes flag for the new nation. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation establishing June 14 as the official date to honor the flag.

This is a clip of the National Anthem played when networks signed off for the night. This was played on WITI Fox 6 when it signed off for transmitter maintenance only once in 2004. After that it never signed off for the night again. 

Video: National Anthem on TV – “Flag Evolution

Video: Flag Day Today – Celebrating Old Glory United States Adopted American Flag June 14, 1777  -  h/t to Fox and Friends 2013

America’s Patriotic Season

Franklin D. Roosevelt Progressive Flag Day Address

The Spirit of man has awakened
The Soul of man has gone forth

Grant us the wisdom and the vision
to comprehend the greatness of man’s Spirit
that suffers and endures so hugely for a goal
beyond his own brief span

We are all of us children of Earth
Grant us that simple knowledge

If our brothers are oppressed,
then we are oppressed

If they hunger, we hunger

If their freedom is taken away,
our freedom is not secure

Grant us a common faith,
that man shall know bread and peace
That he shall know justice and righteousness,
Freedom and security, an equal opportunity,
and an equal chance to do his best,
not only in our own lands, but throughout the world.

And in that faith, let us march, march toward the clean world,
our hands can make. Amen

-Franklin D. Roosevelt, June 14, 1942  -  Some things just keep coming back around!

And a shot of our Progressive President… when he thought nobody was watching…

Technorati Tags: Flag Day,Holidays,Patriotism,History,Freedom,Betsy Ross,Ol' Glory,Stars and Strips,Flag

David Brat Defeats House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a Shocking Upset to Many

Professor David Brat Defeats House #2 Republican, Eric Cantor, as the American Wind Shifts

By Marion Algier – Cross-Posted at AskMarion

There was a political earthquake on Tuesday night after the polling stations closed for Virginia’s primary elections.  Can you feel it?

The  #2 Republican in the House, Eric Cantor, lost his primary to a college professor and political neophyte. Cantor, House Majority Leader, was running for an eighth term in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, against Tea-Party backed economics professor Dave Brat, but Brat was also running on good old Republican principles that often are no longer followed.  Let us all also remember, as Brat reminded us, the grassroots of Tea Party stands for Taxed Enough Already and poured support his way, because he was running a common sense campaign.

Cantor has only faced a primary opponent twice before, and he was a favorite among Tea Partiers in 2010. Cantor conceded the race with 97% of precincts reporting from the Richmond-area district. Cantor trailed Dave Brat 55% to 44%, according to the State Board of Election’s website. Turnout was low.

Brat won Goochland County, Hanover County, Henrico County, Louisa County, New Kent County, and Chesterfield County. Cantor won Richmond City, Spotsylvania County, Orange County, and Culpeper County–by 57 votes.

Our pal Tom White from Virginia Right:

White’s initial reaction: We will see a completely different tone from Dave. He and I have been friends for several years. The man teaches ethics and is an expert in third world economics. His platform was simple. The Republican Creed.

They are calling him TEA Party. He is not. He never attended a TEA Party meeting to my knowledge other than to speak. He is simply a guy that gets it.

This also spells the end of John Boehner. Not tomorrow, but his much talked about retirement will come sooner rather than later. I believe this will mark the day Boehner's hold on power started a downhill spiral.

The implications of defeating a sitting House Leader losing a primary are huge. Not since 1994 with ... Tom Foley - has this happened.

It has been a long road to get here, but Eric Cantor's defeat sends a strong message to the world, but especially to Washington. There are consequences for your actions.

Dave and his wife Laura both hugged me and expressed their thanks. Dave will be there for 2 terms and then promises to step down. I have supported politicians in the past, including Cantor, who forget who you are as soon as an election is over. I am 100% confident that Dave will keep his personal cell and  Ican call him and get an answer any time.

I am on cloud 9 tonight and still more to write.

Video: Tea Party Candidate Dave Brat Defeats Eric Cantor In VA Primary – Dave Brat (R-VA) – Hannity

Dave Brat celebrated his stunning victory over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) for the Republican nomination on Tuesday night in a phone interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity.

The tea party-backed candidate attributed his victory to God and to grassroots efforts, calling the win a "miracle."

"If you go door to door knocking, the American people know the country is headed in the wrong direction," Brat said. "I attribute [the win] to God... God acted through the people on my behalf."

"I know there are a lot of long faces here tonight," Cantor told supporters. "It's disappointing, sure!" as Cantor gave his concession speech.

While Brat, speaking to an ecstatic crowd, said: "This is the happiest moment, obviously, of my life."

This result was a huge blow to the Republican establishment. Republicans are hoping to pick up six seats to gain a Senate majority, and are considered heavy favorites to retain a House majority.

"We all saw how far outside the mainstream this Republican Congress was with Eric Cantor at the helm, now we will see them run further to the far right with the Tea Party striking fear into the heart of every Republican on the ballot," said Representative Steve Israel of New York, who heads the House Democratic campaign committee.

During the primary campaign, Brat repeatedly accused Cantor of supporting some immigration reform principles, including "amnesty" for undocumented workers. In response, Cantor had sent voters a mailer boasting of his role in trying to kill a House immigration bill that included that provision.

Brat also accused Cantor of losing touch with his central Virginia district while serving the party's leadership.

Republican strategists suggested Cantor had been too slow to realize how real the threat from Brat was.

"Easiest way to lose a campaign is to not take your opponent seriously," tweeted strategist Matt Mackowiak.

More From Tom White: I cannot believe it.  I still cannot believe it.  We were considering if the Old Dominion would have its first Speaker since 1843.  Instead we have instead this historic event:  Congressional Quarterly was quoted on Fox News that this was the first time in US history that a Majority Leader of the House was defeated in a primary.

Yet here we are:  They have talked since just after 8 pm about how Brat shocked/stunned Majority Leader Cong. Eric Cantor.

My analysis:  Yes, the immigration issue was important to this election.  Yes Tea Party people were mad as hell.  BUT I think it was the negativity and deceits with which Cong. Cantor started his campaign with.  Not a wave the flag and rah, rah, rah – Virginia’s first Speaker perhaps since 1843/look what I can and have do for you!  But instead we had lies:  Brat is a liberal professor who refused to stand up to Governor Kaine in raising taxes and wrote a scholarly paper who called for income redistribution (The other writer of that paper said Cantor’s interpretation of the paper was a lie) and other untruths.

Well, this is a little bit like UKIP’s win in the UK European elections two weeks ago.  It is a political earthquake.  I am not sure I can get my head around it.  I had hoped against hope that Brat would win but I thought it would be something like 52-48% for Cantor.  I thought so little about it, I did not even live blog the election.  (And don’t even ask me about Senator Lindsay Graham – of course the six opponents were not effective in persuading SC Republicans to ditch Graham.  No one in a hour long debate mentioned the Mark of the Beast type biometric ID card Graham once called for for EVERY American worker!  I have to root for the enemy in SC.  Graham is unacceptable to me and is an enemy of liberty.)

The Hanover Tea Party groups are dancing on the ceiling as Lionel Richie would say it.  Between the Sarvis vote last year (The Libertarian got 30% more percentage of the vote in Hanover and King William than statewide) and this Hanover earthquake, stated below, local pols ought to fear the tea party:

Brat 8734 67.79%

Cantor 4150 32.21%

In New Kent, the votes weren’t the same but the percentage was similar (63-37) and in vote rich Henrico, Brat won by just over a thousand votes (10,819 to 9,420).  But that was enough to win!

It’s time for that sweet tea and celebrate this victory.  But tomorrow, this is your Democrat opponent:  Jack Trammell.  Yes, an Randolph-Macon College professor.  Ashland calls itself the Center of the Universe.  Well, R-MC is the center of the political universe right now!  This election ought to be an idea fest!  (Yes I am aware of the Libertarian, too – James Carr.  I hope he makes the ballot and he will add to the ideas for sure.)  Brat was on Fox tonight with a cogent message, amazing the talking heads.  By the end of the week, there be a Facebook page:  Dave Brat for President!  But I am not counting my races before November.  I walked through one gasoline fire for Brat and I’ll walk through another to vote for Brat in November!

Technorati Tags: Dave Brat,Eric Cantor,Election 2014,Primaries,2014 Election,Victory,Real Change,Changing Winds,Politics,GOP,RNC,Conservatives,Grassroots,Tea Party,Virginia,Miracles,Get-Involved,Wake-Up

D-Day Fallen and Veterans Honored on 70th Anniversary

In the military, D-Day is the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. The best known D-Day is June 6, 1944,  the day of the Normandy landing.

The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy in  Operation Overlord during World War II. The largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the Allied invasion of German-occupied western Europe, led to the restoration of the French Republic, and contributed to an Allied victory in the war.

This D-Day, the 70th Anniversary, could be the last… at least major anniversary, for many of these WWII veterans.

World leaders including President Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin gathered today in France for the celebration, as well as most of the heads of state of Europe, the EU; many wondering what Putin plans to do next and if his actions might bring us closer to WWIII. And as Obama gave his speech, many were certainly wondering how he had the nerve even to appear there with the all those heroes, the ghosts of tens of thousands of additional heroes and veterans that gathered, as the VA Scandal is raging back home and as last weekend’s scandal over the Bergdahl exchange for 5-Taliban Terrorist Commanders for what is looking more and more like a trade for a deserter and Taliban collaborator, which certainly endangers more troops, Americans everywhere and probably westerners in general, is growing.

As we look back at previous D-Day Celebrations, President Reagan’s famous 40th Anniversary speech is certainly worth hearing again.

Here are Reagan’s remarks to the veterans at Pointe du Hoc:

Video:  Normandy Speech: Ceremony Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion, D-Day 6/6/84

We’re here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For 4 long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.

We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.

The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers — the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to climb over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe.

Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After 2 days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.

Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.

Gentlemen, I look at you, and I think of the words of Stephen Spender’s poem. You are men who in your “lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor.”

I think I know what you may be thinking right now — thinking “we were just part of a bigger effort; everyone was brave that day.” Well, everyone was. Do you remember the story of Bill Millin of the 51st Highlanders? Forty years ago today, British troops were pinned down near a bridge, waiting desperately for help. Suddenly, they heard the sound of bagpipes, and some thought they were dreaming. Well, they weren’t. They looked up and saw Bill Millin with his bagpipes, leading the reinforcements and ignoring the smack of the bullets into the ground around him.

Lord Lovat was with him — Lord Lovat of Scotland, who calmly announced when he got to the bridge, “Sorry I’m a few minutes late,” as if he’d been delayed by a traffic jam, when in truth he’d just come from the bloody fighting on Sword Beach, which he and his men had just taken.

There was the impossible valor of the Poles who threw themselves between the enemy and the rest of Europe as the invasion took hold, and the unsurpassed courage of the Canadians who had already seen the horrors of war on this coast. They knew what awaited them there, but they would not be deterred. And once they hit Juno Beach, they never looked back.

All of these men were part of a rollcall of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore: the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Poland’s 24th Lancers, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, the Screaming Eagles, the Yeomen of England’s armored divisions, the forces of Free France, the Coast Guard’s “Matchbox Fleet” and you, the American Rangers.

Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge — and pray God we have not lost it — that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.

You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One’s country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew people of your countries were behind you.

The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. They fought— or felt in their hearts, though they couldn’t know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4 a.m., in Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.

Something else helped the men of D-day: their rockhard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. And, so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer he told them: Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we’re about to do. Also that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkenss for the promise God made to Joshua: “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.”

These are the things that impelled them; these are the things that shaped the unity of the Allies.

When the war was over, there were lives to be rebuilt and governments to be returned to the people. There were nations to be reborn. Above all, there was a new peace to be assured. These were huge and daunting tasks. But the Allies summoned strength from the faith, belief, loyalty, and love of those who fell here. They rebuilt a new Europe together.

There was first a great reconciliation among those who had been enemies, all of whom had suffered so greatly. The United States did its part, creating the Marshall plan to help rebuild our allies and our former enemies. The Marshall plan led to the Atlantic alliance — a great alliance that serves to this day as our shield for freedom, for prosperity, and for peace.

In spite of our great efforts and successes, not all that followed the end of the war was happy or planned. Some liberated countries were lost. The great sadness of this loss echoes down to our own time in the streets of Warsaw, Prague, and East Berlin. Soviet troops that came to the center of this continent did not leave when peace came. They’re still there, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding, almost 40 years after the war. Because of this, allied forces still stand on this continent. Today, as 40 years ago, our armies are here for only one purpose — to protect and defend democracy. The only territories we hold are memorials like this one and graveyards where our heroes rest.

We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We’ve learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.

But we try always to be prepared for peace; prepared to deter aggression; prepared to negotiate the reduction of arms; and, yes, prepared to reach out again in the spirit of reconciliation. In truth, there is no reconciliation we would welcome more than a reconciliation with the Soviet Union, so, together, we can lessen the risks of war, now and forever.

It’s fitting to remember here the great losses also suffered by the Russian people during World War II: 20 million perished, a terrible price that testifies to all the world the necessity of ending war. I tell you from my heart that we in the United States do not want war. We want to wipe from the face of the Earth the terrible weapons that man now has in his hands. And I tell you, we are ready to seize that beachhead. We look for some sign from the Soviet Union that they are willing to move forward, that they share our desire and love for peace, and that they will give up the ways of conquest. There must be a changing there that will allow us to turn our hope into action.

We will pray forever that some day that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it.

We are bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We’re bound by reality. The strength of America’s allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe’s democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.

Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.”

Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their value [valor], and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.

Thank you very much, and God bless you all.

Ronald Reagan truly was the great communicator and he loved America and the troops.

Remembering D-Day When America had Real Leadership

Nancy Reagan Remembers Ronald Reagan on 10th anniversary of his Death With Wreath Laying

Technorati Tags: D-Day,WWII,Remembering,Normandy,The Greatest Generation,Sacrifice,Veterans Affairs

Watcher’s Council Nominations - Trading For Private Weasel Edition

(hat tip to Mad Magazine and Dave Schuler of The Glittering Eye for the graphic)

Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday morning.

Council News

The Council In Action

*Elise Ronan of Liberty’s Spirit has a fine new piece up at The Times Of Israel entitled Rethinking the Definition of Autism and Aspergers

*Dave Huber, or Hube as we like to call him of The Colossus of Rhodey has a hard hitting op-ed up at The College Fix, Hey Lefties – Look In The Mirror Regarding The UCSB Murder Spree

This week, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion , The Pirate’s Cove, The Mellow Jihadi and Seraphic Secret earned honorable mention status with some great articles.

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

To bring something to my attention, simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address ( which won’t be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category. Then return the favor; by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week when it comes out Wednesday morning.

Simple, no?

It’s a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members. while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

So, without further ado, let’s see what we have for you….

Council Submissions

• Liberty’s Spirit – Trigger Warnings, Honest Realities and Stupid Celebrity Tricks
• The Noisy Room – War Is Peace, Citizens Are The Enemy
• The Independent Sentinel – Do You Know Who Is Really Destroying the Environment and Mankind
• Joshuapundit - ‘The Horror That Is America’ – Ransoming Bowe Bergdahl
• Simply Jews – IRS TAG BOLO-es Z Street
• The Right Planet – The Strange Case Of Bowe Bergdahl
• Ask Marion – It Does Make A Difference To Hillary Now *UPDATED*
• The Colossus of Rhodey – Child-like comicbook creators just can’t decide
• Bookworm Room – Yet another murderously dangerous DemProg is on the loose *UPDATED*
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Jütland
• Nice Deb – Video: Obama Receives Only Tepid Applause at West Point
• The Glittering Eye - Schedules Without Milestones
• The Razor – Guess I’m a Racist Too
• VA Right! - Virginia Right! Endorses Shak Hill for US Senate! 2007 Scandal Renders Ed Gillespie Unelectable
• Truth Revolt – Feinstein: Obama Violated Law In Gitmo Deal submitted by VA Right!
• Rhymes With Right – Patrick Byrne On Economic Warfare And Transnational Organized Crime

Honorable Mentions

• David Gerstman/Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion – How Anxious is Obama to Make a Deal with Iran?
• The Mellow Jihadi – Gwyneth Paltrow’s military mind
• The Pirate’s Cove – Obama’s Climate Policy Thought: “Are we ready for battle?”
• Seraphic Secret – Obama’s Constant Traitors

Non-Council Submissions

• Stephen Hayes/ The Weekly Standard – Hillary’s Failed Benghazi Spin submitted by Liberty’s Spirit
• Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner – Dinesh D’Souza’s ‘America’ warns Hillary Clinton will ‘finish off’ the country submitted by The Noisy Room
• Sultan Knish – Twilight Of The Family submitted by The Independent Sentinel
• Melanie Phillips/Commentary – ‘Jesus Was a Palestinian’: The Return of Christian Anti-Semitism submitted by Joshuapundit
• Capitalist Preservation – If Voting Once is Nice, Voting Twice is…? submitted by Simply Jews
• American Thinker – The Greatest Murder Machine in History submitted by The Right Planet
• Freedom Outpost - TEN Terrorists for One Traitor: The Prisoner Release You Didn’t Hear About submitted by Ask Marion
• Andrew McCarthy/The Corner – The Taliban Swap and “High Crimes and Misdemeanors” submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• I Own The World - The Smile submitted by Bookworm Room
• Josh Rogin/The Daily Beast – Bergdahl Deal Could Be First Step to Emptying Gitmo submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Washington Free Beacon - The Worst Of Jay Carney submitted by Nice Deb
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Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' warns Hillary Clinton will 'finish off' the country

“They may not be responsible for the suicide of America, but they certainly will have helped to finish off a certain way of life in America, and they will leave us with a country unrecognizable not only to Washington and Jefferson but also to those of us who grew up in the 20th century,” wrote D’Souza.

By Marion Algier

Washington Examiner:

In his highly anticipated new book and movie "America," conservative author Dinesh D'Souza is warning that Hillary Clinton won't be a clone of her moderate husband, but will instead take the baton from President Obama to continue radicalizing the country and “undo the nation's founding ideals.”

"America -- Imagine a World Without Her," published by Regnery and set for release Monday, charges that as students of radical organizer Saul Alinsky, Obama and Clinton could have enough time to “unmake and then remake America” into a nation the founding fathers wouldn't recognize.

“They may not be responsible for the suicide of America, but they certainly will have helped to finish off a certain way of life in America, and they will leave us with a country unrecognizable not only to Washington and Jefferson but also to those of us who grew up in the 20th century,” wrote D’Souza.

“If they succeed, there may be no going back. Then it will be their America, not ours, and we will be a people bereft of a country, with no place to go,” he adds on page 87.

“America: Imagine a World without Her” is D’Souza’s latest book and movie on how he sees progressive politics hurting the nation. He also created the movie “2016 Obama's America,” which was the second highest-grossing political documentary.

An advance copy of the book provided to Secrets suggests that progressives aim to remake the nation into one that is less powerful, less wealthy and less influential. If that happens, he warns, “We have committed national suicide.”

He focuses on Obama’s and Clinton’s links to Alinsky in a chapter titled “The Plan.” He claims the two followed the radical’s master plan that they hide their views and ideas until they get into power.

“If you see early pictures and video of Hillary, she looks and sounds like a former hippie. Overtime, however, Hillary started dressing like a respectable middle-class mother and speaking in a clipped, moderate sounding voice. Young Barack Obama, too, looked like a bit of a street thug -- in his own words, he could have been Trayvon Martin. Over time, however, Obama started dressing impeccably and even practiced modulating his voice,” the popular author writes.

“Hillary and Obama have both learned the Alinsky lesson that your should aggressively pursue power while pretending to be motivated by altruism,” he added.

“More importantly, Hillary and Obama both adopted Alinsky’s strategic counsel to sound mainstream, even when you aren’t,” wrote D’Souza. “These are the ways in which our two Alinskyites make themselves palatable to the American middle class, which to this day has no idea how hostile Hillary and Obama are to middle-class values.

“If Hillary Clinton is elected in 2016, the baton will have passed from one Alinskyite to another. In this case, Alinsky’s influence will have taken on a massive, almost unimaginable, importance. Obama will have had eight years to remake America, and Hillary will have another four or perhaps eight to complete the job,” he wrote.

*Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.

If you have not read Rules for Radicals, it is a must!  You can’t beat an enemy that you don’t understand!!  Hillary and Obama are both Soros pals as well.  Another great book you need to read is: The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party (Bright Empires).  And if you don’t believe that Obama and Hillary are on the same side and working together check out:  It Does Make A Difference To Hillary… Now  and  MARINE ONE FORCED TO LAND DUE TO ‘BAD WEATHER’ IN…GOOD WEATHER.

D’Souza is right and that is why the Obama administration has gone after him and it seems that their ploy may backfire on them!

There is a solution and the GOP can beat Hillary with the right candidate.  The left is going to use the same ploy with Hillary as they did with Obama… They will make themselves look like the Heroes because they are putting up the first women, as they did, the first black American. It was what the campaign of lies against the GOP has been leading up to… the made up Republican War Against Women has been part of the plan to run Hillary with that carrot, all along.  The Election of 2016 will be the battle for America’s soul and future and the key to the Republicans… Conservatives, the American Middle Class winning that battle is fighting fire with fire… pitting our toughest women against another Hillary.The key to stopping Hillary Clinton is Sarah Palin!

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