By far the blog entry that has received the most comments is the one about Islam.  My favorite is this:

"...Islam is a religion of peace...if you don't stop lying about it, we are going to kill you."

I guess that confirms what I wrote in the first place.  But lest you don't believe me, I suggest that you remember a few salient facts:

1. the Koran teaches that it is a shameful thing for any muslim to be subordinate to any non-muslim;
2. not one muslim voice was raised in opposition or condemnation when islamic militants occupied and desecrated the Church of the Nativity--the traditional site of the birth of Jesus:
3. the muslims in so-called Kosovo have desecrated and destroyed scores of Christian churches;
4. nearly a century after the creation of the so called "secular republic" in muslim Turkey, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the mother church of Orthodox Christians has still not been returned to them;
5. when a Danish newspaper ran the cartoon about Muhammad the illiterate camel herder who founded islam based on his epileptic rantings, the "peaceful" muslims responded by killing Maronite priests in Lebanon, and Christians throughout the world;
6. the muslim prelate known as the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem kept on his desk in a silver frame an autographed photograph of Adolf Hitler on which was inscribed, "to my good friend the Grand Mufti--Adolf Hitler";
7. the muslims in Afghanistan used demolitions to destroy statues of Buddha that are far older than islam itself;
8. and I could go on and on.

In fairness, I do not condemn all muslims for their evil ideology any more than I condemn all those who joined Stalin's Communist Party or Hitler's Nazi Party in order to save themselves and their families.  But saying things like "Islam is a religion of peace and is very different from its radicals", is like saying "Nazism was good for Germany, it was just those damned Hitlerist Radicals that were evil".

How would you feel if the people of Mexican ancestry voted to return the Alamo and the part of Texas surrounding it to Mexico?  After all, the battle for the Alamo ended up in a Mexican victory.  Why should we care?

Every Texan, and almost every American, knows the story of how the gallant men of the Alamo sacrificed their lives to give Sam Houston time to organize Texas's army. This resulted in Texas winning its independence at the Battle of San Jacinto.  As one historian put it, "they gave their lives that Texas might live".

If you understand that sentiment, then you understand the outrage of the Serbs regarding Kosovo.  Kosovo Polje (field) is the heart of Serbia.  It is a place where a great Serbian hero, Prince Lazar, sacrificed his life and lost a battle in 1389, which, like the Alamo, resulted in a great victory. 

Actually, the Mexicans have a better claim to the Alamo and the Albanians have to Kosovo!  Texas was originally part of Mexico.  Kosovo NEVER belong to the Albanians.  They were moved into Kosovo by the communist dictator Tito, specifically to break up Serbia and cause ongoing discontent which he could use to keep the people in subjection.

However, let's assume that in today's increasingly scary New World Order, ethnic groups have the right to secede.  In that case why can't the Serb enclaves with Kosovo secede from Kosovo?  Why can't the Serbian Republic within Bosnia secede from it?

The truth is that Kosovo is not about democracy, it is about crippling Serbia because it is the one the nation in Europe which openly defies the EU and opposes the Muslim fifth column in Europe!  The EU is appeasing the Muslims in exactly the same way that the Europeans appeased Hitler.

It's bad enough that the Western Europeans are playing these terrible games--is part of their history.  The Americans who died in two world wars paid a high price for European cowardice.  It is worse is the United States of America also supports the creation of this new Frankenstein monster.

If George Bush is going to support the independence of Kosovo, despite the solemn promise of the United States not to do so in UN Resolution 1244, then I think it's about time he apologized for Mr. Lincoln's refusal to let the Confederacy vote itself out of the United States, and give the CSA its independence!

But let's not stop there.  I think that the Albanian ethnic enclaves in Detroit and Chicago should be able to vote themselves out of the United States...

And while were at it, why don't we deal with some legitimate cries for freedom and demand that Red China withdraw from Tibet and recognize the independence of the Republic of China on Taiwan?

The answer is simple: America has become a self-serving bully being led by the feckless and cowardly western Europeans who are quivering at the site of the Muslims!

I stopped writing in this blog a year and a half ago for a variety of reasons.  But, I have things to say that are not appropriate for the other venues in which I write.  So, I have returned.

For purposes of continuity, I will be republishing most of my initial blog entries over the next few days, together with their original timestamps.

The purpose of this blog is neither to entertain, nor persuade, or even inform.  Rather, it is simply a record of things that need to be written so that they can be

preserved, and perhaps be of use somewhere, sometime.  However, if you happen to be entertained, persuaded or even informed, I will be suitably gratified.

I have chosen to write under nom de plume for good reason; I hope those of you who know me will understand and accept that...

 

            --Cicero

The Serbs and Yugoslavia: Betrayed again and again

When I moved to Montenegro I had the same impression of the situation in former Yugoslavia as most Americans: that the Serbs were monsters who subjugated the other nationalities in Yugoslavia.  I learned the truth first hand.

Like many views created and fostered by the media, this one was a lie.

BUSH LIED!

I THOUGHT THAT GEORGE BUSH “GOT IT” when he said that the US would not tolerate terrorism or those states that support terrorism…But HE LIED! (Not about weapons of mass destruction—I believe the Israeli intelligence reports that they were moved to Syria at the very beginning of the war.)

I never supported nor voted for another Republican (much less Democratic) candidate for President until Ronald Reagan. His words and deeds form an enduring political gospel that is very different from the beliefs of the pseudo- conservatives in today’s Republican Party, who wrap themselves in Ronald Reagan while undermining everything Reagan believed:

• Our goal ought to be the greatest degree of individual freedom consistent with an orderly society.
• Government is not the solution to the problem, government is the problem.

George W. Bush and his Republican Party are far more akin to Richard Nixon than Ronald Reagan.  Like Richard Nixon, George W. Bush has apparently never seen a government power or program he doesn’t like—at least as long as he runs the government.

His actions demonstrate that he and his Republicans believe in:

*  Unlimited presidential government unfettered by the constitution;

*  State capitalism in which government promotes its favorites and regulates or indicts opponents out of existence;

*  Using national defense as an excuse for unlimited power;

*  Narrowly defined values invoked to buy political support at the expense of freedom (and I am Not talking about abortion, I am pro-life, but the Framers of the Constitution tried to ensure that all social issues were State and not Federal matters—read the 10th Amendment: if we forgot anything, the Federal Government can’t do that either.).

George Bush and his Republicans are called conservative simply because they are to the RIGHT of the democrats, not because they support conservative principles.

Even Theodore Roosevelt, who was known for his expansionist views of presidential power thought it had some limits and said, "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."

I am a conservative. I have always been a conservative. For most of my life I even considered myself a patriot.

The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred when I was 9 years old. I was living on the direct flight path between MacDill AFB and Castro. The sight of those warplanes flying overhead so close that I could almost touch them shocked me into political awareness.

In 1964 I walked a precinct for Barry Goldwater; and lost my entire allowance in failed elections bets with my schoolmates. From working in that campaign, and from reading Goldwater’s book, “The Conscience of a Conservative”, I came to understand that there were four cardinal principles on which modern American Conservatism was built: + Limited constitutional government; + Free enterprise; + Strong national defense; and + Traditional values.

I deeply and passionately believe in the God-given freedom and personal dignity of the individual. These rights, enshrined in Magna Carta, the Common Law, the English Bill of Rights, the US Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution have guaranteed the greatest amount of prosperity and personal dignity and freedom in the history of the world! I am saddened that the heirs to this legacy, here and in the UK, have traded their inalienable rights for a bowl of pottage and some magic beans.

Ayn Rand and the Objectivists deduce individual rights from observable moral principles. Many others deduce them from Natural Law. The Declaration of Independence asserts they come from our Creator.

Being an Eastern Orthodox Christian, I prefer a more theological approach. If you prefer another approach to the same conclusion, feel free to skip any of the indented paragraphs.

When the Lord God created the universe, He could have made man an automaton without the ability to do wrong. But He didn’t, He made man is His own image and gave him free will; even though He knew with perfect foreknowledge that the price of that free will would be sin and death, and ultimately cost the life of His Own Son on the cross.

If the freedom of every man is that important to our Creator, how can it be any less to us?

There has been a steady war on those freedoms since the inception of the Republic. Some people, who genuinely believe they know what is good for us better than we do ourselves, are trying to create a perfect society.

The very flawed nature of man prevents that from happening. Until the Author of the Universe steps back into it to permanently fix what man has broken, the best we can hope for is peace, freedom and justice: not perfection.

That perfect society seems to be turning out to be a blend of George Orwell’s “Big Brother” from “1984” and “Soma pills” from Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”.  Big Brother ought to be obvious—perhaps Soma is a little less so: I am convinced that the American People have become so addicted to wasteful, puerile  consumerism, that they will trade fundamental liberty for the latest video games, labor-saving device, or “Reality TV Show”.

When I watch Americans meekly surrendering their rights to an ever-growing government leviathan, I wonder what happened to the spirit that cried out:

• Is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death. (Patrick Henry)
• Those who would surrender essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -- Even peace can be purchased at too high a price. (Benjamin Franklin)
• If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen. (Samuel Adams)
• It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from the government. (Thomas Paine)

It should be remembered that those statements were acts TREASON against their lawful government, which at the time, was one of the freest in the world.

George Washington, who was hardly a libertarian, let alone anarchist, offered these thoughts:

• Bind the government down with the strong chains of a constitution; and
• Government, like fire, is a useful servant, but a fearful master.

Compare those sentiments to a statement made directly to me by a federal officer: “Giving up your personal rights is the price you have to pay for freedom.” If you can figure that one out, please explain it to me.

 

For more than 45 years we were in an undeclared war with the Soviet Union and its satellites and surrogates.  This Evil Empire had the best spy services in the world.  They had millions of true believers willing to kill and die for Marxism-Leninism.  They had a nuclear arsenal pointed at every major American and Western European city with enough force to turn us into a radioactive parking lot. They riddled the US with spies and used the UN as if it were an agency of their foreign ministry.  They were truly the Evil Super Power intent on our destruction.

YET DESPITE ALL OF THAT we never needed a Patriot Act. We never needed Federal Police with powers only slightly less unrestrained than the KGB or Gestapo.

AND WE STILL WON!