"With a fantasy like this who wants the truth?"  This memorable quote taken from the movie "Bed of Roses" starring Janine Garafalo as the faithful best friend Kim who reveals her preference in romantic relationships. The Live8 "awareness" campaign touted by Bob Geldolf and his merry band of musicians is the embodiment of this quote.  Bob and his fellow libs have this fantasy of helping the starving poor, but with no reality involved.

The Live8 website states "by doubling aid, fully cancelling debt, and delivering trade justice for Africa, the G8 could change the future for millions of men, women and children."  Through USAID and numerous non-profit agencys, the US goverment and it's citizens contribute billions of dollars towards this effort.  Sending billions to toltarian dictatorships and self serving politicians has proved to be a disasterous policy for the citizens of those nations.  President Mugabe of Zimbabwe is known to have used donated food aid as a political weapon in order to decimate his political opposition.  Cancelling debt will only allow the corrupt politicians and petty warlords to start borrowing money to pay for the mercedes, palaces and weapon stockpiles all over again. As long as there is no infastructure, and free markets there will be no meaningful change in the lives of the average poor African.  I am sure that asking the Africans to build an economy where the average citizen can earn money in order to support themselves might be considered a form of torture by the liberal set.  Delivering "trade justice" is just another form of free handouts, quite like a welfare check.  Are we to assume the $18,000 gift bags given to the artists can be considered musical justice?

Blindly throwing money into this problem will never, ever solve this problem!

I did not add my signature to the One Foundation's petition to the G8. Revealed upon the conversation I had with a volunteer staffer was a gross misunderstanding of basic economics and an unrealistic world view.  The One foundation staffer offered no concrete, boots on the ground plans to improve the economic stagnation of these nations outside of increasing my tax burden to pay for the debt relief and increased monetary aid to Africa. The worldwide protests and demonstrations planned offer no real solution to the issue of poverty, just a continuation of the same policies that enable the cycle of poverty.

Walking around the Parkway prior to the start of the concert, there was a almost carnival like atmosphere, with vendors lined along the street selling various types of delicious food and drink. The capitalist spirit was alive and kicking on the Parkway.  One could purchase a range of Live8 souvenirs from the "official" T-shirts for $20 to CD's containing music from the artists performing at Philly Live8 ($5).  The only people who believe profits from these sales went to reducing debt in Africa are those who prefer fantasy over the truth.  

The usual anti-Bush and anti-capitalist suspects were in attendance on the fringes of the Parkway trying to convince me to help distribute their "literature" to the crowds.  A majority of those attending were far more interested in watching their favorite band perform than in any of the nonsense they were pedaling. I find such irony in their opposition to any free market economy (while busily selling T-shirts promoting Socialism). Capitalism is the key to the eradication of poverty and oppression worldwide.  The economic aid and IMF loans over the past 15 years have not solved the poverty issues in Africa, infact, it has enabled an unending cycle of dependency in these nations.  Why bring more of the same ideas to the table unless you want to ensure the continuation of poverty worldwide.


 
Bob and friends have proven without question that people will gather in mass quantities to attend free concerts featuring music performed by popular bands.  The uniting of music lovers worldwide offers no answer, let alone cure, to third-world povery.  The answer lies in the hands of the citizens of those destitute nations.

It seems Bob Geldof has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in organizing these concerts.  Well, it could have been worse, Kofi Annan could have garnered the nomination.

The city of Philadelphia should be given an award for putting together a well organized event on the Parkway.  The city really stepped up to the plate and delivered with this concert. It was a perfect day to spend listening to good music and enjoying some delicious food, too bad the entire point of it was to make the audience feel guilty over African poverty.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, AMERICA

"The whole history of our continent is a history of the imagination. Men imagined land beyond the sea and found it. Men imagined the forests, the great plains, the rivers, the mountains – and found these plains and mountains. They came, as the great explorers crossed the Atlantic, because of the imagination of their minds – because they imagined a better, a more beautiful, a freer, happier world."

Archibald Macleish

Mr. Kennedy called Justice O'Connor "a mainstream conservative" and "a wise judge who served the nation and the Constitution well." Mr. Bush's choice for a replacement, Senator Kennedy went on, "affects each and every American and has the potential to impact every facet of constitutional law and the freedoms this country was founded upon."

"If the president abuses his power and nominates someone who threatens to roll back the rights and freedoms of the American people," Mr. Kennedy said, "then the American people will insist that we oppose that nominee, and we intend to do so."

Justice O'Connor was a mainstream conservative and was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. I hope the President will select someone who meets the high standards that she set, and that can bring the nation together as she did.

Bring the nation together? Exactly how?  Her role in the Supreme Court was to interpret the Contitution, not to play politician.  The sobering truth finds Justice O'Connor publicly admitting the Supreme Court's reliance on international law, specifically European laws that happen to agree with their view, when rendering a high court decision.  Senator Kennedy professes a concern of the outsourcing of labor, yet condones the outsourcing of our nation's Supreme Court.

 "After September 11, 2001, I told the American people that the road ahead would be difficult and that we would prevail. Well, it has been difficult. And we are prevailing. Our enemies are brutal, but they are no match for the United States of America and they are no match for the men and women of the United States military. "

"Thank you. And may God bless America.”

The Humorous Fate of the German Economy

In 2005, Germany continues to struggle through yet another year of stagnant economic growth: last month, a consortium of six leading German economic institutes forecasted GDP growth of just 0.7% (compared with 3.7% in the US, 2.5% in the UK and 1.5% in the Eurozone as a whole) as levels of unemployment hit more than 12% (compared with about 5% in the US and UK and 9% in the Eurozone). These dismal figures on the health of the Europe's largest economy and the world's largest exporter are just the latest in a difficult decade of stagnant growth that has been blamed for startling levels of pessimism, depression and anxiety among the German population, who for 50 years have sourced their greatest national pride from their country's economic strength and prosperity. A recent poll conducted by one of Germany's largest insurance companies made some alarming findings, which mental health experts have linked to Germany's uncertain economic future: 40% of Germans say they are unhappy, only 28% are optimistic about their future and up to 70% say they are prepared to seek professional assistance for their psychological health.

Laughter is said to be the best medicine, and given perilous decline in the German economy, perhaps the only thing left for the Germans to do is laugh.

Laughter School opens in Germany 

The world’s first laughter school has opened in Berlin to teach serious minded Germans to lighten up.

Laughter teacher Susanne Maier said people who sign up for the courses practice exercises to teach them all the different types of laughs.

Standing around in small groups, Germans are seen slapping themselves on the forehead with their mouths wide open and practicing different types of laughter.

Maier said: “The most important laugh is the believable laugh, especially here in a land that has forgotten how to laugh. But I am hoping to see laughter schools opening up everywhere. Germany will become a land of laughter – and Berlin the laughter capital of Europe.”

Susanne Maier’s last comment brings to mind the question: Can the opening of a satellite campus in France be far off?

Flag Burning: O Say can you see...

WASHINGTON -- The House approved, for the sixth time since 1995, a constitutional amendment Wednesday that would prohibit the desecration of the American flag. It now goes to the Senate, which has twice rejected similar proposals.

Proposed amendments to the Constitution need approval by two-thirds of the Senate, or 67 votes, before being sent to the states for ratification. in 1995 and in 2000 the flag amendment lost by four Senate votes.

A far more practical approach to protect the flag from liberal arsonists would be to use non-flammable fabric in the making of the Flag.  This change in material would protect the Flag far better than any constitutional amendment.

The constitutional right to free speech is the cornerstone on which desecrating the Flag is tolerated. Yet the act of burning the Flag symbolizes the end of dialogue, debate and reason. No constructive alternative solutions - outside of the usual "roll over and play dead" appeasement schemes - have ever risen from the ashes of a burned Flag.

The US Flag - a symbol of America - encompasses more than the threads that compose it.  To former WW2 POW, Otto Erler, a handkerchief made from a small US Flag became his flag of redemption and freedom.  Braving a torturous death in an unmarked POW camp (what about the Geneva Conventions, Libs!) during WW2 , Jose Quintero fashioned a patchwork Flag that he used to save the lives of his fellow prisoners from American bombers.  Beaten, with eyes almost swollen shut, (hello, Geneva Convention) Vietnam POW Mike Christian slowly starts sewing another patchwork flag so that he and his fellow prisioners could pledge allegiance to our Flag and to our country.  To these heros, the US Flag is a representation of the greater good that is the United States.

The US Flag has flown over this nation since 1777, in this time, it has weathered sunny days and perilous fights.  Attacks on the Flag by hemp smoking hippies, or misguided che-wannabe's, only serve to incur more opposition from true Americans.  Symbols like the US Flag or the Liberty Bell are iconic representations of this Nations bedrock principlesof freedom, liberty and hope.  Patchouli smelling throwbacks just don't understand this concept: destroying the Flag does not destroy the principles represented by the Flag, it only strengthens our connection to them. Long after the liberals have moved.on.com, the Flag will by flying proudly over this Nation. Francis Scott Key got it right in when he penned these famous words:

Finally, FINALLY, Karl Rove takes the Democratic Party to task for its vicious attacks on the administration's successful war on terror!  Rove's commented the inablility of the Democratic/Liberal party to comprehend that acts of appeasement only best serve the interests of those who wish our destruction.  Then again, perhaps they DO understand.

Senator Durbin's calculated and libelous comments regarding the treatment of the detainees at Gitmo endangers the lives of the coalition troops serving in Iraq.  These comments also attempted to undermine the credibility of the US government in the eyes of Middle Eastern governments.  Disturbingly,  the Senator's comments highlight the adoption by the Democratic Party of the progressive manifesto, so chillingly described by Nick De Genova: " Peace is subversive, peace anticipates a very different world than the one in which we live--a world where the US would have no place. The only true heroes are those who find ways that help defeat the U.S. military...I personally would like to see a million Mogadishus."

Is this the path the Democratic party wants to tread in their quest to take back America?

NEW YORK - Speaking in a Manhattan ballroom just a few miles north of ground zero, Karl Rove said on Wednesday night that the Democratic party did not understand the consequences of the Sept. 11 attacks. Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers," Rove said. "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war."

Rove, President Bush’s chief political advisor, spoke at the state Conservative Party's annual dinner. He praised the conservative movement's success, calling it "the guiding philosophy for the White House, the Senate, the House.”

Rove said the Democratic Party made the mistake of calling for "moderation and restraint" after the terrorist attacks.

"Conservatives saw what happened to us on 9/11 and said we will defeat our enemies. Liberals saw what happened to us and said we must understand our enemies."

Rove also denounced Sen. Dick Durbin's comments comparing interrogation at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp to the methods of Nazis and other repressive regimes. He said the statements have been broadcast throughout the Middle East, putting American troops in greater danger. Durbin has since apologized for the remarks.

(SACRAMENTO) – The non-profit group that supports our troops and the war against terrorism, Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org) has launched a campaign to rally public support for the Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The “I LOVE GITMO” campaign will take to the airwaves in the form of paid commercials urging Americans to support the men and women operating the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

"GITMO is a key arsenal in the fight against terrorism, and Americans must stand behind the heroic men and women of the Armed Forces who serve proudly there,” said Howard Kaloogian, Co-Chair of Move America Forward.

The campaign to support GITMO was launched on Thursday with the release of the “I LOVE GITMO” bumper sticker.  Thousands of these bumper stickers have been sold in the first 24 hours they were available online at www.MoveAmericaForward.org

Brought to you by: Dummocrats.com 

Downing Street Memo: An exersize in Liberal Cognitive Dissonance

Dick Polman, staff writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer goes to great lengths in his article: Making Hay of Pre War Memos, to express how “the public’s patience is being taxed like never before” over the revelations of the Downing Street Memo.  Let’s have a look at this Memo that has Liberals running around in tin-foil hats proclaiming, ”The Impeachment is near!”