News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
Mother’s Prayer By Peggy Mann — Reader Tom C says he says he made a point during a recent fishing trip to Colorado to visit a venue to catch a performance by his friend Peggy Mann.
Here is a link to Ms. Mann singing a song she wrote at a 9/11 memorial service. It’s called A Mother’ Prayer
A bizarre, Maoist attempt to squelch dissent by President Barack Obama has earned him the sobriquet The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers which is being tweeted around the world. 
Ayers is the bizarre, Maoist 1960s radical and wealthy Chicagoan who was instrumental in Obama’s rise to power.
Ayers once said 25 million Americans would have to be eliminated in order to bring about his utopian dream. Ayers is married to Bernardine Dohrn who famously expressed approval of murder of Sharon Tate and others by the Manson family.
Obama is asking that reports of any criticism of himself or his administration be reported through the website AttackWatch.Com. It’s clearly an attempt to intimidate but it appears to have backfired as Obama’s opponents on all parts of the political spectrum have been reporting themselves with scathing comments.
Don’t assume Obama’s only opponents are conservatives. It was said after the results of Tuesdays special election for the New York 9th District congressional seat came in, that the president has not only lost the middle, but the left as well.
Oh, and feel free to report us again here at BillLawrenceOnline.Com albeit we already have.
We Remember. Never Forget. These phrases have been endlessly uttered in the weeks leading up to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. If only they held the true meaning so many ascribe to them.
But, to quote a line recently overheard: There’s what people want to hear; there’s what people want to believe; there’s everything else; then there’s the truth. It’s time to cut through the emotion and get to the heart of where America really stands, a decade later. Be warned: It’s not a pretty picture. And through it all, no leader has appeared who can steer the nation back on track and take the bull by the horns to avoid another major attack—and, God forbid if there is one, lead the nation through it.
* * *
The Economy After spending hundreds of billions on homeland security, and over a trillion more on two wars, is America in a stronger position than it was in 2001? Not even close. In fact, in large part due to the blood and treasure expended, this nation is in perhaps its most precarious state ever.
Manufacturing jobs have been hemorrhaging at an unprecedented rate, the economy is in shambles with absolutely no recovery in sight, the real rate of inflation is significantly higher than the government admits, and incomprehensibly large debt has America on the brink of insolvency.
And all can be attributed to one thing: the lack of an energy policy. Or, more accurately, the flagrant disregard of instituting an energy policy that utilizes America’s vast resources. The result is complete reliance on foreign oil, especially from hostile Middle Eastern oil nations whose regard for America’s interests resides somewhere between zero and nonexistent.
Mammoth spikes in gasoline, diesel and jet fuel continue to drive up costs, which puts companies out of business, citizens on the unemployment rolls, and keeps bank foreclosure executives very, very busy.
Perhaps most tragic of all, American’s immutable sense of pride and nationalism has taken a hit. Once, we possessed a “can-do” pioneering spirit that pervaded all aspects of American life, where “impossible” was not in the American lexicon. That resolve is what vanquished the Axis Powers in World War II. It’s what opened up the western U.S. after the war, making California alone one of the largest economies in the world. It’s how we put a man on the moon a mere 66 years after the Wright brothers’ famous 120-foot, 12-second flight. And yes, it’s how, under the leadership of Ronald Wilson Reagan, America won the Cold War—and provided freedom for millions.
Failure to achieve success was the exception. Now it’s become the norm. The best example of our malaise of mediocrity? Ground Zero.
The most startling aspect of that hallowed ground isn’t that the Twin Towers, once the sentinels of American free enterprise, are gone, but that NOTHING stands there. Sure, there are reflecting pools and trees, and a shell of a building. But that’s it.
It’s been 10 years!
How is that possible? How can a decade have passed with no real progress? How could we have let the enemy win that important part of the battle?
As a comparison, if the Empire State Building had been attacked during World War II, it would have been rebuilt immediately. No questions asked, and no moral victories for the enemy.
And to those naysayers who would argue “it’s a different time,” think again. If the 9/11 attacks had felled China’s buildings instead of ours, you can bet the ranch that they would have been resurrected—bigger, better, and bolder—in less than a year. Guaranteed.
Why? Because the Chinese took a chapter out of America’s playbook, and are mastering it to perfection. You know—the same playbook that we seem to have relegated to the dustbin.
Are We Safer? Given the hundreds of billions allocated for our security, are we really safer?
Despite some advances in communications, intelligence and specific security measures, the ultimate answer is no, for there are two gaping holes in our defenses: The borders are wide open and we refuse to profile. Both are easily rectifiable, but because political correctness wins the day, Americans are living with a false sense of security.
Borders: What good does securing airports do if al Queda can simply walk across the border from Mexico—with a suitcase nuclear weapon? Incompetent as that organization ultimately is, especially now that bin Laden is dead, they’re not dumb. If they haven’t already smuggled weapons and terrorist cell members into America via our porous borders (fat chance of that, as intelligence experts concede cells are in place), they soon will.
Despite ample funds to build a wall—a clear deterrent to both illegal invaders and terrorists—neither party chooses to do so for purely political reasons. So much for real Homeland Security.
Profiling: Grandmothers continue to receive prisoner-like exams at our nation’s airports, while olive-complexioned individuals from the Middle East stroll by, unquestioned, with smirks on their faces. Why the free pass? Precisely because they look like Arabs.
America’s lawmakers have caved in to a small element that shouts “racist” anytime profiling is employed, especially in, God forbid, airports. Such practice, they claim, singles out individuals just because they appear “Muslim” or “Arab” and, as a result, these flyers feel offended.
Get over it.
Profiling is simply a tool for law enforcement to determine who and what may be a threat, based on an ever-increasing array of data. Certain packages may be the hallmark container for a bomb—and they should be checked. A specific type of shoe may be the favored choice of shoe-bombers—so that footwear, and the owner, should be closely examined.
And yes, certain Arab and/or Muslim individuals, based on historical events, and along with appearance characteristics, mannerisms, suspect financial transactions and other patterns of behavior, should be singled out for closer inspection.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with profiling in sensitive security areas. Yes, it’s a form of discrimination. So what? All 19 highjackers on 9/11 were Muslim Arabs. And so was the 20th, Zacarias Moussaoui. The 1993 World Trade Center bombings were also carried out by people of this ethnic group. As was the trans-Atlantic shoe bomber, the bombers of the U.S.S. Cole, the Madrid train bombers, and the London subway attackers.
What are we missing? Why are we so scared to profile? What will it take for America to demand policies that actually protect, not appease?
Sadly, probably only another terrorist attack.
This is because our elected leaders are, for the most part, too scared to tackle the issue, even though the majority of Americans support such measures. They are counseled to stay away from “hot-button” topics, instead focusing on 30-second soundbites on irrelevant issues.
To be clear, I am not advocating that random people on the street be detained and interrogated, with no probable cause, just because they “look Arab.” This kind of harassment is contrary to the freedoms our country provides.
But it’s time we stop worrying about people’s feelings and reintroduce some common sense into our security measures.
One thing is for sure: al Queda will not stop. And if we continue to give them openings, they will gladly take them. While it’s not possible to guarantee another attack won’t occur, it will be unconscionable if it does—and was preventable.
If we truly want to honor the memory of the 3,000 souls who perished on 9/11, we need to jettison political correctness, enter the real world, and combat threats in a
meaningful way.
God help us if we don’t.
A Tea Party In Brooklyn — Republican Bob Turner, who ran as a Tea Party supporter, crushed Democrat opponent David Weprin in a special election last night (Sept. 13) to take the 9th District New York congressional seat that was once held by ultra-lefties Chuck Schumer and, most recently, Anthony “Little” Weiner.
A Republican has not won there since 1920.
It was a rout with Turner getting 54 percent of the vote, almost the percentage Obama got when he won the district that consists of parts of Queens and Brooklyn, in 2008.
So, does Allyson Schwartz, the ultra-left, secular Jewish, one-time abortion clinic executive director who represents Pennsylvania’s 13th District, feel someone walking over her grave?
She certainly should.
And speaking of Montgomery County, parts of which are represented by Ms. Schwartz, Tea Party activist Bob Guzzardi points out that businessman Steve Welch, who is seeking to be the GOP’s answer in 2012 to incumbent Senator Little Bobby Casey, was a strong supporter of leftist Congressman Joe Sestak and voted for Barack Obama in the Democrat Primary, albeit he says he voted for John McCain in the general election.
It’s good that you saw the light, Steve, but there are other potential candidates who saw it sooner and see it brighter and those are the ones that thinking people will want.
A U.S. district judge, today, Sept. 13, declared that Congress exceeded its authority under the Constitution when it required all Americans to buy health insurance under Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act i.e. ObamaCare.
Christopher C. Conner who sits in Harrisburg and on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said “The federal government is one of limited enumerated
powers, and Congress’s efforts to remedy the ailing health care and
health insurance markets must fit squarely within the boundaries of
those powers.”
Conner made the ruling on behalf of Barbara and Gregory Bachman of Etters, York County who had filed suit challenging the individual mandate.
The Bachmans are self-employed, owning and operating Performance Marine and do not have health insurance. They are believed to be the first private citizens to have been granted standing to challenge ObamaCare.
Judge Conner was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush in 2002.
Hat tips GrassrootsPa.Com and WomenOfGrace.Com
Sam Rohrer has confirmed that he is considering a challenge to incumbent and not-as-pro-life-as-he-likes-to-claim Democrat Senator Bob Casey Jr.
Rohrer told PoliticsPa.Com on Sept. 9 that “family circumstances have already been taken care of” and that the ground support is there.
He said the major issue preventing him from making the declaration official is fundraising. A senate run would be expected to cost $20 million.
Rohrer, a Republican, had represented the 128th District in the Pennsylvania House from 1993 to 2010 and was the respected Republican chairman of the House Finance Committee. He refrained from seeking re-election last year to concentrate on an insurgent gubernatorial run in the Pennsylvania primary. He lost to Tom Corbett, who would be the general election winner, and who is someone to whom he has never warmed.
He was named state director of Americans for Prosperity last February.
Ugly Rich Is John Kerry — John Kerry can trace his roots to John Winthrop and has a net worth of $239 million. His wife, Teresa, is worth a cool billion which she inherited from her first husband, H. John Heinz 3rd.
Pajamas Media notes that they did not pay a penny in taxes on the $4.8 million they earned last year from investments in municipal bonds.
Kerry, of course, is the progressive-leftist Democrat senator from Massachusetts who was the Democrat candidate for president in 2004 and was the darling of progressive leftists everywhere.
Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House until she skillfully lost the post to the Republicans last year. She is worth $58 million. She and her husband, John, own beaucoup real estate in the San Francisco Bay area and a vineyard in Saint Helena. She too is a progressive leftist.
John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, a Democrat senator from West Virginia, is worth $200 million. He is the great grandson of robber baron John D. Rockefeller. He is a progressive leftist.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, who have each held the title “richest man in the world”, are progressive leftists and give to progressive leftists causes.
Hey all you progressive-leftist, let’s-look-out-for-the-little-guy types out there: did it ever occur to you that you are getting rolled?
Oh, and Barack Obama? His net worth is estimated at $10.1 million. Pretty good for a guy whose non-political career was that of a community organizer.
Unheralded Tropical Storm Lee has brought the worst flooding to Northeast Pennsylvania since Hurricane Agnes of 1972. There have been four reported deaths as of this morning, Sept. 9.
Father James Hayer of St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church in Wilkes Barre reported this at 6:09 a.m.
The Susquehanna River has flooded, cresting at almost 39 feet a few hours ago. It was expected to crest at 40.7 feet, which was a deep concern because the levee system maximum height is 41 feet.
We are only 2 blocks from the river, but everything here by the church (695 N. Main St.) is ok so far because we are on high ground. So far, 65,000 people have been evacuated from the Wyoming valley. The river crested this morning at 1AM and has begun to recede, but is still flowing very fast.
If the levee holds within the next 12 hours, the water should slow down and recede even further – so we are thankful, but holding our breath. Unfortunately, many communities not protected by the dike system are now underwater.
Our biggest concern near the church is becoming landlocked and/or losing power. Deacon Ed and I went to bless the river yesterday morning after liturgy and, within 10 minutes, the dry grass was covered. 40 minutes later, that road was closed. The water levels rose very quickly yesterday, exacerbating the problem for many people.
Thanks for your prayers and concern.
And there they were, in all their glory, basking in the attention gained from protesting Marcellus Shale drilling. Sure, those who were angrily denouncing the gas industry during the Marcellus Shale Coalition Conference in Philadelphia got the attention of the local media. But by far, their biggest cheering section, the folks who were happily paying the closest attention, weren’t even in Pennsylvania.
They’re in the Middle East.
The leaders of those oil nations could not
be more thrilled to have such a passionate cadre of protesters, who do
everything in their power to ensure the United States remains bent over
the foreign oil barrel. As an added bonus, American petro dollars are
used to fund extremist anti-American programs in those very same Middle
Eastern nations, resulting in a new generation of well-funded
terrorists.
About the only thing missing is the Middle
Eastern oil barons not paying the protesters to be their registered
lobbyists, because that’s exactly what they are.
* * *
We are witnessing the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of
mankind as America needlessly sends trillions to China and the Middle
East. The standard of living in those countries continues to rise, as
does their global power, while the United States slowly devolves into a
second-world nation with—at least for now—a first-world military.
And here’s the part no one wants to admit
but is unequivocally true: It will never again be the way it was, and
the American way of life simply cannot improve until the people remove
their heads from their derrieres and demand that we utilize our own
domestic energy resources. Absent that, the demise is unstoppable.
A look at any port tells the story: Tankers
and freighters come to America fully laden, but leave U.S. shores
virtually empty. And the reason is simple. We make nothing. No nation
can survive, let alone prosper, if it abandons its manufacturing base.
But that is exactly what we did.
Of course, we will never be able to compete
with the lowest labor costs in the world. So the only way to offset that
is to have the lowest energy costs in the world. And more than any
nation on Earth, America can do that. How? By utilizing the greatest
concentration of energy resources on the planet—a level that dwarfs that
of any other nation.
There are vast—almost immeasurable—yet
untapped oil reserves off both coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico, in
Alaska (especially in the ANWR), under the Rocky Mountains, and in the
Bakken Formation in North Dakota. And that’s just for starters.
America has also been blessed with an
overabundance of natural gas, including the Marcellus Shale, which just
happens to be the second-largest gas deposit in the world. Ironically,
many of the gas protesters who describe themselves as
“environmentalists” (whatever that means) are opposing the cleanest fuel
available.
Natural gas produces virtually no emissions,
which not only is good for the environment, but its low price and
limitless supply are lessening use of more emission–producing fossil
fuels. It’s a no-brainer. And since it is less than half the price of
gasoline, the wider utilization of natural gas can power the economy in
an unprecedented way. As companies like UPS have realized, lower fuel
costs give them a competitive edge, and that means greater commerce and
more jobs.
And speaking of jobs, take a look at just
one glowing example right here in Pennsylvania of how natural gas can
get the economy moving again. Procter & Gamble has a substantial
manufacturing plant in the state, and as with any such facility, energy
costs are always one of the priciest budget items.
Upon discovering natural gas under that
plant, the company invested in several gas wells on the property—money
that was quickly recouped since their energy bill is now dramatically
less. Businesses in that situation can now take the millions in savings
and expand operations, hire more workers at good salaries, and keep
manufacturing doors open in America.
But that’s just the beginning. It’s all the
ancillary effects that result from gas that can jumpstart the economy:
Homes are built and bought (driving down foreclosures), restaurants
thrive, many small businesses no longer face closure, and untold new
businesses spring to life. Estimates are that 100,000 jobs have already
been created because of Pennsylvania’s (fledgling) gas industry, and
billions in tax revenue have filled municipal and state coffers.
And that is but a mere preview of what’s to come.
Yet the protesters would rather kill all
that off, content to keep the status quo of $4 gasoline, rising
inflation and a stagnant economy. Oh, and one more thing: Their actions
jeopardize the safety of every American by keeping the nation in a state
of begging, totally reliant on foreign oil. To say our national
security is weakened would be a gross understatement.
Here’s the bottom line. Two plus two always
equals four, whether or not one chooses to believe that. Likewise, black
gold and natural gas are the lifeblood of every economy, and that
unequivocally will not change for scores of decades, if ever. Those
countries with petroleum resources thrive, while those reliant on rival
nations for their energy needs are always at a substantial disadvantage.
It is survival of the fittest, and no amount of fairy-tale fluff will
change that fact.
The most ignorant aspect of Shale protesters
is that they only harp on the “horrors” of natural gas and oil (most of
which are easily debunked myths, but that’s another column), yet offer
no alternatives—at least none grounded in the real world. If they ever
do, they will be taken seriously. But until then, they will be laughed
off as extremists trying to achieve a relevance that is simply
unattainable.
Solar? Wind? Hydro? Love them all. And we
should continue to utilize them so long as they are cost efficient. But
they do not make even the smallest dent in meeting America’s energy
needs. Attempts to argue the contrary are folly.
Nuclear is a different ballgame, and we
should be doubling our plants, but in the wake of Japan’s (avoidable)
crisis, combined with zero political leadership from either party in
Washington, that’s a pipe dream.
Which brings us back to gas. If not gas and
oil, then what? More reliance from hostile foreign nations while our
global competitors gain yet another foothold on America? That’s not a
solution. It’s a death sentence.
Natural gas, and the industry itself, are
not perfect, but they are most certainly the best option we have to keep
our communities safe and prosperous, and our people’s dignity intact.
Criticism for the sake of criticism—with no viable solutions—is simply
irresponsible.
Of course, so is cooking one’s meal with
propane stoves while protesting a natural gas conference—as some
hypocritical protesters actually did. And that says it all.
It’s high time the United States of America
stops using Chinese as its official language and asking permission from
Middle Eastern oil barons.
So come up with something better and get your fracking facts straight, or go pass gas somewhere else.
Dom Giordano Hecht Of An Announcer — Congratulations to Dom Giordano of WPHT 1210AM for winning the Ben Hecht Award for Outstanding Journalism, which is presented by The Philadelphia District of the Zionist Organization of America, a
non-profit group that concentrates on education, advocacy and outreach
on behalf of Israel and a strong and mutually beneficial U.S.-Israel
relationship.
Hecht is best known for his screenplays which include Scarface (the original); Notorious and, most iconically, The Front Page and His Gal Friday.
Before becoming the toast of Hollywood Hecht made his fame as a Hildy-Johnson-type Chicago journalist.
Hecht, who was Jewish, was a notable supporter of Israel during the nation’s birth pangs.
