Backyard Grill Blog

It's Still a Post 9/11 World

2008-09-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

September 12, 2008; seven years and a day since the attacks on our soil by Islamic fascists. People who hate us, hate our way of life, our freedom, our success, our Constitution, our history, our faith, our exceptionalism. There has never, in the history of the world, existed a greater country, exuding more goodness and compassion on more people in more countries, than the United States of America. And they hate us.

Wherever there is a natural or man-made disaster in the world, the USA is first to give aid and deliver comfort to our fellow man, even to those whose interests are contrary to ours. Where does this come from? I think Americans have a sense of our history and origins; we have a sense of the faith that is foundational to that history. Though we are not all believers, certainly, this sense of our national identity, like a Spirit, hovers over this country, and has a profound effect on most of its citizens. Most of its citizens, but not all.

There are some of my fellow citizens who are, seemingly, unaffected by the Spirit of this country. They do not believe in the exceptionalism of America. They do not believe, as I do, that God has put his hand on this country to use it for good in this time in history. They do believe in some twisted "moral equivalency" between us (U.S.) and those who attacked us on 9/11. In their hearts, they somehow believe that the Islamofascists have a valid point. They have worked tirelessly since that day to place the blame on us, saying "we did this to ourselves", and seek to give heretofore unknown and undeserved rights and privileges to those who seek to harm us. They have discounted the threat still posed in the world by the evil ideology of the Islamofascists and wish to treat it as a law enforcement issue and a crime to be prosecuted, rather than a war that has been declared on us.

They are known as Liberals, Progressives, Socialists, the Left and . . . Democrats. Their organizations include the ACLU, the NEA, NOW, Planned Parenthood, DNC, CAIR and many more. They hate the Spirit of America. In seeming concert with the Islamofascists, they declare their hatred for the traditions and institutions that have defined our goodness. Very often you cannot distinguish between the words spoken by the Left and those spoken by Osama Bin Laden. I think you can discern which side the Left is on when you hear whose candidates are endorsed by Hamas and Hezbollah. I think it is obvious, their positions are the same. They want to destroy America, and turn it into something of their own design. They want to kill the Spirit of America.

As it was in the days of the Revolution, we must fight on against all odds. We must defend against the evil in the world. It was Edmund Burke, the great English statesman who said, "All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing."

The Choice

2008-09-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

If you are are a real conservative, like I am, this has been a difficult election season. (When I say "real conservative", I mean socially and fiscally, with libertarian views on limited government.) We had been looking for a real conservative to represent us, but all of the candidates had some flaw, some disqualification, that would not allow the coalescing of opinion in their favor. I was greatly disappointed last winter, to know that somehow, John McCain had been made the Republican nominee. He was the one conservatives like me hated most. He was the one that kept bucking the conservative agenda, and working with liberals across the aisle and idiots with an "R" by their name to thwart common sense legislation, or pass idiotic and unconstitutional laws, and that was when Republicans had the advantage of a majority.

I have read many blog posts of people "like me" who, to this day, are refusing to even consider voting for John McCain. I understand and sympathize with all of these people. My anger against John McCain was at times greater than my loathing of liberal Democrats and their socialist utopian drivel. John McCain should have been on my side, but he was often the greatest weapon in the Democrat arsenal. I hated him because, to me, he was a traitor.

Here is a reality check.

Either John McCain or Barack Obama will be the President of the United States next January 20. We now know, despite the attempts of the drive-by media, what kind of person Barack Obama is. We know, despite his appearance as a mild mannered "community organizer", that he is a communist/socialist sympathizer, with close relationships with people like Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dhorn, (Weathermen terrorists), Jeremiah Wright, and Father Pfleger (pastors and preachers of Black Liberation Theology), Tony Rezko (Chicago slum lord, political patron and convicted slimeball). We know he is a product of the corrupt Chicago Democrat political machine. We know he plays hardball politics and is trying to hide (with the help of the drive-bys) his true, bad, corrupt self. I believe that if he were to gain the presidency, with a Democrat controlled congress, our freedoms, our free speech rights, and talk radio, could be curtailed or silenced. They could not stand the opposition bringing their agenda to light. And can you imagine the likes of Ayers and Wright in the president's cabinet and, of course, a pardon for Rezko. I fear a Barack Obama presidency.

John McCain, despite his record of poking conservatives in the eyes, has at least some of my ideals. He will be a strong advocate of a strong military and will continue the war we must win. He will stand up to the likes of Ahmadinijad who threaten us and the world. He is pro-life, and he came out strong on that point at the Saddleback Church forum. I believe he will push to build nuclear power plants and drill for more domestic oil, an "all of the above" approach to the domestic energy problems. I believe it is more likely that John McCain will appoint constructionist judges to the Federal Courts. Now, I keep in mind that this is John McCain I'm talking about, and that makes me uncertain about eventualities.

Only since Saddleback has my opinion of John McCain become slightly favorable. Now, with his pick of Sarah Palin as his VP, I have actually experienced some positive excitement about voting for the top of the ticket. I believe that Governor Palin is a real conservative and a tough, smart woman. A heartbeat away from the presidency? I'm very OK with that. John McCain has made a good choice.

If you look at places in this country that have entrenched Democrat elected leadership, like Detroit and the entire state of Michigan, it is evident that we cannot afford to elect the likes of Barack Obama. His "solutions" involve taxing "the rich" more to pay for giveaways to "the poor". I will likely be among "the poor", because my "rich" boss, taxed at a higher rate, may not be able to afford to keep me as an employee, and I will lose my job. The whole country would likely face a depression just as Michigan has due to higher taxes.

I will vote for the McCain/Palin ticket for President. I will talk to my friends and neighbors and coworkers and try to convince them to do the same. I am looking to the future. Like another blogger on Town Hall posted last Friday: How about Palin/Jindal '12, Palin/Jindal '16, Jindal/? '20?
That sounds like a pretty good future to me.

Apocalypse Now?

2008-08-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

Let's see. The revived Russian Bear is on the move against our allies in eastern Europe and the Caucasus and the Chinese Communists are cheating at the Olympics. (Imagine that.) Islamofascism is back on its heels, but still a threat and advancing their cause in the West with characteristic patience. Iran continues to threaten Israel and the West with possible nuclear weapons. Mexico continues its invasion across our southern border and I see no evidence that that threat is being taken seriously in our government. Despite the fact that oil supply/demand margins are still too slim for comfort, our Democrat controlled congress is refusing to entertain the thought of exploring and drilling for our own vast reserves, or using the massive amounts of coal at our disposal, or building nuclear reactors, or anything that might work to help us reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

We continue to support regimes that hate us and wish every day for our demise. Many of us refuse to believe that this is a dangerous world, ruled by the agressive use of force. If we stand by and let evil regimes exercise force without answer, then evil will stand and good will fail.

The world is on the edge. What did it feel like in Americal in 1939 - 1941 before Pearl Harbor? Was it a feeling similar to this? Everything's fine, just ignore what's going on in Europe and Asia . . . just before we were plunged into an Apocalyptic World War?

How many millions of lives were lost or ruined by WWII? How many if we had not fought and defeated the NAZI's, Fascists, and Imperial Japanese? Just remember, they were doing a fine job of eliminating state enemies and undesirables, and stealing their individual wealth prior to the U.S. entering the war.

If we do not strengthen our nation and our resolve; if we do not stop this silly notion of moral equivalency between Christianity and Islam, between Democracy and Communism/Socialism, between the U.S. ridding the world of the evil dictator Saddam Hussein and Russian imperialist aggression in Georgia; if we fail to recognize evil when we see it and face it down when it raises its ugly head in the world, then I believe that War is inevitable. Because evil is encouraged by weakness. Weakness gives way to aggression. If we are weak and unresolved, if we fail to stand up for goodness and right, we will be on the losing end.

Kill Him!

2008-08-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

Barring interference from the Supreme Court, Jose Medellin is due to die today for the heinous crimes of murder and rape he committed in the State of Texas. He has been breathing the air at taxpayers expense for 15 years now. It's time to end it. Take his life as he took the lives of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman. Without mercy. Kill him.

Madame Pelosi, Tear Down This Wall!

2008-08-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

It seems that the Democrats cannot stand an open debate on any subject that they know is a loser for them. Like the Communists of old, Ms. Pelosi just shuts down any debate to the contrary. In the House of Representatives on Friday, after a hastily called 5-week recess, some of the House Republicans stayed in the chamber to continue debate on expanding our country's energy exploration. This in spite of the fact that the Speaker had ordered the lights and cameras turned off. Go House Republicans! With $4 a gallon gasoline and projected record winter season heating costs for many Americans, the Democrat's stifling the debate is a big loser issue for them. THEY CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
Apparently, I'm not the only one who sees a communist party parallel. Republican Policy Chairman, Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) was quoted as saying, "This is the People’s House. This is not Pelosi’s Politburo." What do Communist dictators do to the opposition? They try to silence them, if they can. I am not saying that all Democrats are Communists or even Socialists. But I do want to point out that the current leadership of the House and Senate are trying very hard to silence their opposition through strong-arm tactics, and their stated desires of a redistributionist, socialist society, with them in control of more and more of our everyday lives, will leave us with less and less FREEDOM!

Letter to Senator Harry Reid

2008-07-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

I often write letters to our elected representatives, knowing they don't often read what is written, but I want to express my opinion while I still can. Here is one to the majority leader of the Senate in response to a pronouncement he made the other day about coal and oil "making us all sick". For my true intent, please read this as satire.

Dear Senator Reid,
I was so glad to hear you speaking against carbon based energy the other day. I would love to stop using fossil fuels to run my everyday life. I know I'm addicted to oil. I think it would be wonderful if a great person such as yourself would provide a positive example to the rest of us by not using any transportation that uses carbon based fuel. No planes, trains or automobiles. I know that might be an inconvenience for an important man like yourself, but just think, you would be doing it for the planet. Maybe you could just ride a bicycle around Washington, D.C. By setting such a good example, many people could be persuaded to help us save the planet.
Since you run the Senate, why don't you turn off the air conditioner in the Senate chamber and all Senate office buildings. Not only would the government reduce its carbon footprint, but you could also save the taxpayers millions of dollars. You would be a hero.
I know that coal and other fossil fuels, such as oil are making us sick. Just the other day, I had to cough. I just know I've got black lung disease, but I can't afford to go to the doctor. My $20 copay is just a budget buster. I'm just glad I'm not an Olympic athlete. Those guys are going to literally die from breathing the crap in the air over in Beijing.
You know, if we could just get rid of the internal combusion engine, I'm convinced that most people could live forever. (Unless, of course, they're killed by a terrorist that we've made mad.) And you know it's all our fault. We shouldn't have made them mad. I'm not sure what we did, but we shouldn't have done it. Can't we all just get along? If someone had just bought Osama Bin Laden a Coke, maybe the world would be a lot better off.
Senator Reid, thanks for your time and for all that you do to make us a better country and better citizens of the world.

Open Borders, Hell!

2008-06-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Apparently John McCain is going around having secret meetings with open borders hispanic groups all over the country. See this link from Michelle Malkin.

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/06/19/inside-mccains-closed-door-meeting-with-chicago-hispanics/

He is promising to push for "Comprehensive (read amnesty) Immigration Reform" if he is elected. Might as well erase our southern border and get it over with. It won't matter what we say with either of these two Bozos (McCain or Obama). The Mexicanization of America continues to march.

My Reply to Republican Pleas for Help

2008-05-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

Recently I received a "survey" in the mail from Senator Mitch McConnell, minority leader of the U. S. Senate. I answered the survey in the following manner:

Dear Senator McConnell,

Although I appreciate your desire to include my opinion in your survey, I must ask that you quit sending me these things. The questions in the survey have not changed in three years. I still agree with the “conservative agenda”. However, the Republican Party has wimped out on most of the issues that matter to me. The War on Terror is the most important issue. I want us to keep fighting it. That is the only issue that I can even trust the RNC to try to continue. But the presumptive Presidential nominee wants to close Guantanamo and grant Constitutional rights to the inmates. I part company with him on that point and others.

Smaller government versus bigger government? The Party and the current President have left me far behind on that issue. Quit growing the damned government! Everybody’s got their hand out. Tell them to go get their own. Earn it! I am no “rich Republican”. I work hard for a living, doing work most illegal aliens won’t do.

Border security and 20 million illegal aliens? Get the damned fence built. Quit the “virtual fence” crap. If you haven’t read the papers, that was a colossal failure. Build the actual double fence from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, with all the electronic gizmos you can put on it, then put the National Guard on the fence with real guns, and real bullets and orders to shoot to kill. Then see if the invasion doesn’t come to a complete stop. When we find illegal aliens, they need to be deported. IT’S THE LAW! Why haven’t the Republicans demanded the fence be built for real? Oh yeah, . . . . John “Coyote” McCain. (Also Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison).

Global Warming? It’s a giant hoax with no proof, and fewer indicators in its favor every year. The end result of our continued erroneous belief in it, will be ever increasing government power, regulation, taxes (cap and trade), reduction of freedom, and eventual oppression of the people. Dare I say, Dictatorship? I don’t expect Democrats to speak against it. They like dictatorships. Why the hell aren’t the Republicans speaking against it? Oh yeah, . . . . John McCain.

Energy production? You guys were so weak on that issue, nobody heard you. Drill in ANWR! Drill in the Gulf of Mexico. Drill off the California Coast! Build some damned refineries! Tell Chavez in Venezuela and the Prince of Araby to F-off! Tell the enviros to shut the hell up. Damned hypocrites! Why aren’t we drilling in ANWR? Oh yeah, . . . . John McCain.

Tax simplification. Make it simple. Make it quick. Stop torturing me! It takes me 3 damned weeks to get my taxes together, then try to understand the complicated tax forms and fill in the blanks. There are so many chances to screw it up, its not funny. I cannot even guarantee that the CPA I hired this year did it right. Just tell me to pay 10%, 15%, 20% ,etc, then it will take me 5 minutes to do my taxes and I’ll pay them happily. Where is the RNC on this one?

You guys have lost your moral authority. 2006 was the tipping point. It’s been downhill since and you haven’t stopped the slide. Granted, the Dems have not been an improvement by any means. I will vote for anyone who will stand up and say these things.

Anyone? . . . Hello? . . . .

Chirp . . . . chirp . . . . chirp . . . ."

I still plan to vote for the best conservatives on the ballot, but I see very little hope in doing so. The Democratic Presidential candidates are at best, Socialists, and at worst, downright Communists. John McCain is the saddest excuse for a Republican candidate in my lifetime.
Holding my nose. Holding my breath. Hoping for "the best".

We're so screwed!

The Real Threat

2007-08-11T21:17:00.000-07:00

The way I see it, there are just a few threats facing us (U.S.) in today's world.

The foremost threat is that there are millions of people of a certain religion who hate us and want us dead or in servitude to them. No one has been able to place an exact number on those who really want to defeat us through "jihad". But if you look at news accounts of cheering crowds on the "Arab street" after 9/11, and read materials from those who have studied the subject and monitored the mosques and Islamic groups of all kinds, you might get the idea that it is pervasive in most of the world's Muslim population.

I think that if you look at the history of Islam, beginning with the initial spread of the religion which was accomplished by the wielding of the scimitar, all we are seeing today is the revival of that religion's core beliefs. They believe that Islam is supreme, their goal is a worldwide Caliphate, (i.e. World Rule by Islamic sheiks based on Sharia Law.)

In my opinion, this is the same kind of threat we faced in WW2 and the Cold War. The Nazis sought world domination of the "superior Aryan race" over all other countries. (Interesting that much of the Muslim world was allied with Hitler at that time, isn't it?) The Soviet Union sought world domination of the Communist ideology over all countries. The so-called "Radical Islamicists" seek world domination today.

There are those of my countrymen and women who somehow do not see the threat as real or imminent. 3,000 souls dead on September 11, 2001, bombings in the Bali nightclub, the Spanish commuter train, the London underground, and countless other attempted and/or thwarted attacks since, are not enough to convince them that there is an existential war, a clash of civilizations. Truly, though, it is a clash between our civilization and their barbarism.

I suppose many of my fellow Americans have had the luxury of being able to live in denial, since we have been "safe" for these six years since 9/11/01. Yet, that day still has the most profound effect on our national psyche. Everything changed on that day. Those who refuse to see the threat, who deny its import, seek every day to live in a September 10 world. Until we are victorious, that world is gone. If we allow ourselves to be defeated, (Vietnam syndrome), or give up because "it's too hard", or "it's not worth the loss of life", that world will be gone . . . forever.

Bob's My Uncle

A Few Thoughts About Global Warming

2007-08-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

It is August here in Texas, and it's hot. Well it's not as hot as it has been in the past. We haven't even hit 100 yet, though its getting close. Hmm! A cooler than usual summer in Texas in the midst of all this hysteria about global warming. Well that's the weather report.

But here's my take on the assertion that global warming is caused by human productivity. If the Earth is truly in a warming cycle, all of science, history, archeology, and the larnin' I done when I was just a little tyke tells me that it ain't nothin' new. We know there have been historically warmer and cooler epochs in pre-history and historical eras. And as far as I know, there weren't any SUV's or Power Plants or Nukes or enough human activity to make dent at the time.

The "Global Warming Hystericals" haven't proved a thing. All they've got going for them is an apocalyptic fear of some imagined disastrous future and a fraudulent faith that anything man does is harmful to the Earth and Nature, so therefore, man is causing Global Warming.

I am highly suspicious of people who think that all of a sudden our world will come to an end and want to take control over large portions of my life and not to mention the world's commerce in order to save it. What better way to put everyone under control than to convince them that if we don't do as they say, the world will end. That is the essence of their message. They want to control your world. Make you stop driving your car. No grilling in the backyard! Oh, forget about going to work to make a living and put food on the table, your job will disappear because it probably causes pollution, anyway. Get in line for the Government cheese. Oh, wait a minute! Cheese comes from cows, and cows produce methane (a greenhouse gas) in large quantities. No more cows, no more cheese. You're going to have to eat dirt.

All this while Al Gore lives in two mansions and has a bigger "carbon footprint" than I will ever hope to have. Make no mistake. This whole thing, for those who are pushing it the hardest, is about taking control of you, your life, your government, the world. Because, only they can save us.

Bob's my Uncle

Introduction

2007-08-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Hi ya'll.
I'm kinda new to this blogging, but thought I'd try my hand at it. I try to keep up with the goings-on in the nation and the world and have an informed opinion about most things. But as you all know, opinions are just like armpits, so I try to laugh at everything as well as myself. Somehow we have got to try to make some sense out of the world's events and the people in it. If what I have to say here is helpful to anybody else, that's what I'm aiming for; as well as getting a few things off of my chest. But if you don't do anything else, try to have a good day.

Bob's my Uncle