Rational Nation USA

Europe's famed and admirable liberalism and tolerance are being snuffed by militant Muslims.  It's a case of tolerance taken too far, to its logical extreme: Tolerating intolerance kills tolerance Having tolerated Muslim intolerance, Europeans are now horrified to see rightwing political movements gaining ascendancy: Socialists' long-standing support for European unification, religious tolerance and integrating immigrants has made them vulnerable to right-wing populists like the Sweden Democrats, Geert Wilders' Dutch Freedom Party or France's National Front. ( Reuters - Anti-Immigrant Europe ) Angry, bigoted Muslims, the recipients of European tolerance, repay their liberal benefactors by spewing intolerance of anything outside their narrow, bigoted ideology.  Europeans are growing weary of it and voting rightwing as a result. The People Get It "People in Europe have grown comfortable in the decades since World War Two and now they see that...

Florida Congressman Alan Grayson (D-ing Dong), is bat guano crazy.  He is in danger of losing his seat to respected businessman and state legislator Daniel Webster, and it's causing him come completely unhinged. This brainsick ranter has taken to calling Webster "Taliban Dan" because of his conservative Christian beliefs, which he has NOT tried to enact into law.  Politico calls it a blatant lying smear .  The Orlando Sentinel gets to the crux of the wackadoo charges leveled in Grayson's communist propaganda disguised as a campaign ad:  • One says "Dan Webster wants to MAKE DIVORCE ILLEGAL," a reference to a bill Webster sponsored in 1990 that would have given couples the option of entering a covenant marriage, which would have allowed divorce only in cases of adultery. The legislation failed. • Another says "Dan Webster voted to deny abused women health care," referring to a vote against legislation that would have prevented insura...

I enjoyed Bastiatarian's last post so much I thought I'd throw out something in a similar vein from from Victor Davis Hanson.  The following quote is from his article, Ten Random, Politically Incorrect Thoughts : Something has happened to the generic American male accent. Maybe it is urbanization; perhaps it is now an affectation to sound precise and caring with a patina of intellectual authority; perhaps it is the fashion culture of the metrosexual; maybe it is the influence of the gay community in arts and popular culture. Maybe the ubiquitous new intonation comes from the scarcity of salty old jobs in construction, farming, or fishing. But increasingly to meet a young American male about 25 is to hear a particular nasal stress, a much higher tone than one heard 40 years ago, and, to be frank, to listen to a precious voice often nearly indistinguishable from the female. How indeed could one make Westerns these days, when there simply is not anyone left who sounds ...

By: Bastiatarian One or two people may have noticed that I haven't been posting anything new recently. Circumstances (work and research-related, not tragedy-related, fortunately) dictate that I take a leave of absence from blogging for a month or so as I try to pound through some projects. Before that, however, I wanted to post one thing that I have been thinking about lately.  A number of years ago, Dr. Steven Clark described some of the major characteristics of a feminized man. Compared to men who have not been feminized, a feminized man will place an unbalanced emphasis on how he feels (and how other people feel), in turn becoming highly visceral in his personal thinking and reactions. He will be much more gentle and handle situations in a “soft” way . He will be much more subject to the approval of the group , and thus significantly affected by how others feel and react towards him. Sometimes he will relate by preference to women or other feminized men,...

Now a tribute to music during the age of the first American Revolution. As to the most accomplished and refined you my readers shall remain the judge. I know only which shall remain in my favorites list. Have a great week as fall, and the changing leaves once again grace New England, the cradle of the American Revolution.

We are Living in The Progressive Age Rachel Maddow, who I think is the smartest person on MSNBC (I know, that's not saying much), read a litany of liberal actions undertaken by President Ronald Reagan.  The purpose was to throw all Obama criticism back in the faces of us racist conservatives.  It was unbalanced and simplistic, just the way Obama devotees like their propaganda.  If you want some actual thinking Reagan criticism, look no further than libertarian economist Murray Rothbard .  He hits the same point Maddow does, damning all modern-day liberalism in the process. Progressivism is Here Progressivism was ushered in by Teddy Roosevelt and nurtured by Professor Woodrow Wilson.  It was finally rammed home by FDR, who never let a crisis go to waste.  The constitution is trampled, our personal freedoms diminished, and government continues to grow.  That is the political environment President Reagan found himself in....

By: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Although I have taken a short term sabbatical I have on a limited basis continued to monitor evens as they occur as well incoming e-mails from loyal readers. The following really caught my attention. It is encapsulates my views and is more than frightening. As the veracity of the following has been verified by Snopes I pass it on to my readership. Snopes says this e-mail has been correctly attributed to Michael Connelly. A retired Constitutional lawyer has read the entire healthcare bill, as enacted. Read his conclusions and pass this on as you wish. This is stunning loss of rights cannot continue. The Truth About the Health Care Bills - Michael Connelly, Ret. Constitutional Attorney Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the ...

by the Left Coast Rebel I have been really busy in the last 2 days, thus missed El Collectivista Presidente's Hugo Chavez-esque rant against the watered down, somewhat-toothless, "Pledge to America" released recently. Instead of dissecting the hair-pulling minutiae of El Collectivista Presidente's all-too-predictable attack, I point you to a fascinating debate between Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush in 1980. The contrast between the two couldn't be any more bold. And while GHB's statism is nowhere near Obama's, it proves that statists have always been in positions of power in the Republican party. Reagan states his case and does it well. Although I disagree with tax cuts without corresponding spending cuts as well. We need to drastically shrink the Leviathan and cut taxes. Hat-tip goes to Last Tradition. Check out all of the great stuff he has up here . Cross posted to LCR .

Every citizen should read and understand The US Constitution.  On-Line resources make it easy   This brilliant document was an example of pure, crystal clarity until, alas, the lawyers and activist jurists got ahold of it. It is now accreted with so much case law and wild twists and turns that many plainly-written articles have been shorn of their original intent. What US Law Says about the US Constitution Two web sites provide excellent, authoritative guidance, with searchable text and links to the different articles and amendments. The most valuable feature is the rich commentary on case law that includes scholarly writings on the meaning and interpretations of each section. You may not agree with where our judges have taken us, but these sites explain how it happened, citing specific court cases. Findlaw - US Constitution Cornell Law School - US Constitution Want more background? Read The Federalist Papers! I know, they are hard to r...

I got into an argument with an old friend and fellow lifetime NRA member over that organization’s support for campaign finance legislation that restricts free speech in exchange for an exemption for itself. Good on the NRA for defending our Second Amendment rights. Bad on them for squashing the First Amendment in the process. Things really got heated when I excoriated our NRA for toying with the idea of endorsing Harry Reid . Reid Voted for the Brady Bill, Erik Erikson reminds us .  Politico explains how politics in America makes such bedfellows possible: First, Reid has a fairly favorable lifetime rating from the NRA. And then there’s the $61 million for the Clark County Shooting Park, earmarked by Reid, which led Wayne LaPierre, chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association, to call Reid “a true champion” of the Second Amendment at an event commemorating the opening of the 2,900-acre park in April. ( Politico ) So Reid bribed the NRA with $61 million of ...

Alas, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. We should have been carried away to a liberal utopia amid billowing clouds of fluffy hope and change by now... It’s the damned people... Others are aiming their sound and fury at the American people. According to Maureen Dowd , “Obama is the head of the dysfunctional family of America — a rational man running a most irrational nation, a high-minded man in a low-minded age. The country is having some weird mass nervous breakdown.” Jonathan Alter argues that the American people “aren’t rationally aligning belief and action; they’re tempted to lose their spleens in the polling place without fully grasping the consequences.” And Slate’s Jacob Weisberg has written that “the biggest culprit in our current predicament” is the “childishness, ignorance, and growing incoherence of the public at large.” ( Peter Wehner - Contentions ) Wehner goes on to list the hobgoblins that inhabit the fevered imagings of the New York Times and MS...

America is sick.  We The People are not sick, but the body politic is, and our nation suffers from a Carteresque malaise.  We suffer from a few cancerous growths, and termites and rodents have eaten away much of our constitutional foundation.  A bipartisan gang of chiselers has turned our federal government into a criminal enterprise that hands out taxpayer money in exchange for votes, but we're wise to their depredations and we're fixin' to clean house.  Literally. In Obama's America, Journalists hide from Muslim extremists The story of journalist Molly Norris, now in hiding from Muslim murderers, saddens me.  It is disgusting that this should happen here in The United States of America. The FBI told her she had to because otherwise it couldn't protect her against death threats from Muslims she'd angered. Earlier this year, Norris started "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" to protest radical Muslims' violently stifling freedom of speech ...

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way"... Viktor Frankl By: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA For some period of time I shall be absent from daily blogging activities at Rational Nation USA . Aside from the simple fact I need a break there exits practical reasons detachment from blogging has become necessary. My commitment to conservative principals, and love of liberty will certainly have me back at the keyboard in the future. For now my focus must be redirected to matters that are of a more pressing nature. Part of me will miss the daily routine that blogging and Rational Nation has created for me over the last 15 months. And my heart will not be far removed from RN USA  during my absence. I  thank my loyal readership for your interest in this site and assure you I shall return when the time is right. T...

by the Left Coast Rebel Les Carpenter has often referred to me before of the constant tit for tat gamesmanship that takes place in the nation's typically government-sponsored press. I have told him that the left is largely responsible for this but the right engages in it as well. He agrees. Worse yet, the right is often crucified over politically incorrect faux paus' that are simply ignored on the left side of things. My piece at Daily Caller today points this out in regards to a comment made my Harry Reid. Excerpted from my Daily Caller piece today: If one is an activist , political guru or just one that watches the daily goings-on in our nation’s body politic, one has surely noted the political gamesmanship (especially pervasive from the left) and sometimes from the right, that takes place on a daily basis. Typically such one-upmanship hinges on pet liberal peccadilloes meant to malign and smear players right of center on the same old gotcha-canards of sexism, racis...

By: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA On Thursday of this week the Republican party is set to unveil their plan for America should they take back Congress in the 2010 mid term elections. Said to be patterned after the "Contract With America" of the mid 1990's I wait with baited breath. If the Republican party (and the Tea Party movement) is sincere in restoring this nation to fiscal sanity and responsibility what comes out will have the hand of Jefferson as well as the mark of many of our other founding giants. And perhaps even a bit of Randian economic philosophy. With baited breath I await the unveiling. Given this is the 21st century, and lacking political leaders with the integrity, honesty, discipline, and ethical values of a time long past I ain't planning on much different from what we have seen over the prior few years from the Republicrats. Oops, Republicans. Here is a preview from The Hill . Waiting... With... Baited...Breath... Cross posted to Le...

Image: Harold B. Estes' letter to Obama By: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA  Here is yet another wonderfiul letter received by Rational Nation USA over this weekend.The patriotism and love this WW II veteran feels for his country is undeniable. His words are something all of America should hear and reflect deeply on. Rational Nation USA posts with the deepest gratitude for Mr. Estes service to out nation. As well as to our brave men and women who are serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, and all those who have served this nation in the defense of liberty and freedom. WOW, WOW, AND WOW AGAIN!! From a 95 year old hero! Letter to Obama at Whitehouse sent from 95 year Old Pearl Harbor Survivor !! Fantastic!! WWW II Battleship sailor tells Obama to shape up or ship out!   This venerable and much honored WW II vet is well known in Hawaii for his seventy-plus years of service to patriotic organizations and causes all...

By: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA I really appreciate my readers! For they often send me e-mails with tidbits of information that really make you remember. And think. Today turns out to be one of those days. Here is some food for thought provided by a RN USA reader. I think you'll like it. Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said, "Someone may steal from it at night." So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job. Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies. Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people, one to do the studies and one to write the reports. Then Congress said, "How a...

By Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA The only subject I love more than politics and government is jazz. So long as it's FINE jazz. And of course as this is my site I am the sole arbiter of what FINE jazz is here at Rational Nation USA.  Of course I am open to any requests. As I will most likely continue to do my weekend jazz and blues posts just let me know if you have any favorites or if you haven't been able to find a blast from the past. I will gladly do the research to find it if it's available. Goodnight all, and here's to a fine week ahead!

By: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Ex President William Jefferson Clinton has admitted he was wrong on healthcare. His comments as posted by The Hill. Former president Bill Clinton, a champion of healthcare reform, admitted on Sunday that he made the wrong prediction about the popularity of President Obama’s healthcare bill. Initially, Clinton had predicted that the polls in favor of Democrats would be boosted as soon as the legislation was signed into law. Instead, Clinton said on NBC’s "Meet the Press," his prediction was wrong for two reasons. "First of all, the benefits of the bill are spread out of three or four years. It takes a long time to implement. And secondly, there has been an enormous and highly effective attack on it,” he said. Of course the big government "New Democrat" doesn't get the real underlying reason why ObamaCare will ultimately fail just as His and Hillary's did. The people of this nation simply do not trust...

By: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA I just caught the Richmond - Times Dispatch   article entitled "Give States a Tool to Check Federal Power." The gist of which is to create another amendment to the Constitution. My immediate reaction... all this "Independent Conservative" and follower of Jeffersonian principles can say is amen. But after further thought I recaled the power already exists to curtail federal government expansion of power. It is known as the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.  The tenth amendment reads as follows; "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." As one can readily see any powers not specifically delineated to the Federal Government by the Constitution rests with each state respectively.  In other words if the federal government is overstepping it's authority,...

Rational Nation USA extends a heartfelt congrats to Tim Daniel of Left Coast Rebel. You have earned this recognition through your hard work and dedication to excellence and the truth. You have arrived my friend. Below is LCR's post. Rational Nation   USA encourages all RN USA readers to check Tim's commentary out at Pajama Media .   LCR's  Pajamas Media  Gig by  the  Left Coast  Rebel A few weeks back  Rick Moran  contacted me and wanted to know if I was interested in writing for  Pajamas Media , in particular the California side of the November election. Moran is an editor for PJM and  American Thinker , along with the conservative feather-ruffling writer at Right Wing Nuthouse . "Uh, yah,  really ?" was all that I could think. I was nervous, to be honest. So I responded back to Moran and immediately he asked for five ideas that people would find interesting in the California senate race. "Make it interest...

By: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Bill Clinton "gets" what the Tea Party revolt is all about. Or does he? Here is what he said. Clinton said on NBC's Meet the Press that a lot of the voters who chose Tea Party candidates have "good impulses" because "ordinary people" have not "done well." But he said it is not clear where the Tea Party candidates stand on "specifics." Lets give the "big intrusive government" guy a quick lesson. The Tea Party stands for a less intrusive and oppressive federal (read central) government. Or to put it in historical terms the Tea Party is the modern day offshoot of Thomas Jefferson's Democratic Republican Party. Given the reality "modern education" has failed to teach the principles that are the cornerstones of our Republic this confusion by ex President Clinton is not surprising. But then again when values depend on "it depends on what the meaning of the wo...

Build it or We'll Keeeeeel You! Imam Ralph came right out and said it to Soledad O'Brien when she asked him about the possibility of moving the mosque site:  Rauf gave a reply that boils down to a threat. Rauf said that if his Cordoba House does not get built on his chosen site near Ground Zero, “The headlines in the Muslim world will be that Islam is under attack.” As for the message Rauf’s words might impart to the many Americans who oppose his project, his warning doesn’t sound like bridge-building. It sounds like blackmail. ( Forbes - Claudia Rosett ) Tolerance "Tolerance should be given to all religions that tolerate others, so long as their dogmas contain nothing contrary to the duties of citizenship."  -- Jean Jaques Rousseau Doctor Zudhi Jasser, Former Navy Lt Commander and founder of  American Islamic Forum for Democracy opposes Rauf's efforts and believes the mosque should be moved for the good of all.  He espouses a very American i...

By: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Saturday night and once again it is time for some fine music. Tonight your host, and fine wine and cigar affecianado has some smooth jazz lined up for your listening pleasure. Can you dig it? And last but not least... Good night to all my fine visitors. Tomorrow is but another day.