Rational Nation USA

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth Another day. Another life cut short when a firearm discharges. A twelve year old boy dies at a Boy Scout Camp. With whom should the responsibility for this needless tragedy rest upon? Should criminal charges be filed against the irresponsible actions of whomever was responsible for this child? Must we accept there is nothing we can do as a society because of the 2'nd Amendment right to bear arms? Are there any responsible adults governing this nation? Yes, I know guns don't kill people, people kill people. But it takes the action of a person to discharge a firearm and when irresponsible adults set the stage for a child to have access to a loaded weapon unsupervised by a responsible adult please tell me just who is negligent and why the shouldn't be charged with negligent homicide? Click on this highlighted link for the full report. Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth As the nation continues to flounder Gallop's recent poll highlights just how out of touch our government officials are with the people they were elected to represent and govern. It doesn't take a genius to figure out Americans want solutions and they want their leaders to act in their and the nation's best interests as a whole. Americans' confidence in all three branches of the U.S. government has fallen, reaching record lows for the Supreme Court (30%) and Congress (7%), and a six-year low for the presidency (29%). The presidency had the largest drop of the three branches this year, down seven percentage points from its previous rating of 36%. We know there is a problem, the question is will we do something about it ? Study the complete poll BELOW THE FOLD . Via: Memeorandum

LYRICS: There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold And she's buying a stairway to heaven When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed With a word she can get what she came for Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure 'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings Sometimes all of our thoughts are misleading Ooh, it makes me wonder Ooh, it makes me wonder There's a feeling I get when I look to the west And my spirit is crying for leaving In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees And the voices of those who stand looking and it makes me wonder really makes me wonder And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune Then the piper will lead us to reason And a new day will dawn for those who stand long And the forest will echo with laughter GUITAR SOLO If there'...

One of the first official videos from "Nights In White Satin" in 1967.

And from the original 1971 recording... A legendary progressive English rock band.

“...taxes are not raised to carry on wars, but that wars are raised to carry on taxes” “That there are men in all countries who get their living by war, and by keeping up the quarrels of nations, is as shocking as it is true; but when those who are concerned in the government of a country, make it their study to sow discord and cultivate predjudices between nations, it becomes the more unpardonable. “If men will permit themselves to think, as rational beings ought to think, nothing can appear more ridiculous and absurd, exclusive of all moral reflections, than to be at the expence of building navies, filling them with men, and then hauling them into the ocean, to try which can sink each other fastester. Peace, which costs nothing, is attended with infintely more advantage than any victory with all its expence. But this, though it best answers the purpose of Nations, does not that of Court Governments, whose habited policy is pretence for taxation, places, and offices.” Thomas Pai...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth Are liberals, those consistently leaning leftward proud the be an American? Lets see what the Washington Post and the polls say. Michelle Obama took some heat in 2008 for saying that, "for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country ..." As it turns out, that sentiment isn't all that unusual on the far left of American politics. According to a new Pew Research Center study , only 40 percent of consistently liberal Americans say they often feel proud to be Americans . So, 60% of the political left are not proud to be an American. Hm, so, why don't they relocate to say France, Greece, Portugal, even China or Russia you might ask. On the other hand... ... it appears that just over 7 in 10 steadfast conservatives and 8 in 10 business conservatives are generally proud tom be an American. I suppose none of these "findings" come as a real surprise. As least they don't to me. ...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth The following excerpt from a New York Times article is thought provoking and highlights the current realities present in the political and religious divisions in Iraq as well as the entire region. Difficulties in finding a solution to the unfolding and growing crisis are all too evident. If there is one thing perfectly clear it is that conventional wisdom and traditional western responses will be inadequate and very likely prove to be counter productive if undertaken. With this in mind the last groups we ought to listen to are the Neocons and the virulent knee jerk anti-Muslin crowd. The Obama administration has urged Iraqi politicians of different sects to come together, repeating admonitions that were so often heard in the years after the 2003 invasion. But the Pentagon — reluctant to commit more manpower to a complex and profoundly uncertain conflict — has quietly hinted it could live with Iraq’s current division, de...