3 Bright Orange Lights Over Batavia Illinois

Date: October 30, 2010

Time: 8:10 p.m.

Location of Sighting: Batavia, IL.
Number of witnesses: 2
Number of Objects: 3
Shape of Objects: Round.

Full Description of Event/Sighting: My husband pointed out the objects as we were at a gas station. There were 2 bright orange lights flying south and very close to each other at the speed of a small plane. There was a third one that seemed to be lagging behind. I was under a canopy as they flew over, I went to where I could see them, but the first two had disappeared. The third one flew slowly south then seemed to go higher and turn white then disappear.

If you have seen anything like this in the same area please be kind enough to contact Brian Vike at: sighting@telus.net with the details of your sighting. All personal information is kept confidential.

Sightings.com website: http://www.sightings.com/

Read More

Nut job gets on his knees as Obama passes.

Nut Job gets on his knees as Obama passes.

Read More

Contact CBS advertisers and tell them how you feel!

From: Biggovernment.com

Anchorage CBS Affiliate Caught on Voicemail Conspiring Against Alaska’s GOP Senate Candidate-Updated

by Publius UPDATE:
From the Miller Campaign:

Now the media has gone from trying to create stories to openly lying. The audio was pulled directly from the voicemail message. Nothing was altered. “Everything that was recorded on my phone is what we released without change,” said Randy Desoto.

***
The following voice mail message was inadvertently left on the cell phone of Joe Miller campaign spokesperson Randy DeSoto.
The voices are believed to be those of the news director for CBS Anchorage affiliate KTVA, along with assignment editor Nick McDermott, and other reporters, openly discussing creating, if not fabricating, two stories about Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, Joe Miller.
The following is a transcript of a call recorded after CBS Alaska affiliate KTVA called Joe Miller’s Senate campaign spokesperson. The call failed to disconnect properly. It was later authenticated by McDermott, who sent a text to Randy DeSoto stating, “Damn iPhone… I left you a long message. I thought I hung up. Sorry.”

Read More

Happy Halloween!

I'll be spending my day out and about as I'm volunteering at a Halloween event down the road from HBIC headquarters. Halloween is a great evening for the kids, and I really think that kids who don't go out into the night to knock on doors and holler that magical Halloween phrase are missing out on what makes being a kid so great.

That being said, if you are heading out tonight, please be careful, wear reflectors if you're wearing a dark costume, carry some sort of pillowcase or bucket, and get your fill of Halloween goodies. I'll be back tomorrow with regular HBIC chatter!

Until then, keep your spooky sticks on the scary ice!

Read More

Bright Light Over Michigan

Date: October 26 and 29, 2010

Time: Approx: 2:55 a.m.

Location of Sighting: Over Michigan.
Number of witnesses: 2
Number of Objects: 1
Shape of Objects: Bright light.

Full Description of Event/Sighting: I had noticed the object a few days earlier before October 26, it was moving very fast, then suddenly stopped and stay in it’s location for almost an hour. It then began to move slowly downwards and and to the east until I could not see it anymore.

On October 29 I seen the same object with my friend, we observed the light moving around back and forth up and down and almost appeared as if another light came of it and encircled it for a few minutes. After awhile it just blinked out, I plan to capture this on camera.

If you have seen anything like this in the same area please be kind enough to contact Brian Vike at: sighting@telus.net with the details of your sighting. All personal information is kept confidential.

Sightings.com website: http://www.sightings.com/

Read More

TBC: Hat Trick

Teebz's Book Club has been tearing through books lately in an effort to give children everywhere an opportunity to find hockey stories to read during National Young Readers Week. There are some excellent stories that have been produced by very good authors, and these men and women deserve a little attention from your little hockey player or fan. Today, TBC is featuring another excellent story and author as I'm proud to bring to you Hat Trick, written by W.C. Mack and published by Scholastic Canada. Hat Trick is a very good story that has some excellent life lessons that children can learn from and apply to their lives as they read about Jonathan McDonald's struggles in this book.

According to Miss Mack's biography in the back of her book, "W.C. Mack was born in Vancouver, BC and now lives in Portland, Oregon. Always a Canucks fan, W.C. Mack has also been known to cheer for the Portland Winterhawks". From the Amazon.ca site, "W.C. Mack was raised in Vancouver, BC, where she is certain her parents unwittingly cursed her writing career with a happy and stable childhood. Luckily, happiness did not impede her ability to write Hat Trick, nor her first book for middle-grade readers, After All, You're Callie Boone, also published by Scholastic".

Jonathan "Nugget" McDonald is a hockey player for the Cutter Bay Cougars in British Columbia, Canada. Jonathan, like most eleven year-olds, loves to play hockey and hates doing homework. It is here where Jonathan finds out how important school is in the grand scheme of his hockey life. And it only gets worse when a rival player named Eddie Bosko moves to town.

Jonathan hates math and conveniently forgets to do his assignments because he is more concerned with hockey. Mr. Holloway, his math teacher, doesn't let Jonathan off the hook, however, and informs Jonathan's parents at a parent-teacher interview that Joanthan's math marks aren't even close to where they should be. Jonathan's mother and father know the importance of school considering that Jonathan's dad was a Calgary Flames draft pick whose career was cut short after getting hit in the face with a puck. Because of this set of developments, the McDonald parents hire Eddie Bosko as Jonathan's tutor!

To make matters worse, Eddie Bosko isn't just a hockey player, but a right winger like Jonathan! Not only is a former rival now playing on his team, but Bosko is also trying to steal his position! And now the hulking winger was going to be his math tutor?!? What else could go wrong for Jonathan?

The one thing that Jonathan could rely on is his hockey skill. Jonathan had trained hard in the off-season, and the results were showing on the ice. Jonathan also was interested in a radio contest held on PUCK radio where the grand prize was tickets to a Vancouver Canucks game and the chance to shoot from center ice for prizes! Of course, Jonathan's favorite team is the Vancouver Canucks, and Jean Ducette of the Canucks is his favorite player.

Could he solve the trivia question for the prize?
Can he figure out math to pass Mr. Holloway's class?
Can he outperform Eddie Bosko to keep his position on the ice?

I really like the messages contained within Miss Mack's book. Hat Trick provides an excellent moral story without being too preachy, and Jonathan's story is one that kids should relate to in terms of school being more important than sports. The conflicts, both internally and externally, that Jonathan faces present very good lessons that all children should know.

Hat Trick is 163 pages long, but it shouldn't be too difficult for younger readers to get through, and the chapters are broken up quite nicely into small sections. Miss Mack has done an excellent job in making this book easy to read as well as providing some excellent lessons that all kids should know. Because of these reasons, Hat Trick certainly deserves the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval. Add it to your hockey player's or hockey fan's collection so they can enjoy it over National Young Readers Week!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Read More

Islam gets results

Obedient Women

Respectful Children

Peaceful

Moral Clarity 

From: thereligionofpeace.com

Read More

Media to Aid al Qaeda by not covering smaller terrorist acts?

Don't I look Peaceful? 

I believe the average American is no dummy.  This is contrary to the belief of the Democrats and Obama administration, who believe they are intellectually superior and should make all the decision FOR the American people.  The left wing media obviously feels the same way and will help Obama whenever they can,  even if it means not covering terrorist attacks.

Don't believe me?  Look at Arizona, how many kidnappings occur everyday by Mexican drug cartels?  Which areas of the U.S. do the Mexican drug cartels control?  You don't know the answers to those two questions?  Of course you don't because the media doesn't cover it!

The media flat out refuses to hold the left accountable for anything.  If it makes them look bad.. don't report it.  Suppress the stories that could be potentially harmful to Obama for the greater good of the American idiots.  This is how it is.

You know who else I don't think is stupid?  Muslim terrorists.  I believe they are extraordinarily patient and they are masters of deception.  They have waited until our country has fallen asleep.  It didn't take very long with the mainstream media singing us lullabies.  Now they can focus on incrementalization of sharia law in the United States, while committing acts of violence on a smaller scale.  These acts of violence are guaranteed to go unnoticed by America because the left wing media will not cover them.

The good news is the popularity of blogs and alternative media sources mostly found on the internet are giving people the cold water to the face needed in order to wake up.

Below is a list of terror attacks from 1990 to 2010.  How many are you aware of?  How many received proper media attention?

1. 1990:November 5: Assassination of Meir Kahane head of Israel's Koch party and founder of the American vigilante group the Jewish Defense League in a Manhattan, New York hotel lobby by early elements of Al Queda. MUSLIMS
2. 1993:January 25: Mir Aimal Kansi, a Pakistani, fires an AK-47 assault rifle into cars waiting at a stoplight in front of the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters, killing two and injuring three others, see FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. MUSLIMS
3. 1993:February 26: World Trade Center bombing kills six and injures over 1000 people, by coalition of five groups: Jamaat Al-Fuqra'/Gamaat Islamiya/Hamas/Islamic Jihad/National Islamic Front,[79] see FBI Most Wanted Terrorists, FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, Ramzi Yousef. MUSLIMS
4. 1993:June: Failed New York City landmark bomb plot. MUSLIMS
5. 1994:March 1: In the Brooklyn Bridge Shooting, Rashid Baz kills a Hasidic seminary student and wounds four on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City in response to the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.[82] MUSLIMS
6. 1995:March 8: Terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan, armed with automatic rifles, murdered two American consulate employees and wounded a third as they traveled in the consulate shuttle bus. See Rewards for Justice. MUSLIMS
7. 1997:February 24: Ali Abu Kamal opens fire on tourists at an observation deck atop the Empire State Building in New York City, United States, killing a Danish national and wounding visitors from the United States, Argentina, Switzerland and France before turning the gun on himself. A handwritten note carried by the gunman claims this was a punishment attack against the "enemies of Palestine". His widow claimed he became suicidal after losing $300,000 in a business venture. In a 2007 interview with the New York Daily News his daughter said her mothers story was a cover crafted by the Palestinian Authority and that her father wanted to punish the United States for its support of Israel.[85] MUSLIM
8. 1998:August 7: U.S. embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya, killing 225 people and injuring more than 4,000, by al-Qaeda. MUSLIMS
9. 1999:December 14: Ahmed Ressam is arrested on the United States–Canada border in Port Angeles, Washington; he confessed to planning to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport as part of the 2000 millennium attack plots MUSLIM
10. 2000:The last of the 2000 millennium attack plots fails, as the boat meant to bomb USS The Sullivans sinks. MUSLIMS
11. 2000:October 12: USS Cole bombing kills 17 US sailors and wounds 40 off the port coast of Aden, Yemen, by al-Qaeda, see FBI Most Wanted Terrorists, the Buffalo Six Lackawanna Cell.[98] MUSLIMS
12. 2001:September 11: Attacks killed 2,997 in a series of hijacked airliner crashes into two U.S. landmarks: the World Trade Center in New York City, New York, and The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. A fourth plane, originally intended to hit an unknown, but likely prominent, Washington, D.C. target, crashes in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, after an apparent revolt against the hijackers by the plane's passengers; by Al-Qaeda. MUSLIMS
13. 2001:December 22: Richard Reid, attempting to destroy American Airlines Flight 63, is subdued by passengers and flight attendants before he could detonate his shoe bomb. MUSLIM
14. 2002:An Egyptian gunman opens fire at an El Al ticket counter in Los Angeles International Airport, killing two Israelis before being killed himself. MUSLIM
15. 2002:October: John Allen Muhammed and Lee Boyd Malvo conduct the Beltway Sniper Attacks, killing ten people in various locations throughout the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area from October 2 until they are arrested on October 24.MUSLIM
16. 2004: August 28: Shahawar Matin Siraj and James Elshafay are arrested for planning to bomb the 34th Street–Herald Square subway station in New York City during the 2004 Republican National Convention. MUSLIM
17. 2006:March 3: Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, an Iranian-born graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, drives an SUV onto a crowded part of campus, injuring nine. MUSLIM
18. 2006:August 10: A major anti-terrorist operation disrupts an alleged bomb plot targeting multiple airplanes bound for the United States flying through Heathrow Airport, near London, UK. MUSLIM
19. 2006:August 30: An Afghani Muslim hit 19 pedestrians, killing one, with his SUV in the San Francisco Bay area. MUSLIM
20. 2007:May 7: 2007 Fort Dix attack plot Six men inspired by Jihadist videos arrested in the US, in a failed homegrown terrorism plot to kill US soldiers. MUSLIMS

Since 2007 courtesy of thereligionofpeace.com

1/1/2008	USA	Irving, TX	2	0	A Muslim immigrant shoots his two daughters to death on concerns about their 'Western' lifestyle.
7/6/2008	USA	Jonesboro, GA	1	0	A devout Muslim strangles his 25-year-old daughter in an honor killing.
2/12/2009	USA	Buffalo, NY	1	0	The founder of a Muslim TV station beheads his wife in the hallway for seeking a divorce.
6/1/2009	USA	Little Rock, AR	1	1	A Muslim with 'religious motives' shoots a local soldier to death inside a recruiting center.
11/2/2009	USA	Glendale, AZ	1	1	A woman dies from injuries suffered when her father runs her down with a car for being too 'Westernized.' (10-20-09)
11/5/2009	USA	Ft. Hood, TX	13	31	A Muslim psychiatrist guns down thirteen unarmed soldiers while yelling praises to Allah.
12/4/2009	USA	Binghamton, NY	1	0	A non-Muslim Islamic studies professor is stabbed to death by a Muslim grad student in revenge for 'persecuted' Muslims.
4/14/2010	USA	Marquette Park, IL	5	2	After quarrelling with his wife over Islamic dress, a Muslim convert shoots his family members to 'take them back to Allah' and out of the 'world of sinners'.

Read More

Restoring Sanity Event Critical Missing Person

The United States Park Police is seeking a critical missing person.

This person was last seen on the National Mall in the area of 7th Street at about 3:00 pm on October 30, 2010

The missing person is Gladys GERMAIN

Black Female

69 years old

Height 4’10” Weight unknown

She was last seen wearing a puffy black coat and a black baseball cap.

She speaks with what is described as a Caribbean accent, native of Haiti.

She resides in New York City and was in Washington, DC for the event on the National Mall.

She is considered CRITICAL MISSING as she has dementia.

Anyone with information as to her location is asked to contact the United States Park Police at the following numbers:

Dispatch – (202) 610-7505
Criminal Investigations – (202) 610-8730

At this time we do not have a photograph available.

Read More

Planned Parenthood Dispenses With Science

As seen on Moonbattery.com

I don't care what these nut jobs think.  Life begins when the egg and the sperm join.  

Read More

What's with the Globe and Mail?

Can anybody make sense of what the Globe and Mail is doing with its newspaper these days?
On the web, the newspaper makes sense -- a perfectly logical line up of the major stories of the day, today beginning with the UAE terror plot.
The print version of the paper? Different story. Its impossible to tell what the major news story of the day is -- each department apparently gets to throw a headline onto the front page, and some graphic artist just fits them together as best she can.

Read More

Don't Gamble on November 2nd

As seen on American Power

Read More

Cartoon of the day

From the Globe and Mail:

Read More

Blue For The New Year

Despite looking a lot like Darth Vader walking through the corridors of the Death Star, the man to the left is Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Yesterday, we got our first glimpse of the new uniforms the Penguins will be wearing on January 1, 2011 against the Washington Capitals at the Bridgestone Winter Classic. As we saw in the first Winter Classic, the Penguins went back throuhg their past to come up with a gorgeous baby blue jersey, and have continued to use that uniform as their alternate jersey for their fifteen selected dates. If you're collecting Penguins jerseys, here is the next jersey for your closet as the 2011 Winter Classic will be blue again in Steeltown.

The Penguins have worn dark blue in their past, and the baby blue is slightly passé now that they have worn it for the past three seasons. I still like the baby blue uniform, but this is a step forward for the Winter Classic. There were other options that the Penguins could have used, and they certainly could have returned to Robo-Pigeon, but the Penguins are introducing a historical mash-up for this year's Winter Classic.

The logo chosen by the Penguins for this jersey is one of their very first logos. As you can see, the skating penguin is quite rotund and drawn in very simple lines unlike the vast majority of logos today. It is also quite happier than the current skating penguin, something that seemed to change as the Penguins evolved throughout the years. Overall, though, I like this older logo for a one-off jersey. And if they plan on using this jersey as an alternate, it is an excellent historical logo for throwback games.

The new Winter Classic jerseys are a mash-up of various other uniforms that the Penguins wore in their history. The arm and hem stripes are clearly from their original 1967-68 jerseys, but have been changed from dark blue to baby blue. The lace-up collar also remains from that jersey, but I'm really starting to wish that teams would move away from that trend. There is nothing wrong with the V-neck jersey that has been worn for a long time.

The font on the back is from the 1967-68 uniform as well, but the Penguins seem to have added gray to the white numbers to make them more subtle. I'm not sure why this was done, but perhaps there have been complaints about glare off the bright white jerseys when playing outdoors. Aside from that, there aren't really any other reasons I can think of in terms of graying the number font.

The names on the back of the jersey didn't appear on the dark uniforms until 1977 when navy became the dominant colour, so it appears the names are appearing due to the jerseys being mostly navy. Incidentally, the home white jerseys had names in 1970, but it took seven years for names to be added to the dark jerseys. Much like the numbers, however, the names are also that subtle gray rather than white. The captaincy designations are brand-new as far as I can tell since that font was never used on a Penguins jersey to designate captaincies.

Overall, I think this jersey does the trick, but I'm not overly happy about it being a mash-up of various blue jerseys throughout the Penguins history. One thing that did impress me was Reebok's usage of the collar to commemorate the game. However, the three million Reebok logos right below the collar still bothers me quite a bit. While I would have preferred the Penguins to choose one jersey from their history and go with it, I think this one does the trick for the Winter Classic.

Comparatively to the last Winter Classic, I much prefer the baby blue jersey. Here's hoping it will still be used in the future by the Penguins.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Read More

Saturday Rule 5

Rule 5 inspired by The Other McCain

Read More

Obama...Worse than a hangover

Read More

Orange Light Over Hallandale Beach Florida

Date: October 29, 2010

Time: Around 10:30pm-10:45pm

In regards to your post, I was also witness to the orange light. I'm located at Hallandale Beach, FL. I don't know what I saw, but it was moving slowly and then just disappeared. I'm quite interested to find out what it is.
I wrote you this because I thought I shared what I saw. Keep me posted in what it may be.

It was tonight October 29, 2010 at around 10:30pm-10:45pm. I was at the beach and noticed the light.

I'm the type of person who searches, when I find something strange. Thankfully after minutes of searching I found your article and thought I write to you.

If you have seen anything like this in the same area please be kind enough to contact Brian Vike at: sighting@telus.net with the details of your sighting. All personal information is kept confidential.

Sightings.com website: http://www.sightings.com/

Read More

Flickering Orange Light Over Howell New Jersey

Date: October 29, 2010

Time: Approx: 9:00 p.m.

Location of Sighting: Howell New Jersey.
Number of witnesses: Approximately 8
Number of Objects: 1
Shape of Objects: Round.

Full Description of Event/Sighting: My 11 year old son and I were leaving a store in a Howell, NJ shopping center when we noticed a family of 4 looking up into the night sky. Other people soon gathered and were questioning what this light could possibly be. It was a flickering orange light flying southeast. We watched it for approximately 30-45 seconds until it disappeared.

If you have seen anything like this in the same area please be kind enough to contact Brian Vike at: sighting@telus.net with the details of your sighting. All personal information is kept confidential.

Sightings.com website: http://www.sightings.com/

Read More

Bright Orange Ball Over Belleville Illinois

Date: October 29, 2010

Time: Approx: 9:00 p.m.

Hi, Brian, tonight, about 9:00pm, I saw at least one orange ball over Belleville, where I live near the downtown area. When I entered "bright orange ball, Belleville, IL" into my search engine, I immediately honed in on your link. I almost equate what I saw to a "luminary-type" object, with the appearance of a fire at the base of the sphere.

There was no apparent sound, but the movement was rather rapid, unlike that of a hot air balloon. It moved from south to north over the housetops. I was on a long-distance phone call at the time, so didn't think to pull out my camera. I'm heading back outside now, to see if I see anything else.

Have you heard any further word on these objects you saw? I'd be interested in hearing what you've found out. My number is (number removed) Thanks. Regards.

If you have seen anything like this in the same area please be kind enough to contact Brian Vike at: sighting@telus.net with the details of your sighting. All personal information is kept confidential.

Sightings.com website: http://www.sightings.com/

Read More

Bright White Spherical Light Over Michigan

Date: October 29, 2010

Time: Approx: 8:00 p.m.

Tonight after bow hunting at around 8:00pm I saw a bright white light going east. It was about 50 times bigger than the largest star in the sky. At first I thought it was a meteor or "falling star", but it was going much slower and without a tail. There was zero audible noise, and lasted about 15 to 20 seconds before it just turned off as if some one flipped a light switch.

There were 3 of us that witnessed the entire event. Very, very strange occurrence. Please let me know if you receive any more sightings. Thank you.

If you have seen anything like this in the same area please be kind enough to contact Brian Vike at: sighting@telus.net with the details of your sighting. All personal information is kept confidential.

Sightings.com website: http://www.sightings.com/

Read More

I didn't even know it was possible to OD on caffeine

Man Dies Of Caffeine Overdose

Updated: Friday, 29 Oct 2010, 11:42 AM EDT
Published : Friday, 29 Oct 2010, 9:43 AM EDT

By NewsCore

A British man died after poisoning himself with two spoonfuls of caffeine powder bought over the internet, local media reported Friday.

Michael Lee Bedford, 23, from Mansfield, central England, was at a party in April when he swallowed caffeine powder that a friend bought online for £3.29 ($5.26), Nottingham Coroner’s Court heard Thursday.

He washed the powder down with an energy drink, and around 15 minutes later began sweating and vomiting blood. He later died at King’s Mill Hospital in Nottinghamshire, central England, the Nottingham Post reported.

The court heard that Bedford ignored the product's recommendation to take no more than one sixteenth of a teaspoon and instead took two spoonfuls of the powder -- ingesting a level of caffeine 70 times more than is usually found in a high-energy drink.

Read More

Want to start a business? Not so fast..

Read More

YES VIRGINIA, THERE ARE MONSTERS_PART IV.

This posting contains a video. To hear it properly, please mute the sound on the "Ave Maria" music video on the right hand side of the page.

YES VIRGINIA, THERE ARE MONSTERS - Part IV

THE GREATEST SCAM EVER PERPETRATED:

Read More

anti-immigrant government propaganda you can set your watch by

First think about Bill C-49, the bill the Harper Government calls anti-smuggling, which is actually anti-refugee.

Then read this. From CBC's Inside Politics blog, Hannah Thibedeau reporting.

So a news alert comes across on my computer screen saying, "Thai officials arrest over 100 Tamil migrants heading to Canada."

The newsroom jumps on the story and we try to find out if these people were about to get on a ship to come here.

A call into Immigration Minister Jason Kenney's office points us to stories in the Thai media.

The articles are all in Thai, but we use a handy-dandy translator on the internet to translate them into English.

The Thai media reports there was an arrest of over 100 people. So how do we know they were coming to Canada?

Kenney's office says, "We aren't going to get into details. All I will do is point you to the media articles."

The translated articles say these people were headed to a third country. Then there's a reference to the story of the MV Sun Sea, a ship that arrived on Canadian shores last summer carrying about 500 Tamil asylum seekers.

So all we have is information from the Thai media -- no concrete details from the minister's office.

The Thai embassy here in Canada says it has heard no word from its government about the arrested Thai migrants trying to come to Canada.

How do we know these people were heading to Canada? At this point, we don't.

However, Kenney's office did want to add how important it is that Bill C-49 passes Parliament. That's the Conservative government's proposed bill designed to crack down on human smugglers and illegal immigrants.

Just take our word for it. We're the government. We never lie.

Read More

Credible Terrorist Threat

Read More

Quick US Mint Updates

There are a number of recent news items related to the US Mint that I wanted to briefly cover. These deal with two upcoming coin launch ceremonies, the 2011 Mint Set, and designs for the 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Dollar

The US Mint announced details for the coin launch ceremony for the 2010 Abraham Lincoln Presidential Dollar. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on November 18, 2010 at 10:00 AM ET. The location will be President Lincoln's Cottage on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, DC.

This ceremony may see more interest than typical due to the excitement about the release of the new Lincoln Dollar.

The ceremony will take place on the same day as the official circulation release date. As opposed to America the Beautiful Quarters, unmixed quantities of newly released Presidential Dollars have been more readily available at banks. Depository institutions are provided with time frames during which they can order boxes of $1,000 or bags of $2,000 of the most recently released Presidential Dollar.

The special ordering period for the Lincoln Presidential Dollar is October 28 to December 2. Collectors may want to inquire with some banks now to see if they will be ordering the coins, or even to request that they order a specific quantity of the coins.

Mount Hood National Forest Quarter

The launch ceremony for the Mount Hood National Forest Quarter will be held on November 17, 2010 at 10:30 AM PT. The location will be the World Forestry Center, 4033 SW Canyon Road, Portland, Oregon.

The ceremony will take place two days after the official circulation release date on November 15.

This will represent the fifth release of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program and the final release for this year. Coins from this series have been more challenging to find through the channels of circulation, although some collectors have experienced success.

The US Mint will offer premium priced two roll sets and 100-coin bags of the quarters starting on November 15, 2010 at 12:00 Noon ET.

2011 United States Mint Set

CoinWorld has recently reported that the US Mint will stop using the satin finish for the annual Uncirculated Coin Set, also referred to by collectors as the Mint Set.

The satin finish has been used for the 2005 to 2010 Mint Sets, creating two distinct versions for Philadelphia and Denver Mint coins for these years. Each year, standard circulation strike coins were produced for circulation channels and numismatic bags and rolls, while satin finish coins were produced for the annual uncirculated coin set and some other collector products.

Reasons cited for the change were customer feedback and efforts to extend die life.

2012 America the Beautiful Quarters

The CFA and CCAC recently reviewed design candidates for the 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters.

The five coins released that year will feature El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, Acadia National Park in Maine, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii, and Denali National Park in Alaska.

Les Peters covered the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee meeting for Coin Update News. Check out the article on the 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters for images of the design candidates and the comments and recommendations provided by the CCAC.

Read More

this is not what democracy looks like: 15% of torontonians voted for ford

From Toronto Media Coop.

While Rob Ford won the Mayoral election with 47.12 percent of the vote, only 15 percent of the city's population voted for him. Some of those who did not vote choose not to, but others were not eligible to vote or chose not have sufficient I.D.

"Toronto is ... home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people" read a press release sent out on election day. However, only 813,984 people voted in the election, that's 32.46 percent of the population. Of those 383,501 people voted for Ford.

Some Torontonians are not allowed to vote because they are not Canadian citizens or because they are under 18 years of age. There is no way to determine what percentage of eligible voters turned out at the polls.

Breakdown of Election Data:

Population in 2006 Census: 2,503,281

Registered voters before election day: 1,526,518

Votes cast: 813,984

Votes for Rob Ford: 383,501

Percent for each candidate:

Rob Ford: 47.12%

George Smitherman: 35.59%

Joe Pantalone: 11.74%

Read More

Dr. Krauthammer sounds right on to me...

Dr. Charles Krauthammer

Dr. Krauthammer is frequently on the Fox News Channel. He is an M.D., a lawyer and is paralyzed from the neck down. A friend went to hear Charles Krauthammer . He listened with 25 others in a closed room. What he says here, is NOT 2nd-hand but 1st. The ramifications are staggering for us, our children and their children.

Last Monday was a profound evening, Dr. Charles Krauthammer spoke to the Center for the American Experiment.. He is a brilliant intellectual, seasoned & articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis, and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is NOT a fear monger nor an extremist in his comments and views . He is a fiscal conservative, and has received a Pulitzer Prize for writing. He is a frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington Post.
The entire room was held spellbound during his talk. I have summarized his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and internationally.
Even 2 Dems at my table agreed with everything he said! If you feel like forwarding this to those who are open minded and have not drunk the Kool-Aid, feel free....



Summary of his comments:

1. Mr. Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a cool customer who doesn't show his emotions. It's very hard to know what's behind the mask.The taking down of the Clinton dynasty was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.

2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton . He has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather, watch what he DOES!

3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can't be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to level the playing field with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain orCanada .

4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, and NATIONAL HEALTHCARE by the Federal government. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is his healthcare program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive RATIONING of services, like in Canada . God forbid!

5. He has surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they are going to try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This obviously can't work in the long run. Obama is not a socialist; rather he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he does, not what he says.

6. Obama doesn't really see himself as President of the United States , but more as a ruler over the world.. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate & coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America , as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!

7. He is now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not come due until after he is reelected in 2012. He would like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Dr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist.

8.. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge strong. Republicans are pining for another Reagan , but there will never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty & Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February) are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has baggage. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and info if she is to be a serious candidate in the future... We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense, and state's rights.

9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We are spending trillions that we don't have.. This could lead to hyperinflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn't work, nor will the stimulus package.These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obama's allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.

10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers failed, fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people are in pain, and the mantra of change caused people to act emotionally. Any Dem would have won this election; it was surprising it was as close as it was.

11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If it's between 8-10%, it will be a dogfight. It will all be about the economy. I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening in Washington and Congress. There is a left-wing revolution going on, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we're right on most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's far too late.

Source: unknown 

Read More

Mistakes were made. Sorry if you were offended....

Well, I've been laid low by the flu the last few days but I see the Harper Conservatives are carrying on regardless and maintaining their usual standard of governance.

Read More

TBC: Top 100 Players By Position

I'm a pretty regular reader of The Hockey News. They always present excellent pieces, and their writers have exceptional insight and information that they include in their articles. Occasionally, they will produce a "Collector's Edition" of their publication that normally generates some buzz about the sport. They have seemingly done this again as I received their newest publication entitled "Top 100 Players of All-Time by Position". There is always debate and discussion whenever a publication narrows down their sport or industry by the top however-many, but The Hockey News goes one step further in examining the sport by position, and ranking players according to their position rather than ranking them overall. Needless to say, this effort by The Hockey News should generate conversation if nothing else.

There shouldn't be a lot of surprise about who made the list. Names like Gretzky, Orr, Howe, Lafleur, Béliveau, Lemieux, Bourque, Coffey, Roy, and Hasek are almost given that they will appear on the list. And while this list has a lot of the same feeling as the 1997 Top 100 Players of All-Time, it is very interesting to see who made the new list after having been left off the first list. Also, the list has seen some players rise above others as their accomplishments over the last decade have given them a more impressive resumé since that 1998 list came out.

There are some players who I think should be included on the list that were left off through some process. Valeri Kharlamov? Vladislav Tretiak? Where are these iconic players? They are normally regarded as two of the top players to have ever laced up skates in hockey, but neither appeared in the NHL. Why do they not get a nod on the Top 100 Players of All-Time by Position? Perhaps THN needs to name it more succinctly as the NHL's Top 100.

Regardless of this oversight, the top 50 players from 1997's THN Top 100 Players of All-Time are all ranked within this book except one player. Max Bentley of the Chicago Blackhawks no longer appears amongst the top twenty centermen to have played the game. Of course, there are many players who could have moved ahead of the former Blackhawk, but it seems hard to believe that a large number of centermen have improved that much over the last 13 years. Guys like Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic certainly have reason to be ranked ahead after leading their teams to Stanley Cups as well as being icons in their own rights, but Max Bentley has been omitted as one of the top centermen over the last 13 years after having been voted better than both Yzerman and Sakic. And if Bentley was on the list 13 years ago and Marcel Dionne was not, how is Dionne now better than Bentley?

There are many other questions that one may find when reading this Collector's Edition of THN. Questions that I have are as follows:

• Is Nicklas Lidstrom really a better defenceman than Denis Potvin, Larry Robinson, Al MacInnis, Scott Niedermayer, and Brian Leetch? I could make a case for him against each man, but to say he's all-around better than a man like Robinson seems very hard to justify. That's not saying Lidstrom doesn't deserve his spot on the list; he just doesn't seem to be better than at least two of the listed men.
• Should Peter Forsberg be ahead of Sidney Crosby? Should either of them even be on the list, especially Crosby at this point in his career?
• The list of left wingers is mediocre at best. Alex Ovechkin ranks four spots better than Brendan Shanahan, five better than Michel Goulet, and twelve spots better than Henrik Zetterberg. I get that Ovechkin is an amazing talent, but Henrik and Brendan have Stanley Cup rings while Goulet was a scoring machine no matter which team of which he was a part.
• Alex Mogilny makes the list for right wingers. Aside from a few great years in Buffalo, why would he be on this list? Mogilny was talented and could score when healthy, but the man could hardly be considered a contemporary of players like Gartner, Bossy, Jagr, and Kurri.
• If given the option of these three goalies, who would rank highest in your view: Bernie Parent, Tony Esposito, and Turk Broda? Goaltenders are always tough to rank, in my view, but there seems to be a definite Canadien flavor on this list. And while I can't argue with any of the selections, I can tell you that Johnny Bower is not on this list. And that seems very odd.

Overall, the magazine does generate a lot of debate. My father and I had a discussion over whether Phil Esposito should be higher than his seventh spot on the centers list, but there is no right or wrong answer in terms of how one justifies one's choosing of who ranks ahead of whom. Just as your favorite team is a subjective view, so are how the players are ranked, and it's clear that some may disagree with the panel that The Hockey News asked to participate.

Head out and get this magazine. Let the debate begin. I'm very certain that you'll find some disagreement, but the discussion you may have with others should enlighten both debaters as the list brings you new appreciation of certain players.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Read More

Chinese Professor

Chinese professor found on Moonbattery.com

Read More

The Final Act

Remember November: The Final Act from Republican Governors Association on Vimeo.
Found on: Lonely Conservative

Read More

Breaking Point

Read More

Dr. David Janda on ObamaCare (Great Video)

Found on: Nice Deb (Awesome blog!)

Read More

a resister's story

Someone blogging under the name "Dave Ward" is writing about his experience as a US war resister living in Canada: Living Resistance.

Those interested in this issue might like to follow his blog. Perhaps if we follow Dave, he will write more. And perhaps writing more will help him.

Read More

bill c-49: it's not anti-smuggling, it's anti-human, and it's un-canadian

This was a bad week for Canada. Rob Ford was elected mayor of Toronto. The US finally succeeded in breaking Omar Khadr into a "confession". Private Member's Bill C-300, the responsible mining bill, died in third reading when a dozen Liberals and two NDP MPs didn't vote. (Sound familiar?)

It's a bad week added to many bad weeks, and months, and years, of this anti-democratic, anti-people Conservative government and their spineless Liberal lapdogs. (My apologies to small dogs everywhere. My sister's Papillion named Pixie has more gumption than the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.)

There's one more fight this week, and it's a doozy: C-49. Jason Kenney claims it's anti-smuggling, but in reality, it's anti-refugee. It's anti-human.

Refugee claimants have no voice in Canada. That makes them easy targets for the immigrant-hating Conservative bullies. That's why we must speak for them, and for a Canada that includes justice.

I'll quote a friend who is a refugee lawyer.

The government says it wants to legislate stiffer penalties for those who engage in people smuggling. I believe at present the law provides for a stiff fine for those who engage in people smuggling but the government wants to impose prison time.

Unfortunately, the government is ALSO imposing punishment on those people who arrive in Canada with the assistance of smugglers or criminals. Such people (along with anyone the government can’t examine within a timely manner) are to be placed in mandatory detention for a period of minimum 1 year. Thereafter, if their refugee claims are accepted, they are banned from applying for permanent residence for 5 years.

Who will this impact?

The Bill will impact a lot of refugees.

Unlike Canadians who are generally visa-exempt and able to travel to wherever we please, a lot of people around the world need the special permission of a government – an entry visa – in order to get on a plane and physically leave their country. Airplanes won’t let them on without these visas. This is why a lot of refugees who are fleeing serious harm to themselves and their families must employ the assistance of others to get out. They must purchase fake passports or other means of travelling just so they can get out of their country and avoid being killed. Under the bill proposed by the conservatives, Bill c-49, it is these people who WILL - not may, WILL - be placed in prison for a year.

The Refugee Convention – the international treaty that requires Canada to grant asylum to those people who fear persecution, torture or cruel and unusual punishment in their country of origin – takes into account the reality that people fleeing persecution will often have to travel on fake documents or with the assistance of some illegitimate means and therefore orders that refugees not be punished for doing so. Bill C-49 would totally ignore that binding requirement on Canada. (No wonder Canada didn’t get a seat on the Security Council since our federal government could care less about international law or the UN).

So the bill will result in imprisoning a lot of legitimate refugees who arrive in Canada seeking asylum and the basic right to live, just because they... well... just because they did what it is acknowledged by the international community they had to do in order to save their lives. Does that seem fair or necessary to you?

Why does the 5 year ban on permanent residence status matter?

A person cannot sponsor any family members to come to Canada until they are permanent residents. So this means families – parents, kids, spouses – will remain separated from each other for at least a period of 6 years but more likely 8 or 9 when all the additional processing is taken into account.

Does that sound right to you? What benefit is derived from imposing mandatory detention for refugees? What benefit is derived from banning these people from applying for permanent residence status for 5 years?

The law will not deter smugglers from engaging in their activities. The law will only punish refugees. The bill is therefore, in my opinion, clearly anti-refugee, as opposed to anti-smuggler. The government could have merely imposed stiffer punishment on those who are the smugglers, but instead they have also decided to punish refugees, the most vulnerable of the world’s people, who need our help.

Please just take four minutes to write your MP and say: I don’t think refugees should be placed in prison. Please don’t vote yes for Bill C-49.

Go here to find your MP's contact information.

Go here to learn more about Bill C-49 and how unjust it is: Canadian Council for Refugees.

Worth reading: Tory refugee bill would have rejected Einstein.

Read More

Citizen watchdogs are not thugs, just concerned everyday people.

Here is an example of a thug disrupting polls:

 

Read More

Antler Banter: Volume 3

The Banter returns today with the Moose staring down a couple of dates with the Hamilton Bulldogs at MTS Centre in a rematch of the Calder Cup North Division semi-final from last year. The Moose faltered in their home-opening weekend against the Grand Rapids Griffins, falling to 2-2-0 on the season, so they were looking to get back on the right track with a couple of wins against their divisional opponent. As always, for all of your Manitoba Moose news and information, don't forget to check out the Moose website. If you're interested in attending a Manitoba Moose game, please click here for seating information, ticket pricing, and availability. On to Week Three of Hardcore Hockey!

Renewed Rivalry

There is something to be said for North Division matchups between the Moose and Bulldogs. Both of these teams have good scoring, good defences, and high-quality goaltending. The Bulldogs came into Winnipeg with several of their players from last season still on their roster, but they certainly have some new talent added to their lineup. This game was wild and wacky, but there would be a good finish.

If there has been one thing that has been consistent this season for the Moose, it is the play of their goaltenders. Eddie Lack got the call on October 21 for the Moose, and he turned in a decent effort again. Lack was not as spectacular as he was a weekend earlier, but he made the majority of the saves he could see, and that's what you need your goaltender to do if you want to win night in and night out.

The Moose have to be happy with the offensive contributions they are receiving from their blueliners, especially one young man. Kevin Connauton chipped in with a goal and an assist on this evening, and leads the Moose defencemen in scoring. The youngster still needs a little work on his defensive play inside his own blueline, but he seems to be able to read the play very well in the offensive zone when he has the puck.

We all know shootouts are extremely important when it comes to points in the standings, so your best players have to be at their bests when the breakaway competition begins. It was nice to see Marco Rosa score on a nice move to slip the puck between Robert Meyer's pads, and that was followed by a big league backhander upstairs by Jordan Schroeder after a nice kick and deke. The Moose probably would like to win at the end of sixty minutes, but getting the extra points from the collection of talent on the bench is definitely an advantage.

Hamilton's Robert Meyer had a strong game, but when it came to the shootout, Eddie Lack was perfect in stopping four Hamilton players. With goals by Rosa and Schroeder, the Moose took the first of the two dates by a 4-3 shootout victory, and push their record to 3-2-0 for the season.

Déja Vu On Night Two

It took just over a period to get these two teams to start up the scoring machine, but once they did, it was like an old-fashioned pond hockey game. After having lost to the Moose one night earlier, the Bulldogs were certainly looking for some revenge. The Moose are 2-1 on the back-end of a two-night affair as well as 2-1 on Friday nights, so they were looking to improve upon those records as they met the Bulldogs on the back half of a home series on a Friday night.

Big game for three men that were thought to be cornerstones of the Moose offence this season. Cody Hodgson, Marco Rosa, and Joel Perrault all found the scoresheet with goals against the Bulldogs, and there's hope that these three men can continue to light the lamp. If there were proverbial monkeys on their backs, they all shook them off in one game. Here's hoping this a trend to come as the Moose have far too much talent on the bench not to score.

There seems to be a disturbing trend where the Moose fall asleep in front of their goalies for a short period of time. It happened a couple of times earlier this season, but it was very apparent that the Moose were just going through the motions for about three minutes in the second period while the Bulldogs padded their lead. Tyler Weiman can only do so much, and it was hard to watch the Moose ease up on their physical play. In their own zone, the Moose were guilty of standing around rather than forcing errors, and it nearly cost them two points on this night. I'm quite certain that head coach Claude Noel will have a discussion with his troops about this, but it must be corrected.

I'll give some credit to Aaron Volpatti, but I'm not going to give him nor the Moose an outright pass on this evening. Volpatti and Ryan White may have offered up the best hockey fight of the season in any professional league thus far, but the Moose seemed to step backwards after this physicality. I'm going to be a broken record this season, it seems, as I want to see the Moose play far more physical than what they currently show. They need to prove to me and to the rest of the AHL that they will not be pushed around by anyone, and are willing to sacrifice the body for the greater good. If the Moose aren't willing to play more physical, they will end up as also-rans in this 2010-11 AHL season.

Manitoba's Tyler Weiman and Hamilton's Peter Delmas battled it out in the shootout for the additional point as the two teams were deadlocked at 3-3 through four periods of play. Again, the collection of talent on the bench for the Moose is scary. Joel Perrault, Cody Hodgson, and Jordan Schroeder all scored in the shootout while Weiman stopped all three Hamilton shooters, and the Moose took the game by a 4-3 shootout score for the second straight night. With the win, the Moose improve to 4-2-0 on the season.

Good News For A Change

The Moose had a lot of man-games lost to injuries and call-ups last season, but it's been relatively quiet for the AHL squad thus far. No injuries at the NHL level means that the Moose might actually get to develop some good chemistry, but they have yet to show a five- or six-goal game this season. Chemistry takes time to develop, though, and we've only played six games. I'm hoping that it's now just a matter of time for the Moose.

The one player who has missed a few games is Victor Oreskovich. The big winger was given the weekend off after taking what looked like an elbow or forearm to the head in the series against Grand Rapids. From the reports out of Moose camp, it sounds like the cobwebs are clearing for Oreskovich, and he should be available on the upcoming weekend for the Moose. This is great news as Oreskovich has two goals and one assist in four games this season.

Halloween Weekend

The Moose have a three-game road set on the weekend to start their seven-game roadtrip. The Moose will visit the Monster on Friday, October 29 and Sunday, October 31 in some Halloween-appropriate games. The bookend games surround a game on Saturday against the Grand Rapids Griffins, and the mythological Griffins are already 2-0 against the Moose this season. Long roadtrips are hard in the AHL where games come in rapid succession, so the Moose will have to play some smart, fundamental hockey in their upcoming games.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Read More

Paleo Conservatism vs. Neo Conservatism

This post is on Basic paleo-conservative vs neo-conservative views.  

Before I can say anything perceptive about either lets define both for the readers that may not understand what each is about.

Paleo-Conservatism - Origins of the movement
Paleoconservative thought in the US is most widely associated with the anti-communist and anti-globalization right wing movement, which emphasizes tradition, civil society and classical federalism, along with familial, religious, regional, national and Western identity.

The paleocon philosophy arose from conservative opposition to President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal expansion of government in the 1930s and 1940s. The movement’s core beliefs were formed largely on the conservative principles laid out by author and philosopher Russell Kirk. The movement was given its name by Elizabethtown College Humanities Professor Paul Gottfried in the late 20th Century.

Ideologies
Paleocons believe in Laissez-faire capitalism, limited government and a non-interventionist approach to foreign policy. Most paleoconservatives are strongly opposed to the current war in Iraq, especially given the US’s tenuous basis for invasion.

In a previous age, paleocons would have believed military force should be used only in defense of a foreign attack or overt aggression against the US. but it is no longer applicable today, considering the recent history of large dictator-states headed by leaders bent on mass destruction. Paleocons believe pre-emptive strikes are justified against such aggressors or other extremists and fundamentalist terrorists who answer to no state, government or international law.

Paleocons do not subscribe to any one particular party line, though they do align with the majority of conservatives in that they adopt traditional values, and most often oppose abortion, gay marriage and gun control. Paleocons support capital punishment and a close reading of the U.S. Constitution.

Kirk is one of the heroes of the conservative movement. He is credited with establishing the 10 core principles of the paleoconservative movement in 1993 ( as delineated by The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal): 1. The conservative believes that there exists an enduring moral order.
2. The conservative adheres to custom, convention, and continuity.
3. Conservatives believe in what may be called the principle of prescription.
4. Conservatives are guided by their principle of prudence.
5. Conservatives pay attention to the principle of variety.
6. Conservatives are chastened by their principle of imperfectability.
7. Conservatives are persuaded that freedom and property are closely linked.
8. Conservatives uphold voluntary community, quite as they oppose involuntary collectivism.
9. The conservative perceives the need for prudent restraints upon power and upon human passions.
10. The thinking conservative understands that permanence and change must be recognized and reconciled in a vigorous society.


Neo-conservatism - Origins of the Movement
Neoconservatism emerged as a reaction to the counter-culture movement of the 1960s and the Great Society projects of President Lyndon Johnson. The foundations of the movement dealt with domestic economic principles because of the perception of government's ineffeciency to eliminate poverty, crime and racial discrimination.

Neoconservatism is based on the philosophical writings of Irving Kristol, co-founder of Encounter magazine, which he edited from 1953 to 1958. Kristol said a neoconservative is "a liberal who was mugged by reality." The original idea was to focus on rehabilitating the mugger and providing realistic solutions to enduring social problems, thus creating a better society.

Ideology
The main planks in the neoconservative platform consist of:

• Cutting tax rates to stimulate the economy
• To neocons it is the economy, not the tax cuts that should be emphaszed. Neocons believe a balanced budget isn't as important as creating an environment within which people can thrive. Kristol believed shouldering the burden of budget shortfalls sometimes is the price of a good economy.
• Enforcing morality to create a more civil society
• Like social conservatives, neoconservatives believe US culture continues to sink to new lows of vulgarity. Like most social conservatives, neocons believe government has a responsibility to restore faith and values to society. Unlike social conservatives, however, neocons don't subscribe to the notion of America as a Christian nation, but instead embrace all faiths that have strong moral emphases.
• Aggressive nation-building and the exportation of democracy as a fundamental foreign policy
• Neoconservatives believe the way to combat terrorism and extremism is to implement democracies in emerging nations and assist countries in adopting democratic governments.

Source: By Justin Quinn, About.com Guide

---

Essentially what you have here is two very different ideologies under one parent theme “conservatism”.  Personally, I feel that neo-cons aren’t very conservative at all when it all boils down.  I view them as the “blue dog” democrats of the right wing.  In other words, neo cons are to Paleo-cons as Blue dogs are to progressive liberals.  Both ideologies move the respective parties toward center.

Lets keep our focus on the conservative side of the spectrum and delve deeper into the  some key differences between paleo-cons and neo-cons concerning world views as was originally requested in LFL’s post.

I suppose the easiest examples to feature the difference in philosophy would be the economy and the most recent war in Iraq.

Economy

Paleo-conservatives subscribe to Laissez-faire capitalism.  This would be in stark contrast to the government stimulus / bailouts we have recently witnessed.  The natural ebb and flow of business has it’s own tide schedule and shouldn’t be regulated by government.  

Once government begins to involve itself in business the natural evolution will be toward Fascism.  It will be forced to pick winners and losers.  I find it ironic when people associate conservatives with facists because the core ideals are so different, as a matter of fact they are opposite.  At least they are opposite of Paleo-conservatives ideals.

Neo-conservatives have the government playing more of a role in business.  The government is more “hands on” in trying to cultivate a prosperous business environment, even if it’s at the expense of the tax payer.  This can only be achieved through experimentation considering the business climate is ever changing.

This type of experimentation can be seen very clearly in today’s economy.  Lets not forget that it was George W. Bush who initiated the first round of stimulus.  Social experimentation has never proved to be an effective way of improving the economy or the business environment.  Quite the opposite during the great depression it made matters worse.  To believe that this type of experimentation benefits business is naive.  

Government has consistently be good at one thing.. waste.  I would argue the business environment would be much better off without government interference.  To say that capitalism and the free market has failed is a joke to me.  With the neo-conservative / liberal influence on policy, tax, and the Fed. I ask what exactly has been “free” about the free market?

I also believe that neo-cons feel that we are part of a global economy and must act accordingly, whereas paleo-cons put America first and the main concern is interior, viewing America as the focal point, not as a piece of a global puzzle.

War in Iraq

Paleo-conservatives, I would argue are not against the Iraq war due to the “tenuous basis for invasion” as stated by Justin Quinn.  I believe the way the enemy is defined and the way the war is being fought is what controls the issue.  

The inablilty to define the enemy is solely the fault of a neo conservatists viewpoint.  The view point that democracy must be installed worldwide. This is what prevents us from identifying the enemy as radical Muslims and instead focusing on a war on “terror”.  The wording is very important.  You see, defining this as a war on terror allows the U.S. to appear as though it is distinguishing between radical Muslims and terrorists.  This allows the United States to attempt to install a democracy in the middle east while defending the U.S. from a potential aggressor.  This war is a neo-cons wet dream.  The war affords them an excuse to install a democracy, which is what the neo-cons foreign policy is all about.  

The problem the neo cons have created is attempting to preserve two infrastructures.  One is the social infrastructure of Sharia Law, and Muslim traditions.  The other is the actual infrastructure of the nation.  The attempt to preserve both has been an expensive proposition for the U.S.

I would argue that Paleo-conservatives would have better and more honestly defined our enemy and decimated them.  This would work out for the overall good of the world.  The alternative has us in a quagmire that is costing us money and more importantly the lives of U.S. soldiers.

Probably the best example I can give of United States brutality in war was Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Take a look at Hiroshima today (link).  

Trying to accomplish some sort of hybrid war / government installation simultaneously is insanity.  First you win the war then you can install the government.  

Neo-conservatives pertaining to war are dangerous both domestically and to our enemy.  I would say that we are experiencing the opposite of the intended result (like with so many other government initiatives).

Read More