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Saturday, November 25, 2006

American Muslim Barred From Mosque in Tulsa

Tulsa, Oklahoma has become the center of an international controversy of gargantuan proportions concerning the religion of Islam and terrorism. An American Muslim has been barred from his Mosque in Tulsa for writing a letter to the editor in the local newspaper denouncing Al Qaeda.

As I have been reporting to you on The Liberty Sphere, the members of the world's fastest growing religion are frantically attempting to differentiate 'radical extremists' from mainstream Muslims. Their mantra is that Islam by its very nature is a 'religion of peace.'

The facts simply do not bear that out.

Time and time again I have provided evidence that shows Islam is clearly NOT a religion of peace but follows in the footsteps of its barbaric founder, Mohammad, who committed some of the most atrocious acts of barbarism in the history of the world. I have shown you how the infamous 'Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is actually a front group for terrorists, in spite of the support they receive from the Democrat Party.

Once again we have yet another example of the true nature of Islam. The Muslim in question wrote a letter to the editor in the Tulsa World newspaper in which he denounced the violent acts of Al Qaeda. In the letter the writer makes the statement that he is greatly disturbed by the terrorist acts perpetrated by Al Qaeda in the name of Islam. He further called Al Qaeda leaders cowards for using young Muslims in carrying out their attacks.

For this the local Mosque in Tulsa threw the man out. He has also been threatened by fellow Muslim members of the Mosque. Islamic leaders in the area stated that the only way he will be allowed by in is to apologize and 'take his article back.'

So there you have it, my friends. This is proof positive that the rank and file of Muslims in this country do not seriously denounce nor condemn the actions of terrorists. This is the reason for their deafening silence regarding terrorists acts of barbarism. They support it. And if one of their members dares to speak out in condemnation of Al Qaeda or Islamic Jihadists, then he is risking the wrath of so-called 'peace-loving Muslims' in America.

Make no mistake. There is no real difference between the Jihadist terrorists and the Muslims who are members of Mosques around this nation. They may not be actively involved in perpetrating the acts of terror, but their silence and their rebuke of those who speak out against violence is ample proof that Islam as a whole is a dark and violent force in the world. If you support the goals of terrorists, then that makes you yourself a terrorist.

Dixie Echoes Still Cranking it Out

Check out the Dixie Echoes' bass vocalist's blog at www.cajunbass.blogspot.com

One of the things I love about coming south is that you can always find a radio station that plays southern gospel music. A mainstay of Southern Gospel is a group that has been around since the early 1960s called, 'The Dixie Echoes.' Below you will find a review by James Hales of the Dixie Echoes' latest recording, and, from what I am hearing it is one of their very best.

But first, a bit of history.

Gospel legend J.G. Whitfield, who at one time was the most successful promoter and businessman in Gospel Music, founded the Dixie Echoes a few short years after leaving another Gospel group he formed, The Florida Boys. I have written a couple of articles on the Florida Boys, which you will find in The Liberty Sphere archives. Once the Florida Boys were established as a successful group, Whitfield left the road and devoted time to developing his music promotions business.

However, Whitfield found that he missed the road. Thus, he formed the Dixie Echoes, which has featured some of the greatest voices in Gospel Music through the years. As an anchor for the group, Whitfield tapped the young and talented Dale Shelnut to be the lead vocalist. Shelnut was an immediate hit with audiences, and this propelled the Dixie Echoes to prominence. They were chosen as one of the featured groups on the weekly national television program, 'The Gospel Singing Jubilee,' which for 18 years could be seen in every major television market in the country.
The Florida Boys hosted this program, and they shared the spotlight with program regulars, the Dixie Echoes, and the Happy Goodman Family.

When J.G. Whitfield decided to take his growing gospel concert promotions to New York City in the early 1960s, he decided that the venue would be Carnegie Hall. Thus, the very first ticketed Gospel Music program to be held at Carnegie Hall was promoted by Whitfield, and featured The Florida Boys, the Dixie Echoes, and the Sego Brothers and Naomi, who were fresh off their wildly successful million-selling single, 'Sorry, I Never Knew You.'

During the late 60s, once again Whitfield decided to leave the road to devote all of his time to his explosively successful promotions business. The Dixie Echoes continued to grow in popularity during these years with the lineup of Coy Cook on tenor, Dale Shelnut on lead, Joe Whitfield on baritone, and Ken Turner on bass.
Later, when Cook left the group a young tenor by the name of Larry Ford joined the group. Ford's impeccable vocal technique catapulted the Dixie Echoes to the top, and at one point they could fill any auditorium in America.

Tragedy struck the group in the early 1980s, however, with the untimely death of Dale Shelnut at the age of 48. At this point Dale's son, Randy Shelnut, took the reigns of the group and continued with the rich tradition of four-part male harmony.

Today many critics claim that the Dixie Echoes have the best sound they've ever had since before the days of Dale's death. Tracy Crouch is the bass vocalist, who, by the way, has become a new friend of The Liberty Sphere, Randy Shelnut sings lead, Randy's son, 'Scoot' Shelnut, sings baritone, and their new tenor is Dallas Rogers. Stewart Varnado, an extraordinary pianist, provides the accompaniment.

The following is James Hales' review of the group's latest recording. Be sure to visit Tracy's website for more information at:

www.cajunbass.blogspot.com

Begin republish of review:
The Dixie Echoes have a long and illustrious history in Southern Gospel Music. Though many people have passed through the ranks of this quartet, I don't think they have had a more solid sound than with the collective they have today. Consisting of Randy Shelnut on lead, his son Scoot Shelnut on baritone, Tracy Couch singing bass, newest member, Dallas Rogers doing tenor and Stewart Varnado on piano, these guys definitely have it together vocally. This was my first introduction to the voice of Dallas Rogers, and I am deeply impressed. He's a cross between Archie Watkins and Don Thomas (former tenor for the Florida Boys in the early 80s) and he has a big voice and he is all over this recording.

The classic, IF JESUS IS THERE starts things off and really showcase some great precision singing by the guys. In fact, there are a couple of other tunes on here that really do an excellent job of doing that; and those songs UP TO THE HOUSE OF PRAYER and OLE BROTHER NOAH are true highlights of the recording.

One of my favorite songs by the Dixie Echoes is the golden oldie, PRAISE THE NAME OF GOD and it was great hearing this song revived, as was another wonderful classic, I WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ANYMORE.

I was glad to see a couple of my all time favorite quartet numbers included and the guys do a good job with WELCOME HOME MY CHILD and NEW BORN FEELING before slowing things down for THE LAST MILE OF THE WAY and the Albert E. Brumley classic, IF WE NEVER MEET AGAIN. Ending much like it began, AFTER THE SUNRISE closes out the recording with a resounding finish.

For the most part, the arrangements on these songs are pretty simple, but showcase some first class singing. With 10 songs, the total time for this recording clocks in at exactly 24 minutes, so it's a pretty short recording, and it's over before you know it. The tracks are pretty basic, but well done. I am waiting for the Dixie Echoes to really come out with a big recording. It's been a few years since they've had a big song, and while it won't be found on this recording, this is definitely one to add to your collection and one that fans like myself will listen to and enjoy over and over again.

Personal Favs: IF JESUS IS THERE; UP TO THE HOUSE OF PRAYER; PRAISE THE NAME OF GOD; WELCOME HOME MY CHILD; THE LAST MILE OF THE WAY

Review by: James Hales

Friday, November 24, 2006

California Wackos Are At It Again

The Liberty Sphere has reported to you several times about the fact that the energy crisis in California is the direct result of extremist environmentalists who wield an enormous amount of political power in that state. Well, these California wackos are at it again.

The cities of Southern California are gambling that solar and wind power will be sufficient to supply their ever-growing energy needs for the next 40 years. This is in spite of the fact that to date, there is no technology that exists that can successfully convert the power of the sun and the wind into tangible energy supplies for the multi-millions who live in Southern California.

These geniuses decided to gamble on the developing technology, which not only does not yet exist but hasn't even been tested in a lab.

Here is the rub. In order for California to meet the energy needs of its rapidly growing population, it will have to use PRESENT energy sources, which involves fossil fuels. In this case, the specific fossil fuel in question is coal.

Despite advances in modern technology which are proven to make the burning of coal cleaner and safer, the wackos are fixated on the fact that coal is identified as contributing to 'greenhouse gases,' which, as the propaganda goes, is making the earth warmer. Thus, the use of coal is out of the question, even if there is plenty enough of it to do the job.

Remember, this was the very same argument the wackos used in the 1970s to prevent any more oil refineries from being built in California, despite its explosive dependence on gasoline and oil. The only difference is that in the 1970s the scientific community was telling us of a coming ice age.

These people don't need good scientific reasons to jump on a protest bandwagon.

Reference the current theory in vogue that claims mankind is to blame for global warming. To date, no one has been able to answer my question. If human beings and the burning of fossil fuels is the reason the earth is warming, then how did the earth begin warming at the end of the last ice age? What fossil fuels were being burned then???

As I said, sound scientific evidence is never the forte of these Einsteins.

At any rate, California uses more petroleum based products than any other state in in the union, yet they depend on other states to supply them their daily fix to feed their oil addiction. Despite the massive traffic snarls and bottlenecks all over creation in the state, California loves to pretend how green they are by merely refusing to build oil refineries or use coal.

Thus, the cities of Southern California decided not to renew their coal contracts.

One of the cities in question, the town of Burbank, initially decided to renew its coal contract until 2044 and then make the switch. This seemed to be the prudent course under the circumstances. But Senator Diane Feinstein, D-Cal., wrote a letter in which she pitched a hissy fit over the decision of the Burbank City Council.

Burbank reversed course and sided with the other municipalities in their ill-fated plan to gamble on technology that does not exist.

Apparently in California, it is very hard for level headed, rational people to buck the wackos.

Unsealing the Holocaust Papers

Bad Arolsen, Germany is home to the International Tracing Service (ITS). The ITS possesses 50 million pages documenting the Holocaust. 'The Holocaust Papers' represent the world's most extensive documentation of the Nazi-perpetrated slaughter of 6 million Jews and 6 million others who were political dissidents, mental patients, and others deemed to be 'undesirable.'

Within these 50 million pages are references to 17.5 million individuals--by name.

The ITS has kept much of the information under lock and seal for a half a century, out of respect for the family members of the victims. Many of these families, however, have maintained that the greatest good can come from opening the books to public view, that the memory of their loved ones who suffered horrors beyond human comprehension is best served if the world can see, up close and personal, the whole story of tyranny unleashed.

Gradually, the ITS is releasing more and more information. Today, the modus operandi is for ITS officials to travel to Washington, the Hague, and other major governmental centers to consult with officials about unraveling the untold stories of the victims.

Some of that information has already been made available.

For example, there is the story of a 21-year-old Russian who sat in the office of the clerk of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate, detailing the the furnaces of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp where he had been a prisoner a few weeks earlier.

He stated, 'I saw with my own eyes how thousands of Jews were gassed daily and thrown by the hundreds into pits where Jews were burning. I saw how little children were killed with sticks and then thrown into the fire. Blood flowed in gutters, and Jews were thrown in and died there. Even more were taken off trucks and cast alive into the flames.'

This is but one story among millions. A visitor to the archives can find a bound book containing a list of names of the Jews who were rounded up in Holland and transported to the death camps. Within this list is the name of one 'Frank, Annelise M.' Her date of birth is June 12, 1929. Her last known Amsterdam address before she went into hiding is listed. The date she was sent to the death camp is also listed--September 3, 1944. She died an anonymous death at the age of 15 in the camp.

'Annelise' is none other than Anne Frank.

After the war her diary, which became known as 'The Diary of Anne Frank,' was discovered and has become one of the most widely read books on the Holocaust. The diary covers Ms. Frank's 25 months of hiding in a tiny apartment with seven others, prior to her arrest and detention in the Nazi death camp.

The Holocaust Papers have identified over 20,000 detention camps throughout Europe during the war, roughly 15,000 more than what was first thought. But, as communist Eastern Europe fell, more and more records were discovered that detailed the fact that not only did the Nazis operate 5000 or so death camps in Western Europe, but 15,000 more in Eastern Europe.

The process of releasing these valuable historical records should be accelerated. Today more than ever before, the world needs to see, hear, and read the complete story of the Holocaust. With Iran stating unequivocally that it wishes to conduct another Holocaust against the Jews and anyone who supports them, the Holocaust Papers are as relevant today as they ever were.

And, as Winston Churchill warned as early as 1934, for a free society to merely negotiate with and appease tyrannical governments only invites more of the undesired behavior.

If the West refuses to wake up and fight to WIN against Jihadists in the Middle East and dictators in North Korea, we will one day wake up to the bombs falling on Washington as they did on London during WWII.

Police Gun Down 92-Year-Old in Drug Raid

Here we go again. This scenario is becoming all too familiar. Police in Atlanta, Georgia have gunned down a 92-year-old woman in her home in a drug raid gone bad.

How many of these stories have we heard over the past few years? This is getting ridiculous.

92-year-old Kathryn Johnson had lived in her Atlanta home for 17 years--ALONE. Her niece had bought her a handgun for protection--a gun that was registered. Narcotics agents had supposedly made a drug deal at the residence earlier that day, a deal that involved an unidentified young man. A warrant was obtained for police to raid the home without knocking on the door.

When police broke through Johnson's door, the 92-year-old opened fire, as any normal citizen would when it is obvious they are at danger of being killed in a home invasion. Police returned the gunfire, killing Johnson.

Sooner or later someone in law enforcement, whether it is the Feds, the State Police, or local police, is going to have to pay the ultimate price for these 'mistakes.' In other words, someone needs to go to prison.

In addition, situations such as these highlight the danger of the nation's failed 'war on drugs.' This ill-conceived program has given law enforcement officers too much freedom to push the limits of the law, and even cross commonly-accepted legal boundaries, such as private property rights. Under the current system, police can essentially confiscate your property if they suspect drugs are being sold out of it or grown on it...even if you, the owner, had nothing to do with these crimes.

This is not to mention the fact that non-violent suspects should not be subjected to the violence of a home invasion by law enforcement, which, by its very nature, is dangerously violent for both law enforcement and the suspects. Kathryn Johnson is not the first American to be gunned down by mistake by police in a case of mistaken identity in home invasions. As long as we insist on keeping a failed program such as the 'war on drugs,' she won't be the last.

It is time we as citizens put a stop to this insanity. Citizens who are gunned down are owed a debt by the law enforcement officials who make these kinds of mistakes. They should be charged with a felony and placed on trial at the very least. The victims and their families are owed financial recompense.

In addition, we need to make it clear to our elected officials that it is time to end the war on drugs. Too much money, time, energy, resources, and prison space is being given to track down, arrest, prosecute, and imprison non-violent drug offenders. Innocent lives are being lost in a futile cause--both those of law enforcement officers who are forced into these raids and the innocent citizens who get caught in the crossfire.

We need to demand that it stop.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Jews Feel Threatened in France

The following is an eye-opening post by Pamela Geller Oshry concerning the growing Jewish fear that France is quickly falling into the hands of Muslim extremists. The French government, hamstrung by their hopeless commitment to 'political correctness' refuses to name the demon and fight it.

The top commander of the French police has stated that France is already in a civil war, perpetrated by Jihadists, and that the French government refuses to give police officers what they need to fight it.

Thus, Jihad is on the march unabated in France. The result is that a wave of fear is sweeping over the Jews who live in France, and throughout Europe.

Can we really blame them? The President of Iran has already stated what his goal is. Another Holocaust in Israel and throughout Europe that will put the last one to shame.

Read the following and let it sober you up. In fact, we had better hope that the U.S. government and the entire West sobers up before it is too late. For the most part we are rip-roaring drunk with political correctness. We need detox.

Start quote:
It's time for the Jews to leave Europe. They must go.

Subject: Frightening News from France hat tip Dave

Once again, the real news in France is conveniently not being reported as it should. To give you an idea of what's going on in France where there are now between 5 and 6 million Muslims and about 600,000 Jews.

Here is an email that came from a Jew living in France.

"I AM A JEW -- therefore I am forwarding this to everyone on all my e-mail lists. I will not sit back and do nothing." Nowhere have the flames of anti-Semitism burned more furiously than in France: In Lyon, a car was rammed into a synagogue and set on fire. In Montpellier, the Jewish religious center was firebombed; so were synagogues in Strasbourg and Marseilles; so was a Jewish school in Creteil - all recently.

A Jewish sports club in Toulouse was attacked with Molotov cocktails, and on the statue of Alfred Dreyfus in Paris , the words "Dirty Jew" were painted. In Bondy, 15 men beat up members of a Jewish football team with sticks and metal bars. The bus that takes Jewish children to school in Aubervilliers has been attacked three times in the last 14 months.

According to the Police, metropolitan Paris has seen 10 to 12 anti-Jewish incidents PER DAY in the past 30 days. Walls in Jewish neighborhoods have been defaced with slogans proclaiming "Jews to the gas chambers" and "Death to the Jews."

A gunman opened fire on a kosher butcher's shop (and, of course, the butcher) in Toulouse, France; a Jewish couple in their 20s were beaten up by five men in Villeurbanne, France. The woman was pregnant; a Jewish school was broken into and vandalized in Sarcelles, France. This was just in the past week.

So I call on you, whether you are a fellow Jew, a friend, or merely a person with the capacity and desire to distinguish decency from depravity, to do, at least, these three simple things:

First, care enough to stay informed. Don't ever let yourself become deluded into thinking that this is not your fight. I remind you of what Pastor Neimoller said in World War II: "First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me".

Second, boycott France and French products. Only the Arab countries are more toxically anti-Semitic and, unlike them, France exports more than just oil and hatred. So boycott their wines and their perfumes. Boycott their clothes and their foodstuffs. Boycott their movies. Definitely boycott their shores. If we are resolved we can exert amazing pressure and, whatever else we may know about the French, we most certainly know that they are like a cobweb in a hurricane in the face of well directed pressure. Third, send this along to your family, your friends, and your co-workers. Think of all of the people of good conscience that you know and let them know that you and the people that you care about need their help. The number one best selling book in France is "September 11: The Frightening Fraud," which argues that no plane ever hit the Pentagon.

Rosamund Sakol

Pastorius at CUANAS has the call to Euroipe

Europe Knows Not Evil

Is it possible that the Jews have no home in Europe, even in this, our modern world?

Europe knows not evil

I, a French-born rabbi, have been sitting in a small synagogue in Brussels, celebrating the High Holy Days. Almost 200 years ago to the day, Napoleon convened an assembly of Jewish leaders to help him open the door of citizenship to French Jews. It was the Enlightenment. The Jews of France prepared to receive equal rights and become full partners in the affairs of state. They could call Europe home.

Now I wonder if it was all an illusion. I and other Jews have begun moving toward the sad and frankly terrifying realization that ultimately we may have no home in Europe. It is not that I no longer identify as a European, or that somehow my sense of loyalty to the place of my birth has weakened. No, it is not me who has changed, but Europe. A conflict has emerged between this new Europe and my Jewishness, and I do not know how to resolve it.

Read it all

UPDATE: European Anti-Semitism Spikes Up
End quote

To read the entire email, go to

www.atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com

Scenario in Place for WWIII

In a recent post on The Liberty Sphere, I wrote that we are now moving swiftly toward World War III and that the policies that the Democrats in Washington are pushing will hasten its beginning. What gives one even greater alarm is that events are occurring in other areas of the world that are also hastening that dreadful day. This article will highlight the various factors at home and abroad that put the world at great risk, bringing us to the brink of a war like we have never witnessed.

1. The Axis of Evil that President Bush identified in 2002 just prior to our military intervention in Iraq has 'outed' itself, publicly admitting the alliance that we all suspected all along. North Korea, Iran, and Syria are walking in tandem, not because they are united by a common religion, for they are not, but because they share a political ideology--totalitarianism perpetrated by terrorism. The one nation that is no longer part of this axis is Iraq. The sole reason for this is our invasion.

2. Iran and Syria are shoring up their power by attempting to bring down the Lebanese government and to throw Iraq into massive civil war. Iran is the threat on the western front as it pressures Iraq, and Syria is the threat on the eastern front as it helps Hezbollah assassinate leaders in Lebanon with the hope that the entire government topples. In short, radical Islam is on the march, and once they gain control of Lebanon and Iraq, we are one minute before midnight on the ticking clock toward world war.

3. Muslim terrorist insurgents in Iraq are clearly emboldened by the Democrats controlling Congress. They view the power shift as a signal of retreat. And they have good reason. John Conyers has called for an immediate withdrawal. So has John Murtha and many others. The result? Baghdad is dripping in the worst blood-bath so far as of today, as insurgents conduct their barbaric mayhem in the streets. Observers on the ground in Iraq state unequivocally that the reason for the latest upswing in violence is they sense a coming retreat as led by Democrats.

4. A retreat in Iraq will result in a militant Islamic terrorist sweep of the country...and Iran will clearly be in control. Thus, the stage will be set with Iraq back in the fold of the Axis of Evil. At that point, Iran, Syria, Iraq, and North Korea will be the main players in this dark alliance that will be committed to the annihilation of the West, Israel, and a new Holocaust that will target not only Jews but Christians and anyone else that refuses to convert to Islam.

5. Democrat Charles Rangel is calling for the draft to be reinstated. Despite his ulterior motive of attempting to scare Americans about the war in Iraq, hoping that this will turn public opinion toward a complete withdrawal of troops, the push toward a draft may well indicate that the politicians know something we don't know. Maybe the Democrats ARE scared. If their policies are implemented, the perfect stage will be set for a world war, and at that point, we WILL have a draft whether we want one or not.

Now, let me ask you, would you rather keep a volunteer military that is efficient, well-trained, and capable, to fight a war on a foreign front to keep it away from American shores? Or would you rather retreat from that foreign front, let Muslim Jihadists take control of the entire region, which will lead to WWIII in which millions of America's youth are drafted and sent to war? Would you prefer to risk New York and Los Angeles smoldering in a radioactive ash-heap?

You see, Iraq is not the issue with the Jihadists. Israel is the issue. The Axis of Evil consisting of Iran, Syria, North Korea, and Iraq WILL launch a nuclear war against Israel. The U.S. has a signed treaty that an attack against Israel will be considered an attack against the U.S. This means that if nuclear war is launched against Israel, the U.S. will automatically be involved in a nuclear war out of our commitment to protect Israel.

Thus, the nukes will fly. The Democrats will then claim that the draft is essential, and at that point they will be right. We will have a massive registration drive, our young men AND WOMEN will be hauled off to boot camps and given intense training after which they will be shipped off to fight in a world war that will make WWII look like a friendly game of tidily winks.

Make no mistake, the policies the Democrats are advocating are very dangerous not only to our nation but to the entire world. To retreat in Iraq will lead to World War. Remember, you heard it and read it here first.

The main thing, however, is that we stop any attempt by the new Congress to cut and run. Plus, Baker, Kissinger, and company must be resisted by the Bush Administration, for their recommendations are just as suspect as the Democrats'.

Call your Congressmen and Senators and tell them America MUST fight this war to WIN. Anything less is not only unacceptable but a precursor to world war.

As early as 1923 Sir Winston Churchill warned England that the policy of appeasement and negotiation with the Nazis was futile, and that unless the Nazi army were stopped militarily, Europe and the World would pay a heavy price much worse than the Germans marching into Belgium.

Churchill was denounced as a 'war-monger.'

The result was 6 million Jewish deaths and 6 million deaths of political dissidents and others deemed to be 'undesirable.' 12 million exterminated. Paris fell. London was next.

It was at this point that England turned to Churchill who single-handedly rallied the British to fight.

Is it going to take the Jihadists marching into New York City before the U.S. decides it is time to fight the world-wide scourge of Jihadist terrorism?

Are we going to allow James Baker, Henry Kissinger, Nancy Pelosi, John Murtha, Ted Kennedy, and others take us down the path of appeasement, negotiation, and 'diplomacy,' while the blood thirsty barbarians tell them only what they want to hear so they can continue to conduct their world-wide blood-bath covertly?

If we allow this to happen, we are inadvertently setting up the very same scenario that Churchill warned about before WWII.

So, let's get moving. STOP THE RETREAT. LET'S FIGHT TO WIN!

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Thanksgiving a Triumph Over Socialism


First I want to wish each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. With all the problems we face in America at home and abroad, this is still the greatest nation on earth. We truly have much for which to be thankful.

My Thanksgiving tribute this year centers on our forebears at Plymouth. Most of us are very familiar with the story of the first Thanksgiving, when the Pilgrims gathered with their newly-formed Indian friends to give thanks to God for not only sparing their lives but giving them the blessing of abundance after nearly failing to survive their first winter in New England.

What you might NOT know, however, is the story behind the story. Thanksgiving is a testament to the triumph of capitalism over socialism, and this is one of the reasons collectivists in politics, the news media, and Hollywood all but ignore the holiday, referring to it instead as 'Turkey Day,' a name which, by the way, I loathe.

Not only do the collectivists hate the purely religious significance of the holiday, but they hate the story behind it and had just as soon keep you from knowing it.

When the Pilgrims first landed at Plymouth they embarked on an experiment the world had never seen. The brave new world that they forged was laden with mistakes early on that were later corrected. Had they not been corrected, they probably would not have survived.

The society that the first band of Pilgrims forged was collectivist in nature. They lived commune style, sharing everything with each other. Property was held in common. It is understandable that they would do such a thing, being alone in a strange land with strange natives. They felt they had to be collectivist to survive and to foster a sense of inter-dependence on each other.

The result, however, was less than desirable. There was no incentive to prosper, no personal pride in private ownership of property, no real motivation to excel and to do the things necessary not only to survive but thrive. Thus, when winter came they were ill-prepared to face the harsh realities of the climate. Over half of them died that winter alone.

All of these factors taught the Puritans a valuable lesson. What they were doing was not working. And, being the resilient lot that they were, they adjusted course. First of all, they ditched the socialistic model of living that nearly brought them to extinction. A capitalistic system was introduced that stressed individual responsibility and initiative, personal freedom, free trade, and private property. They made friends with their Indian neighbors who taught them how to plant corn. In turn, the Pilgrims helped the Indians, thus initiating that hallmark practice of capitalism--free trade. Goods were traded between the Pilgrims and the Indians. The colony began to thrive. Children were born. Plymouth grew. Prosperity began to replace abject poverty and illness.

By the following Autumn, the colony had flourished so much that they wanted to express their thanks to God for the bountiful plenty. They invited their Indian friends and trade partners to join them in sharing a meal during which they remembered that all blessings flow from the One above who loves His children.

However, God did not simply send a smile their way down from heaven and then swoop down to do all this for them. These hearty souls had sense enough to know that faith does not mean God does everything for us, but gives us the strength to do what WE must do. The Pilgrims discovered the path to prosperity and survival, and it was NOT socialism. When they implemented the capitalistic model of free trade and private ownership, their lot changed drastically for the better.

And THAT is the story behind the story of Thanksgiving.

You will not hear this story in our government-run schools nor in most of the hallowed halls of higher learning in America, which have succumbed to the scourge of socialism. You actually have to go back to the early part of the 20th century to find textbooks that tell this entire story, the whole truth. The 2nd half of the 20th century marked the beginning of the real censorship, and it was perpetrated by the Left. These facts as I just presented them have been banned from schools, ripped out of textbooks, and buried--tucked away on the back shelves of some historical library. The socialistic system of education in this country for the past 50 years has brainwashed generations of students into believing something entirely different about Thanksgiving than the truth.

But the truth is still the truth.

I truly hope that all of you reading this today will have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope you gather with friends or family, or both, to share a meal. I hope you will give thanks to God for your blessings. And I hope you will take time to pause to remember what our forebears had in mind when they came to this land.

May their vision of liberty never vanish from the earth!

'Babs' Streisand Doing Cartwheels Over Dems Victory

Now that the Democrats have won control of Congress, Barbara 'Babs' Streisand, full-time socialist activist and part-time singer, is practically cutting cartwheels on stage. Adding to her repertoire the old Democrat party victory song, 'Happy Days Are Here Again,' Babs is declaring, 'My depression is now over.'

Streisand recently concluded her North American concert tour with a massive bash in Los Angeles, which included none other than Representative Nancy Pelosi, the new Speaker of the House. Babs introduced Pelosi to the stage to wild applause from the audience, which included notables such as Barry Manilow, Rob Lowe, Ben Stiller, Quincy Jones, and Bill Maher.

Apparently the socialist lovefest in Los Angeles is Babs' victory celebration for the Demos who have spent many a dark year in the trenches of minority status. They never really got the hang of being a minority in Congress after spending so many years after the Great Depression in complete control of Washington. When the Republicans won both Houses of Congress for the first time in over 40 years in 1994, the Democrats went into permanent whine-and-obstruct mode, unlike the Republicans who learned to form alliances across the aisle during their 40 years of minority status.

The fact that the Democrats could not live with a Republican majority should be a valuable lesson as to their true stripes. Unless they are in the majority, you can forget it. Obstruct, obstruct, obstruct. They proved that they MUST be in control at any cost.

Can anyone hear echoes of the Third Reicht or the Bolshevik Revolution?

Party on, Babs. The way your commie comrades are acting thus far, they won't be in power very long. If I were you, I'd start stocking up on the Prosac ahead of the 2008 elections.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Saluda, Perry Como, and Me


Perry Como
Saluda, NC (TLS). Thanksgiving Day is quickly approaching, and during this time of year my thoughts wax nostalgic and sentimental. The day marks the official beginning of the holiday season, although modern commercialism has moved that beginning earlier and earlier with each passing year.

I even saw Christmas trees in a few stores the day after Halloween.

Somehow or another, the uniquely American holiday has taken a back seat, wedged in between Halloween and Christmas, which are both retail bonanzas. While I have nothing against economic success, I do think there is something to be said for the quiet, serene, uniquely American holiday of giving thanks to God for His blessing, just as our Puritan forebears did at Plymouth.

This brings me to the topic at hand. I am spending the holiday with family in Saluda, North Carolina, a tiny mountain town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina near Hendersonville. Saluda is a wonderful setting for both the Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday. The town itself is beautiful any time of year, but especially at Christmas with its elaborate downtown decorations. The people who live here year-round are deeply religious, devoutly holding to the traditions of their faith during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

One can find many outward signs of this faith in the manner in which the residents go about life.

I have spent quite a bit of time here throughout my life, and it remains as one of my favorite holiday hideaways.

One of the more interesting aspects of the town, however, revolves around Perry Como, the late, great crooner. Como sold over 100 million albums for RCA records in his long and distinguished career. The Pennsylvania-born barber-turned singer lived in Jupiter, Florida for much of the year. But what many people did not know is that he also had a home in Saluda, North Carolina.

Perry believed that Saluda was the perfect place for a famous person to have peace and quiet, the perfect place to hide from the flashing cameras and reporters. And he was right.

The residents of Saluda are by and large Protestant, Baptist, and conservative. They have the same level of distrust of the media as do many performers in the public eye. The townsfolk guarded Perry's privacy with a passion. And for that, the devout Roman Catholic crooner always held the residents in high esteem and kept them close to his heart.

Each day Como would walk from his home, which was hidden in the forest of one of the North Carolina peaks, to the local Saluda post office to retrieve his mail. Rather than staring or asking for autographs, the townspeople would do their normal 'tip of the hat' or a friendly 'good morning.' Beyond that, it was all small talk. He was one of them. And they didn't take kindly to strangers who sought to encroach on Como's privacy.

Perhaps the favorite eatery for the locals in and around Saluda is a restaurant called, 'The Caro-Mi.' This long-time family owned and operated restaurant is famous for it's dish called 'Ham What Am.' Regardless of one's personal culinary tastes, one can always find something on the Caro-Mi menu that provides for an exquisite dining experience. The restaurant was one of Como's favorites, and he could often be spotted with his wife at a table in the corner.

I overheard a couple next to my table one evening ask the waitress if the man in the corner was Perry Como because, as she put it, 'I heard that he lived up in here somewhere.' The waitress, who was an honest soul, said merely, 'ma'am, we are not allowed to say, and even if it was Perry Como he would not want his meal interrupted any more than you would.'

They left him alone.

When Perry and his wife got up to leave, he came by my table, and, without stopping said merely, 'Hiya, Martyn.'

'Evenin' Perry,' I said.

That couple at the next table turned to me and said, 'See there, I KNEW that was Perry Como!'

I said, 'No, ma'am, that was just an old retired barber who lives in town.'

Ah, there's no place like home for the holidays....

A Litany of the Absurd

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for our periodic litany of the absurd...the column where The Liberty Sphere gives you a run down on the some of the latest news that could be considered from the twilight zone, and that would be putting it mildly. This stuff is more like a 'Loony Tunes' cartoon.

Let's start with the Democrats, shall we?

1. The Democrats have raised well over half a million dollars for the Islamic terror front, CAIR--the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Remember, this is the organization that forced the City of Los Angeles to remove a billboard message about Osama bin Laden being America's Public Enemy Number One. Their reason? It offended Muslims in the area. CAIR has also been known to fund anti-Semitic organizations and demand that, in the name of free speech, Muslims be allowed to hurl various and sundry insults against Christians, Jews, and freedom-loving Americans while pushing for those of us who publicize the barbarism of Muslim extremists to be silenced.

This is really over the top for the Democrats. As Pamela Gellar Oshry stated today, 'Imagine if the party of FDR raised 650,000 for the Third Reich. Unthinkable? This is America's fifth column.'

2. Charles Rangel, one of top Democrat leaders in the new Congress, has opened his mouth yet again. It seems every time he does so, out spews excrement. A week ago he denigrated the South by his remark, 'Who would want to live in Mississippi anyway?' when pushing for more federal money to go to his district than to Mississippi. Now it seems the Honorable Mr. Rangel has called for reinstating the draft.

Well now. Rangel pulled this stunt once before two years ago. The House voted down his bill. Want to know by how much? Ahem. Rangel's proposal got all of TWO VOTES. The rest of the votes were against. This means that all but two members of his own party voted down the measure.

Yet here he is again. Same proposal. Somehow he thinks that with a Democrat Congress his proposal will have a chance. Not so fast, Charlie. Your comrades in the Democrat party are running as fast as they can away from your bring-back-the-draft bandwagon. It seems nobody wants to be associated with it but you. Mmmmm. Wonder why that would be????

3. Henry Kissinger and James Baker are reportedly urging President Bush to negotiate with head-choppers. You will note that the 'axis of evil' as Bush described them in 2002 has shown its ugly face. For the past four years it has denied its existence. Supposedly there was no such thing as an axis of evil. The Democrats and the mainstream media all echoed the denials of the head-choppers. Now, however, we see clearly that it does, in fact, exist. They have come out of the closet and admitted being in alliance. Here is the roll-call of terrorist nations that work for the demise of the West--Iran, Syria, North Korea. It would seem odd that North Korea would be part of this since they are not Muslim. But their goals and their methods are similar. They hate America, they hate Christians and Jews, and they want to see New York, Miami, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles lying in a heap of radioactive rubble.

Yet Kissinger and Baker want to 'have dialogue' with these known butchers.

What has such dialogue brought us in the past? We know, for example, that Clinton's 'dialogue' with North Korea resulted in their obtaining nuclear weapons while hoodwinking Clinton and company into believing they were only using the materials we sent them to 'improve their energy capacity.'

The question now is not IF the axis of evil dupes Baker and Kissinger, but how. If we enter into talks with these head chopping thugs, you can rest assured that we won't be able to depend on a word they say. Yet talks can only succeed if there is honesty and trust.

Trust Iran? They have already said Israel has no right to exist and that if they get their way they will blow it off the map.

Trust Kim Jong-il? Yeah, right. He admitted he duped Clinton.

Trust Syria? This is perhaps the biggest terrorist threat to the entire world.

Add this bright idea of Baker, Kissinger, and company to your litany of the absurd.

4. Brown University has just shown its true colors in just one week's time. First, it cancelled an appearance by Islamic critic Nonie Darwish, an Egyptian who was raised Muslim but now travels the globe to warn people about the barbarism of Islam. Darwish had been invited to speak at the University but her appearance was cancelled due to complaints by a small but vocal group of Muslims.

Then, to further identify itself as the free speech hater it really is, Brown booted a group of campus-approved student evangelicals off campus. They are no longer allowed to have their meetings or their worship services on campus.

Yep, this makes perfect sense. Boot the Christians, muzzle the Muslim critic, but listen to the head-choppers. Has Brown been taking lessons from France?

5. Finally, President Bush took a brave and daring trip right into the middle of one of the most dangerous areas of the world with last week's visit to Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Indonesia's government is America-friendly, but the country is Muslim dominated, and some of the most brutal acts of barbarism in the world take place there, including the beheading of a 13 year old Christian girl.

The absurdity is not in the Bush visit. The President has a penchant for exhibiting bravery in a dangerous world with his visits to places such as Iraq and Indonesia. His courage is certainly admirable. But the absurdity lies in the what the mainstream media did NOT cover on the trip.

When Bush went to Ho Chi Minh City in Viet Nam, observers reported that there were thousands cheering the President in the streets. Yet you never saw these pictures on CBS, ABC, NBC, or CNN. You never heard about it in the news. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Miami Herald all ignored this story. Instead we were treated to a steady diet of how much America is hated, and how in actuality the world does not hate American citizens but the American President. The facts, however, tell a very different story.

And that is the source of the absurdity. The mainstream media in the U.S. and around the world has a decidedly anti-Bush and anti-liberty bias. Stories that put the President and America in a negative light are headlined. Stories that put Bush and our nation in a positive light are buried and squelched. This was the George Soros approach at Moveon.org, that bastion of communism that pressured the main news outlets in America to portray Bush negatively prior to the midterm elections.

At one time the Press in America could be counted on to report the facts. Today no so-called 'news story' is purely factual. It is editorial copy that is passed off as factual.

And that, my friends, is absurd. News is only news if it is factual. Today, our major newspapers, magazines, and network news broadcasts are tabloid organizations that slant and spin, slant and spin. It is their right to do this if they wish. But don't try to pass it off as 'news.'

Monday, November 20, 2006

The Spherical Method of Understanding Politics, Part 2

As we have seen in my previous post on this subject, political philosophy is best understood with the spherical method rather than the commonly used linear method. As the nature of the planet earth cannot be properly grasped by a linear map on a wall but by a globe, so it is that political ideology is best comprehended by envisioning a sphere, rather than a line running from left to right.

The reason for this is very clear. Just as when you travel far enough west you wind up in the east since the earth is a sphere, so it is that when you go as far as you can leftward in politics you wind up on the far right, and visa versa.

This is precisely the reason why in practice Nazi dictatorships are eerily similar to communist governments. The government is viewed as the ultimate power that controls individual choice, economics, industry, etc. It really makes no difference in practice if these totalitarian policies are carried out by a single dictator or a ruling class, i.e., the Communist Party, at the top, the result is still the same. There is very little personal freedom, no private property, no private enterprise, no free markets.

In the midst of this paradigm is a sector within the sphere that I refer to as 'the liberty sector' or 'the liberty sphere,' being a sphere within a sphere, in which human freedom is paramount and government control is resisted. Libertarianism as a philosophy, not the party, is the ultimate expression of this realm. Thomas Jefferson was the ultimate spokesman for this point of view.

Some may well question this understanding of political ideology by pointing out that those who fall within this sector of liberty are properly referred to as 'centrists' or 'moderates,' since they lie somewhere between the left and right within the sphere. This would be an erroneous observation. The way the term 'centrist' or 'moderate' is understood today assumes that its adherents have one foot in the collectivism of socialism, communism, or other totalitarian systems, and the other foot in the conservative system. While that may be true given the commonly accepted definition of terms used by most who describe these things, this analogy does not work within the spherical method. The term 'centrist' only works in the linear method of understanding politics. If you can envision a straight line and a person standing dead-center, exactly the same distance from both the left end and the right end, then you can identify the so-called 'moderate' or 'centrist.' Within the spherical method, however, this is for all practical purposes impossible to do.

The reason is clear. Both liberals and conservatives push for government control. It is the AREA of control that makes the difference. Liberals and conservatives disagree as to which area of life should fall under government control, but they both advocate for government control nonetheless. The liberal may want to outlaw any expression of racial or ethnic bigotry, but the conservative may want to outlaw any expression of sexually explicit language in movies or novels. The liberal may want to place price controls on American enterprise, but the conservative may want to outlaw a woman's right to an abortion. Both, it is to be noted, want government control over our lives to some degree.

It is clear from these examples that the rightwing actually advocates for as much government interference with out lives as liberals. This is precisely why acclaimed economist Milton Friedman, who served as one of President Reagan's economic advisors, refused to accept the designation of 'conservative.' Friedman was adamant that his views were not 'conservative' but libertarian. There is a vast difference.

Today we have the most curious phenomenon of having to deal with the so-called 'socialist libertarians' and 'conservative libertarians.' This is a ghastly development within the libertarian movement for the simple reason that it dilutes and obfuscates the true nature of the term 'libertarian.' The terms 'socialist' and 'libertarian' are mutually exclusive terms. The terms 'conservative' and 'libertarian' are also mutually exclusive. In fact, I will go so far as to say that libertarian purists such as myself view these newfangled terms as heretical.

A socialist by his very nature is anti-liberty. The push for government to own the means of production, thus gradually replacing free enterprise with government programs that perform that service with tax revenues, is not congruent with the principles of liberty. The ultra-conservative who wishes to squelch free speech in the name of national security or moral concerns is every bit as anti-freedom as the socialist.

Within the liberty sector freedom is the ultimate ideal and government is its biggest enemy. This is why the Founders of this Republic insisted that government remain small. They saw the growth of big government as the ultimate threat to individual and economic liberty in the world. History has proved them correct.

From Thomas Payne, to Thomas Jefferson, to Barry Goldwater, to Ayn Rand, to Ronald Reagan, the message has been the same--human liberty is best served by small government, low taxes, private enterprise, free markets, and private property. These concepts are not 'conservative.' They are libertarian.

The Spherical Method of Understanding Political Philosophy

Rightwing, Leftwing, moderate, liberal, conservative, socialist, libertarian, communist--what do they all mean?

In politics many terms are thrown around as if the electorate has a common grasp of the terminology. My hunch is that the majority of American citizens do not have an adequate grasp of political theory so as to understand the pundits and talking heads on CNN, CBS, ABC, and NBC.

And who can blame them?

The terminology is confusing, and many of those who use the terminology to report political news are just as confused about the meaning of terms as everyone else.

So, as a feeble attempt to address the issue, the following is a brief primer on political theory and terminology. This is by no means an exhaustive explanation but a brief overview of the political arena so as to contribute to a greater understanding of the subject among the citizens.

Most of the time the assumption is made that politics can be understood in linear terms, moving from left to right, or right to left. The far left is considered 'liberal,' or 'socialist,' or even 'communist,' whereas the far right is considered 'conservative,' 'fascist,' or 'totalitarian,' each separated by varying degrees along the continuum. Looking straight-on at the line or the continuum, dead-center, one will find the 'moderate' or 'middle of the road' position, assuming that there is an equal distance from the middle to the leftwing and from the middle to the rightwing.

This is the commonly accepted way of describing political philosophy.

I maintain that this understanding is severely flawed and limited. And here is why.

If one goes far enough to the left on the linear continuum one lands at the communist ideology. If one goes far enough to the right one lands at the totalitarian ideology, which would include the Nazi form of fascism. In practice neither philosophy exhibits any differentiation. Both advocate and mandate centralized government control over individuals and their choices, as well as the means of production, i.e., industry and business. The only difference between the two is who is running the show. Fascism presumes one dictator at the top, while communism, if it is to work, depends on a ruling class at the top, which, in practice, dictates economic policy, the means of productivity, and ways in which individual citizens are required to carry out the policies set by the ruling class.
Thus, the ruling class in communist society assumes the role of the dictator, meaning that in actual practice, there is absolutely no difference between fascism and communism. Both depend on either one person or a group of persons at the top to whom all citizens are subservient.

For this reason, my conclusion is that political theory is best understood as spherical in nature. If you look at the globe of the planet earth as compared to a map of the earth on a wall, you will see what I mean. A linear map by its very nature stops at one end on the far west, and on the other end at the far east. This is not a true rendering of the nature of earth, however. The globe tells the true story. In other words, if you travel far enough west, you end up in the east. Travel far enough east, and you end up in the west.

Thus, in politics, the far enough left you move the more like the right you become. Move far enough toward the rightwing, and the more like the leftwing you become. In fact, go far enough in either direction, and you will be exactly like the very ones you thought to be your political opposite.

A fascist who goes to the extreme in fascism will be exactly like his communist counterparts who move to the extremes of communism. There is absolutely no difference in practice, for in either system the government has the control. Government is seen as the ultimate solution to all human problems.

Within this sphere, however, there is a sector that can be referred to as the liberty zone. Those who adhere to this philosophical point of view do not trust government authority to solve all of mankind's problems. In fact, there is a decided distrust of government authority in this sphere of liberty. As Jefferson said, 'That government that is big enough to do everything for you is big enough to take everything you have away from you.'

To these stalwarts of individual, personal liberty and free markets and a free economy, government was never the solution to anything. Government IS the problem. The best thing that government can do is to provide a fair, equal playing field for free people in a free economy to operate, plus, provide for a national defense.

I will post more on this later. But, as you can see, there are times when the terms leftwing and rightwing are terribly misleading. Head far enough in either direction and they wind up looking and sounding eerily alike.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Thousands of Christian Teens Kidnapped by Muslims

A little-known and widely ignored tragedy is occurring in Muslim nations, and that is the kidnapping of Christian teens. According to 'The Voice of the Martyrs,' thousands of Christian young persons living in Muslim nations are kidnapped and physically forced to renounce Christ and join Islam--all under the threat of physical harm and death.

Some of the teens are lured to join Islam by promises of great wealth, but the vast majority are first kidnapped and then forced to convert.

You will not hear of this in the mainstream media or in most Christian churches.

The media elite is firmly in the grip of 'ultra tolerance,' which prevents them from vilifying anything or anybody but Christians, capitalists, libertarians, or conservatives. Any story that puts the sacred philosophy of 'multiculturalism' in a negative light must be buried or ignored.

Thus, while the media and many Christian churches and denominations congratulate themselves over how tolerant and understanding they are, tragedies such as these, and worse, go unreported.

The organization, 'The Voice of the Martyrs' sponsors safe houses in the Islamic world for teens and others who live under the threat of kidnapping or death. This organization needs to be promoted in Christian churches.

So, stay informed. Do the research. Give your church leaders this information. Demand that local media and national news organizations pay attention. The scourge of Islam must be stopped, and our youth must be protected from its lethal influence.