Happy Mother's Day (belated)!

"Tigger"

The above is the present Doc-wife got for Mother's Day this year...a 1977 Corvette in "Corvette Orange" with a 4-speed transmission. My daughter (hereinafter known as "Bloody Ninny") and I drove with my father to Akron to pick up the work of pure automotive excess.

Hrrrunnnn! Hrrruuunnnn!

Suspect mufflers gave the 'Vette an even more menacing roar. Out of the driveway of the seller and onto the road we went...then things started to go wrong. First, it started raining cats and dogs...then the windshield wipers on my father's minivan decided to weave themselves together in some kind of weird macrame. Okay...a quick trip to Walmart was in order. We finally got to Walmart, parked the 'Vette, got him new wipers and went out to start the orange bomb again...nothing...nada....not even a click.

Whoops.

Hmmm...must be a bad battery...open the hood...hey, who the heck stole the battery? Checked throughout the engine compartment and front grill (never having owned a 'Vette before) and found zilch. We were rewarded about 20 minutes later when we finally turned up the wayward power source in a hatched compartment behind the seat. Okay...quick jump from Dad's van and we were on our way. Bloody Ninny and I made a quick stop at Auto Zone when we got home and had them change out the battery.

The conversation:
Me: "We need a battery. You put them in free, right?"
They: "Sure do...what kind of car do you have?"
Me: "It's a 1977 Corvette...and the battery's in the back seat."
They: (groan) "Yeah, I know...hey, where's Frank? He's the only one small enough to fit back there. You sure you don't want to do it yourself?"

So, battery in, we drove it to a local winery to park it as an after-dinner surprise. We got to the winery, found there was a 90-minute wait for dinner and decided to spring the surprise early. We gave her the keys and she knew which car we were talking about - she had seen the car when we walked by it on the way into the restaurant, stepping in a puddle because she was so mesmerized by it.

The rest is history. The 'Vette is known as "Tigger" now, and is the favored form of transportation. Replacing the aged exhaust and the worn-out shifting assembly are high on the list of repairs, though the car is still a dream to drive as is.

Nothing like purchasing a good old-fashioned American gas guzzler to herald the arrival of $4-a-gallon gas, eh?

Out of the Darkness

For the most part, the internet appears to me to be the equivalent of a high school hallway at class change time – noisy, chaotic, filled with rumor and innuendo, laden with hormones and supremely vacuous. But rarely, something comes along of such quality and depth that its publication seems almost tarnished by the media upon which it’s distributed – rather, it should be presented for savoring printed on parchment bound in thick leather.

I feel that way about the latest submission by Mrs. du Toit in her latest weblog entry, “Panem et Circenses.” In the essay, described by her husband as “gloomy,” Connie du Toit writes of humankind as self-obsessed, ignorant rabble eagerly placated with “bread and circuses” by grasping leaders who have interest only in themselves, and none in improving and nurturing that which is best in man.

From her weblog:

”We watch the never-ending broadcasts of modern incarnations of the gladiators of the Coliseum in shows such as Survivor, Intervention, or the great passions of soap operas; marvel at gizmo extravaganzas, or any number of things that make our lives easier or filled with greater status symbols, and base materialism. We focus our attention purely on the business of getting – paying little or no attention to what we are giving away in the process.

“And so it goes from generation to generation, from society to society, and the baton of whatever panacea is in fad or fashion, whatever tasteless gruel is filling their bellies, the masses are placated, even while they watch their civilizations erode, eventually to the point of ashes, while chanting timeless phrases of “Burn down the mission!” “They had it coming!” or “Now things will be fair!” It is a constant litany of the excuse to destroy that which others created and left for their progeny to destroy. It was first recorded as chants as warnings in choruses in the Greek plays, and heard above the cacophony of traffic and ear bending and mind-numbing music at any protest march of today. Voices shouting. Voices chanting. Always the same chants, always the same trespasses, all giving way for Bread and Circuses.”

And after detailing the black abyss that gapes for mankind, she finds a succoring hope in the fact that there are people who defy the “but everyone is doing it crowd” to do what is right, worthy and worthwhile, and to pass that knowledge and those ideals on to successive generations. She calls it rare, and I guess it is, or at least appears that way when one is confronted by the gibbering inanity of the internet on a daily basis. It’s a daunting task to try to separate the wheat from the chaff among millions of voices prattling on worldwide…made even more difficult by the tendency to anonymity and caution among those with wit and intelligence.

But that vast number of voices in cyberspace also makes it inevitable there are voices of reason, thought and worth to be unearthed…to be nurtured…to be celebrated. Though the majority of the internet Bell Curve is comprised of My Space, Quizilla and the endemic porn, there are outliers to either side. And as the jihadists post their murder videos on one extreme side of the curve, there are also people like Mrs. du Toit toiling on the opposite side. The internet makes all manner of perversion possible, and the extent to which we’re drawn one way or the other in some measure is an indicator of our character.

I write a little on a blog that is read by few people, so my worldwide impact is negligible. I do my part in my community to be thoughtful and contribute. I am, however, steward and caretaker to two outstanding children…children in whom I’ve tried to instill a desire to do what’s right, though perhaps not popular. I’ve tried to get them to think analytically and critically about any number of subjects and not to dismiss any subject out of hand because it doesn’t conform to their worldview (“There are more things on Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”) They have an appreciation of beauty, wisdom and duty for their own virtues, not simply for how they can profit from that appreciation. These children, and others raised by like-minded parents, will carry the baton of wisdom, beauty and purpose for Mrs. du Toit and humanity.

A gloomy entry? I didn’t see it that way…I saw it more as hope emerging from the shadows…hope that is all the more effective because now it knows it’s not alone.

Canadian: Socialized medicine sucks

Does anyone out there with more than four brain cells to rub together really believe that socialized medicine…ala the systems in Canada and Europe (notice I’m not going to include Michael Moore’s Eden-like Cuba in that list)…provides better health care than the United States? Being married to a doc naturally skews my perception…and talking to several former Canadian docs who have emigrated makes me view any claims on the superiority of socialized medicine with a very, very jaded eye.

David Gratzer takes on the topic in Investor’s Business Daily.

A clip:

Canadian doctors, long silent on the health care system's problems, are starting to speak up. Last August, they voted Brian Day president of their national association. Day has become perhaps the most vocal critic of Canadian public health care, having opened his own private surgery center and challenging the government to shut him down.

And now even Canadian governments are looking to the private sector to shrink the waiting lists. In British Columbia, private clinics perform roughly 80% of government-funded diagnostic testing.

Oh yeah…and that jaded eye thingie? I can get that fixed this afternoon here in the United States…how long’s the wait in the vaunted socialized medicine paradise?

Coyotes in the news

A toddler in New Jersey was attacked by a coyote last week, leading the talking head female newscaster at the FOX News station reporting the event to wonder why on Earth the animal would attack.

Watched a few too many Disney movies, have we? Here’s a clue…anything smaller than the coyote is considered by the coyote to be potential food. The coyote was attacking the toddler because it saw the defenseless youngster as a chance for a quick snack…a walking chicken McNuggett in SpongeBob training pants. Animals are not cute, reasoning, smiley little furballs only concerned with doing good in the world…they are wild creatures living under the Laws of Fang and Claw (hat tip to Jack London) trying to survive by any means necessary. They are not our friends…they have no regard for us at all other than as sources of food or danger.

News flash: The resurging coyote population means the critters are nearly everywhere, from big cities to the suburbs. You wouldn’t leave your toddler unattended in the ocean with sharks about, would you? It’s time to start thinking about coyotes, too.

Best wishes for Elizabeth Edwards

I heard with real sorrow yesterday that cancer has reappeared in Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic 2008 Presidential candidate John Edwards. Cancer has been detected in Mrs. Edwards’ bones and there are indications it may also have spread to her lungs, according to published reports.

At a press conference yesterday, the condition was characterized as incurable, but treatable. That means they can slow it down, but they can’t eliminate it. Barring the intervention of some accident or other disease process, it will probably kill her. The timing will become more apparent as the disease progresses and the effects of various chemo- and hormone-therapy strategies are assessed. I hope they're able to slow the cancer to a crawl.

Both have vowed to stay in the race for the 2008 White House. It’s not the decision I would have made, but, to be fair, the couple is not in a position in which I would ever find myself. I haven’t decided whether I think it’s a cynical attempt to use the emotions of the electorate or a sad commentary on what has become important to our career politicians.

By anyone’s standards, John Edwards is a rich man. He doesn’t need to work. He’s in an uphill battle for the nomination in which Democratic front-runners Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have a commanding lead. He’s pursuing an impossible quest for a thankless job, spending precious hours and days playing the political game while his wife’s candle burns ever shorter. If politics is the couple’s favorite pastime, something they would pursue above all other activities, then I have no problem with the decision to stay in the campaign (though I question their priorities.) If Edwards is staying in the race because he hopes to get a “sympathy bounce” in the polling…I have no words...cynical just doesn’t cut it.

I like the sentiments of country singer Tim McGraw in his Live Like You Were Dying:

…I went sky diving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu
and I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter
and I gave forgiveness I’d been denying
and he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying.

I hope the campaign doesn’t rob the couple of too much precious time; it would be a shame to waste it on something as meaningless as politics.

Sci Fi's terrifying reality

I was reading some news this morning and came across an article where some researchers are postulating it may be possible to chemically scrub away bad memories. Why does this sound like the first step on the slippery slope to a truly terrifying science fiction novel?

From the story:

"There are several major concerns" about creating these kinds of drugs, said Felicia Cohn, a medical ethicist at University of California at Irvine's School of Medicine. "Is the act of altering memories even an appropriate medical intervention?" she asked.

Another set of "issues is related to consequences. What are the effects of altering a particular person's memory but not changing the context the person is living in. We might erase a young girl's memory of a rape, but people around her will still know and inadvertently remind her," Cohn said.

"It becomes a genie in the bottle question. Once a drug is available for use, it gets used appropriately and inappropriately. People could start going to physicians to forget they love chocolate. … Is it just for post-traumatic stress disorder and rape victims? Where do we draw the line? Who gets to decide what is horrific enough?"

I happen to believe we are the sum of our memories, good and bad, and anything that eliminates those memories steals part of us. In the end, the only things we can really claim to own during our lifetime are memories – anything else can be taken away.

I empathize with the people who have had horrific occurrences in their past, but hasn’t that molded their current self? If you take away those memories and experiences, don’t you, in effect, erase that person?

Those are just a couple of the ethical concerns with the intended uses of such a drug. Thinking about possible misuses of such a drug is enough to promote nightmares on its own.

My conclusion: Just because we can doesn’t always mean we should.

Open season on paparazzi

You know, I have a little trouble conjuring up any sympathy at all for the paparazzo Keanu Reeves apparently clipped with his Porsche on Monday.

From the story:

The photographer fell to the ground and paramedics were called after Reeves' car allegedly struck the man at 7:30 p.m. Monday, said Deputy Ed Hernandez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"He grazed a paparazzi standing in front of his Porsche and the man fell to the ground," Hernandez said. It wasn't known how fast the Porsche was traveling.

Reeves was leaving a parking space in the Avenida Tranquila residential area near Los Verdes County Golf Course about 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, he said.

As a matter of fact, I have a lot of trouble feeling sympathy for paparazzi beset by any number of work-related mishaps: they are scum-weasels, human energy-sucking remoras clinging to the celebrity teat and abusing privacy in the name of the “People’s Right To Know.” I’m only sorry Keanu wasn’t borrowing one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s legion of Hummers at the time…now THAT would have resulted in more than a graze.

Law enforcement needs to crack down on the harassment commonly practiced by these packs of ravening idiots, shielded as they are by celebrities’ generally-acknowledged reduced right to privacy. Either that or give Sean Penn, Lindsay Lohan, Reeves et al a free rein to respond to the public harrying with anything short of lethal force.

Protesting the protesters

I was just reading Tantor’s account of the Gathering of Eagles counter-protest march in Washington, D.C. over the weekend. There’s a lot of material there that will never be covered by the friend-of-the-peace-marcher mainstream media.

My favorite bit:

Before the march started, some of the vets found a stash of ANSWER propaganda, six boxes of it, stashed under a tall evergreen tree next to the bridge. They pissed on it. ANSWER posted a guard on it after the fact. Quite frankly, I lost my confidence in the ANSWER commies competence to rule the world when they can't even keep their propaganda dry.

The era of old media’s stranglehold on information is at an end when citizen-reporters like Tantor give an event more balanced coverage, free and without commercial interruption, than the so-called professionals.

Rockin' and rantin'

The Rantmeister, long a dedicated Walter Mitty-esque hard classic rocker, and Doc-wife have begun a dedicated guitar-learning blitzkrieg. So every day for the last week, Fender Stratocaster and Fender accoustic, respectively, in hand, we play until our fingers will take no more (about 30-35 minutes so far – the ends of my fingers are still numb from this afternoon’s session.) We’re making progress on various chords, scales and strumming…following one of the free lesson plans which abound on the internet. Eventually, we’ll move on to individual instruction at one of the local arts centers.

I’m not sure what we’re hoping to get from this latest endeavor…opening for the Rolling Stones at some point is probably out of the realm of possibilities. Maybe we could front for them when they open their 2017 tour of America nursing homes..."crank up your hearing aids, folks, it's the Rolling Stones!" Maybe we should just give Weird Al Yankovic a call?

We had to go pick up Son-and-Heir after school last week…the day the used Stratocaster arrived in the mail. As we were coming down our road, it occurred to me that the Blog-Daughter had already arrived home on the bus. I started offering odds to the other members of the Rantmeister clan in the van as to what BD would be doing when we got home.

We had our answer before we even walked in the door…she was rockin’. She had the guitar out of its case, plugged in and was making some noise, ala Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. She’s got the attitude…she’s got the look…she’s got the desire…and now she’s got access to the guitar.

Look out world!

Newsflash: Gates, Jobs agree

There must be something about computers and logic…

This week, Microsoft’s Bill Gates came out and said we need to facilitate the immigration of skilled people to this country to ensure our long-term technological competitiveness on the world stage. A couple weeks ago, it was Apple’s Steve Jobs pointing out that the National Education Association has put roadblocks in the way of improving education by making it difficult to purge bad teachers. Both men were right and both were actually addressing different facets of the same problem: how do we ensure the future competitive wellbeing of this country?

Gates’ comments advocated continuing to make ourselves a Mecca for the best and brightest while Jobs tackled the problems inherent in home-growing our own whiz kids through the public schools. I think we need to take a hard look at the way we currently do things and must follow the advice of both men. Feel-good phrases and platitudes aren’t going to cut it…we need to look at what’s best for the future and let the chips fall where they may.

Gates’ call to ease restrictions on immigration of skilled people addresses an action long overdue. I’ll take it a step farther: Let’s fling wide the doors to this country to anyone who wants to come.

Aha! The Rantmeister, fierce opponent of illegal immigration, has gone soft! Not so fast, hemp-wearing forces of a globalized, no-borders, Age of Aquarius world – there needs to be a caveat on that blanket invitation. The caveat would go something like this: You’re welcome, as long as you can prove there’s something in it for me, and we’re not talking cheap grunt labor to dig my ditches and pick my tomatoes “at the height of flavor” either – we’re talking E=MC2, Yao Ming in the paint, Manhattan Project, “my God, that Pavarotti can really sing” contributions. Call me elitist, but I think new immigrants should bring something of value to this country, not just a demonstrated willingness to break the law and some impending anchor babies.

The US has historically been a magnet for the world’s high achievers. I think it’s also in the country’s best interest to continue that trend - we need to preserve our advantage by ensuring our supply of highly skilled people to power and grow our technological edge.

Jobs is covering the other side of the equation: we must also do a better job of preparing our home-grown talent so they have an equal footing from which to compete with the newcomers. Based on my experience with exchange students, this is not happening. Perhaps we should include teaching among the professions eagerly sought from abroad – bring in teachers who know what it takes, and are willing, to get the most from their students?

The NEA makes it tough to get rid of the bad apples now and ties the hands of administrators when demanding more from teachers. I’m not letting administrators off the hook either – they often seem to be more interested in erecting shiny new buildings, teaching the standardized tests to ensure good scores and soothing ruffled feathers than worrying about the quality of education their students actually receive. I think as a society we must also cut through all the bullsh*t and admit that not all students are cut out for higher learning, and we should prioritize our limited educational resources accordingly.

I was reading some comments on a blog critical of Jobs’ take on education (no link, I can’t remember which blog) where the writer said Jobs can’t treat education and the schools like a business. My question was…why not? Privatization would solve a host of those problems, not the least of which is stranglehold by the NEA. Why can’t the taxpayers expect tangible, non-superficial, results for their dollars? And if those results are not forthcoming, why can’t the parent take their business elsewhere?

It’s essential that people like Gates and Jobs are turning their eyes to the future and loudly sharing their concerns about education, immigration and, ultimately, America’s preeminence in innovation. There’s almost always a better way to do things when you finally have the fortitude to look.

On Coulter, Obama, identity groups and maniacs

Some political Rant-Nuggetts pulled from the headlines:

*****

Ann Coulter used a conservative convention over the weekend to say she’d like to call John Edwards a faggot, but then she’d be sent off to re-education camp by the PC police. The comment’s provocative, as is her meme, but is also stupid, juvenile and unfunny, which is usually not her MO. The tempest in a teacup it produced provided invaluable publicity for Ms. Coulter, though it also cost her some advertisers.

File under “there’s no such thing as bad publicity…”

*****

The NYT has an article today following some of Barack Obama’s suspicious financial dealings. What will be next, the Times running a story on how it has information about a secret government national security program, but has decided NOT to run with it in the best interest of the country?

There is a lot of time until next year’s primaries…a lot of time for the airing of dirty laundry, smears and faux-outraged condemnations. If anyone makes it to primary season with an unsullied reputation, it will be a miracle (or a candidate who stands ZERO chance of being elected.) I think the people who are clearly interested in running in 2008 but have not yet declared are following the smart route…avoiding the inevitable bloodbath until the last possible instant.

*****

I’ve decided I resent being lumped in with an identity group…perhaps it’s arrogance on my part…but it ticks me off that politicians candidly talk about tailoring their positions for various groups.

I’m fiscally conservative, but am not in lockstep with others who describe themselves so; I’m somewhat socially liberal, though I regularly condemn many positions held by the left; I’m a strong environmentalist who questions the science behind the ‘man is causing global warming’ crowd. With apologies to Winston Churchill, I must be “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma…”

That’s why I hope for a little honesty and plain-speaking in politics (if wishes were fishes…). Forgo the carefully crafted speeches to appeal to each identity group at each separate venue – they don’t apply to me. Tell me who you are and what you stand for in no uncertain terms and THEN I can make an informed decision when I cast my vote. Today’s drift in politics seems to be to try to blur the line between all candidates so everyone seems to stand for everything for everyone, with name recognition and mudslinging as the only deciding factors.

*****

I wish we had the technology they used in The Fifth Element to reconstruct a living person from the few living cells they could find after a crash. If we had such science, I would use it to resurrect this piece of sh*t so I could kill him over and over again, ad infinitum, in ever more painful ways. It’s bad enough that he threw a temper tantrum and tried to bump off his mother in law by crashing a plane into her house, but I just don’t see how anyone could willingly and maliciously take the life of their child.

It almost makes me wish I believed there was a Hell, because I’d like to think this guy was spending the rest of eternity in soul-rending agony in its deepest pits.

'Stranger Than Fiction' rings true

I watched “Stranger Than Fiction” last night and was blown away.

From its perfect cast, especially Will Ferrell as Harold Crick and Emma Thompson as writer Karen Eiffel, to its low key and near-surreal poignant tone, the film hit all the right notes. It's understated, articulate and unique – in execution and tone if not in plot.

Ferrell plays Crick, an IRS auditor, with a low-key, guarded earnestness that emphasizes Crick’s extreme awkwardness and loneliness. He discovers while brushing his teeth one morning that someone is narrating his life. That someone is Eiffel, a reclusive writer of tragedies who hasn’t published a book in a decade.

Thompson’s portrayal of Eiffel’s eccentric desperation to find the right ending for the near-completed book stands in stark contrast to Ferrell’s Crick, who spends his days obsessively counting time, steps and numbers. Crick is shaken from his routine by discovery of this literary choreography of his life and, in the process, comes in contact with feisty baker Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal). In Eiffel’s masterwork, the glimmer of hope provided in Crick’s life by the arrival of Pascal will serve to accentuate the tragedy of his impending death.

And as if the gods of casting had not been kind enough to the production, Dustin Hoffman appears as a professor of literature who helps Crick track down the identity of his life’s narrator. Queen Latifah also turns in a well-crafted, low-key performance as an assistant sent out by the publisher to ensure Eiffel’s book stays on track.

There are moments in this movie that ring true and unimpeachable in their capture of the human condition. Crick’s shy but earnest guitar and vocal rendition of The Monkees’ “I'd Go the Whole Wide World" is powerful. Likewise, his awkward gift of flowers (in reality, small bags of various flours with different colored tape closures) to baker Ana is perfect. The humor is subtle and clever.

The movie sated my appetite for intelligent language, my penchant for the offbeat and resonated with the shy and supremely awkward nerd who still resides within me.

An act you'll never see on MTV

The Teapacks are an Israeli group, kinda Weird Al Yankovick meets MC Hammer with a little Devo thrown in (BAM!) just to spice things up. I can't decide whether they are too weird or too cool to be believed.
You decide. Watch.

Officially on the '24' bandwagon

Doc-wife and I are halfway finished watching a DVD set of 24: Season One. I bought the set a couple months ago after hearing the buzz surrounding the series, but we never seemed to get enough time to watch it – this week’s chilly temperatures and blowing snow have provided that time.

The only thing I can say is “holy crap…I can’t believe what have we been missing!?!” It’s so addicting, I’m in danger of joining the legions of my fellow countrymen who ask themselves “what would Jack Bauer do?” before embarking on some controversial course of action. I'm officially on the "24" bandwagon.

I remember when the show debuted…gimmick, I thought. How can you enliven a show and retain an audience when each episode covers only one hour in the day of its protagonist?

Question answered.

The show packs so much action/suspense/adrenalin/intrigue into each episode it’s a wonder Bauer continues to stride the Earth with gritty purpose, rather than slumping into a fetal position with his favorite teddy bear and wishing it would all go away. How the heck anyone can watch this in the conventional network airing manner is beyond me…so many of the episodes end in cliffhangers, it would be sheer torture waiting for next week’s episode. And if you happened to miss an episode? Forget it…life just wouldn’t be worth living.

Bauer unfailingly does the right thing in his pressure-cooker circumstances – cool and collected doesn’t even begin to cover it. The supporting cast is filled with fully-fleshed characters, too, from his family and co-workers to the apparently honest and principled Presidential candidate who has discovered he is surrounded by a nest of vipers he had previously called his campaign staff and family. The acting is solid and almost too believable.

The dizzying twists and turns, betrayals and revelations in each episode would be impossible to follow if you missed one during the regular network airing…this show is the best argument I’ve ever seen for Tivo.

It probably comes as no surprise that Walmart or the Amazon website will be getting a visit from the Rantmeister in a couple days to pick up season two…I’d like to think that’s what Jack Bauer would do.

Is our soft civilization doomed?

There was an interesting article by Selwyn Duke in the American Thinker about the hurdles western civilizations, particularly the United States, face when dealing with the spread of the Islamic culture. From the article:

“People may laugh. That's crazy, say they, we have the greatest military in the world, the most advanced technology, and a nuclear umbrella. Yes, that's true. But first, I don't claim we'll fall tomorrow, next month, or next year. Even more significantly, though, external enemies would not initiate our undoing. The fact is that no body, no matter how strong, imposing and well-armored, can survive an untreated disease metastasizing rapidly within. The smallest bacteria can kill giants as easily as dwarves.

And that is what ails us. Every time an action designed to preserve western civilization is taken or even proposed, a great internecine battle ensues. We capture combatants on the battlefield and then spend millions in legal fees debating whether to adjudicate their cases in civil or military courts. We rightly scrutinize Imams making a scene at an airport and then spend millions more arguing about so-called "racial profiling." And it's incessant. Every act nowadays, from singling out illegals for deportation and the suspicious for scrutiny to getting swatted by "Tigger" to a six-year-old boy giving a girl a peck on the cheek, is met with hand-wringing and a disproportionate reaction. And far too often litigation results, costing us valuable resources.“

While I agree wholeheartedly with his assessment of the situation, and have said the same thing in previous posts, I have faith that the bulk of the American people will wake to the danger before it is too late. We’re a fickle people…as prone to swing from a largely coddling worldview to one of bloodthirsty vengeance.

Read the whole thing…it’s well worth it.