Natan Sharansky is a devout Jew and former Soviet dissident who was imprisoned by the KGB for several years. He has authored a brilliant book titled "The Case For Democracy" in which he, among other things, recalls his days as a Soviet political prisoner. He states very plainly the vital role that Ronald Reagan played in the collapse of communism. Believe me, I'd take Mr. Sharansky's word over that of any of today's elitist liberals who label Reagan as "overrated" and who yearn for our great country to slouch towards socialism, appease state sponsors of terrorism such as Iran, and allow the government to gain even more control over people's lives than it already has (i.e. mandatory community service, socialized medicine, spreading the wealth, etc., etc.):
"Today, it is fashionable to believe that the Soviet Union would have collapsed regardless of who sat in the White House or which policies were adopted in Washington. In this view, Reagan was simply lucky, a man in the right place at the right time who benefited from an inexorable historical process. Nothing could be further from the truth. Had Reagan chosen to cooperate with the Soviet regime rather than compete with it, accommodate it rather than confront it, the hundreds of millions of people he helped free would still be living under tyranny."
"Instead of lending a hand to a sick society, as advocates of detente were calling for, Reagan was determined to increase the pressure. The U.S. president instinctively understood . . . A fear society is no match for a free society that can unleash the creative genius of its own people."
"The U.S. president's faith in freedom's eventual triumph was matched by a deep distrust of totalitarian regimes. When he justified his decision to build an eleborate strategic missile defense system as a means of safeguarding America against the belligerent intentions of a non-Democratic regime, he was essentially telling the world . . . A country that does not respect the rights of its own citizens will not respect the rights of its neighbors."
*Don't we see some parallels in today's society? Specifically in Iran, as well as the Gaza Strip under Hamas rule (which appears thankfully to be close to its end)?
"Reagan's challlenge to the Soviets was as much moral as it was economic, which is why the impact of his policies on the lives of Soviet dissidents was no less dramatic. One day, my Soviet jailors gave me the privilege of reading the latest copy of Pravda (state-controlled newspaper in the former USSR). Splashed across the front page was a condemnation of Ronald Reagan for having the temerity to call the Soviet Union an `evil empire.' Tapping on walls and talking through toilets, word of Reagan's `provocation' quickly spread through the prison. The dissidents were ecstatic. Finally, the leader of the free world had spoken the truth- a truth that burned inside the heart of each and every one of us . . . there had been much criticism of Reagan's decision to cast the struggle between the superpowers as a battle between good and evil. Well, Reagan was right, and his critics were wrong."
-Natan Sharansky
"The Case for Democracy"
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Supreme Court Gets It Right!
I have been closely following this case ever since the 9th Circuit's terrible ruling, and am so happy that our nation's highest court struck the ruling down. To me, it's not so much an abortion issue as a first amendment issue. The 9th Circuit pretty much ignored CBR's constitutional rights, even though the group never drove onto or set foot onto school property. It was judicial activism at its worst, and I am glad we have a Supreme Court that still understands that our nation is not, nor was it ever intended to be, a police state. Had the lower court's ruling been allowed to stand, it would have set a precedent of absolutely disastrous proportions.
Columbus, OH – January 15, 2009 – The U.S. Supreme Court this week upheld the rights of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform to display graphic abortion photos in California.
In July 2008, a panel of California judges ruled that pro-life activists could not show their graphic signs depicting aborted babies in a location adjacent to a middle school. The case involved a 75-minute police detention of two members CBR. CBR members had been driving a box bodied truck that displayed large photos of first-term aborted babies on its sides.
The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, brought the case on behalf of CBR.
“This is a tremendous victory for the First Amendment and the pro-life movement,” said Robert Musie, trial counsel for CBR’s case.
Columbus, OH – January 15, 2009 – The U.S. Supreme Court this week upheld the rights of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform to display graphic abortion photos in California.
In July 2008, a panel of California judges ruled that pro-life activists could not show their graphic signs depicting aborted babies in a location adjacent to a middle school. The case involved a 75-minute police detention of two members CBR. CBR members had been driving a box bodied truck that displayed large photos of first-term aborted babies on its sides.
The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, brought the case on behalf of CBR.
“This is a tremendous victory for the First Amendment and the pro-life movement,” said Robert Musie, trial counsel for CBR’s case.
Casey Blog is Back!!!
I know you all missed me . . . my deepest apologies! It was a pretty busy holiday season, and I also just moved back to my native Arizona. I am sure you all know how much of a big pain moving can be. Anyways, I sure have plenty to blog about, so here is an upcoming preview of what you can expect in the coming weeks:
1.) Policing the Credit Card Companies, Dick Morris Style
2.) Hamas's Human Shields and anti-Israel Propoganda
3.) Open Letter to Sarah Palin
4.) Note to Obama: If You Believe in Public Education, Why Do You Send Your Own Daughters to Private School?
5.) Hilary Clinton's Qualifications for Secretary of State (A Blank One For Now)
6.) Appeasing Iran: Jeopardizing Our National Security With the Ultimate Exercise in Futility
7.) The ULTIMATE Double Standard: Sarah Palin vs. Caroline Kennedy
8.) The Employee "Free Choice" Act: A Misnomer on Its Face
9.) We're Spreading Enough Wealth Already!
10.) Advice to GOP: Lay Off the Culture War Rhetoric
11.) Why Blacks Will End Up Hating Obama
12.) Where's the "Bailout" for Madoff's Victims?
13.) What GM Really Needs: Bankruptcy, Not Bailout
14.) Raising Capital Gains Taxes: The Final Economic "Nail In the Coffin"
15.) The Failure of Universal Health Insurance: Lessons From the State Level
I've Also Read Several Books Lately, New Books and Timeless Classics, and Plan on Posting Reviews on My Blog. A Few of Those Books Include:
-The Subprime Solution, by Robert J. Shiller
-The Conscience of a Liberal (Yes I'm Trying to Keep a Straight Face), by Krugman
-Eat the Rich, by P.J. O'Rourke
-The Eighties: America In the Age of Reagan, by John Ehrman
-Fleeced, by Dick Morris
-Do The Right Thing, by Mike Huckabee
-Hot, Flat, and Crowded, by Thomas Friedman
-Basic Economics, by Thomas Sowell
-My Grandfather's Son, by Clarence Thomas
-The Tyranny of Good Intentions, by Roberts and Stratton
-Liberal Facism, by Jonah Goldberg
-They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons, by Jacob Heilrunn
-The Devil We Know: Dealing With the New Iranian Superpower, by Robert Baer
-The Dirty Dozen, by Levy and Mellor
-The Politics of Freedom, by David Boaz
-Fall From Grace: The Untold Story of Michael Milken, by Fenton Bailey
-The Case Against Barack Obama, by David Freddoso
-The Case For Democracy, by Natan Sharansky
-The Case Against Israel's Enemies: Exposing Jimmy Carter and Others Who Stand in the Way of Peace, by Alan Dershowitz
*Obviously, I have a LOT of blogging to do, but I'm looking forward to it! The next four years are going to be a field day for me, and I invite you all to partake in the festivities! Also, starting next week, look for "Obama Gaffe" of the day =)
Respecfully and of Course Conservatively,
Casey
1.) Policing the Credit Card Companies, Dick Morris Style
2.) Hamas's Human Shields and anti-Israel Propoganda
3.) Open Letter to Sarah Palin
4.) Note to Obama: If You Believe in Public Education, Why Do You Send Your Own Daughters to Private School?
5.) Hilary Clinton's Qualifications for Secretary of State (A Blank One For Now)
6.) Appeasing Iran: Jeopardizing Our National Security With the Ultimate Exercise in Futility
7.) The ULTIMATE Double Standard: Sarah Palin vs. Caroline Kennedy
8.) The Employee "Free Choice" Act: A Misnomer on Its Face
9.) We're Spreading Enough Wealth Already!
10.) Advice to GOP: Lay Off the Culture War Rhetoric
11.) Why Blacks Will End Up Hating Obama
12.) Where's the "Bailout" for Madoff's Victims?
13.) What GM Really Needs: Bankruptcy, Not Bailout
14.) Raising Capital Gains Taxes: The Final Economic "Nail In the Coffin"
15.) The Failure of Universal Health Insurance: Lessons From the State Level
I've Also Read Several Books Lately, New Books and Timeless Classics, and Plan on Posting Reviews on My Blog. A Few of Those Books Include:
-The Subprime Solution, by Robert J. Shiller
-The Conscience of a Liberal (Yes I'm Trying to Keep a Straight Face), by Krugman
-Eat the Rich, by P.J. O'Rourke
-The Eighties: America In the Age of Reagan, by John Ehrman
-Fleeced, by Dick Morris
-Do The Right Thing, by Mike Huckabee
-Hot, Flat, and Crowded, by Thomas Friedman
-Basic Economics, by Thomas Sowell
-My Grandfather's Son, by Clarence Thomas
-The Tyranny of Good Intentions, by Roberts and Stratton
-Liberal Facism, by Jonah Goldberg
-They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons, by Jacob Heilrunn
-The Devil We Know: Dealing With the New Iranian Superpower, by Robert Baer
-The Dirty Dozen, by Levy and Mellor
-The Politics of Freedom, by David Boaz
-Fall From Grace: The Untold Story of Michael Milken, by Fenton Bailey
-The Case Against Barack Obama, by David Freddoso
-The Case For Democracy, by Natan Sharansky
-The Case Against Israel's Enemies: Exposing Jimmy Carter and Others Who Stand in the Way of Peace, by Alan Dershowitz
*Obviously, I have a LOT of blogging to do, but I'm looking forward to it! The next four years are going to be a field day for me, and I invite you all to partake in the festivities! Also, starting next week, look for "Obama Gaffe" of the day =)
Respecfully and of Course Conservatively,
Casey
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Obama Already Showing His Corrupt Side?
What's most ironic is the source of these facts . . . not Fox News, not Ann Coulter, but the YOUNG TURKS, normally big time liberal Obama cheerleaders. Better now than never they learn that Obama is no Messiah, but a typical politician, now espousing the same behaviors that he at least pretended to condemn during the campaign:
-The single largest contributor to Obama's "inauguration fund" is none other than CITIGROUP!!! This is the same troubled financial institution that, to date, has received $45 billion in government bailouts. They have so far given $113,000 to the inauguration fund. Could this possibly have anything to do with President Bush's decision earlier this week to grant Obama's request to release the second half of the bailout monies?
-Another troubled financial institution, Goldman Sachs, has contributed almost $45,000 to the same fund. JP Morgan Chase has contributed over $30,000.
-As a matter of fact, Goldman Sachs was the second largest contributor to Obama's presidential campaign, to the tune of $884,000. JP Morgan Chase gave $600,000. Morgan Stanley gave just over $400,000.
Let's just wait and see how these banks' good deeds get rewarded when it comes time for Obama and his administration to decide who gets the biggest handout from the federal government coffers (a.k.a. our tax dollars). This would have been the perfect opportunity for Obama to prove, even before he assumes the presidency, that things would change under his watch. He could have refused the donations, and return those he already took, to send the clear message that he works for the PEOPLE (imagine that) and is not for sale. But has he done this? Of course not.
However, we shouldn't be that surprised. After all, this is the same Barack Obama who took a big contribution to his Senate campaign two years ago from Fannie Mae. In return, he, along with other Democrats in Congress who accepted compaign contributions from the mortgage giant, kept the regulators away. We now see where that has gotten us. I just can't help but feel sorry for all of the people, particularly minorities and the poor, who still don't know what a big disappointment they are in for.
FURTHER FOOD FOR THOUGHT: If the government can afford to cough up all of this money to rescue financial institutions, many who were guilty of gross mismanagement and downright incomptence, how come they can''t come up with a measly $20 billion dollars to pay back all of the people and charity organizations who were swindled by that crook Bernie Madoff, people who did nothing wrong at all?
-The single largest contributor to Obama's "inauguration fund" is none other than CITIGROUP!!! This is the same troubled financial institution that, to date, has received $45 billion in government bailouts. They have so far given $113,000 to the inauguration fund. Could this possibly have anything to do with President Bush's decision earlier this week to grant Obama's request to release the second half of the bailout monies?
-Another troubled financial institution, Goldman Sachs, has contributed almost $45,000 to the same fund. JP Morgan Chase has contributed over $30,000.
-As a matter of fact, Goldman Sachs was the second largest contributor to Obama's presidential campaign, to the tune of $884,000. JP Morgan Chase gave $600,000. Morgan Stanley gave just over $400,000.
Let's just wait and see how these banks' good deeds get rewarded when it comes time for Obama and his administration to decide who gets the biggest handout from the federal government coffers (a.k.a. our tax dollars). This would have been the perfect opportunity for Obama to prove, even before he assumes the presidency, that things would change under his watch. He could have refused the donations, and return those he already took, to send the clear message that he works for the PEOPLE (imagine that) and is not for sale. But has he done this? Of course not.
However, we shouldn't be that surprised. After all, this is the same Barack Obama who took a big contribution to his Senate campaign two years ago from Fannie Mae. In return, he, along with other Democrats in Congress who accepted compaign contributions from the mortgage giant, kept the regulators away. We now see where that has gotten us. I just can't help but feel sorry for all of the people, particularly minorities and the poor, who still don't know what a big disappointment they are in for.
FURTHER FOOD FOR THOUGHT: If the government can afford to cough up all of this money to rescue financial institutions, many who were guilty of gross mismanagement and downright incomptence, how come they can''t come up with a measly $20 billion dollars to pay back all of the people and charity organizations who were swindled by that crook Bernie Madoff, people who did nothing wrong at all?
Thursday, December 4, 2008
NAPOLITANO: Obama's Best Choice Yet!!!
Okay, so I've let it be known that I am not exactly President-elect Obama's biggest fan. However, I must say that I was thrilled to learn of his choice of Janet Napolitano (curently governor of my native Arizona) to become our nation's next Secretary of Homeland Security.
Even though Gov. Napolitano is a Democrat, she tends to "break ranks" with her party and take more of a hardline, conservative Republican stance towards the important issues of border protection and illegal immigration (which should really come as no surprise since, regardless of political affiliation, she's the chief executive of a BORDER state). As governor of Arizona, she signed into law some of the toughest sanctions against employers who knowingly hire workers who are in the country illegally. She was also the first governor in the nation to deploy National Guard troops to assist U.S. Border Patrol in apprehending individuals attempting illegal entry into the U.S. Even our proud Republican/Terminator governor here in California wasn't tough enough to do that!
It's definitely promising that even someone as liberal as Barack Obama (at least according to his Senate voting record) understands that when it comes to defending our country and protecting our borders, we can't afford to monkey around and play politics. Obama's nomination of Gov. Napolitano, as well as his decision to keep Bush nominee Robert Gates on board as Defense secretary, at least on a temporary basis, demonstrate that Obama is at least smart enough to know when it's time to stop the Messiah act and return back to reality when it comes to the crucial issue of national defense.
Obama further confirmed this when he announced that he would ultimately leave it up to military leaders to decide whether "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" should remain in effect, as the leaders in the military are without a doubt the most knowledgeable and qualified to make that decision (no matter how many whiny gay men pout in protest). There is definitely a proper arena for social activism and political correctness in our society, but our military is most certanly NOT that arena!
Also, Arizona will be getting a GREAT governor to replace Napolitano in January. My mom has been close friends with Jane Brewer for as long as I can remember, and I must say that she is one of the most classiest and down to earth ladies I have ever met. Overall, it's a win-win situation for everyone!!!
Even though Gov. Napolitano is a Democrat, she tends to "break ranks" with her party and take more of a hardline, conservative Republican stance towards the important issues of border protection and illegal immigration (which should really come as no surprise since, regardless of political affiliation, she's the chief executive of a BORDER state). As governor of Arizona, she signed into law some of the toughest sanctions against employers who knowingly hire workers who are in the country illegally. She was also the first governor in the nation to deploy National Guard troops to assist U.S. Border Patrol in apprehending individuals attempting illegal entry into the U.S. Even our proud Republican/Terminator governor here in California wasn't tough enough to do that!
It's definitely promising that even someone as liberal as Barack Obama (at least according to his Senate voting record) understands that when it comes to defending our country and protecting our borders, we can't afford to monkey around and play politics. Obama's nomination of Gov. Napolitano, as well as his decision to keep Bush nominee Robert Gates on board as Defense secretary, at least on a temporary basis, demonstrate that Obama is at least smart enough to know when it's time to stop the Messiah act and return back to reality when it comes to the crucial issue of national defense.
Obama further confirmed this when he announced that he would ultimately leave it up to military leaders to decide whether "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" should remain in effect, as the leaders in the military are without a doubt the most knowledgeable and qualified to make that decision (no matter how many whiny gay men pout in protest). There is definitely a proper arena for social activism and political correctness in our society, but our military is most certanly NOT that arena!
Also, Arizona will be getting a GREAT governor to replace Napolitano in January. My mom has been close friends with Jane Brewer for as long as I can remember, and I must say that she is one of the most classiest and down to earth ladies I have ever met. Overall, it's a win-win situation for everyone!!!
Splits Over Prop. 8 Vote
JAKE HENSHAW • Desert Sun Sacramento Bureau • December 4, 2008
Voters were most sharply divided along political and religious lines when they went to the polls in November to decide the fate of same-sex marriage in California, a new poll released today shows.
But the survey also found age, education, ethnic and racial differences in the voting that led to approval of Proposition 8, which allows marriage only between a man and a woman.
The constitutional amendment passed 52 percent to 48 percent, but 77 percent of Republican voters supported it while 65 percent of Democrats opposed it.
Evangelicals or born-again Christians lined up even more solidly behind the measure, with 85 percent supporting it compared to 42 percent of those who didn't identify with this group. Evangelicals comprised 24 percent of the 2,003 voters surveyed as representative of the Californians who went to the polls.
In answer to a separate question, 47 percent of voters said they favored gay marriage, 48 percent opposed it, and five percent were unsure.
The poll was conducted Nov. 5-16 and had a margin of error of plus or minus two percent.
Voters were most sharply divided along political and religious lines when they went to the polls in November to decide the fate of same-sex marriage in California, a new poll released today shows.
But the survey also found age, education, ethnic and racial differences in the voting that led to approval of Proposition 8, which allows marriage only between a man and a woman.
The constitutional amendment passed 52 percent to 48 percent, but 77 percent of Republican voters supported it while 65 percent of Democrats opposed it.
Evangelicals or born-again Christians lined up even more solidly behind the measure, with 85 percent supporting it compared to 42 percent of those who didn't identify with this group. Evangelicals comprised 24 percent of the 2,003 voters surveyed as representative of the Californians who went to the polls.
In answer to a separate question, 47 percent of voters said they favored gay marriage, 48 percent opposed it, and five percent were unsure.
The poll was conducted Nov. 5-16 and had a margin of error of plus or minus two percent.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
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