Man's Future Is In The Stars! ... J. D. Longstreet

Man’s Future is in the Stars!

A commentary by J. D. Longstreet

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This Monday, July 20th, marks the fortieth anniversary of Americans planting the American flag on the surface of the moon and beginning what, for many of us, has become a huge disappointment.

July 20th, 1969. I stayed up all night, that night, and celebrated. I leapt up and down. I wept. I shouted with joy. I was one of the proudest Americans on the planet that day, 40 years ago. I KNEW we were headed for the planets (and the stars) where, I felt (and still do) God intended us to go.

I had followed the American space program from its days of infancy up to that seminal moment of singular importance. Yes, I was one of those “star-struck” people who pulled his truck off the road and turned the volume of the radio up, got out of the vehicle and stood on the shoulder of the highway, not far from Monroe, North Carolina, looking up, unconscious that I was searching the skies for a fireball when John Glenn’s heat shield failed upon re-entry and, for a few anxious moments, planet earth did not know if we had killed that brave Marine Astronaut. When, at last, we heard his voice we understood, perhaps for the first time, the true meaning of Mission Control’s farewell to Glenn: “God Speed, John Glenn!” as his rocket ship blasted a hole in the roof of the earth as he began his mission as a “pathfinder” for those who would follow in search of man’s destiny in the stars.

Over the years since, my heart has slowly sunk as it became obvious, while remaining unofficial for as long as the government dared, until finally one dark day, it DID become official that we were curbing our space program and our exploration of the neighboring planets and concentrating on a space station in orbit around the earth. Like America’s space program the space station continues to go round and round, sort of running in place.

I quickly became bored with that flying breadbox and by NASA’s repeated trips to the flying piece of hi-tech junk we laughingly call a “space station.” Are you as bored as I am that the space truck, “The Shuttle” is way past its prime and, apparently, seems to be falling apart?

So… what happened? I mean, what happened to our great plans to explore space?

The cost? Nah! That’s not it. We placed men on the moon while bearing the expense of losing a war in Southeast Asia, which our government would not allow our military to win. The real cost is in not getting off this planet and finding a new home! Man’s destiny lies out there, among the stars, among the planets. I am solidly convinced of that.

I had hoped before my days on THIS planet were over I would live to witness the first Mars colony. I had assumed we would already have a colony on the moon. But, no… we are still fiddling around with that metal can circling the earth… the Space Station.

The space station, as I recall, was originally planned to be a construction site. (We have, what, maybe two generations of Americans who do not know the original space station was to be the point of embarkation for space ships, and/or star ships as they searched space for the next home to be colonized for the human race.) Parts for a huge star ship (space exploration vehicle) were to be flown up to the station by the shuttles and the humongous star ship was to be built, in space, with the workmen living in the space station until the ship was completed. None of that has happened. That program was cut back and cut back until, for all I know may have been “cut OUT” altogether. It’s as though the entire program has been put on hold and NASA is just running “in place.”

We must get off this rock! Our lack of curiosity about what lies “out there” is troublesome to me. I worry that we have lost our desire to explore. Our horizons have become much too close. We, as a race, have turned inward and that is never good. It seems as though we have decided to “settle” for what we have here. We have lost our “vision”. We are withering on the vine.

I worry, too much, I know, that we have become so preoccupied with our little hovel, earth, that we are missing the really big picture and so much is passing us by. I cannot accept that this is all there is. My God would not have created us and plopped us down on this “dirtball” with no hope of getting off it! We are stifling ourselves. Man needs new worlds to discover. We need to stretch out, and extend our wings, and fly as high, and as far, as we can! Even if we, too, melt our wings… it would be worth the trip!

The exploration of space has been a dream of mine as far back as I care to recall. It bothers me, mightily, that my generation threw away our chance to make it happen. From my perspective that is massive shortsightedness on the part of my generation. Of course, I’m jealous of the generation that WILL make it happen, because I won’t see it and I won’t have a chance to take part in it. What a screwed-up world we live in!

America was a great country when she did not place limits on herself. She could do ANYTHING!

Today, sadly, we have self-imposed limits. It has become politically incorrect to spend the money necessary for the space program and not give it to the poor. I have to tell you… that is wrong! Even Christ himself said: “The poor you have with you always!” Poverty is a fact of life. As Christ said, we are always going to have poor people living among us. No matter what we do! We cannot allow the poverty of a few in this nation to drag down the entire nation. That way lies national suicide!

Look, if man does not get off this tiny blue ball, we are going to exterminate ourselves. The fighting will eventually kill us all. Our differences are never going to be settled, so some of us need to leave. Much as our forefathers left the old country and settled this one, we have to strike out and find that new home. It’s out there. We just have to go find it. And we have to go soon!

J. D. Longstreet

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Conservative+Space+Planets+Stars+Exploration"

Congress Exempts Itself From Government-Run Socialized Medicine!

Congress Exempts Itself From Government-Run Socialized Medicine!
J. D. Longstreet
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It would seem the hypocrisy of our government knows no bounds! Now they have gone to great lengths to exempt themselves from this wonderful government-run healthcare system they are trying to foist upon the unsuspecting American people.

This socialized medicine, apparently, is not good enough for them but it is damn sure all you and I rate. While we wait in lines and for weeks and months to see a doctor or have a medical procedure of some kind performed they will be enjoying first class, number one, healthcare with the doctor of their choice, where, and when they choose.

But those of us in “The Great Unwashed” of America will have to settle for whatever scraps they throw our way. For more on this story go HERE.

Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) has introduced a bill that urges members of Congress who vote to create a government-run health insurance agency to give up their own comprehensive health insurance plans and join the new the public option they advocate for all the rest of us. It is House Resolution 615. Here’s the text of the bill:

“That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that Members who vote in favor of the establishment of a public, federal government run health insurance option are urged to forgo their right to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and agree to enroll under that public option,”

On his Website Congressman Fleming states the following: “Over the past few weeks, members of Congress and the American people have come to know the details of the Administration's proposed health care plan. Call it whatever you like, I believe this proposal is nothing more than government-run health care. As a physician, I am amazed at the number of bureaucrats in this House who are quick to claim a government-run health care plan is the reform this country needs. In response to this, I have offered a resolution that will offer members of Congress an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is, and urge their colleagues who vote for legislation creating a government-run health care plan to lead by example and enroll themselves in the same public plan.

Under the current draft of the Democrat healthcare legislation, members of Congress are curiously exempt from the government-run health care option, keeping their existing health plans and services on Capitol Hill. If Members of Congress believe so strongly that government-run health care is the best solution for hard working American families, I think it only fitting that Americans see them lead the way. Public servants should always be accountable and responsible for what they are advocating, and I challenge the American people to demand this from their representatives.” You may read the Congressman’s entire statement HERE.

Wake up, America, they’re about to do it to you again!

If this seems the least bit familiar to those of you around before the old Soviet Union went belly-up, you may recall this is exactly the kind of behavior the communist politburo was famous, or infamous, for. They had the best while the average soviet citizen had to make-do standing in long lines - not only for health care but just to buy a roll of toilet tissue. Now, America is headed in the same direction deeper and deeper into socialism. This government-run healthcare Obama and the democrat/socialists are peddling is pure socialism.

If this ObamaCare passes the Congress and is signed into law by the President the government will be even more intrusive in our everyday affairs, and our business, and deeper into what, up to now at least, have been our personal and private health matters. Is this what you want? Are you sure… because, if we don’t stop them, this bill is going to pass.

Did you know this bill would fund state vaccine teams to conduct ‘Interventions’ in private homes? Then you need to read the article at CNSNews.com. You'll find it HERE.

Seems to me it is time to contact our Congresspersons and senators and ask them why they are not the first to sign up to ObamaCare if this government-run healthcare program is so good, and is, in fact, the answer to America’s healthcare problems. But, then, you already know the answer. It is not about your health, or your healthcare. It is ALL about POWER. It always has been. This government-run healthcare will give the politicians power and, eventually, control over everything you do, your entire life, from the time you arise in the mornings until you retire at night.

ObamaCare, a national government-run healthcare system, is NOT the AMERICAN WAY! It is the SOCIALIST WAY! Washington is going to tell you that I am WRONG and they will try to sell you the idea that a government run healthcare system is not socialism. If you take a few minutes, and do a tiny bit of research on the Internet, you will quickly learn who is telling you the truth.

Now that you KNOW this socialized medicine, the Congress is proposing for America, is so bad they will not even sign onto it themselves, are you going to allow them to get away with this subterfuge? Surely, you will not lie down and roll over and let them have their way AGAIN! Surely not, America!

Are we Americans so bereft of pride that we will allow that bunch of elitist socialists to continue to do this to us over and over again without demanding enough! Well, ARE WE?

What you are seeing in this display of elitist behavior is one of the best examples of what living in a socialist state is like. One system for the elite and another for everybody else. And you thought you were going to be equal, right? Equal to WHAT, pray tell?

J. D. Longstreet

UPDATE!!!!
50% Oppose Government Health Insurance Company! Just 35% of U.S. voters now support the creation of a government health insurance company to compete with private health insurers. Read the article HERE.

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Conservative+Socialism+Healthcare+ObamaCare

Amnesty For Illegal Aliens Coming Soon!

Amnesty for Illegal Aliens Back Soon? You Bet!

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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Time to get the e-mail humming to your Senators again. Phone calls work well, too. Faxes are also important. Even a telegram to your senator’s office would be helpful

We were fairly sure it was premature to declare the death of the Immigration Bill, the last time it was defeated in the Senate. And sure enough, here it comes again. We have no choice but to man the barricades once again.

Isn’t there something very sad (and very telling) when the people of a country have to “force” their own government to respond to the wishes of their people? Isn’t it telling as to how far we have traveled down the road toward “totalitarian government”? Have we learned anything??? I doubt it!

Oh, and there is this: When we say “totalitarian” government these days we mean one of two distinct types of governance: Islamofacist or communist.

“Once more, into the breach,” conservatives!!!

So, here’s what’s going on:

A few days ago, President Obama played host for a White House meeting to re-launch the legislative process for “comprehensive” immigration reform. Then, a few days afterwards, several big city police chiefs went public and urged Congress to bring illegal immigrants “out from the shadows.” If you are asking yourself why you haven’t heard about this, you probably HAVE heard about it but since it just isn’t very important to YOU, you probably shuffled it off to some dark corner of your mind until you have the time - and the inclination to deal with it. Anyway, the pollsters seem to think that, or something very like that, is what has happened to Amnesty for illegal aliens in the US. Well, my dear fellow Americans, we’d better GET INTERESTED again… and quickly. If I am correct, Obama is about to ram the old Amnesty Bill right through Congress and sign it into law before we even know what hit us! And the Mainstream Media, in league with The Obama Legions, are playing along with Obama in an attempt to keep us distracted with all the many and varied crises sucking up all the ink from their publications and all the air time from their broadcasts.

And… to make matters even worse for those of us who oppose Amnesty, there is a huge disconnect between the citizens of America and their representatives in the US House of Representatives and the US Senate. Read the full story HERE.

According to Rasmussen Reports Sixty-six percent (66%) of likely voters nationwide say it is Very Important for the government to improve its enforcement of the borders and reduce illegal immigration. Now, consider THIS: Just 32% of America’s Political Class agrees. Surprised? Neither am I! We have said all along the problem with illegal immigration across our southern border could be fixed, almost immediately, if the government wanted it fixed. Now we know for certain that they do not want the southern border sealed. See, those are democratic voters coming across that invisible line headed north into the land of milk and honey and along side them on their northward trek is cheap labor!

Basically, Americans STILL want the border closed and sealed FIRST! It is common sense to stop the leak before bailing. Once the border is closed and sealed then taking care of those aliens here illegally can begin and mass deportations can begin.

Like you, I have heard all the arguments from the government that they cannot find all those 12 million, or so, illegal aliens who have integrated into our society in order to deport them. I don’t buy it, not for one second. If the government was serious about finding them all they’d have to do is enlist the help of American citizens and you would have convoys of school buses, filled to capacity with illegal aliens, headed south to the border to be deported. Maybe the government doesn’t know where they are, but you can bet your bottom dollar American citizens know where they are - or can find them - post haste.

Yes, Americans ARE angry with the illegal alien mess and the numerous attempts by our government to offer them amnesty, which would, in time, offer them citizenship. But, as Rasmussen learned when doing their survey, Americans are not mad at the illegal aliens. No! They/we are mad at our government for allowing this to happen in the first place!

Those of you who support open borders do not, I repeat, do not try to beat us about the head and shoulders with the old saw that says America is a nation of immigrants. See, we already know that because our ancestors were immigrants, too. Mine came into the country, legally, in 1789 through what was then Charles Town Harbor and were assigned a place in the 96th precinct of the state of South Carolina. Notice - they came into this country LEGALLY! That is all we expect of any who want to immigrate to America. Do it legally and we will welcome you with open arms. Do it illegally and we want you caught and deported forthwith!

It is becoming ever more clear, everyday, that America’s biggest problem with illegal immigration is not with those who illegally break into our country and help to bleed it dry, but with our government which refuses to uphold the laws already on the books. Had those laws been enforced we would not be in the situation we find ourselves today. Plus, the problem of what to do with these 12-plus million illegal aliens would not be a problem, at all, if the government would simply follow the laws on the books today.

The bottom line for Americans to ponder is… what do we do with a government that refuses to uphold/enforce the nation’s laws? Well, let me ask you - suppose you had a business and an employee consistently refused to follow the rules of the workplace. What would you do to that employee? See? The answer is simple. The ONLY way we are ever going to get relief from this problem is to clean the house in Washington.

My friend and fellow blogger, Alan Caruba, recently said in his piece entitled “A Crisis of Governors”: “What, in fact, Americans are witnessing is a failure of government at both the state and federal level. The nation has managed to elect too many people to public office that are so clearly inept, incompetent, and untrustworthy, it poses a threat to the republic.” Alan, as usual, is spot on. America’s most dangerous enemy, at the moment, is its own government! I would add that, in my opinion, America’s second worst enemy, at the moment, is its own ignorance. It was through the ignorance of the American electorate that these pitifully inept politicians were elected to office to begin with.

Maybe a third party working hard over decades could turn it around, but frankly, I doubt it. Americans are so woefully ignorant of how a representative republic is supposed to work that I have serious doubts we are capable of doing that which is necessary to save our country. Then there is the opposition from the politicians themselves. If we know anything, we know the two parties in power today watch each other’s backs when it comes to Americans forming a powerful third party. They make sure it is almost impossible for that to happen.

Until we can come up with a solution to the problem of an unresponsive government we are stuck standing on the sidelines observing the largest land invasion and take-over of a country in the history of the world.

J. D. Longstreet

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Conservative+Amnesty+Illegal+Aliens+Obama+Socialist

A “Crisis” of Governors ... Alan Caruba

A “Crisis” of Governors
By Alan Caruba

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If you can have a pride of lions and a gaggle of geese, then I suggest that the forthcoming July 17-20 meeting of the National Governors Association can be described as a “crisis” of Governors.

This once-esteemed office, a platform from which some launched campaigns to become President, has become a sinkhole of sexual misconduct and corruption; witness New York’s unlamented Eliot Spitzer, New Jersey’s James McGreevey, and now South Carolina’s pathetic, moon-struck Mark Sanford and Illinois’ Rod Blogovitch whose alleged sins involved money.

Because states are sovereign republics and because being governor is primarily a “local” responsibility, the job requires significant administrative and political skills to ensure the state meets those obligations closest to voters. Infrastructure must be maintained. Issues of public safety, health, and education are paramount concerns.

With a few exceptions, today’s Governors are struggling with bloated budgets and huge deficits despite the fact that most states require a balanced budget or at least the semblance of one.

Watching Arnold Schwarzenegger announce that California will be paying its bills with IOUs would be comic if it were not so serious.

Watching Governor David Paterson of New York desperately trying to get that state’s legislators to even convene a session reflects the absurdity of watching the House of Representatives vote on trillion-dollar legislation it hasn’t even read.

What, in fact, Americans are witnessing is a failure of government at both the state and federal level. The nation has managed to elect too many people to public office that are so clearly inept, incompetent, and untrustworthy, it poses a threat to the republic.

When the National Governors Association meets this week, we shall have an opportunity to see this group address the challenges facing the nation. Chaired by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, it is to his credit that he has focused on infrastructure—bridges, roads, tunnels, water treatment plants, the electrical grid, schools and hospitals.

In earlier times, infrastructure was seen and understood to be essential to America’s growth and prosperity. Not so today. It is, generally speaking, vastly under-funded.

The NGA will open with meetings of two committees, The Economic Development and Commerce Committee and the Education, Early Childhood and Workforce Committee. If California is any example—and it is—than economic development has long since been thrown overboard as state-after-state has denied or delayed permits for the building of new plants, coal-fired or nuclear—for the generation of electricity. No energy. No development. As for education, it is a national disgrace.

On Sunday, the Health and Human Services Committee will discuss health care reform. The present White House proposal, unbelievably vague, and whatever will emerge from Congress will add more trillions to the national debt, require everyone to purchase a national, not private health insurance, and end up rationing health services because that is the only way a national system can function. It is a very bad idea that has already failed in Massachusetts.

The Natural Resources Committee will concurrently “examine barriers to American energy independence and security.” I can virtually guarantee you that the Governors of America’s coastal states will resist exploration and extraction of vast natural resources of oil and natural gas from their offshore areas. Others will call for huge expenditures for wind and solar energy that cannot even begin to meet the energy needs of America.

On Sunday afternoon, Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will join others to discuss “emergency preparedness” and, if Hurricane Katrina was any indication, the nation’s and the state’s ability to respond to emergencies is not encouraging. The former Arizona state governor is usually glassy-eyed and phlegmatic when questioned about issues.

Monday’s session will examine energy and the economy. Given how poorly these related areas of concern have been addressed at this point, one is tempted to suggest that the Governors pack their bags and skip that little gab-fest.

The Governors are a microcosm of the entire nation’s ills. Many, if not all, are dependent on federal largess in order to fund the needs of their states and many states send more to the federal government in tax revenues than they receive in return. You could call it a redistribution of wealth.

A growing number of state governments are passing resolutions stating they will not be bound by federal mandates regarding health, education, immigration and other key issues. They are declaring their sovereignty to reassert control over those areas of governance which, until the major shift to federal control at the mid-point of the last century, were their province and their responsibility.

This nation fought a Civil War over the issue of state’s rights, over the right of secession. Now the issue facing California is whether other states have an obligation to bail it out of its financial problems and the answer is no. A host of other incursions of state’s rights, enshrined in the Tenth Amendment, is sparking resistance.

Too much centralized government in Washington, bad management, too much control by public service unions, ignoring infrastructure needs, failure to provide for the provision of energy to a growing population, and the distractions of idiotic issues such as same-sex marriage are combining to destroy a once-great nation.

Alan Caruba writes a daily blog at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com/ and a weekly commentary at http://www.anxietycenter.com/, the website of The National Anxiety Center.

© Alan Caruba, July 2009

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energy+federal government+governors+infrastructure" rel="tag">Conservative+energy+ federal government+governors+infrastructure

Dems Yoke America with HUGE TAX INCREASES!

US Economy in the Tank – Dems Push For Massive INCOME TAX INCREASE!
Massive Tax hike to pay for Obama’s Socialized Medicine

J. D. Longstreet
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Again, we TOLD YOU SO!

We told you this would happen! Here it is. The democrats will seek a massive increase in federal income taxes to help pay for the national health-care reform proposal that President Obama is urging Congress to enact this summer.

With unemployment on the rise and the economy sinking like a stone, the Democrat/Socialists are going to demand more of your hard earned money to finance a pie in the sky healthcare scheme, or should we say “scam” that will take over what little remains of your private life. Read about it HERE.

How in the world did Americans become so utterly naïve as to fall for the “Utopian” dreams the Democrat/socialists peddled during the campaign, when there were so many of us screaming our heads off and proclaiming, for all the world to hear, that it would do nothing but destroy the American healthcare system and introduce rationing of healthcare and raise your taxes through the roof… and enough of you FELL for it, anyway, yes, I said FELL for it (because you DID - and you allowed yourselves to be duped) to elect Obama and hand that crowd of Democrat/socialists the power to absolutely ruin this nation. They have set out to do just that. In six months time, they have managed to drag America down to, roughly, where she was in the 1930’s.

You will notice the Dems used the old tactic of releasing unpleasant news late on Fridays because Americans pay very little attention to news over the weekends. They are playing the American public like the fools they believe us to be. And I have to tell you - it sure looks to me as if they have us pegged. I mean how bright did the American electorate have to be to elect this bunch in the first place? Just look around you. Six months… and America is practically on her knees! They have raped and pillaged our treasury and now they are going to dig into your pockets and take what little you have left to support your families. Oh, and they have the gall to ask you to believe the old lie about taxing the rich. And you are going to swallow that lie too, aren’t you? That is, until one of your more lucid moments when you suddenly remember - it is the rich folks who provide the jobs you go to each morning, if, that is, you are fortunate enough to STILL HAVE A JOB!

And you still don’t see what’s coming down the road aways, do you? I mean the tsunami of inflation that is already building just over the horizon, inexorably making its way toward us. In a few months it is going to wash over us. With the added burden of this huge tax increase, surviving it will be like trying to swim against the current with a 200-pound anvil tied around our collective necks. Businesses are going to shut their doors denying Americans much needed jobs. Those businesses, that are able, are going to move off shore taking those jobs with them. Thousands of small businesses will founder, and go under, tossing more American workers onto the streets. Oh, it hasn’t gotten bad yet. But it’s coming. You can bet on it. It’s coming!

I suppose the most frustrating thing about watching the demise of America is to behold how willingly the American electorate is accepting this disgraceful end. What you have done, America is accept slavery. You have sold your birthright, and my birthright, of freedom, to the low bidder, socialism. Now you are marching placidly into servitude to the state.

The only people in America today to show any spark of fight left in them are the conservatives. And we have been bottled up and shut out. We have no voice in the national legislature, certainly no voice in the executive branch, and, after this week we will have so little voice on the national judiciary as to be totally ineffective. The Supreme Court will be able to do whatever they want to do with your constitutional rights. And they will. They are going to take your guns. Believe it! It is the next logical step.

Face it America! The revolution is over… and YOU LOST! Socialism won - because you didn’t even show up to fight!

J. D. Longstreet

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Conservative+Socialism+America