Collapse Great civilizations never are conquered; they collapse from within.

I think it is generally understood that America is a great civilization. Since our formation in 1776, and our emergence as the dominant global power throughout the 20th century, I believe that we have achieved the hallmark of being one of the greatest civilizations to have ever graced this Earth. But indeed, no civilization is permanent - in fact, I believe ours to already be crumbling from within.

The symptoms are very clear. One such, highlighted in the link just given, is despicable. I shall let the article do the telling:

"Anti-war protesters were allowed to spray paint on part of the west front steps of the United States Capitol building after police were ordered to break their security line by their leadership...
Approximately 300 protesters were allowed to take the steps and began to spray paint "anarchist symbols" and phrases such as "Our capitol building" and "you can’t stop us" around the area, the source said."


Now - how are United State police officials told to yield to anarchists? Not only do these policemen back off, but they allow them to deface what might be the most sacred building in the entire United State? Is this not outragous? Is this to be accepted? In what kind of a state does our country need to be to allow anarchists to deface a public building?

Moreover, the police were instructed not to make any arrests. Had I been commander of that particular squad, I assure you, every last one of those two hundred would have been locked up and recieved their due punishment.


In 63 BC, Marcus Tullius Cicero was giving a speech before the gathered Roman Senate, in which he exposed the plans of an madman, Cataline, bent on destroying the Roman government and installing himself as dictator - in the midst of the speech, overwhelmed with passion he exclaimed: "O tempora, O mores!" There are varying translations of this outburst, but the one I prefer is "Shame on the age and its principles!" And indeed that quote may apply today, with treasonous gangs abounding in the streets of our Capitol.


The day when uniformed men yield to anarchists represents the yielding of authority to chaos. This day has come. If we are to survive as a civilization, things of this nature must not be permitted to happen.

There is much, much more to write on the topic of the decline of our civilization (especially as a result of the erosion of traditional values in society), but I shall here limit myself and perhaps expand upon this topic at another time. I do assure you all, that this decline can be stopped. However, the current party of the majority in Congress will do nothing to halt this decline.

Labels: decline of western civilization

  ¶ 8:24 PM 0 Comments

  Meditation on the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade Twenty-five years ago today, the Supreme Court decided a landmark case which changed the patterns of social, sexual, and political activity within the United States. Roe v. Wade was the most important and influential cases ever to come before the Supreme Court.

This case, based off various precedents that pushed for more personal choice in reproductive rights for women. As a pretty enthusiastic supporter of personal liberty, and an avid denouncer of legislating morality, this entire topic brings a lot of interesting things to mind.

Briefly....

• What are 'reproductive rights'? How is an abortion akin to birth control, contraception or abstinence?
  
• How is the termination of an unwanted child a right?
  
• What kind of rights do fathers and unborn children have?
• Why would anyone who supports abortion be against the death penalty, or any other sort of institutional killing?
• Why would any woman be proud of their right to end a pregnancy?

I know this is vague and scattered. I just wanted to put some ideas out there. Maybe I'll think about this again later.  ¶ 6:57 PM 0 Comments

  Obama I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the lack of activity of late. Hopefully over Christmastide we can expect to see some more posting, having finished my college semester.

Recently the media has been fanning the flames of the potential candidacy of one Barack Obama. This fervor has only been increased with his recent visit to New Hampshire, in which various media outlets state that he was recieved as a 'rock star.' Indeed Mr. Obama does seem to be received very well nationwide.

I do not believe that this hysteria will last. Mr. Obama, while a good politician, has no experience whatsoever. He is young, and essentially is new to the political process. He is a fresh Senator, and has nothing of the experience and trappings of office. I do hope Mr. Obama has the sense not to run - if he does, he will be torn apart at the national level. If he is not torn apart by the nation as a whole, he will be dashed to pieces by his own party and the powerful interests of Mrs. Clinton.

If Mr. Obama is smart, he will not declare his candidacy.

Moving on to the other side of the spectrum, we Republicans are greeted by several prospective candidates. At the moment Senator John McCain is at the front. Historically, the frontrunner for presidential candidacy almost never garners it. Only time will tell if Senator McCain makes it through the primary process and if he secures the nomination. Another prospective candidate is Mr. Rudy Giuliani, who in my opinion is far too liberal (as is McCain), but may be necessary to reach across the aisle for those extra needed votes.

McCain recently reassured me with his statement that the way to win Iraq is sending more troops. In my opinion, it is about time somebody had the guts to out and say that. I know not whether saying that was merely a publicity stunt to show a flash of conservatism or whether he truly means it. Given his past record, he probably didn't mean it - unfortunately.

Buckle your seatbelts. We're headed for November 2008. The way is to be rough and fraught with debate and skirmish.  ¶ 9:33 AM 0 Comments

  "We Have Before Us an Ordeal of the Most Grievous Kind" Today has resulted in blow after blow after blow. I was busy for much of the day an unable to keep a close eye on the news as I have so intently in the past 48 hours. Piece by piece I discovered the most devastating of news: first that Montana had been lost; then Missouri. Next came the horrific shock of the resignation of Mr. Rumsfeld. Today we lost a noble man, a man who came into this administration with high and lofty goals for a military - now defeated by mindless rhetoric? Unseated by the absurd calls of a few radicals? I was not able to believe the news when I had heard it. The replacement, of which I had not heard before, seems to be a man of good credentials, having served six previous presidents and having ample experience. We can only hope that he is a strong conservative with absolutely no 'cut and run' in him.

The final piece of disgusting news was the Democratic win in Virginia, which nailed the coffin of the Republican Revolution of 1994 shut. With this, we now know that the Defeatist Party has taken the helm, much to the celebration of the Muslims.

Mr. Bush shall not go down without a fight though. If he is the man we elected, he will fight them bitterly to the end. We cannot allow any further setbacks in Iraq; any Democratic motions to lessen or disengage our involvement there would effectively turn into a defeat for America.

Livy, after the massive defeat at the Battle of Lake Trasimene by the hand of Hannibal, said that this was announced in Rome by the Praetor: "We have been defeated," he said, "in a great battle." (Livy, History of Rome, Book XXII) And indeed that quote holds true today. We have been defeated. But, like the Romans after Trasimene, we shall fight back.

On the bright side, knowing that the Democrats won't accomplish much but infighting, corruption, and squabbling in the next two years, we have a much better chance of winning the presidency in 2008. And by 08 we shall have learned the lesson that we cannot be apathetic about the polls; we cannot allow the Democrats to make an election a referendum on Iraq (when 95% of they themselves voted for the war in the first place!)

In the next two years we need to watch the news closely. We need to be active politically. And we shall not tolerate this ill-won Democratic majority.

I'll finish with Churchill:

"We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim?

I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."  ¶ 12:57 AM 0 Comments

  A Preliminary Report At the moment it's twenty after twelve Wednesday morning.

The news is sombre. I returned from a Republican banquet with my head bowed low. On the national level my predictions seem, at this early hour, to have been correct. The Democrats at the moment have a majority in the house by six seats, and are likely to gain a few more before the night is out. The Senate is still held by a Republican majority of 3.

Right now it's all about Virginia. The votes are counted and Webb, the Democratic candidate is up by three thousand votes, despite Allen's having held a lead all night long. I had thought Virginia to be ours, but perhaps I was mistaken. A recount is to be held.

Some good news? All of our local Atlantic County candidates did mostly well. Frank LoBiondo did very well. Our Republican team is strong and committed, and we faced a tough competition this year.

Today however I had a good experience. I was involved in the thick of politics. I sat today at a banquet filled with influential people: Senator Bill Gormley, Egg Harbor Twp Mayor McCullough, the head of the Atlantic County Republican Committee, and a lot of other people. I was present for the vote tallying, and I witnessed the victory of several local candidates. I was there for the feeling of victory; I was also there for the feeling of despair that swept the room when the votes from Pleasantville and Atlantic City were announced: in Pleasantville Menendez swept Kean 352 to 2782.

But tonight we all witnessed a Democracy in action, good or not. In the coming weeks we shall witness recounts, rethinking, and changing of policy. I intend to write more when all matters are settled, but I can assure you now that the next two years are to be interesting.  ¶ 12:27 AM 1 Comments

  WMDs? Of all places.. from the New York Times!?

I'm not going to go saying told you so. I don't even know if that really means this. But certainly the fact that Iraq had sensitive information on building weapons, that we gladly shared with the world for a couple of months, must mean something. Especially since a lot of this was Pre-Gulf War stuff. We don't know if they could have actually sealed the deal and done something with it, but it certainly confirms a lot of suspicions.

Wouldn't it be ironic if North Korea and Iran figured out how to go nuclear because of this stuff?  ¶ 5:13 PM 2 Comments

  The Future Implications of the Election The election is to be held this Tuesday. This very election is essential to the very definition of what it is to be an American. If the Democrats win we shall see the end of an era, and the construction of an entirely new foreign policy. If the Republicans win we shall see more of the same current policies.

My personal prediction is this: based on the Washington Post, Real Clear Politics, and several other sources, I believe that the Republicans will hold the Senate by a small majority. The Republicans will lose the House.

Some predict the Democrats to win both houses, which would be a blessing and a curse. Taking this hypothetical position, the Democrats would use the congressional powers of subpoena and oversight to investigate the Bush administration and their methods. They would not under any circumstances try and impeach the president - this would only polarize the Republican base and kill any chances of Democratic election in the future decade or two...and the Democrats know this. So if they take the majority, they will be a thorn in Bush's side. The upside to a Democratic majority in both houses is that the Republicans will win the presidency in 2008. The Democratic agenda in the next two years would be to undermine the Bush administration and not actually do anything good for the nation as a whole, and that will hurt them come the next presidential campaigns.

Alternatively, if the Republicans hold the majority in both Houses (somewhat unlikely at this point) it is more likely for a Democratic backlash in the presidency in 2008. So the short term gains would be good, while the long term would hurt us as a party.

The most likely outcome is a Democratic small majority in the House and a small Republican majority in the Senate. This will clog the government for the next two years, and I doubt much of anything will get done. Bush would probably be forced to come up with a more moderate position in Iraq and on other issues and for this outcome I have no predictions for the presidency in 2008.

So ironically I believe it would be most beneficial to the Republicans if the Democrats win right now. It really hurts me to state this, because I never ever wish Democrats a victory. The Democratic position will only result in us paying more taxes, unnecessary gun-control laws, and a vulnerable foreign policy.

I do not doubt a surprise Republican victory, however. I am involved in several grassroots GOTV (Get out the vote) movements, and the Republican Party has 4x more funds than the Democratic party and plans a 72 hour media blitz, as well as phone calling and door knocking (and I myself will participate in this Republican 'ground army' movement in hopes of a victory.)

In the end though, everybody must vote. I predict a higher showing than the average midterm election because this very election is so polarized. But certainly less than 50% of the electorate will turn out, and that is a travesty. I urge you all to go out and vote Republican, because not only does the future of the nation depend on it, but so does our safety and rights as citizens.  ¶ 6:10 PM 1 Comments