Some thoughts on book-banning and Political Correctness (NSFW!)

   I read an article online showing 49 school districts tried to or banned certain books that were "offensive."
   One of the books was "The Diary of Anne Frank," an eyewitness account of the Holocaust from one who did not survive it.
   What the fuck?
   To be fair, some books should be age-restricted, based upon EXCESSIVE sexual content, drug usage, etc. (i.e. you don't give a 7 year old a copy of American Me.)
   But what is REALLY going on with some of these schools?
   Political Correctness.
   "Political Correctness" is the modern version of the Soviet term "Political Concern." Aleksandr Solzhenytsin first wrote of it in his epic "The Gulag Archipelago." In Stalin's day, if you didn't say the right thing, kiss the right ass, the "Black Marias" (cars used by KGB) would come by and you'd get "a tenner" under Article 58 of the Soviet Penal Code. Ten years of hard labor, then ten years of "internal exile" (meaning when you got out of the gulags, you didn't go home, you went elsewhere for 10 years).
   If you don't say the right thing today, you are crucified by the "objective" media, labeled unspeakable things by people who are "offended" by what you say and hounded mercilessly. Heaven help you if you shoot one of the "concerned citizens" when they come knocking on your door to hand you a petition declaring you a slimeball.
   Solzhenytsin ran afoul of Article 58the first time for criticising Stalin in a letter to a friend. He ran afoul of it the second time for writing the first volume of The Gulag Archipelago. Only his fame in the West prevented him from getting shot.
   Like then, writing can get you into as much trouble today as speaking your mind.
   When I was growing up, "SCHOOL" was a place to educate and challenge young minds. I mean "educate" as in teaching what a student NEEDED to become a productive, contributing member of society. I don't mean "indoctrinate with BS." I mean schools taught math, science, reading, history, civics, etc., so a child could get a halfway decent job upon graduation, understand the "adult" world around him, and all that fun stuff.
   They didn't waste time teaching about "Global Warming," "Heather has Two Mommies," "Climate Change," "Daddy's Roomate," "Eating Vegan is Good for You" and "Why we should kiss Muslim ass while they blow us up in the name of their religion of peace."
   Crap like that back in the day would NEVER have made it in through the front door of the school, much less be taught by a responsible teacher. Back then, school was about teaching knowledge, not indoctrinating the kids to become good little Democrat (communist) drones.
   When I was growing up, I became a voracious reader. My parents forbid me NOTHING except for porn/erotica. I'm sure Dad didn't like me dragging Mein Kampf home. He freaked when I brought home The Gulag Archipelago at age 12. He thought I was trying to impress some brainy girl, until I told him what it was about. I was learning about our world and how it came to be in the state it was in.
   I was forming my own opinions because the SCHOOL I went to taught me one thing that is apparently hard for a lot of today's educators to stomach.
   I was taught to THINK.
   Today's "activists" use the classroom as an indoctrination center where they can spew their BS to kids who MUST remain in class or Face The POWER of The State. Eight hours of potential indoctrination a day.
   That's why "Heather has Two Mommies" and "why we should be worried about the polar bears on the growing (I meant to say shrinking, oopsie!) icecaps" (and other useless subjects) are taught in school.
   Then you have narrow-minded, braindead parents and school administration who want to ban books for various reasons.
   I was taught to THINK. When I first read The Gulag Archipelago, I thought it was too long, too wordy and too detailed. I plodded through it and began to see the subtle similarities (THEN) between Communism and Democrats.
   The similarities between Communists and Democrats are not so subtle these days. Thus to these two groups of people, I'm a threat because I won't buy into their BS.
   Thinking is definitely politically INcorrect.
   What is worse? The seriously-confused/idiotic parents who are afraid of their kids learning about the world and has to candy-coat everything. Or the activist "educator" who can abuse the power of the classroom to turn a potential free mind into the perfect Democrat.

Unintended Consequences of the budget deal

   Earlier this year, the government was shut down. The GOP/Tea Party wanted Obamacare defunded. OBAMA, aka Il Douche, MAObama, the Obamination, etc, ad infinitum shut it down to save his flagship legislation. With the aid of his helpful media supporters, the GOP and Tea Party caught the blame.
   The poll numbers for the GOP and Tea Party went way down and Il Douche was having the time of his life blaming the GOP and Tea Party for the shutdown. Obama loved it because it was putting other crises to rest.
   To end the shutdown, the GOP backed down and passed a budget extension for "bipartisan talks."
  After a couple of months, Paul Ryan and "Red Patty" Murray (D-WA) have negotiated a budget that Il Douche will actually sign.
  The budget sucks. It cuts veterans benefits, including disabled vets. It does NOT cut welfare benefits. It has a lot of people in an uproar. People want to (to put it politely) crucify Paul Ryan, John Boehner and any Republican who voted for this budget.
   I'm seeing something truly evil in this budget and it bounces right back on the Democrats in ways they never imagined. The Democrats  thought the GOP is rolling over and giving up.
   Yes, the GOP is rolling over on key issues, mainly veteran's issues, but also on tax increases.
   But once the initial outrage is over, the public focus will go right back on the ongoing "issues" Obama's Regime has, primarily Obamacare (being called Affordable Care Act because the Democrats do not want to link it to Obama now).
   The first unintended consequence of this budget agreement is to deny Obama a "distraction" and keep the focus on Obamacare's ongoing failures. There will be no more budget distractions for two years. Plenty of time to focus on Obamacare's ongoing failure and all those other scandals that keep getting swept under the rug.
   That focus doesn't hurt the GOP or Tea Party any--it helps them. We've already seen anger FROM the media at Obama and his paid liar Jay Carney over not being allowed to take photos and AP-Gate.
   It's a known fact that Obama does not take criticism well, doesn't do good "damage control," nor is he a proactive thinker. His way of getting out of a crisis is to bring up another one. Without the budget to hide behind, his current crop of failures become an anchor around the Democrat Party's neck.
   As Obamacare's failures are drilled into the minds of the public, Democrats are getting nervous because THEY VOTED FOR IT. They bragged on it during the 2010 and 2012 elections and claimed how good it was. They said it would bring jobs, cheapen the cost of healthcare, etc. and it hasn't.
   They cannot brag on it. They cannot say "It's going to get better" while costs of the "bronze" plans are even worse than the plans people lost. They cannot say how well it works while Obama continuously pushes back full implementation. They can only bend over, grab their ankles and hang on for the second and greatest unintended consequence of all.
   Obamacare will cost the Democrats bigtime in 2014 and 2016. Then it will be repealed.
  
      

Revising History, Army War College, and the Holocaust

   Okay, I came home and started doing what 1% of us single guys do. Search the net for NEWS.
  A prominent article posted on my FB Timeline says the Army War College is considering removing pictures of General Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, because they left the United States Army (hereafter referred to as "the Union") to serve the Confederacy.
 My "bullshit tolerance" meter pegged out.

  REVISING history is about increasing the accuracy of historical FACT, not soothing a case of butthurt.
  For example, Pearl Harbor. For years it was claimed the USS Ward, a Wickes-class destroyer, fired on a submarine about 90 minutes before the main attack. There were deniers because there was no physical proof except a few spent shell casings.
   In 2002, Bob Ballard and a team of archaeologists found the submarine complete with a hole in the conning tower from one of the Ward's guns.
  Claim proven. Revise the books to CONFIRM the sinking and credit the Ward with firing the first shots of WW2.

   Let's move to present time.
   The Army War College is a facility dedicated to preparing today's Colonels to be tomorrow's Generals. To do this, they study history to understand "how we got here" and today's techniques, tactics and the various odds and ends associated with the decision-making and strategy-planning of today's wars.
   History is NEVER pretty. It's always written by the victors, never by the vanquished.
   The AWC is considering removing Jackson and Lee's portraits because they left the US Army and served the Confederacy. Why would the AWC do that?
   Could it be, given today's political climate and the growing demand the Federal Government honor "state's rights," honoring two men who chose to defend THEIR state of Virginia rather than the Union might get other people today thinking. Could it be people want to forget the past? The reasoning is not clear to me.
   We cannot change the fact that Jackson and Lee first served the Union with skill, honor and courage, then left to serve the Confederacy with equal skill, honor and courage. To LEARN from the past, we must not be afraid to dig deep and take a good look at what drove those men to make their decision. We must ask ourselves, "What would we have done in their shoes?" Would we have served the Union and fought against family? Would we have fought the Union and given up decades of work, careers and life-long friendships? Would we have said "I'm out of here" and not taken part at all?
   The inclusion of Jackson and Lee's portraits at the Army War College is a reminder that each officer comes from a state and sooner or later, he may have to face the question of divided loyalties.
   I think that is the point--to ignore that people have to make such a decision.

   In 1986, I was stationed in (then) West Germany. As part of our orientation, we went to the border and studied the modern guard-towers staffed with trigger-happy Communist bastards. We walked our defensive positions at Fulda Gap and knew THIS was where freedom would be won or lost. If old Ivan and his baby-raping Bolshevik buddies got through us, civilization could put their heads between their legs and kiss their asses goodbye because the nukes would be flying next.
   When there was time, some units sought to answer the inevitable "Why the F*** are we here?" questions and sent their people when practical to tour one of the concentration camps to explain why America remained in Germany after World War Two, then stayed after Germany was considered worthy of rejoining the "World of Nations and Civilized People" again.
   When WW2 ended, the world was shocked at the unspeakable horror of the concentration camps. Many Germans stoutly denied the Holocaust happened, even though they seen the trains and the crematorium chimneys belch smoke 24-7.
   At some point someone said, "This happened, we cannot deny it, we cannot hide it, we cannot wish it away. We must accept what has happened, learn HOW it happened, and then make damned sure it NEVER HAPPENS again."
   Several of the concentration camps are "World Historical Sites."
   Inside these walls, there is no revision. You face the concept of "institutional evil" head on. You feel the presence of evil when you look at the crematorium furnaces. You wonder how you would have handled it. Would you have fought? Would you have sucked up to the guards and done their bidding to buy time to escape? Would you have simply given up and went into the showers?
   You walk away with a lot more questions than answers.
   At Dachau, there is a monument with two simple words on it in various languages. The monument is simple and eloquent because it states the deeper purpose of keeping such an evil place in good repair.
   "NEVER AGAIN"

   I'm sure you're wondering WTF a couple of portraits and Mankind's greatest atrocities have to do with each other.
  It's about digging deep, not only into the history, but looking into ourselves to see if we would have gone along with the status quo, made no waves and gotten along.
   And by that looking, not only make us better citizens, but better people.
   We cannot do that if the history is revised for the wrong reasons.

Taxes, Tea and Obamacare

   The Boston Tea Party is described as a "nonviolent political protest" by Wikipedia. While the protest in itself was small, it did not go unnoticed.

   I'll post the details here. Boston Tea Party

   Bottom line, the British told the Colonists "You MUST buy the tea imported by the British East India Company."

   Sort of how Obamacare is going, isn't it? "You must have APPROVED insurance--or else."

   The Colonists decided to turn Boston Harbor into a huge teapot and dumped the tea into the water. A huge F U to King George and his overreaching policies.

   A few states are waking up to the grim reality of Obamacare.

    Though the picture is of Gun Control, this shows  Obamacare in action.

   Please note how the government has to force it on you. It's obviously going to get messy when its fully implemented. You are not going to walk away from the implementation unscathed.

   Obama had to lie through his nose about "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor" and "If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan."

  If he'd told the TRUTH about his "flagship legislation," Obamacare would NEVER have become law.

   Two hundred and forty years ago today, angry patriots boarded the tea ship Dartmouth and threw the cargo of tea into the water and said "Fuck you" to King George.

  It's time for angry CITIZENS, regardless of political orientation, to rise up, throw Obamacare into the garbage can and say "Fuck you" to King Barack Obama.

  I will never sign up for this. I will not pay their penalties. I am a free man. Like my forefathers who said "We will not buy your tea" I'm saying "I will not buy your healthcare plan."

Drive of the Living Dead

   Kentucky is renowned for its lush landscape, bourbon whiskey, thoroughbred horses, beautiful women, the ability of Democrat voters to vote after death and unquestioned fanaticism of UK  basketball fans.
   Today, I acknowledge a shortcoming in some of my fellow Kentuckians.
   When the temperature drops and the snow starts falling, normally sane drivers turn into braindead zombies right out of "Night of the Living Dead."
   Like the "Trickle Down" effect, this intellectual lack starts at the top.
   When politicians and bureaucrats go on the air and start saying how "ready" they are for the oncoming snow/ice storm, it's not reassuring. It's a warning!
   I had to go to work 2 hours early. Turned on the radio and heard Mayor Greg Fischer of Louisville proudly proclaim, "We have brine and salt up to the gills and 68 trucks ready to spread it and keep the roads clear in the Metro."
   I knew all hell was about to break loose in the Demokratik Peeples Republik of Louisvile. I got to work with time to spare and had a final cig and some coffee before earning my wages for the day. The rain was coming down harder and harder.
   At 9:45, my supervisor informed me I had been selected for the "Monthly Random," handed me the taxi voucher and told me the taxi was coming. Okay, no problem. Shut down my machine, grab my coat and wait for the taxi with another selected for the monthly random drug test.
   The maintenance crew was putting down salt on the walk ways as the rain was now rain/sleet. I grab my smokes out of the truck and see ice on it. Taxi comes, and the driver tells us the roads are getting slippery. At least he had a clue, so the transit to/from the Golden Palace was smooth. We saw a couple of people who slid off the road or into each other. No injuries.
   But no trucks. No brine on the roads. Nothing.
   Finish out the day and look forward to going home. The second shift people tell me the roads are slicker than snot on a doorknob, there's about 1/4 to 1/3 inch of ice/slush mix on the roads and the temperature is dropping.
   It should be obvious to even the most ardent Liberal that Mother Nature is telling us to SLOW DOWN. While I freely admit most people shown common sense by slowing down and increasing following distance appropriately, there's always a few who just don't get it, even when the facts are staring them in the face.
   Five minutes after leaving work, I saw my first spin out. A guy thought he could beat the yellow light, hit the gas, spun right through the intersection. He did a beautiful 540 (that's a complete circle plus a 180) before coming to rest. Luckily for him, he didn't hit anyone or anything.
   Traveling down Fern Valley Road, one of the major arteries of the DPRL, the majority of people are driving sanely, but the braindead zombies are coming out in force. They're mostly yuppies in small cars thinking of getting milk and bread while they zip in and out of traffic like a slalom course. Add in a few people in SUVs or 4 wheel drive vehicles thinkng the laws of physics don't apply to them either, and you have potential for vehicular mayhem.
   Some kid got rearended by an SUV. One lane blocked, but it's not my lane, so I cruise past and watch these 20-somethings taking pics on their cell phones of the accident. I wouldn't be surprised to see a "selfie" online before too long.
   Yeah, we're having fun now.
   I hadn't seen any of those 68 vehicles dispensing salt and brine all day long. I just shake my head as I get on I-65 and breathe a sigh of relief for the DPRL (Demokratik Peeples Republik of Louisvile) is in my rear-view mirror.
   I-65 isn't any better. In fact, it just got worse because now its four lanes of potential motorized carnage until you hit the county line and then it narrows to three lanes.
   It's actually 3 slushy lanes and a barely used left lane.
   Again, most people are driving safely and sanely. It was 35-40 MPH at best. But there are a few assholes who believe their vehicles are immune to the laws of physics. Still no sign of those 68 trucks dispensing brine and salt. I am seeing more people who succumbed to temptation, get into the mostly unused left lane and slid off the road.
   Then you have the special breed of licensed retard I call "The King of the Road."
   By and large, I have no problems with truckers. Ninety-nine percent of them are GREAT drivers and handle their rigs with skill, finesse and safety. Most of them are doing about 30-35 for they know (probably BETTER than most people) that it takes far longer for them to stop on snow and ice.
   But  1% of the truck-driving community has watched too many "Smokey and the Bandit" movies and think they own the road.
  Mr. King of the Road blows past me at 65 in the left lane. Guess he's got some quality time planned for a "lot lizard" (slang for a prostitute who works truck stops) and he can't get his deposit back if he's late. A few minutes later, he's just a blur.
   I get to the "choke down" point where four lanes become three lanes as the DPRL becomes a distant memory when I see Mr. King of the Road finally realized that when the tires fail to maintain a grip on the icy surface, he is going to miss his appointment with his lot lizard. He slid right off onto the middle median of grass. I know God (or who/whatever) was looking out for him because he kept the rig from flipping over. Brought it to a nice stop.
   I wish I had a camera, because that would have been the perfect depiction of Karma assraping him with a cactus and announcing to the world he's now King of the Median. I couldn't help myself and laughed while I plodded past.
   All I could do was just drive safely and sanely and keep my distance from the morons that took a 40 minute trip and turn it into a 2.5 hour Drive of the Living Dead.