Bloggybayou will be endorsing formally a candidate later on this week. However, today's debate deserved recognition. First, give credit where credit is due, the NW Florida Daily News did a good job of having a set of rules and legitimate questions ready to go. It was well organized and went on without a hitch. I was one of the people who voted for a bathroom timeout (I slammed 2 Diet Mt. Dews just before the debate) and while I was in the minority, the technological demands of the camera recorder allowed for me to take a MUCH needed break.... My lucky day.....
Second, all the candidates did a good job of making their case. Best haircut award goes to Jerry Melvin. He looked sharp and I pray to the Gods that when I hit 65, I can be as agile of mind, spirit and body as he is at 80. The man is incredible. Once again, all 5 men (in alphabetical order): Craig Barker; Matt Gaetz; Bill Garvie; Jerry Melvin and Kabe Woods stood there and not one was at lost for words when presented with a question. I didn't necessarily agree with some of their stands, but I admire their willingness to stand in the arena. Well done gentlemen.
Finally, I want to congratulate the audience. It was packed. It is evident that the Conservative Republican base has aroused from it's four year hiatus and is once more beginning to reassert itself. Some credit goes to the influx of Tea Parties but the vast majority of those people who came and packed the house were your everyday, mom and pop Republican voters. If attendance is any indicator of Republican turnout nationwide in November, then I smell Revolution in the air. A polite, mannerly Revolution, but a Revolution none the less.
A word of warning however to all Republican Candidates that are going to benefit from this energized base. Don't blow it with politics as usual. You are going to get at most, two bites of the apple this time. 2010 will be a holding pattern to stop the most egregious of Obama's efforts, both at a state and national level. 2012 had better be a drastic change on how our Government serves it citizens. Blow it again and a third party will spring from Republican ashes.
But today, let us celebrate the American political system that allows civilized debate between political foes. Look at our world and realize how rare a privilege that this is. Then thank our founding fathers who truly devised a way of life and government that made debates like this possible.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The Case for Marco Rubio For Senator
Adam Smith is one of Florida's premier "political" reporters. Here is link to his bio. A native of New York and educated in Ohio, he has managed to impress enough people (according to his own bio) to be named the best political writer in Florida by washingtonpost.com and one of the country's top 10 political reporters by Columbia Journalism Review. Heady stuff indeed...If you are impressed by liberal elites. Unfortunately, yours truly is not.
I now direct your attention to this article posted by Mr. Smith. He describes, without any attempt at hiding his own glee as he spins the story negatively, how a young man, of relatively humble means, made his way to the top of the Florida legislature in record time. A 100 years ago this would be the stuff of legend and admiration. Marco Rubio played the game of politics, according to the rules set by both Democrats and Republicans and against formidable odds, beat them. He didn't make the rules, he just studied them and used them to advance his political career. Is Marco Rubio ambitious? Yes. Is Marco Rubio smart? Oh, hell yes.
Politicians, by nature, are aggressive "Type A" personalities. They also have to be thick skinned and politically shrewd. As the old saying goes, "Politics ain't beanbag". So I am neither upset nor particularly worried about Mr. Smith's article.
Why? Because I DO NOT accept the fact that the press in the vast majority of America Main Stream Media, especially newspaper reporters, are a) unbiased; b) professional and c) particularly intelligent.
Just read the above article by Mr. Smith. If you wanted to publish a book on the Press, this article would be a textbook example of the "hit piece". No attempt was made by the author to hide his own contempt for Rubio, and the whole tenor of the article was that Rubio was using party funds to essentially let him live the lifestyle of the rich and famous. He even pulls out specific meal charges to try to smear Rubio, quoting two examples: "$14.24 bill at Andrew's Capital Grill & Bar, to $184.15 at Masa, an upscale "Asian-fusion'' restaurant." No attempt was made to put these charges in context. Was Mr. Rubio attending to party business when he charged a modest 15 bucks for lunch? Was he talking to donors and by investing 200 bucks at a restaurant, got a $10,000 dollar donation? If so, I'd say the RPOF made a damn good investment.
Read the article. What you will find is that Marco Rubio, at the end of the day, is a man of modest income and like the rest of us, is making his mortgage payments on time. And most importantly, he didn't, like a lot of politicians, (listening Charlie Rangel?) get rich while he was in office.
Finally, before I move on, Mr Smith drags Mr. Rubio's wife into it. He could have said simply stated his wife acted as Rubio's treasurer, but no, he had to add the snarky comment the she was a "former Miami Dolphins cheerleader". A subtle, yet deftly handled rapier cut to Mrs. Rubio, using the stereotype of pro-cheerleaders not being known for their intellectual acumen. A truly despicable jibe by Mr. Smith and uncalled for.
In the final analysis, once you finish Mr. Smith's article, the impression is not one that Mr. Rubio is a spendthrift, but it is one that Mr. Smith has decided to use his constitutionally protected position to perform a piece of political hackery and leaves no doubt that he is out to get Marco Rubio, just like Dan Rather was out to get George Bush. So much for the impartial "Press".
Mr. Rubio's biggest sin, in the media's eyes, is that a year ago he launched a long shot campaign for Senator against a classic mushy middle Republican that could be counted on to cave to the Democrats on conservative issues. What Speaker Rubio saw, (not a lot of People give him credit for this), was that Obamamania would soon come crashing down and soon it would dawn on the people the hard cold reality that President Obama and the Democrats were about to embark on a path that could not restore our financial house in order and in fact, will prove to be eventually a financial disaster of Biblical proportions. ANYONE who thinks we are on the road "economic recovery" either was not politically aware in the 1970's or has a almost cult like reverence for Obama and his policies.
Charlie Crist did not have the foresight to see this and stood on the stage with Obama to openly embrace one of the most wasteful and irresponsible political acts of our nation's history, the infamous near trillion dollar Stimulus package of 2009. With one stroke of his pen, President Obama allowed the Democratically controlled Congress to fund all the Pork-barrel and Utopian "Haight-Ashbury" projects ever conceived. While I personally am upset over this wasting of my hard earned tax-dollars, I am furious that my son and then his children will eventually be the ones who will have to work to pay off this damnable piece of political narcissism. I saw this for what it was a year ago, and guess what, so did Marco Rubio....
Charlie Crist failed to see the Stimulus package for what it was. He was blinded by the Pork, a life ring to shore up his popularity while, after a failed vice-presidential bid, he went for the next big thing, Senator. As a sitting first-term Governor, it was an act of incredible arrogance and showed an absolute contempt for the voter who expected him to be an honest steward of the State. Instead, Charlie Crist got caught up in Obamamania, made a Faustian bargain and now it is time to pay the piper. With this one act alone, Charlie Crist betrayed what the Grassroots of the Republican party are DEMANDING: A return to small government and less intrusion into our lives. Is Charlie Crist ambitious? Yes. Is Charlie Crist smart? Oh, hell no.
I now direct your attention to this article posted by Mr. Smith. He describes, without any attempt at hiding his own glee as he spins the story negatively, how a young man, of relatively humble means, made his way to the top of the Florida legislature in record time. A 100 years ago this would be the stuff of legend and admiration. Marco Rubio played the game of politics, according to the rules set by both Democrats and Republicans and against formidable odds, beat them. He didn't make the rules, he just studied them and used them to advance his political career. Is Marco Rubio ambitious? Yes. Is Marco Rubio smart? Oh, hell yes.
Politicians, by nature, are aggressive "Type A" personalities. They also have to be thick skinned and politically shrewd. As the old saying goes, "Politics ain't beanbag". So I am neither upset nor particularly worried about Mr. Smith's article.
Why? Because I DO NOT accept the fact that the press in the vast majority of America Main Stream Media, especially newspaper reporters, are a) unbiased; b) professional and c) particularly intelligent.
Just read the above article by Mr. Smith. If you wanted to publish a book on the Press, this article would be a textbook example of the "hit piece". No attempt was made by the author to hide his own contempt for Rubio, and the whole tenor of the article was that Rubio was using party funds to essentially let him live the lifestyle of the rich and famous. He even pulls out specific meal charges to try to smear Rubio, quoting two examples: "$14.24 bill at Andrew's Capital Grill & Bar, to $184.15 at Masa, an upscale "Asian-fusion'' restaurant." No attempt was made to put these charges in context. Was Mr. Rubio attending to party business when he charged a modest 15 bucks for lunch? Was he talking to donors and by investing 200 bucks at a restaurant, got a $10,000 dollar donation? If so, I'd say the RPOF made a damn good investment.
Read the article. What you will find is that Marco Rubio, at the end of the day, is a man of modest income and like the rest of us, is making his mortgage payments on time. And most importantly, he didn't, like a lot of politicians, (listening Charlie Rangel?) get rich while he was in office.
Finally, before I move on, Mr Smith drags Mr. Rubio's wife into it. He could have said simply stated his wife acted as Rubio's treasurer, but no, he had to add the snarky comment the she was a "former Miami Dolphins cheerleader". A subtle, yet deftly handled rapier cut to Mrs. Rubio, using the stereotype of pro-cheerleaders not being known for their intellectual acumen. A truly despicable jibe by Mr. Smith and uncalled for.
In the final analysis, once you finish Mr. Smith's article, the impression is not one that Mr. Rubio is a spendthrift, but it is one that Mr. Smith has decided to use his constitutionally protected position to perform a piece of political hackery and leaves no doubt that he is out to get Marco Rubio, just like Dan Rather was out to get George Bush. So much for the impartial "Press".
Mr. Rubio's biggest sin, in the media's eyes, is that a year ago he launched a long shot campaign for Senator against a classic mushy middle Republican that could be counted on to cave to the Democrats on conservative issues. What Speaker Rubio saw, (not a lot of People give him credit for this), was that Obamamania would soon come crashing down and soon it would dawn on the people the hard cold reality that President Obama and the Democrats were about to embark on a path that could not restore our financial house in order and in fact, will prove to be eventually a financial disaster of Biblical proportions. ANYONE who thinks we are on the road "economic recovery" either was not politically aware in the 1970's or has a almost cult like reverence for Obama and his policies.
Charlie Crist did not have the foresight to see this and stood on the stage with Obama to openly embrace one of the most wasteful and irresponsible political acts of our nation's history, the infamous near trillion dollar Stimulus package of 2009. With one stroke of his pen, President Obama allowed the Democratically controlled Congress to fund all the Pork-barrel and Utopian "Haight-Ashbury" projects ever conceived. While I personally am upset over this wasting of my hard earned tax-dollars, I am furious that my son and then his children will eventually be the ones who will have to work to pay off this damnable piece of political narcissism. I saw this for what it was a year ago, and guess what, so did Marco Rubio....
Charlie Crist failed to see the Stimulus package for what it was. He was blinded by the Pork, a life ring to shore up his popularity while, after a failed vice-presidential bid, he went for the next big thing, Senator. As a sitting first-term Governor, it was an act of incredible arrogance and showed an absolute contempt for the voter who expected him to be an honest steward of the State. Instead, Charlie Crist got caught up in Obamamania, made a Faustian bargain and now it is time to pay the piper. With this one act alone, Charlie Crist betrayed what the Grassroots of the Republican party are DEMANDING: A return to small government and less intrusion into our lives. Is Charlie Crist ambitious? Yes. Is Charlie Crist smart? Oh, hell no.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
For OCREC Consumption
Pat Rice is blogging about the GOP senate race.
I left this entry:
Mr. Rice:
I don't think it was against RPOF rules to put personal expenses on the RPOF AMEX Credit card, at least according to the "The Politifact"... A grey area at best, but that is in keeping with how company and Government cards work also...
For example: I HAVE to use my company issued credit card to book business travel (flights/cars) and it is automatically paid for by my company. All other charges are mine and I submit a travel voucher to recoup out of pocket expenses (parking fees, gas for the car, Per diem, etc)
As for some of the charges like Computer supplies etc that Rubio charged, I can totally see how that is a party expense.
Likewise, if he is having people over to his house to raise money, etc.. It is a valid reason to charge groceries. It is all about spending Money to raise Money. Greer, however, took it to a whole different level and hence the backlash by grassroots GOP (I know it may surprise you, but we Republicans are, for the most part, a honest lot)
I would also like to point out for the record, it was the LOCAL Republicans (including our local Party in Okaloosa) who demanded that Greer go and a forensic audit take place of RPOF funds. I assure you, once said audit is done, there is a least one Republican in Okaloosa county that will demand that the results of the audit be presented to all Florida County Chairmen and Chairwomen.
I challenge you to ask the Democratic party of Florida to also submit their books to a third party Forensic audit.
By the Way, here is a shameless plug for my Blog:
http://www.bloggybayou.com/2010/03/standby-for-heavy-rolls.html
Cheers
ER White
(aka BloggyBayou)
I left this entry:
Mr. Rice:
I don't think it was against RPOF rules to put personal expenses on the RPOF AMEX Credit card, at least according to the "The Politifact"... A grey area at best, but that is in keeping with how company and Government cards work also...
For example: I HAVE to use my company issued credit card to book business travel (flights/cars) and it is automatically paid for by my company. All other charges are mine and I submit a travel voucher to recoup out of pocket expenses (parking fees, gas for the car, Per diem, etc)
As for some of the charges like Computer supplies etc that Rubio charged, I can totally see how that is a party expense.
Likewise, if he is having people over to his house to raise money, etc.. It is a valid reason to charge groceries. It is all about spending Money to raise Money. Greer, however, took it to a whole different level and hence the backlash by grassroots GOP (I know it may surprise you, but we Republicans are, for the most part, a honest lot)
I would also like to point out for the record, it was the LOCAL Republicans (including our local Party in Okaloosa) who demanded that Greer go and a forensic audit take place of RPOF funds. I assure you, once said audit is done, there is a least one Republican in Okaloosa county that will demand that the results of the audit be presented to all Florida County Chairmen and Chairwomen.
I challenge you to ask the Democratic party of Florida to also submit their books to a third party Forensic audit.
By the Way, here is a shameless plug for my Blog:
http://www.bloggybayou.com/2010/03/standby-for-heavy-rolls.html
Cheers
ER White
(aka BloggyBayou)
Standby For Heavy Rolls
Charlie Crist is fighting for his political life, is trying every trick in the book and would drain the life blood out of the RPOF to win.
BloggyBayou will try to convince you this weekend that it is time to put a stake through the political heart of Charlie Crist and why it is IMPORTANT to the Nation and the National GOP for the Florida Republican primary voter to be the "Van Helsing" to Crist's "Dracula" (albeit a well Tanned Dracula, which raises the question, would sticking Dracula in a Tanning Booth be fatal to said Vampire? Feel free to post yes or no to this question... But I digress...)
This weekend: Why Charlie Crist needs to go for the good of our nation.
BloggyBayou will try to convince you this weekend that it is time to put a stake through the political heart of Charlie Crist and why it is IMPORTANT to the Nation and the National GOP for the Florida Republican primary voter to be the "Van Helsing" to Crist's "Dracula" (albeit a well Tanned Dracula, which raises the question, would sticking Dracula in a Tanning Booth be fatal to said Vampire? Feel free to post yes or no to this question... But I digress...)
This weekend: Why Charlie Crist needs to go for the good of our nation.
Best Wishes to The Family of Senator Reid
Senator Harry Reid's wife and daughter have been involved in a serious car accident in DC. Right now the word is they are badly hurt but not in danger of dying.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery and prayers to the Reid family during this difficult time.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery and prayers to the Reid family during this difficult time.
Earmark Reform from the Congressional Republicans
Some were interested if Jeff Miller was involved in the Possible moratorium on Earmarks. Here is the Document asking Mike Pence to hold a caucus on the issue dated 23 Feb 2010. Jeff Miller is a signatory on the request.
If you hear about the results of the Republican efforts, let me know and I'll do the same if I hear of action on this.
My two Cents: It is a good step if taken, but I would like the practice banned permanently. Unfortunately, You have to be in the Majority to totally ban it, but Republicans can take a stand and stop making them and shame the Dems into doing the same.
We will see.
UPDATE: THE REPUBLICANS ADOPT A YEARLONG EARMARK BAN
It's a start. Lets give the GOP credit where credit is due....
Thanks to Congressman Miller's office for the prompt response to my query.
If you hear about the results of the Republican efforts, let me know and I'll do the same if I hear of action on this.
My two Cents: It is a good step if taken, but I would like the practice banned permanently. Unfortunately, You have to be in the Majority to totally ban it, but Republicans can take a stand and stop making them and shame the Dems into doing the same.
We will see.
UPDATE: THE REPUBLICANS ADOPT A YEARLONG EARMARK BAN
It's a start. Lets give the GOP credit where credit is due....
Thanks to Congressman Miller's office for the prompt response to my query.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Representative Jeff Flake's Proposal to Ban Earmarks in Congress
Here is a Link to the Story: (Hat tip, Henry Kelly of the Fort Walton Beach Tea Party) (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34071.html)
I heard from Congressman Miller's office (FYI Congressman Miller is my U.S. Congressional Representative, District 1-FL) and Congressman Miller is supporting (indeed a CO-SIGNER) of Rep. Flake's proposal to the Republican Caucus regarding earmarks. Importantly, John Boehner has also been a critic of earmarks. Now is the time to tell your Congressman to sign on to the plan. If Republicans are serious about budget reform, this is a big step. So if you congressman is Republican, ask him where he stands on the Flake proposal.
UPDATE!!!!!!!!!:
I heard from Congressman Miller's office (FYI Congressman Miller is my U.S. Congressional Representative, District 1-FL) and Congressman Miller is supporting (indeed a CO-SIGNER) of Rep. Flake's proposal to the Republican Caucus regarding earmarks. Importantly, John Boehner has also been a critic of earmarks. Now is the time to tell your Congressman to sign on to the plan. If Republicans are serious about budget reform, this is a big step. So if you congressman is Republican, ask him where he stands on the Flake proposal.
UPDATE!!!!!!!!!:
House GOP to Meet Thursday on Earmark BanCall Your Congressman and tell him/her to Support the Flake Proposal....
March 10, 2010, 10:18 a.m.
By Jackie Kucinich
Roll Call Staff
________________________________________
House Republicans will convene a special conference meeting Thursday at 3 p.m. to determine whether they will implement a yearlong moratorium on earmarks.
Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) announced the session during a closed-door meeting of the House Republican Conference on Wednesday morning, according to GOP sources.
“We’re going to have to make a decision,” the sources quoted Boehner as saying. “Are we really willing to put it all on the line to win this thing?”
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who began circulating a letter last week to try to force the Conference to meet to consider the earmark moratorium, said the special conference was leadership’s decision. The GOP move comes as Democratic leaders are considering a similar earmark ban.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!!!!!!
Here, Nancy Pelosi says:
Yeah, I know we lost a no vote on with this guy leaving, but we really can't have a male Congressman going around tickling grown men...somethings are best left unsaid....
Just another day in D.C. And inside the Beltway folks can't understand why us flyover people are really, really ...well..let's just say upset....
"But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy."And here, Eric "The Tickler" Massa (Sounds like a villain from the Batman Show in the 60's) makes a complete fool of himself.
Yeah, I know we lost a no vote on with this guy leaving, but we really can't have a male Congressman going around tickling grown men...somethings are best left unsaid....
Just another day in D.C. And inside the Beltway folks can't understand why us flyover people are really, really ...well..let's just say upset....
Monday, March 8, 2010
Pat Rice Opens Mouth and Shows how Intellectually Challenged our Local Paper (that's not really local) is
Pat Rice reads in the NY Times that Iran may get the Bomb and decides NOW is the time to take notice of the Subject...
D'oh!!!!!!!!
My response:
D'oh!!!!!!!!
My response:
For Pete's sake, Pat, You've been waiting for the New York Times to tell you this?What can I tell ya, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink
I called it almost a year ago...
http://www.bloggybayou.com/2009/06/ya-say-you-want-revolution.html
If you wait for the NY Times to pontificate on subjects before you get concerned... Well, I suggest you find another line of work.... The NY Times is always a day late and a dollar short when reporting on the dangers in Iran. They would rather bash Bush, the US Military or Israel than admit we got a major problem on our hands with the Islamic Fascists in Iran and elsewhere. For the love of Mudd, Man, get a grip and start doing some research on your own....
A little advice, talk to the professionals on Israel's ability to strike. Iran is too far away for any meaningful IAF (Israeli Air Force) campaigns and the only power that is capable of a "sustained" military attack on the sites is the Good Ole USA.
Check out http://www.bloggybayou.com/. I've been following the Green movement in Iran since last year. I also suggest you go to http://pajamasmedia.com/ and search on Dr. Michael Ledeen. He has a lot of contacts in the Middle East and is the resident Iranian Expert there, but he and I differ on whether the Greens can win peacefully...I doubt it, hence my 9MM solution. Don't laugh, a lot smarter people than you have said it would probably work, but Obama doesn't have the stomach to do it...
Search on Iran or Iran Nukes on my site...You might learn something...
Cheers
ER White
(aka Bloggybayou)
"Brutal Numbers for Crist" coming out on Tuesday, 9 March
Here is a link to the report.
What is says is that the Republican Party, across a WIDE spectrum of ideology, From Conservative to Moderate to Libertarian want him GONE.
If he is more concerned over his personal advancement over the RPOF's choice, then this may prompt him sooner, rather than later, go the Independent route.
My fellow GOP members: If Crist does go out on his own, then we should completely dedicate electing Marco Rubio. Crist will have used our funds and our votes for him in the past for his own personal gain, rather than working for the best interests of Florida.
MY advice to Crist: Drop out of the Senate Race; Support Rubio and retire from Public office with some dignity intact.
What is says is that the Republican Party, across a WIDE spectrum of ideology, From Conservative to Moderate to Libertarian want him GONE.
If he is more concerned over his personal advancement over the RPOF's choice, then this may prompt him sooner, rather than later, go the Independent route.
My fellow GOP members: If Crist does go out on his own, then we should completely dedicate electing Marco Rubio. Crist will have used our funds and our votes for him in the past for his own personal gain, rather than working for the best interests of Florida.
MY advice to Crist: Drop out of the Senate Race; Support Rubio and retire from Public office with some dignity intact.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
On Evil
I was going to write about healthcare, but I decided today to re-listen to some of my radio broadcasts from WWII while working out and changed my mind. I don't know why I picked to listen to broadcasts of 1945, particularly to the ones that dealt with the final Allied onslaught of the Crumbling Third Reich, I just did.
Just as the Allies were closing in on the Nazi's, FDR died in Warm Springs and American and British troops were stumbling across and discovering the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. There, laid bare for all the world, was the monstrous culmination of a once great civilization gone mad.
I listened to the broadcasts of the news organizations, attempting to explain the horrors of the Nazi death camps to a public caught up in a flurry of emotions; all at once excited about the impending defeat of the German enemy; stunned at the death of their President (the public was for the most part, kept in the dark about the FDR's health); acknowledgement of the war in the East still to be won and then to be confronted by this....
Here is Columbia Correspondent Edward R. Murrow's account of his entering of Buchenwald.
Here is a short excerpt of the BBC's Richard Dimbleby Entering Belsen.
And here is Mutual Broadcasting's Sigrid Schultz entering Ravensbruck.
The Murrow recording is the longest. It is a bit scratchy, but it conveys both the professionalism of the reporter, along with the gut wrenching mixture of horror and agony to have to endure such a site.
Americans were soon to see the newsreels of the concentration camps, and the visual imagery conveyed in the theaters would overwhelm the first reports of these horrors by radio. But they are worth listening to. They are the reactions of harden correspondents, used to seeing the dead and dying. They convey what something the imagery lacks, the shock, the stench, and the attempts of normal human beings trying to describe the results of the unimaginable descent of a once great society into utter and complete depravity.
There are still a rapidly dwindling number of survivors of these camps: victims, liberators and yes, perpetrators. They are a reminder to us that once, truly evil men held sway in our world. They should also remind us that evil will always be a component of our world, because it is part of man's makeup.
It should remind us first to teach our children that the horrors of Hitler were a result of men not standing up to him until it was almost too late. It should remind us adults, that evil still struts across this world, strapping bomb vests on foolish young men and sending them to kill on false promises of paradise or using the mentally handicapped to do the same. They are the same ones who tell us that the Holocaust never happened or that 9/11 was somehow our fault or that there is somehow a moral equivalence in the world and we are not fit to judge others because we are not part of that culture.
It is a world where women are treated like chattel and we dare not damn it for the affront it truly is, because we have foolishly jettisoned our independence for their energy resources, because a small minority of shallow minds in our country refuse to let us use our own resources for our own good.
Listen to the hate preached in the mosques of the world, and tell me there is no cause for alarm. Listen to the ravings of a man who denies the Holocaust, while the country he leads races for nuclear arms that will give him and his cohorts more raw, physical force than The Third Reich ever held at its zenith.
I intend to listen to these recordings together tonight with my son. And then we will talk of men and war, and of good and evil.
Just as the Allies were closing in on the Nazi's, FDR died in Warm Springs and American and British troops were stumbling across and discovering the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. There, laid bare for all the world, was the monstrous culmination of a once great civilization gone mad.
I listened to the broadcasts of the news organizations, attempting to explain the horrors of the Nazi death camps to a public caught up in a flurry of emotions; all at once excited about the impending defeat of the German enemy; stunned at the death of their President (the public was for the most part, kept in the dark about the FDR's health); acknowledgement of the war in the East still to be won and then to be confronted by this....
Here is Columbia Correspondent Edward R. Murrow's account of his entering of Buchenwald.
Here is a short excerpt of the BBC's Richard Dimbleby Entering Belsen.
And here is Mutual Broadcasting's Sigrid Schultz entering Ravensbruck.
The Murrow recording is the longest. It is a bit scratchy, but it conveys both the professionalism of the reporter, along with the gut wrenching mixture of horror and agony to have to endure such a site.
Americans were soon to see the newsreels of the concentration camps, and the visual imagery conveyed in the theaters would overwhelm the first reports of these horrors by radio. But they are worth listening to. They are the reactions of harden correspondents, used to seeing the dead and dying. They convey what something the imagery lacks, the shock, the stench, and the attempts of normal human beings trying to describe the results of the unimaginable descent of a once great society into utter and complete depravity.
There are still a rapidly dwindling number of survivors of these camps: victims, liberators and yes, perpetrators. They are a reminder to us that once, truly evil men held sway in our world. They should also remind us that evil will always be a component of our world, because it is part of man's makeup.
It should remind us first to teach our children that the horrors of Hitler were a result of men not standing up to him until it was almost too late. It should remind us adults, that evil still struts across this world, strapping bomb vests on foolish young men and sending them to kill on false promises of paradise or using the mentally handicapped to do the same. They are the same ones who tell us that the Holocaust never happened or that 9/11 was somehow our fault or that there is somehow a moral equivalence in the world and we are not fit to judge others because we are not part of that culture.
It is a world where women are treated like chattel and we dare not damn it for the affront it truly is, because we have foolishly jettisoned our independence for their energy resources, because a small minority of shallow minds in our country refuse to let us use our own resources for our own good.
Listen to the hate preached in the mosques of the world, and tell me there is no cause for alarm. Listen to the ravings of a man who denies the Holocaust, while the country he leads races for nuclear arms that will give him and his cohorts more raw, physical force than The Third Reich ever held at its zenith.
I intend to listen to these recordings together tonight with my son. And then we will talk of men and war, and of good and evil.
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