Rise of Secular Progressive Socialism

The more I expose myself to my growing career in radio and blog the more I have to expose myself to events, news, trends, etc in order to gain a sense of what is happenning and what I am going to write about and say on the radio. I always make sure to gain as much perspective as possible to create an informed opinion. One such opinion has to do with a statement I coin from time to time wich has to do with what I perceive is an underlying current of political movement that has been going on for a long time. The coined phrase is "..its all part of the plan". The underlying political movement is America's devolvment into Socialism.

One particular news event struck me especially today due to the fact that I had written about the same incident occuring elsewhere a few years ago. I actually had to dig up my old files full of past writing to locate it! The incident involved a child who drew a picture in class as part of a project titled 'What Christmas Means to Me'. Just as I wrote in the past Diatribe, all the children drew a variety of pictures; family, presents, trees, Santa, snow. One child, however drew a picture of Christ. Long story short, that picture was banned and not allowed to hang on the walls of the school. Fast forward, another pictures of Christ, only this time, it depicted Christ on the cross. Never mind the fact that the picture was banned it was deemed violent and Social Services were called in.

Similiar circumstances, same end result with one twist added; the incremental severity of public reaction and the use of government power to this second incident. School officials hid behind the "Zero-Tolerance" rule, Social Services hid behind their mandates. I was only seeing one more chipping away at our Liberty, but as I say.."it is all part of the plan".

I do not have the luxury of taking a year off to research each piece if legislation, town ordinance, school policy, agency mandates, policy changes to list them all in a dossier. Would make a great thesis paper, though, for a graduate student. One would have to go all the way back to Woodrow Wilson and The Progressive Era to start, Roosevelt and The New Deal, Truman's ineptitude during Korea, The Great Society, Nixon and welfare, on and on.. Like I said would make a great thesis paper.

One fact looms large when you combine all these points in history, couple them with social trends and toss in your own experiences on a local level for flavor. There has been, and, continues to be a slide towards Socialism. Like a tub draining of water; at first you see it but you think there is still plenty of water only now we are down to the last few inches and the water is gurgling down that drain pretty damn fast. So is our loss of Liberty. Bathtubs across the nation are pulling the plugs on freedoms. Free speech is hate speech or dangerous speech. Privacy is gone. Period. Everyone and anyone can dig up dirt on you and use it against you. Constitutionality is replaced with a false sense of practicality and security. Unions tell government what to do, not, the other way around. Government tells us what to do, not, the other way around.

Those last sentences are blanket statements to help form a greater picture. I want you, the reader, to stop for a minute and think about anything..Anything, you, or some one you know, something you have heard or read where this blanket statement applies. It will shock you and you will start to see my point. Why? Because it is all part of the plan.

Still not seeing it? OK, the notion is so simple it borders on paranoia. Here I go.

The more devolved of liberty, the more dependent on government, the more we let leaders, agencies, services, teachers, law enforcement dictate to us what is best for us. The more we fall deeper into Socialism. The years spent letting government pass all these laws that are supposed to 'help us' the more we become helpless. Once we are helpless the more government can get away with. Do you actually think the Saturday evening Senate votes are because they are working so hard to do what is right for America? They do it because we are helpless to stop them.

Political movements hold true to two paradigms:

1. Political movements that sweep into power or take it in a coup or by invasion never last long. Examples could be Hitler's Nazi Party, Mussolinni's Fascists, Saddam's Bathists Party. Even the Soviet Union couldn't last a century.

2. Political movements that evolve over time, inculcate the population, use a crisis to suspend civil rights, use the plight of the poor to promote legislation. They take their time, decades if need be; those movements tend to stick around and are harder to extricate.
Examples could be any democratic revolution from a political movement mentioned before, The Roman Empire, America's own imperfect Republic.

There are also two functions of both paradigms in dealing with opposition groups.

1. Squash all opposition via arrest, torture, genocide (Jews, Bosnians, Kurds).

2. Deny opposition credability via misinformation, hate speech, names put on blacklists (Tea Party groups, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, McCarthyism).

The paradigm that is taking over America is number 2. It has taken decades to get here. A snail's pace of degredation of freedoms has ocurred. There are whole segments of our society that promotes this and votes for it. They are called Liberals. I know some. You know some. They are convinced that government truly will do a better job than we will. Liberals even drag out their acedemic credentials to bolster such claims; child psychologists, social scientists, political scientists, environmentalists. The list is endless. All of these groups have affected legislation over decades and are now firmly rooted into every facet of government from Pennsylvania Avenue to Main Street No-wheres-ville USA. Even these groups and individuals all know...its part of the plan because they are shaping it.

The religious right can't hold a candle to these people. Besides, everyone knows they are crazy. The islamic jihadists thought Bush was an admirable foe? Let them try to force a burgua on Nancy Pelosi and she will stomp their ass! Any religious Theocracy runs counter to Socialism. In fact, the yearly war on Christmas isn't because of other religious groups finding offense to a tree display or a Manger scene on the town common, it the Socialists who are offended. Free expression of religion in any form is a type of personal freedom that empowers an individual. Socialism demands powerlessness and total dependence on the State. Muslims could care less about a tree at town hall, Jews just plain don't give a shit anyway. But a Liberal will go to the Supreme Court over 'Silent Night' sung by a school chorus!



There is no happy ending for the family of the second grader who drew Christ on a cross. That family is tagged now by the State. They will be watched. Future teachers will be informed and they will always 'red flag' that student (this exists! so called 'children at risk' dubbed so by Social Services are always watched for any sign of real or imagined parental abuse until 18). Global Warming skeptics in the science community are drummed out, financing cut off, jobs lost. Its all part of the plan.

You know, Katrina may have wiped out New Orleans. It is being rebuilt. Tornadoes wipe out whole towns, they rebuild. But, the Colorado River took millions of years to carve the Grand Canyon and it isn't going anywhere. So too goes Secular Progressive Socialism. It has taken its time and isn't going anywhere soon.

..And That Is The Diatribe..

Apples From Eloise

Apples from Eloise

The camera was still in her pocket.There would be no pictures today after all.Everything looked too desolate and lonely,too incredibly empty.Mom would rather remember it the way it was.
It was autumn and there were still apples on the trees.Ghosts of their former selves.She picked one and tasted it,but it didn’t taste the same.The trees had not been cared for in years.
She closed her eyes.What lovely orchards they once were with the Canadian workers laughing and joking with one another in their familiar patois.

Aunt Eloise would have been busy in the barn with the cider press and the heavenly smell of crushed apples.Eyes still closed,mom could see the trees in spring,garlanded with blossoms and stretching down the valley as far as the eye could see.Scents of May would come to her even on this cold November day.That wich was in the mind’s eye was far better than the reality that was before her now.How ironic it seemed now with the trees uprooted and the names of streets like Blossom Hill Road and Cider Press Lane.

There was no doubt it was prime land.Hopefully people would be as happy there as my mother was in her day.The homes would have a lovely view of the valley but would never see it as Aunt Eloise had.She would be the first to say,"Share the wealth".The farm and fields had always been open to picnickers and hikers as well as the "pick your own" section.The prime crop,though,was what was shipped and ‘Apples from Eloise’ was known everywhere.

I never knew Aunt Eloise.I do not remember her face.But mother told me she was not a handsome woman.She was my grandmother’s younger sister and dressed plainly as a busy woman would in those days.Neat as a pin with her auburn hair gathered in a severe bun. There was a charm that one could only see late at night from the glow of a soft lamp as she let the bun fall to her waist.Her inner beauty came from her smile,the sparkle from her eyes,her voice and laugh that would chase all demons away.

Mom was ten years old when she came to live at Burneley Farm in Massachusetts,not far from Worcester.It was thirteen years after World War I.Grandma and Grandpa had been killed in a train accident and it was to Aunt Eloise’ arms that my mother arrived.

If it weren’t for the summers spent there it might have been hard for this sad girl.Memories of her grandparents and her own parents and the love they shared at the farm helped her adjust.Then,there was Aunt Maude.Into everyone’s life rain must fall and Aunt Maude fell into hers.Eloise practiced restraint and patience with Maude.Whenever my mother was exasperated with Maude Aunt Eloise would say that such people should be pitied because they were unhappy,but it was beyond the comprehension of a little girl.

Now Maude was a handsome woman.She wore the latest fashions and drove the newest of Model-T's.Her critisizing started the minute her shoes hit the threshold;well heeled shoes they were.She prided herself in her home,her social position at the Ladie's Auxilliary and her two children always "away" at school.My mother never liked her cousins.That was all she would ever say about them.

Of course,Maude gladly accepted her share of the profits and always showed up after the harvest.Within a day Maude was pulling the register handle and accounting every penny.Eloise would sigh at tax time,Maude was never to be found then.

"You never think of your future,do you Eloise?Always the apples!"
Aunt Eloise always stood firm and would just let Maude go on.But, to my mother,the thought of nothing but apples was illogical.Afterall where would Maude's share come from?

"You never go to town,a man will never settle out here.Just look at you!Dressed like a farm hand!"

My mother would look up and see Aunt Eloise shadowed by the fireplace glow.Hair let down but still tied.A stong woman from outdoor work.Besides there were always men at the farm.Mother would conjure up the image of Maude's husband, Warren, who died from alcoholism and if that was what "going into town" resulted in then Eloise was better off on the farm.Years later she learned that Maude was as unloved as a wife could be and that Warren kept a mistress in another town.That was why she was to be pitied.

Aunt Maude would always say that my mother was a good girl.
"Ill give you that,Joan,you are a good and obedient girl." She would say in a tone as if there was nothing else she could be.The day soon came though when Maude tried to persuade Eloise to send my mother to school.The thought left her numb with terror.

"You must do something about the girl!"She demanded.
Eloise realized that one uprooting was enough and at the farm my mother would stay."When you are ready for college you can leave."She told her."Always know you have a home here at the farm." Those words comforted my mother and nothing more was said of that.

The farm was the example of happiness.Every spring the workers returned and with them came Mr. Shipley.My mother would talk about how she remembered the first time he appeared at the door.He was a hobo,not a bum.He would laughingly say he was "An entrepreneur of the road."There were many like him during the depression and as long as there was work on the farm to be done there was always a hot meal for all who came.

Mr.Shipley was different than the other workers.He could speak French and Eloise needed an overseer.In addition he knew apples, wich was no small thing in those days;pruning,spraying,grafting,orders,etc,etc.Besides he was a mechanic during the war and could fix all the equipment.
Like Aunt Eloise,he also was not a handsome man but rather chiseled and rugged from life and what it handed him.Tall,sunburnt and broad shouldered.His crinkled brow and knarled hands were an obvious feature but it was his humor that would make Eloise come to life.There was a gentleness about him that one would miss from his stature.

Evenings were spent on the screened porch with Mr.Shipley and his guitar.The duets that he and Eloise would sing were a balm to my mother's soul.My grandparents would play piano and sing and it was comforting to her.The farm hands would gather on the lawn and light their pipes.The hired girl,Hannah,would meet her beau.

More often than not the men would borrow a truck and go into town,but they all knew although Aunt Eloise didn't object to bootleg beer, where it could be found,she would not tolerate drunkeness.They had come from a "wet" country to a "dry" one and their steady return each year should be rewarded.

Of course Aunt Maude drove up during one of their splendid evenings.Like cold water on a campfire the warmth of their festivities evaporated.
They were drinking lemonade and eating Hannah's delicious ginger cookies and Maude's eyes were full of eager curiousity as to who this Mr.Shipley was.He had excused himself and retired to his loft in the barn.

"A hired hand,a common hired hand!"Aunt Maude was stiff with her shocked sense of propriety.Hannah was also insulted."And entertaining him for all to see!"

"No Maude,he was entertaining us."Eloise smiled.

"Do you have no shame?What will people think?"

Eloise was angry now.Something that was seldom seen.
"People will say nothing unless you spread your gossip all over town.He is not a suitor.He is a good man,a hard working man whose talents I need and I will not hear anymore of it."

Maude was not to be silenced.
"He is out to worm his way in here! I've seen his type before,he knows a good thing when he sees it.You be carefull or you'll lose everything!What did the agency tell you about him?"
Eloise hesitated far to long.

"You hired him off the road didn't you?" This was fuel to Maude's fire but Eloise had had enough.

"Now you listen to me Maude! I have looked after this farm my whole life and I am guite able to decide who is worthy to work here.Besides,its not like you have lost anything from my decisions!"

"Not until now,I haven't! We'll see about this. Think about that child,you are not setting a good example for her!"As if Aunt Maude had ever given a thought to my mother other than sending her away to school;this was quite amusing.

Now,to give Maude her due;she never spoke of this to anyone.Hannah did;and before you judge Hannah let it be pointed out that the gossip that followed was directed at Maude.Apples from Eloise was a cornerstone of the town and everyone knew the love and compassion that grew there just as the apples did.If anyone was to blame it was Maude for her being judgemental.In a contest where public opinion was concerned,Aunt Eloise won hands down.

However,some of the magic was gone.Mr. Shipley no longer came to the porch in the evenings.Eloise was quiet and sad.My mother missed the warmth that eminated from the two;whether it was close friendship or a blossoming romance it was beyond her at that age.Whatever Mr. Shipley and Eloise shared she was part of it as if she was the child they would never have.If it was play acting between them she would let the stage be set.

Then,one day,Eloise took the bull by the horns.Mother was in the shed folding corrugated boxes for shipping.Looking out the streaked window she saw her aunt walk towards the barn where Mr. Shipley was repairing the tractor.Mother stood at the door and could see Eloise walk with steadfastness,her face flushed yet determined.

"Mr. Shipley? I request the honor of your presence on the porch this evening.We have--missed you.A-a-and your music."
"Do you think it is wise,Eloise?"He replied.Mother was stunned at his use of her name.Eloise straightened herself.
"Is it wise to deny oneself friendship at the spite of an unhappy woman? Where is it written that the Maudes of our world shall govern our actions?"
Mr.Shipley laughed softly and looked downward.Removing his hat and wiping his brow he answered.
"Why Miss.Eloise Burneley I would be delighted to accept your gracious invitation and shall attend this evening's soiree."

Aunt Eloise nodded and excused herself with proper decor.My mother had listened in without shame.Her cup was running over and her knight in shining armor was to return.
As it was,the gods were good.Maude was going on a trip to Europe for several weeks.Still,she had to show up one more time to prophesy doom and ruin.

"I could never make you see the light,Ellie!" She started."You wouldn't sell the farm when Papa died.We both could have moved into town and set up a proper business fit for a woman.But no!You had to stay here with the damned apples with no other interests.Now you have fallen prey to the first man who looks at you!"
Eloise was forbearing this time."In the first place he has not 'looked' at me." A slight womanly smile appeared on her face."Besides,if he does,I shall look back."
"Well,God knows I have tried my best to steer you straight and do my duty as the older sister.But you choose not to listen!"

From what I have been told,Maude truly believed this.That her duty was to be the suffering wife,mother and sister and to clutch this to her bosom with relish.Had she been born at a later,modern time she would have divorced Warren and sent him penniless to his paramour.Her energy was boundless,but only for mischief and meddling.

Eloise and my mother often regarded Warren's girlfriend like a poor unfortunate caught up in the middle of a trap.Neither she,Warren,or Maude could ever spring from their situation no matter how hard they tried.Mother had told me she saw her only once many years later.She was a dim figure behind a tree at Warren's burial.Her face was lined with tears.
Maude was stiff as a ramrod,no emotion whatsoever,only bitterness on her face.I was told that;not to grieve was worse than actual grieving.To be sorrowfull meant that you had once been happy and it is that loss wich you mourn.It was apparent to my mother that Warren's little lady had the larger share of the loaf.

But,for now,the summer was at it's zenith.Maude was blessedly off to Europe.There was plenty of hard work to do and well earned pleasures.Picknics were spent at the river on the lower end of the valley.Mother,Hannah,her love and the workers all swam there on the hottest days.Mr.Shipley had built a dock and set up a rope swing.The canoes that were my Great Granfather's had been unearthed from the barn.The workers sanded and painted them.
The water was clear and sparkling then,the vegetation full and rich.No one canoes there anymore.Strange colors appear in the water now and is full of mud and sedge grass.Instead of the bubbling river that once was there is a sluggishness as it winds away to it's destination.
No one could have forseen this during those lovely days.The fall came and with it the last shipment of apples.Mr.Shipley packed his rucksack.Eloise remained quiet and did not ask if he was to return.

Aunt Maude returned from Europe and gloated.
"Well I could have told you this would happen and now you have made a fool of yourself.Now,there is someone I want you to meet."
That 'someone' was Floyd Ackerman.He wasn't a bad sort but Eloise never hesitated for a moment and quickly refused his proposal.The only good thing that came of that was Maude washing her hands of Eloise,and us,for good.
Refusing Mr.Ackerman's proposal was considered foolhardy by many in town.Afterall Eloise was thirty-three and at that time was considered a spinster.As her sister was quick to remind her she was plain and could not hope for better.

Christmas came and with it the roses from family down south.Those roses filled the house and sustained Eloise all winter long.All of them had quietly hoped that the spring would bring the happiness they remembered.
When the first crocuses appeared in the snow Eloise cleared it away so they could catch the sun.Her eyes drifted to the orchard to see if any buds had formed and the promised blossoms to come.The workers returned,but not Mr.Shipley.Eloise faltered and lost her hopefull look yet roused herself to the task at hand of getting the farm ready.

My mother was the first to see him.That familiar figure on the road greeting the workers as he passed by the trees.She shouted towards the house to Eloise who rushed to the door.Her face lit up and she shamelessly raced down the path.All the workers stopped at their tasks.
Eloise stopped just short of him.Mr.Shipley freed himself from his burden and opened his arms to her.She was soon folded into them and everyone looked on entranced at what they saw.

"I have been such a fool."He said."Leaving with no word.Please tell me you are still mine.God,I could have lost you."

Not a chance,thought my mother,not a chance.


Epilogue

It was a simple story of a simple life.In this farewell my mother now turned and walked the crest of the hill to look down the valley.She could still see the remains of Mr.Freedman's peach farm that abutted the orchard.What lovely peaches they were and the jam he made.Nothing since could match it.

But the orchards were now gone.The house was gone.A new Interstate glistened in the distance and the drone of trucks and cars filled the valley.A computer plant occupied the property of Mr.Freedman's orchard.It wasn't a completely unlovely sight.Well landscaped and modern bearing nothing of Blake's 'dark satanic mills'.Somehow,though,it all seemed wrong and there was nothing my mother could do about it.

The orchard had not been worked for years and would have taken thousands of dollars to rebuild.The land was now leased to a farmer who grazed his cows there.He too was to sell the following year.But Eloise had left her share of the orchard to my mother and,strangely enough,so did Maude.

"I am leaving my share to you Joanie." Maude said from her bed."You are the only one who comes to visit me now."

Later I was told that mother felt guilty about this because it was not love that made her visit Maude in the nursing home.When Eloise died she told my mother to be kind to Maude.Both sisters had asked for their beds to be moved to the window that looked out at the May blossoms.

"What a nice memory to take with me." Eloise spoke."I shall tell Bill." She quietly stopped breathing,cradled in my mother's arms.

The November wind was blowing now and my mother was reminded that she too was no longer young.The cold in her heart was worse though.Eloise would not approve of her pessimism.She would have said to remember how lucky they were.That they had each other,the farm and those wonderfull memories.She would have said this despite all the ups and downs with running a farm what with the apples,labor shortages,the war and finally losing her beloved Bill.

The money gained from the sale of the farm would be in trust to us.We were always reminded of the love that grew there alongside the apples and that was the legacy I have bestowed on my children.

My mother climbed into the car,thankfull of it's modern heat.As she turned toward the empty lot that once was the house she saw them all.Eloise,Bill,Hannah,her beau and all the workers standing and waving from the porch as they did that day when she went off to college.If there was a time train where one could get off at any point and remain for eternity she knew where she would get off.

It was there amongst the May blossoms on the hill selling Apples from Eloise.

I Grew Up In the Sunset of a Norman Rockwell Painting

My father always had to have the biggest bird, for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, from the local Agway farm in the town I grew up in. As the holidays approached he would find his customary 'second job' to prepare for the December 25th onslaught of kids running down the stairs, I would be in a diaper slinking down on my bum.

Funny thing, I have no memory of my dad when I was small doing the things dads are told to do for their kids. Play with them, see them at the game, show them how to do this or that. My dad did what he had to do, he worked. I never wanted for anything. My home was warm, my plate was full, my shoes were new, vacations were awesome, my town was small (then) I rode my bike, played in the street, slept in a tent on summer nights out back. I grew up in the sunset of a Norman Rockwell painting.

After 46 years on this rock, my best beloved and I have kindled our own Thanksgiving/Christmas tradition of family, friends, good drink, games, kids. I thank my parents and Rebecca's parents for that anchor in our lives.

I am a different father than my dad was. I am there for them on those off times. The downside is we do not always have the things that other affluent families do. Oh well, I have found ritches beyond what money can provide. Besides, I am not dead yet.

I am greatfull for the chance to be here. I could care less about the world and the state it is in. It has always been at war, always struggling. Yet, here we are. As long as good exists and knows it, bad shall never overcome. I am greatfull for my kids who have grown up to start finding their own roads (as full of holes they may be). I am greatfull to be able to fly my flag every morning and say that silent "thank-you" as I touch it in the morning breeze, knowing so many are out there, barrels raised, to allow me that small priveledge to do as I just said. I am greatfull for a job when so many have none.

There is an old saying from a 'Star Trek' movie..."I have more days behind me than ahead of me". That is where I am at now.

Don't worry, I am not going silent into that final goodnight.

One Fucked Up Religion

It was difficult to title this Diatribe as I did. I do not idlely toss epitaphs around for shock reasons. I do it as a result of listenning, learning, watching, waiting, experiencing. I base all I say in The Diatribe from facts. From those facts I draw out a particular supposition. I do not make a supposition arbitrarily and then call it a fact.


Americans are constantly told that islam is a wonderfull, peacefull religion. I am still waiting to see the adds on TV that invite anyone to a mosque like the adds you see for Latter Day Saints or Methodists. I am still waiting for the islamic community to openly, angrily and publicly speak out against terrorism and actually start turning in some of these idiots. One reason why you will never see any of the things I described is because mohammed instructed his followers to kill with impunity all non-believers.


In chapter 2:216 of the queran mohammed says ( I paraphrase), "Fighting is prescribed for you...which is good for you...then fight and slay pagans wherever ye find them...lie in wait for them...sieze them..beleaguer them..." Of course, if you convert to islam all is like a day of sunshine and ice cream.

In chapter 9:29-31 of the queran mohammed commands his followers to fight the Jews and Christians, :Fight those who believe not in God..until they pay the jizya(tribute) with willing submission.." So we have to pay to be muslim?

In addition there are nine volumes of books known as the Hadith (traditions) in which 238 passages exist that advance the cause of islam via the sword and jihad.

So, muslims, even the supposed peacefull ones, are not going to say anything to stop terrorism. It is against the word of the queran. In Great Britain shortly after 9/11 a poll was conducted among the muslim population there, overwhemingly they answered 'no' to a question about reporting suspected terrorists or suspected terrorist activities. They would not report the activity or individual.



I have spent my entire life watching video of screaming, chanting, flag burning muslims. A rumor that some one said something about mohammed and the cars start turning over and being torched..muslims dragged the body of a US Marine chanting and dancing in Mogadishu. American hostages were held, tortured and used as pawns in Lebanon for years. They murdered innocent Olympic athletes in Munich. Tossed a guy in a wheelchair off the deck of a cruise ship, blew up a passenger plane in mid flight, murdered Marines sleeping in a barracks on a peace keeping mission, and three thousand dead in NYC. This list is the tip of the ice berg of what this peacefull religion is about.


Now, before we get to the things America has done to hurt muslims, I have been trying to Google, research in a library, encyclopedia, history book all the times America has used suicide bombing simply because we hated some one. I cannot find any example of us targetting a plane full of civilians simply because they were, oh, say, black, or Chinese, or Hindu.


I wish to clarify, I only deal in facts and from facts draw out a particular supposition.

I remember, during the Gulf War, the famous CNN crew that was there the night of the Bagdad attack commencing the war. There was a book and a movie made about that time and that experience (Mickael Keaton was in the movie on HBO). There is a great scene where the camera man is filming a typical protest full of burning flags, chants and effigies. The comment is made to Keaton's character that he has no film in the camera. When asked why is he filming the camera man replies, "watch". He then lowers the camera and a sudden hush comes over the crowd, all chanting stops and the crowd is still. Then, he raises the camera back up and the cacaphony begins anew. Keaton's character walks away in disgust because he realizes just how much these people are controlled by their hatred and religion and how little control they have over reason and intelectual thought.
Why are the muslims so hatfull of America? Could it be the way we have treated them for years on end? What is it we are talking about here? How, specifically have we intentionally mistreated the muslim population of the world?
Could it be the time (when no other nation except the United States took the initiative) in Bosnia to put an end to the slaughter of muslims? Could it be the time we intervened in a civil war in Somalia and then fed starving muslims with the food we had already been sending? Maybe it was the time we protected the Kurdish population in Northern Iraq after the Gulf War. Saddam Hussien was just so nice to those people wasn't he? I know, it was the time we were invited by the kings of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to help them defend and take back land from invasion by (here is the kicker) another muslim. Freedom from tyrants and Democracy for millions in Iraq and Afghanistan was just a humiliation for muslims. Having looked at it in this context I can only draw one conclusion about islam.

That is one fucked up religion! In fact, I am willing to say that, most muslims, must suffer from some genetically predisposed dellusional way of looking at the world. One cannot function in a social strata normally by being constantly angry, constantly at war, constantly passing hatred onto your children, constantly preaching hate and glorifying death without being a little messed up in the old noodle! The women are subjugated from birth, sold, pre-arranged marriages, beaten whenever and wherever. Taliban hate all music, art, literature. Wahabis formal education is a madrassa where prayer is repeated for up to nine hours a day..That is just some crazy ass way of living my friend!
We always talk of bringing opportunity to these impoverished regions. Why would we want to? What company will put up cash, invest, etc, etc, only to learn of their new factory being blown up because a woman works there, or, an American owns a small share of stock. Here is the best one , the new company won't let them pray five times a day. I am sorry, your at work..Get to fucking work!! I get a fifteen minute break and a half hour lunch and I cannot even talk about religion!

The modern islamo-facsist is not interested in political gains, military victory over territory or even to create a better society for their own people. They are interested in the "umma". A complete world dominated by strict islamic law and the death and/or enslavement of non believers. Nice isn't it? The tactic used is called terrorism. It actually serves no geo-political/military superiority method of warfare. It is designed to wear away at America, slowly. It is designed to weaken our resolve every time we see a flag draped coffin come home (in this context, along with the Liberals, they are winning). If they can force America to pay more, to spend billions on war, constantly under fear of the next attack, they take us out of our comfort zone and disolves our sense of national security. We actually become a weaker nation.. Many islamo-facsist believe this is happening and are scoring big in the cause of spreading islam.
They are correct to think so. Our new President has little interest in staying the course. He feels we should negotiate with "moderate Taliban". Liberals liken our liberation of Afghanistan in the same column as the British, Soviets, or Alexander the Great. They fail to see the glaring difference, we are Liberators, not conquerers. Liberals will never allow any history book to ever say what we did in Iraq paved the way for late 21st Century Middle East Democracy. Liberals choose empty talk in the face of a nuclear Iran. The only Democracy in the world willing to face it down(Israel) is told they will be to blame if they strike first. This leaves Israel abandoned.

This new Utopian, green, universal healthcare, everyone is equal world we are creating isn't going to last one year if we do not confront and defeat unconditionally islamo-facsism and islam in general.If one billion of the Earth's citizens are willing to destroy the other five billion because a guy who died a thousand years ago said so and called it a religion then that religion is one fucked up religion..


..And That Is The Diatribe..

Christmas, is Misnomer

'Christmas', is Misnomer.


It seems ashame, these days, to argue about Christmas.Yes,I use the 'capitalized' form in my dossier.I do not think we can equate the harmless hanging of some greenery with the separation of church and state and/or the unfair labor and black /women's rights issues.Greenery hurts no-one.The latter hurt everyone.
It has been stated that Santa Claus(being Christian presumably) only brings presents to good little Christian children.This is absurd;Santa Claus is a myth and only exists in the pocket books of parents.I cannot imagine any parent,regardless of the political and/or ethnic/religious persuasion not complying with their child's plea to Dear Old St. Nick!
Many presentations are made to our schools concerning the prohibition of Christmas.No-one ever 'forbids' these protests.My question is,why is it that others are 'forbidden' to celebrate Christmas in our schools?
In one class;children were asked to draw a picture of what they felt was the real meaning of Christmas.Many drew pictures of family,turkey,presents,giving to the less fortunate.All of these were well received and displayed in the halls of the school.One child,however,drew a picture of Christ.His was not allowed to be displayed lest someone be offended.Why was his picture 'forbidden'?Are we not a democracy with rights given to the minority?Granted,this is a 'religious' picture.But so what??This picture is that particular child's depiction of what the "real meaning" of Chistmas is! If this did not fit into the modern secular customs then it must,surely, fall within the bounds of free speech and, at least, political correctness.
People are riding around town enjoying the lights and displays at other's homes.People are thrilled to join friends and family to celebrate the holidays.I fail to understand why this cannot be translated to the classroom.One is not excluded if one joins in.
We feel,as a society, that we are 'excluding' others by the celebration of 'Christmas'.Nothing could be further from the truth.Whether it be the winter solstice,Hannuka,Kwansa,or the Muslim feast of 'winter's eve' we are all included.We come together as family and to rejoice in the coming of a new year.If it is Christ,Allah,Budda,or the evergreen tree;bless it all and may the next year bring fruitfullnes.I raise a toast!
"Christmas",however, is the wrong word to use.The early church fathers were great public relations men.What we are really celebrating is the 'winter solstice',the returning of the sun.The fervor of the solstice was turned towards the birth of Jesus and all the celebration followed.Certaintly,great music and art evolved from this.Great music and art evolve from all religions.
The customs of Christmas are as varied as the nations that observe them.Except for the creche,which originated with St. Francis,every custom is pagan to the core.The use of evergreens, as garland, was discouraged by early church leaders.The pagan customs persisted.Soon the 'Yule Log' from the Druids came into play to ensure a good harvest next year.This leads us to the tree,(Germanic),wich has no religious significance at all.
Somewhere around 354AD there was much controversy as to whether Christ was born in December or March.The Mithric feast(in Latin:"natilis invicti solis"),or the birthday of the unconquered Sun of Philocalus, was of Latin origin.
The Syrians and the Armenians accused the Romans of sun worship and idolatry.If one wants some interesting reading then read about the arguements amongst the early churchmen.It a wonder Christmas ever got off the ground!
The Puritans forbade Christmas in England in 1644.Charles the Second revived the holiday.However,Scotland adhered to the Puritan ruling.Cromwell even outlawed minced pie.How dast;an Englishman without his minced pie?
The Puritans did not celebrate Christmas when they arrived in 1620.It was not until later,when the nation started forming, that Christmas was revived due to the extensive immigrant population from all over Europe.The first celebrations were in Salem Mass.Go figure,witch trials,etc.
Eliminating the creche from schools can be justified under the ruse of 'separation of church and state'.The tree and the glitter and the joy?Why?My Grandfather had a saying;"God bless ye' merry Chamber of Commerce".They are responsible for the glitz and the glamour of Christmas.And so should it be! It is a happy time and a time of giving.No other religious groups are forbidden from displaying a panapoly of their customs.Why is that only Western customs are forbidden? If we are to be the so-called PC society we claim to be then the addition of all customs to the "winter solstice" would only augment the celebrations.
I do not hold to the quote from Scrooge that those who observe Christmas, "Should be boiled in their pudding with a spring of holly through their hearts."
We have short changed our children in the schools enough.We have cut art,music,sports,activities,and after school programs.Now the liberals want to remove Christmas.The quality of education dimishes daily.For some poor children the only Christmas they will observe is that wich they learn in public schools.Again if we are ,truly,the PC society we claim to be...?
Those of us who endeavour to lead a decent life and partake in civilized behaviour;whether it be from religious backround,ethical and/or moral standards;should be banding together instead of pulling apart over being 'offended'.We should worry about the deterioration of standards in our society,not a wreath at a school.We should worry about terrorists,not a creche on city hall lawn.Their are enough injustices in the world without worrying about a tree in the classroom..

To Sex-Ed or Not to Sex-Ed. We Should Question

To Sex-Ed or Not to Sex-Ed

There is about to be a debate on the parameters of sex education in American schools. There is actually an advocacy group that feels children as young as second grade should not only be taught the Birds and Bees, but also adult forms of sexual behavior (ie: oral, anal, homosexual, etc). There will not even be a chance for parents to circumvent or opt out of such teaching for their children. It will be a mandatory part of the curriculum right alongside the ABC's.
I have no problem with sex-ed. I wish we had it in high school, we had Health Class. The teacher was an idiot! With teen sex on the rise, some sort of education should be available with parental consent. This proposal opens a Pandora's box. As I have said before in The Diatribe, it is all part of the plan. Liberals are not out to actually solve any problems, they are pushing agenda and legislation to gain power. I shall present fact, then present my observation.
Studies have been conducted and concluded that state; children who are sexually abused and/or exposed to sexual situations, material and conduct are 10 times more likely to become hyper-sexual later on. Those same studies have tracked over the years said children and have found a higher rate of early teen sexual activity, teen pregnancy, STD'S, adult sexual alternative behavior (ie: prostitution, S+M, sex/porn addictions, drug abuse, child sex abusers themselves).These are facts played out in study after study over the past forty years.
So, here we are about to purposely expose children to this stuff? Oh, I know, the Liberals will say it is in a safe and controlled environment under friendly, non threatenning format. Bullshit! Exposure is exposure, plain and simple.
Children are naturally curious. We, as parents and teachers, want this to be. We want children to ask, explore, experience. Yes, we shelter them from what is harmfull, and so we should. Plenty of time later in life for them to experience how much life can suck! But this is a Pandora's box that we will reap the harvest on sooner than we think. Shall I explain?
It is all part of the plan. These children will grow up and do the same things those studies have concluded. Exposed at a young age we will spark that neuron in their brains. Sexual behavior is a complex human proclivity. Our ancestors did well to keep girls virginal and boys away from masturbation as long as possible. I agree, in many cases it lead to problems and deviant behavior but the problems we have today never existed as late as the 1950's. Today a girl of sixteen with two interracial kids from two guys is commonplace!
Here is the plan. When these children grow up they will explore younger and give birth to more illegitemate babies. The result? More welfare moms, dependent on government. See where I am going here?
More men on the hook for child support, never getting to college (as well as the girls) working menial jobs and a life time of depending on the check from the State. Men who are of age having sex with girls not of age will increase. Translation? More men labelled as sex offenders, more men in prison, more men never hoping to get a carreer, rather, a menial job. More government dependency. See where I am going now?
More children in single parent homes. Note: With over 85% of all custody cases awarded to mothers this number will skyrocket. Studies, again, have shown children raised in those households are three times more likely to repeat the parents mistakes, end up in jail, end up on welfare, children out of wedlock..More dependency on government. More women never getting to be the best their parents hoped for. The same parents who fought for Equal Rights for Women!..Starting to get it now?
This is the plan! The studies conducted over the last forty years have not told us we need to stop this trend. The studies only gave Liberals food for thought!..mmmm...
How best can we create a society that the government can control to a point where everyone has to depend upon it? Especially if we pass laws that force people to depend upon it..mmmm..Then, if we elect enough legislators of like minds and possibly a President..Well, we can sew this puppy right up! Any opposition, we can call them anti family, anti children, anti, progressive, Tea-baggers, FOX News! Racists!
The goal is never to solve a problem anymore. It is to create a cause, or, an agenda in order to affect legislation and solidify power. Society if infected with this concept. This debate is another wrung on the ladder that Liberals are climbing to the top.

..And That Is The Diatribe..

The War Yet To Come

Over the years I have listened to and learned from the news, history, pundits and other sources of media about the history of the United States, it's relation to the world and it's place in the future. I find one common factor.
Negotiation, leading to war, invasion and conflict.
Our past is filled with pre-emptive war (always yelled about) or invasion/attack (told we were not prepared) explained by the Liberals.

Welcome to 2009! Well what will it be America?

Once again, shall we talk and wait for the bombs? Or shall we strike and wait for the rebuke?

Either way we will lose; either in the war of public debate or the war of scorched earth. Liberals have sewn up the debate either way. America loses! Even if our troops come home triumphant with ticker tape parades, we lose because of our methods. We lose, because Liberal tactics are to "be one with the enemy", talk, negotiate, reach an agreement? How about? No, lets bomb first and strike a decisive blow and gain the upper hand, kill them now before they kill any more of us.
Any President, today, leading any conflict, either way will be regarded as a black mark for eons to come...So, what shall it be America? Talk and wait for the attack? Or, stand up and let God sort the rights and wrongs?

Iran is on the cusp. North Korea already posseses. I predict, before the end of 2010; a mushroom cloud will explode over a large Metro city somewhere in a Western World Country. I ask only this..What will it be America?
Shall we pay the price now? Shall we pay the huge fee later? History tells us the answer. All we need to do is read and listen. Either way cost is incurred. I am sorry to be blunt. Do you think our enemies are not as blunt?

There is a funny line from the last 'Batman' Movie. The Joker is quoted. "...if several troops lose their lives..it is all part of the plan..but if one man loses his life..then everyone loses their minds!.."
That quote reflecks our attitude. Thousands get lost is a tagic event, yet we go on with our lives. One soldier killed in combat becomes a calling cry to end the war!! We attach the name to the family and another reason to "pull out". That is the key to our enemy success.

All it takes is one son, one father, one wife, one mother. We lose all balls to carry on. The truth is those dead fathers, sons, mothers would say.."Take from my dead hands my weapon, shoot back!" It is there we honor the sacrifice. The relatives of that fallen soldier would all agree, yes, that was who my child, father, mother, was.

So what shall it be America?
I beg for the chance to go to Boot Camp, be worked to the point of nothing, then rise again and show myself. I beg to stop writing and use an M-4 instead of a keyboard to state my convictions. War is coming America. Iraq and Afhganistan is just the first dish in an entire dinner. Do you have the stomach to eat it all?? WWIII is here! It will be broadcast live on TV, well, untill the first nukes hit and knock out all our electronics..Anyway..I digress..What shall it be America??

Shall we strike first and gain the upper hand, and hopefully save this world? It is not a sure win! Or, shall we talk and spend the next twenty-plus years 'hopefully trying', well, to re build it.. That win?..I cannot say..


....And That Is The Diatribe..

Does This Government Understand What They Are Getting Into?

Yesterday at 8:25pm

....I do not think this Obama guy or his Liberal Gestapo understand the American People. Does he really think we will rollover? Already the Congress, despite the Town Hall lambasting, will vote in Obamacare!. Do they realize that we will not sit down for this? Are they prepared for mass protests? Are the cops ready?

What will happen is this: mass protests, mass arrests, violence, bloodshed. People will die over this! Every hospital and doctor's office will be a wall of pissed off Americans. It will take the National Guard to hold back the tide decending on Washington. The news media will go apeshit! Patriots will be bloodied once again to stand against tyranny.

I do not think Pelosi, Reid and Obama are ready for this. Sure, they will target those few individuals who throw a molotov as the reason for these protests, but they will not see the true, underlying foundation of this revolt. It is on this short sightedness that reveals their Achilles heel and our Constitutional advantage. The sabotaged elections of 2010 will only add fuel to the fire already smoldering in this nation.

Parents are against a wall with the schools and Social Services telling us how to raise and educate, and (most important) dicipline our children. Home schoolers fed up with State ordered cirriculum are still ordered to comply with State Mandates or said parents are in breach of the law!

Then there is Iran. Has any one ever read a history book? Ever? History has shown that anytime a Liberal/ Democrat is in the White House the rest of the world decides to pull some shit! Clinton= Bosnia/Kosovo/Somalia. Carter= Iran Hostages/Soviets Invade Afghanistan. Roosevelt=Nazi's take over Europe/Japan rapes China/Pearl Harbor. Kennedy/Johnson= Vietnam/Laos/Cambodia's killing fields. Truman=300,000 Chinese kill thousands of American soldiers/Stalemate in Korea. Wilson=Ignores the Communist threat/ Talks peace with the Germans/WWI. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. Meanwhile our enemies murder, invade, dictate, rape, genocide, make war. Changes the lines of the world map!

Today Iran cheers their new weapons and a military deal with Columbia...Obama..Wants to "wait and see".

Lets look at facts. Reagan= End of Cold War/Liberation of Grenada, Lockerbie terrorists arrested, Achille Lauro terrorists arrested, Democracy grows in Central America, Economic expansion. Bush #1-Berlin Wall Falls, Treaties with new Russian Republic, Gulf War 1, Panama freed from Pineapple face Noriega, Aquino elected President in Phillipines. Bush #2 Iraq and Afghanistan free democratic nations and Al-Queda on the run... Lets go back in time..Eisenhower, confronts the Soviets, expands ICBM technology that lands us on the moon, builds National Highway System. Nixon sides with Israel in Six-Day War, staring down the Soviets and brings Syria and Egypt to the negotiating table on Middle East Peace. Nixon also bombed the crap out of North Vietnam to bring us "Peace with Honor". He ended the war just like the lefties wanted..Only..On his terms..Jane Fonda was nowhere to be found when millions died under Communist rule of SE Asia.

So do not speak to me of Right Wing Conspiracies now. I will speak to you of history and what Patriots stand and die for!..From my cold dead hands shall you take my mic, keyboard and my weapon from me! Soldiers did not die for Social Services and "Conflict Resolution", Universal this or that and Diversity. They died for America.They died for our children's children to live in the fruits of their sacrifice!

Our dying grandparents weep at their wakes for us. They weep not for our sorrow at their passing but rather that we also must bear arms and fight an enemy they died preserving and that they never thought we would have too fight, but depend on. Our own Government.Does our President really think we will lie down? Someday I will tell you this from my jail cell.


...And That Is The Diatribe..

Charles Darwin Rolls Over

Charles Darwin Rolls Over

I have often said how George Orwell rolls over when we hear the rhetoric from Liberals and Government. I have sadly forgotten some one else. Charles Drawin.
This week, NASA has discovered, as we all knew, water on the moon. Why is this important?
We have spent the last ten years fighting assholes from some hole-in-the-ground country hell bent on keeping us in the 5th Century. We have spent those same years argueing about it.
The supposed Euro-Nations have cried ,"foul", in our attempts to stop it. Enviro nut-bags have told us we need to stop our onslaught of the Earth. Everything we hear is..STOP!!..
Meanwhile, the next step of human evolution awaits us..Out there..
Darwin is waiting. He sits alongside our founding fathers looking from Heaven at us and saying.."Hello!!?"
We will destroy ourselves. Not from a nuclear bomb or economic collapse, rather from apathy. We will end our rein on Earth from stupidity.
Everything we need; from food, to fuel, to economic development is ..OUT THERE..
We have reached that cusp of human evolution, just like our ape-ancestors who decided..Do we stand up straight and explore the grassland or fear the roar of the lion?\

How much will it cost? The lion. What if some one dies? The lion. We don't have that technology yet. The lion. We have too much to deal with now..The lion..

Want this world to embark on a new human evo/revo-lution? Complete with world Socialism at it's finest? Are you ready to make that leap?

Four Hundred plus years ago one one said.."What is beyond that horizon?"
Two hundred years ago, some one said.."What is over that western range?"

Today, we argue. Sure there are scientists and discoverers of the sea and sky. However, that is all there is. They are called just that. We all hear the discoveries and say.."oh yeah..anyway." We carry on with our lives.

Meanwhile.

The Solar System waits for us. This is God's gift to the next generation and our growth into the next Century... Human exploration, no, Human dominance of the resources of space.

Alvin Toffler who wrote the book, Megascience, spoke of a new era in human evolution. He called that next step, Homo-Technologicus. Man who conquers space and all its abundence. Children born on other planets.

So, keep going world. Keep argueing, keep fighting, keep on left and right. Keep on fundamentalists and terrorists. We could all make a difference. We won't. We are the dinosaurs of this era. We shall suffer their fate.

..And That Is The Diatribe...

My Catharsis

My Catharsis


I must say, I am truly blessed. I have been wracked over these several years with financial and legal issues that I never thought would dissipate. I think I can truly say that my ship has emerged from the storm with my sails intact.
I say this at the aftermath of an interesting weekend that included an intellectual duel, an onslaught of people interested in speaking with me on the radio and the epiphany that I have come to a point in my life where I have belonged for some time. It just took me awhile to get here.
I have come to some conclusions about life and our place in it. There is an old Vulcan saying. The universe will unfold as it should.
I used to relish in the fact that my life always unfolded as it did and I always found profit and progress in what ever God laid out before me. Over the past ten years I thought that somehow I should start controlling my life and getting some sort of direction established. After all, I had children to think about and a future to worry about. I have found that all that concern was the very thing holding me back.
I will not worry so much anymore. It was random chance that I ran into Captain PJ from wcuw radio. PJ had been a long time fixture in my life, floating in and out as time went on. A random encounter late one night in a 24 hour store down the road from where I lived has set me on a path that has only brought rewards I never dreamed of two years ago. In February of 2009 I began the Meat and Potatoes Show as its own broadcast and have networked my brand of radio genre to an ever growing audience. I have had the pleasure of meeting people I would never have met without this exposure. I would have never found the conduit to speak out politically if it were not for Captain PJ who agreed to intern me at wcuw in the late spring of 2008.
It was random chance that I was re-introduced to an old friend who would challenge me intellectually on political thought. Though our encounter was brazen, I wish now to thank that man for helping me in my catharsis. Again, if it were not for that random encounter, I would not be writing this now. Despite our argument, I was able to find something in myself that has existed for sometime, yet, was reserved and kept ‘on guard’. That something was my comfortability in what and who I am. That something was the realization that I have reached people and have become a radio show producer. For good or ill, I am the owner of the Meat and Potatoes Show and I must no longer treat this as a thing I do on the side, rather, who I am.
This show has evolved into writing, blogging, lining up interviews with people I never would have met before, discussing topics once left to private bantering in my own home, meeting musicians, promoters, activists. I have even re connected with old school friends. I am truly blessed.
This promise I make to myself. I will always perform the best broadcast I know how to do. That is all I need to do and God will do the rest. A gift I have been given. Thank you to all who have been a part of it.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are wcuw 91.3 fm and online at wcuw.org. Great tunes from great bands, news commentary, interviews and the controversial Diatribe. I am Christopher A.W. Maider and this is, and shall always be, the Meat and Potatoes Show.

..And That Is The Diatribe…

The Tragic Tale of My Friend Robert

The Tragic Tale of My Friend Robert

A couple of days ago there was a Face book exchange between myself and a former classmate concerning 9/11, Obama, Irag, etc, the same crap I Diatribe about all the time. I have left the name of the classmate out of this because I think he is embarrassed enough, not by his comments of my own, but rather, the comments of a third party. It is here that the tragic tale of my friend Robert begins.
Apparently he commented also on my bantering as I invite all of you to do openly on my blog (meatandpotatoeswcuw.blogspot.com) and in my face book homepage. Like the rest of you, I receive them in my e-mail. Apparently, I deleted one of his comments from my e-mail. Somehow, his comment also deleted from the ’comment’ section on face book. How this happened, why this happened I am at a loss to explain. I assure you I did not do it. This upset Robert very much.
I opened my e-mail this morning to find several comments from him as well as spelling tips. How thoughtful of him to include those. I have been an active writer for over thirty five years and I still screw up the grammar and spelling. Oh well.
So, as not to upset Robert any more, I have posted every one of his comments here in “The Diatribe”, including his spelling tips. I have also posted responses to his comments as I deem appropriate. Some of his comments border on the personal attack category, I could care less, I know who I am and what I am and I am quite comfortable with my Libertarian values and political non ideology.
Again, I invite all of you to comment as you see fit on either my blog, face book or e-mail. Here is the exchange.





Robert Fenneuff also commented on : "Hey Chris - this comment makes no sense from a historical, political, or other point of view. It sounds like crazy non-intellectual banter. Socialism is not a movement, it is a form of political theory. No actual historian ( a person with an advanced degree in history) would subscribe to your point of view. Have you been pilfering Rush Limbaugh's pill stash?Education is the only way out of your intellectual mess."

Christopher’s rebuttal:
Robert, you are an intellectual bully. I am well aware that Socialism is a political theory. I said so in a past Diatribe written and read on the air months ago. I have been reading history since I was 9, you forget, my mother was a history teacher. This apple didn’t fall far. I could care less if an historian with a Phd subscribed to my point of view. Rush Limbaugh’s pill stash is safe from my hands. My educational achievements are clearly documented with the Department of Homeland Security, The United States Coast Guard Auxilliary, The Civil Air Patrol, Worcester County Search and Rescue, FEMA, NASAR. I was Lieutenant, a Search and Rescue Technician, skilled boat pilot and navigational expert.

Robert Fenneuff commented on your status: "I am so glad Wilson's opponent scored over 500,000 dollars for his next campaign in the first 24 hours after the rude and ignorant Wilson comment. I tried to email Wilson to tell him how absurd it was to lash out in that most dignified of forums, but his sight ws already crashed by thousands of other normal people"





Christopher’s rebuttal:
Raising money still doesn’t change the fact that Wilson’s outburst was the only truthful thing said in that whole speech.

Robert Fenneuff also commented on : "What happened to my comment about this uneducated tyrade throwing around terms like historian, socialism, etc.?Is this what happens to people who don't go to college?"

Christopher’s rebuttal:
I have no idea what happened to your comment, ask face book. I also, have no idea what happens to people who don’t go to college, I only know myself. What does going, or, not going to college have to do with having an opinion and the means and desire to bring it to fruition?

Robert Fenneuff also commented on: "Further, my name is Robert, not Liberal. It is not a personal attack to say you don't know what your talking about, it is an emprical observation.No historian (a person with an advanced degree in History), would make the claim about socialism inventing political prisoners. Socialism, as I said in that comment that appears deleted from this open board where people post comments (what ever happened to free speech?) is a political theory and not an actually implemented form of government). marxism is likewise, and anyone who has read or taught Karl Marx would know the difference. Have you read Marx? Marxism features, among other things, a moral argument focusing on the approriation of surplus value by the owners of the means of production during the labor process. Perhaps you can muck up this statement in your late night tyrades at the fringe radio station you call left leaning (note that they offer you a moment of free speech,unlike
the deletion of my previous comment)."


Christoper’s rebuttal:
Yes, I know your name is Robert, I never said your name was Liberal. I know you are not attacking me personally, you are just attacking my opinion in a personal way. The off handed comments on my lack of a college education have no bearing on anything in this discourse. I have never read Marx, I have never read Mien Kampht (sp Bob?)either. I don’t nead to read them to know that both political theories are now in the ash pit of history along with the millions dead that both theories expedited.
WCUW Radio is a left leaning station, it is a simple fact. I also have written and said on air many times how thankful I am to have my time there. Trust me, Robert, it is more than a ‘moment’ as you say. My show runs three hours and reaches an online audience in the thousands from coast to coast. I have conducted dozens of interviews with people of all political leanings and have promoted bands and social causes. My “Diatribe” is a pillar of the show and many listen and comment. In fact, the name, ’Diatribe’, is actually tongue and cheek. It is political bantering, so what? It’s my show and I will do as I please with it.

Robert Fenneuff commented on your status: "neglectful has one L"

Robert Fenneuff commented on your status: "threatening has one n"

Christopher’s rebuttal:
Thank you Robert, I copied and pasted your comments as they appeared in my e-mail, spelling errors and all.



Robert Fenneuff also commented on : "I searched and searched, and see that my comment was deleted. Is that how you go about... whatever this is called?"

Robert Fenneuff commented on your status: "This is a morally reprehensible comment."

Christopher’s rebuttal:

I agree, Robert, your comments about my lack of a college education and how that omission in my life negates all I have achieved are morally reprehensible.


….And That Is The Diatribe.

9/11--Written just before midnight

9/11--Written just before midnight
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Today at 11:48pm Edit Note Delete
On this night, eight years ago, before I rest I will remember, I will never forget. So many, so many have been lost. I pray that they are not lost in vain by talk of retreat. I pray they are not lost in vain by talk of negotiation or by talk of some other strategy. These are the ghosts calling to us to never give up the fight that God has called us to.Why is this generation so easy to aswage? Why are we so wrapped up in our own rhetoric that we cannot see? Who is this man who leads us today? His party tells him to do something or this war will be his Vietnam. Well, if he listens to them; it will be. I hope he listens to the children left behind instead. I hope he listens to the now grown orphans of that day instead. I hope he listens to you and me instead.God Bless all of you reading this. You care, you think, you shall prevail. The chlidren lost, the families lost, the troops lost all are behind you and reaching out to you. Do not let them die in vain. This road is hard; they know.Those first heroes in Shanksville Penn.tell us that there shall be many more heroes still yet to come..........Let their loss be for nothing.....And That Is The Diatribe..

Brave New World



It is no wonder that this Socialist takeover is going so smoothly for the Liberals. This is an experiment years in development. The dumbing down of our education system was the lynchpin to make this happen. That, and the fact that older generations are getting too old to fight and are, quite literally, dying off makes the newer generations that much more susceptible to indoctrination.
The experiment started with ‘political correctness’. The morphing of terms we all knew in society as general descriptions of things turned up-side-down to be more polite to those who were perceived as offended. Man-Hole-Covers were called Person-Hole-Covers, football team names were changed to reflect the new attitude to cultural diversity. These were all, seemingly benign changes. They were anything but.
The removal of Christmas from our schools, the removal of the Pledge of Allegiance from schools, the re-writing of American History to reflect the wrongs Anglo-Euro-Americans committed (solely concentrating on that premise) to further the advance of Socialistic Values are the stepping stones to this ‘Brave New World’.
I am an avid reader of Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Ira Levin, Alvin Toffler and I am well aware of the social changes that were predicted forty-plus years ago about where we have arrived today. Our children are routinely denied these great 20th Century works of literature.
But, you see, its all part of the plan.

If the Socialists can create an environment where children are taught what ‘they’ want taught, then it will be the present generation that has the difficult time existing in said society. That ‘present’ generation can easily be dismissed, their children chastised and separated (for re-education) and DSS can move in to declare those parents unfit and neglectful, based only on the framework of the new Socialist Value System.
In our schools we have system created to accept ideas such as: conflict resolution, cultural diversity, shared grades, purple markers for wrong answers instead of red markers because some one may have their feelings hurt. We even have counselors ready to talk to children who are raised by staunch Christian and other Fundamental Constitutional Rights Parents under the suspicion that some sort of abuse is going on in that household. A nine or ten year old taught to shoot by his/her father is labeled as an ‘at risk’ child. “Oh no, there are guns in that home!”
Today, children are given assignments in class about our new President. During the election some children were singled out because their families voted Republican. If any of these children were to write or report on Ronald Reagan or George Bush the left would run to the ACLU and have every Democrat on their side crying ‘foul!’ Yet, it is ok when it comes to Obama. He is the Saviour, he is the ‘One’.

If there is to be a ‘Brave New World’, our generation will have the hardest time living in it. We are the dead, our children are the dying. Without the strength and knowledge of past generations to steer us correctly we are doomed to crash onto the rocks. Those who speak out and defy will be the first to drown in the waves of change that overlap this sinking ship.


…And That Is The Diatribe.

The Nation Speaks, Government Doesn't Listen

The Nation Speaks, Government Doesn’t Listen



Even before the ink was dry on the Obama election papers the nation was discontented and began to voice its opinion. It didn’t matter. The Stiff-All-Of-Us Bill was signed anyway. The promises made to post the bill ahead of time for us all to read were not kept. The promise of no earmarks was a farce. The promise of no new taxes for the middle class were a blatant lie. We allowed ourselves to be lulled by the words of a Socialist while the Communist side of his party lined up to take the seats they hold now. Calling Obama’s appointees “czars” could not be more appropriate.
As the months dragged on, our economy went down the toilet to the Chinese. Nothing was done to help this slide that made any sense to an average business person or an educated economist. Why? Because the Administration has no intention what so ever of returning the economy to any standard of any kind. The tactic is to Socialize the entire nation, establish total government control over your health, your children, your money, your speech, your media and your old age. In addition, it doesn’t give a shit what you think about it!
I have always known we were on this slide. I guess I am just shocked at my own acknowledgement that I was right all along. The slide is now getting steeper and faster. Despite the public outcry against Health Care it will get passed. The whole Kennedy Senate Seat Bullshit game was rubberstamped by Deval Patrick. The CIA has become a political pawn of the left. Negotiations with terrorists, setting others free, and deals to nuclear enemies will be the norm.
Tea Parties are charged by the media, with Pelosi on their side, as right wing fanatics. The 9/12/09 march on Washington will be a footnote to the left and it’s State run media. They will not listen to us, they have no intention.
We all saw the evidence unfold before our eyes. The eight years of unabashed rhetoric from the left about out troops, the war, Bush. Lies appeared daily in State run media with no one holding them accountable (save FOX News, who also became a target of the left). Bill Ayers, ACORN, Reverend Wright, Union control of ballots and TARP funds to corporate bonuses and vacations; it was all right in front of our eyes and we ignored it. Last year Massachusetts residents had a chance to end the income tax and we voted it down. This last August 1st a new hike to 6.25% to our sales tax went through without a peep of protest. We allow this to happen. You do realize that the Germans allowed this to happen in 1932. The Russian people allowed this to happen in 1912. The Venezuelan people allowed this to happen, Cubans allowed this to happen.
Honduras was the only nation recently to resist this. President Obama demanded the self imposed President for life of Honduras be returned. Obama called the coup-de-tat(demanded by the people and its Congress) illegal. Chilling that under a Socialist America, speaking out and resisting will be illegal.

It is not going to get any better. I have noticed that FOX News is routinely blocked on Comcast. Commercials run fine, just not the news. ABC will have Obama on for a full hour but will not run a 33 second add denouncing the Health Care Bill. Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Glen Beck, Micheal Graham, Jay Severin, Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter are all targeted as whipping boys/girls for the State run media. Pelosi called the nation’s citizens Nazis.
Shortly we will become the dead. Our children will become the dying.



…And That Is The Diatribe.

The Ideology of Senator Ted Kennedy

The Ideology of Senator Ted Kennedy


The news is full of commentators studying the life and legacy of the late Senator Kennedy. Everyone is trying to be polite and parsing their words. It may not be customary to speak ill of the dead however, I for one could care less about perceived hurt feelings. This state has suffered for over forty years under his partisanship and his political necessity to remain in power has done nothing but hurt more Americans than it has helped.
The Senator once gave a speech in which he claimed to be proud to be called a Liberal. He shamefully called upon the ghost of his brother to list the attributes of being a Liberal. The ability to look forward and not behind, to be open to new ideas and not rely on old political mannerisms, to further the cause of the poor and the less fortunate were among the few great qualities his brother held.. Senator Kennedy spent most of his political career thinking only of his seat in Washington, standing in the way of needed political reforms and the downsizing of our government. The flagrant verbal abuse he displayed without regard to Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas and Ronald Reagan were nothing resembling the ideals his brother stood up for.
Senator Kennedy may have done a lot for the mentally ill and the poor in this state in so far as using their plight as a political platform. The truth is he could have given a rat’s ass about any individual suffering any problem. None of initiatives he proposed did anything to solve the problem of homelessness, or poverty. He just made sure more money came out of our pockets to fund them. Every proposal that any other Republican came up with had to pass the Kennedy litmus test. If it did not, good luck getting it passed.
He worked with George Bush on the No Child Left Behind program yet quietly stood by as Liberals lied about how it was never funded. In 1996 after the second Clinton election he spoke of using the peace dividend from the end of the Cold War to reform Social Security. The Senator is on record as saying that within thirty years the Social Security Administration would be broke. Eight years later when George Bush wanted to reform Social Security, claiming the same worries of the Senator. Kennedy went on the record as saying there was nothing wrong with Social Security. His speeches on the floor of the Senate during the Bork nomination hearings warned of a court that denied women abortions, closed the door of the Supreme Court to Americans and a right wing ideology that would cast a shadow far beyond Reagan’s Presidency. The Senator didn’t seem to have a problem with Judge Sotomayor’s ideology.
In an obvious power grab with his Beacon Hill friends, in 2004 he stripped then Governor Romney of a Senate appointment should Kerry win the election. Now in his death, the Senator reaches from the grave and has his buddies on Beacon Hill rubber stamp his request. This move to ensure that Obama’s Socialist take over is complete with a Massachusetts vote of ‘yay’.
The Liberal fawning and syncophanaticism over his death is what Liberals do every day.
Mumbles Menino wouldn’t foot the police detail bills for the Tall Ships this summer, yet the police lined the streets for Ted’s funeral procession. During the Democratic Convention in Boston of 2004 The Senator strong armed contributors and local businesses to foot the bill for Boston. Menino is on record as claiming he was the go-between guy that calmed down the angry constituents. That statement from a recent interview on another talk radio station here in Massachusetts.
Senator Ted Kennedy’s power will be with us for at least another decade. Deval Patrick will appoint a Liberal lacky to rubberstamp all of Obama’s plans. An election will be held but the State run media will only focus on the former seat held by the dearly departed. All funding will go to that candidate, all media attention, all endorsements all the coat tail antics we see every election. Cambridge, Wellesley, Newton will all make sure we stay a one party state. No one will even remember who the other guy was twenty four hours after the final poll closes.

Last but not least. There is always a skeleton in the closet to remember. For the Senator I mean this literally. For all he may have been perceived to have done for this state and this country, he is still responsible for the death of poor Mary-Joe, whose children and future, free of Kennedy influence, never will be.


…..And That Is The Diatribe.

The Purpose of Government Programs

The Purpose of Government Programs


Recently, while studying for an exam, I came across some legislation passed in 1992. It concerned the reduction of lead paint and its removal in homes and residencies. The law is a great law focusing on the safety of apartments and home construction to reduce and eventually eliminate the presence of lead paint that could damage children. Two items in the language of the law stood out. The first was the language that stated that the law could, at any time, add more restrictions without Judicial or Congressional review. The second was the fines that were attached to violators. A violator is defined as any owner/landlord who does not comply with the rules or its amendments as stated in the law.
This made me think of some other laws that allow government, unhindered, to essentially levy fines and create a web of restrictions that grow more intrusive into our lives. The question I raise is, where does this money go?
When I was a painting contractor I was fine $1000.00 dollars by the town of Northborough’s Environmental Agency for not complying with proper paint removal from an old home I was working on. I was summoned to court and ordered to pay a fine of $1000.00. The judge ordered me to have the paint cleaned up by a certified company. This cost me an additional $1000.00.
This was my first experience with the conundrum of: if I have to pay for a service I am being ordered to comply with, why am I being fined on top of it? Does not my fine cover the cost of me having to comply with that which I am ordered to comply with? If not, then where is the money from the fine going to?
Court is the best place to watch this circus. On any given workday the average district court makes between $250-$500 per person, per fine, per offense. If the district court processes twenty people a day that translates into $5000-$10,000 a day give or take a good, or, bad day of perps. In addition, if the perp needs a public defender because he/she is too poor they pay an additional fee for that. Victim witness fees, restraining order fees, probation fees; why do I have to pay the court $65 a month to show up and say I’m being a good boy?


Many forms of legislation that have been passed also seem to consume more money every year and give less service to the nation. The Federal budget for Education is a great example of a leaking bath tub. Under President Bush the Education budget rose about 1/3 every fiscal year. No Child Left Behind was to be a main pillar of government’s role in education. The program never got off the ground. The money allocated in the budgetary supplements for No Child Left Behind were clearly put into the program. Where did the money go?
Communities received their share of money. They built new schools, teacher’s salaries increased, between 2001-2008 over one million families a year were broken up by the new mandated reporting required of teachers, another half million children suddenly were diagnosed as ADD, ADHD, special needs programs had to be introduced. So…I have no idea where the money went. But Liberals loved to shove the Bush educational budget up his ass didn’t they?
Earmarks have nothing to do with the bills they are attached to. They simply drive up the cost of the bill and only slow the effectiveness of the program’s intentions. What does saving The Florida Bullfrog have to do with providing assistance to small businesses. Isn’t that supplement covered under the environmental portion of the general budget? If not, why? If yes, where the hell did the money go?




There is no such thing as “lost money”. Money is either spent, transferred elsewhere for a purpose other than it’s intention, or, stolen. We all are seeing the rise in fees, application costs, registration costs, licensing, being taxed for a car we buy then being taxed because we drive it on the road. Every year we are forced to pay an additional tax to have a little sticker on our windshield that says we are safe to drive. Every year the restrictions get tighter and tighter affecting the poorest among us to no longer afford an automobile.
Then again, maybe that is it. Drive up the cost so much that we no longer are able to afford any of the services we should get for free. Create an elitist system within the social strata that separates the ‘Government Employee’ from citizens. This would help government keep tabs on the haves and havenots.


This has happened before in history. They were called The Politburo and Party Members…Millions starved to death and were persecuted under this great system of government….


….And That Is The Diatribe.

When Everything Fell Apart

When Everything Fell Apart



It didn’t take that long for it all to finally fall apart. Though the economy had been declining rapidly for some months the bottom seemed still some time away. We knew it would get bad and that we all would adjust, certainly it would not get as bad as it did. Those of us intelligent enough to know our history could conjure up images of ‘The Great
Depression’ from history books and film reels, living this new wave of global demise was not even in our vocabulary.
Everything fell apart. The auto makers went first. I know, some say it was the housing and financial companies but they were somehow separate from the everyday life of Americans. It was the wealthy who lost their money. Once GM, Ford and Chrysler went belly up it was like a bell tolling somewhere. The ripple effect was worse than any stone thrown in any pond, anywhere.
It was no longer companies needing a bailout, it became towns then cities, then whole counties. Eventually it was states. The meltdown spread like a virus in an already ill society taking out anyone and anything it infected. It was only a matter of time before the government stepped in to, well ‘help the nation’. After all we had just elected a new President that we all hoped would be the one to lift this nation. I do not think he, like the rest of us were ready for the Mexico Invasion and the bombing of L.A.
I was struggling myself to stay afloat in the job market. My wife and I both worked and tried to balance our needs and our commitments. Lucky for us we paid rent and had none of the worries of property taxes and mortgages that all went stratospheric. Food and fuel became our main concern and they were nightmares in and of themselves.
Money was actually starting to run out. I do not mean for me and my family, I mean for everyone. America had borrowed so much and the world economy had gone so badly that nations were calling in debts. Everything was on credit and with the crash of Wall Street what was the United States to fall back on? Even our gold reserves were swallowed up by the huge oil producing nations we sucked dry. Timber was worthless because homes were being foreclosed on instead of being built. Steel was mined here but no other nation had a need for the raw material to refine it. No one wanted cars (especially American) because oil was over $250.00 a barrel. The great hope of hydrogen cars and/or electric cars was a myth and when the first few were marketed they were too small, too slow and never lasted on a charge as long as they were billed to. As things got worse cars were literally left abandoned, tanks empty. Those that remained in driveways soon became shelter and were pushed off the lots as more and more homes fell to the banks to eventually be absorbed by the government. Electric companies shut off so much power to homes and companies that could not pay their bills that National Grid had to shut down whole sections of the nation or face operating at a loss. Going green? No one was interested in ‘green technology’ either. When people are concerned about tomorrows dinner they could care less about saving the environment.
Eventually the government just started taking everything over in a futile effort to save what they could of our way of life. It was pointless. We were out of money therefore the government was out of money and our debt was being called in by China and Saudi Arabia. Our way of life was over and the ruse that we were fed as a nation and as a world that “..only government is strong enough to weather this crisis” would destroy everything that used to be and impose upon us something from a frightening, nightmarish science fiction novel.




I will not change the names in this story to (as they say, ‘protect the innocent’). This is the story of us all and anyone reading this can easily interject their own names and families because we are all going through this. No one is innocent from this demise of modern 21st Century life to an almost feudal existence. It is funny, actually, most doomsday scenarios talk of a world in the future and how it moves forward. This is not that story. Everything seems to be going backwards. Everything we do now is like a movie of some western, or historical drama, or an epic about life in 14—whatever. The only difference is the juxtaposing of what we know now slammed into the way things were done centuries ago and what we must face. An oxymoron live and in color.
I remember coming home one day after work. A typical week of hours cut back, customers not calling the business I worked for, to find an empty house. She had left me. What was worse she took our daughter with her. Another man would have been angry beyond control. I understood. We had argued about this before and always she had the last word. She was right anyway. I could not support my family anymore. Going to her father in Arizona would be best. He was secure and had an ample home and Amie would be loved and go to a good school. My only concern was of the recent news reports of gang violence along the southern border by Mexican Drug Cartels. Rebecca’s father lived as a drug and alcohol counselor on the Hopi Reservation and if anyone could protect their land and people who sought shelter there it was her father and the American Indian.. So,..I understood and felt some comfort.
It didn’t change things for me.
I was still poor and trying to make ends meet and, they were not.
The days, weeks and months that followed are dissolved in a blur of everyday life, trying to get on with things that we all dealt with at that time. The first news that shook me into a gut fear was the announcement that all three of the “Big Three” were finished. I was fearful, yet why? I knew this was coming. Maybe, like all Americans, we (I) did not actually believe it would happen.
It did.
I watched the news as if it was 9/11 all over again. One piece of bad news followed by another.
Like an avalanche, the Stock Market crashed from its low of 4000 to ZERO!, in fact it actually went negative! We owed people money! I almost puked with nausea. We were all in deep shit.
The country, need I repeat history, went out of it’s fucking mind!!!

Let me slow down here a minute. Did you, like me, try to place a call that day?..
I thought so.

This was not your typical Market slide. Remember the ‘ripple’ thing I mentioned?
With the last bastion of manufacturing left in the United States now in the toilet it was open house. The White House switch board lit up like Rockefeller Center on December 24th. It was not economists, or other Senators or even citizens. It was investors from every nation we held debt with.
Time to pay up!

The next evidence of ,how should I say, ‘things going wrong’ was when Fox News had the Finance Minister from Saudi Arabia cut into its normal programming. When asked about the events in Detroit he launched into a tirade about America’s war debt in the Middle East and our multi-trillion dollar debt in oil purchases. Normally, we, as viewers would have given him a collective middle finger.
Only this time we could not.
Fox News went dead off the air……..

This brings me back to the phone call. The lines were jammed. How the hell in this modern world of satellites and cell towers every mile could the lines be jammed? Something was not right. I still had my old HP and tried to get Becky on the internet. I was able to ‘send’ a message but the return came back after a few minutes as ‘unable to send’. Tried again..Refresh..Send….wait…’unable to send’.

OK. Don’t panic..I remembered 9/11. We all panicked. We knew things were fucked up and soon they would correct and we could all get hold of those we love and be at ease.
It took eight months before I was able to get any word from Becky and Amie that they were alright and it was in the form of a letter..You remember? Letters?

By this time it had all gone to hell. Airlines were grounded, mass transit had stalled, not a cab anywhere, the telephones worked one day then not. Gas was in serious short supply. Fights had broken out at gas stations and the price ran up to $11:00 a gallon. The National Guard had been called into certain cities. Television; and I think this scared people the most, was still off the air. Only that “BEEEEEEEEEEP” and the station ID on the screen. The postal system still worked and only because the bills now came in tenfold. Letters were all we had. The news we got was months old. My mailman told me that letters were on the bottom of the list of priority mail for now.
Rebecca and Amie were fine for now. The Reservation had always grown food and subsisted on its own for a century. Amazingly, the desert was full of game. As for money, they ran out long ago and Indian entitlements were the equivalent of homelessness anyway. Rebecca worked with the children in a school that Amie attended and everyone just pulled together as Indian tribes had always done.
In the letter I received a picture of Amie, after she turned 13. The letter was posted on the two dollar stamp from six months ago. All I could do was cry.
That’s all I wish to say about this.



My only source of employment had imploded and I was out of work. On a waiting list for benefits I stood little chance of getting I did what I could to eat and survive. My gas and power went off and I just camped out in my apartment. Rent was no longer due because my landlord also was camping out. Bread that cost three dollars on Monday cost eight dollars on Friday.

The rumbling was in the back of my dream. Like a TV left on after you fall asleep affecting the strangeness that are dreams to begin with. The accelerating and decelerating was not rhythmic and eventually woke me up. Thumping sounds next door. Voices. I yawn not even aware..What the hell is the neighbor doing now?
Shit have they started trash removal again? Finally? Did it snow last night? Is that a plow? Where did the town get money to fuel a plow truck?
My kitchen door pounded.
What the fuck?
More pounding.
YEAH, YEAH,YEAH!!! I was already dressed due to the cold and slumped downstairs.
From a time gone I peered out the window towards the kitchen to get a hint of my intruder. I stopped cold in my tracks..
Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Humvees?
At my door was a soldier in modern digital green and gray his M-4 at the ready. I stood back and pulled open the door afraid it would be kicked in at me.
“ Do you own this property sir?” The soldier inquired. Demanded
I lied.
“No..no..I rent here..”. I hadn’t paid rent in months. ‘Whats going….”
The soldier held up his hand and nodded me silent.
“Identification please sir!”
Now where the hell was that? I asked for a minute to look and stepped away from the door. I did not notice the soldier motion to his partner. I opened the desk to find my ID and heard the ‘cluck-clack’ of firearm hardware behind me.
“It’s just my driver’s license”. I said slowly presenting it.
The lead soldier moved under cover from his partner to me and snatched it into his hand. I just stood there and held up mine. Wise thing to do when a US soldier has an M-4 pointed at your head.




II


“Do you have any other ID sir?”
Actually, I did, my old Coast Guard ID and Search and Rescue card I held on to for nostalgia. It was over a year old and past expiration. What the hell it had my info and DOB. I handed it over and the lead soldier exited leaving me under gun point.
Outside I heard radio chatter with my License and CGID numbers called in.
‘Great’, I thought. Past due taxes and child support. This is it..The time passed like eternity.
The lead soldier returned and handed over my cards. Relief.
“Sorry for this, Lieutenant we are doing a sweep of citizens”. Being called LT snapped me into old form.
“What the hell is going on?” I finally asked. The second soldier had shouldered his weapon.
“Mexicans, sir, they came across and invaded from California and Texas in a ‘Hail Mary’ with units of regulars and drug militia”
I froze..Amie..Becky..
“My family..They are on the Hopi Reserv…”
“Southern Watch stopped them cold”. He interrupted, “Border police, National Guard, ranchers. We lost people but the wetbacks scattered”.
I fell into the kitchen chair. Fuck me sideways..

That was all. The soldiers departed and continued on. No gile no fuss. They were soldiers. On to the next mission. God Bless them.

Things got worse. No mail at all. Still no TV. Power..yeah right.. We watched the busses line up for deportation. I did feel sorry for the kids. They, as always, are innocent in any situation like this. The adults did break the law and all I could focus on is what would happen if we did this somewhere else in another nation. We would be lucky to get a bus home and not a firing squad.
People in the neighborhood started food collectives. Growing food. Niel next door got a cow from somewhere and started milking trading milk for, well, anything. We started looking at other areas for a Bull to mate and get more calves. Trees and landscape shrubs started disappearing ending up in wood stoves. Well manicured lawns became farms. I did well pulling siding and framework from empty homes to burn. I would walk miles to the woods in the next town to bow hunt anything that moved. I had always fished and the bounty was plenty. Everyone found their favorite spots. Each time I would cook bass, I would remember Becky.
“I am not eating that”. She would say. Amie would catch the fish but never ate them either.
The funny thing in all this was how people still held on to cars. As if someday things would return. They were covered, locked up, chained, driven round back and hidden. Believe it or not, horses started to appear on the streets. You have to imagine M-1 Abrams Tanks, Humvees and Striker vehicles alongside horses and carts..Almost surreal. Troops were everywhere. Government handouts were a travesty with desperate people clawing at what little came on the one truck for over a thousand people.
Then LA happened.




It had been a good year since I heard anything from my family. As I said, mail was prehistoric slow. All we knew was the military was on alert. We saw it everyday. The old Armory up the street had been turned into a barracks and a perimeter had been set up closing off whole neighborhoods within a half mile radius. I was literally on the edge of that ‘Security Zone’ and watched each morning the convoy move out and rumble down Main Street.
I, actually, was relieved to see them. I believe in our Armed Forces. The past year of daily interaction with them. All of them have families somewhere, hoping, struggling. Our farms had actually been helped by them with seed from UN supplies. We traded small stuff like cigarettes, coffee, MRE’s. The music broadcasted from Humvee loudspeakers, with armed sentries at the perimeter on a Friday night. Niel’s milk was like gold to them. They would even smuggle letters from afar bribing some one somewhere up the chain of command to forward word from families.
I may add here, those who chastised our troops in the war on terror, suddenly understood who and what they were. Neighbors, friends, protectors.
This day was different though. They pulled out early and we did not see them return. People brought out their weapons and set up a citizen’s watch as night fell. It lasted a month.








II.5

It is hard to tell people all the details. This story could get lost with all the, ‘well what happened here?’, what did you do about this?’ We just survived that’s all.. Neighbors started doing things we thought would never happen. We forgot our petty bullshit and banded together. Elderly were helped and we all took turns in that area. Food was harvested from large yards and the school baseball field. We even made a decision to keep the kids happy and kept the park clean and held summer softball games from the equipment we stole from Town Hall. For the first time since I was a kid. Children actually roamed the neighborhood freely and got into trouble riding their bikes and playing in the vacant streets. They biked to the lake and fished and swam and did things that kids should do. Forts, hunting, finding something to smash open. Teenagers no longer bugged by cops.
I remember, in the past, all the worry people had developed about child molesters and predators stealing kids. We kept our kids indoors and heavily supervised. After a few years of this we asked why our kids were couch potatoes..DUH.. Now they did as they pleased and we could see the results. Happy, healthy filthy kids needing a bath from a day of exploring and being who they should be.
We didn’t even worry about other neighborhoods. They were all in the same boat and we all traded and kept relations sane. The school was no longer operational but we used it as a forum to get the parents and kids together to play, learn and have a sense of life going on. Old DVD’s played powered by a generator. The horses and wagons lined up outside the building were a scene from a western.

The army had still not returned and we were very concerned. We knew something was wrong yet had no news at all. All infrastructure was gone. Mail, TV, power, even a simple two way radio was out of the question.. We held a meeting.
It was decided two people would go to Hanscom Field Air Force Base. We saw the jets from time to time and heard the faint staccato of live fire exercises when we traded with the town of Bolton. Hopefully, they would concur what we thought. Some one up there would have an answer.