This is totally off topic for air guns but none the less a good read from a very respected man.
Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from
Its death throes? He has written a new book, and here are some excerpts.
Lee Iacocca Says:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where
The hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a
Gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've
Got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after
A hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad,
Everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay
The course'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned
'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe
I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country
Anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in
Handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and
Nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead
Of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the ' America ' my
Parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about
You?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not
Outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
The Biggest 'C' is Crisis !
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis It's
Easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send
Someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield
Yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in
Our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell of
A Mess
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for
Winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the
History of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while
Our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas
Prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy.
Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class
Is being squeezed every which way These are times that cry out for
Leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders
Gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? We here are the people
Of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be
A sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us
Take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent
Billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to
Do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.
Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the
Hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in
The crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again.
Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out
What you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can
Restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that
There could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car
Companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do
About it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the
Debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The
Silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our
Country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your
Asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked
And our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so
Afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a
Break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to
Light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope I believe in America . In
my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's
greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the 'Great
Depression', 'World War II', the 'Korean War', the 'Kennedy Assassination',
the 'Vietnam War', the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years
culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on
the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's
building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all
have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a
call to 'Action' for people who, like me, believe in America It's not too
late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to
work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'
Excerpted from 'Where Have All the Leaders Gone?'.
Copyright (c) 2007 by Lee Iacocca All rights reserved.
I recieved this the other day,it kinda struck a bell in me and got me to thinking about USA's current affairs.I thought I'd pass it on to a few who really seem to care about the furure of our country.
Re: WHERE HAVE ALL THE LEADERS GONE? By Lee Iacocca
March 6 2008, 7:39 AM
I hear its a good book.
The important thing is not to get mad but to get active. There are ways to get involved. The more of us who do, the greater our protection of our rights will be. We've been served by the efforts of previous generations for long enough. Now its our turn to channel our energies to serve. Find a way to get involved. Get on the schoolboard, maybe the election process. Go to the local govt meetings of the city you live in but get involved.
You'll make some consessions but we have to. I won't tell you there isn't going to be a price to pay but if we don't the price will be greater in the very near future. In fact that price is something we're already paying now. And that's the price. It can only get worse for us all if we don't step up now and take back what's been left for us to guard.
Remember, it took only thirty percent of the population of the colonists to start the revolution. When France came to our aid, sure they had their own reasons for doing so but regardless they chose to aid our cause and look what its done for us these last two hundred years plus.
By the time we vote in elections, the damage has already been done. The processes where we actually effect the preservation of rights and sovereignty must begin at the earliest stages preceeding where nominations for local govt is installed.
If you're willing to stand at the bottom of the ladder you can either steady it or shake it. Either way the people further up realize their conditions are in your hands. We've been standing too far away from the ladder to grasp it and remind those above us, from whence and whom their power is derived. And some of us need to start climbing ourselves.
Harv
The books are the clarion call. Its time we assemble to involve ourselves in the direction of this country.
I personally have already started by getting involved in civic matters in my home town(Wayne,MI).Here in Mi. We are suffering the most to lost jobs,and a Governor who will sell our state to the highest bidder.It was her that broke the election rules and is now crying fowl as is Fla.
I think the damage that has been done to our country from current and past so called leaders will take a couple of decades to heal.From what I see our elected officals cater to wall street and no one else.This goes for the big corprations as well.Have they ever looked at the big picture?? Past the instant profit,to what will happen when no one can afford to buy there products because lost jobs.
The Things that make me say What are they thinking???
Iacocca highlighted the problem, we have failed to <'Throw all the bums out!'>
Repeating the same actions and expecting different results each time is said to be a hallmark of insanity yet the American electorate keeps re-electing the same political panderers, crooks and prostitutes and expecting them to do better when they have track records that deny even the possibility of such a change of course.
The only way to achieve accountability is to make every elected official a single-term wonder until one comes along that obeys his constituents rather than the lobbiests. But the simple truth is that the American voter is too lazy or apathetic to devote the bit of time required to educate himself enough to make wise choices in the booth and winds up voting once more for the same familiar crook.
For those who may have in utter boredom read this far let me make something quite clear. Harvey is worth listening to! As a student of the history of this nation and it's political system and from extensive discussions with Harve on the subject I can state without reservation that he is by far the most astute young observer and activist of the political scene it has been my pleasure to encounter. If any hope remains for this nation it lies with those few young people such as Harv who have a clear view of the future and how to get there. There are so pitifully few of his ilk that I despair most of the time.
If any of you find yourself confused by the intricacies of politics and don't know what to believe but want to do what is best for yourself, your heirs and your nation you could do far worse than follow Harveys lead. And if he ever runs for political office get off of your duffs and help him! In the meanime pay attention when he chooses to share any of his observations regarding the political spectrum. Tom
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Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms.---Aristotle
(and everyone else). The average American does not educate themselves enough on what is going on and does not stay on top of state affairs, the ecomony, foreign affairs, etc. unless it impacts them directly or his/her paycheck. Many have gotten way too comfortable and think our problems are just going to go away or trust our elected officials will take care of them, when most of them are on board of directors of large corporations or own big chunks or interest of corporations, or in the pockets of corporations.
Corporate interests, like profits and high earnings per share (EPS) are our government's priority and the only driving forces in every decision they make for our country. How is it going to benefit their pockets, the corporations they are aligned (in bed) with, and how can they keep fooling and lying to the American people. What propaganda or distraction can they come up with next, while they keep the money flowing into their pockets, their friends', relatives', and several corporations, with defense contracts, oil deals, and taking oil territories by force while they ignore alternative fuel sources, the environment, the people/middle class, unemployment, inflation, the plummeting dollar, and incurring the biggest deficit this country has ever experienced.
Make no mistake about it. This is the most corrupt government we have ever had purely driven by greed. Everyone talks about Bush and his administration. Although they are no better than any other felon or white collar crook IMO, a lot of the blame must fall on Congress and the Senate. They are the ones that head many of the commitees that deal with every issue we are faced with today including the managment of Social Security funds, the rising healthcare costs, and offshoring all our manufacturing and millions of jobs (including many white collar ones) to Asia and now Eastern Europe.
Something fundemental must change in the way our leaders govern, and the way the corporate lobbyists affect the decisions they make. I am afraid nothing will change unless the processes we have in place change. One good idea like Tom said is to not have a politician qualify for a 2nd term unless he or she has shown some level of improvment or a track record. There should be a bi-partisan commitee that consists entirely of civilians not holding an office, deciding whether a congressman, senator or president deserves to run for office again. You lie, and your 're out, no 2nd chances to BS us again.
Diana 350 Mag .22
Hammerli 850 .22
A few Crosman CO2 & Pump .177
you 3 shock me with your insights, maybe we should had seen this 8 years ago but NO we talk about it 8 years later.
worked 15 years as a Physiological and Civil Affairs Corp. officer. You have white operations (all truth) Grey (half true and half lies) and black (all lies)
guess what they have done for the last 8 years? White, Grey or Black
Come on we are Adults and growned men or maybe mice
warren
and remember "it's 30% the gun and 70% the shooter"
Warren some of us did see it 8 years ago! And some of did speak out! Your words "Maybe we should have seen this 8 years ago!" drive me mad. How could you NOT have seen this? Your comments of "are we mice or men"? What is that? No, Harry, is right, no one wants to take the time to read a damn book, or really research the issues. Most of the dopes in this country form their opinions by listening to the most stupid ignorant bias crap in the world and that is talk radio, and the totally corrupt media. Ok, Warren, You may know a hell of a lot about air guns and pellet guns and are a real Guru, but if you really want to discuss politics than please e-mail me as I am really willing and eager to get into it with you. And trust me Warren, I have done my homework! I will not be a "mice"! I look forward to a very good debate with you Warren off of this site! Please accept this challenge, I really look forward to it!
Re: WHERE HAVE ALL THE LEADERS GONE? By Lee Iacocca
March 6 2008, 6:09 PM
Perhaps it's time for Americans to re-assert their dominance in the world market. Time was when Made in America meant Quality, now it is a phrase that has been over shadowed by Made in China = CHEAPER. How many of you own a Chinese produced air gun? I used to get upset over the fact that the best air rifles in the world were produced in Europe, but that was the reality of the world at that time. In their defense, I allowed them that because America produced the finest firearms in the world. Not any longer. Now, mass produced airguns from third world countries are flooding the market, people are buying them like candy, and proclaming them to be the most accurate and reliable ever produced. I defy anyone to out shoot my 50 year old Benjimans with a Chinese POC. Why can't the Americans produce an air rifle better than the Germans? We have the materials, the tooling, the only thing we don't have is the reputation. We sold that to the Chinese, Japanise, Tiawanese, Indians, Paki's,... need I go on? Heck, we can't even produce a consistant pellet anymore. At this rate, if we don't make some major changes 10 years from now the most accurate thing we'll have made in the US will be boogers shot from our middle fingers. Quit buying that crap, if it was built right it wouldn't need a new spring, guides, trigger tunes, barrel replacement, breech shims, ... before it'd group 1/4 inch at 10 meters. I've got old Germans that we can copy to do better than that out of the box. Don't have to reinvent the wheel, just build it the way it works best.
the GAO is still trying to figure out the cost of the War and their answer goes up by leaps and bounds every DAY. now some outside economists are figuring out that this War will cost all of us 3 TRILLION dollars, not counting the precious lives lost and those that come back injured or permanent disabilities. this in my mind is an OUTRAGE
we started this war on the basis that Weapons of Mass Destruction existed in Iraq (we never found them)
9/11, because of Osama Bin Laden (has not been accounted for and still AWOL)
the Social Security issue of going in the RED in 2025 (nobody has the ball,s in Congress or the Senate to address this issue)
Healthcare for all ((more than 5 million children DO NOT have a plan imagine how many adults don't have it either)
Outsourcing jobs overseas (this was supposed to be good for these companies, ask the poor fellow that lost his job in the USA if it was good for him his wife and kids')
Should I go on; with maybe the Gas prices we have now, the foreclosure mess in the housing industry, unemployment on the rise, immigration and what about the Federal Deficit
all of this in 8 years, how could this happen to the greatest country in the world?
because we allowed it, yes we permitted this to happen. WHERE HAVE ALL THE LEADERS GONE
warren
and remember "it's 30% the gun and 70% the shooter"
The leaders of this country are here, they just are bought! Want a Crystal ball about future policies? Just look at the top lobby groups of both parties. That and the fact that most Americans are too lazy to take the time to try and learn anything. How many of the nutjobs in this country get all their politics from some stupid fat, drug addicted loud mouth? Or how about this?
Most Americans could not even tell you the name of the National Security advisory much less his background and who he is really affiliated with. Want to see something very interesting, how about doing some research and look at the top 30 members of our Defense Department. Then go and check out what "boys Club" they all belong to. You will also notice some very striking similarities.
So what is the most powerful lobby group that has been extremly successful in buying both republicans and democrate leaders? The lobby group that has been more successful then any group ever to actually dictate our countries foreign policy? Check out the leaders that are really running our country:
What ever party you vote for, you owe it to the country, to turn off the tv, and the radio, and do some work. I live in a very military town of Navy men and women. It is unbelievable how many do not even know any details of the invasion of Iraq by the British in 1941! What is really shocking, is the fact that 90% of them have no clue about the attack on the "USS LIBERTY" in 1967.
The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a U.S. Navy intelligence ship, USS Liberty, in international waters from the coast of the Sinai Peninsula, by Israeli fighter planes and torpedo boats on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War (a conflict between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria). The attack, which killed 34 U.S. servicemen and wounded at least 173, was the second deadliest against a U.S. Naval vessel since the end of World War II.
Israel's official position is that the attack was an accident. Officials say they were assured by the United States that no U.S. ships were in the area, and that its air and naval forces mistakenly identified Liberty as the Egyptian vessel El Quseir. Supporters of this position say that no credible motive existed for Israel to initiate a surprise attack against an important ally and the possibility of such mistakes were inherent in the tense atmosphere of the Six-Day War. The United States government was concerned about such dangers and ordered the Liberty further away from shore but the order was not received in time due to a series of communication failures. Similar errors by military forces have occurred throughout history and continue to occur. These types of incidents have become known as friendly fire incidents and are listed there.
Others claim that the attack was premeditated and deliberate. They note that the Liberty was more than twice as large as the El Quseir, and was clearly designated with Latin rather than Arabic letters.
Both the Israeli and American governments conducted multiple inquiries into the incident, and issued reports concluding that the attack was a tragic mistake, caused by confusion about the identity of the USS Liberty. On December 17, 1987, the issue was officially closed by the two governments through an exchange of diplomatic notes. Israel eventually paid nearly US$13 million in humanitarian reparations to the United States and in compensation to the families of the victims. The conclusions reached in these reports remain controversial, and some veterans and intelligence officials who were involved in the incident continue to dispute the official story.
and remember "it's 30% the gun and 70% the shooter"
Dave. The Media is the problem because they are intimidated by the FCC which is the government. The director of the FCC reports directly to the President!
They are not even covering Turkey's invasion into Iraq which happened a few days ago! The sole purpose of this invasion of another sovereign nation is to kill hundreds of thousands of Kurds or kill them off. Another Turkish genocide no different than the ones they have committed before. Our government says we give you a couple of weeks to get out. What the hek is that!!??! In 2 weeks they will have accomplished their mission and more. They will have wiped out all the Kurdish villages and kill, rape and pillage everything just like they did in Northern Iraq in the early '90's after the Gulf War was over. The media covered it one day (CNN) only! The next day local NYC news channels (2,4,7) get thousands of calls from Kurdish people that cannot contact their relatives by phone and have not heard of them. Why? Because they were all dead. I was subscribing to many foreign channels at the time and they showed towns and villages all burned with bodies of women and children everywhere. The US government - the FCC - had ordered the US Media not to broadcast any of it or they 'll pull their license! This is how it works. We are no different than Russia during the Cold War. The Media only shows us and talks about what the Government wants us to see and hear.
Now they are doing it again with another Turkish invasion of Iraq going after more Kurds. Again all they want to do is wipe them out because the Kurds want a tiny little piece of Eastern Turkey which is smaller than Rhode Island. It's all mountainous terrain mainly populated by Kurds. Turkey is huge. There are no major resources there or anything.
Most European countries are not like the US that screens all the news stories and exercises sensorship. They get to see and hear everything that goes on in the world which is why they are not supportive of America anymore. Europeans and other countries know what 's going on here better than most Americans! I was in Europe a few months ago to bury my father, and I was surprised how much they know about our so called leadership and their policies and even what corporations they are affiliated with like Dave said. When a few powerful people govern like this and are allowed to get away with everything, we might as well be called a dictatorship.
We all know who is really behind running the country. What's the name of the secret club that some Presidents and other Administration officials have belonged to? The club is all Yale & Harvard graduates that are heads of corporations and hold office in the Senate or Congress or are intended to become powerful officials with the help of their club members. I can't remember the name of that "secret society" right now but it will come to me later. I 'm sure you know what I 'm talking about. These people just want America to be comprised of a few "rich" that control everything, and the poor - the rest of the country. No middle class. It's too costly for them and their companies. That is the main reason they are sending a lot of good jobs overseas. By doing so they drive the salaries down over here as well as the quality of living for the middle class. But it will come back and bite them in the ass, when they realize Americans can't afford their products anymore because they don't have jobs or are getting half of what they used to make, or making the same salary they were 10yrs ago and cannot afford to buy any non-essential or durable goods. It's a vicious cycle and they will experience it in the next 5-10yrs - guaranteed! The cycle is already in motion and they can't stop it or escape their mistakes. I bet my airguns on it!
In his senior year, Mr. Bush - like his father and his grandfather - belonged to Skull and Bones, an elite secret society that includes some of the most powerful men of the 20th century.
All Bonesmen, as they're called, are forbidden to reveal what goes on in their inner sanctum, the windowless building on the Yale campus that is called "The Tomb."
There are conspiracy theorists who see Skull and Bones behind everything that goes wrong, and occasionally even right in the world.
Apart from presidents, Bones has included cabinet officers, spies, Supreme Court justices, statesmen and captains of industry - and often their sons, and lately their daughters, too.
It’s a social and political network like no other. And they've responded to outsiders with utter silence – until an enterprising Yale graduate, Alexandra Robbins, managed to penetrate the wall of silence in her book, “Secrets of the Tomb.” Correspondent Morley Safer reports.
Skull and Bones, with all its ritual and macabre relics, was founded in 1832 as a new world version of secret student societies that were common in Germany at the time. Since then, it has chosen or "tapped" only 15 senior students a year who become patriarchs when they graduate -- lifetime members of the ultimate old boys' club.
“Skull and Bones is so tiny. That's what makes this staggering,” says Robbins. “There are only 15 people a year, which means there are about 800 living members at any one time.”
But a lot of Bonesmen have gone on to positions of great power, which Robbins says is the main purpose of this secret society: to get as many members as possible into positions of power.
“They do have many individuals in influential positions,” says Robbins. “And that's why this is something that we need to know about.”
President Bush has tapped five fellow Bonesmen to join his administration. Most recently, he selected William Donaldson, Skull and Bones 1953, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Like the President, he's taken the Bones oath of silence.
“Prescott Bush, George W's grandfather, and a band of Bonesmen, robbed the grave of Geronimo, took the skull and some personal relics of the Apache Chief and brought them back to the tomb,”. There is still a glass case, within the tomb that displays a skull that they all refer to as Geronimo.
And plenty of Bonesmen have made a contribution, from William Howard Taft, the 27th President; Henry Luce, the founder of Time Magazine; and W. Averell Harriman, the diplomat and confidant of U.S. presidents.
Mr. Bush, like his father and grandfather before him, has refused to talk openly about Skull and Bones. But as a Bonesman, he was required to reveal his innermost secrets to his fellow Bones initiates.
One can't help but make certain comparisons with the mafia, for example. Secret society, bonding, stakes may be a little higher in one than the other. But everybody knows everything about everybody, which is a form of protection.
I think Skull and Bones has had slightly more success than the mafia in the sense that the leaders of the five families are all doing 100 years in jail, and the leaders of the Skull and Bones families are doing four and eight years in the White House.
Bones is not restricted to the Republican Party. Yet another Bonesman has his eye on the Oval Office: Senator John Kerry, Democrat, Skull & Bones 1966.
The best-connected white man's club in America has moved reluctantly into the 21st Century.
Skull and Bones narrowly endorsed admitting women,” says Robbins. “The day before these women were supposed to be initiated, a group of Bonesmen, including William F. Buckley, obtained a court order to block the initiation claiming that letting women into the tomb would lead to date rape. Again more legal wrangling; finally it came down to another vote and women were admitted and initiated.
But Skull & Bones now has women, and it’s become more multicultural. It has gays who got the SAT scores, it's got the gays who got the straight A's,” says Brooks. It's got the blacks who are the president of the right associations. It's different criteria. More multicultural, but it's still an elite, selective institution.
And is that relationship, in some cases, stronger that family or faith? “Absolutely,” says a boner. “You know, what they say the motto at Yale is, ‘For God, for country, and for Yale.’
found this article in the Web, (condensed) think a CBS writer about 2005 came up with this
warren
and remember "it's 30% the gun and 70% the shooter"
Sorry Dave, but both sites you cited have zero credibility. The first, 'World Public Opinion', is little more than a Socialist indoctrinational organ. The very last line in the article gives it away to anyone who is aware of the thrust of the 2 organizations cited: <Funding for this research was provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Ford Foundation.> Nor should the American people give a ^%$# about 'world opinion'. Hatred of the US is fashionable and largely predicated on our wealth and freedoms and that our system has proven superior to their own in fostering them. The fact that the vast majority of the haters would give their left---erm--arm to migrate here gives the lie to their ill will generated by envy.
Nor is a pro-Israel site possessed of any credibility. Israel has proven repeatedly that her only interest is furthering the interests of Israel and the expense of anyone else in the world. But to say so these days is the very height of non-PC.
I seek out and collect quotes from people speaking off the cuff that do far more to reveal their true intent than all the PC garbage they spout to media. Tom
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"The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists."--- J. Edgar Hoover
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"We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis and the nations will accept the New World Order."----David Rockefeller
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"We are grateful to the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries."--David Rockefeller addressing the Bilderberg Society at the annual meeting in Baden Baden, Germany in June of 1991
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David Rockefeller has finally put an end to the speculation, making the following admission in his Memoirs:
"For more than a century, ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as "internationalists" and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure - one world, if you will. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it."
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"We have come to recognize that there are potentially desirable limits to economic growth. There are also potentially desirable limits to the indefinite extension of political democracy...A government which lacks authority ...will have little ability, short of cataclysmic crisis, to impose on its people the sacrifices which may be necessary." -- 1975 Trilateral Commission Report on the Governability of Democracies
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"The state.... must see the sword as the main if not the only, instrument with which to keep its morale high and to retain its moral tension. Toward this end it may no it MUST invent dangers, and to do this it must adopt the method of provocation and revenge.... And above all, let us hope for a new war with the Arab countries so that we may finally get rid of our troubles and acquire our space." Diary of Moshe Sharett, Israeli's first Foreign Minister from 1948-1956, and Prime Minister from 1954-1956.
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"I can make careful use of the intelligence at Israel's disposal to identify, locate and kill...with minimal loss of innocent life, by such means as booby-trapping their telephones, rocketing their cars and offices, etc. In a word, assassinate them. Sounds good to me."------- Israeli columnist Hillel Halkin, writing in the Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2001, p. A14.
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"Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don't worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it."---- Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001.
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"The interests behind the Bush Administration, such as the CFR, The Trilateral Commission - founded by Brzezinski for David Rockefeller - and the Bilderberger Group, have prepared for and are now moving to implement open world dictatorship within the next five years. They are not fighting against terrorists. They are fighting against citizens."--- Dr. Johannes B. Koeppl, Ph.D., former German defense ministry official and advisor to former NATO Secretary General Manfred Werner
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"To achieve world government, it is necessary to remove from the minds of men, their individualism, loyalty to family traditions, national patriotism and religious dogmas".----Brock Chisolm, former Director of the World Health Organization
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"Our task of creating a Socialist America can only succeed when those who would resist us have been totally disarmed." ----Sara Brady, Chairperson, Handgun Control
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1989 -- Carl Bernstein's (Woodward and Bernstein of Watergate fame) book Loyalties: A Son's Memoir is published. His father and mother had been members of the Communist party. Bernstein's father tells his son about the book: "You're going to prove [Sen. Joseph] McCarthy was right, because all he was saying is that the system was loaded with Communists. And he was right... I'm worried about the kind of book you're going to write and about cleaning up McCarthy. The problem is that everybody said he was a liar; you're saying he was right... I agree that the Party was a force in the country."
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Norman Thomas and Gus Hall, perennial U.S. Communist Party Presidential Candidates, both quit American politics, agreeing that the Republican and Democratic parties by 1970 had adopted every plank of the Communist/Socialist Party and they no longer had an alternate party platform on which to run.
"The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.------NormanThomas, leader of the US Communist Party
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"You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in their struggle for independence." ---Charles Austin Beard
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World opinion Org. Is a "Socialist indoctrinational organ." Where the hell does that come from.? Oh I know, "ditto heads" They have members from the Naval Academy on the board for god's sake. Besides it does not take rocket science to see where the propaganda has been coming from for years. Tom, I have no idea where you have been for years but the international world does not have a love affair with America.
By the way, you really missed the point on the Israel website. I was refering to them as LARGEST LOBBY GROUP dictating American foreign policy in favor for THEMSELVES!
Why is it, that so many people alway ditto head the comment "Socialist" on anything that goes against Fox News or the nonsense of the bogus WMD's?
<I have no idea where you have been for years but the international world does not have a love affair with America.>
I can help you out on that point. For the first couple of years of the 8 years since I got internet access I was researching the founding of this nation, the seminal documents, the reasoning of the authors, the debates prior to adoption and the principles of other documents concerning the rights of free men that the Founders studied. All of that as a refresher course to the reading I have done on the subject over the past 50 something years. It was neccssary to have all of that freshly in mind for the real research I wanted to pursue and have---"How the heck did my country come to this state of affairs that bears so little resemblance to a Constitutional Republic"? That has been my primary research direction for the last 6 year.
And you?
<By the way, you really missed the point on the Israel website. I was refering to them as LARGEST LOBBY GROUP dictating American foreign policy in favor for THEMSELVES!>
On that score I'm sure you are right.
<Why is it, that so many people alway ditto head the comment "Socialist" on anything that goes against Fox News or the nonsense of the bogus WMD's?>
Get back to me after you've invested the research effort I have. Tom
--Police Departments
--Fire Departments
--Shared Public Road
--Municpal water and water treatemnt
--Airports
--Public Schools
--Public Libraries
--Armed forces
--Etc.
Noone wants to migrate to America anymore except Mexicans and other very poor people from countries plauged by war or tyranny (Africa, middle east, etc.). The other group is people from India that come here for the IT jobs (on work Visa's most of them). Westerners want nothing to do with us. Why would someone from Europe migrate here when they can get over 1.5 US dollars for 1 of their Euro?
The ex-President of Canada was on the Bill Maher Politically Correct HBO show about a year ago and she was disgusted with the way the Bush administration was handling Iraq and about not going after BinLaden and finishing the job in Afghanistan. She also said the only reason America is in Iraq is because of the oil which will run out in the rest of the world soon and the Americans want to control it now (like we didn't know that), and should have never invaded Iraq without a UN resolution, etc. That was mentioned by a president of one of America's biggest allies! Why can't our government just come out and say in the open that it's all about oil? Because they think the majority of the American people are so stupid, having voted for Bush a 2nd time, that they have no clue what's going on.
And whoever thinks we have all these freedoms here in the US, is partly disillusioned. America is not what it used to be. Our freedoms are voted away with every session of Congress. Every e-mail and everything typed or broadcasted on the Internet is monitored, recorded, and analyzed by Super Computers that are at our government's disposal. Our privacy gets invaded every day, multiple times a day. I have a strong communications background and work in Information Technology sector. Every time you talk on the phone, do you think noone is listening? Where is our privacy? Bells Labs and ATT which were only a few blocks away from the Dun & Bradstreet data center I worked in for several years, had secret labs under heavy guard since the 50's with the sole purpose of inventing devices and connecting all the phone companies to a central location so that all the phone conversations can be recorded, monitored, and flagged for hundreds of key words that could be analyzed by machines and people alike. The Government has been spying on us for years. Internet technology and mainly the TCP/IP protocol had been in use by the military for many years before it became widely used. I bet you they allowed it so that they could keep better tabs on us, because it's much easier to store huge amounts of bits & bytes (data) over millions of phone conversations.
There are also many socialist ways in the methods that we are governed and products and services are regulated today. Power/energy companies are regulated by the government as are the phone companies and the Media. Alcohol, Tabacco and fuel are regulated and taxed by each state, etc. They have their hand into everything. Although I 'll admit we may not be as beaurocratic as some of the European countries, a bottle of scotch there does not $25-30 as it does here. A good bottle of wine over there is under $5. And the local government has the nerve to charge sales tax on gas, alcohol and tabacco after it's been taxed by the government already. We are double and tripple taxed on everything and they are getting us coming and going. Nowhere else in the world are property taxes, auto & medical insurance so high. I live up in the sticks in NY and pay $8K/yr for less than an 1 acre. My mom is 35min. south of me or about 30min. from NYC, and pays $13K/yr for 1/2 acre. Property taxes on commercially zoned property is tripple that. I rented an 850sq.ft. Deli and had to pay the property taxes on it as part of the lease deal (it's customary for the leasee to pay the property taxes on commercial property). It was $16K/yr in 1991 and over $20K/yr when I sold the business in '95! For a "hole in the wall" with a small parking lot for 6 cars + 1 handicap spot. I can fit 14 cars in my double wide driveway.. Do you know how big your property or dwelling has to be in Europe to pay that kind of taxes (in today's money ~$30K+/yr) every year? 10-20,000sq.ft in or around a major city.
Not only we don't have the freedoms we used to have, when they can grab us and take us to Cuba just for suspicion of terrorism, but they overtax the hell out of us like no other country does. Workers have no rights either. Corporations can lay us off any time they want for no reason while most Western European workers get a minimum 5-6 weeks vacation and about 15 paid holidays (May day, father's day, mother's day are some of them..). When they take off for Christmas and/or summer, they take off an entire month. Here I have to ask for permission to take 1 week off, and if there are too many projects or too much work, it can be denied by my boss or I can be asked to reschedule it with very little notice even though I have booked a flight and hotel room some of which are non-refundable. The response you get implies that if you don't like it, there 's the door. If you don't work at least 50hr/wk you don't get a good performance review either. Not only we don't get paid overtime but they expect us to work weekends too. That is what our lovely government allows the big corporations to get away with. My company has 70,000 employees so it qualifies as a large company. It's like that everywhere. I have friends that work in similar fields in hospitals, financial institutions (and brokerage firms), and large pharmaceutical companies (Merk & Pfeiser). Some work 60hrs/wk, all salaried with no overtime pay. Not only that, we eat lunch at our desk because we are so understaffed and so busy with work. And why should the corporations hire more people when they can make us do the work of 1.5-2 people? The offshored workers in India can't even do 10% of the work that we accomplish here, so we have to essentially carry them too! Everytime they offshore a position we end up working harder. The corporations are saving a dime or two by offshoring jobs to India, but at the same time put the fear into the American workers that they can be next if they don't work harder and longer hours. These "corporate trends" have all been documented by respectable sources and covered by the Media as well, while the whole time our government officials turn the other way and wait for the corporate lobbyist to come take them out to lunch, or fly them out to their headquarters or facilites, show them around for 30 minutes, and then dine them and wine for 4 hours.
Oh yes this great country we live in is so good to us.. if you are one of the few priveledged ones with $200-250K to spend on a good education to get your MBA and move up the corporate ladder or become a politician. The same education you can get for free over in Europe and most other countries along with free medical benefits.
Diana 350 Mag .22
Hammerli 850 .22
A few Crosman CO2 & Pump .177
