Saturday, December 7, 2013

NROL – Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton – The NoisyRoom – Cross-Posted at AskMarion

Seriously? Having created an uber tense surveillance climate, the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office decided this was the perfect time to unveil their new logo of the squid who spied on me. It’s a monster octopus with tentacles that encircle the globe. I share Doug Ross’ sentiments… I’m all for a strong U.S. intelligence capability, as long as it is not used against Americans. But after the whole NSA kerfluffle (which by the way, is ridiculous since everyone is spying on everyone else and then screaming over the US doing it), this is a giant ‘F’-you moment to the world. Boy, talk about poking the Russian bear and the Chinese dragon – you might as well flash neon saying: “Please attack me.” You know, like the sign on Biden’s back that he sports during his foreign policy comedy tour.

Sometimes, The Register approaches Godhood in their prose:

The NRO are totally embracing their menacing Big Brother persona and putting it out there for world+dog to see, having launched a bunch of satellites and a mysterious payload on a spacecraft yesterday – complete with the logo of a creepy octopus sucking the life out of our world.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) tweeted pictures of an Atlas 5 rocket bearing the NROL-39 getting ready for launch yesterday, which it said was carrying a “classified NRO payload” along with some cubesats.

The NRO is the agency in charge of designing, building, launching and maintaining America’s spy satellites. The DNI said that its latest rocket would carry a dozen mini satellites co-funded by NASA as well as its unknown primary payload.

The DNI did not say just why the NRO thought that a good logo for its spy-craft would be a hugely evil-looking octopus with its tentacles wrapped around the Earth and the inscription “Nothing is beyond our reach”.

Thursday’s launch was the second time an Atlas 5 rocket has lifted off from the West Coast this year. Hmmm… Wonder what is in that payload? Nothing good, I would imagine. Looks like the surveillance state is not lacking for funding and is reaching out to touch everyone. Look out boys, your evil intentions are showing. You are taking the ‘Intelligence’ out of ‘Intelligence Agency.’

From Fox News:

The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office launched a new spy satellite Thursday evening on mission NROL-39 — and the new logo and tagline are quite an eye opener.

The new logo features a giant, world-dominating octopus, its sucker-covered tentacles encircling the planet while it looks on with determination, a steely glint in its enormous eye. The logo carries a five-word tagline: “Nothing is beyond our reach.”

Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist and senior policy analyst with the ACLU, raised a quizzical eyebrow at the new slogan.

“Advice to @ODNIgov: You may want to downplay the massive dragnet spying thing right now. This logo isn’t helping,” he wrote.

An agency spokeswoman told Forbes that there’s a very good reason for the symbol: The octopus is intelligent, and therefore a good emblem for an intelligence agency.

“NROL-39 is represented by the octopus, a versatile, adaptable, and highly intelligent creature. Emblematically, enemies of the United States can be reached no matter where they choose to hide,” said Karen Furgerson, a spokeswoman for the NRO. “‘Nothing is beyond our reach’ defines this mission and the value it brings to our nation and the warfighters it supports, who serve valiantly all over the globe, protecting our nation.”

The NROL-39 mission was classified, as are nearly all missions and satellites launched by the secretive NRO. It was carried aloft by a United Launch Alliance rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 11:13 p.m. PST, according to NASAspaceflight.com. Because the launch trajectory matched that used by other launches, it was likely carrying a third satellite for the agency’s radar reconnaissance fleet, the site said.

Along with its secretive payload, the rocket also carried the Government Experimental Multi-Satellite (GEMSat) payload, which contained 12 “nanosatellites” that will perform a variety of science missions.

The NRO mission is to design, build, launch, and maintain America’s intelligence satellites.

Twice in one week, I’ve had to agree with the commies at the ACLU. This is getting surreal. Depicting a weakened America as a sea monster that has the planet in her 8-armed embrace is laughable. They’ve turned us into a cartoon character with just about as much menace. Seriously, who isn’t afraid of the Russian bear waiting to tear you apart? Or the Chinese dragon that could burn you to ashes while eviscerating you? We get an octopus? It’s like getting Obama instead of Reagan. It’s a joke. Next, really cool makeup for the military and snappy uniforms – oh, wait…

Deaf, insensitive and invasive… yep, nothing is beyond Obama’s reach.

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The Council Has Spoken!! This Weeks’ Watcher’s Council Results 12.06.13

Alea iacta est… The Council Has Spoken!, the votes have been cast, and we have the results for this week’s Watcher’s Council match up.

Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. – William Shakespeare, from ‘Julius Caesar, Act 1 Scene 2

Impeachment is not a remedy for private wrongs; it’s a method of removing someone whose continued presence in office would cause grave danger to the nation. – Charles Ruff

This week’s winner, The Noisy Room’s Astroturfed Marxists Call for an Obama Dictatorship is a fine if disturbing piece based on a report by photojournalist Zombie about some disturbing and apparently staged events during President Obama’s recent fundraising tour in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here’s a slice:

Enter Sandman (Metallica):

Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We’re off to never-never land

Something’s wrong, shut the light
Heavy thoughts tonight
And they aren’t of Snow White

Dreams of war, dreams of liars
Dreams of dragon’s fire
And of things that will bite, yeah

Of dreams and nightmares, a dictator arises — enter Obama. As Obama arrived in San Francisco Monday, no one literally cared. Few showed and they practically had to give tickets away to his presidential fundraisers. Evidently, the false Messiah has fallen to earth, but after all, this is his realm, singed wings and all. Today’s must read is from Zombie at PJ Media: SF Protesters to Obama: Please be a Dictator! An excellent piece and as always, incredible photography.

Obama’s growing theme now of just get on with the revolution, ignore the Constitution and rule by executive diktat, is being screamed by people in his audiences. Funny thing though, they are astroturfed plants. Monday’s heckler at Obama’s pro-amnesty speech in San Francisco was Ju Hong, an approved guest of the White House and an illegal alien from South Korea who recently graduated from UC Berkeley. Ju Hong came to the US with his family on a tourist visa and never left. He has Marxist ties. Ju Hong also listed himself as an outreach coordinator at the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, as a legislative intern for San Francisco and as a senator at the Associated Students of the University of California. Marxists of a red feather…

So, let me get this straight. The one screaming for amnesty was a commie South Korean. Obama’s first fundraiser of the day in the City by the Bay, was at the Betty Ong Recreation Center, on the edge of San Francisco’s Chinatown. He’s now trying to appear that he is a man of the people and not just a wealthy, corrupt Marxist elitist. No… he is a Marxist for the down trodden as long as they are useful to him. But notice that he went to Chinatown. Now he has Chinese communists screaming for amnesty. Hmmm, I see a trend. Only about 40 showed for the blowhard, but you get the drift. Eventually this asshat will take full control because the people demanded it – er, well… a few Marxists any way.

more at the link.

In our non-Council Category, the winner was by M. Northrop Buechner over at Forbes, Obama’s Disdain For The Constitution Means We Risk Losing Our Republic submitted by Nice Deb . Related to the theme of our Council winner, it seriously examines the current occupant of the White House’s lawless and imperious ways, his disregard for the separation of powers, and the danger they pose to our republican form of government.

OK, here are this week’s results. Only The Mellow Jihadi was unable to vote this week, but was not subject to the usual 2/3 vote penalty.

Council Winners

Non-Council Winners

Honorable Mentions

See you next week! Don’t forget to tune in on Monday AM for this week’s Watcher’s Forum, as the Council and their invited special guests take apart one of the provocative issues of the day with short takes and weigh in…don’t you dare miss it. And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter…..’cause we’re cool like that!

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Friday, December 6, 2013

URGENT: Gun Control Coming to the Senate Floor on Monday

CALL YOUR SENATORS, EMAIL THEM DIRECTLY, AND/OR USE A TOOL THAT AUTOMATICALLY FINDS YOUR SENATORS AND EMAILS THEM.

“[Democrats] just spent all year trying to effectively destroy the gun lobby, so why in heaven's name [should] we give them this Christmas present?" -- GOA’s Michael Hammond on the plastic gun ban (ABC News, Dec. 3, 2013)

FreeRepublic: The U.S. House of Representatives did a very dangerous thing Tuesday -- and, apparently, it did so with the consent of one gun organization.

By voice vote, the House slammed through a ten-year re-authorization of the poorly drafted 1988 plastic gun ban.

Lest anyone be confused about how the anti-gun Left views this, USA Today crowed, on the front page of Wednesday's newspaper that the “HOUSE SAYS YES TO ONE GUN BILL -- Plastic gun ban only firearm legislation to pass since November.”

Taken alone, this gives the Obama administration, if it chooses, another three years to use the 1988 law to ban large numbers of guns.

But there is an even bigger danger: Chuck Schumer held a press conference the same day to indicate that he will use the House-passed bill as a vehicle to pass even more gun control. We don't expect to know Schumer's bill number or language before he actually offers it, but it will purport to deal with guns from 3-D printers, while actually being much broader.

So here's what we are doing: We are asking our friends in the Senate to put a “hold” on any effort by Schumer to amend the House bill.

The Senate will only be in session four or five days next week before the House goes out for the year, and Schumer may not be able to get time on the Senate floor without “unanimous consent” from all senators.

So, by doing this, we would force Schumer to give up on his vehicle for banning printer-guns if he wanted any reauthorization of the 1988 bill. If Schumer remains adamant, there will be no re-authorization at all. Even if he capitulates, we'll see what happens.

It's not a perfect outcome. But we think it's an outcome we can probably achieve.

ACTION: Click here to Contact your Senators. Ask them to oppose any effort by Senator Chuck Schumer to add gun control to the H.R. 3626, the plastic gun ban reauthorization which passed in the House.

Why Good People Should Be Armed

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Thursday, December 5, 2013

Nelson Mandela, Giant Among Men, Dies - 1918-2013

Embedded image permalink

By Marion Algier - AskMarion

Nelson Mandela was one of the great leaders of our time. Was he perfect… absolutely not. And when you start digging you can find many flaws as well as connections with Communists and Socialists and that ideology. But when you look at his life in total and his ability to forgive as well as pulling a country filled with hate together, I figure he deserves some kudos and perhaps a little slack. Leadership, especially in the third world is complicated! 

He died, or as they say in South Africa, transitioned today, at age 96, of a lung infection connected to the tuberculosis he contracted while serving 27 years as a political prisoner. All South Africans most people around the world are in deep mourning over the loss.  Mandela  was a larger than life figure that inspired a nation… inspired the world.  His adherence to his principals and his extraordinary decision to embrace and forgive his former oppressors makes him an unparalleled example.

“If you want to make peace with your enemy you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner,” he wrote in his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela (Audio/Kindle) that was published four years after his release from prison in 1990. Following his jail term, with the racist and violent apartheid system crumbling under pressure from the world, Mandela embraced President F.W. de Klerk and then served alongside him in a transitional coalition of national unity. The two men deservingly both won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

One of Mandela’s other greatest achievements: Instead of prosecuting the crimes of many apartheid-era commanders and enforcers, in 1995 he agreed to set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where victims of racist violence and torture could tell their stories and perpetrators told theirs. The commission granted violent former government officials and employees amnesty in exchange for their honesty about what they did. Though that was controversial and upset some, in the end the process was also hailed as a triumph of mercy and a meaningful step toward healing the country’s deepest wounds.

Mandela was born in 1918, in a rural village in the Cape Province. Apartheid had not yet been completely enshrined as law, but a system of strict, racial segregation was already in place. Mandela’s given name, Rolihlahla turned out to be more than appropriate in the eyes of those in power; in the Khosa language it means “troublemaker.”

Nelson Mandela

AP Photo/David Brauchli/AP Photo/David Brauchli

His father died when he was nine years old, and a Thembu chief raised him. When he was 23, young Mandela left, running away from a marriage the chief had arranged for him in the Transkei. He moved to Johannesburg where he studied law as one of a handful of black students at Witwatersrand University.  That same year he joined the African National Congress, and later he co-founded the ANC’s youth league together with Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu. In 1944, three years after leaving home, he married his first wife, Evelyn Mase with whom he had four children.

In 1948 the National Party came to power and started passing a series of laws enforcing racial segregation, which became known as apartheid. Four years later, Mandela opened the country’s first black law office with Tambo, representing defendants who were oppressed by the system. In 1955 he banded together with South Africans of Indian descent, mixed race South Africans, and trade union representatives to draft the Freedom Charter, calling for the creation of a democratic, non-racial state with the nationalization of major corporations.

The government first prosecuted Mandela in 1956 when it charged him and 155 other activists with treason. After a four-year trial, the authorities dropped the case. In 1958 he divorced his first wife and married social worker Winnie Madikizela. Two years later the government outlawed the ANC and Mandela went underground as the apartheid regime became more and more oppressive. That same year police massacred 69 protesters in the Johannesburg township of Sharpeville.  Though he had initially committed to non-violent protest, in 1961 he co-founded Umkhonto we Sizwe (the Spear of the Nation, also known as MK), a group that waged a bombing campaign against government targets.

In 1964 the government again put Mandela on trial. Facing a death sentence, he made a famous, four-hour-long speech that concluded with these moving words that underlined his commitment to non-racialism:

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

He and eight others were convicted of conspiracy, sabotage and treason and sentenced to life in prison. He spent much of it in a tiny cell on Robben Island, a barren, windswept expanse in shark-infested Table Bay, four miles from Cape Town, where he worked in a rock quarry and secretly wrote his memoir, which he hid from guards inside tin cans buried in the prison vegetable patch.

By the 1980s, anti-apartheid activists were publicizing Mandela’s name as the imprisoned leader of the struggle against apartheid and the slogan “Free Nelson Mandela” gained popularity around the world. Inside South Africa the police and military killed and tortured thousands who continued to protest apartheid. Finally, after years of international ridicule and the tightening of economic sanctions that had begun in 1967, on Feb. 2, 1990, de Klerk lifted the ban on the A.N.C. Nine days later Mandela walked free from prison. He delivered these timeless lines at Cape Town City Hall on Feb. 11, 1990:

Friends, comrades and fellow South Africans, I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.

South Africa held their first all-race democratic election in 1994 and they overwhelmingly chose Mandela. He immediately faced huge problems, including rampant poverty, high unemployment, a vastly unequal education system, rising crime and a call by many South Africans to nationalize businesses and return land to the original black owners. Instead he negotiated a series of compromises that remain controversial. Most multinational corporations stayed, and some black South Africans have amassed significant wealth, but the majority of the population still lives in poverty and confronts one of the highest crime rates in the world and an AIDS crisis, with more than 10% of the population living with the HIV virus.

Mandela, whose son Makgatho died of AIDS in 2005, became a leading spokesman for AIDs prevention and treatment in South Africa, where many people in the black community have seen the illness as taboo.  Mandela spoke out publically after his son died: “Let us give publicity to HIV/AIDS and not hide it, because the only way to make it appear like a normal illness like TB, like cancer, is always to come out and say somebody has died because of HIV/AIDS, and people will stop regarding it as something extraordinary.” Mandela pushed for people with HIV to be given anti-retroviral drugs in South Africa, and spearheaded a campaign to declare a global AIDS emergency, insisting that fighting AIDS was a human rights issue.

Another of Mandela’s many accomplishments was memorialized in the movie Invictus [Blu-ray], a must see if you haven’t. In 1995, when South Africa hosted the Rugby World Cup, he encouraged all South Africans to support the national team, the Springboks, who had previously been a symbol of white exclusion.

“Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.”.  Mandela did not need or seek the credit…

Mandela divorced his sometimes controversial wife Winnie in 1996 and then in 1998, on his 80th birthday.  He then married Graca Machel, the widow of Mozambican president Samora Machel.

After stepping down from the presidency in 1999, Mandela intended to go into retirement but wound up founding the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The Foundation devots much of its resources to AIDS activism and becoming vocal on international affairs, speaking out against the war in Iraq. Finally in 2004, at age 84 due to his failing health, he stepped back from public life, saying, “Don’t call me, I will call you,” although he kept some involvement in international affairs, urging Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to resign over his many human rights abuses. He also successfully campaigned for South Africa to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Though he kept a low profile during the tournament, he made a rare public appearance during the closing ceremony.

Mandela has been an inspiration to millions of people around the world for the strength of character he showed in the face of one of the world’s most brutal regimes, but even more so it was his enduring power to accept and forgive his former oppressors. One of those he inspired was President Obama, who wrote an introduction to Mandela’s 2010 book, Conversations with Myself (Kindle). Obama Describes the early impact Mandela had on his own life saying, “His sacrifice was so great that it called upon people everywhere to do what they could on behalf of human progress. In the most modest of ways, I was one of those people who tried to answer his call.” Certainly in line with Progressive or Socialistic thought!

Mandela was not one of the Giants whose whole life meets a standard of perfection like Lincoln, Reagan, Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, Billy Graham… but he was one of those leaders given to mankind throughout the ages to bring about great change at a given time, when they were needed. But many of Mandela’s choices outside of that were questionable and even startling, but out of respect, a subject for another day!

Nelson Mandela was a man who changed the world, unlike most leaders who just talk and pat themselves on the back.  He was one of the few Giants that have been given to mankind throughout the ages. Our daughter, Summer, was lucky enough to meet, take classes from and actually spend some time with Archbishop Desmond TuTu as she sailed from Brazil to South Africa while with Semester at Sea as part of her college career.  The experience of meeting Desmond TuTu, who painted vivid pictures of both his country and Nelson Mandela as he spoke was one of the highlights of her sail!

Nelson Mandela’s 8 Lessons of Leadership

Courage is not the absence of fear — it's inspiring others to move beyond it…

Nelson Mandela"I can't pretend that I'm brave and that I can beat the whole world." But as a leader, you cannot let people know. "You must put up a front." He knew that he was a model for others, and that gave him the strength to triumph over his own fear. … Nelson Mandela

  1. Lead from the front — but don't leave your base behind
    For Mandela, refusing to negotiate was about tactics, not principles. Throughout his life, he has always made that distinction. His unwavering principle — the overthrow of apartheid and the achievement of one man, one vote — was immutable, but almost anything that helped him get to that goal he regarded as a tactic. He is the most pragmatic of idealists.
  2. Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front
    Mandela loved to reminisce about his boyhood and his lazy afternoons herding cattle. "You know," he would say, "you can only lead them from behind." He would then raise his eyebrows to make sure I got the analogy. The trick of leadership is allowing yourself to be led too. "It is wise," he said, "to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea."
  3. Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport
    As far back as the 1960s, Mandela began studying Afrikaans, the language of the white South Africans who created apartheid. His comrades in the ANC teased him about it, but he wanted to understand the Afrikaner's worldview; he knew that one day he would be fighting them or negotiating with them, and either way, his destiny was tied to theirs. He even brushed up on his knowledge of rugby, the Afrikaners' beloved sport, so he would be able to compare notes on teams and players.
  4. Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer
    Mandela is a man of invincible charm — and he has often used that charm to even greater effect on his rivals than on his allies. He cherished loyalty, but he was never obsessed by it. After all, he used to say, "people act in their own interest." It was simply a fact of human nature, not a flaw or a defect. The flip side of being an optimist — and he is one — is trusting people too much. But Mandela recognized that the way to deal with those he didn't trust was to neutralize them with charm.
  5. Appearances matter — and remember to smile
    When Mandela was running for the presidency in 1994, he knew that symbols mattered as much as substance. He was never a great public speaker, and people often tuned out what he was saying after the first few minutes. But more important was that dazzling, beatific, all-inclusive smile. For white South Africans, the smile symbolized Mandela's lack of bitterness and suggested that he was sympathetic to them. To black voters, it said, I am the happy warrior, and we will triumph.
  6. Nothing is black or white
    Mandela is comfortable with contradiction. As a politician, he was a pragmatist who saw the world as infinitely nuanced. Every problem has many causes. Mandela's calculus was always, What is the end that I seek, and what is the most practical way to get there?
  7. Quitting is leading too
    Knowing how to abandon a failed idea, task or relationship is often the most difficult kind of decision a leader has to make. He knows that leaders lead as much by what they choose not to do as what they do.

FILE - In this July 24, 2007, file photo, former South African President Nelson Mandela, who turned 89 years old on July 18, laughs while celebrating his birthday with children at the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund in Johannesburg. South Africa's president says, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, that Mandela has died. He was 95. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell, File)

May you rest in peace!

Video: Limbaugh Admires Mandela’s Lack Of ‘Resentment’

Video: RUSH: Obama Makes Mandela’s Death All About Obama

RUSH: Now, ladies and gentlemen, you can’t escape the media and what’s going on here, and it’s all very predictable. If you just landed from Mars and turned on the TV, you may be confused over who was Barack Obama and who was Nelson Mandela, based on the way it’s being covered. Well, I’m just telling you. The Washington press corps and even the White House are moving here at full speed to associate Barack Obama with Nelson Mandela. Here, grab number three. This just gives you a taste of it here. This is Scott Pelley on the CBS Evening News last night reporting on the death of Nelson Mandela.

PELLEY: Nelson Mandela kept in his office a photograph of himself with another trail-blazing president: The first black president of the United States, Barack Obama. The photograph was taken when Mandela visited Washington in 2005, and Mr. Obama was then a brand-new United States senator from Illinois.

RUSH: Now, forgive me, but if you are a low-information voter and you’re watching the CBS Evening News last night, you would come away with the impression that the important thing about Nelson Mandela’s death was that he had looked up Barack Obama when he came to town and had a picture of Obama when he died. Classic, folks. Absolutely classic — and the rest of the media, it’s so predictable.

Read More @ RushLimbaugh.com

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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

God Rest Ye Merry Merchants – Christmas: An American Holiday and Tradition to Love and Preserve – WoC 2013

Christmas: An American Holiday to Love and Preserve…

The War on Christmas verses the Spirit of Christmas Series by Marion Algier - AskMarion – 4

Once upon a time not all that long ago – in fact, anyone over 50 will easily remember it – the word “Christmas” was everywhere during the month of December. Everywhere you looked – in stores, in town squares, in cities, in offices, and, of course, in private homes — there were Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, Christmas gifts, Christmas parties, and Christmas vacations. Even Jews got into the act… Hanukkah Bushes, Christmas lights in blue and white and an embracement of all the festivities. Just ask Ben Stein.

Christmas was arguably the most beloved of American holidays. Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Thanksgiving were important too; but Christmas was something more. It gave rise to a whole “Christmas season” during which people got into the “Christmas spirit.” The first words of a popular song, recorded by Johnny Mathis as a platinum hit, summed it up perfectly: “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas / Everywhere you go…”

Then something strange began to happen. The very thing that made the “season” special started to disappear from the public arena. Stores no longer held “Christmas sales.” Businesses, and soon after, individuals, ceased to hold “Christmas parties.” And on and on. “Christmas” became a dirty word, and was replaced by “holiday.” The War on Christmas had begun.

We’ve grown so accustomed to the change that we’ve lost sight of just how significant it is. “Christmas” is loaded with meaning and rich in spirit. It imparts rich feelings unlike anything else. “Holiday,” by contrast, is a bland word that can signify anything from Independence Day to Labor Day to “Sweetest Day.” At most, it means a day that you might get off from work if you’re lucky. And nothing else. Saying “holiday” and meaning Christmas is like saying “a long dead politician” (Kindle) and meaning Abraham Lincoln (Kindle). Technically, it’s not wrong. But the whole significance is lost.

Of course, this didn’t happen by accident. Ask most people how it happened, and they’ll just shrug and say, “political correctness.” And in fact, “PC” is a cruel master, uncaring about what it destroys, and swift to punish those who violate it. So most choose to bow and submit.

But not here. We are part of the The Battle for Christmas. We hope to reclaim the richness and beauty of Christmas. But it’s more. Christmas is a treasure and and part of our heritage that we all should be actively working to preserve our traditional American culture in any and all forms. Because that culture is worth keeping. It’s part of what holds us together and makes us American… including those of us who are not Christians.

So let’s fight back in the war on Christmas. And to all who feel the same we do… happy holidays and Merry Christmas!: Celebrating America’s Greatest Holiday (Kindle).

God Rest Ye Merry Merchants

“The Celebration of Christmas in America is not Just a Christian Holiday, but a Celebration of our National Past and Our Collective Wishes and Psyche as a Nation!”

In his mawkish 1942 hit "White Christmas," Bing Crosby yearned for a holiday "just like the one I used to know." The extraordinary popularity of Crosby’s nostalgic longing (the all-time top-selling single until it was eclipsed by "Candle in the Wind 1997," Elton John’s mawkish tribute to Princess Diana) suggests the holiday’s tremendous power to revive memories–perhaps only imaginary, idealized memories–of childhood and Christmases past. According to Karal Ann Marling, "Christmas is the universal memory" for contemporary Americans (whether they’re Christian or not), an event in which "virtually everybody has played a part." By telling the story of Americans’ celebration of Christmas, she promises to uncover a surprisingly neglected piece of not only our national past, but our collective wishes and psyche.

Marling, a prolific and inventive cultural historian at the University of Minnesota who has written books on topics ranging from George Washington (George Washington Slept Here: Colonial Revivals and American Culture, 1876-1986) and Norman Rockwell to Disneyland (Designing Disney’s Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance) and Graceland (Graceland: Going Home with Elvis) and As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s, now turns her attention to the history of America’s most lavishly celebrated holiday. Marling has a keen eye for offbeat topics, arresting detail and original interpretations, and refuses "to plug the contents of the national Christmas stocking into the socket of orthodox historical discourse" (certainly that sounds unadvisable). She insists instead that her goal is to unwrap the hidden meaning of quotidian, but telling objects and practices to reveal the holiday’s deeper significance.

Myriad "scraps of Christmas detritus"–and Christmas generates loads of detritus–supply Marling with ample material: Shortly after Halloween, America’s shopping malls and stores are festooned with red and green and stocked from floor to ceiling with Christmas gifts. In the days after Christmas, discarded trees, still dangling tinsel, lie amid trash bags stuffed with discarded wrapping paper and packaging on curbs across the nation. Somewhere in between the shopping bags and the trash bags, millions of Americans attend their annual office party, endure children’s pageants, spend billions of dollars buying presents, cook traditional feasts, and gather with family and friends to exchange gifts and celebrate the nation’s most extravagant holiday. Wrapping paper, lights, ornaments, store window displays, trees, cards, Santas and cookies fill the thematic chapters of Merry Christmas! The history of Christmas, as Marling observes promisingly, is in the details.

Americans commonly assume that Christmas endured for centuries as a solemn religious holiday, before being corrupted by consumer capitalism. As early as the 1870s, critics of Christmas were engaging in "breast-beating over soulless American materialism." In 1949, opponents of the holiday’s excess launched a crusade to "restore" its "original" character. Billboards, posters and bumper stickers urging Americans to "Put Christ Back into Christmas" were a common sight during the holiday season throughout the 1950s. Like many tales of decline, this Christmas story proves a fable. In colonial America, Christmas was either not celebrated at all (it was actually illegal to celebrate the holiday in many Puritan communities), or an occasion for boisterous, drunken revelry.

In fact nearly all of Americans’ Christmas rituals and icons are 19th-century inventions, created to venerate home and family, not the birth of Jesus. Christmas trees, artfully bedecked with ornaments, became the focal point of Americans’ Christmas celebrations in the 1850s. Santa Claus became an icon in the 1860s and 1870s, springing from the pen of cartoonist Thomas Nast. Gift-giving became commonplace in the 1870s and 1880s, as more Americans adopted the practice of purchasing inexpensive, factory-made trinkets–"gewgaws" and "gimcracks"–and wrapping the presents to produce surprise. By century’s end, Christmas had become a legal holiday in every state, and the year’s most eagerly anticipated holiday for millions. In the 1920s, advertisers transformed Santa into a jovial salesman, whose girth and cheerfulness embodied consumer abundance: According to Marling, St. Nick, not that gangly, gaunt Uncle Sam, best personifies America.

As Marling observes, Americans’ celebration of Christmas grew along with material abundance and consumer culture, and the department store window, not the Nativity scene, has always furnished the holiday’s central icon. "Christmas," she writes, "is all about stores and shopping." Conversely, stores and shopping rely heavily on Christmas. Last year, Americans spent a record $184 billion during the Christmas shopping season (officially, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas), and many retailers depend on Christmas sales for one quarter of their annual revenue.

But Marling is most interesting when she discusses the holiday’s paradoxes, which mingle materialism and generosity. Retailers and advertisers deliberately have exploited holidays to encourage consumption, but they have by no means stripped these "holy days" of their deeper meaning altogether. Marling notes that our most materialistic holiday is also ironically "the primary occasion for considering the harsh realities of the world, and those who have no trees and puddings."

As a result, charitable giving to the poor has accompanied the holiday since the 19th century. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (Kindle), which has ranked among Americans’ most beloved Christmas stories since its publication in 1843, offers a largely secular plea on behalf of the less fortunate. Funding charity dinners for the poor at Christmas time became an annual ritual of penance for the well-to-do in American cities in the late 19th century. Wealthy benefactors congratulated themselves for bestowing feasts and presents on their less fortunate neighbors, but could not have failed to recognize the troubling gulf, let alone the connection, between their abundance and others’ privation. Christmas’ mixture of materialism and charity remains paradoxical to our own day: Each December, as it has since 1912, the New York Times juxtaposes full-page advertisements for luxury gifts with small-font reminders urging readers to "Remember the Neediest."

If Christmas provides a "universal memory" for Americans, it is in large part because advertising and celebrating the holiday are so ubiquitous; even Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, railing against the evils on modern technology in his Montana cabin, took time to write Christmas cards to his neighbors each December. Christmas is so omnipresent that many nonbelievers celebrate the holiday, and even members of other faiths cannot altogether ignore it, try as they might. Stephen Nissenbaum, for example, prefaces his own history of the holiday, The Battle for Christmas (Kindle), with a touching reminiscence of his boyhood memories of Christmas as an outsider growing up in an Orthodox Jewish household.

But surely different groups of Americans have distinct recollections of the holiday. Protestants and Catholics, rich and poor, white, Asian, black and Latino–all have celebrated on December 25, but they have not celebrated alike. Marling’s attempt to delineate the diversity of Christmas traditions, a grab-bag chapter on "Somebody Else’s Christmas," lumps together Christmas in warm climes, white Northerners’ sentimental but patronizing fascination with black Southerners’ humble Christmas celebrations in the 19th century, immigrants’ Christmas traditions, even Kwanzaa. A more systematic discussion would fulfill Marling’s ambition of recasting our understanding of the holiday. And yet, though Merry Christmas! does not completely transform our view of the Christmas we "used to know," it does detail the little gestures and objects that supply the stuff of which Christmases are made.

Chris Rasmussen teaches American history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. During this holiday season, he urges Americans of all faiths to "Put the Christ Back into Christmas."It is part of American heritage and tradition! (Originally Posted in December 2009)

By Karal Ann Marling – Author of Merry Christmas! : Celebrating America’s Greatest Holiday (Kindle)

On Glenn Beck’s 2010 Post-Thanksgiving Review Program Rabbi Daniel Lapin (who founded the American Alliance of Christians and Jews) said: Although I am Jewish and do not celebrate Christmas I respect the traditions and the holiday and like the holiday for two good reasons: It helps the economy and it makes people better… (95% of the money spent at Christmastime is for others… rather than for ourselves).

Lapin has spoken against the secularization of Christmas, saying that "We see obsequious regard for faiths like Judaism and even Islam, while Christianity is treated with contempt". He is opposed to replacing the "Merry Christmas" greeting with "Happy Holidays", saying instead "Let us all go out of our way to wish our many wonderful Christian friends a very merry Christmas… Nationwide, Christmas Nativity Scenes are banned from city halls and shopping malls but Chanukah/Hannukah menorahs are permitted.  One of the latest incidents: School Administrators Reportedly Instruct Teachers to Remove Christmas Cards From Hallways.

Merry Christmas!: Celebrating America’s Greatest Holiday (Kindle)

A great book on Losing Our Religion(Kindle) by atheist S. E. Cupp, who says she is he perfect person for this book because she has no dog in the hunt, takes on the all too often avoided question and discussion of religion in America…

The Battle for Christmas (Kindle)

Related:

Where Does the War on Christmas Come From? A Worthwhile Read – WoC 2013

The War on Christmas verses the Spirit of Christmas Series 2013 at AskMarion – WoC 2013

ANOTHER FAILED IDEA: Woman gets laughed at after bringing up Obamacare at Thanksgiving…

The Twelve Days of ObamaCare

Disney scores big with biblical values

Advent – The Season of Anticipation and Hope – WoC 2013

The Thanksgiving Illusion

Obama Thanksgiving and Christmas Disgrace

Keeping Pets Safe for the Holidays: The “Not So Safe” or No-No Pet Food List

Sarah Palin on Politics and Religion • 11/10/13 With Susan Page

The Cross – Billy Graham’s Message To America

Best Holiday Movie Classics – A Merry Christmas From Hollywood

Two great new books for the holidays: ‘Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas’ (Kindle) and The Romney Family Table: Sharing Home-Cooked Recipes & Favorite Traditions (Kindle)

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About One of My Articles and Allen West at the NoisyRoom – Worth the Read!

Below is an article written by and explaining the events of the past couple days concerning our good friend Terresa Monroe-Hamilton at the NoisyRoom, Rep. Allen West and the leftist trolls that spend their days spreading propaganda, stirring the pot of dissent and attempting to destroy anyone they don’t like, confuse the issues and manipulate the public.  It is all right out of their Alinsky Bible ‘Rules for Radicals’ (Kindle) that every concerned citizen, especially Conservatives, should read and understand… it is their playbook.

This situation saddens me even more than normal because it involves two people I love and admire! Terresa is one of the most hard-working defenders of the truth, freedom and our Constitution that I know, who is amazingly generous, knowledgeable and helpful to other bloggers.  She has certainly been a good friend to me personally and a help to us at the AskMarion, DTP, KCP and others.  And Lt. Colonial and former Florida Representative Allen West is someone I admire, trust and is the kind of leader we desperately need during the frightening times we live in, who is a role model and ardent defender of freedom and our Constitution. Both the exact opposite of those who created this situation.  Marion Algier – AskMarion/DTP

AP Photo: Allen West

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton  -  The NoisyRoom

I have been blogging since right after 9/11/2001. This blog was originally focused on counter-terrorism and is now much more into politics and the Constitution. I mix my own opinions with reporting. That has always been the case. Now, a little opinion piece I wrote on October 29th could potentially hurt someone I very much admire and would never, ever intentionally harm: Allen West. I am addressing this now as articles are being written on it by major news outlets and it has been picked up everywhere. It has grown legs so-to-speak. I am being attacked from all over the Left, including the EPA on this one. West is being maligned and it is just wrong. This is the article in question: Back Door Gun Control Moves Forward.

I awoke yesterday morning to hundreds of emails as par for the course over here. One of them I recognized as a Tweet by a Leftie troll right away. I tend to read those if they catch my attention and unfortunately, this one did. Here is the article that was sent to me: Allen West Plagiarizes Anti-Gun Control Article?

It is known far and wide out in the Blogosphere that I will let anyone and everyone use whatever I have. I am honored that Allen West would use my post. I spoke with his office and it was an oversight. They applied attribution and were very kind, thoughtful and gracious to me. There was no intent to plagiarize or do anything that was out of line. My thanks to Allen West and his team. They are always professional and upfront in whatever they do.

So, if the Left’s intent was to turn us against each other on this minor post, you failed – epically. The Conservative blogosphere as a whole, shares with each other. We have ethics and morals and we help each other. There is no finer example of that out there than Allen West.

Over the years I have seen and heard a great deal of my material “borrowed” in the interest of supporting Conservative causes. While it’s always nice to get credit for one’s work, I always keep in mind the Ronald Reagan viewpoint on this: “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.” It is more important that the message gets out, than if I might accrue some little fame, for which I have no use or desire. Get the message out. Revive Conservative principles. Restore the nation. When that’s done, there will be plenty of time to argue over who gets the credit. My greatest worry here, is that I may hurt Allen West, which I would never knowingly do.

There seems to be a trend here of trying to catch Conservatives with their hands in the cookie jar. Last week it was Rand Paul, this week it is Allen West. I agree with Mike Huckabee that it is absurd. I’ve also noted an uptick of those posting comments on Conservative sites telling them a picture is fake or a premise is wrong and it hurts our credibility. I believe these are plants who are actively attacking us and trying to turn us against each other. I’ll have no part in it period. It smacks of the private Romney dinner that was used to destroy his reputation

Now on to the post itself. As I said before, it was an opinion piece. I do them all the time – I’m a blogger, that’s what I do. A friend of mine, Bob Owens, wrote his own piece which takes issue with my facts. Bob is a brilliant writer and has a point. I will share with you what he wrote in a moment. My contention here, is that even though the notifications of closures started under Bush, Obama’s hand-picked staff at the EPA have really ratcheted up the war on coal, energy and America in general. Closing the plant sets a precedent that I still contend will be used against the Second Amendment. As to only a small percentage of lead there being used for ammo, that may be true, but it still does not change the fact that Obama has promised to shut down the power and manufacturing plants, which he is doing. Please don’t give me the faulty ‘Bush started it,’ ploy. Progressives on both sides of the political aisle own this one, but frankly, Obama is bringing the end game to fruition – he knows exactly what is being done and what the end result will be.

Here is the section of Bob Owens’ piece:

The big question about the story is the fact that the Herculaneum is a primary lead smelter — meaning they don’t produce or manufacture the type of lead commonly used for ammo. Most ammo manufactures use secondary lead (i.e. recycled lead).

“(T)he majority of the lead used by ammunition manufacturers comes from secondary smelters that recycle lead from car batteries,” Bob Owens of Bearing Arms said.

And many ammo manufactures back this claim and agree that the Herculaneum closure isn’t some trick play from the White House.

President and Operations Manager of Missouri Bullet Company said that fears of ammo shortage in the U.S. was a “tempest in a teapot,” adding that the Doe Run closure will have “no impact” on his company’s ability to produce ammo.

“We have not begun production at rates that this will impact,” Steve Weliver of Cape Fear Arsenal told me in an email.

“At this time we do not anticipate any additional strain on our ability to obtain lead,” Tim Brandt of ATK (Federal Premium, CCI, and Speer ammunition), said in reference to the Herculaneum closure in a company FAQ.

Owens added: Roughly 80 percent of “lead used in the United States secondary market (which is what most ammunition manufacturers use) comes from recycled batteries and another 7%-9% of lead on the market comes from other scrap sources … Only 10% of the lead in the U.S. comes from mining.”

Further, the EPA’s battle with the Mo. plant dates back as far as 2003. True, recent 2008 regulations played a role in the closure, but President Obama wasn’t even inaugurated yet.

Bob is much more knowledgeable than I am in this area and I respect what he has written. But I stand by what I wrote and how I feel about it. After all, it was an opinion piece. The fact of the matter is, the plant didn’t close under Bush, it is closing under Obama. Allen and I both believe that closing this plant and others will set precedent and is intended to lead to gun control and infringement of the Second Amendment.

Wonkette and the other loons out there can just stuff it. The Left can’t seem to make up their minds – one day I’m a spy, the next day, I don’t exist. But you can bet, I’m not going anywhere and I will keep writing.

I want to take a special moment and thank Becket Adams at TheBlaze for reporting on this fairly and truthfully. He treated not only Allen West, but myself as well, with respect and dignity. They are, in my opinion once again, what a true media outlet should be and I respect them and count them as my favorite news source even more after yesterday’s developments.

Regardless of what I wrote, Allen West and his people are innocent in this and are being needlessly hounded over an innocent and very minor mistake. All of us have forgotten to attribute or have made a mistake while writing. Few of us have the backbone, ethics and courage of Allen West. Recognize all the Alinsky tactics being used from ridicule to pick the target, freeze it, personalize it and polarize it, for what they are… just another squirrel moment in politics.

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Monday, December 2, 2013

The War on Christmas verses the Spirit of Christmas Series 2013 at AskMarion - WoC 2013

One of the best things we can do as parents, grandparents, members of the religious community and patriots is to share the values and traditions we hold dear as individuals, families, churches and concerned citizens by teaching the histories and details of each to the next generation as well as standing up against those who would try to steal them from us and from future generations.

For several years now, we here at AskMarion have taken up the War on the War on Christmas, running a Christmas, Hannukah or related article daily from December 1st through the Epiphany on January 6th.  We began this year’s (2013) series yesterday with the start of Advent.

Once upon a time not all that long ago – in fact, anyone over 50 will easily remember it – the word “Christmas” was everywhere during the month of December. Everywhere you looked – in stores, in town squares, in cities, in offices, and of course… in private homes — there were Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, Christmas gifts, Christmas parties, Christmas vacations and yes… Nativity Scenes. Even non-religious folks and Jews happily joined in with Hannukah Bushes, Christmas lights in blue and white and an embracement of all the festivities. One of the best Christmas cards I ever got was from my Jewish friend, Cheryl… On the cover:  From Naomi and Abe to Biff and Muffy with related sketches… when people were allowed to have a sense of humor instead of being politically correct. It still makes me smile 40-years later.

Just ask Ben Stein:

“The More We Enjoy Each Other’s Holidays and Traditions, the More Beautiful the World Looks!”

“I am a Jew and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish, and it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautifully lit-up, bejeweled trees ‘Christmas trees’.” …Ben Stein

Confessions for the Holidays by Ben Stein

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*The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary, December 18, 2005.

Here at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart:

I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are.

I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I’m buying my dog biscuits. I still don’t know. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores who they are. They don’t know who Nick and Jessica are, either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they’ve broken up? Why are they so darned important?

I don’t know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I don’t care at all about Tom Cruise’s baby.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I’m a subversive? Maybe. But I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young? Hm, not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish, and it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautifully lit-up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees.

I don’t feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are — Christmas trees. It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say ‘Merry Christmas’ to me. I don’t think they’re slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we’re all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year.

It doesn’t bother me one bit that there’s a manger scene on display at a key intersection at my beach house in Malibu.

If people want a creche, fine. The menorah a few hundred yards away is fine, too. I do not like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it another way. Where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and aren’t allowed to worship God as we understand him? I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we used to know went to.

— by Ben Stein: "Confessions for the Holidays." CBS News Transcripts. 18 December 2005.

So let’s take a quick look at where many these traditions came from… that the Atheists and secularists now both fear and fight.

Video: CHRISTMAS – History Channel [ Part 1 of 5 ]

Video: CHRISTMAS – History Channel [ Part 2 of 5 ]

Video: CHRISTMAS – History Channel [ Part 3 of 5 ]

Video: CHRISTMAS – History Channel [ Part 4 of 5 ]

Video: CHRISTMAS – History Channel [ Part 5 of 5 ]

christmas-icons-posters-collage

How to Build a Christmas Photo Collage Using Wondershare Photo Collage Studio

A great read: Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media’s Attack on Christianity written by an atheist

Related:

ANOTHER FAILED IDEA: Woman gets laughed at after bringing up Obamacare at Thanksgiving…

The Twelve Days of ObamaCare

Advent – The Season of Anticipation and Hope – WoC 2013

The Thanksgiving Illusion

Obama Thanksgiving and Christmas Disgrace

Keeping Pets Safe for Thanksgiving: The “Not So Safe” or No-No Pet Food List

Sarah Palin on Politics and Religion • 11/10/13 With Susan Page

The Cross – Billy Graham’s Message To America

Two great new books for the holidays: ‘Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas’ (Kindle) and The Romney Family Table: Sharing Home-Cooked Recipes & Favorite Traditions (Kindle).

PBS runs Rick Steve’s Christmas in Europe throughout the Season as well which is a great watch!

We welcome you to join us daily for our  War on the War on Christmas… on Religious Freedom post from now through January 6th 2014

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Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Wrap at Ask Marion 11.24.13 Thru 12.01.13

Its a Wrap

Our weekly wrap… Sunday to Sunday… Please share! Ask Marion

Quote of the Day: 

“The More We Enjoy Each Other’s Holidays and Traditions, the More Beautiful the World Looks! I am a Jew and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish, and it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautifully lit-up, bejeweled trees ‘Christmas trees’.” …Ben Stein

One of the best things we can do as parents, grandparents, members of the religious community and patriots is to share the values and traditions we hold dear as individuals, families, churches and concerned citizens by teaching the histories and details of each to the next generation as well as standing up against those who would try to steal them from us and from future generations.

In that spirit we began our part in the War on the War on Christmas with our ‘War on Christmas verses the Spirit of Christmas Series 2013’ at AskMarion on December 1st with the article on Advent below.  Please come check in daily for our Christmas, Hannukah and related daily posts between December 1st and January 6th.

Also See:

Book of the Week: The Romney Family Table: Sharing Home-Cooked Recipes & Favorite Traditions (Kindle)

We are living in amazing times, good and bad, the kind of times that truly try men’s (and women’s) souls and that make or break countries and shape (or reshape) societies. Please get involved, pray for guidance, prepare for the worst (for yourself and to help others), then educate yourself and share what you learn with as many people as you can. All our futures depend on it!!

Its_a_Wrap

Be sure to come visit us here at Ask Marion regularly and subscribe to receive the latest posts first… as well as visit: Just One More Pet, True Health Is True Wealth!!, Knowledge Is Power, and the Daily Thought Pad.

Surprisingly SIMPLE!

If you start with a cage containing five monkeys and inside the cage, hang a banana on a string from the top and then you place a set of stairs under the banana, before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb toward the banana.

As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray all the other monkeys with cold water.

After a while another monkey makes an attempt with same result... all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put the cold water away.

Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one.

The new monkey sees the banana and attempts to climb the stairs. To his shock, all of the other monkeys beat the crap out of him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys, replacing it with a new one.

The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment... with enthusiasm, because he is now part of the "team".

Then, replace a third original monkey with a new one, followed by the fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.

Now, the monkeys that are beating him up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs. Neither do they know why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

Finally, having replaced all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys will have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, not one of the monkeys will try to climb the stairway for the banana.

Why, you ask? Because in their minds... that is the way it has always been!

This, my friends, is how Congress operates... and this is why, from time to time:  ALL of the monkeys need to be REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME…

Virtually all the monkeys in our cage… Washington D.C. in Congress and the White House need to be REPLACED in 2014 and 2016, especially if they were elected before 2010!!

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