Tag: Editorial

The Blind Leading The Greedy by J. J. Jackson

The Blind Leading The Greedy
By J.J. Jackson

When you look at the 2008 Presidential Election, American was screwed either way and no matter who won.  That is exactly why I neither supported nor voted for either of the two major candidates.  I refused to play a game where we either elected a man in John McCain, who while at times talks a good game, really has embraced the socialism that has infected America or we elected a man in Barack Obama who does not think that socialism goes far enough and has talked extensively about full blown Marxism.  Although listening to your typical newscast you would not know of the later.

When the dust settled, America decided to give enhanced socialism and Marxist principles one more whirl despite its dismal track record, and to redistribute wealth at the point of the government’s gun.  Khrushchev was right when he predicted that we Americans would eventually embrace communism (or at least what passed for communism in the Soviet Union) after years of being slowly forced fed bits of socialism.

The political leaders of this nation who are preparing to take over this nation are blind to the truth that whatever shade of socialism they give to us to vote for fails.  Whether it is communism (Marxism), fascism, Nazism, Corporatism or some other version, they are all just different flavors of the same ice cream and all taste just as bad.  They are all the same with only minor differences in texture and sweetness.  They only vary inasmuch as in whom the power to dictate from the top down rests. The only real difference between them is the fine details.  But all have the same overarching goal; to control and punish by government force those that are not deemed worthy and to inhibit inalienable rights.  And the greedy have supported them in droves.

The greedy are those that think someone else should work hard for their benefit without any say in the matter.  They are the people who want to tax other citizens so that they can be given a check by the government for money they did not go out and earn.  These are the people at the top of corporations that work hard to punish their competition through the tax code and crush them by flooding them with regulations while seeking tax breaks, government favors and subsidies for themselves.  There is no starker example of greed if ever there was one.

Now America is going to get what they think is “change” that they have “hoped” for.  But rather than actually listening to what Obama has promised, those Americans that voted for him, mostly out of their own greed, are going to be surprised to learn that the “change” they expect is really just more of the same.

The “change” America can expect is more federal welfare programs.  But we already have such things though.  We will just have more now.  The “change” America can expect is higher and more progressive taxes on the successful.  We already have those though as well.  The “change” America can expect is more vilification of hard working and successful entrepreneurs.  Yes, we already have that in spades.  The “change” America can expect is big corporations gaming the socialist system to punish their competition that they see as doing things better and cheaper.  Oh … yeah … that’s right … we already have that too.

We have been promised a lot of “change” by president-elect Obama.  He has promised a new tone in Washington and to bring in new faces so as not to get locked into doing the same old thing in the name of “change.”  But in one of his first official acts he has named Rahm Emanuel to be his Chief of Staff.  This is a man who has ties to Freddie Mac and served on the board of the institution while it was underwriting the bad loans that eventually lead to its collapse and while the government run enterprise was misreporting profits by the billions.  This is a man who after Bill Clinton was elected to his first term repeatedly stabbed a steak knife into a table as he rattled off a list of political enemies and labeled them as “dead.”

So much for “change” and “hope” huh?

So if “change” means more of the same then I guess we have indeed gotten our “change”.  Amazing how the meanings of words evolve isn’t it?  Change, for example, used to mean something different.  Now “change” means more of the same.  And the greedy would have it no other way.  They clamor for what they have decided is theirs because of some imagined harm visited upon them by people they have falsely vilified.

The same thing has happened with the term “greed” as has happened with the term “change”.  Its definition too has been redefined.  Greed use to mean, “a selfish desire for more of something than is needed” (Source Merriam-Webster Dictionary).  The term “selfish” though has been completely removed from the definition to assuage the consciousness of the truly greedy who clamor for the productivity of others and think that they are not greedy.

Being selfish means of course means, “concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself : seeking or concentrating on one’s own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others.”  Now, with these smooth reworking of definitions, “greed” is no longer defined as such.  Being concerned with one’s self at the expense of another (like greedily demanding money from the American taxpayer) has become a virtue.  The term “greed” never meant simply “a desire for more of something than is needed,” as it does today and is now used to vilify hard working Americans paying the freight for the majority of America.

But I will continue to use the term as properly defined as must we all despite the howls of those that do not want to be labeled as greedy while they scramble for the wealth of others.

I weep at the thought of the blind leading the greedy with false promises everyone knows are false promises.  But that is where we are at this point in time in America.  We will be lucky to survive and I will not sugar coat the bitter pill that must be swallowed.  Because the greedy, those that believe they are entitled to what others have for their own advantage, have destroyed every nation that has ever attempted such policies.  But the blind spouting platitudes to appease the masses of the greedy continue to lead on regardless because their eyes cannot, or will not, see the lessons of history.

And for those of you that still do not understand, stay tuned for next week’s article: “Welcome to Obamaburger!  May I Take Your Money Please?”  For those of you cannot understand the simple and failed principles Obama promotes, you will get a spoon fed example that even you can grasp.

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J.J. Jackson is a libertarian conservative author from Pittsburgh, PA who has been writing and promoting individual liberty since 1993 and is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. He is the lead editor contributor to American Conservative Daily and also the founder of SignalCongress.com.  He is the owner of The Right Things – Conservative T-shirts & Gifts (http://www.cafepress.com/rightthings). His weekly commentary along with exclusives not available anywhere else can be found at http://www.libertyreborn.com

Important Announcement From the Blogs 4 Borders Crew!

Jake Delivers a sobering announcement about the Blogs 4 Borders BlogBurst. 🙁

….and here I am unemployed and cannot help. 😥

If you want to help Jake get his show on the road, click here to send him a message. Or go to his YouTube site and leave him a message there.

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“Maybe You Should Not Vote” – By J.J. Jackson

Disclaimer: This editorial was not written by this Blog Owner, but rather by an outside source, it will be included at the bottom of this editorial. This editorial does not, at all, in any way, shape or forum reflect the views of this Blog owner. It is simply presented here for your reading pleasure.

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Maybe You Should Not Vote
By: J.J. Jackson

A common myth, generally perpetrated by those that succeed when they convince the ignorant to act on their ignorance, is that everyone in American that can vote, because they are of legal age, should.  Like blind lemmings following a hypnotic siren, they hope to drive hordes of Americans (living and dead) to the polls at least one time each on Election Day.  But I am here to tell you that just because you can vote, you should not do so out of ignorance.

I know that statement contradicts common “wisdom,” but is it any different than telling you that you should not buy a new car without understanding exactly what you are buying or purchasing a new home without having it inspected for flaws first?  Would you make any major purchase without educating yourself?  If not, then why would you go into the voting booth on November 4th and essentially “purchase” the next Chief Executive of the United States without similar due diligence?  So, in that spirit, I have decided to run through a series of points that if you are ignorant on you should reconsider if you are really ready to cast your vote.

For example:

If you do not understand that the second amendment is a guarantee of an individual’s right to keep and bear arms, specifically enumerated as such over and over by the founding fathers, and you actually support a candidate that has worked to usurp such a basic right … maybe you should not vote.

If you have forgotten that John McCain authored and helped to pass the single greatest infringement of the first amendment (Campaign Finance Reform) in recent history, a law that effectively tells citizens when and how they can speak up on politics … maybe you should not vote.

On a similar note, if you actually think that infringing on the first amendment is a good thing and agreed with John McCain … maybe you should not vote.

If you do not understand that the progressive income tax was a major platform of Karl Marx’s communist agenda and support a candidate who favors increasing taxes on the rich while bribing other Americans to vote for him or her with the promise of no income taxes for themselves … maybe you should not vote.

If you have forgotten that the issue of amnesty for illegal aliens who violated legitimate United States laws and are, by definition, criminals is still on the table and support a candidate that may push for such a thing … maybe you should not vote.

If you actually think, perhaps because you were educated in the public schools, that the “general Welfare” clause of our Constitution grants the federal government a blank check to spend tax dollars on any benefit they can dream up and believe this despite the overwhelming majority of the founding fathers being on record stating the exact opposite … maybe you should not vote.

On a similar note, if you are living off the government largess and collecting a paycheck from the government under some program not authorized by the Constitution but implemented unconstitutionally to require the work of another to be confiscated to line your pockets … maybe you should not vote.

Let me go even further on this point by saying boldly, if you seriously think that federal spending can ever be reigned in without taking the axe to the welfare programs (Social Security, Welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, etc.) which make up well over 60% of expenditures … maybe you should not vote.

If you cannot understand the simple concept that in pushing for higher taxes on those producing goods and services you consume, they will simply recoup those losses by raising the cost of the goods and services and get that money right back from you … maybe you should not vote.

If you claim to support the troops but choose instead to support a candidate that looks down his nose at their efforts and who is rejected by them in poll after poll of our servicemen and women (that would be Barack Obama in case you don’t know) … maybe you should not vote.

If you think, for some deluded reason, that an ideology of from each according to his ability, to each according to his work or needs with a central bureaucracy determining the value of your work and what your needs actually are will work if we give it another try, despite having never having worked ever or at any time in the past … maybe you should not vote.

Pursing that concept even further, if you honestly think that an ideology that taxes the “haves” and gives to the “have nots” actually works despite clear examples in the former Soviet Union, NAZI Germany, Mussolini’s Italy, Mao’s China, and with modern day North Korea, Mexico, Venezuela and Cuba which show how such ideas lead to poverty and misery … maybe you should not vote.

If you believe, in that little empty cranium of yours, that under President Bush’s tax cuts, the middle class did not get tax relief because some union news letter told you so … maybe you should not vote.

If you would rather live in some other country other than America and see that country as freer with a better basis for government of, for and by the people with inalienable rights for all guaranteed … maybe you should not vote.  And perhaps you should spend the time you save by not voting to pack your bags so that you can move there.

If, even though you think Congress is not doing a good job, you are going to vote back into Congress your Representatives and Senator because you seriously believe that the problem is all the other Congressmen and women but don’t know how your elected officials have voted and are not able to back up such a statement … maybe you should not vote.

If you think that the President has more control over the economy than Congress, which passes the laws that affect the economy … maybe you should not vote.

If you think that the Constitution can be changed on a whim and by judicial fiat, congressional law or presidential mandate because you have never actually read the document, or at least read it recently … maybe you should not vote.

If you think that the Republican Party is a racist organization and are going to vote based on that despite the fact that the party that fought against slavery, gave slaves the right to vote in the southern states before the Democrats regained power and stripped such rights and forget that the GOP stood up in overwhelming numbers for the rights of minorities throughout history … maybe you should not vote.

If you did not know that one of the major candidates in this year’s election has won endorsements from high ranking officials with the Communist Party USA and are too dim witted to even have a guess as to which one it may be … maybe you should not vote.

If you think that it is more important to have a President with a certain skin color without much concern for his politics and will vote for him because of his skin color … maybe you should not vote.

By the same token, if you are going to vote against a particular candidate because of his skin color (black or white) … maybe you should not vote.

And lastly, if you cannot be bothered to plan ahead and use the brain God gave you to find a way to get your butt to the polls one day out of the year (excluding members of the military and others with actual emergencies who should be accommodated) … maybe you should not vote.

Now, I honestly do not expect many of the citizens of this country who fall into one or more of the above categories to take my advice.  There are a lot of arrogant people out there who, even when the truth is laid before them, will not take notice of it. That truth which I have tried to impart to you is that a vote cast in ignorance makes you a tool of those seeking power.

A Republic survives when the public, educated on the issues and united in the pursuit of liberty, votes.  It fails and dies when disparate groups with no regards for the rights of others, the truth, or respect for the firewalls put up to protect the rights of all, vote in droves with nothing on their mind other than themselves and how much they can get the government to take from someone else to give to them.

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J.J. Jackson is a libertarian conservative author from Pittsburgh, PA who has been writing and promoting individual liberty since 1993 and is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. He is the lead editor contributor to American Conservative Daily and also the founder of SignalCongress.com.  He is the owner of The Right Things – Conservative T-shirts & Gifts (http://www.cafepress.com/rightthings). His weekly commentary along with exclusives not available anywhere else can be found at http://www.libertyreborn.com

Blogs for Borders for 10/27/08

From my friends over at Freedomfolks.com:

The weekly vlog/podcast on illegal immigration and border security. In this weeks edition…

The shadow campaign? Did you know there is another whole election campaign going on right under your nose? In another language?

Is America Balkanizing? We take a look.

100% Preventable! Americans continue to pay the bloody price for open borders. In this edition elderly Americans are preyed on by an illegal alien while a previously deported drug dealer shoots two NYC cops! When will the madness end?

Download for your Ipod here.

Click on image


If you’d like to sponsor a show contact us here.

This has been the Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst. The Blogs For Borders Blogroll is dedicated to American sovereignty, border security and a sane immigration policy. If you’d like to join find out how right here.

Obama’s Misplaced Robin Hood Complex by J.J. Jackson

Obama’s Misplaced Robin Hood Complex
By: J.J. Jackson

Barack Obama, like any good liberal, has a Robin Hood complex.  This came out plainly when he bluntly told “Joe the Plumber”, a man who has been vilified by the left and has had his actual comment distorted into things he never said, that he wanted to, “spread the wealth around,” by taxing people who make too much.  In this case, Obama has set that bar at a level of $250,000.

When it became clear to the Marxist left who believe in, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs,” that such ideas were not going to fly in America as they had across Europe, they started to sing a different tune.  In singing that different tune they have co-opted the figure of Robin Hood whose claim to fame, they believe, was that he “stole from the rich” to “give to the poor”.  To an extent it is true, but not to the extent that liberals want you to believe.

Robin Hood is a beloved story told to many children and has admittedly undergone many tweaks and changes over time.  As time has worn on, the left has been able to portray themselves as modern day Robin Hoods who want to take from those that have too much to give to those that have little or nothing.  But the true story of Robin Hood is not simply that he “stole from the rich” and dispersed those spoils to the poor.  Rather, those that Robin Hood fought against were the bureaucrats and the corrupt that kept the people under the heal of their boot.  He fought against what was, at the time, excessive government and those that controlled the reins of power and the feudal order of the time.

In early tales Robin Hood was a member of the freeholder class and a land owner – not someone that was poor himself.  He had no real reason to stand up against the feudal system except that he saw it as wrong.

The Sheriff of Nottingham is perhaps Robin Hood’s best known adversary. In other tellings of the story Prince John was also right up there with the Sherriff and a cruel leader in the absence of King Richard who was off fighting in the crusades.  Both were of the nobility, the “chosen” class, and given fiat powers to rule over the people without consent of the people.  There were, for all intents and purposes, tyrannical politicians. The Sheriff was in fact, the “tax collector” of the day.

The second most famous enemy Robin Hood fights is Guy of Gisborne, whose roll changes depending on the exact story being told.  Whatever version of the story however, Guy of Gisborne is a corrupt figure in the service of the Sheriff either directly or indirectly and a partner in the corruption seeking out Robin Hood.

Others of Robin’s foes are members of the Catholic Church who have turned to corruption like the Bishop of Hereford who was fleecing his congregation for his own betterment.

In fact, Robin Hood was not just a champion of “the poor” but of what was right.  He regularly befriended tradesmen who would join his band of Merry Men.  Businessmen oppressed under the yoke of taxes, farmers, workers and even nobles rallied behind Robin Hood.  In fact, in early tales the “Merry Men” of Robin Hood were pretty well to do yeomen like figures.  They wielded swords, not the quarter staffs of later tales and of poorer folk, and swords were not cheap so one had to have money to have one.

Yes, depending on the telling of the story, the exact circumstances do change.  But overall the theme remains the same – Robin Hood fought against oppressive government and corrupt public officials and even church officials on behalf of the citizenry. Not just the poor, but all the citizenry.

This is a far cry from what liberals like Barack Obama want to do.  But for some reason they still envision themselves as modern day Robin Hoods.  Is it because of ignorance?  Is it because of stupidity?  No, it is because liberals do what they always do.  They change the meaning of words to suit their goals.  They rewrite history to clean their own consciousness while relabeling all the bad things their fellow travelers have done from slavery, to the formation of the KKK to Jim Crow laws to the murder of Jews during Hitler’s reign in Germany as somehow “right wing” and the product of conservative ideologies.  Meanwhile they portray themselves as heroic and fighting for the downtrodden.  Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain, the one at the switches and levers that wants to oppress and intimidate you into service.

They ignore the fact that Robin Hood was really more of a conservative than a liberal by today’s definitions of the terms and not a fellow traveler of theirs.  They ignore the fact that he fought against tyranny, the established political order of oppression and high taxes.  They ignore that that he took on corrupt religious leaders and called them to the carpet.  And while ignoring all this, they supplant themselves as the true heir to a false legacy they have created for Robin Hood.

Yes, Robin Hood did steal from the “rich”.  And by “rich” I mean the corrupt politicians and leaders of the day in which the stories are set.  But he did not run around, much to the dismay of liberals, taking on good people who worked hard to make a living for themselves, stripping coin from their purse and running off to give it to another man who had not earned it.

On the other hand, liberals like Barack Obama are all about empowering big government and high taxation.  Which makes them more like the Sheriff of Nottingham or Prince John than any sort of Robin Hood.
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J.J. Jackson is a libertarian conservative author from Pittsburgh, PA who has been writing and promoting individual liberty since 1993 and is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. He is the lead editor contributor to American Conservative Daily and also the founder of SignalCongress.com.  He is the owner of The Right Things – Conservative T-shirts & Gifts (http://www.cafepress.com/rightthings). His weekly commentary along with exclusives not available anywhere else can be found at http://www.libertyreborn.com

Michelle Bachmann and the Politics of Division

I write this article neither as a Liberal nor as a Conservative. I write this article as an American. I write this as a Caucasian American who holds to a set of Moderate to Right-Libertarian political views. I write this as someone who is quote worried about the direction our Nation is taking. I write this as someone who is heartsick over the deep divisions in the world of politics.

For the first time, since I have been Blogging, I feel the need to speak out against those who hold similar political views as mine. I am referring to the comments that were made by Rep. Michelle Bachmann. Rep. Michelle Bachmann on an appearance on MSNBC’s Hardball said that there were persons in the United States Congress, who held to Anti-American views. She also said that these people should be investigated.

Before I get into why I disapprove of this, let me make some things clear. Contrary to popular belief, my Politics is not as far right as some. In fact, I tend to lean towards the center of some issues. I am a moderate on many issues. Although, when it comes to our Military, My disdain of the Islam Religion, Our Nations Constitution, and a few other things, I am much to the right of some. However, on other issues, I tend to be more of a Libertarian. For example, I do not believe that it is the Governments right to tell a woman what to do with her body.

Now personally on a personal level, I object to Abortion on grounds that it is murder, this is because I am a Christian and I believe that life begins at conception. Nevertheless, on a Political Level, I believe that the United States Government does not have the right to dictate to woman what she can and cannot do with body. Furthermore, I do not believe that the State Government should dictate to a woman what she can and cannot do to her own body.

This is because I believe in personal freedom. I also reject the Conservative Christian idea of turning America into a Theocracy. I also believe in a full wall of separation of Church and State. However, just as well, I believe the woman should be given all the alternatives to terminating a pregnancy, however, if she decides to do so, that is between her and God. Let God be the judge of that woman. I reject the browbeating that the far right gives to those who decide to perform such an action. That sort of abject nonsense goes against the very core freedoms in our Constitution. Those that cannot separate between the political and spiritual realms should not involve themselves in politics at all.

Now do my personal political views of mine make me Anti-American? I think the sane and logical answer to that would be no. Now in the interest of full disclosure, I have little or no use for the far left. I will spare you the reasons for that. I will simply say that I did not leave the Democrat Party, it left me, long ago, especially during this election cycle. However, for me to sit here and write that Democrats were Anti-Americans would be a lesson in abject foolishness. Frankly, Rep. Michelle Bachmann’s comments yesterday did nothing to raise the level of political discourse in this country whatsoever. Rep. Michelle Bachmann was essentially doing a poor imitation of Ann Coulter or at worst channeling Joseph McCarthy. I am fully aware that it was written recently that Joseph McCarthy was correct on some matters; it, in fact, was the destructive behavior of Senator McCarthy that ruined his career.

It is this writer’s opinion that channeling Senator Joseph McCarthy in this desperate hour would be a total and unequivocal disaster to the Republican Party’s cause. It is not lost upon me that the political landscape of the Democratic Party has changed a great deal in the last eight years, Mrs. Katrina Vanden Heuvel ‘s response to the remarks being a perfect example of this. However, the channeling of McCarthyism will do nothing to further the Conservative cause. In fact, it will alienate more than it will help.

A Political Byline Special Presentation: Crawford

My friend Ryan sent me this. Normally I do not post things that other people send to me. But in light of recent events that landed in the crosshairs of the left and landed me on Gawker.com. I am publishing this Movie to show those, who might want to kill me or at worse call me names, that I am not some sort of Bush loving, flag waving freak, who thinks anyone that disagrees with me is inherently evil.

This movie is about the town that President George W. Bush basically used as a prop for his Presidential Campaign. You will see a town, that got swept up into the fury of support for George W. Bush and a town flourish because of it. You’ll see a town that became ground zero for an Anti-War and Pro-War movement that almost drove it apart. Finally, you will see a town, that lives in almost ruin, and is possibly divided, all because of the political ambitions and a warped political ideology of President, who is now leaving that town and moving somewhere else.

This movie shows something, something interesting, something frightening, something that only affirms my beliefs that I could never, ever, be a Republican. It shows us that people that fail to think for themselves and allow themselves to be blinded by a flawed Political Ideology are truly shallow and quite frankly, scary people. Further more, it shows how those who mix their Religious beliefs and their Politics are very dangerous people.

Have said all that, I present to you…… Crawford

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Blogs for Borders for 10/06/08: Special Interview with Peter Brimelow

Once again, like a ding-a-ling, I forgot to post the weekly Blogs for Borders show here.

This week an 3 part interview with the Owner and Publisher of VDare.com, Peter Brimelow.

….and before anyone calls this man and his website racist, please, read this.

Here is the show:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Books By Peter Brimelow:

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Brutally Honest: I have lost all faith in the Republican brand

I have held off on Blogging about the recent events here in the election. Partially because of personal reasons, I was a bit busy doing some other stuff with my family and partially because I quite honestly have no defense for what I see as just abject and absolute racism and the stoking of racial hatred in this country, by the party that claims to be the party that liberated blacks from slavery.

Whether the Republican Party or the Conservatives want to admit this or not, but Sarah Palin is doing nothing more than bringing shame to the Republican Party. With her attempting to paint Barack Obama as some sort of terrorist, her allowing and even encouraging people to accuse him of treason and even allowing someone to utter a death threats aloud. I will say this, and if anyone wants to try to paint me as a Liberal, feel free, I just do not care anymore, The Republican Party that I am seeing right before my eyes, is not the Republican Party that I remember as a young boy. This crap is not the Ronald Reagan conservatism that I grew up admiring and respecting. As far as I am concerned, the Republican Party has become a Ku Klux Klan without the robes.

I believe that it is fair and very important to note, that Sarah Palin has ties to terrorism too. Her Pastor was and still is a terrorist by the Bush Administration’s definition. Before he became the Pastor of Wasilla Assembly of God, which she attended for many years, Pastor Thomas Muthee was a missionary to the country of Africa, while there; he decided that there was a local woman in the town of Kiambu, of the name “Mama Jane” who was by his own definition “A Witch.”

Eventually, after repeated harassment by the local law enforcement there, she fled the town. Furthermore, Sarah Palin’s own husband was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, until 2002, of whom its founder, Joe Vogler said, “I’m an Alaskan, not an American. I’ve got no use for America or her damned institutions.” Joe Vogler was killed in 1993 he is buried in Canada.

Therefore, having said all the above, it is apparent to this writer; that Sarah Palin is nothing more than an abject hypocrite. By her and her party’s definition of “Terrorist,” she is guilty of the very same charges.

I am sorry to say this, but if John McCain continues to allow this sort of nonsense to continue in his campaign, especially when the Nation’s economy is in the damned toilet. When our stock market and financial institutions are being propped up by the United States Government due to a lack of regulation, which was caused by the utter incompetent of one political party and the inaction of another that was in the majority for over 6 years. If John McCain allows this sort of idiotic nonsense to continue, the Republican Party is going to lose and lose very hard, come this election in November.

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“To The Pain” By J. J. Jackson

To The Pain!
By J.J. Jackson

In the movie “The Princess Bride”, our hero, Wesley, is feeble after recovering from a state of being “mostly dead”.  What was it that saved him from death?  “True love” saved him; his love for Princess Buttercup and a refusal to let go of that love.  This love was so pure and so true that while he was on death’s door it would not let him slip from the world.  Several scenes later he is lying on a bed and quipping about a shortage of perfect breasts as his true love refrains from killing herself only at the sight of the man she thought she would never see again.

He is barely able to move from his ordeal however, as Princess Buttercup soon learns.  What follows however is an illustrative scene and a test of wills between someone with faith in something more than himself and a man with only faith in himself.  Prince Humperdinck, the villain who attempted to kill Wesley so that he could marry the Princess, bursts into the room beginning one of the most memorable scenes because of its seriousness in a movie that is mostly known for its comedic plots and humorous dialogue.

Wesley is in no shape to fight for the love of his life.  But the Princess is the love of his life.  So he has no real choice.  And besides, it was his faith in his true love that saved him and he knows it so he cannot abandon that now.  So Wesley makes a stand for what he believes in and challenges the Prince.  Prince Humperdinck, proclaims that it will be a fight to the death.  But Wesley quickly corrects him.  No, this battle will be not to the death, but “to the pain”.

The evil prince is not familiar with such a concept so our hero begins, “I’ll explain. And I’ll use small words so that you’ll be sure to understand, you warthog-faced buffoon.” The Prince is taken back by this considering it the first time that anyone had dared to insult him, at least to his face.  Wesley has taken him off guard and our hero’s faith stuns the Prince, who could easily have killed our hero by now, into inaction.  His own faith in himself is shaken at seeing the resolution in Wesley.

Our hero taunts, “‘To the pain’ means the first thing you lose will be your feet, below the ankles, then your hands at the wrists. Next your nose.”

Humperdinck becomes frustrated at listening to what he considers rambling, “And then my tongue, I suppose. I killed you too quickly the last time, a mistake I don’t mean to duplicate tonight.”

Wesley corrects him telling him that there was more and that, “The next thing you lose will be your left eye, followed by your right –”

The prince is now completely frustrated and makes a bad assumption, “And then my ears, I understand! Let’s get on with it -”

“WRONG!,” Wesley corrects him, “Your ears you keep, and I’ll tell you why. So that every shriek of every child at seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, every woman who cries out, ‘Dear God, what is that thing?’ will echo in your perfect ears. That is what ‘to the pain’ means. It means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in freakish misery forever.”

Humperdinck after hearing all of this is even more frightened.  Someone is standing up to him.  He thinks this man before him is too feeble to confront him but the conviction and strength in Wesley’s voice has him on his heals.  “I think you’re bluffing,” the prince cockily proclaims but makes no move.

Wesley then plays into his claims.  “It’s possible, pig. I might be bluffing. It’s conceivable, you miserable vomitous mass, that I’m only lying here because I lack the strength to stand. Then again, perhaps I have the strength after all.”  Then he does something that Humperdinck does not expect and that frightens him so greatly that the entire confrontation turns on it.  Up until now everything from Wesley’s mouth has been just words.  But slowly Wesley lifts himself off the bed through sheer force of will, lifts the point of his sword towards the prince and says in a measured and menacing tone, “Drop – your – sword.”

Humperdinck, so frightened that he probably needed a change of tights at this point, drops his sword and is then tied up by the Princess.  After he is secure, an exhausted Wesley slumps down and prince Humperdinck proclaims that he knew Wesley was bluffing.  The problem is he “knew it” too late.

Why on Earth am I recounting this scene from “The Princess Bride” for you in a space reserved for political commentary?  Because there is a correlation between what happened in this scene and what is going on right now in America.  Anyone who has seen this movie knows that the only reason Wesley was put in a situation of being “mostly dead” in the first place was because his love made a bargain to, so she thought, save him.  But that bargain was never kept by the wicked men the deal was made with.

The wicked never keep their word because, no matter how much they protest, they have no honor.

Over the years we too have made bargains with the honorless and wicked to try and save someone that we love; Lady Liberty.  But time and again we have been betrayed by those with sinister motives and that are desirous of power much like Prince Humperdinck.  We have betrayed our ideals too many times in the name of noble goals, but goals that cannot be reached through coercion and bad policy.

Increasing home ownership in America is a noble goal.  But the means by which we attempted to do so was to force people into making bad loans to bad risks.  We have forced Lady Liberty to her knees and placed American Idealism on death’s door in a state of being “mostly dead”.  But she survived because what she represents is too pure to be killed by the villains among us.

Even though she has survived though, she is weak.  But this week, as she lay on the bed with the enemy hovering over her, she called them out and brought them to her knees finding enough strength to stand and face down those that want to kill America once and for all.

This week, Lady Liberty stood up and proudly proclaimed to the enemies of freedom and the accountability that comes with it, that she was challenging them to a battle not to the death, but to “the pain.”  Because we are going to have pain now whether we like it or not.  There is no escaping that fact.  We are going to have pain because of the villains that we have allowed to rule us for far too long and they are not willing to back down and have once again saddled us, the American taxpayer, with billions in debt.

Unlike in “The Princess Bride” however there will not be just one great confrontation, “to the pain,” to end it all.  We will have to constantly challenge the enemies of liberty to battles, “to the pain,” for months and perhaps decades to come.  And we must win each one or suffer the consequences.

In so winning these battles, we must leave those villains that we face disfigured by the roadside with their own “perfect ears” so that they can hear those that pass by mocking them and their failures and asking loudly, “Dear God, what is that thing?”.  Leaving the disfigured stump of socialism by the roadside to remind everyone of how it fails and how it needs to be defeated is the only way to make people remember the “pain” we have suffered under it.

But if we don’t?  Then they will kill Lady Liberty once and for all.  But at least today Lady Liberty is standing and commanding the foes of freedom to, “Drop – their – swords.”  And I will stand with her and proudly proclaim that I am willing to battle, “to the pain,” because as long as I feel pain I am reminded that I am alive and that I will be free or die trying.

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J.J. Jackson is a libertarian conservative author from Pittsburgh, PA who has been writing and promoting individual liberty since 1993 and is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. He is the lead editor contributor to American Conservative Daily and also the founder of SignalCongress.com.  He is the owner of The Right Things – Conservative T-shirts & Gifts – His weekly commentary along with exclusives not available anywhere else can be found at http://www.libertyreborn.com