A small group re-enacted the following speech.

There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free--if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us! They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength but irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extentuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

Some words are timeless. And while this is not an armed struggle, it is no less a struggle for the very future of this country.

I've seen some DC apologists say, "But hey, you got a tax cut." Well sure, that $500/year is nice and all, but somehow that doesn't balance the scales when measured against bankrupting this country and saddling my children and grandchildren with a mountain of debt. If I'm going to be paid off like a whore, you're going to have to pay me a lot more than that. Frankly, DC cannot print enough. All of you who are content to have your bread and circuses while the country crumbles around you, have at it. The rest of us will try to save your asses as well.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:07 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Cynthia Yockey has some pretty good thoughts here. I think that I'll take her advice in just a little while.

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Robert Stacy McCain waxes eloquent. Take the time to read his post in its entirety.

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Ezra Levant links to a letter to the editor of the Southern Utah University newspaper. It is so good that I'm reprinting it in its entirety:

In light of SUU officials plan to designate "Free Speech Zones" on campus, I thought I'd offer my assistance. Grab a map. OK, ready?

All right, you see that big area between Canada and Mexico, surrounded by lots of blue ink on the East and West? You see it?

There's your bloody Free Speech Zone.

Jeffrey Wilbur

Senior communication major from Bountiful

The best hope for this country is that there are a lot more Jeffrey Wilburs out there.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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If you had told me that I'd see this happen, I'd have said you were dreaming. Sadly, I'd have been wrong:

Bill links to the story/picture from American Thinker and posts this little quote:

This is one of the most nauseating things IÂ’ve ever seen. I excoriated G.W. Bush for kissing and holding hands with this Oilbag S.O.B., but this is the fucking President of the United States symbolically prostrating his nation and its honor before a loathsome barbarian savage.

Words fail me.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 11:52 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And by interesting I mean complete bullshit. From Neal Boortz:

Last week Barack Obama met with top executives of US banks. This was his message to the banks: bonuses are not acceptable.

That's right. Not just "excessive" bonuses or bonuses paid with bailout money. But bonuses. Period. They are unacceptable while other Americans are struggling to make ends meet.

Really? Well this American, while no longer employed by a US bank, put his bonus to good use, paying off some accumulated debt and stashing some more into savings.

You know what I find unacceptable? A POTUS who sees fit to dictate actions to individuals and businesses in this country.

What about the banks who took the TARP money, you say? Shouldn't the government be given oversight into their operation? Normally I'd say that you have a point, except that banks who wanted to decline acceptance of said funds were told that that was not an option. Here's how it goes:

1) Government "offers" some money to banks who made stupid loan decisions.

2) Bank decides that its balance sheets are already leveling out and therefore declines the money from the government.

3) Government strong arms bank into taking the money, saying that it is not allowed to decline the money.

4) Government then claims ability to tell bank how to run its business owing to the bank's acceptance of money.

All I can say is that it's good work if you can get it. I hear that some neighborhood lending institutions** work in pretty much the same way.

** If I have to explain that phrase to you, you really need to get out more.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:34 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I see that Eric Cantor voted FOR the unconstitutional bill of attainder retroactive tax on the AIG bonuses. He is now dead to me. Mrs. Hill at Rachel Lucas' place is looking for a needle of rationale in this haystack of bullshit. However, there isn't one. As much as I oppose pretty much all the Democrats are doing, I will offer my money and my time to Cantor's Democratic opponent in 2010.

He's my representative in Congress, but he won't be come 1/20/2011 if I have my way. Fucker.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:47 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I don't feel obligated to link to the cesspool of insanity it has become, but John Cole is full of the righteousness of his position on the Democrats essentially ending the filibuster for legislation. My comment, awaiting moderation, may or may not slip through. I'll post it below, after I reach into the wayback machine to show things were different back in the day.

Update: Obviously, John Cole and I disagree over the whole filibuster thing. Excerpt:

As for the filibuster bullshit, we slit our own damned throats with that. I would like an up or down vote on nominees, but I just don't have it in me to lie about the situation.

We changed the rules of the game, and then acted all shocked when the Democrats (who are in no way without sin) got pissed. We stopped the blue slips and other options once we became the majority. The Constitutional issue is nothing more than nonsense to sell the naked power grab, and that is what it was. Bush never expected for all of his judges to get confirmed- no reasonable President would.

See, here's where I think that John might not be seeing the big picture. Does he really think that the next time the Democrats hold the power in the Senate that they won't change the Senate rules to suit their purposes? After all, Robert Byrd did it in the not so distant past, reducing the number of votes for cloture from 67 down to 60.

Let's go all out in this example. Hillary becomes president in 2008 and the Dem's sweep to power in the Senate riding on her coattails. Now imagine that she nominates some left-wing ideologue who believes that it's okey-dokey to legislate from the bench. Now the Republicans decide to filisbuster this unreasonable candidate. Does John actually believe that the Democrats will spend more than a few minutes trying to find some sort of compromise to get an up-or-down vote in the Senate? I don't think so. After some public appearances decrying the Republicans' stonewalling, the Senate Democrats will change the filibuster rule so that cloture can be invoked with only 51 votes for judges. Once the judicial filibuster is broken, those same 51 Democrats will then vote en masse for whomever Hillary nominated. Count on it.

Now I will grant you that a couple of things are off: Hillary didn't win. However, another committed leftist did, along with a legion of congressional Democrats. Also, the Dems are talking about ending -more or less- the filibuster for legislative items, not judicial nominations. I guess that even I wasn't cynical enough to expect that. Silly me.

Anyway. It's now a few years later and John thinks that the Dems idea is just fine and dandy. Here's the response that I left in the comments: more...

Posted by: Physics Geek at 11:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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From the keyboard of Ms. Paglia:

If Rush's presence looms too large for the political landscape, it's because of the total vacuity of the Republican leadership, which seems to be in a dithering funk. Rush isn't responsible for the feebleness of Republican voices or the thinness of Republican ideas. Only ignoramuses believe that Rush speaks for the Republican Party. On the contrary, Rush as a proponent of heartland conservatism has waged open warfare with the Washington party establishment for years.
...
President Obama should yank the reins and get his staff's noses out of slash-and-burn petty politics. His own dignity and prestige are on the line. If he wants a second term, he needs to project a calmer perspective about the eternal reality of vociferous opposition, which is built into our democratic system. Right now, the White House is starting to look like Raphael's scathing portrait of a pampered, passive Pope Leo X and his materialistic cardinals -- one of the first examples of an artist sending a secret, sardonic message to posterity. Do those shifty, beady-eyed guys needing a shave remind you of anyone? Yes, it's bare-knuckles Chicago pugilism, transplanted to Washington. The charitably well-meaning but hopelessly extravagant Leo X, by the way, managed to mishandle the birth of the Protestant Reformation, which permanently split Christianity.

Word.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Found the following via Neal Boortz.

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.

However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don't see is the back story.

I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the Goodwill store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... You never realize the back story and the sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It's quite simple.

If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.

If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about....

Signed,

Your boss

Those of you who believe that I exist solely as a source of tax revenue for the government can quickly disabuse yourself of that notion. Keep on sucking me dry and I will eventually quit producing. At the current rate of monetary extraction, I'd say that that time isn't too far off.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 09:06 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Must be bullshit.

Yeah. Good thing we not step in it.

Yeah. Good thing.

If only. I had to convince my mother-in-law that things were much worse in the late 1970s and early 1980s than they are now. She should check out the graph found here.

Hmm. Bill Clinton said that the economy was the worst in 50 years. The Won says that it's the worst in 60 years (now it's 60 or so). I lived and worked through the late 1970s and early 1980s. Things were a buttload worse then than they are now. However, keep repeating that big fucking lie often enough and loud enough and soon, this nation of drooling halfwits spending fifty cents a call to vote for American Idol contestants will start to believe it.

Not all of the people are halfwits, of course. For many, that intellectual mark will remain forever out of reach.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 11:55 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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WFB, quoted by Jonah at The Corner:

...The question that hotly follows is why. Why does the Opposition Party refuse to offer a genuine opposition? At this juncture the Statists leap to their most favorite answer to the query. They tell us that the anarchistic, uncivilized, uncharitable rugged individualism associated with the pre-Roosevelt era is forever discredited by the American people. The social revolution of the New Deal is a fait accompli and no political party could rally any enthusiasm in 1952 for a genuinely anti-Statist program.

My own diagnosis does not totally contradict this one. To begin with, I see the issue primarily as one of freedom or non-freedom. To the extent that a fraction of the individual's time, which we will for convenience equate with his earnings, is a priori mortgaged to the government and against this will, then he is to that same extent not free. Since there is no money except the individual's money, and since his money represents his labor or his savings or the produce of his tools, the assessment of that money by the State represents a direct levy on that individual's freedom. Now, if it is true, as the Liberals would have it, that the Repubitican Party could not evoke any support for a program that calls for extracting from the individual only that money necessary to carry on the minimum functions of government (loosely, defense, courts, and conservation), then it must follow that the American people no longer value maximum individual freedom.

Now this may well be the case. Most human beings respond to education, and freedom has been depreciated in the nation 's schools for some years now. The responsibility of the State to regulate and nourish individual lives is not only acknowledged, but eloquently and insistently affirmed by an increasing number of the most efficacious of influence-molders: the teachers.

And yet, there has been no dramatic showdown. There is no tangible proof that the Republican Party would indeed fail to win over the people to a platform of freedom. And even if it should fail, it would have succeeded in alerting the people to the fact that there still exists, in theory at least, an alternative to State Paternalism. And this would seem to be a noble enough and a traditional service for a political party whose birth and early success grew out of its refusal to condone human slavery.

One thing we know: in the past we have temporized with collectivism, and we have lost. And after 'the campaigns were over, we were left not with the exhilaration and pride of having done our best to restore freedom, but with the sickening humiliation of having failed to seduce the American people because we were pitted against a more glib, a more extravagant, a more experienced gigolo.

Thanks to Bill for the link.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 04:48 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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From Iowahawk, weiging in over at Ace:

Atlas shrugged, bent over, and goatse'd.

A few of points:

1) This is not Monopoly. Real debt is being incurred.

2) Pay as you go, a promise of the Obama campaign, has been staked, had it's head lopped off, burned, buried, and then had the ground salted around it before dropping a 50-megaton nuke onto it. To be fair, I knew that the promise was bullshit, but I didn't expect a steaming pile of this size.

3) Welcome to the AU (American Union), a nice collection of socialist states whose sole purpose in life is to suck-suck-suck at the taxpayer teat.

4) America is the richest, most productive country in the world, but that wealth and productivity are not limitless.

Nice republic we had here. I guess we don't get to keep it.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 09:08 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Any questions?

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:50 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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From Dan Riehl:

America knows a loser when she sees one and that's why he lost against a too-liberal black man. He couldn't even manage to display the basic competence someone wants in a President throughout his pathetic campaign that was bad chiefly because he's the worst candidate Republicans have ever put up.

Word.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 01:52 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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From Glenn Reynolds comes this:

ED KOCH ON THE BAILOUT: We've Been Had.

I believe that the correct response to such a statement is No Shit. All of us who opposed the bailout don't look so freaking stupid now, I guess.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Community Organizer Obama, I would like to take this moment to thank you and your goons for trying to suppress free speech as election day draws near. While I think that it's admirable that like to associate with unrepentant terrorists, bomb-throwing racist preachers and other persons of ill repute (you little Lightworker you), I think that's even more of a plus that you think any criticism of you is out of bounds. God knows that your friends like Ohio's governor are doing their part to defy state and federal laws to bring in a whole bunch of fraudulent votes in swing states. However, since you know that you cannot count on illegal activities to guarantee your victory, I think that suppressing the people's First Amendment right to free speech is a novel and entertaining concept. Frankly, I'm a little tired of having to explain away my positions and statements when people use my words in context, so I commend you on the use of lawyers and government thugs to force the issue.

To show my support, I'm embedding the video here on my blog. It will stay sticky posted at the top through November 4, along with any others that you decide, rightfully, to try and ban. Video below the fold.
more...

Posted by: Physics Geek at 11:59 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Barack Obama is the President-elect of the U.S.A.. Quite a change from the days of segregation and "whites only" water fountains.

Congratulations on your historic victory, Mr. President-elect. I look forward to opposing most of your policies over the next 4 years, but wish you well otherwise, as you will be our country's leader in these troubling times which, despite the Kos Kidz beliefs, will not end when Bush leaves office.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 11:31 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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From the Virginia State Board of Elections:

Polls are open from 6:00 AM until 7:00 PM
Tuesday November 4, 2008.

Go to the polls. Do your civic duty, no matter how you choose to vote.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:18 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Over at HotAir, Allah links to another bit of excretion by Kathleen Parker. My response to her and her like-minded cohorts is worth 1000 words:

Update: Looking at my referrer logs, I've apparently been the recipient of a Rachellanche. Very cool. And thanks to all who've shown up. Hopefully you won't permanently ban my site from your browser.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:22 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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