Anyone who has seen video of the 9/12 protesters knows that they seem to be using the terms socialism, fascism, and communism interchangeably. They push the notion that America is becoming socialist (an economic term) as well as communist (a political term). Facism means different things to different people. Some people think of it in the classical Italian sense where "a system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism." Other definitions include "corporatism", where corporations take over government. It is in that latter sense that it completely contradicts communism (where government takes over and owns businesses).
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71 comments (Latest Comment: 09/17/2009 02:03:34 by livingonli)

I have often spoken about racism here in this blog and in other places. To tell you the truth, being white doesn't make it very comfortable for me to talk about it, but-- my being white makes it quite necessary to talk about it. I don't know why such blatant racism is suddenly allowed in this country. I don't know why such vitriol is acceptable for so many people.

The easy answer would be to say that it's because of WHO we have as a President. That would be easy, but it's a cop out. These people are using that as an excuse to express the hatred that lies inside themselves. Where that hate came from, I don't know. TV? Radio? Does it matter?
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71 comments (Latest Comment: 09/15/2009 00:49:08 by Mondobubba)

Good Morning.

It's the day after....in many ways, September 12 is more significant than September 11. For all of us, it was the day we had to wake up, face reality, and go back to work and get on with our lives. There were still weeks and months ahead of us of trauma, sadness, and who knows what else, but that Wednesday if you got up and went back to work...you won.

For me, "September 12" has that hook to it that I've been pointing to for years as the prime example of what Bush did wrong. Every nation on Earth was on our doorstep 8 years ago this morning expressing their sympathy and sadness, and asking how to help. A tremendous opportunity was missed, and we're still paying the price today.

But I digress.

September 12 also marks the death of one of my oldest friends....the aviation industry.

I well remember my first flight. My father's friend Bob Tyler owned a vintage J-3 Piper Cub, and he routinely flew it out of the now-defunct Tew-Mac airport in Tewksbury, MA. I no longer remember the year, but I recall I was about Javi's age...7 or 8 years old, when we drove out to the airfield and Bob took me and his son Guy up for a couple of short hops.

I already liked airplanes, but I was hooked good from that moment on.

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21 comments (Latest Comment: 09/13/2009 04:54:29 by clintster)

"Support for Obama's plan jumped 20 points, from 46% before the speech to 66% after. Importantly, Obama also achieved one of his principal goals of boosting the intensity of support. Prior to the speech, just 2% of these swing voters supported the plan strongly while 26% opposed it strongly; by the end of the evening those numbers were virtually reversed, with 28% supporting the plan strongly against just 8% strongly opposed."
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65 comments (Latest Comment: 09/11/2009 03:39:12 by Raine)

Good Morning.

We'll skip the statistics this morning; I've got a long story to tell.

On December 21, 1862, President Lincoln signed a measure into law that created America's highest military honor. According to the bill, the award was "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities during the present war."

During the Civil War, over 1,500 of these medals were awarded for valor; but since then the numbers have continued to fall and the requirements and burden of proof have grown more stringent. Since the withdrawal of US forces from Vietnam in 1973, the award has been given just 7 times.

On September 17, Sergeant Jared C. Monti will become the 8th post-Vietnam recipient of the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony.

The Medal of Honor Citation is written in dry, militarese, but it's still worth reading.

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48 comments (Latest Comment: 09/09/2009 02:00:33 by BobR)