Double Standard for Dems and anyone else they don't like.
The current fuss over Harry Reid's comments are more evidence of the seriously frustrating double standards that are applied to Democrats and literally everyone else, especially conservatives. When Trent Lott made some innocuous comments at the 100 year birthday party of Strom Thurmond he was lambasted by the left. His apology was rejected and he was branded a racist. You know the rest.
So thinking about this I did some browsing on the web and landed on the following two sites.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strom_Thurmond and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd
Read the history of both of these two old guys. My first observation is why the hell, do we let these politicians get elected for life. They are so all over the spectrum of the political landscape that their legacy is fraught with conflicting decisions. The second observation is they both started in a very different American than the one they served in their later years. Their survival required they change their spots. Not the other way around.
It would be my opinion that Thurmond was slightly better than Byrd. His military service alone is admirable. Byrd on the other hand made some seriously bad choices; like joining the KKK. Both men resisted and objected to integration and civil rights. They both changed their views in time. However, the statement made by Byrd: "I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds." is indefensible.
So why the support by the Democrats for Byrd but the condemnation for Thurmond?
Simple, Strom Thurmond switched parties in 1964 and became a Republican and a rather lousy one at that. His equally offensive remarks: "I wanna tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that there's not enough troops in the army to force the Southern people to break down segregation and admit the nigra race into our theaters, into our swimming pools, into our homes, and into our churches." were made years earlier when he was a Democrat.
Both of these senators have long and colorful careers. It could be argued, in my opinion, that neither of them should be honored because they were both racists, wielded way too much power and likely spent way too much of the countries treasure for their own gain.
Thurmond: Thanks to his close relationship with the Nixon administration, Thurmond found himself in a position to deliver a great deal of federal money, appointments and projects to his state. With a like-minded president in the White House, Thurmond became a very effective power broker in Washington. His staffers said that he aimed to become South Carolina's "indispensable man" in D.C
Byrd: Byrd is well known for steering federal dollars to West Virginia, one of the country's poorest states. He is called by some the "King of Pork." After becoming chair of the Appropriations Committee in 1989, Byrd sought to steer, over time, a total of $1 billion for public works in the state. He passed that mark in 1991, and the steady stream of funds for highways, dams, educational institutions, and federal agency offices has continued unabated over the course of his membership. More than thirty pending or existing federal projects bear Byrd's name. He commented on his reputation for attaining funds for projects in West Virginia in August 2006 when he called himself "Big Daddy" at the dedication to the Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center.
So what does this have to do with Harry Reid and his comments about Barak Obama? Nothing. Just that there is and has been a double standard employed by Liberals and the democrats for too long. Either get over it, allow that people make a few mistakes and say dumb things from time to time and with today's media it is heard around the world before you even know what you did wrong and are allowed to retract or be consistent and hold all to the same standard.
P.S.
For more on Harry Reid check him out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Reid
I especially liked this part.........he is such a calm individual on TV:
Reid lost his temper and attempted to choke Gordon, "You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me!", and was pulled off by FBI agents.
By the way, Old Harry has been at this politics thing since he got out of school. Sound familiar?
For more entertaining reading and information that as Glenn says, "will make your eyes bleed" check out a few more of these career politicians on Wikipedia. It is time to throw them out, both sides, and get some honest replacements.
Tim Woodsome
Running With Scissors
Monday, January 11, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Flying with Scissors and Swords
Running With Scissors #2
So this is the second Blog. Where to start? It has been a slow week for the talking heads on TV. Most of my regular hosts are on vacation and the guest hosts are doing a fine job filling in but it seems like I’ve seen a lot of repeats of past shows. That suggests that not a lot of news is happening during the holiday break but then maybe it is just quiet because Congress went home. I wish they would stay home and spend some time talking to the people they are supposed to represent. Better yet I want them to have to fly back to work on the same planes they expect us to fly on. No special privileges or passes but go to the airport an hour and a half early, take off their shoes and empty their pockets and remove all their belongings and then wait in the terminal and in the event of a delay during take off, sit in the plane forever.
I got to fly on my first airplane when I was eight. Back then it was fun. As a kid you got lots of neat junk, pins with wings, luggage bags, toys and all sorts of cool stuff. The food was good and the Stewardesses were beautiful and friendly. The bathrooms had free bottles of after shave and cologne (I still have a bottle of each I never opened). You were also allowed to take anything on board. When we were flying home from Kenya in 1968, we had a layover in Barcelona. My brother and I each bought real swords which we carried onto the planes. I remember the stewardess had to tell my brother to stop using his to turn the overhead light on and off. Can you imagine what would happen today? Top that one John McClain (no, not the senator, the guy from Die Hard).
I hate flying now and avoid it whenever possible. Granted I don’t have to very often but it makes me really mad when once again the American public is punished for the actions of a few. Just like everything else government does, in order to fix a problem they look to fix it for everyone.
Remember when school was hard and if you screwed up you got kicked out? The idea was to preserve the quality of education and to get rid of the kids that weren’t there to learn. Not any more.
Our congress is determined to do the same thing with health care. Penalize the majority for the failures of the few. The others have free health care already.
It is always the same. If someone kills a person with a gun, then regulate guns for everyone else. If there are too many car accidents, make seat belts mandatory for everyone. Instead of remedial driver education for traffic offenders lower the speed limit for all drivers.
When Natasha Richardson died following a skiing accident there was quickly a call for mandatory helmets for skiers and some slopes responded accordingly by requiring their employees to wear helmets. Of course a study emerged that suggested helmets encouraged more risky behavior but that won’t deter the believers. The Nov. 11, 2009 Wall Street Journal had an article that said it might be time to retire the football helmet because the helmets provide a false sense of security and thus players hit each other harder than they would if they did not have protection, like their Rugby counterparts.
A false sense of security….imagine that. This is exactly what we can expect once again after we implement all the new regulations the TSA has in store for the flying public. As long as Janet Napolitano says the system worked like it was supposed to and the President plays golf as usual you can rest assured the only one that will be inconvenienced will be you, the good and honest and loyal American.
I can not imagine flying frequently like so many business people do. Putting up with the nonsense, knowing all the while that they can’t really do a damn thing to keep you safe on your flight. Every time you go through the security gates you are on trial. Not the bad guys. They win every time you have to throw away some belonging that is not permitted and every time you take off your shoes and walk through the detectors (they should have a sterile foot bath like at public pools), the bad guys win.
Why are our service men and women not armed on their military base and subject to as much of a threat here in the US as when overseas? Haven’t they passed the test? Why would we allow these, the best of us all, to be at risk from an individual who was clearly a red flag. Once again punishing the majority rather than doing what should have been done.
It is time that we demand to be treated like the law abiding citizens we are. If you are one of the good guys you shouldn’t have to prove it over and over. When I became a cop, I passed a mighty stringent background check and was permitted the opportunity to carry a badge and to carry a gun even in the presence of the President of the United States. I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Colorado. I’m retired from Law Enforcement now but I have never rescinded that oath and I am the same guy I was before. Aren’t we all, at least most of us, descent and trustworthy citizens of this great country?
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
These words are inscribed on the Statue of Liberty’s Pedestal. They are attributed to Benjamin Franklin. We have given up a great deal of our Essential Liberty in exchange for very little safety. Congressman..........Are you listening?
Tim Woodsome
Running With Scissors
(and a sword)
So this is the second Blog. Where to start? It has been a slow week for the talking heads on TV. Most of my regular hosts are on vacation and the guest hosts are doing a fine job filling in but it seems like I’ve seen a lot of repeats of past shows. That suggests that not a lot of news is happening during the holiday break but then maybe it is just quiet because Congress went home. I wish they would stay home and spend some time talking to the people they are supposed to represent. Better yet I want them to have to fly back to work on the same planes they expect us to fly on. No special privileges or passes but go to the airport an hour and a half early, take off their shoes and empty their pockets and remove all their belongings and then wait in the terminal and in the event of a delay during take off, sit in the plane forever.
I got to fly on my first airplane when I was eight. Back then it was fun. As a kid you got lots of neat junk, pins with wings, luggage bags, toys and all sorts of cool stuff. The food was good and the Stewardesses were beautiful and friendly. The bathrooms had free bottles of after shave and cologne (I still have a bottle of each I never opened). You were also allowed to take anything on board. When we were flying home from Kenya in 1968, we had a layover in Barcelona. My brother and I each bought real swords which we carried onto the planes. I remember the stewardess had to tell my brother to stop using his to turn the overhead light on and off. Can you imagine what would happen today? Top that one John McClain (no, not the senator, the guy from Die Hard).
I hate flying now and avoid it whenever possible. Granted I don’t have to very often but it makes me really mad when once again the American public is punished for the actions of a few. Just like everything else government does, in order to fix a problem they look to fix it for everyone.
Remember when school was hard and if you screwed up you got kicked out? The idea was to preserve the quality of education and to get rid of the kids that weren’t there to learn. Not any more.
Our congress is determined to do the same thing with health care. Penalize the majority for the failures of the few. The others have free health care already.
It is always the same. If someone kills a person with a gun, then regulate guns for everyone else. If there are too many car accidents, make seat belts mandatory for everyone. Instead of remedial driver education for traffic offenders lower the speed limit for all drivers.
When Natasha Richardson died following a skiing accident there was quickly a call for mandatory helmets for skiers and some slopes responded accordingly by requiring their employees to wear helmets. Of course a study emerged that suggested helmets encouraged more risky behavior but that won’t deter the believers. The Nov. 11, 2009 Wall Street Journal had an article that said it might be time to retire the football helmet because the helmets provide a false sense of security and thus players hit each other harder than they would if they did not have protection, like their Rugby counterparts.
A false sense of security….imagine that. This is exactly what we can expect once again after we implement all the new regulations the TSA has in store for the flying public. As long as Janet Napolitano says the system worked like it was supposed to and the President plays golf as usual you can rest assured the only one that will be inconvenienced will be you, the good and honest and loyal American.
I can not imagine flying frequently like so many business people do. Putting up with the nonsense, knowing all the while that they can’t really do a damn thing to keep you safe on your flight. Every time you go through the security gates you are on trial. Not the bad guys. They win every time you have to throw away some belonging that is not permitted and every time you take off your shoes and walk through the detectors (they should have a sterile foot bath like at public pools), the bad guys win.
Why are our service men and women not armed on their military base and subject to as much of a threat here in the US as when overseas? Haven’t they passed the test? Why would we allow these, the best of us all, to be at risk from an individual who was clearly a red flag. Once again punishing the majority rather than doing what should have been done.
It is time that we demand to be treated like the law abiding citizens we are. If you are one of the good guys you shouldn’t have to prove it over and over. When I became a cop, I passed a mighty stringent background check and was permitted the opportunity to carry a badge and to carry a gun even in the presence of the President of the United States. I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Colorado. I’m retired from Law Enforcement now but I have never rescinded that oath and I am the same guy I was before. Aren’t we all, at least most of us, descent and trustworthy citizens of this great country?
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
These words are inscribed on the Statue of Liberty’s Pedestal. They are attributed to Benjamin Franklin. We have given up a great deal of our Essential Liberty in exchange for very little safety. Congressman..........Are you listening?
Tim Woodsome
Running With Scissors
(and a sword)
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Running With Scissors Part 1
This is the first edition of my new BLOG. I am calling the series “Running with Scissors” because I hope to communicate that I take chances and I don’t much like it when someone (especially the government) tells me I can’t do something.
As you can see from my photo I am not the guy that likes to just sit and swing nice.
I do not remember what I was planning once I transferred to the cloths line pole but more than likely it was because I saw a challenge and thought it looked fun.
Remember when the playground was fun? We had great swings and teeter totters and merry go rounds. We had monkey bars and tether ball and hot metal slides. The teachers told us to go outside and play and we did. Tag, dodge ball, red rover, wrestling and all kinds of good fun that they yell at kids for today.
I was always climbing on something and I still do., despite my old age acquired fear of heights. I was always getting out onto the farthest and skinniest limb or hanging off the edge or just generally trying to scare the heck out of my mom. More recently, following the ice storm of the winter of 2007, I was out on the limbs of my trees with a chain saw 30 feet above the ground trying to clean up the mess.
I grew up at a pretty good time when a kid could go do stuff without getting into too much trouble. We watched TV and movies and we could go outside and play Cowboys and Indians and Army and not worry about being politically incorrect. Shoot sometimes you even wanted to be the Indians, they had bows and arrows and spears. The little bow I got after my tonsils were removed actually shot arrows. My cap gun only made noise. My mom probably warned me against putting my brother’s eye out but he still has both of them. Later my dad got me a real bow when I was 8 with real arrows. I remember he took me and my brother into a field behind the house and shot the arrows into the air and showed me how far they would go then told me not to do that. I still have that bow and it still works and I neeverrr shot any arrows into the air. Riiiight!
My TV heroes were the Lone Ranger and Zorro and Sgt Preston. My brothers were my side kicks and they put up with being injuns and bad guys and partners in crime. I recall Rob even slept with his cowboy gunbelt , minus the gun. He wore that thing all the time.
Later when my family moved to Africa in the early ‘60s my life really did become an adventure. I was like the son of Tarzan or something. Not that my dad swung from trees but he gave me a chance to have a childhood that only happens in books. There were all sorts of dangers and opportunities to get hurt or killed or to just have fun. With deadly snakes, monitor lizards and giant spiders about, a 10 year old with a good air rifle was as well equipped as Kit Carson - Frontier Scout, another guy I still admire.
In this blog I will address issues important to me. I fear we are a country no longer willing to take chances or to go out on a limb. There are too many people in our lives that are scared to death that we might get hurt or that we might do something that they don’t want us to do. They make us wear helmets and seatbelts, they tell us not to ski out of bounds and to keep both wheels on the ground at all times. They are the ones that cause me the most indigestion. Who are THEY? Why have we given them so much control?
In truth they are not generally evil bastards that wake up each morning with the singular mission of making life miserable for their fellow citizens however, they do feel very strongly that they know best. They only want to help !
When my daughter was a little squirt she showed a lot of stubbornness. (Got it from her mother I think.) Her first sentence was “do it myself”. I wanted to help but she wanted to do it her way. God bless her she still does it her way even if it isn’t the easiest.
I believe that this country is in trouble. Instead learning to do it ourselves we have way too many people that are afraid to try and they want someone else to do it for them. If we were facing the mighty Ohio River standing on the safe side, would we be willing today to board those flat bottomed boats and head downstream to new opportunities or would we sit and wait for the government to help us? I tell you this, if you wait for the authorities, first they likely won’t let you go for your own good and if they do, it will only be after you get a permit, pay a fee and install a coastguard approved throw cushion. Huck Finn had one don’t you know. I’m just sayin.
As you can see from my photo I am not the guy that likes to just sit and swing nice.
I do not remember what I was planning once I transferred to the cloths line pole but more than likely it was because I saw a challenge and thought it looked fun.
Remember when the playground was fun? We had great swings and teeter totters and merry go rounds. We had monkey bars and tether ball and hot metal slides. The teachers told us to go outside and play and we did. Tag, dodge ball, red rover, wrestling and all kinds of good fun that they yell at kids for today.
I was always climbing on something and I still do., despite my old age acquired fear of heights. I was always getting out onto the farthest and skinniest limb or hanging off the edge or just generally trying to scare the heck out of my mom. More recently, following the ice storm of the winter of 2007, I was out on the limbs of my trees with a chain saw 30 feet above the ground trying to clean up the mess.
I grew up at a pretty good time when a kid could go do stuff without getting into too much trouble. We watched TV and movies and we could go outside and play Cowboys and Indians and Army and not worry about being politically incorrect. Shoot sometimes you even wanted to be the Indians, they had bows and arrows and spears. The little bow I got after my tonsils were removed actually shot arrows. My cap gun only made noise. My mom probably warned me against putting my brother’s eye out but he still has both of them. Later my dad got me a real bow when I was 8 with real arrows. I remember he took me and my brother into a field behind the house and shot the arrows into the air and showed me how far they would go then told me not to do that. I still have that bow and it still works and I neeverrr shot any arrows into the air. Riiiight!
My TV heroes were the Lone Ranger and Zorro and Sgt Preston. My brothers were my side kicks and they put up with being injuns and bad guys and partners in crime. I recall Rob even slept with his cowboy gunbelt , minus the gun. He wore that thing all the time.
Later when my family moved to Africa in the early ‘60s my life really did become an adventure. I was like the son of Tarzan or something. Not that my dad swung from trees but he gave me a chance to have a childhood that only happens in books. There were all sorts of dangers and opportunities to get hurt or killed or to just have fun. With deadly snakes, monitor lizards and giant spiders about, a 10 year old with a good air rifle was as well equipped as Kit Carson - Frontier Scout, another guy I still admire.
In this blog I will address issues important to me. I fear we are a country no longer willing to take chances or to go out on a limb. There are too many people in our lives that are scared to death that we might get hurt or that we might do something that they don’t want us to do. They make us wear helmets and seatbelts, they tell us not to ski out of bounds and to keep both wheels on the ground at all times. They are the ones that cause me the most indigestion. Who are THEY? Why have we given them so much control?
In truth they are not generally evil bastards that wake up each morning with the singular mission of making life miserable for their fellow citizens however, they do feel very strongly that they know best. They only want to help !
When my daughter was a little squirt she showed a lot of stubbornness. (Got it from her mother I think.) Her first sentence was “do it myself”. I wanted to help but she wanted to do it her way. God bless her she still does it her way even if it isn’t the easiest.
I believe that this country is in trouble. Instead learning to do it ourselves we have way too many people that are afraid to try and they want someone else to do it for them. If we were facing the mighty Ohio River standing on the safe side, would we be willing today to board those flat bottomed boats and head downstream to new opportunities or would we sit and wait for the government to help us? I tell you this, if you wait for the authorities, first they likely won’t let you go for your own good and if they do, it will only be after you get a permit, pay a fee and install a coastguard approved throw cushion. Huck Finn had one don’t you know. I’m just sayin.
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