en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/825606 Comments by Lee Thomas http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/08/28/t-5-hours-to-restoring-honor/#IDComment95680490 It is always interesting to watch ones political transformation take place on the pages of either print or a blog. Michael Merrit has learned in his early years what many of us took generations to learn. That is honor, integrity and a sense of accomplishment are much more then any hand out the government could ever give one. While certainly handouts are needed and I do not advocate the removal of social safety nets from our society this generation of legislators thru decades of setting us up to fail in our schools and colleges has gone to excessive extremes in order to turn America socialist. To do so one must constantly assault the American psyche of hard work, determination, effort, and a dependence upon ones own hands and a faith in a supreme being. All of those must go. It is what every communist country takes from their citizens. It is what progressives want to take from us today....and make no mistake this is not BS I am making up. The following is taken as a direct and unedited quote from the progressive magazine. The voice of the progressive movement. Nationalism is the egg that hatches fascism. And patriotism is but the father of nationalism. Patriotism is not something to play with. It’s highly toxic. When ingested, it corrodes the rational faculties. It gulls people into believing their leaders. It masks those who benefit most from state policy. And it destroys the ability of people to get together, within the United States and across boundaries, to take on those with the most power: the multinational corporation.........Mathew Rothschild. The editor of the progressive magazine....the voice for the progressive movement. Honor? There is no honor in the progressive world it seems. Only disdain for anything that smacks of standing on your own two feet and standing proud that your an American. The old collective must go. Replaced by a new collective dictated by the state with the pretense that it is actually the people in power. Hogwash. Its just a new set of Task masters telling us what to eat, when to eat it and how much methane my cows can fart before meat is banned from the diet of Americans. Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:37:37 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/08/28/t-5-hours-to-restoring-honor/#IDComment95680490 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/08/07/the-left%e2%80%99s-war-on-the-army-continued-soldier-in-uniform-refused-service-in-supermarket/#IDComment92244783 Ironically Robert Gibbs made the point for me. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called the far left in his party the "professional left" saying, "They will be satisfied when we have Canadian healthcare and we've eliminated the Pentagon. That's not reality." The progressives really do want to be rid of the military. They loathe the military because it supports their number one hatred in life. Corporations and big business. Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:58:09 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/08/07/the-left%e2%80%99s-war-on-the-army-continued-soldier-in-uniform-refused-service-in-supermarket/#IDComment92244783 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/08/07/the-left%e2%80%99s-war-on-the-army-continued-soldier-in-uniform-refused-service-in-supermarket/#IDComment91567241 I believe that there is a huge difference between liberals and Progressives. At least in America. Right now their is a battle for the soul of the Democratic party. The liberals love and cherish our military and our soldiers. The progressives believe America is a gluttonous nation who should be punished and brought down several notches. To wit: """Nationalism is the egg that hatches fascism. And patriotism is but the father of nationalism. Patriotism is not something to play with. It’s highly toxic. When ingested, it corrodes the rational faculties. It gulls people into believing their leaders.It masks those who benefit most from state policy. And it destroys the ability of people to get together, within the United States and across boundaries, to take on those with the most power: the multinational corporation.""" Matthew Rothschild who is the editor of the PROGRESSIVE MAGAZINE. As we all know Progressivism was brought to America from Europe. As Michael points out its what the left has been trying to emulate for a century. Sun, 8 Aug 2010 13:42:26 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/08/07/the-left%e2%80%99s-war-on-the-army-continued-soldier-in-uniform-refused-service-in-supermarket/#IDComment91567241 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/08/04/will-lindsey-graham-be-part-of-his-feared-unholy-alliance/#IDComment90780352 Graham is a known RINO within the GOP. He will certainly meet his demise when he is up for re-election. That could be a sad state of affairs in reality because both parties actually need more Rino's and Dino's in order to actually get things done and work in a bipartisan way with each other. As for the war itself. I would support pulling out of Afghanistan only because I see no hope. Its 12,000 miles away with every nation in that region pulling for the bad guys. Its akin to the Chinese sending 100,000 men to Canada with all kinds of rigid restrictions and then trying to convert the Candadians into Chinese citizens with the United States right next door sending them aid and comfort and allowing them to flee inside and outside of our borders while they continue to resist a mamby-pamby effort of subduing the rebellion. Its pointless. In the grand scheme of things its a noble cause but its bound to fail because its starting premise and ending point is rooted in failure. Wed, 4 Aug 2010 12:54:01 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/08/04/will-lindsey-graham-be-part-of-his-feared-unholy-alliance/#IDComment90780352 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/08/01/democrats-bungle-911-workers-health-bill/#IDComment90241033 It was a political ploy by the Democrats to drag the GOP into a vote that they could then use for the next 4 months to paint them as big spenders as well as the party that allowed GWB to run deficits for his entire two terms. They needed linkage to GWB and this bill offered the perfect linkage to GWB and his EPA administrator who said the air quality is fine around ground zero. They did not get linkage and the Democrats did not give a F&^$ about the ground zero workers other then in ways that could have benefited them politically in an election year. If this bill was so pressing then pass it in 2007 or 2008 or 2009 and they most likely would have gotten GOP support. Mon, 2 Aug 2010 02:32:00 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/08/01/democrats-bungle-911-workers-health-bill/#IDComment90241033 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/27/wikileaks-documents-show-job-in-afghanistan-is-not-done/#IDComment89148961 This man should go to jail for 99 years. If we as a country condone the release of any top secret files then we have condemned forever any clandestine operation in an evil world in which we as Americans are forced to play the same game as our adversaries. There is nothing right about this and there is nothing in the American psyche that says we have a right to know about military operations in a war overseas if they are top secret or classified. Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:17:54 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/27/wikileaks-documents-show-job-in-afghanistan-is-not-done/#IDComment89148961 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/22/andrew-breitbart-shirley-sherrod-and-the-cut-throat-media/#IDComment88062412 The biggest problem here is the lefts absolute horrid handling of a hatchet job by Breitbart. He had full intention of showing that left is every bit as racist as the right could possibly and in fact I have contended for decades now that the Left has a copyright on Racism. They are obsessed with racism. They have turned everything about Obama into racism. The election coming up in November is not about their record but about racism. The tea party is racist. the NAACP is issuing statements and proclamations that the tea party get rid of racists......the implication is that the tea party is full of racists. Yet if you look at the 2007-2008 primary campaigns it is obvious that the left/Democrats are every bit as racist as are the right. In fact Hillary and Bill Clinton were accused of being racists and RACE BAITING almost daily. Hillary and Bill Clinton. So if its true that Hillary and Bill Clinton are racist then that means what? It means the left is obsessed and consumed by racism and its the only thing they have going for themselves in a world of Political Correctness. They must define the debate. Set the groundwork. Layout the rules for the debate. The Progressives did that for years before they finally were able to determine the narrative about GWB was the war and his pissing on the constitution. Once that was accepted then nothing else mattered. Today the Progressive left is trying to make the narrative about the right and racism. If they succeed then nothing else will matter. Nothing. The left will be able to do what they want because to react in anger is RACIST. The Republican Party was not so badly split as the Democrats by the civil rights issue. Only one Republican senator participated in the filibuster against the bill. In fact, since 1933, Republicans had a more positive record on civil rights than the Democrats. In the twenty-six major civil rights votes since 1933, a majority of Democrats opposed civil rights legislation in over 80 % of the votes. By contrast, the Republican majority favored civil rights in over 96 % of the votes. Remember Robert Byrd(D) who just passed away? Well he lead the filibuster against the civil rights legislation that nearly succeeded. This is about the narrative. Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:34:22 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/22/andrew-breitbart-shirley-sherrod-and-the-cut-throat-media/#IDComment88062412 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/20/gallup-polls-shows-obama-should-start-planning-for-life-after-the-white-house/#IDComment87795362 I would think that the problem the Right has in this country is the continual need to bash on Obama. They need to bash on the Congress who is his enabler. Without a complicit congress he might actually make a good ambassador for the USA in world affairs. Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:29:21 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/20/gallup-polls-shows-obama-should-start-planning-for-life-after-the-white-house/#IDComment87795362 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/11/canada-charges-radical-muslim-with-thought-crime/#IDComment86300738 Anne Coulter was told she would be arrested for speaking in Canda because her speech about liberals was considered hate speech. No different then this. In fact this is much worse but its all lumped into the same heap of message control that socialist countries have over their citizens. There is no such thing as free speech in nearly every country on earth except the United States where its a guaranteed certainty that you can stand on the street corner and shout with a bull horn that blacks need to kill some crackers and their babies and get away with it. Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:19:03 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/11/canada-charges-radical-muslim-with-thought-crime/#IDComment86300738 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/11/canada-charges-radical-muslim-with-thought-crime/#IDComment86195062 Canada and all socialist countries do not have the 1st amendment. The USA is essentially unique in our ability to speak and say what we want without fear of repercussions such as this. Mon, 12 Jul 2010 01:24:38 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/11/canada-charges-radical-muslim-with-thought-crime/#IDComment86195062 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/05/must-read-defense-of-the-2nd-amendment/#IDComment85531415 From the article you linked: """We believe the Founders intended for us to be able to say damn near anything we want, protest damn near anything we want, print damn near anything we want, and believe damn near anything we want. Individually, without the interference or regulation of government.""" Take this in perspective of the quote from Podesta on the difference between liberals and Progressives: Liberals tend to care more about individual freedom, Podesta wrote, while progressives care more about the public good. The article you linked is definitely written by a liberal which goes back to something I have been saying for awhile now. The Democratic party is Liberal and Progressive. The Progressives are in charge now and its reflective in their desire for the Public GOOD rather then individual freedoms. Thu, 8 Jul 2010 15:37:20 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/05/must-read-defense-of-the-2nd-amendment/#IDComment85531415 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/04/independence-day/#IDComment85101915 Not all it seems. From the Progressive Magazine. Nationalism is the egg that hatches fascism. And patriotism is but the father of nationalism. Patriotism is not something to play with. It’s highly toxic. When ingested, it corrodes the rational faculties. It gulls people into believing their leaders.It masks those who benefit most from state policy. Matthew Rothschild | And it destroys the ability of people to get together, within the United States and across boundaries, to take on those with the most power: the multinational corporation. Tue, 6 Jul 2010 08:49:02 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/07/04/independence-day/#IDComment85101915 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/28/re-moderation/#IDComment83465320 What is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents. - Robert F. Kennedy Perhaps we are discussing semantics of the subject but I have always maintained that their are no moderates in politics. Only centrists. Moderate...........to lessen the intensity or extremeness of Centrist...........a person who holds moderate views Sort of funny don't you agree? A moderate is not an extremist and a Centrist is a moderate. In other words the definition of both are extremely hard to pin down. Much as politics its about feel and emotion rather then pragmatism and reality. As Bobby indicated in the quote above........The problems come because of emotion that illicits verbal exchanges and not because of intellectual honesty. Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:42:46 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/28/re-moderation/#IDComment83465320 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/28/george-f-will-asks-vital-questions-scotus-nominee-elena-kagan-needs-to-answer/#IDComment83115841 I oppose her nomination because she is a political activist with almost zero judicial experience. I did not oppose Sotomeyer because while she might have been somewhat activist she had tons of judicial experience. I cannot say that anyone who is nominated by someone on the left I would agree to put on the court but I can say that if they are going to nominate someone then let that person at least have experience to see what are the results of their judicial rulings. There is a big difference between kicking someone out of Harvard for plagarism or acting unbecoming to University Standards as opposed to issuing rulings that have lasting effects on 300,000,000 Americans for generations to come. Is she prepared for that? The answer can be seen with Barak Obama. He had no experience that would allow him to be a good president. It shows. Judgement does not replace experience and we are being asked to accept Judgement over experience with this woman and if we do then we will get another On the Job experiment with even more profound, long lasting consequences. So no matter what she says in the hearings. I will not be swayed. She is not qualified to sit on the Supreme Court. Her politics are irrelevant to me at this point because anyone nominated by Obama is going to be hard left in that regard. Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:37:01 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/28/george-f-will-asks-vital-questions-scotus-nominee-elena-kagan-needs-to-answer/#IDComment83115841 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/28/re-moderation/#IDComment83106353 People have passion when it comes to politics and religion. It is pretty hard to be a moderate. To me moderate means ambivalent. For example I do not care who wins the next formula one race because I am not interested in formula one racing. I do not care who wins the world cup because soccer is of NO importance to me. So if one says pick one.......Germany or Poland to win the world cup....I would flip a coin because I do not care, I have no passion and I am ambivalent to the outcome. Turning to politics I am centrist on abortion. Personal story here to illustrate my point. My daughter just had a 6 lb baby boy. During her pregnancy the ultra sound techs were telling her it was going to be a dwarf. That there were problems. That it might have downs syndrome and that they were going to have a special needs child. We were all crushed. The question came up about abortion. I am opposed to abortion in almost all incidences. They asked me what I thought. I told them that I was opposed to abortion but that I understand that it is THEY who have to live for the rest of their lives with a special needs child. IN other words I said that while I opposed abortion I would not disown them for choosing abortion but that I felt the boy deserved a chance at life.....etc..etc. In the end they decided to have the baby and he turned out to have NO problems, be perfectly healthy and doing just fine. It appears it was the way he was laying in the womb that had them all confused about his size etc. Long story short. I was not a moderate on abortion. I am fiercely opposed to abortion. I am a centrist because I believe that people have to make those choices themselves and that its not my right to tell people what to believe or what to do. But in my heart I am not a moderate. I am a centrist because the choice is yours and not mine while personally maintaining a vast disdain for abortion. Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:03:37 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/28/re-moderation/#IDComment83106353 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/27/actually-it-is-possible-to-be-a-moderate/#IDComment82622983 Based upon the definition of moderate that I looked up on wiki I would subscribe to the notion that most people are moderates. The problem is that the other 30 percent of America who are fringe, radical, extreme and thus not moderates are driving the debate. So it goes something like this......To fight fire you use fire. Both sides agree with moderates stuck in the middle. Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:24:14 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/27/actually-it-is-possible-to-be-a-moderate/#IDComment82622983 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/24/petreaus-right-for-the-job/#IDComment82184713 Right or wrong. The problem facing Afghanistan is that the president has said that in July were done. We are done. Boys and girls are dieing because of a failed policy in Afghanistan. I believe we should just come home today. Why kill another boy or girl in that country. Why kill another Afghani or Pakistani or anyone else that gets in the way? If we are not serious about winning and Obama wants this to be a police action then form an international Police force funded by 200 countries to pursue terroists and get the hell out of Afghanistan. In a year Petreaus will be asking to have that reporter assigned to him so he can get fired too. Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:04:12 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/24/petreaus-right-for-the-job/#IDComment82184713 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/19/palin-it’s-perfectly-fine-if-you-want-to-smoke-marijuana/#IDComment81094199 I think Marijuana is not far from being legalized in this country. The fact that it is seriously not much more of a mind altering drug then is Booze is simply a mandate to legalize the product. In fact I think that it should be legalized and that it should be done very soon only because the drug wars flairing up in Mexico and threatening to spill over the border into the USA need to be stopped. Palin is right. America is in flux. America is always changing and the fact that conservatives always resist change is in many ways a detriment for their progress moving forward. The fact that Palin came out in favor of this is a strong bonus and I think it will get the Conservatives to finally agree to legalization of Marijuana. Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:42:37 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/19/palin-it’s-perfectly-fine-if-you-want-to-smoke-marijuana/#IDComment81094199 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/16/centrists-gopers-dont-want-a-big-tent/#IDComment81013909 No I agree that purist are not the way to go but both parties are in that mode right now and I think its a result of reacting to the other party. Centrist is the way to go. Not Moderate. Moderate for both sides means being more like the other party and thats just not going to work for either side. centrist means finding common ground and working from there I believe, but with party purity at a premium I think the divide between the two parties is at an all time high until the parties can cleanse themselves of the fringe purists and find the means to work toward centrism and not moderation. Moderate in my mind simply means giving in to the other side and getting nothing in return. GWB gave the democrats senior prescriptions and he got toasted for it by the Democrats who screamed it was not good enough and by the GOP who were saying what are you doing man?? Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:49:30 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/16/centrists-gopers-dont-want-a-big-tent/#IDComment81013909 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/16/centrists-gopers-dont-want-a-big-tent/#IDComment80977690 I will agree to what you posted. My only contention is that the GOP right now is reeling from years of liberal policies which I would consider medicare part D and massive budget deficits no matter the reason. My point was simply that Progressives got their legs because of the neoconish movement of the GOP. The GOP is trying to purge themselves of the Neoconish views while the Democrats are fully being run by the Progressives right now. Both are fringe in the parties and both are going to have to run their course. There is a purity movement going on in both parties right now and the big tent concept is dead in the GOP because Big Tent means to most people who propose it......Democrat Lite. Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:29:49 +0000 http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/16/centrists-gopers-dont-want-a-big-tent/#IDComment80977690