Not just a US Problem

Azeri college shooting leaves 13 dead - Los Angeles Times

Thirteen dead in Azeri college shooting
From Reuters
3:52 AM PDT, April 30, 2009
Baku, Azerbaijan -- Thirteen people were killed at a university in oil-producing Azerbaijan on Thursday when a gunman moving floor to floor opened fire on teachers and students after the bell rang for morning classes.

A police source said the gunman was among the dead.

The state prosecutor's office said 13 people were killed and 13 wounded in the shooting at the State Oil Academy in Baku, capital of the mainly Muslim former Soviet republic.

It said the gunman was a Georgian citizen of Azeri origin. "He climbed from the first floor to the sixth, shooting people mainly in the head from a Makarov pistol," a Russian-made semi-automatic pistol, the prosecutor's office said.

According to Azeri ANS television, the gunman shot dead a security guard and a cleaner as he entered the building, before opening fire on students and teachers.

Two foreign citizens - from Syria and Sudan - were among the dead, a police source said. The motive was not clear.

Police closed access roads and special forces surrounded the building. Photographs showed pools of blood on the steps to the university and paramedics carrying out bodies in bags.

A source at the emergency ministry confirmed the gunman was alone, though confused and frightened students leaving the building spoke of two attackers.

One student said the shooting started shortly after the bell rang for morning classes at 9 a.m. (0500 GMT), with a gunman climbing the stairs and opening fire on each of the six floors.

Another witness said a student had approached the gunman shouting "Don't shoot, don't shoot!" before being shot in the head.

Azerbaijan is a mainly Muslim but secular country of 8.3 million people on the shores of the Caspian Sea, where it holds vast reserves of oil and gas. BP is heavily involved in Azeri oil export to Europe.

Education Minister Misir Mardanov told reporters: "I feel deep regret, and consider this a terrible incident for our society."

So is Momma a Cougar or is Daddy a Cinnabon or Both?

martinis for milk: Cougar Crossing

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Cougar Crossing

*This post has been edited since its original posting.

Full disclosure: On my "work from home" day, the huz and I try to grab a coffee at the cafe where I sometimes go to work. We drop Nate at school, take the Goose along and try to have a bit of husband and wife time (while she tears the place apart and we futilely bribe her with a chocolate chip cookie). Then they walk home while I get some work done. It's a sweet ritual actually.

Some weeks it's packed in there. Others, not so much. Last week it was just us and a pair of moms avec enfants nearby. Lucy was, without a doubt, in their way as they were leaving. J wrangled her wriggly self out of the way and the mom was all, "That's OK. She's so cute..." and then the reckoning came.

"Oh, I recognize you from the drop-in," said the mom blushing. I subconsciously narrowed my eyes in her direction and she was quick to recover. "--Your daughter! I recognized your daughter... ahem... from the drop-in."

I am not the jealous type. I don't entertain the thought that my recently un-jobbed husband will end up in some kind of Little Children-esque neighbourhood tryst. (OK maybe I do sometimes, but then I kind of giggle. Because really? The huzzle? He generates enough belly button lint to knit a sweater. Only I could still find the sexy in that.) But I was totally offended by this woman trying to play me like I don't know what goes on at the drop-in centre.

Bitch, you think I don't know? You think I didn't spend the last five years checking out the hot dad ass at the music class, the gym class, the library? You think I don't have the lake to the Danforth covered? You think I haven't given a select few worth mentioning nicknames like Bon Jovi Dad and Chandler Dad? Shiiiit.

I have always said that my husband's target market was gay men and cougars. Those are the two groups who are wise enough to see his awesomeness. They have been around the block, battered around and know a nice guy when they see one.

This was not an issue in our twenties -- for me at least -- except when we'd go one cottage benders with our gay friends and some bold acquaintance would inevitably try to crawl into bed with J. Yes, with me in it. But the cougar drool would only appear if we were at say... a Huey Lewis concert at Casino Rama. (J LOVES Huey Lewis! His CHFI taste in music only makes him more appealing to cougars.)

But now that my peers (and myself included) are on the doorstep of cougardom (perhaps we're still pumas), I've been wondering whether women my age would start noticing my husband as a catch. Add the boredom of motherhood to the mix, a pinch of the huzzle's amazing way with kids and ding ding ding -- this cake is baked. The huz suddenly has the appeal of a Cinnabon with extra frosting on the side.

J, of course, eats this up. "Oh, we're on our way there right now!" Say what? After years of being "just a friend" he's loving the "hot dad" neighbourhood celebrity status. But drop-in mamas, watch your backs. This cougar's got sharp claws.

Is it true?

Is it true that an Air Force Pilot "stole" Air Force One and took at on a "tour" of NYC in an attempt to send out a distress signal for the nation?

One can only speculate however when the Mayor was not informed that a large jetliner would be flying low over the city, not on a normal approach profile for the local airports, one can only wonder?

Thanks to Savage for idea here

Miss Dig follow-up

Well as it turns out, city workers were calling it a gas main leak, however sources close to the story said that a gas company hit "something" while installing a gas line. The object 4 feet by 4 feet in size was not marked, and had a strange odor coming from it. So for 5+ hours Ocean View was close while Hasmat crews cleared the material. Was it alien fuel? One can only speculate!?
I have some pix that I will upload as a slide show.

Before you dig call MISS DIG

Obviously some one did not call and the city misplaced some if its gas main schematics cuz Ocean View Ave from Sturgis Street west is CLOSED! From the gas guy going out to mark some more lines, he said some one hit a gas line that was not marked and the city/Virginia Gas does not know what is in it?! Maybe it is fuel for the alien spacecraft that landed here a few weeks ago?

To protect and defend against all enemies...

...foreign and most importantly, domestic!   Least we forget our oath.

From the Institute for Policy Innovation


Number 09.13
April 20, 2009

On Tea Parties and the Tenth Amendment


Allow us to make some informed observations about the “Tea Party protests” that have apparently escaped the mainstream media and those currently in political power in our nation’s capital.

(“Informed because IPI Resident Fellow Dr. Merrill Matthews spoke at the <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMB1K4wU5ZQ> Dallas Tea Party event <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMB1K4wU5ZQ> , and IPI president Tom Giovanetti spoke at the Denton County event.)

The Obama administration has dismissed the tea parties with feigned confusion. “We don’t understand what all these people are worked up about? After all, we gave 95% of them a tax cut, didn’t we?”

But people aren’t that stupid, and the tea party protesters aren’t just worked up about taxes. They understand that in the last 9 months or so, the growth of the federal government has reached a critical mass such that now almost everyone, regardless of political flavor, can agree that the federal government is out-of-control in its spending and in its grab for power over an even greater share of the economy. They may not agree precisely about how big the federal government should be, but they all agree that it shouldn’t be THIS big.

These voters seem angrier and more highly motivated than they were in 1994, we hasten to add.

It’s in this context that Texas Governor Rick Perry’s recent statements about reasserting Tenth Amendment rights come into play.

You wouldn’t know it from the last fifty or so years of federal government behavior, but the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution—the tag end of the Bill of Rights, enacted in 1791—reserves to the states or “the people” those “powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States.”

But these days apparently claiming the states have rights gets you branded as a secessionist, or worse.

Governor Rick Perry knows. A few days ago after he affirmed support for a legislative initiative urging states to reassert their Constitutional rights under the Tenth Amendment, he was widely praised by the tea party crowd, but roundly ridiculed by the powers that be, who have misread the power of Perry’s words as much as they’ve misread the tea partiers.

Perry, it seems to us, is defending the Constitution as much as he’s defending states’ rights.

Federalism has never been more important than it is today. We may all be Americans, but what plays in New York City and San Francisco may not play well in Dallas or Houston.  And states should be able to reflect those differences. In an age that seems to value tolerance over virtually everything else, federalism is the answer. “They do WHAT in Vermont? Oh, well, that’s their business.”

We’d like to see other states follow Texas’ lead, telling the federal government: If it isn’t enumerated in the Constitution, you have no authority to make the states do it.

Sounds radical, you say? You bet it is. Even revolutionary. Just ask the Founding Fathers.  

Get em While they are hot!

Brisk sales of ammo are leading to shortage in Texas, nationwide | Top Stories | Star-Telegram.com

FORT WORTH — Most days are like Christmas for Glen Furtardo.

When he opens boxes sent to the Winchester Gallery gun store in east Fort Worth, he finds out what ammunition he’ll have to stock his shelves with that day as demand for weapons and ammo soars.

Reports of heavy sales at gun stores began around the time of Barack Obama’s election as president, and months later, dealers are facing ammo shortages nationwide.

"People are panicking and buying," said Furtardo, assistant manager. "The crime rate is high, and they are flat scared of what is going to happen in the next few years with the economy and the country. Manufacturers weren’t prepared for this."

Retailers and consumers say there may be several reasons gun stores are running out of ammunition — and the cost of what is available is rising.

There’s a widespread expectation that Obama’s administration will follow through on a campaign promise to reimpose an assault weapons ban. Some people fear that taxes on ammunition, guns and other firearms-related materials might drastically increase, as they have on cigarettes.

Administration officials and Democratic leaders in Congress began saying this month that while they hope to eventually change gun control policies, they will not push the assault weapons ban for now because they know how divisive that debate would be and they don’t want to distract from other goals.

The slumping economy — and the angst it brings — is also prompting many first-time buyers to purchase guns and stockpile ammunition. But the economy could also make it hard for manufacturers to get credit to buy supplies to make all that ammo.

Whatever the reason, gun stores nationwide face back-ordered ammunition requests and in some cases a wait of six to eight months for delivery.

As the demand grows, the cost of ammunition is rising — as is the cost of guns and supplies such as cleaning kits and eye and ear protection.

"This is the same thing the oil industry did to us, but now it’s with ammunition," said Tom Mullenix of Oklahoma, who recently shopped at Cheaper Than Dirt in Fort Worth.

Federal moves

Around the November 2008 elections, some gun store owners began seeing a sharp increase in gun and ammunition sales.

This year, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder indicated that the Obama administration would consider pursuing a renewed ban, such as the one that prohibited the possession and sale of assault weapons from 1994 to 2004.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell last week called on Congress to renew the ban to protect peace officers on the streets.

But some leaders say this may not be the right time for the ban.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have indicated that they are reluctant to move forward, and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., recently echoed that on CBS’ 60 Minutes. But she said she hasn’t given up and will "pick the time and the place, no question about it," to seek a renewal of the ban.

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, said: "It’s a political firestorm. The closer to the election, the less enthusiasm there will be to take it up."

Rising cost

Chad Lane shoots competitively twice a month.

To save money on the 200 to 400 bullets he uses, he makes them himself. But even those costs are going up.

Last year, he could make 100 rounds for $123. Now, 100 rounds cost $165, he said.

"I’m trying to stock up," said Lane, a 20-year-old truck driver. He’s not the only one.

DeWayne Irwin, owner of Cheaper Than Dirt, is having a hard time keeping some ammunition on his shelves.

He has ordered millions of rounds but has been told that he may wait six to eight months for some of those deliveries.

Already, there’s a shortage of ammunition for the .25 ACP and .380 pistols.

And prices are rising on those and nearly all other types of ammunition. A box of 50 rounds for a 9 mm pistol, for instance, sold last year for $12.97. Today, it costs $29.97.

"It’s so bad," Irwin said. "It’s crazy.  . . . And for the foreseeable future, it’s not going to get any better.

"It’s going to get worse."

New users

Part of the reason for the increased demand is that a lot of new gun owners are buying ammo in bulk to use now and to stockpile, Irwin said.

"We have a shortage of cleaning kits and eye and ear protection in addition to the ammunition shortages," he said. "That tells me people are buying them and shooting them.

"People are scared they are going to have to take their gun and fight for that bucket of carrots or whatever."

Instead of buying two boxes of ammunition, a customer might buy 10.

"People are hoarding it," Irwin said. "They think it’s either going to run out or people will be taxed more and no one will be able to afford it."

Why you should....

Another Reason to be prepared.....

Guns save innocent Lives. The 911 tapes that I heard from this shooting are chilling. The homeowner pleads with the intruder to leave. To no avail.

http://tinyurl.com/cbpetu

Roanoke Times April 11, 2009
By Sarah Bruyn Jones
A man was fatally shot in Botetourt County Friday night after apparently trying to break into a house, authorities said.

According to a release from Botetourt County Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle, a family living in the Nace area heard someone yelling, cursing and pounding on their house at about 10:40 p.m. A man living there called 911 and secured his family members in a locked bedroom, then loaded a double-barreled, 12-gauge shotgun.

The intruder used a wrought iron patio chair to break a glass sliding door and come into the house, and the resident shot him, the release said.

"From what I'm told he showed some restraint," Botetourt County Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom said Saturday about the shooter. "But it got to the point where he didn't have much of a choice."

The home is near the intersection of Houston Mines Road and Salt Pond Road in Troutville, Branscom said.

Deputies arrived as the shots were fired, Sprinkle said. The wounded man was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Branscom said he believed that two shots were fired and that the intruder was not carrying a gun.

"So far from what I've been told it appears to be justifiable homicide," Branscom said. "If nothing changes that's where it is headed. When you have someone entering a home in the night and in a threatening manner, it is the kind of thing that rises to the level of justifiable."

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday morning. Branscom said he would review the results of the autopsy along with the 911 tape and look through the statements before making a final determination.

The identity of the dead man has not been clearly established, Sprinkle said. The sheriff's office is not identifying the resident because the incident is still being investigated. He said there is no indication of any connection between the intruder and the man who shot him.

Monti Cristos

Edmundo 135MM 52 Ring
Yep, I got a few while in the sand box and finally had the opportunity to enjoy one one the balcony.  Very nice!  I lit well, is burning well, nice smoke, perfect draw, and the flavor is good, not to harsh, not too mild.  Yum!

 I won't tell my wife how much I spent on the box, however it was a gift to myself for the pain of being away from my wife a daughter!

The Silver Screw

Another Good one from JKOPED

THE SILVER SCREW

Once upon a time, a young lad was born without a belly button. In its place was a silver screw.  All the doctors told his mother that there was nothing they could do.

Like it or not, he was stuck with it . . . He was screwed.

All the years of growing up were real tough on him, as all who saw the screw made fun of him.  He avoided leaving his house  . . .  And thus, never made any friends.
 
One day, a mysterious stranger saw his belly and told him of a monk in Tibet who could get rid of the screw for him.  He was thrilled.     The next day, he took all of his life's savings and bought a ticket to  Nepal

After several days of climbing up steep cliffs, he came upon a giant monastery. The monk knew exactly why he had come. The screwy guy was told to sleep in the highest tower of the monastery  and the following day when he awoke, the screw would have been removed.  The man immediately went to the room and fell asleep.
 
During the night while he slept, a purple fog floated in an open window.  In the mist floated a solid silver screwdriver. In just moments, the screwdriver removed the screw and disappeared out the window.

The next morning when the man awoke, he saw the silver screw laying on the pillow next to him.  Reaching down, he felt his navel, and there was no screw there!  Jubilant, he leaped out of bed . . . . And his butt fell off. 
 
The moral to this is:
 
'Don't screw around with things you don't understand -- You could lose your ass.'

 
---- Congress is noted for screwing around with things they don't understand - like the economy.  That's why we are all losing our asses

Tax Day

Today we are all supposed to file our taxes by midnight!! If we had a revised tax code IE the Fair Tax, tax day would be just another day! Until that happens we will have to continue being fleeced by the Politicians in Washington! As a symbol of my current displeasure with our elected officials I have decided to display the Gadsden Flag. It is important to remember what America is all about and what our founding fathers worked so hard to create.



When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security

Confidence in our 2nd Amendment

LATEST CMP SALES NEWS:

SOLD OUT - 415-CN.  As a result over 9,000 orders already in estore and the many hundreds of other orders (received through the mail and via phone) that have not yet been entered into our system, and the number of orders estimated to already be in the mail coming our way, we have posted item 415-CN as sold out and removed it from the Estore. M2 Ball, HXP, 240 rounds in 20 round cartons, in spam cans. We will be able to fill all orders already received and in the pipeline.

.30-06 M2 BALL PURCHASE LIMITS ESTABLISHED.  Effective immediately, CMP is setting a purchase limit for items 407-CAN (.30-06 M2 Ball, HXP, clipped, in spam cans) and 407DCAN (.30-06 M2 Ball, clipped, in .30 cal ammo can). The new purchase limit is total of 10 cans of HXP ammo per year, per customer, regardless of item numbers ordered.

ORDER BACKLOG. For the past six months, the number of orders received by CMP for rifles, ammunition, and all other products has been unprecedented. As of today, 10 April 2009, our Sales Order Processing Dept is up to processing / shipping orders received at the end of Jan 2009, with several thousand orders still to go for Feb and Mar. Because of the large volume of orders that we continue to receive daily in the mail and through the estore, customers should not expect any acknowledgment of our receiving orders for
30-45 days after mailing the order, and should not expect delivery for 90-120 days from placing an order. We ask our customers to bear with us. We will eventually recover from this surge.  The CMP staff thanks you for your support and patience.

COMMUNICATION RESPONSE DELAYS. CMP is receiving hundreds of calls a day, as well as hundreds of emails. Each morning there are dozens of voicemails from the night before. Because of the large volume of constant calls in the daytime, it may take a few days for response. We have a state of the art phone system for a company our size, but the volume of calls is causing the system to do unexpected things. We apologize for any delay in responding to emails or telephone calls.

Traffic Report

More fun in the "View"
Fenderbender on Ocean View Ave. No injurys, which is good. No cops yet. Pictures to be posted soon, once of course the cops get here for more "flair"

Nutz

Arrrg we be Pirates!

From JKOPED

Our Navy and entire military command structure has piddled around long enough that the Captain of a huge American flag container ship has been kidnapped by a bunch of "pirates".

First, fire the joint chiefs of staff. Tell the new bunch of bureaucrats/warriors that they should position one destroyer and warn the populace of Somalia that any vessel over 14' LOA will be destroyed if it leaves any Somali port. After two weeks of a blockade such as that, the populace of indigenous fishermen will find a way to kindly ask their pirate guests to leave, probably by opening the sea cocks on the pirates' boats at 0300 one morning. Oh, do you really think that any US citizens care if any Somali citizen is inconvenienced by such a blockade? We have a tough time igniting support for flood victims in Iowa much less citizens of Somalia!

We have an orbital satellite tracking system that is supposed to be able to protect us from all manner of threats; but, we can't seem to be able to track high speed, pirate intercept vessels leaving a few Somali ports tracking large container ships? Who's kidding who?

Lots of folks need to lose their jobs. No one will. Are we afraid that the gray paint will be scratched on one of our hulls if we blow a few pirates out of the water? Is this the same military organization that will probably have to fight the Red Chinese on land and sea soon enough?

Yep, I feel better already! Time to check the inventory in the ammo closet!

Nutz: I mirror JKs comments. It is an embarrassment to my former line of business that we have had a ship Pirated, or more correctly attacked by terrorist. However, with chaos brings opportunity. I am going to purchase a cigarette boat with TARP funds and start taking over ships in the channel. Looks like an easy way to make a buck and Uncle Sugar does not seem interested in protecting our deep, rich maritime tradition.

Sunday Night Humor

Thanks JKOPED!

The old priest lay dying in the hospital.
For years He had faithfully served the people of the nation's capital.
He motioned for his nurse to come near. "Yes, Father?" said the nurse.
"I would really like to see Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi before I die", whispered the priest.
"I'll see what I can do, Father" replied the nurse.
The nurse sent the request to them and waited for a response.
Soon the word arrived. Harry and Nancy would be delighted to visit the priest.

As they went to the hospital, Harry commented to Nancy "I don't know why the old priest wants to see us, but it will certainly help our images." Nancy couldn't help but agree.

When they arrived at the priest's room, the priest took Nancy 's hand in his right hand and Harry's hand in his left. There was silence and a look of serenity on the old priest's face.

Finally Nancy spoke. "Father, of all the people you could have chosen, why
did you choose us to be with you as you near the end?" The old priest slowly
replied "I have always tried to pattern my life after our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

The old priest continued... "He died between two thieves. I would like to do the same."

The 2nd Amendment

Why it really matters.

Minutes ago.. Binghamton, NY 2009....Another reason to carry....

Senate, House Pass $3.5 Trillion Budget - Presidential Politics | Political News - FOXNews.com

Senate, House Pass $3.5 Trillion Budget - Presidential Politics | Political News - FOXNews.com

Posted using ShareThis

So Was it an Alien Space Craft?

The Air Force has ruled out the possibility that a burning Russian rocket booster re-entering the atmosphere was the cause of the bright light in the sky seen recently along the East Coast.

The Joint Space Operations Center, known as "JSPOC," which monitors man-made objects in space, concluded that a Soyuz rocket body that some experts thought was the cause actually came through the atmosphere near the Philippine Sea.

"The JSPOC is not aware of any phenomena that would explain the events near Virginia," Stefan T. Bocchino, a spokesman for the 30th Space Wing, told Inside the Ring.

The Air Force will not say whether a meteor caused the light show and booms Sunday night, viewed and heard by people from southern Virginia through northern Maryland.

"We do not track natural phenomena, so we really can't speculate what it was," Mr. Bocchino said.

A fitting phrase for the times

Lets not be too harsh on our political leaders.  In our democracy, dear reader, the people get the government they deserve.  Our inattention, our intellectual laziness, our unwillingness to demand more from our leaders than platitudes paved the way to our current difficulties.  If you really want to know who is to blame for our current condition, then look in the mirror.

A. Krepinevich "7 Deadly Scenarios"

Once Again...

The cops and EMS came to the Crack House Apartments.  It is great be back home in the "View"!

Back on Uncle Sam's Plantation

Thank you to Star Parker

Back  on Uncle Sam's Plantation
Star Parker - Syndicated Columnist


Six years ago I wrote a book called Uncle Sam's Plantation. I wrote the book to tell my own story of what I saw living inside the welfare state and my own transformation out of it.

I said in that book that indeed there are two Americas -- a poor America on socialism and a wealthy America on capitalism.

I talked about government programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS), Emergency Assistance to Needy Families with Children (EANF), Section 8 Housing, and Food Stamps.

A vast sea of perhaps well-intentioned government programs, all initially set into motion in the 1960's by Democrats, that were going to lift the nation's poor out of poverty.

A benevolent Uncle Sam welcomed mostly poor black Americans onto the government plantation.  Those who accepted the invitation switched mind sets from "How do I take care of myself?" to "What do I have to do to stay on the plantation?"

Instead of solving economic problems, government welfare socialism created monstrous moral and spiritual problems -- the kind of problems that are inevitable when individuals turn responsibility for their lives over to others.

The legacy of American socialism is our blighted inner cities, dysfunctional inner city schools, and broken black families.

Through God's grace, I found my way out.  It was then that I understood what freedom meant and how great this country is.

I had the privilege of working on welfare reform in 1996 which was passed by a Republican controlled Congress.

I thought we were on the road to moving socialism out of our poor black communities and replacing it with wealth-producing American capitalism.

But, incredibly, we are now going in the opposite direction.

Instead of poor America on socialism becoming more like rich American on capitalism, rich America on capitalism is becoming like poor America on socialism.

Uncle Sam has welcomed our banks onto the plantation and they have said, "Thank you, Suh."

Now, instead of thinking about what creative things need to be done to serve customers, they are thinking about what they have to tell the Messiah in order to get their cash.

There is some kind of irony that this is all happening under our first black president on the 200th anniversary of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln.

Worse, socialism seems to be the element of our new young president and maybe even more troubling, our corporate executives seem happy to move onto the plantation.

In an op-Ed on the opinion page of the Washington Post, Mr. Obama is clear that the goal of his trillion dollar spending plan is much more than short term economic stimulus.

"This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America 's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, healthcare, and education."

Perhaps more incredibly, Obama seems to think that government taking over an economy is a new idea. Or that massive growth in government can take place "with unprecedented transparency and accountability."

Yes sir, we heard it from Jimmy Carter when he created the Department of Energy, the Synfuels Corporation, and the Department of Education.

Or how about the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 -- The War on Poverty -- which President Johnson said "...does not merely expand old programs or improve what is already being done. It charts a new course. It strikes at the causes, not just the consequences of poverty."

Trillions of dollars later, black poverty is the same. But black families are not, with triple the incidence of single-parent homes and out-of-wedlock births.

It's not complicated. Americans can accept Barack Obama's invitation to move onto the plantation, or they can choose personal responsibility and freedom.

Does anyone really need to think about what the choice should be?

"The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."