Canales News Briefs

January 30, 2005

"...My country, ' tis of thee,

sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;

land where my fathers died

land of the pilgrims' pride,

from every mountainside let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,

land of the noble free, thy name I love;

I love thy rocks and rills;

thy woods and templed hills;

my heart with rapture thrills, like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,

and ring from all the trees sweet freedom's song;

let mortal tongues awake;

let all that breathe partake;

let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.

Our father's God, to thee,

author of liberty, to thee we sing;

long may our land be bright

with freedom's holy light;

protect us by thy might, great God, our King..."

-Lyrics from the song

"America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)

Text by Samuel F. Smith

To All,

Catchy tune, catchier concept:

First Things First:

Today's historic first step in Iraq, with estimates of average national turnout hovering around 60% and regional turnout in some provinces being estimated as high as 95%, would not be possible without the vision of a certain President, and the determination and sacrifices of the US Military.

Specifically, remembrance is due to those personnel who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that their people could be defended, and that another people could be liberated.

Likewise honor should be paid to those wounded in battle, whose physical burdens are likewise a part of the butcher's bill that seems to be always the price of liberty.

Without these all, we would be in graver danger than could ever be contemplated. Thus we owe them a gratitude that is on par with those other generations that have likewise given their all for liberty. Today's victory for freedom is their victory.

The names of those killed in action, 1559 to date in Iraq, may be found at :

http://www.militarycity.com/valor/honor.html

Remember their names.

The Song Remains The Same Update:

Hungary of 1956 and 1991.

Czechoslovakia of 1968 and 1991.

El Salvador in the 1980's.

Likewise South Africa, The Philippines, Indonesia, Argentina, and even Mexico. The desire of people for self-determination (what Mara Liasson of NPR and the Fox Panel poignantly calls an "urge") is once again expressed by the large numbers of Iraqis that braved bullets and bombs to cast their votes for the future.

And though it will be all that much harder to keep whole numbers of peoples in the Arab (and Persian) Middle East down under what amounts to totalitarianism, this important first step in Iraq still must be followed by the inculcation of democratic methods of self governance if it is to become successful in the long run.

In other words, while a gradual reduction of the US presence in Iraq is inevitable, said withdrawal must be linked to an increasing ability of the Iraqis to manage both their own internal and external security (Regional interests, such as Syria and Iran, alongside possibly even Jordan and Saudi Arabia, seem to be "mucking around" inside Iraq for their own balance of power agendas).

The U.S., Britain, Poland and all the other nations that constitute the Coalition of the Willing are thus forced to play the part of the Monolith in the movie "2010". For life to take hold, and life in this case means representative government in Iraq, stern retribution must be threatened to those who would smother the newborn in the cradle. It is only through this cultivation that the Iraqis can have a chance to develop relatively free from the influences of modern Realpolitik, at least until they are as ready as they can be.

And woe to those, such as two certain Senators from the People's Republic of Taxachusetts, who would make acceptance of the expressed will of the Iraqi people conditional to personal and/or group interests not part of the Iraqi body politic. Their names will be logged in the annals of tyranny should they continue with the kind of counsel that they have been belching of late.

At a very minimum, their comments could only be considered "Presidential" if one was running for that office in Kim's North Korea, Castro's Cuba, or perhaps even Mugabe's Zimbabwe. It is hard to fathom why they continue to bet against liberty, freedom, and self-determination, though not surprising given the trends one sees from some of the New England states of late.

But they are hardly the stuff of a free and responsible people, and not at all in the best tradition of the heirs of Samuel Adams and John Kennedy. What is more, Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney must be spinning in their graves after having witnessed key members of the Party of FDR turn away from the principles of 1964 once again.

The long road taken today will not be without it's bumps, potholes, and IED's (both real and political, given the nature of the UN these days). But it is the road well taken, one that has proven beneficial to Americans and others alike. One could do no better otherwise, and one can give thanks that Providence has provided the roadmap needed to successfully conclude this journey that Mankind is on.

Story elements can be found at, among others:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=586
&e=1&u=/nm/20050130/wl_nm/iraq_election_scene_dc

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,145825,00.html

American Klukker, Stay Away From Me...:

(With Apologies to the Guess Who, but then maybe not, considering that the lyrics to the 60's rock classic were a Viet Nam Era rejection of the United States.)

Americans have witnessed a series of pronouncements of late from those who would sell personal liberty, freedom, self determination, and even democracy short. They would oppose qualified individuals for high office simply because these would refuse to stay and sweat it out on a plantation no different in fact than Tara was in fiction. It has even gotten to the point that they would seemingly leave certain subject peoples to the less-than-tender mercies of an abusive, possibly even racist, overseer class. As such, said pontificators would seem to be on the wrong side of both history and irony.

That they are also putative policy and financial leaders of the modern Democrat Party, among others, just seems par for the course given the dire warnings of respected leaders such as Zell Miller and even Joe Lieberman.

But what is it that the likes of Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, Mark Dayton, Jim "Vidkun" Jeffords, John Kerry, Robert Byrd, George Soros, and yes, even Evan Bayh (???!!!) are trying to convey to the American People and the rest of the world? Is it only aspirations for power in 2008 that we see such pandering to the Deconstructionist Wing of their party? Or is it a true hatred and opposition to the American System's concepts of freedom, liberty, and even Wilsonian idealism that other countries can be brought around to the values of democracy, representative governments, and collective action?

(Yes, even collective action. After all, how can there be true collective action when a number of member governments of the UN are kleptocracies, not democracies?). Do they really fear that if the likes of Condoleeza Rice and Alberto Gonzalez are allowed to high office, that there will be real debate of their lockstep (some would call it goose-step) agenda of Kulturkampf among different voting blocks?

The last time Americans were witness to such solons and oligarchs standing against the founding principles of the Republic, those of liberty, self-determination, and Constitutionally-protected rights, Freedom riders were being kidnapped and little girls were victims of IED's being set off in churches.

Yet, to this date, the only revulsion expressed against these positions of rule by fiat has been from the denizens of the Blogosphere and the Virtual Media Militia that have tasked themselves with over-watch of those who would take power unto themselves. Outside of this, it is only certain talk radio outlets, the Wall Street Journal Editorial page, Fox News, the Washington Times, and a small host of sturdy magazines that has taken up the call for freedom against those who would prefer to be more equal than others. The Legacy Media has otherwise been, at the least, Missing in Action when not seemingly aiding and abetting this latest reincarnation of the Nightrider.

Now, these untoward proclivities by an erstwhile secular oligarchy have manifested themselves in a number of familiar ways. Suppression of the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, and 14th Amendments, among others, are hallmarks of these generic tin-pots. Opposition to such leaders has become second nature to firearms activists across the Fruited Plain. But with the added stake of the defense of liberty, firearms activists will undoubtedly find new partners in the long, "Forever War" in defense of constitutional rights and prerogatives.

Like the current War on Terrorism, there are many miles to go before we can chance the sleep of accomplishment and success. What is more, one is suspicious that such "intellectual" concepts as those posed by Chappaquiddick Ted and Babs From the Bay will never really die. Rather, they may go dormant only to explode forth like avian flu or bovine spongiform encephalopathy at some future date. As such, the Minuteman concept among firearms activists will continue to serve a global purpose, one invaluable in the evenhanded defense of civil and individual rights. It is only by that alertness that this latest group of Klukkers can be sent off into the circular file of history.

Story basis may be found at:

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/
roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00002

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/print/
20050130-2.html

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050130/
news_mz1e30caldwe.html

http://kennedy.senate.gov/index_high.html

http://byrd.senate.gov/byrd_speeches/byrd_speeches_2005_january/
byrd_speeches_2005_january_lis/byrd_speeches_2005_january_lis_0.html

http://boxer.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=230699

http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-boxer30.html

http://ga4.org/campaign/ricehearings?source=petitionsearch

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=71000001&
refer=top_world_news&sid=aqkoN4tLMDv8

Respectfully,