June 02, 2005

The Dynamics Of Wars Sired By Liars
By Michael Gaddy

In case you haven’t noticed, the war in Iraq is not going that well despite the continual misrepresentations and out-and-out lies by those in our government. But, if one’s strategy for starting a war is based on nothing but lies, it stands to reason one would have to keep lying to continue the war and keep the sheeple in the cheering section.

We are hearing now that the Tillman family is most upset that the U.S. Army would actually lie about the circumstances of their son – former NFL star, Pat Tillman’s death in Afghanistan. First, the Army concocts the glorious story of a heroic combat death by Tillman; actually awarding him one of the nation’s highest awards for bravery, and then had to admit Tillman was killed by friendly fire. The Washington Post stated in an article on the subject that the Army lied from the beginning about the circumstances surrounding Tillman’s death, even to the point of falsifying reports and burning his uniform and body armor. The Army issued false statements to the nation, Tillman’s widow, and even kept secret the circumstances of his death from his brother who was serving with the same U.S. Army unit. (Read the rest here)

Equality For Men And Fathers - What A Concept!
By Carey Roberts

Bill May didn't get into synchronized swimming to make a political statement. "When I first joined," he once explained, "I thought, 'This is a great sport and it's fun.'" But as things turned out, his greatest barrier would not be a lack of talent.

Joining the sport at age 10, May endured ridicule and strange looks for over 15 years. Synchronized swimming, after all, is for girls. But he succeeded in shrugging off the stereotypes and eventually became recognized as one of the elite synch swimmers in the country. In 2001 he swept the first-place spots in the solo, duo, and team categories at the Nationals in Texas. (Read the rest here)

PBGC - Do You Know What That Is?
By Ed Henry

On Friday, May 27th, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation announced that 70 percent of its losses were incurred from 2000 thru 2004, a total of $14.3 billion.

I wonder if the people who think Social Security is a form of socialism, communism, or a business the federal government should not be engaged in realize that since 1974 the government has been insuring private pension programs for any corporation or private company willing to pay the fee.

Of course, this does not apply to the employees of United Airlines whose company didn’t bother to sign up and pay the premiums. The main page of PBGC directs United people elsewhere. (Read the rest here)

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Libertarian Commentary on The News
By Nathan A. Barton © 2004

A new month: the beginning of summer, and the beginning of a month important in history. After the disappointing events of May, we need to see if this can be a month of advances in the cause of liberty, and we all need to look for ways we can make a difference. Because one person can make a difference, as news from a long-past event reminds us. At least I think so - and this is my opinion, not necessarily anyone else's.

One person CAN make a difference: "Deep Throat" unmasked
Cincinnati Enquirer
"Breaking a silence of 30 years, former FBI official W. Mark Felt stepped forward Tuesday as Deep Throat, the secret Washington Post source that helped bring down President Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Within hours, the paper confirmed his claim. 'It's the last secret' of the story, said Ben Bradlee, the paper's top editor at the time the riveting political drama played out three decades ago." (05/31/05)

I am already sick of the hoopla, news and comment on this little piece of historical trivia, but we can learn a few lessons without getting into maudlin nostalgia for the old Left and all the sickness of the Nixon regime. First, one man, in the right place, at the right time, CAN make a difference to history. Second, people CAN change their spots: Felt was the second in command at the FBI: hardly an anti-statist or antiestablishment type; yet he did what was right and not what was needed for his career, his fellow cop-crats, or the powerful. Third, we need more people willing to tell the truth and pull down evil.

One bit of radio-talk-show dialogue did bring up this point, also. Was Felt some sort of villain in this? The talking mouth (remember, radio, not TV: talking heads on TV, talking mouths on radio, right) said that Felt "betrayed" Nixon: that he was "the king's man, took the king's shilling, and betrayed the king." Well, there are only two possible candidate's for "king" in our American system: either God or the people - and Felt certainly never betrayed either of them by telling the truth. RMN may have wanted to be king (remember those comic-opera uniforms for the White House police?) but he wasn't. (Read the rest here)

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