[Author's note]If you have linked to this site from my article at the Partial Observer, I apologize for your inconvenience of having to see the same article. While you are here think about some recent events in the past few days: (1)Congress is preparing to debate a budget of over 3 trillion dollars. A good chunk of the money will go to a war that a majority of Americans do not support. No matter where you stand on the war, you and your family will have to pay the bill for the war,Homeland Security, Health and Human Services...you know the rest. More taxes, more bureaucracy...ad nauseum.
Meanwhile, our government has just imprisoned two border patrol agents who pursued and shot (but didn't kill) a big time drug smuggler. This week one of those wrongly imprisoned agents was beaten up in a Yazoo City, Mississippi Federal prison by a Mexican drug gang. This prison has 350 Mexican illegals who are there for drug trafficking.
Thousands face layoffs in our major automobile manufacturing centers. This of course will probably trickle down to your town. But guess what! We are about to be flooded with hunks of cheap rolling metal from China!
If you are offended, affected, or just plain mad about the assault on the Middle Class, I encourage you to join or comment at this blogsite. If you have not read the "Political Evolution of Mike Thomson," I urge you to continue:
THE POLITICAL EVOLUTION OF MIKE THOMSON - first appeared in The Partial Observer.
Where do we get our political views? Sometimes we inherit the views of our parents. To be liked we may attach ourselves to the views of our friends, or even our church. How many of you are saying, "been there, done that!"
In my case, my political views have gone through a long convoluted evolution.
As a child, I revered my grandfather, who was a "Roosevelt" Democrat. "Pa" had chased Mexican bandito Pancho Villa, fought in France during WWI, was captured by Germans – escaped, and lived on the lam, hiding out in rural France with sympathetic farmers before being repatriated. His experiences in that war shaped the rest of his life and the lives of his family.
Growing up in such a family it was considered traitorous to say a kind word towards the other side. Republicans were evil, rich, and trampled on the common man. Given the experience my grandfather and my parents had during the Great Depression, it was not too difficult to adopt this viewpoint.
Because of the long military history in my family, ancestors, grandfather, dad, uncles, and cousins – all serving honorably, a military career was viewed as a good way to spend one's life. In the Sixties because of the institution known as the draft, most of my generation of young men faced at least a partial career in the armed service.
Being inclined towards the military was not a popular thing to do during this period. People looked at you funny if you wore a uniform. Some of your brothers in arms were being spat upon and taunted by longhaired freaky people who wore a chicken foot symbol on their t-shirts.
Increasingly the people doing the taunting and the draft dodging were associated with the Democratic Party. Little did I know, then, that some of the worst draft dodgers would be Republican leaders in the future. Nevertheless, my view of the longhaired "chicken foot" people swung me towards the Republicans and away from the views of my grandfather and the rest of the family.
After Vietnam, the now respectable "chicken foot" people did their part to ruin the military. It wasn't until Ronald Reagan came along that restoration began. Again, unsophisticated as I was, I didn't realize that Reagan wasn't really a traditional Republican. As a good actor, he played the part magnificently. Then Rush Limbaugh appeared…
When I first heard Limbaugh in late 1988, like many others, I lapped his words up and incorporated them into my own political philosophy. There were incongruities between my views and Limbaugh's views in some areas, but I chose to ignore them. I eschewed the Clinton's and embraced the Bush family. Then it got weird….
This little guy with big ears and a penchant for charts and pointers arrived on the scene. He made more sense than the Clinton's or the Bush's, or Limbaugh. Later he was branded as "crazy" and I never mentioned to anyone that I voted for him.
It was after Perot that I began the transition to what I am today - an Independent Populist. I had my brushes with cynical business types who were adherents of the "global economy" and whose loyalty to America is a secondary devotion instead of primary. Both political parties are rife with these people.
When I started thinking this way, I glumly accepted the fact that I was odd and was out of step with most of my Democrat and Republican peers. Then I encountered Lou Dobbs.
From the time of the first Gulf War and through the influence of Limbaugh, I had stopped viewing CNN. About two months ago, I visited 202 on Direct TV and found Dobbs.
At first I thought something was screwy because this was the person that used to do the business report, now he was talking politics with an attitude. Then I heard his theme, "War on The Middle Class."
This was why I had been feeling glum. I, like many millions of Americans are at war, not with some foreign potentate, but with traitors to the American Dream.
Traitors who move our jobs overseas, traitors who create conditions that nearly bankrupt companies like GM and Ford, traitors who wink and nod as millions cross our borders and live in our country illegally working for less money than our citizens, and last but not least, traitors who find it offensive and politically incorrect to put America first.
Dobbs is going to be one of the voices I listen to until someone shuts him up.
Kondracke on Dobbs:
Roll Call" Executive Editor Mort Kondracke in his latest column implores President Bush to vigorously defend so-called free trade against alleged protectionist Democrats. Kondracke laments, "A tide of populism, protectionism, nationalism and xenophobia is washing over the country, fueled by right-wing radio talk show hosts, CNN firebrand Lou Dobbs and legitimate concerns that U.S. workers are falling behind in the global struggle for jobs and good wages."
OUR FIRST INDEPENDENT POPULIST: ANDREW JACKSON. Without pouring through the lengthy volumes that exist on Jackson, I refer you to this article by N. Katers on how "Old Hickory" upset the bluebloods of his era. Read Article.
THESE FOLKS AREN'T INDEPENDENTS, BUT THEY'RE MAD TOO! SEND THEM A LETTER
Open Letter to the GOP
6 Feb. 2007
Dear Republican Party,
The GOP has become entirely too liberal for real
conservatives. If things do not change, we will have
no choice but to vote third party, perhaps
Constitution Party.
Regarding the 2008 election, the following candidates
are completely unacceptable: John McCain, Rudolph
Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Sam Brownback,
Mike Huckabee, Jeb Bush, Condoleezza Rice, et al.
They are all neocons, all support the third-world
invasion of the United States, and thus all (at least
in our eyes) are guilty of treason.
Unless a candidate is chosen who is tough on
immigration (like Ron Paul, Tom Tancredo, Duncan
Hunter), not only shall we leave the GOP, but we shall
encourage others to leave as well.
Along the lines of Russell Kirk, we support a
traditional conservatism. We especially would like to
address the following four points:
- We oppose the third-world invasion of the United
States, and want drastic reductions in both legal and
illegal immigration, especially from the third world.
- We oppose free trade, as conservatives historically
have done. Our current trade deficit is horrendous,
our economy fading, and our national sovereignty
eroding away.
- We oppose a liberal interventionist government and
thus oppose the illegal neocon war in Iraq. The
transformation of the Middle East to liberal democracy
is Jacobin, not conservative.
- We oppose the outrageous growth of the Federal
government - at all 3 levels. We would like to see
the majority federal programs and offices shut down,
and for most governing authority to be returned to the
states.
Sincerely,
Brian Watkins (Columbus, OH); David L. Hatfield (VA);
Sara Jones Carter (St. Louis, MO); Kathryn Wills
(Dayton, OH); Tony Downly (MO); Jim Shelton
(Fallbrook, CA); B. J. Blackerby (Parkville, MO); Thor
H. Asgardson (Oceanside, CA); John W Lillpop (San
JOse, CA); Hal Washburn (Olalla, WA); James H.
Campbell (Fountain Hills, AZ); Jonathan Grubbs
(Sanford, FL); Kay Emery (Siloam Springs, AR); Gary
Suydam (Kingwood, TX); Gregory Coates; Terry Graham
(ID); Barbara Anderson (Portland, OR); Carol Derbis
(Oceanside, CA); Royce Zook (Austin, TX); Susan
Hoffmann (Aurora, IL); Brian Sears; BJ Marvin
(Hermiston, OR); Diane Alden (Carrollton, GA); Hugh
Bodey (OR); Carl Segvich (Chicago, IL); Eric La
Grange; Tom Craighead (Lubbock,TX); Chris Duncan (Mt.
Vernon, IL); Susan Trevino; Anothony Cicoria (FL);
Carol Suits (Lewisville, TX); Paul & Michelle Klein
(Des Plaines, IL); Roger Guran (Montery Park, CA);
Mark Atkins (West Columbia, TX); Ingrid Nicholson
(NH); Theodore C. Allen (Andewrson, CA); Ken Anderson
(Millinocket, ME); Ray C. Lively (Spring Hill, FL);
Ross L. Gillum (Snohomish, WA); Nedd Kareiva (Chicago,
IL); Margaret Dalton (Philadelphia, PA); Pastor Roger
Anghis; Paul Plasters (Rockford, IL); Jerry
Kranendonk; Sally Davis (SD); Al Doyle; Thomas Porter
(Myrtle Beach, SC); Mike Stiffler (Golden Valley, AZ);
David K. Schumann (Reno, NV); Lauren Kim Frank (Valley
Springs, CA); Burr V Deitz; Hank Coburn (Lennox, CA);
Don R. Bingham (Lebanon, MO); Howard L. Wilson
(Andover, NH); Karen Whalen (Phoenix, AZ); Jennive J.
Ramsey (Florence, MS); Steven Latimer (Richmond, VA);
Leon Donahue (Tacoma, WA); Shirely A. Jorgenson (Royal
Oaks, CA); Alice Smith (Omak, WA); Howard L. Wilson;
Nicole Venable (Yorkville, IL); Teri Harris
(Hermiston, OR); Kevin Harris (Hermiston, OR); Mr. and
Ms. Marcus Blitz (Youngstown, NY); Carl Clark (Mesa,
AZ); Susan Trevino (Pasadena, TX); Roger Campbell
(VA);
