WHAT MEDICARE PROBLEM? - Michael Ramirez Toon

The Mystic Chords Of Memory

Our maternal grandfather died sixty years ago.  I was five and my sister was four.  In truth, I don't really remember my grandfather, I don't think she does either.  I remember his funeral because it was a big affair that had a great impact on me, but my memories of him are sketchy at best.  Yet I know all the details about my relationship with him from the time I was born till the days before his death.  As his first born grandchild he doted on me, spoiled me, and lavished me with gifts.  I have these "recollections" because our mother was quite a story teller.  She'd tell the stories of our early childhood and her own childhood, so vividly, that she brought them to life and kept us enthralled.

We've tried to do the same with our children and even our grandchildren.  We are the "keepers of the memories" that are not written down in any book, but are passed on verbally from generation to generation as it has been done with many people since the beginning of time.  Our family history is interesting and fun.  It is filled with stories of joy and those of sorrow.  We do not want the memories to die, so we encourage our children to pass them on. 

Just as we want to keep our family's memories alive, so it is with the national memories of our country's history.  In  "Take Time To Remember," an article written for The Weekly Standard, by Amy A. Kass and Leon R. Kass, they write:

"American identity, character, and civic life are shaped by many things, but decisive among them are our national memories—of our long history, our triumphs and tragedies, our national aspirations and achievements. Crucial to the national memory are the words our forebears wrote, to show us who we are and what we might yet become. Robust citizenship is impossible without national attachment. National attachment is thin at best without national memory. And national memory depends on story, speech, and song."

National memory - today we find that our national memory, our history, is being rewritten.  Texas, the state where most school textbooks are published, is rewriting American history to include other subject matter that is not pertinent to the past history of our country or to the birth of this nation.  In its place they are adding ethnic history.  Thomas Jefferson, one of the wisest and most prolific of our  Founding Fathers has been taken out of the history books all together.

We are in a struggle with a different generation of Americans who dwell more on new inventions, electronics and technology, while seeming to ignore or push aside the  very important men, women and historic events which brought us to our present time.

"Lest we forget, writer, historian, witness, survivor, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel has dedicated his life to hold back that forgetfulness that makes a mockery of mankind’s struggle to prevail over the past and to make for a better future."   A survivor of the Auschwitz Death Camp, Elie Wiesel has spent a lifetime writing and lecturing about the Holocaust, lest we forget.  The first time I read one of his books, and saw those words written, I committed them to memory.  Those words have greatly influenced who I am, how I think,  and are the reason why I am convinced that it is important to keep alive our family and national memories. 

In his first Inaugural address, as the union of the great United States that Abraham Lincoln so loved was breaking apart and preparing to go to war, he ended his speech by saying:

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."  

The phrase mystic chords of memory resonated with me, but I must admit, I never quite understood its meaning.  While researching the quote for this blog I was pleased to see that others appeared to have the same dilemma.  Fortunately I was able to find a satisfactory explanation which made it applicable to my thesis.

Speaking to The American Heritage Foundation, Wilfred McClay gave what is to this writer the most complete and understandable explanation of Lincoln's words: 

"When they are sounded, the mystic chords have the power to connect past and present, inner and outer, private and public, household and polity, locality and nationality in a single harmonious whole. During times of confusion and crisis, such as the nation was then facing, it could find composure and direction in recalling the Spirit of '76 and the Founders' heroic sacrifices. Citizens will draw strength and comfort from associating their love of the nation with the same warm devotion that attaches them to their own hearths. 

Could we not do the same today?

It is important to us that our children and their children know their family history, the events, the struggles, the joys that made our family grow.  It is just as important for them to know the sacrifices and the successes that their ancestors endured to bring our family to this point.  Also, it is of the utmost importance for them to know their national history, the achievements, failures, victories and defeats of the past, so that they may make informed decisions as citizens of this country.

When the news broke that Osama bin Laden had been captured and executed, one of the television networks went out in the streets  of New York, and asked young people, most of them teenagers who were already in school on September 11, 2001, what they knew about Osama bin Laden.  We watched, speechless and astonished when few could answer the question.  We are not talking here about  some obscure question regarding, say, the War of 1812 - these young people were being asked about the man who had begun the War on Terror during their lifetime.  Osama bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world, the man responsible for that gaping hole at Ground Zero in the city where they live, and they did not know the answer.   Astounding!

What a sad statement on our American youth and our society!  We find that Americans today, especially the young do not place much stock in linking the past to the progress that is achieved in the future. As parents, as grandparents, or simply as Americans, it is our duty to sound those "mystic chords of memory" and to insure that our youth are not ignorant of their past.  It is not to say that one must dwell in the past or cling nostalgically to it. 

As we embrace the future, we must learn to celebrate the past, and use its lessons to our advantage.  In the words of General George S. Patton:  "Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable. " 

The past is nothing more than our shared collective memories.  Having an appreciation of them will allow us to make wiser choices as citizens, and more caring and informed  decisions in our private lives.


Two Sisters

The Right Blogfest: A MEMORIAL DAY TRIBUTE

Two Sisters From The Right have recently joined a group of conservative bloggers who have formed THE  RIGHT BLOGFEST, wherein we all choose the same topic and write on our own sites, each giving a different perspective on the subject.  We proudly join Raised On Hoecakes , Steve Bussey.com and Patriot's Corner in  celebrating one of our nation's most important holidays, Memorial Day.  Please take the time to read their posts as well.

Memorial Day was officially observed as  a national holiday and celebrated on May 30, 1868.  It was proclaimed as such when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National  Cemetery.  The first state to recognize it as a national holiday was New York in 1873, and by 1890 most northern states had followed suit.  It took the former Confederate States a while longer to celebrate it.  It began as day to recognize  all who had died fighting in the Civil War and was later extended to remember all Americans who had died in all wars.

In times past, Memorial Day was traditionally set aside as a day of national mourning.  Businesses and banks closed, schools were not in session, and towns held celebrations and parades to commemorate those who had paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country. In those days people would take the time to visit the cemeteries, spruce up the graves and place an American flag along with the flowers to signify that there rested a veteran who had died for his country.

As a child I remember ladies standing downtown Newark selling red paper poppies and I didn't realize what it meant. I always gladly bought a poppy and wore it proudly without  really knowing why, but I felt patriotic.

Recently I researched it's meaning.  The idea of the red poppy was created as a symbol of remembrance for those who had died in wars, by an American teacher named Moina Michael.  She had been inspired by the poem In Flander's Fields, written by Lt. Colonel John McCrae, M.D. of the Canadian Army, and she wrote a poem of her own.  Her poem "We Shall Keep The Faith" can be read here.  One stanza in her poem reads as follows:

Red Field Poppy

We cherish, too, the poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led;


It seems to signal to the skies                   

That blood of heroes never dies,

But lends a lustre to the red

Of the flower that blooms above the dead

Although groups like the VFW, The Boys and Girl Scouts, and many other military affiliated groups continue the traditional observance of Memorial Day, some have confused Memorial Day with Veteran's Day, and others think of it as a day to go to the cemetery and put new flowers on all the graves, regardless of how those interred there had perished.

Somehow, in our contemporary society the true meaning of Memorial Day has often has been forgotten, and the American spirit of honoring the war dead has been lost as well. Where once stores closed and townspeople gathered to honor  the fallen, merchants now hold Memorial Day Sales. The day of observance has become a three day weekend to party and have fun.  It's not a bad thing to do, but it is not the intended purpose for this day of observance.

This Memorial Day, the sales are still advertised, people are still planning their gatherings, the three day weekend is still part of the agenda, but there seems to be a welcome spirit of renewal.

The Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have taken the lives of thousands of America's young men and women.  Some of us define today's military as our country's best.  The brave and courageous who join an all volunteer military, go off to strange and far away lands to fight and die in order to keep the war away from our shores.  They leave their families behind, and travel thousands of miles in order to protect ALL of us from an  often unseen enemy whose purpose and intent is to destroy our way of life, and our western civilization. Too many have returned in flag draped coffins.

To those who are still serving we owe you and your families our continuing support and appreciation.  God Bless all of you and Thank You for your service to your country.  For you who are still serving in war zones, whose lives are in harm's way, you are in our memories and in our prayers every day. May God be with you every step of your journey.

To those whose memories we observe today, it is difficult to find the words to express your country's gratitude - to really know your families' grief.   You who paid the ultimate price while serving your country will forever be our heroes. As of this writing, six thousand thirteen service men and women have died in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Although on this day we commemorate all who died for our country in all past wars, we however seem to focus on the most recent deaths.

Because we are a country still at war, Two Sisters  would like to end this tribute to all service men and women by dedicating this page to three soldiers whom we did not know personally, but  whose deaths unexpectedly have impacted our lives. 


                        IN MEMORIAM

Pfc. Colton Rusk, USMC

Orange Grove, Texas

September 23, 1990 - December 6, 2010

Died serving his country in Helmand Province, Afghanistan

IN MEMORIAM

Captain Rowdy J. Inman

Panorama Village, TX

U.S. Army 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, III Corps

Decorated Desert Storm Veteran

Died serving his country on December 26, 2007, Mosul, Iraq

IN MEMORIAM

SFC  Jonathan A. Lowery

Houlton, Maine

U.S. Army 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, III Corps

Died serving his country on December 14, 2007, Mosul, Iraq

REST IN PEACE

Two Sisters From The Right                              

A Prelude To Memorial Day

Tomorrow, May 30, 2011 we will commemorate Memorial Day.  It is a day of observance and remembrance for all the soldiers in all the wars that have given their lives for our country.  Two Sisters From The Right will be joining with three other conservative bloggers under the banner of The Right Blogfest and we will all be paying tribute to

Memorial Day.

Join Us!

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The soldier stood and faced God,

Which must always come to pass.

He hoped his shoes were shining,

Just as brightly as his brass..

'Step forward now, soldier ,

How shall I deal with you?

Have you always turned the other cheek?

To My Church have you been true?'

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,

'No, Lord, I guess I have not.

Because those of us who carry guns,

Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,

And at times my talk was tough.

And sometimes I've been violent,

Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,

That wasn't mine to keep...

Though I worked a lot of overtime,

When the bills just got too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,

Though at times I shook with fear..

And sometimes, God, forgive me,

I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,

Among the people here.

They never wanted me around,

Except to calm their fears

If you've a place for me here, Lord,

It needn't be so grand.

I never expected or had too much,

But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,

Where the saints had often trod.

As the soldier waited quietly,

For the judgment of his God.

'Step forward now, you soldier,

You've borne your burdens well.

Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,

You've done your time in Hell.'

Author Unknown~

It's the Soldier, not the reporter

Who has given us the Freedom of the Press.

It's the Soldier, not the poet,

Who has given us the Freedom of Speech.

It's the Soldier, not the politicians

That ensures our right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness..

It's the Soldier who salutes the Flag,

Who serves beneath the Flag,

And whose coffin is draped by the Flag.

This Memorial Day

Please pray for our men and women

Who have served, and are currently serving our country.

And pray for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for freedom....

Author Unknown

Two Sisters From The Right

Welcome Summer!

My eldest daughter today sent a picture of her 7 year old son lying on the sidewalk, next to a huge sign he'd written with sidewalk chalk stating: WELCOME SUMMER! I'm sure children all over our state are feeling the same joy. All of us recall that last day of school when we looked forward to sleeping late, no homework, family vacations and being able to play all day. My sister and I used to walk up the hill to our home singing, "No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks!" Summer meant fun, leisure and few responsibilities.

Then we grew up.

Our outlook on summers changed gradually as adulthood crept up on us with ever-increasing responsibilities. Carefree summers gave way to summer jobs, saving money for college and the anticipation of choosing majors and forging new careers. Summers became the time to look for a job, planning our weddings and making decisions that would impact our lives forever. But, even as we shouldered new responsibilities, summers were still synonymous with less worries and more leisure time. In those days, summers seemed to mean "God's in His Heaven, and all is right with the world."

Today as I smiled looking at the picture of my grandson, I was overcome by the thought that God is still in His Heaven, but all is not right in the world. For the first time in our adult lives we have lost faith in our government.

As it was for many Americans, September 11, 2001 changed our lives forever. It made us aware that this country, which has always extended a helping hand to those in need, is vulnerable to vicious attacks from those who have harbored hatred and resentment against us for generations. September 11, 2001 was a harsh awakening, but it made us stronger as a nation and united us as a people. We were challenged, not just by a long war against terror, but by a new presidential election at a time we needed strong leadership in Washington.

November 4, 2008, to quote FDR's assessment of Pearl Harbor, is "a day that will live in infamy." It was on that day that a slim majority of Americans elected Barack Hussein Obama as president of the United States. His record, his books, the company he kept, even his very words were proof that Obama was a Marxist-trained socialist who felt the need to apologize for America rather than extol its virtues. We knew it would be a great error to elect such a man. We knew he would bring division, adversity and catastrophic changes if he were allowed to run our country.

We were correct. Our lives have not been the same since that day. The fun-filled, carefree summer days are over. Summer is on its way once again, but it is marred by our concern and fear for our country and our future generations.

It is truly mind boggling to witness the media bias on full display as the current administration systematically dismantles our way of life and tramples our Constitution. This president has ignored his promises, failed to do what he said he would do, and boldly behaved as he promised he would not. Yet, the media shamelessly praises him, and too many Americans still believe that he has their best interests at heart.

Since taking office, Obama has dedicated himself to ushering the U. S. toward a European-style social democracy. His federal intrusion into American industry and commerce is unprecedented. His unconstitutional health care revolution has relegated health insurance companies into utilities governed by restrictive government regulations, and it was rammed through without a single thought to the will of the American people.

Obama has led the country into a staggering $14 plus trillion debt while relying on a failed stimulus program that has allowed the unemployment rate to rise to almost 10%.

He has gone back on major promises we knew he couldn't keep, including closing GITMO and bringing home the troops from Iraq by mid-2010.

He has traveled throughout the world humiliating us by offering apologies for America's arrogance, instead of acknowledging our contributions and our unequaled generosity toward any nation that has needed a helping hand. His faltering leadership and his lack of forcefulness has made us a laughing stock among enemies who once feared us. He shamed us instead of igniting our pride and our confidence.

He continues to ram globalism down the throats of the American people, determined to strip away our sovereignty by subjecting us to the demands and rules of the United Nations.

He has faltered and delayed in acceding to the military's request for additional troops in the Afghan War.

He has failed to speak in support of Iranian dissidents who continue to struggle against tyrannical rulers.

He faltered for weeks before finally following other nations into intervention in Libya, without Congressional approval, and then he failed to clearly define the mission and goal of the operation.

He has consistently failed to acknowledge the ideological threat posed by Islam, insisting that only a few radicals are to blame for acts of terror.

As we write this, Obama's budget proposal for the 2012 fiscal year has been unanimously rejected by the Senate. That's just as well, since he once again avoided the issue of entitlements while raising spending and taxes and offering no clear path toward deficit reduction.

Above all, Barack Obama has set a dangerous example for American youth by displaying an unfavorable attitude toward his own country. He has failed to remind them that the United States has always been a unique nation with a noble purpose. He has failed to exhibit the kind of moral clarity that marks a true leader. He has failed to ignite his constituents with the passion that should exist in the hearts of all Americans....the kind of passion exhibited by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu when he spoke to Congress about justice and liberty and his love for America. He has failed to remind us that we can still be, as Reagan called us, "a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere."

As always, this coming Memorial Day will usher in the days of summer. While Barack Obama and his family spend their time globe-trotting and taking expensive vacations on the taxpayers' dollar, Americans with limited resources will try to find the way to make the best of the warm days ahead. Many of us will remember that first American Continental Army which fought and died for the values and freedom that Barack Obama would deny us. And we will pause and reflect upon our fear that never in its history has our country been in greater peril, because for the first time we have a president who brazenly disregards his oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution.

In the end, it's our fault. We made possible the election of an inexperienced community organizer who forged his political career in the shadows of Chicago backrooms, when what we needed was a world-class statesman who would reinforce our belief in ourselves, in our exceptionalism, our nobility and our ideals. It was an error we can not repeat.
Two Sisters
 
Copyright 2011 - Two Sisters From The Right

Thank You Veterans!

Newt Gingrich vs Paul Ryan

Newt Gingrich began his first week as a presidential candidate on the wrong foot.  This particular article written by R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., founder and editor of The American Spectator, does not present a very flattering portrayal of the 60's generation.  As "younger" members of that generation, (we're not quite 70 yet) we suppose we should feel offended, but we are not.  He's quite right in much of his assessment. 

We've always considered Newt Gingrich to be a brilliant historian and academician.  As a commentator he brings great insight to politics.  The problem is that Newt Gingrich, for all his intelligence, has a difficult time connecting with people, and one doesn't begin a quest for the presidency by blasting members of one's own party. 

Paul Ryan, on the other hand, as House Chairman of the Budget Committee has undertaken a tremendous task.  We now find ourselves in the greatest financial crisis since The Great Depression and too many Americans appear reluctant to admit it.  Our Medicare system is going bust and the Democrats are using lies and scare tactics to frighten the elderly away from voting for Ryan's plan or any Medicare Reform plan for that matter.  They offer no alternatives, and have even prompted former President Bill Clinton of all people,  to warn the Democrats off playing politics with health care. 

We found Emmet Tyrrell's article enlightening and entertaining.  It's a great read.  Enjoy!
Two Sisters.


Newt and Paul Ryan
By R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.

WASHINGTON -- How did so flawed a man as Newt Gingrich get to the top of his party in the 1990s? For that matter, how did so flawed a man as Bill Clinton get to the top of our government in the 1990s? And -- here I am giving you a hint to the answer for the above questions -- how did so flawed a man as Dominique Strauss-Kahn get to the top of the International Monetary Fund and of French politics? All are about the same age. All have similar, shall we say, recreations. The answer is that they came from what is called the 1960s Generation. Now they are gone. There will be temporary reprises -- more court appearances for DSK, an occasional public appearance for Bill, some more catastrophic missteps on the campaign trail for Newt -- but for all intents and purposes they are history.


In Europe and in America the 1960s Generation was pretty much the same. It was composed of student hustlers who became national political hustlers. Some were rock prodigies who continued as rock prodigies, rather pathetically into middle age and, rather absurdly, beyond. They did not amount to a majority of their generation but they claimed to typify it, and their cheerleaders went along with the sham. They were called the most idealistic generation ever and the call was close. Other idealistic generations, for instance the generation that founded this country, fared better. Unfortunately, the 1960s Generation was flawed from the start and never overcame its flaws.


Let us hope that we have seen the last of them. The other morning in the New York Times David Hajdu, an associate professor of journalism at Columbia University, marked Bob Dylan's 70th birthday by noting how many voices from the 1960s had recently turned 70. John Lennon (RIP), Joan Baez, Paul Simon, and George Clinton, were mentioned. Next year, Hajdu reverently enthused, Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin, Carole King, Brian Wilson, and Lou Reed will achieve their 70th. How long can this go on? Will no one from a younger generation note the obvious, to wit, in the arts and in politics the 1960s Generation was a bust.


There are no Faulkners, no Hemingways, no Fitzgeralds. There are no Aaron Coplands or a Virgil Thompson. In drama there is David Mamet, but that is about it. In Europe there may be a little more life in the 1960s has-beens but not much.


Newt is an especially loathsome figure, at least in his last phase, the presidential campaigner. Congressman Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, has taken on the biggest challenge facing America since World War II and the Cold War, our enormous entitlement and budget overhang. In a way it is a graver challenge than World War II and the Cold War, because cowardly politicians can duck it for a few more years. Then the bond markets and the credit raters will step in, and it will be too late for America. Our years of prosperity will be over. Possibly even our years of national security will be gone. Ryan has faced the threat manfully and he has the Republicans in Congress with him for now.


So in his first week on the campaign trail, Newt undercut Ryan, and in his remarks on Ryan's plan to overhaul Medicare, the would-be Republican presidential nominee has given the Democrats a soundbite that they will play over and again: a corpulent Gingrich denouncing "right-wing extremism," and holding forth against Chairman Ryan's "right-wing social engineering." Of course, it is not social engineering. Rather, Ryan wishes to control costs by his policy of "Premium Support," a fixed-dollar subsidy allowing senior citizens to purchase private insurance options. The poor get adjustments on their premiums according to their need. The cost of healthcare will be controlled by market principles and consumer choice. Finally, the program will not go into effect for ten years so we will have plenty of time to fine-tune it. For people 55 years of age and older, nothing will change with their Medicare.


Paul Ryan is going to campaign for his 2012 budget one way or the other. President Barack Obama has made him the most popular Republican in the country. The boob Gingrich has seconded the notion. Ryan might as well go whole hog. Campaign for the 2012 budget and for the presidency. There are increasing numbers of conservatives and independents pulling for him.




Copyright 5/26/2011 - American Spectator

The End of Space?

Jeffrey H. Anderson
May 26, 2011

Writing in USA Today, Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, and Jim Lovell —the first and last men on the moon, and Armstrong commanded the famed Apollo 11 mission — highlight another example of President Obama’s lack of faith in American exceptionalism. In a piece entitled, “Is Obama Grounding JFK’s Space Legacy?” the three astronauts (now 80, 77, and 83 years old) write:

By 2005, in keeping with President Kennedy's intent and America's resolve, NASA was developing the Constellation program, focusing on a return to the moon while simultaneously developing the plans and techniques to venture beyond, and eventually to Mars.

The program enjoyed near-unanimous support, being approved and endorsed by the Bush administration and by both Democratic and Republican Congresses….

President Obama's proposed 2011 budget did not include funds for Constellation, therefore essentially canceling the program. It sent shock waves throughout NASA, the Congress and the American people. Nearly $10 billion had been invested in design and development of the program….

Obama's advisers, in searching for a new and different NASA strategy with which the president could be favorably identified, ignored NASA's operational mandate and strayed widely from President Kennedy's vision and the will of the American people.

“We intend to be first. In short, our leadership in science and in industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others, all require us to make this effort, to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men, and to become the world's leading space-faring nation.”

— President Kennedy

Obama’s lack of commitment to the U.S. space program is hardly new, and it can hardly be attributed to his budgetary frugality. Instead, it reflects a low-horizon worldview and a lack of enthusiasm for humanity’s shared explorations and discoveries, and in America’s central role in those extraordinary ventures.


Implicitly reminding us that yet another important matter largely hinges on the American people’s verdict on November 6, 2012, Armstrong, Lovell, and Cernan conclude:

The response to Kennedy's bold challenge a half-century ago has led to America's unchallenged leadership in space. We take enormous pride in all that has been accomplished in the past 50 years. And we have the people, the skills and the wherewithal to continue to excel and reach challenging goals in space exploration.

But today, America's leadership in space is slipping. NASA's human spaceflight program is in substantial disarray with no clear-cut mission in the offing. We will have no rockets to carry humans to low-Earth orbit and beyond for an indeterminate number of years….After a half-century of remarkable progress, a coherent plan for maintaining America's leadership in space exploration is no longer apparent.

“We have a long way to go in this space race. But this is the new ocean, and I believe that the United States must sail on it and be in a position second to none.”


— President Kennedy

Kennedy launched America on that new ocean. For 50 years we explored the waters to become the leader in space exploration. Today, under the announced objectives, the voyage is over. John F. Kennedy would have been sorely disappointed.


Published on The Weekly Standard  http://www.weeklystandard.com/

Don’t Underestimate Republicans in 2012

"Ramesh Ponnuru is a Bloomberg View columnist. The opinions expressed are his own."  This disclaimer written in parentheses at the end of  the article below is interesting.  Obviously Bloomberg, the Independent, formerly GOP, Mayor of New York wants to remain completely neutral in the upcoming campaign.  We at Two Sisters From The Right support the GOP, and our goal is to help bring about the defeat of Barack Obama.  In fact, now that the White House has appointed a watchdog to police the Internet looking for articles that are unflattering to Obama, let us reiterate our statement.  OUR GOAL IS TO HELP BRING ABOUT THE DEFEAT OF BARACK OBAMA.  We'd also like to know what punishment this new watchdog plans to exact on those  of us who continue to exert our First Amendment Rights. 

To that end, we will be bringing a variety of articles presenting the various candidates and their stand on the most pertinent issues.  Bloomberg has launched a new page called Bloomberg View and the following article is it's debut article. Ramesh Ponnuru, a senior editor at National Review, presents the argument that it is too early yet to predict the outcome of the presidential race. 

Two Sisters will be presenting news reports on the GOP presidential candidates. Our purpose is to help inform our readers, and to enable them to make a wise choice. We'd cover the Democrats also for the sake of comparison, however, they only have one candidate. Today we read that Donald Trump might consider running as an Independent.  Whether that rumor is true or not, remains to be seen.  Our most fervent desire is that in the end all persons who believe in cutting spending, smaller government and who believe in a firm adherence to the United States Constitution, will cast a vote AGAINST the incumbent.
Two Sisters


Don’t Underestimate Republicans in 2012
By Ramesh Ponnuru



Illustration by Matt Dorfman

 The 2012 presidential race has barely begun, but it is already time to retire one of its cliches: the much-repeated claim that "the Republican field is weak." Liberals say it with a smirk, because they think it will guarantee President Barack Obama’s re-election. Conservatives say it while begging someone else to enter the race and rescue them.

Maybe Congressman Paul Ryan. Or Governor Chris Christie. Or Senator Marco Rubio. Or some other shiny new face. Governor Mitch Daniels’s decision not to run is sure to make this clamor louder.

But the Republican field isn’t weak. The three people most likely to win the Republican nomination -- Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman, according to Intrade.com -- have all been governors. Two of them were governors of states that Obama carried in 2008. By contrast, the top three candidates for the Democratic nomination last time around (Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards) had a combined zero days of executive experience. This time, even some long-shot Republican candidates have stronger resumes than that: Libertarian gadfly Gary Johnson, for example, was a two-term governor of New Mexico.

Romney is well-versed on the issues and fast on his feet. Pawlenty, by addressing voter concerns about health care and traffic congestion while holding the line on taxes, managed to win re-election in deep-blue Minnesota in 2006, when Republicans were routed nationwide. Huntsman was a popular governor of Utah and, as the former ambassador to China, is knowledgeable about the country’s most important economic relationship.

Real Accomplishments

All three have real political skills, and real accomplishments. All can credibly challenge Obama on the economy: Romney and Huntsman because of their business backgrounds, Pawlenty and Huntsman because their states did relatively well under their leadership during the worst of the recession. None of these men is positioned on the right edge of their party. If one of them wins the nomination, Democrats may be able to convince voters that the Republican Party as a whole is unsuited for power. But they won’t be able to make a case that the nominee is a particularly extreme member of the party.

So why the disrespect? Partly it’s because the number of serious contenders is small. If Huntsman doesn’t take off, the race could well be a two-man contest between Romney and Pawlenty. The Democratic wave elections of 2006 and 2008 left Republicans with few plausible contenders (although their own wave election of 2010 gives them a deep bench for 2016). And no candidate dominates the field, giving a misleading impression about the strength any of them would bring to the general election.

Matter of Psychology

Dissatisfaction with the Republican candidates is also a matter of psychology. Republicans may not like, and some of them may not even respect, the incumbent president. They nonetheless see him sitting in the Oval Office and commanding troops. They see their own candidates, by contrast, sharing a stage with a bunch of other people, some of them fringe figures. They seem small. They will keep seeming small until some of them start winning primaries and one of them wins the nomination.

Offstage, Republicans imagine, is the perfect candidate. He has to be offstage because nobody onstage is perfect. He also has to be offstage because not running is part of his perfection. If he ran, he would be another guy competing for microphone time at the debates. The other candidates would suddenly have an incentive to draw attention to his flaws.

Right now, conservatives think of Congressman Ryan as a bold, free-market visionary. Within weeks of his entering the race, he would be redefined as the longtime Washington fixture who voted for TARP, the prescription-drug benefit, the auto bailout and other bills hated by Republican primary voters.

No White Knight

Fred Thompson mistakenly thought he could play the role of white knight in 2007. Then, as now, Republicans were complaining about the lineup of candidates. Rudy Giuliani was a pro-choicer with a messy personal history, Romney had flip-flopped too much, John McCain had committed a long list of apostasies. Republicans saw Thompson the way they see Christie today: as a solid conservative who makes for great tell-it-to-them-straight TV. They pleaded with him to run. He surged in the polls. Then he ran, and he stopped looking quite so glamorous. He seemed tired and uncommitted. He won no states.

The sourness of the national mood, finally, is another reason the Republican field gets such negative reviews. Nate Silver, a number-crunching blogger for the New York Times, notes that the major Republican candidates have lower "favorability ratings" than candidates in previous presidential elections. During the first half of 1999, for example, 63 percent of Americans had a favorable view of then-Governor George W. Bush and only 16 percent had a negative one.

Romney and the rest are currently faring much worse. Silver concludes that the conventional wisdom is right: The field is weak. But the public mood was much sunnier back then: 53 percent of Americans said they were satisfied with the direction of the country in early 1999, according to a Pew Research Center poll, while only 30 percent say so now. Partly as a result, the public is nowadays quick to turn on politicians. Figures as different as Obama, Scott Walker and Donald Trump have all seen their numbers drop quite quickly in recent years.

Obama may well win re-election in 2012. Black and Hispanic voters will surely turn out in greater numbers than in the 2010 midterms. The economy could improve. The politics of entitlement reform probably still favors the Democrats. But if Obama does win, it won’t be because the Republicans didn’t field any strong opponents.
©2011 BLOOMBERG L.P.

Dangling Strings - A Political Fable

Two Sisters From The Right are once again privileged to bring to our readers an article written by Barnard Sackett.  Written as a political fable, Barney brings us an astonishing description of  Barack Obama's assent to power.  The though of Barack Husseing Obama being re elected is disconcerting and we hope that those who recognize that his election was a huge error will remember the old adage. "Once bitten, Twice shy!" 
Two Sisters

DANGLING STRINGS, " A Fable"



By  BARNARD L. SACKETT

Once upon a time in a place known as America, there was a man in his forties, an attorney, who did questionable work as an city organizer in a metropolis of curious political ties and personal agendas.

Innocently he flashed upon the scene as one of the speakers in an earlier convention. Surprisingly, he enthralled his audience with his trim physique, his sartorial elegance, and his cultured oratory which sounded as if delivered by someone from the white race. Through fourth estate manipulation, he suddenly became a face and name that people were to remember without question. Thanks also to the tenacious drive of shadowy power brokers who realized they were onto the tail of a winner for satisfying their own selfish ideas, personal power and bottom line.
Buoyed by his own arrogance and ego, this stranger truly believed he was the anointed Godsend who had the drive, the tenacity, the daring, the chutzpah and the proper though questionable financial backing to become head of state. Even though he knew he could never convince the people if he was truly born in America, he harnessed the wind beneath his self-serving adventurous spirit and he would fly as high as his insincere and meaningless words could take him.

He campaigned like a champion thoroughbred. He said all the calculated things he knew that the public would like to hear. He was mesmerizing. But then subtle mind-control is an innocent interloper along with calculated subliminal columns by the fawning press. It was a given. He was destined to become the chosen winner. No, not by the people at the poles. But by the obsessive media coverage: talking heads and journalists who would make voters feel they were destined to accept the challenge of their written words.

And the fooling of the gullible masses began..

When the press spoke of the hundreds of thousands who came to hear him speak in Germany, there was no mention that the crowds actually came to cheer. applaud and express their emotions and boisterous vocal expressions for the free rock concert. First of many red flags to eventually wave.

While the media mind-controlled the masses, people never realized his background was carefully guarded. Through devilishly crafted mental processes fostered by unending approval of the overall press, a run for the spoils was made.

Eventually, believers began to question their approval. A few brave journalists freed themselves from their shackles of blind devotion and began looking deeper. His pernicious programs were not of the citizens liking. Who was this interloper who seemed not for the public good?. From where did he come originally? This person known for friendships with miscreants. Why has he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep his educational records and original birth certificate from the public’s scrutiny. And when he eventually and reluctantly presented one to the press, it was universally accepted as a fraud. And he gloated with his Cheshire cat smile.

Through continued and controlled hysterical mob inducements, along with the press to cloud the minds of its public, our modern day Shadow was born. The White House had become The Dark House. Not because a man of colour was now the current resident but the possible explosiveness of “under the rose” planning, permitting this one man to believe he had a calling for the betterment of the select.

Eventually, uncluttered congressional minds challenged the bunker mentalities of other members to reconsider what they had wrought upon themselves and the public. How could all this have happened. Rhetoric. That’s precisely what it was.. Pure, simple, well founded words and catch phrases meant to cleverly designed to calculate and confuse the innocent heart and mind.

Indeed there was a solution within the law, although fraught with serious thought-provoking implications and unnecessary danger.

When earlier Congressional folks called for the impeachment of Bill Clinton, there were no threats of street violence, destruction of homes, or the killing of those who disagreed. It may have been a raucous moment in history, but there were no rowdy parades, no destruction or stealing of property, no vicious signs carried by demonstrators or the blocking of traffic with the cacophony of automobile horns. It was a constitutional procedure.

Sadly, there is the inherent normal reaction of the radical few throughout the milieu who will shout a shrill clarion call of racism to help fuel violence and carnage with total disrespect for the rule of law or for the safety of others. The sound of impeachment will especially stick in each violently active Afro-American’s craw. It is also instinctive in nature to be defensive and protective of your own.

The eventual call for impeachment is not inevitable. Should this questionable consideration occur, we should give serious pause and deep contemplation to the possibilities of another chilling civil war. Then indeed this Muslim/Christian’s moment in history would have arrived. He will certainly be anointed the second Lincoln.

However, if he had any character or real passion for this non-Muslim country, he would show that he has inherent honor and integrity to realize he did not have the intellectual gravitas to end the danger and drama that he had personally brought to fruition. He should at this point, with his usual enigmatic smile, gallantly offer his resignation for the good of this great and wonderful land.

And his wife could step forward at the podium and for the second time in her life, announce to the world she would be proud to call herself an American in having her beloved husband take the most righteous action and return to home grounds with her and the children.

Then everyone would live happily ever after. Until we are once again blinded by flashing lights for another promised El Dorado.


@COPYRIGHT 2011 - Barnard L. Sackett

Obama's Israel Intentions and The Media

We've always known that the news media's bias helped elect Barack Obama in 2004.  Besides the fact that many journalists are liberal/socialists, we could never understand the reason why most of the media threw all of their considerable powers of persuasion behind the senator from Illinois.  It could have been the fact that they all suffered a terminal case of what Dr. Charles Krauthammer termed, "Bush Derangement Syndrome." However, in their bias, the media helped elect a socialist ideologue who by his own admission would side with the Muslims.  

As we see today's reporters talk about the Middle East dictators who have turned their guns on their own people, we wonder if those in the media realize that by their own unfair favoritism they hurt their fellow  Americans as well.  For over a period of 60 years, the United States has had one solid ally in the Middle East - The State of Israel.  The United States has always stood by Israel who has suffered attacks, and fought wars against their neighboring Arab countries who resent their presence and seek their destruction.

Then along came Obama and suddenly it comes to light that the media who backed his candidacy neglected to reveal to the American public that Obama would be the first American president to throw Israel under the bus and side with the Palestinians.  Obama's ludicrous request that Israel change it's borders to pre 1967 is one of the most ridiculous foreign policy statements ever issued by an American president.  To suggest that the Israelis share Jerusalem as its capital with the Palestinians defies comprehension by anyone who knows the history of modern Jewry and the State of Israel. 

Jack Cashill is rapidly becoming one of our favorite writers.  He thinks as we do, and sees the Middle East crisis in the same manner.  The following article written for The American Thinker is very revealing and hopefully will reach many of those who've not shown the interest in the fate of Israel that it, and it's people deserve.  Above all, it is our firm hope that it reaches that 78% of American Jews who were fooled into voting for Obama back in 2008. 
Two Sisters.

 Media Shielded Voters from Obama's Israel Intentions

by Jack Cashill

When President Barack Obama publicly endorsed the Palestinian view of Israel's future this week, he took many Americans, including many of his Jewish-American supporters, by surprise. Had the media been doing their job, he would not have surprised anyone.

Michelle and Barack Obama at Farewell
dinner for Palestinian Rashid Khalidi   

In April 2008, Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times wrote a lengthy article titled "Allies of Palestinians see a friend in Obama." The article pulled some of its information from a video shot at a 2003 farewell dinner for Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian booster and a de facto spokesman for the PLO during his Beirut years. Khalidi, who had spent several years at the University of Chicago, was leaving for New York.

Domestic terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn reportedly attended the dinner as well. This would make sense. Khalidi begins the acknowledgment section of his 2004 book, Resurrecting Empire, with a tribute to the guy who lived -- and edited -- in their neighborhood. "First, chronologically and in other ways," writes Khalidi, "comes Bill Ayers." Unlike the calculating Obama, Khalidi had no reason to be coy about this relationship.

At the dinner, Obama thanked Khalidi and his wife for the many meals they had shared chez Khalidi and for reminding Obama of "my own blind spots and my own biases." Obama hoped that "we continue that conversation -- a conversation that is necessary not just around Mona and Rashid's dinner table [...] [but around] this entire world."

Wallsten acknowledged that during this "celebration of Palestinian culture," some of the guests made hostile comments about Israel. One recited a poem accusing the Israeli government of terrorism with the implicit threat that Israel "will never see a day of peace." Another compared "Zionist settlers on the West Bank" to Osama bin Laden. If worse had been said, or if Obama had applauded these comments, the world beyond the LA Times newsroom would not be allowed to know.

The Times, which endorsed Obama for president, steadfastly refused to share the videotape despite the demand by the McCain camp and others to release it. This was, of course, one of many clues to Obama's character that the media either suppressed or refused to seek.

"A major news organization is intentionally suppressing information that could provide a clearer link between Barack Obama and Rashid Khalidi," said McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb.

Times spokeswoman Nancy Sullivan blew Goldfarb off. "As far as we're concerned, the story speaks for itself," she responded. The Times would add no details beyond what had appeared in Wallsten's April article. Obama, after all, had many affluent Jewish supporters in the Los Angeles area. Why worry them with a little anti-Israel rabble-rousing?


Why worry indeed - We are now reaping the adverse effects of having hidden the truth from American voters.

 Copyright May 2011 - Jack Cashill - The American thinker