Britain is committing national suicide...Are we going there, too?

Melanie Philips has an article in National Review Online in which she points out how thrilled the Brits are that America will start to look like them and the rest of Europe now that Barack Obama has been elected. But Britain is well on it’s way to committing national suicide, and we need to avoid going in that same direction.

"Obama has talked about remedying what he sees as the flaws in the U.S. Constitution which promotes only "negative liberties," or freedom from something rather than positive rights to something. Well, through human-rights legislation Britain has exchanged its historic concept of "negative" liberty — everything is permitted unless it is actively prohibited — for the ‘positive’ European idea that only what is codified is to be permitted. As a result, freedom has shrunk to what ideology permits. Equality legislation has cemented a "victim culture" under which the interests of all groups deemed to be powerless (black people, women, gays ) trump those deemed to be powerful (white people, men, Christians). Since this doctrine holds that the "powerless" can do no wrong while the "powerful" can do no right, injustice is thus institutionalized, and anyone who queries the preferential treatment afforded such groups is vilified as a racist or bigot.

All this constitutes a profoundly illiberal culture in which no dissent is permitted, group is set against group and intimidation is the order of the day. And this also happens to be the culture of ACORN, of the radical groups funded by the Annenberg Challenge and Woods Fund, and the ‘educational’ or criminal justice ideas of William Ayers, endorsed by Barack Obama."

....

"Obama believes America has to expiate its sins: both its original, Founding sins of slavery and racism, and its latter-day sins against the world of Islam. Britain likes the sound of that. It wants America to be humbled. Nations, it thinks, cause wars. Arrogant, hubristic, imperial nations like Bush’s America cause big and horrible wars. By contrast transnational institutions — such as the sacred UN or EU — promote civilised "engagement" with the enemy to discuss grievances and reach compromises. So it is thrilled that Obama will get out of Iraq and talk to Iran and may even force wretched Israel (which Britain blames for Everything Bad in the World) to give away the disputed territories and half of Jerusalem to the Arabs. The fact that such actions would leave Iraq in chaos, empower Iran still further, destroy Israel’s security and imperil the free world doesn’t trouble it at all. And if Obama, under the responsibility of office, should change from an appeaser to a war leader in America’s national interest, then Britain’s new found love for America would revert once again into rage and disdain."
....

"The British Conservatives think that, to regain power, they have to show they have broken with cultural conservatism and go instead with the way society has changed — gay rights, green politics, anti-racism. What they have failed to grasp is that such change has turned values such as right and wrong, good and bad on their heads and has produced a sentimentalised, cruel, oppressive and perverse society — one where burglars go scot-free but householders are prosecuted for putting the wrong kind of garbage in the trash can, and where people are too frightened to protest at the erosion of British, Christian, or Western values because of the opprobrium that will follow."

It’s an interesting article and it’s worth reading the whole thing.
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ELECTION DAY: Tuesday, November 4, 2008

We're flying the flag here at 648 because today is Election Day, 2008. If you're an American citizen and you're registered to vote, please do so.

If you're an alien living in this country illegally, don't bother.

Halloween Update: Grandkids

Here are some pictures I borrowed from Jodi's blog.

This is Izac (the vampire) and Jake (the ninja). If you click on the picture you can see an enlarged version. Because Izac's eyes are so blue, they often turn red in the flash, and that's what happened here. It's a great Halloween effect.

I agree with Jodi; Anson is the cutest little bee ever!

According to Jodi this is after the candy. Izac looks ready for a nap, Jake looks like he's still high from all the sugar, and Anson's loving all the attention.

Check out Jodi's blog.

Happy Halloween 2008

Halloween came to our house this year in the form of neigborhood children dressed in their scariest costumes. Okay, some of them weren't all that scary.

Here are a few of the Burningham children, accompanied by their guardian angel Rachel Wilkey. Brett and Jill Burningham are in the background.

Here are Christian, Taylor (rear) and Tyler.

John Clark came by, with his children, while his wife took care of "door duty" at their house.

These are the boys from next door and across the street. As you can see, I have great neighbors.

Here's a scary monster, accompanied by not so scary Mom & Dad.

Here are some more neighbor children.

We got a few older children, too.

Here are some more, wearing their disguises.

Here is a trio of Halloween "street performers".

Kayla Larson came by with some of her friends.

Sami Meinhart came by, accompanied by her "Rehab Reject" friend.

Obviously this boy had visited a lot of houses before he got to us, judging by the level of candy in his bucket.

Here's a trio of kids I didn't recognize, but they were cute. Check out the girl on the left, taking a bubble bath.

An imperfect document that reflects deep flaws...

"But I think it is an imperfect document, and I think it is a document that reflects some deep flaws in American culture…it also reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day."– Barack Obama on the U.S. Constitution

This man wants to be your president. In order to take the oath of office he must swear to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Happy Birthday, Izac

It was Izac's 8th birthday, and so he invited guests to his party.

Here he get's his picture taken by his mother Jodi in preparation for the pinata whacking.

Everybody got to take 3 good whacks.

Some of the younger ones like Jourgen Danzie didn't have to wear a blindfold.

It wasn't long before candy was scattered all over the ground and kids were scrambling for it.

Later, all the younger guests gathered on the trampoline while Izac opened their presents.

The guests included cousins and friends from school.

Little Dutch loved being right in the middle of everything.

We sang Happy Birthday to Izac.

Then he blew out the eight candles on the birthday brownies.

Here mother Mindy managed to coax out a smile from our grandson Dutch, age 10 months.

And then another.

Anson watched all the goings on with wide eyes. I'm sure he'd never noticed this many people, especially noisy children in one place before. He seemed quite content to sit in Bev's arms and watch it all.

Here is Dutch, who has mastered the art of crawling forward instead of backward, now.

Red Sky at Morning...

Fall Color on the Nebo Loop

Here are some pictures I took up on the Nebo Loop, south of Payson, Utah. Elevation, according to signs posted on the roadside, was about 9,000 ft.

This view is looking west down Santaquin Canyon, with the southern tip of Utah Lake visible.

This is a panorama shot made from several shots and stitched together to form a panorama. It's looking west down Santaquin Canyon from the Nebo Loop Road, south of Payson.

The aspens are at the peak of their color right now. The maples, in the lower canyons, are probably a little past peak color.

Happy Birthday, Christian

It's the Big Three Oh for Chris. Here he poses with his sweet little daughter.

Here's a link to last year's post, if you're interested. http://blog648.blogspot.com/2007/09/happy-birthday-chris.html

Happy Birthday, Laura

Sept. 11, 1947.

Happy Birthday to the love of my life.