On This Memorial Day There Are Two Americas

By William R. Forstchen Ph.D., as published in the Orlando Political Press on May 30:

Memorial Day. Those of us old enough to remember might recall a parent or grandparent who referred to it as “Decoration Day.” We might recall as well that “Memorial Day,” was not on the last Monday of the month of May, serving as a convenient three day weekend for sales and summertime vacations, but instead was observed on May 30th, no matter what day of the week that was.

According to tradition it started shortly after the Civil War when General Logan, who was part of the forces occupying the South, observed Southern women laying spring flowers on the graves of both Confederate and Union dead, graves still fresh and barely covered with the grass that covers over memories. When he asked why they were thus decorating the graves of their former foes, a woman dressed in the black of mourning supposedly replied that the dead were now comrades in peace and she prayed that southern dead, buried far from home, might be tended by mothers, wives and daughters of the Union. Logan wrote of it, urged a national day of commemoration and thus “Decoration Day” became a tradition in nearly all states.

After World War One, the fallen of that conflict became part of the memorial services as well. After World War Two, with hundreds of thousands of new graves to tend, the tradition evolved that “Decoration Day,” would be a day of national commemoration of those who gave “the last full measure of devotion,” and that “Armistice Day,” November 11th, would become a day of honoring all veterans who served.

And thus it was until 1971 when Congress, creating three day weekends for government employees, including themselves, reordered Memorial Day to the last Monday of the month.

As a boy growing up in the 1950s I recall Memorial Day in my town as one of solemn dedication. Streets would be blocked off and a parade would weave through the community, visiting the various cemeteries. I would march with the boy scouts, my father with his American Legion post, and at each cemetery prayers would be offered, wreaths laid, followed by a volley salute and taps, which even then made my throat constrict.

We were a single America, united in memory. Yes there was already the blaring of ads on a new thing called television, about Memorial Day sales, and the exodus to the beach by some, but as a shared culture, Memorial Day was a day of memory, recollection and prayer.

We are two Americas today. Yes Presidents have “missed” visiting Arlington before this day but this time, the reasons why and what commentators have said in defense so clearly shows a national divide.

Earlier this week a notice from the White House announced that the First Family would “vacation” this weekend in Chicago. The First Lady was quoted as saying that this time the children “decided” where they would spend their mini vacation.

Vacation? So Memorial Day is a vacation weekend now, even for the First Family? Of course it was quickly pointed out that the President would visit a military cemetery near Chicago. Of course.

Read more.

Gene Simmons' military salute

Happy Memorial Day! Thank a veteran today, and take a moment to honor those who died.

Then rock out to this KISS tribute to the armed forces.

3 presidents did it, yet we never hear about it

I didn't write this, but I edited it slightly:

What did Presidents Hoover, Truman and Eisenhower have in common?

During the Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover ordered the deportation of ALL illegal aliens to make jobs available to American citizens who desperately needed work.

President Harry Truman deported more than two million Illegal immigrants after World War II to create jobs for returning veterans.

In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower deported 1.2 million Mexican nationals ina program called Operation Wetback so World War II and Korean War veterans would have a better chance at finding jobs.

Now ... if the president could deport illegal immigrants back then — he sure could do it today.

Remember: Don't forget to pay your taxes. Twelve million Illegal immigrants depend on you!

Two more Census workers blow the whistle

From John Crudele of the New York Post on May 25:

You know the old saying: "Everyone loves a charade." Well, it seems that the Census Bureau may be playing games.

Last week, one of the millions of workers hired by Census 2010 to parade around the country counting Americans blew the whistle on some statistical tricks.

The worker, Naomi Cohn, told The Post that she was hired and fired a number of times by Census. Each time she was hired back, it seems, Census was able to report the creation of a new job to the Labor Department.

Below, I have a couple more readers who worked for Census 2010 and have tales to tell.

But first, this much we know.

Each month Census gives Labor a figure on the number of workers it has hired. That figure goes into the closely followed monthly employment report Labor provides. For the past two months the hiring by Census has made up a good portion of the new jobs.

Labor doesn't check the Census hiring figure or whether the jobs are actually new or recycled. It considers a new job to have been created if someone is hired to work at least one hour a month.

One hour! A month! So, if a worker is terminated after only one hour and another is hired in her place, then a second new job can apparently be reported to Labor . (I've been unable to get Census to explain this to me.)

Read more.

Should the American Flag Be Banned -- in America?

Your options are:

• No. This is a lame decision. Teach the kids what the flag means, instead of banning it.
• Yes. The safety of students comes first.
• Not sure, but of all things to ban, the American flag would seem the least "incendiary."
• Other.

I thought the most common answer was obvious, but apparently I'm wrong.

Based on 1,090,306 votes, the winner so far is:

Yes. The safety of students comes first.54%

Really? What do you think? Cast your vote here.

A story of two young men

Modern Civil Rights: Cockfighting & Same-Sex Proms

From Ann Coulter on Human Events.

Watching TV this week, at first I thought Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul had flown a commercial jet into the World Trade Center. But then it turned out that he had only said there ought to be discussion about whether federal civil rights laws should be applied to private businesses.

This allowed the mainstream media to accuse Paul of being a racist. Twisting a conservative's words in order to accuse him of racism was evidently more urgent news than the fact that the attorney general of the United States admitted last week -- under oath in a congressional hearing -- that he had not read the 10-page Arizona law on illegal immigration, the very law he was noisily threatening to overturn.

And really, how could the U.S. attorney general have time to read a 10-page law when he's busy doing all the Sunday morning TV shows condemning it?

Eric Holder's astonishing admission was completely ignored by ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, Time or Newsweek, according to Brent Bozell of the Media Research Center.

I just want to say: I think it's fantastic that the Democrats have finally come out against race discrimination. Any day now, maybe they'll come out for fighting the Cold War. Perhaps 100 years from now, they'll be ready to fight the war on terrorism or champion the rights of the unborn.

It would be a big help, though, if Democrats could support good causes when it mattered.

But as long as the media are so fascinated with the question of why anyone would want to "discuss" certain aspects of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, maybe they should ask Al Gore why his father was one of the leading opponents of the bill.

Or they could ask Bill Clinton, whose mentor, Sen. William Fulbright, actively supported segregation and also voted against the bill. Or they could talk to the only current member of the Senate to vote against it, Democrat Bob Byrd.

As with the 1957 and 1960 civil rights acts, it was Republicans who passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act by huge majorities. A distinctly smaller majority of Democrats voted for it.

Read more.

Mexico's stance on Arizona's immigration law

Mexico President Felipe Caldero contradicts his stance on immigration when CNN's Wolf Blitzer interviews him on The Situation Room.

See below for part I of the interview.

Florida Senate: Rubio 39%, Crist 31%, Meek 18%

From Rasmussen Reports on May 17:

Charlie Crist received a bounce in the polls when he left the Republican Party to run for the U.S. Senate as an independent. New numbers suggest that the bounce for the governor is over.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Florida finds Republican Marco Rubio with 39% support, while Crist earns 31% of the vote and Democrat Kendrick Meek trails at 18%. Twelve percent (12%) are undecided.

Two weeks ago, just after Crist announced that he was running as an independent, he held a 38% to 34% advantage over Rubio.

The latest numbers parallel the findings in April two weeks before Crist announced he was quitting the Republican Primary race.

Crist, whose numbers had been in freefall in his primary match-up with Rubio, has been actively courting Democrats. But Meek now edges Crist among Democratic voters after trailing him two weeks ago.

Among Republicans, Crist’s support has dropped from 30% two weeks ago to 23% now. Rubio, the Cuban-American former speaker of the state House, earns 68% of Republicans, up 10 points from the previous survey.

Crist’s lead over Rubio among voters not affiliated with either party has narrowed as well, from 12 points early in the month to three points now.

Rubio has a two-to-one lead among male voters over both Crist and Meek. Crist has a small lead over Rubio among female voters.

Read more.

Calling all experts!

Are you an expert on a topic of national interest, such as health care, immigration, taxes, education, national security or TARP? If so, I want to hear from YOU!

The South Florida Tea Party plans to hold educational forums to inform citizens on the history of these and other topics and how they affect Americans' lives today.

To do so, we're looking for credible, knowledgeable experts to give a presentation on an issue, including an overview of the topic -- its history, what laws govern it and how Tea Party values align or don't align with it -- with visual supports, such as a multimedia presentation or poster boards of information.

Maybe you've studied conservatism or have written about Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals." Or perhaps you're a constitutional expert or an economist. Share your knowledge with Tea Party Patriots!

If you're interested in giving a presentation, tell us in a few hundred words what topic you would like to speak about and what makes you an expert. Send your brief bio and any questions to Jenn@SouthFloridaTeaParty.org, using the subject line "Educational Forum Expert."

Your knowledge will arm others with information to share and will affect the way people vote. Don't let your expertise go to waste -- help us make America a better, more informed country.

Politics on wheels

Honk if you like these (click to enlarge):

Honk!

Republican Whip Eric Cantor introduces YouCut

"YouCut - a first-of-its-kind project - is designed to defeat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. It allows you to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House enact. Vote on this page today for your priorities and together we can begin to change Washington's culture of spending into a culture of savings."

Bill McCollum on Arizona's new border security law

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum released a statement on Arizona's new immigration law:

“As state and local law enforcement officials in Arizona begin to implement the state’s aggressive new border security law to crackdown on illegal immigration, I applaud Governor Brewer and the Arizona Legislature for stepping up their enforcement efforts at a time when President Obama’s administration has let states down. I support Arizona's law as amended, and if the federal government fails to secure our borders and solve the problem of illegal immigration, I would support a similar law for Florida.”

“Arizona leaders recently made needed changes that address concerns I had that the law could be abused and misused to perform racially profiled stops and arrests. I do not support any measure that would result in racial profiling or other unintended consequences for law abiding American citizens.

“Here in Florida, my Attorney General's office worked with state and local law enforcement agencies to reach agreements with the Department of Homeland Security to increase the number of Florida officers trained to enforce immigration laws and expand the scope of their authority. While these efforts continue, the Obama Administration is not providing enough resources and officers to enforce federal immigration law.

“President Obama and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano have shortsightedly failed to address serious border security issues, and now states carry a greater burden to keep our cities, streets and citizens safe.

“As Attorney General and as Florida’s next Governor, I am committed to advancing new and aggressive initiatives to keep Florida secure.”

Gov. Christie puts thin-skinned Moran in his place

From The Daily Caller:

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie unloaded at a press conference on liberal columnist Tom Moran for questioning what he perceived as a ‘controversial tone.’ After calling him the thinnest skinned guy in America, Christie launched into a defense of his governing philosophy: “I believe in less government, lower taxes and in empowering local officials who are elected by their citizens to be able to fix their problems.”

"When you ask me questions, I'm going to answer them directly, straightly, bluntly, and nobody in New Jersey is going to have to wonder where I am on an issue."

Read more.

1907 immigration

This photo is 103 years old (click to enlarge):

The caption reads:

'In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American ... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag ... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language ... And we have room for but one sole loyalty, and that is a loyalty to the American people.' -- Theodore Roosevelt, 1907

Control the border first

From Newt Gingrich of Human Events:

"Control the border first" ought to be the battle cry of every citizen who is tired of leftwing elites trying to use charges of racism to blackmail us into accepting perpetually unsecured borders and amnesty for millions.

“Control the border first” is the legitimate demand of Americans concerned about national security and personal safety.

The President, as Commander in Chief, has a constitutional obligation to control the border.

However, instead of executing this duty, he has actually blocked the limited efforts of the Bush Administration, stopping the construction of a “virtual fence” until more studies can be done as to its effectiveness.

The fact that President Obama refuses to fulfill his national security obligations and instead is trying to arouse public fear and divide the country is a dereliction of duty and a betrayal of his Oath of Office.

The left, led by the Obama Administration, is lying about the Arizona immigration bill and attempting to create a new racial divide to prop up the Democratic Party in the election.

If the Arizona law established the ethnic profiling and harassment of innocent people as the New York Times and the left describes, virtually every American would oppose it.

Yet by 61% to 27%, the American people support Arizona’s efforts to eliminate illegality from their communities. There is a deep belief in America that asking people to obey the law and to be law abiding citizens is a legitimate requirement of a free society.

Americans overwhelmingly favor legal immigration. We look with pride on first generation immigrants who work hard and make America a better, more prosperous and more interesting country.

Americans overwhelmingly support efforts to assimilate first-generation immigrants from virtually every country in the world into learning English, learning American history and earning the right to be good citizens.

This has been our national heritage.

Read more.