Christys' Cranium

Things you probably do not know about John McCain

2008-04-21T07:53:00.001-07:00

1) He is breaking the very laws on campaign financing that he helped write on a daily basis.

2) He is not a 'natural born citizen'. He was born in Panama, and no matter how you twist the Constitution, a child born in Panama can not fit the defintion of 'natural born citizen'. Natural born citizens do not need a legal justification or clause to make them citizens.

3) John MccAin has cheerleaded the Iraq War consistantly and in even the face of a desperate reality. He has in fact stated that we should remain there for 100, even 'a million' years. McCain himself said ‘No one has supported President Bush on Iraq more than I have.’

4) McCain constantly confuses facts, such as Sunni vs. Shiite, and makes deliberately misleading 'gaffes', only to insist they were all 'mistatements' and that he 'mispoke' on the rare occassion he is challenged on them. Most of the time they are not reported at all, instead McCain is given the benefit of the doubt inspite of the exact opposite being true.

5) The reporters covering McCain are often openly courted by McCain, and are unethically close to the subject of their reporting. When he makes mistakes, mistatements, or even flat out lies, they simply do not report it. They chose access to power over their duty of informing the public with full disclosure.

6) If you think John Kerry was 'elitist' because his wife was an Heiress, that standard also applies to McCain who divorced a wife to marry an heiress worth in excess of 100 million dollars. She then financed his political rise and they have no less than 8 homes.

7) McCain has openly sought the endorsements of some of the most radical elements of the Christian Right. If Obamas pastor is controversial, then so is McCains open solicitation of religious leaders who are openly engaged in hate speech and racial stereotyping.Yet his connections to these people go unreported.

8) In the media, McCains support for our soldiers is assumed, yet he is actively resisting signing a new GI Bill, and has backed up every policy of George W Bush, no matter how detrimental it was to our Armed Forces.

9) Has been called 'anti- torture' even though he again actively supports an administration fully engaged in the depravity of it. He has yet to demand it cease, nor has he provided legislation or investigations to stop it. (The President Vice President and many administration level officials have now admitted to constructing and approving a torture program)

10) Is consistently known for improper relationships with lobbyists. Even ones that have business before the committees he is on. Rarely are these relationships reported or investigated by anyone in the media.

11) McCain does support dismantling Social Security in favor of 'private accounts'.

12) Fully supports George W Bushs policy to give tax breaks to the wealthiest among us, and continued corporate welfare, even as he admits he does not fully understand our economy.

13) His campaign openly admits his financial policy will not reduce our deficits, and in fact has stated openly “..would like the next president not to talk about deficit reduction.” . McCain himself has said vehemently "I disagree. I disagree with the experts. I disagree. I disagree. I disagree with the experts."

14) Has now finally admitted the US Economy is in recession, even though he has been denying it all along.

15) Is quietly co-ordinating and being advised by Karl Rove, whom was the 'Architect of George W Bushs disastrous policies, and is now a 'Fox News Contributor" who is never identified as McCain advisor on air, even as he is supposedly 'reporting' on the nominee.

16) He still does not have a comprehensive health care policy to represent and his campaign seems to be scrambling to make up one as they go along.

17) He has no plan to address Global Warming.

18) Has openly said he agrees with Osama Bin Laden about our military involvement in Iraq... "For the first time, I have seen Osama bin Laden and Gen. Petraeus in agreement, and that is, the central battleground in the battle against al-Qaeda is in Iraq today! That’s what bin Laden is saying, and that’s what Gen. Petraeus is saying, and that’s what I’m saying, my friends."

19) He has physically assaulted atleast two fellow members of congress.

20) Refuses to release his medical records or his wifes tax records.

McCain

2008-02-28T08:30:00.000-08:00

Why John McCain Will Never Be President of the USA

Every day for John McCain has been one shocking scandal after the next. He says it does not matter if an indicted man is on his leadership team, and the anti lobbiest is revealed to be a lobbiest lover. Along with the fact he most likely is breaking campaign finance laws, laws he himself helped write, there is the ever present whispers of infidelity, and perhaps the man is just not sane. His temper tantrums and record of being wrong on issues like war are legendary.

Now, most normal people would look at such a man and say these reasons alone should undo anyones serious chances at the presidency. But, due to the moral and ethical abyss that has become the modern day GOP, all of these things combined has turned him into a frontrunner in his party.

And yet, as much as republicans can pretend all that reality does not exist or that it just does not matter, a new reality has come along that is bound to shock the majority of their berethern to the core. The New York Times has revealed to said masses today, that John McCain was not born in this country. Indeed, he was born on the Panama Canal, in the decidedly latin territory of CENTRAL AMERICA.

Granted, at first read, it seems almost petty. Maybe even laughable. But on second thought, it cuts to a core truth that all of us as Citizens of the United States have accepted for over 200 years. Unless he was born upon our soil, within our borders, he is NOT a 'natural born citizen' of the USA. Even if his parents were, he is not.

At best, he is a DUAL CITIZEN of both the US and Panama. And no matter how long he has lived here since, and no matter what he has done for or sacrificed of in the name of this country, nothing can change the reality of his natural dual birthright.

Once again, the republican faithful who's morals are convienantly altered to hold their candidates to a different standard, are already on again about changing the very Constitution itself, to 'clarify' something all of us already thought was pretty clearly described by our Founding Fathers. Unless they also intend to change the meaning of 'natural', there is no way that 'natural born citizen' can apply to a child born of foreign soil, no matter who their parents were.

Yes, I understand there are many US Citizens that will say, 'But, I was born to US Citizens on foreign soil, are you saying that also disqualifies me to the presidency?' YES, that is exactly what I am saying. And it is about damn time we say it out loud, just so there is no mistake. This is not about patriotism, or even who would make a better leader.

By your birthright, if you are a dual citizen of two nations, like it or not, it is highly unlikly such a person will ever be allowed to rule over those who' natural' citizenship is beyond legal question. If there is a legal question as to your status, then you can not fit the definition of 'natural born US Citizen', whos birthright is beyond question.

This is not an issue of democrats 'vs. republicans, it is an issue that cuts to the core of what it means to be a US Citizen and all US Citizens have a stake in the outcome. No matter how much republican leaders try to suddenly be ok with it themselves, the majority of not just republicans, but natural born US Citizens, are not willing to be ruled by anyone with a natural dual citizenship bestowed at birth. The threat of foreign influence on a president with dual loyalties is a risk no one is willing to take.

Especially republicans.

Our Family

2007-06-12T04:11:00.000-07:00

Click Any Pic To Enlarge

The grandchildren Aline never knew she would have, together for the first time. Cody, Brooke, and Sebrina.

Our family will bring her home one day.

Pictured are Karrie, Brooke, Myself, Morgan, Ana, Cody, Kaylee, Tiffany and Sebrina.

Karrie and her husband Mike, with our children playing right in front of Alines apartment.

See the little girl, far left, in the white shirt? That is my daughter Kaylee Fay. She was born on Alines birthday and named for her.

Karrie and Tiffany, two sisters together again after 22 years. In front of a place once known as The Wagon Wheel.

I love every one of you.

That Pic in different views

2007-06-12T03:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a closer view of those lights.....

In negative.....

And with the colors inverted.....

Look Ma! I Remembered My Password!

2007-06-12T02:52:00.000-07:00

Oh Yeah

2006-05-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

Juicy

2006-05-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

2006-05-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

As appears on MWC News

Why Do They Capitulate?
By Christy Cole

I have sat in witness of the various discussions between big 'D', and little 'd' democrats for as long as I have been active in this debate. The followers are mad at the leaders, the leaders do not care, As surely as Bush has betrayed true conservatives, the democrats in the house and senate have, at every turn, aided and abetted his plundering of the United States of America.

At every turn democrats in the House and Senate have allowed unjust slaughter and war profiteering in the name of We the People. They have turned blinded eyes to MOUNTAINS of evidence and betrayed everything we have ever believed we stood for.

Why, we wonder, WHY have they done this? Why do they continue to do so...?

They betray our own nation with silence, and we are left to wonder why. How can it be that the senate would allow a tyrant to be unleashed upon us...? How it is there are no consequences for the ones who sacrificed THOUSANDS of our bravest children for LIES...?

Why do they stand aside as he cuts the surviving soldiers MEDICAL BENEFITS! Take food from the elderly to feed Halliburton and Exxon?

Could it be they have ALL been bought...? Bought and paid for by players much like Jack Abramoff..? It seems odd there is not one untouchable among them. I am not even sure bribing ALL of congress is possible, but I think most do have a price. So how do you shut up the rest..?

It is really quite simple. You blackmail them

I find it very, very odd as well, in this entire discussion of bribery, perjury, conspiracy, money laundering, election rigging, and buying of legislation, the one most useful tool for a criminal is noticeably completely absent from all of the discussions.

Blackmail. It seems such a...passive crime. Eh? No force, all profit. Implication alone provides the pressure. It happens in the utter silence.

If Bush did not want the F.I.S.A. court to know he was spying on political opponents, it only is but another step down that path to assume those enemies were in the House and Senate. Perhaps even the Supreme Court. Forcing someone's resignation with illegally obtained wiretaps would not be hard if the info collected were just juicy enough.

We know how it works from there; Karl Rove selectively leaks parts that only he and his group of fake Intel monkeys can put into context. Chris Matthews makes sure to let the viewer know who 'the good guys' are. Lush Limpball renders Osama irrelevant with two pills. Or one, depending on the doctor.

Is it really possible that Bush is blackmailing members of Congress...? I think the republicans have reminded us how easy it is to buy off large numbers of public officials. And if they are committing overt acts of bribery, WHY NOT BLACKMAIL...? It would almost be impossible to continue one, without the other.

Not EVERYONE can be bought, but everyone does have something to hide. Congress is not only openly covering their own complicity, but doing their level best to ignore the crimes of the Bush Administration.

Have you ever seen anything like this situation we are in due to their actions ?

The reports of Bush spying on U.N. Members went almost unnoticed. Imagine what info contained in those personal correspondents could be used against council members. Like Kofi Annan's son. What would you do for your own son...? If Annan was being blackmailed it would explain a lot. MUCH, in fact.

Everyone has something they would rather pay to hide than deal with face to face. EVERYONE. It is why blackmail is such a successful endeavor for criminals. We all have someone we would pay to 'protect' from our sins.

When you sit back and wonder about the depth of the betrayal the United States Congress has committed against We, at some point you will have to ask WHY they are allowing this to happen. Why do they continue to quibble for scraps at the foot of a tyrant, rather than embrace the will of the people?

They are clearly afraid, but refuse to openly discuss their fears to the very people who could protect them. The ones THEY were sworn to protect. Us. They REFUSE to tell us simple truths.

It has become clear that their own dark secrets, their own sins are being used against them. It has become obvious those not being paid off outright are in the grips of something unseen, and threatening. A collaboration of deep silence exists among them, as they no longer bother to refuse those that would strangle the life out of this nation with lies, treason, and deceits.

High crimes and misdemeanors have been ignored deliberately. The evidence is both on the public record and overwhelming. The same cabal of people is damned by it, again, and again. The Downing Street Memos alone are enough to hang George W. Bush and Tony Blair both, for TREASON.

It is enough to have them tried in the HAUGE for WAR CRIMES. No man is above the law. Not presidents. Not prime ministers.

And those whom have a duty to stop it are obviously in no mind to even seriously try.

The House and Senate piss away any chance we the People ever had to live free and die with our dignity intact. The dog eaten corpses in New Orleans will forever stand in history as what we can expect as American citizens from our leaders that all swore oaths to protect us in these times.

Oaths they have betrayed, but for what? Why have they done so, how did that happen; all remains elusive.

As our hospitals go bankrupt they spend $100,000 dollars per minute to kill people who were never capable of harming us, never threatened to harm us, and never DID harm us, in any way.

They are torturing in the name of our children. Habeas Corpus is now riddled with exception. If your vote is stolen then you are ALREADY a slave. And those in the House and Senate stand by and make empty gestures for the cameras. They talk without ever breaking their silence. "Yap, yap, yap," Is what they say as the desperation mounts right before their eyes. They refuse to see it.

They capitulate, and our entire empire lays in the balance of a calculated cowardice.

WHY is no one asking about blackmail...? After all the crimes this administration has committed and is planning, it would actually seem the milder of their crimes.

The silence, itself, has become a conspiracy all on its' own. It is obvious to even the blind and unimaginative. It is an anomaly so vast, it seems almost incomprehensible.

Until you consider blackmail

What I do not understand is why others are not doing just that. It is the only piece of the puzzle missing.

2006-05-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

As appears on MWCNews

By Christy Cole
If I Screamed It, Would You Hear Me?

Not too long ago I wrote an article entitled 'Preaching to the Choir.' in which I discussed the political abandonment of the deep south. When I wrote it, I was blissfully unaware of exactly how right I was. Or how it would bring death so close in plentiful amounts.

As a resident of Louisiana I would like to tell you about what you have lost. I would like you to see it, as I saw it.

New Orleans. Or, as they say if you’re from here, "Nuuuw 'Awwwlins'. So famous, most think her our capital city. Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana, but New Orleans was our crown jewel. World wide she was known for her parties, her history, her engineering feats, her defiance of nature itself. And on top of it all was a culture unlike any place on earth. A place where history is beloved and alive.

So very, very ALIVE.

Like most Americans I have never had a vacation, but I did find myself once in New Orleans. It changed my heart, from the first moment I saw it. The skyline in itself was not terribly distinctive but quaint in certain ways. Most of Louisiana is so lush the horizons are usually shortened and blunted by it. Not so there in that coastal city. But since it was under sea level you had the bizarre feeling of having to glance upwards to find the horizon. It is actually a visual oddity you had to adjust to. You get a sense of the true power of man and nature colliding. And man winning.

The rich historical homes and streets of the Garden District were the most pleasurable sight on earth. Louisiana architecture is as unique as the rest of her and those fine homes were so beautiful I found myself day dreaming of the people that must live and work in them. I thought of the history they had witnessed. I also went into the workers' districts, and houses so bright and cheerful also made me dream of those people as well in vibrant colors. I saw poetry in their anonymous, friendly faces. Even the cemeteries are world famous and as gorgeous as you ever hope to find death.

New Orleans, a place so beautiful even the cemeteries are lovely.

Quite unexpectedly I wound up in the French Quarter at nine am on a day so clear it was a true honor to be alive. Even though I’m not a drinker, and even though it was VERY early, I decided to get drunk. It took all of one strong drink at Pat O'Briens. I drank my very first Long Island Iced Tea there. What a blast. The historical scenes of 'Interview with a Vampire' with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, they filmed from right there in that historic building. Being giddy with whatever the hell they put in those 'Teas' I stood not just where stars like Cruise and Pitt stood, but I stood in a place where much history had unfolded.

In all of Louisiana two very separate histories exist... In New Orleans, those two histories actually became one. What a sight it was to behold. Caribbean, French, African, English, Indian, Roman, Yankee, Dutch, German, Cajun and ALL American through and through.

I believed they called it 'The Big Easy' because it was so effortless to fall in love with her and her people.

I had my one tea bender and went wandering in the streets where a homeless man in a full king’s costume, crown and all, rushed across the street and proposed marriage to me on the spot. He actually quoted Shakespeare while asking. (Alas, I declined...although the classic verses were fantastic.) Before a spectacle could arise I went on further into the heart of New Orleans.

I passed art shops, museums, and five star restaurants. I found voodoo shops, cathedrals, and gentle courtyards. And constantly as I walked I heard music. Jazz spilled into the streets like flowers blooming from one block to another. I found transvestite strip clubs, and out of nowhere a mini parade almost ran me down. I found one of the seven death masks of Napoleon and the very same table and chair that General Hickory used when planning a final humiliation for the bloody British. So what if the war was actually already over. We didn't know it.

Legend has it, Hickory used alligators for cannons when the real ones melted. A very inventive use for a reptile, I must say.

And everywhere you went, there were the people who are also like no others on earth. They are the bearers of the weight of the two histories. And in truth, without them, it would have been just a place.

The people of New Orleans ARE the music. They ARE the history. They ARE the food, the flavor, the variety of what they built for us all. They are what is most special about a bunch of buildings on the coast. As long as we have them, we have the soul of New Orleans living and breathing amongst us.

They are the soul of what is now a ghost.

And they were left behind to die. There is simply no other way to put it.

My nation has shamed me before. When I think of all the innocent Iraqis that died for lies, I weep bitter angry tears. I have stepped up and lent my voice to those screaming STOP IT STOP IT. But things have changed now. Talking has run its course. I am no longer in possession of the hope it would take to dare believe it would make a difference. Shame is overshadowed by rage. Rage like the ocean that is overcoming one of Americas most beloved cities.

I tried, I tried so hard to get people’s attention on the south politically. Many did respond, because I think people not from here have an inherent curiosity about the deep south. Many did respond in thoughtful debate and inclusion. In some cases I admit I FORCED the conversation in people’s faces. I had to. I always sensed I was running out of time.

I scolded, I taunted. I told them they had abandoned us. Some of them resented it very much. Who was a southerner to dare question the way things are or could be...? I stood in troubled shock as I heard people say the most awful things about us as a people. I saw and heard it said we were not even people, much less humans who deserved mercy. I only very recently realized why the resentment ran so deep.

It was not because we are rude or ignorant that you forgot us. It was not because we love guns, God or fat sheriffs. No, it is not any of that.

You turned away from us politically because you did not want to see yourselves reflected in our eyes. You wanted to believe you were above history. Looking hard at us reflected back a hypocrisy so bright it was like the sun, and you had to turn away or be blinded by the sorrow of unfufilled promise.

Our broken dreams were your unwanted legacy. You forced yourself to believe we no longer dreamed at all.

When we invaded Iraq we gave them 'fair' elections. The Yankees gave us those same 'fair' elections and the south has been a rigged game for over 100 years. You wanted to believe it was 'down there', not 'right here' affecting you. You saw it coming everytime you glanced this way. 'Down there' became someplace REMOVED from you. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.

And then God Himself unleashed the storm we have all feared. The winds of time changes everything.

I have heard some strange reasons why people think God hit Louisiana with Katrina. I personally am afraid in my heart, it is the reckoning for 100 years of voter fraud. Had the will of the people been done, those levees would have held. Those levees were an engineering marvel. The Pride of New Orleans. Literally. The people who are New Orleans would not have let their pride falter. Their lives depended on it. Literally.

Had the will of the nation backed them up, the levees would not have been abandoned as surely as her people were. Literally left to die in the very heart of America.

In my memory New Orleans will always be a bright, shining city by the sea. A city whose people defied the ocean every damn day. This one time they lost. After all that is what happens to people abandoned, they become lost. The ones who preyed upon the vulnerabilities of those wandering the streets of New Orleans, should AT LEAST be dealt with as harshly as the looters.

Do not let them twist history. New Orleans survived Katrina. She SURVIVED that nasty bitch. It was the levees breaking that has left people living like animals and dying on the streets. Those levees were not an act of God. They were an act of man.

One million people are homeless. SOMEONE is to blame for this.

SOMEONE WILL take the blame. We will FORCE FEED IT to them if need be. This will not stand. There is only so much decent people can take. And from now on when the hurricane victims who are overrunning my town ask me, 'Where can I go?', I am going to tell them to go sleep in the only other home I own with plenty of free space: The White House. God as my witness, one way or another, it will become a useful structure again. And you can bet your whole empire that the victims of Katrina will not abandon it to apathy. They need it to shelter their hungry children.

Unlike current residents they would actually be GRATEFUL to be there.

LaLaLa

2006-05-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

Fly Away

2006-05-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

If you see this child,
Do not mourn me. Do not grieve.
No goodbye should make you cry,
For what you don't believe.

See me not in this place.
Close your eyes and dream.
Fly with me in outter space.
Meet me by mountain streams.

Do not fear that I shall fade.
For in you my blood is found.
Fly away, love, fly away.
And never touch the ground.

Forget we ever were apart.
For even one single day.
Forgive me of my mortal sins.
And for all I could not say.

Fly away now, fly away.
You must fly away from me.
Go higher still and never land.
Then I, too, shall be free.

Christy Cole

Because Im trying to figure out some glitches

2005-10-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

Grrrrrrr

testing123

2005-10-19T06:59:00.000-07:00

testing

Guess Who

2005-09-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

My King

2005-09-09T08:05:00.000-07:00

In many dreams, he comes to me,
With the roar of righteous thunder,
A lion king, with golden eyes.
That love me with passionate hunger.

With a deadly purr he lulls me,
To become his willing prey,
I can only bear my throat,
As I tremble to obey.

Truth burns my breast as he tastes me.
With my cheek I stroke his mane.
I understand salvation.
He understands my pain.

With mighty power, he takes me,
And savagely I am awakened.
A violent hunger strokes the soul.
Yet this dream has left me shaken.

Christy Cole

Bogie

2005-09-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

The Ostlers Fate

2005-09-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

The wind was a torrent of darkness,
Among the gusty trees.
The moon a ghostly galleon,
Tossed upon cloudy seas.
The road a ribbon of moonlight,
Over the purple moor.
And a highwayman came riding,
Up to the old inn door.
Tim the ostler stood in shadows,
He took one step in retreat.
As a chill and bitter wind,
Made the lightless wicket creak.
With his hair like moldy hay,
And hollow eyes of madness,
For a fleeting moment,
Insanity turned to sadness.
The stable groaned heavy with night.
In darkness Tim watched the stranger.
He already knew what he must do,
As the night blew frigid danger.
He saw the highwayman sense it,
Then refused to see.
He proudly rode to the abode,
As if it could not be.
Tim glared with hateful daggers,
From hiding he mumbled mutters.
At the man with a whip,pulled from his hip,
To tap on tightened shutters.
Returning the whip to his claret coat
The highwayman wistled a tune.
The bolts were freed and Tim could see,
Clear by the light of the moon.
Beauty spilled from the lofty porthole.
Tims madness dared a glance.
At the lovely landlords daughter,
With whom he had no chance.
Red lipped Bess sat in the casement,
Binding both men to her in awe.
She reached from above to the one she loved,
The other she never saw.
Tim narrowed eyes of spiteful hatred.
A passion he knew each day.
He watched the lovers from his cover,
And heard the highwayman say,
"One kiss my bonny sweetheart.
I'm after a prize tonight!
If the kings yellow gold is where I'm told
I'll come to thee by dawns' light.
But if I am pressed sharply,
And harried throughout the day,
I'll come to thee by soft moonlight,
Though hell should bar the way!"
Bess loosed her long raven hair.
Tim watched the robber stroke it.
A scream of longing in his soul,
In darkness he never spoke it.
The highwayman pulled a crimson ribbon,
From her inky midnight locks.
Spurring west,with a smile he left,
On the loney road toward the docks.
Yet still the keeper of horses,
Watched from the darkness afar.
His hate no less as he saw Bess,
Pray to the twinkling stars.
Yes he knew what he would do,
Still he could not pull to duty,
He saw the light within his sight,
Madness mesmerized by beauty.
The lovely Bess dashed soft light,
The dark settled the old inn yard.
The shutters threw again tight and true,
Once more night was locked and barred.
Now alone in his stable home,
Tim stewed but a moment longer.
He did not fold once in the cold.
He let madness make him stronger.
The kings men would take him in.
Perhaps even bring him a feast.
He had plenty of time in his troubled mind.
As insanity pulled Tim east.
All the kings horses and all the kings men,
Met him with quiet distain.
He betrayed the lovers hed grown to hate.
They listened to his pain.
Bess watched a lonely new day dawn,
Her love had not come by noon.
Images burst from the tawny sunset,
Just before the rise of the moon.
When the road was a gypsys' ribbon,
Looping the purple moor,
The kings red coats came marching,
Up to the old inn door.
They said nothing to the landlord.
They drank his ale instead.
Through her window Tim could see,
As they bound Bess to her bed.
They rigged a musket to her side,
Aimed deep into her breast.
In the dark Tim broke apart,
But never did he protest.
Streached before her narrow casement,
Tim watched her watch the night.
Waiting for her loves approach,
The road west within her sight.
The soldiers watched there with her,
And heard as the wind did say,
"I'll come to thee by soft moon light,
Though hell should bar the way!"
Tlot tlot....Did they hear it?
For Tim had heard it well.
Tlot tlot in the darkness.
He saw Bess' bosom swell.
The soldiers took to thier priming.
Tim drew a proud mad breath.
Then her musket shattered the night,
And warned him with her death.
Shock threw back the insanity,
That lived there in the stables.
Like in his dreams he screamed and screamed,
The soldiers shook thier heads disabled.
Tlot tlot back into darkness.
The highwayman fled to the lightless wood.
He did not dare to show he cared,
He did not know who stood.
Unheard were the ostlers screams,
And the landlords mournful cries.
They slayed him in the very room,
Where his lovely daughter died.
They left tim the ostler nothing.
Not gold nor even a feast.
They let him scream and left unseen,
Marching back to the east.
Tim never looked for his hated love
He wailed on the stable floor.
There was no warning with the morning,
As the highwayman stepped through his door.
Now hollowed eyes of madness,
Met saddened eyes of rage.
The one Tim betrayed let him lay,
But did not let him age.
He was left to rot upon that spot,
And the highwayman buried his love in private.
He lay the father next to his daughter,
And cried in the morning quiet.
He knew her life was sacrificed,
For love and nothing less.
Like a beast he thundered east,
And never looked back toward the west.
He found the soldiers still on the road,
And inflicted what damage he could.
But they shot him down on that ground,
And left him in his own blood.
Yet still of a winters night they say,
When the wind is in the trees.
When the moon a ghostly galleon,
Tossed among cloudy seas.
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight,
Looping the purple moors,
A highwayman comes riding,
Up to the old inn doors.
Over the cobbles he clatters,
Into the dark innyard.
He taps with his whip on the shutters,
But all is locked and barred.
He wistles a tune to the window,
And who should be waiting there?
Tis Bess the landlords daughter,
Plaiting a crimson ribbon into long black hair.
And they say the stables are haunted.
By a ghost who is lost in madness.
Yet it seems that when he screams,
The howls are that of sadness

Christy Cole 2004

Do you hear them starving in your sleep..?

2005-09-08T23:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr Bush,

Where exactly were you as a seven year old girl was being raped and getting her throat cut in the awful dark recesses of the Convention Center...?

I wonder did you sleep on fine french linens that night? Were you at the White House, eating from fine antique china? Or were you still at your ranch that has virtually no cattle?

As the mothers that lost their babies from heat exhuastion, realized their child had died right beside them, in their arms, did your ears itch with thier unheard, but certain screams? What about the young adults who died of thirst, were you drinking a fine tomato juice from crystal goblets, or perhaps a soda your maid brought to you...?

What were you doing at that moment Mr. Bush...?

When young girls started floating by with bullet holes in them, and old men turned up bludgeoned to death, were you standing in a well tended courtyard..? Or, maybe you were taking pictures and sitting with Trent Lott while he cried into a three-hundred dollar handkerchief..? Or perhaps both. I suppose if you could own a courtyard it seems natural you may become overwhelmed with emotion there eventually.

Mr. Bush when women started handing thier babies to strangers, begging them to save them, did you think about Jenna and Barbara..? Maybe you thought of how far your own children were from you, and your chest ached with longing..? With need?

As the water rose and alligators started infiltrating low attics did you feel a shudder in a fine leather chair? Did any sharp sensation make you weep?

When the 5 year old was gang raped to death in that hell hole, could you see it from the window of Air Force One? What about the people with you? Did you point your web cam out that same window so Cheney could view, via the net, from Wyoming...?

Where were you EXACTLY Mr. Bush...?

Where were your much decorated Secretaries..?

When the images of the Super Dome and Convention Center kept going day, after day, after day, did you find a point where you sought out Laura to comfort you, and perhaps hold your perfectly manicured hand...? Did you ever reach a point where you vomited, as I did, (though I have no well heeled servants to pick me up and clean the mess. )

When that man murdered his sister for a bag of ice, did you regret ALL that FEMA money that had been 'mismanaged' at your brothers hurricane parties..? Or did you send some of it as a private contribution to the Red Cross. Or maybe Pat Robertsons 'Relief Fund.' Did your accountant do the appropriate tax deductions on it as somberly as the rest of your daily transactions?

When my Gov. Blanco tried to tell you two days before the hurricane she needed help, did you use a real gold pen to try and wrest control from her...? Silver maybe...? Was it the same pen you used to cut the money to our levees by 80%...? Does that pen come with a fine matching set on your highly polished desk..?

As our native sons, our finest, the Louisiana National Guard, desperately tried to find updates about the damage from Iraq, did you use one of those high tech sattalite phones to call them and calm thier jitters..? Did you smile as they told you how valiantly they had held off enemies that threaten all your friends assets...?

Did your own father flash through your mind when you realized one of those boys could have been exactly like the one who took your place in Vietnam..?

I see you on tv offering Salvation Army goods to the women from nowhere, oh, and the fundraising speeches, and as I write this I wonder about where you are and what you are doing. I wonder are you shivering somewhere with the painful dread of upwards of 40,000 dead...?

Did the smell of human waste fill your well educated mind..?

Do the faces of those begging for food haunt you in the halls of your lush surroundings? Do you hear them starving in your sleep..? Does the presence of your body guards bring you as little comfort as FEMA provides ....???

It shouldn't, and I will tell you why...

The Constitution of the United States of America.

It is the document that lays out the reasons and proceedures that will result in your arrest, a fair trial, followed by a decent hanging.

We can even use a fine velvet rope.

But until then Mr. Bush... YOU ARE FIRED!

The only King America will ever accept

2005-09-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

-

Damn he makes me twitch.

Yes, yer majesty. You can leave your hat on.

Yummy.

Flight Of Fools

2005-09-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

Flight of Fools

Into life’s chasms,
I stared with the eyes of a fool.
Looking down upon Creation,
I broke a golden rule.
Youthful heart pounding,
Reality’s door shut tight.
Unfolded untested wings,
And jumped, in hope of flight.
Pride plunged before me,
Yet did not break the fall.
Thunderclouds crushed the wings,
I thought would save us all.
Weightless eyes opened,
And froze wide with fear.
Salvation lay below me,
Rushing ever near.
And fear, it too, did leave me,
Crashing through the trees.
Life became a study,
Of sheer velocity.
Suddenly, there she was,
Humility in all her grace,
Looking with amusement,
As I landed on my face.
Broken, bloodied, and crying,
I took a look around.
I had hit rock bottom,
And discovered solid ground.

Christy Cole

Who Is Afraid Of The Big, Bad Wolf..?

2005-09-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

What CAN Scare Even Bloggers?

I have to admit right off, I am a blogger and this story scares the hell out of me, too. After a very WIERD incident with a cable guy named Larry...I have been thinking ALOT about paranoia. I have been wondering about when it is actually appropriate, when it's not.

And I keep coming back to one issue that seems to scare absolutely everyone. As I said, it frightens me too, but not in ways I can easily relate, or even articulate.

Perhaps thats why no one, and I mean NO ONE wants to talk about it. I imagine the way my stomache twists and my knee jerks is contagious because all those who are willing to WHISPER it are immediately struck with thier own uncomfortable paranoia. Appropriate or not.

Some try to chalk it up as a 'tinfoil hat' type of thing perhaps to dispell thier own uneasy questions, or perhaps, to try to discredit the questioner..I don't really know WHY but even good men have fallen silent now. On this one issue in particular the silence is SO profound it is in fact the bigger question.

What is it that has even the vicious 'liberal-left-whatever' shocked into a stunned silence? Something so explosive, not even 'fearless bloggers' will dare touch it much less speak of it? What could possibly inspire so much fear?

Her name was Margie Schoedinger. And she was ,in fact, a real human being.

The following facts are her facts, not my own. The accusations are hers, not mine. I do not know the Truth of them, but the FACT of them is pretty damn...scary.

If you simply Google this womans name, you will indeed instantly start getting a story about a woman who accused a sitting president of rape.

In 2002 Shoedinger accused THE sitting president G. W. Bush of RAPE. And much more.

These are the facts we know. SOMEONE tried kidnapping this woman, her would-be kidnappers were foiled by a passing highway patrol, who broke up the melee, and for whatever reason, let them go after she vehemetly told the officer they were 'going to kill her' and she knew why. Margie Shoedinger and many people in her family were brought into police custody for 'vigorous questioning' . After this she went public with rape allegations against GW Bush and filed 4 VERY INTERESTING lawsuits.

Not one newspaper, not one tv news, not one cable news, not one radio program, not one TABLOID in the US media reported it. It was as if a tree fell, and no one heard it.

Four months after the accusations were filed in Fort Bend County Texas the USA invaded Iraq.

Bush was ORDERED to come to court in Texas on RAPE charges. His accuser openly says in these lawsuits that she fears she will be suicided.

Nine months after accusing THE president of RAPE, Margie Shoedinger was dead, a bullet in her brain.

She died the same day Bush appeared before the UN, Sept 22, 2003.

Did I mention she was black and could apparently PROVE she had dated GW Bush as a MINOR...?

Surely there are things here to talk about...?

And then the quiet falls and thats where things get REALLY bizarre. In that silence three immediate questions cause an awful ripple in your gut.

Number 1) What in the HELL happened to the so called 'Free Media'...?

Number 2) Is it possible my president is a RAPIST?

AND
Number 3) WHAT ELSE are we NOT hearing about?

By the way, did I also mention there are accusations of HOMOSEXUAL RAPE as well? Yet NO ONE can find any words to ask ANYTHING...? Here the current black out becomes a literal void of nothingness.

I suppose anyone brave enough to approach it would ask the simple questions first, like who is Shoedinger and is she credible?

The truth is I don't know the TRUTH. But the FACTS are disturbing, twisted and wrong in unimaginable ways. I do not KNOW what happened between these two people. IS SHE CREDIBLE...? I simply do not know because those who were SUPPOSED to report such matters, never said a damn thing. Not even when she died did it make any press ANYWHERE inside the borders of the USA. Yet the Russians, Brits and Aussies were aware AS IT WAS HAPPENING.

At some point HER CREDIBILITY actually becomes a moot point. His Iraqi lies surely could be used against him and don't look good for his credibility either. At some point the FACTS alone so far can niether prove nor disprove her story. Which brings up another very odd question.

IF she WAS crazy/gold digging/a political pawn ...WHY did the media NEVER ONCE TRY to DISCREDIT HER? They didn't even bother to report her existance. Or her untimely death. She is dead and apparently no one cared.

This was not just a story blacked out, it was purposely overlooked by every single decent, bad or half assed reporter in the nation. Even after all this time the bloggers don't want to hear a word of it. I know exactly how they feel, unfortunately this story will not die as easily as she did. It will not die because NO ONE answered ANY of the questions.

And even now two years later her story is still un-impeached. The facts still lay there like the twitching dead, uncomfortable and unacknowledged.

One day we may have answers to the many questions the facts raise, but perhaps, that may be what scares the hell out of simply everbody. Do we REALLY WANT to know?

If you ever cared about the TRUTH, then that is YES...YES WE MUST KNOW.

But if even bloggers are afraid, My God, Who can POSSIBLY be left to ask? If I know certain facts of the case, SURELY Congressmen and Senators can not plead ignorance, so where in the hell are THEY?

I do not, nor have ever known Margie Shoedinger. I do not know what to make of her life or her death. But knowing what limited amount I do know, makes me question such fundamental issues that everything I know or thought I knew hangs in the balance.

One day Margie Shoedinger may rise from her gave and tell us it was all a joke. She may tell us it was true, but unimportant. Perhaps she would beg any she had harmed in life to forgive her. Or Perhaps...just perhaps, she may arise and SCREAM for justice.

I wonder if anyone will HEAR HER either way?

I wonder will they still FEAR her so...?

Christy Cole

If one among us stole GABBILLIONS, WHOM would have to die to cover it up?

2005-09-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

WHY did 3000 People DIE HERE, on September 11th 2001?

I have been told that bin Laden is a freedom hater, that is why so many died.

WHY ...Because he HATES our freedom, that is what we have been told, over and over again.

And now FREEDOM is on the march. We are delivering LIBERTY, at the point of a rifle. NO, No, Not to bin Laden. What Can't be found, shan't be found. Three thousand people are dead, and all we get is these lousy excuses. Excuse after excuse.Day after day. So many dead yet so few answers. Could it have anything to do with ALL that missing money?

What money? Lets go back to Sept. 10th of 2001.

On that day Rumsfield announced 2.3 TRILLION dollars was 'missing' from the Pentagon. He admitted one-fourth of the entire budget went 'poof'. Within the next 12 hours we would be attacked and the 2.3 TRILLION dollars?...It has never been explained.

Nine BILLION dollars is missing from Iraqi re-construction money. Another 8 Billion is missing from teachers retirement funds in Texas. On the morning of Sept 11th 2001, 120 BILLION dollars was due the Phillipino government to cover gold bond deals. The Government of the Phillipines has yet to get paid, cause bin Laden is a freedom hater I guess. Damn Him.

The Medicaid Trust Fund has been thouroughly looted. Our troops are digging in the trash for armor. The children of Iraq are starving to death on our watch. And as far as explainations we are told that 'Democracy is messy.' So it would seem.

Since we already know TRILLIONS are missing lets start there. How MANY TRILLIONS...? Could be tens of trillions. Or HUNDREDS OF TRILLIONS. After all this is just the money they ADMIT is missing. It COULD litterally be...What comes after TRILLIONS?...It could be Gabillions.

And since Iraqis are standing in line 12 hours for 2 liters of gasoline, where in the hell is all that oil going too? We are building TWENTY-something US bases on top of Iraqi pipelines. Even if insurgents blew up half of it there would still be enough oil for Iraqis, so you would think.

And all those children WE have in PRISON at Abu Graib?...Well you see SADDAM was a really terrible man. And FREEDOM is on the march.

If you ask at this point, 'Ok.. WHO is taking so much money from us?' I ask instead, 'WHOM was authorized to touch that kind of money in the first place?

Two-point three TRILLION dollars...lets write that out with all its zeros... $2,300,000,000.00 ... This is NOT money you just leave in your other pants. I don't care how messy democracy is, it is not so 'messy' that they will let ME hold 8 billion dollars.

Can YOU just walk up and say 'I know..I'll just take a few billion and go down the street, I'll be back later to explain'.....?'

In every case of Genocide or attempted Genocide that we know of the first step was ALWAYS a theft. A VERY BIG THEFT. Hitler wanted the Jews money and assets, The government of the USA wanted the native indians land. In both cases the genocide escalated in DIRECT relation to the scale of the theft. The more they stole, the more had to die. It was simply a matter of getting rid of witnesses and killing the HEIRS to what they stole.

It is the politics of theft that determine whom shall die.

If one among us stole GABBILLIONS, WHOM would have to die to cover it up?

Would it take 3 deaths or 3000...? Would the blood of the Iraqis cover a trail that was cut into the heart of AMERICA?

Mi Vida Loca

2005-09-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

I have picked up a new hobby lately. It is one my curious mind has become obsessd with in a short period of time. It is a hobby that does indeed seem strange, but those that love me indulge me. I now spend lots of time online searching for pictures from Iraq.

The thing is, the pictures speak things no language has words for. Seeing it, and hearing it, are two truely different experiences.With every photo I learn something new about our soldiers, the habbits and lives of Iraqis, the resistance, history, and grief. So much grief. It keeps me awake at night.

It just ocurred to me today, that I seek knowledge that I do not want. Knowledge that is complex and frightening. I look at the pictures even though I feel many times that I can not. I never REALLY want to. And the whole time I am thinking, SOMEONE has to. They are hiding these images from us. Once you see them you cannot help but become sick in your very soul with grief.

As Bush speaks, as I am sure he will tommarrow, he will speak of lofty ideas like freedom, democracy, and terror. And I expect when he does I will do as I do every other time I hear him speak. I will see in my head the images of my young brave country men suffering catastrophic injury they had no armor to protect themselves against. I will see images in my head of them welding trash to thier vehicles trying to give themselves some measure of comfort anyway.

I do not want to know the things I know, but I know of no other way to conquor the fear by any measure. The more our government lies to me the more determined I am to SEE the truth. With my own eyes. As horrible as the pictures of the wounded are, it is the dead children that are simply unavoidable. Far MORE dead children than men. In seeing the actual moments of it caught on film, you can not help but ask yourself WHY they were sacrificed? But, that is EXACTLY why they are hiding them. The Culture of Life has apparently not been found in the cradle of civilization. I do not want to see thier mothers faces when I close my eyes, but I do.

If my neighbors and fellow patriots saw what American bombs did to entire families, homes, and cities, perhaps they would NOT be so eger to drop them. Because these pictures have been blacked out by the media, most Americans are under the impression OUR bombs ONLY kill terrorists, because they are SMART BOMBS.

If you saw what I have seen you would try to stop it, too. But many Amerians have turned away, I think because it disturbs thier sleep, as well. I long for such sleep. I wish there were a way to unlearn knowledge. Yet even as I wish it, I know I will still seek out the photos because I know very few others are, or can. I am trying to bear honest witness so I will not pass on the lies I have been told to my children. And in honesty, what I have seen has scarred me deeper than 5 c-sections.

As I write this, there are actions in motion that will soon bring about the release of the 'OTHER' Abu Ghraib photos. I truely do not think I can face it. But I must try, as long as I can, I only pray to God others are stronger than I am, because in the end I may turn away, too. I can only take so much horror.

"But, you know, frankly, I do not think God gives a shit."

2005-09-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

Iraqis as Terror Bait

The bush freak show has released thier new report on terrorist activity around the world. Guess what is NOT on it? That's right, apparently 'terrorist events' in Iraq and Afghanistan do not count even as they are repeatedly refferred to as the 'Front Lines of the War on Terror".

See, apparently, we are fighting them there so they,..Oh, thats right. (see London)(see New York) (See Bali) (see Spain) (see Oklahoma City)

Do you want to know what it is EXACTLY that enrages me about this explanation..? Other, than it being proved violently wrong....

My problem is this, Saddam WAS a bad guy, Saddam killed own people. And NOW, WE are killing the same people he terrified,terrorized and tortured. Well YEAH for US. Now it is US, kicking thier men to death while they are chained to the ceiling. Now it is WE, who find a way to JUSTIFY IT.

The only terrorists in Iraq before we got there was Saddam himself. The others were subjigated cowards who helped maim thier own country to save thier own skins. There WERE NO suicide bombs going off before we got there. Thier women were given more rights there than almost ANYWHERE else in the ENTIRE middle east. Ahhh, but nevermore.

The C.I.A.s' own reports say that Iraq is NOW the foremost training ground for terrorists in the world. WHY the ENTIRE world...? Well, because, in Iraq, they actually get EXPERIENCE from KILLING our soldiers. But, let us not confuse the 'terrorists' with the Iraqis.

The Iraqis themselves were NOT terrorists before and those fighting against us now are NOT terrorists either. They are PATRIOTS of Iraq who will not stand idle as we kill thier families with bombs and poision thier lands with horrifying depleted urainium. They will not care that we have a MESSAGE OF FREEDOM when we herd them into Abu Ghraib to meet thier fate at AMERICAN hands. Do you UNDERSTAND the meaning of the MEDICAL definition of 'Pulpified'...? And thats just what we do to thier bones. Imagine the state we leave thier women in. Thier children.
And after all the lies that brought us here, what have We learned?

Oh that indeed we WERE lied too, Repeatedly. Day After Day. Night After Night. They USED our deepest fears against us. They PROFITED from our fears. They PROFITED from AMERICAN DEATHS.

They = OTHER AMERICANS. The ones we trusted the most.

And instead of HANGING those who would commit TREASON against US. What do I hear?
Using Iraq as a place to bait terrorists is the ONLY way to stay safe. Too damn bad about all those IRAQIS.

Another disturbing trend is those hiding behind God in our country to justify hypocracy in politicking. You will grovel and cry oh so publicly for a brain dead woman but you wont spend a moment to find out WHY all those babies in Iraq are being born HIDIOUSLY deformed.

WHAT WILL YOU SAY TO GOD WHEN YOU FACE HIM??? I know what I will say.

I will beg God to FORGIVE my beloved nation, for she knows not what she has done. I will beg that the oncoming waves of suicide bombings in the name of vengence can be held off long enough for mankind to find MERCY in thier hearts. I will stand with a clear concience and say 'It was NOT in MY name Lord, nor did I ever believe it was YOUR will."

But, you know, frankly, I do not think God gives a shit. AND YES, if you believe in the ONE who created the Trees, then we share the SAME God. I do not believe GOD cares about your petty excuses based on LIES and prejudice.

And to the ones who created this. To the ones who felt Iraqis are so worthless they can openly and even jubiliantly be used as bait to attract TERRORISTS while you discreetly steal thier wealth,I truely hope you burn in hell. I hope the souls STRIPPED from the children of Iraq wieghs down your descent to the Devil himself like a yoke of needles around your neck.

I pray that descent comes moments after the Hang Man pops your damn head off.
After all, THAT is how we deal with those who CREATE terrorist training grounds, isn't it?

The Empire No One Wanted

2005-09-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

There is something ALL Americans do that annoys the hell out of people from, say, France, or even Australia. We ALL do it like it is an instinct. As we are not very famous for our impulse control, mostly till now the world let us get away with it while tolerantly rolling their eyes with love.

No matter what state you are from, no matter your birth nation.Independant of race, age, or religion, we are ALL arrogantly proud to be a citizen of the U.S.A. Even the meekest among us puffs out his chest some as he gleefully says 'I am an American'. It is almost child like in its innocent rapture, to say those blessed words. We even grin widely as we admit our conceit.

Yet, most never understand why those words make us each tremble, in awe of ourself. And of those that understand it, NONE dare call it by name.

Here is a fun game for non US citizens. Findn American and deliberately ask him about America. Not America the Beautiful. Not America, The Brave.

Say, America, the EMPIRE, and watch his or her reaction closely.

I would say not one American even read it without flinching. If you press ANY American about it, they will most probably squirm. I know I do, just thinking of the word.

Empire. Yuk.

It is contrary to EVERY belief we hold as patriots. It is EVERYTHING we have fought against and condemned.

There was a time we were just proud of ourselves as a nation. But times have changed. Now the arrogance of empire has been programmed into our very flesh as surely as our own thoughts. We not only were TOLD we are number one, but for so long, we WERE number one...in pretty much everything we ever touched. We were free to dream, and we dreamed BIG.

WE as a united people made empires bow to US, in fear, no less. We all liked it even if we refused to admit it. We were the Champion of the weary, repressed, and those yearning to breathe free. They loved US for our laws that provided mercy, itself. Nothing on earth has EVER compared to what WE The People built. Only once has whats been accomplished here been parralleld in history.

They named themselves Rome.

Like us, their society was built on superior law. But Rome, itself, still pales in comparision. WHY??? As they say, it was not built in a day.

The Empire of Rome ruled through more than a thousand years. What they learned they actually stole by conquor and claim. It was a slow process, indeed, to anniahlate entire people and "assimulate' the survivors into the society safely. They stole people for slaves. They slaughtered innocents. They swollowed entire nations, cultures, histories....Sound familiar America...?

We did it ALL in less than 1/4th their time. Like all empires before, we only ever wanted to be faster, better, stronger, beloved. Unlike other empires, we had better laws to avert the injustice of monopoly. By shunning the thought, we grew bigger than any before us.

We, like the Romans, so do love the luxury of our empire. Just do not call it that, or we may have to discuss how every OTHER Empire has wound up. And how much blood it took to mortar the bricks. Rome did not fall in a day, either.

If the time curve holds true, we will fall faster than Rome ever could have. But we will fall for the same reason. Do not EVER doubt the same trap exists even if we refuse to see it.

The most basic assualt on our legal system that could occur is happening right before our eyes. Like a modern day Calligula, GW Bush and his merry band of oil thieves are committing both illegal and immoral acts and openly scorning anyone in the populace that has a problem with it. Our laws will not survive if they can not be applied at the highest reaches. Especialy there. It is the same as setting fire to our Constitution. It has been the death of EVERY empire.

Nehru not only fiddled as Rome burned he literally had been using his palace, the White House of Rome, if you will, as a brothel. We, too, also have known prostitutes running nakedly through the halls of power pretending to not be gay or incorrect, but still a whore, none the less. With the 'green card soldiers' dying in our uniforms in Iraq, I cannot help but think of the arrogant Romans who sat in thier luxury villas, as the children of virtual or literal slaves fought to expand the very empire that destroyed their lines and made them slaves. They only let their splendid sons out for platitudes or power.

The Romans too, were VERY proud. They wore red so blood could not be seen, lest their enemy think them weak for bleeding. Imagine such pride! Not even your BLOOD can bring honor to such a lofty ideal.

It is no wonder that eventually not even Romans could find a way to justify or sustain an empire. But pride goeth before the fall. Eventually Romans no longer wanted to be Rome. The empire was lost but the people remained.

When I hear one of my countrymen say, "I am an American", I, involuntarilly, have started seeing the image of a Roman General decked out in his full blood red and gold regalia. It is a viceraly beautiful image, but confused with resounding echoes not even time can slow the thrust of. I am reminded of Rome so much lately I see it in troubled dreams.

I am sure every single person in modern day Rome is fondly proud of their history. But, they do not hold the arrogance of their long ago power over history, itself. Maybe their arrogance was lost forever in the terrifying loss of their world as they knew it. How bitter it must have been. Their fall from grace took generations.

They had to let go of the dream of empire to save themselves. To live to dream another day.

When I speak to my friends overseas, I now openly wrestle with my own arrogance. It is painful, yet amazingly, enlightening. It has made me look deeper at the America I love. Without the pride clouding my eyes I see our nation anew, and I am again awed by the sheer hope of it.

We can do what no empire could before.

We can restore it by rejecting it. By restoring the laws that made us merciful and just we reject tyranny.

Bring our battle hardened soldiers home from global conquest to restore order to their own leaders. Let us throw down our acts of nation building and rebuild our nation back to be the pride of the earth. The envy of both kings and slave alike. An empire every single soul on earth wanted.

When I humble my vison, I see only America The Beautiful. America The Brave. Untended and crumbling.

I wonder will our ruins be as lovely as Romes...?