Old Binny’s Truce

A brief commentary this morning.

Last week a tape from Madman #1, Osama Bin Laden, declared that America was only safe because he hadn’t tried anything in four years and that he would be willing to pursue a truce with the West under certain circumstances.  

Unfortunately, LibDem spin of this message will involve two main points: “Bush is lying about how safe we are through his military action” and “See, we can negotiate with the terrorists, old Binny wants a truce”

The first point, our current safety, is not even worth addressing.  If you believe that you’re a few cards short of a full deck.  As far as OBL stating he’d be willing to talk truce… We’ll two things about that…

1. It is a sure sign that we are winning the War on Terrorism when a man who has pledge his life to our destruction, wants to talk truce.  It means we are having significant success in our efforts and we need to push even harder.
2. The conditions OBL gives are ridiculous.  He knows that the White House will rebuke his offer.  Then it can be said he offered a path to truth and had it rejected.

Avoid the spin, think free!

I remember

Thirteen years ago today, at the very time I’m publishing this post, I sat in a classroom not sure if I would ever leave. I have had my struggles with this incident over the years, this year I’m choosing to own the event a little more by actually writing it down. I must warn you that this is an actual event and contains a slightly descriptive account of murder.

On January 18, 1993 I sat with twenty-one of my fellow Senior English Class members reading our books that would the subject of upcoming book reports. I was deep into ravages of The Red Badge of Courage when a very real explosion pierced the silence of Room 108. Startled I jerked up from the novel to see Scott Pennington standing at the door with a handgun raised in the direction of our teacher, Ms. Deanna McDavid. Papers were flying through the air from the gunshot that had hit the room length sideboard directly behind Ms. McDavid. She was shaking with her arms raised in a defensive position. She implored Scott to stop and put the gun down. With a cold, blank expression, Scott raised the .38 caliber revolver, aimed, and hit Ms. McDavid in the forehead. The side of her head exploded in a brief, yet vivid spray of blood and brain matter. Ms. McDavid hit the floor… hard.

Scott rushed the teacher’s desk. Screams of some of the girls in the room still echoed in my ears. Scott disrespectfully rolled Ms. McDavid’s chair passed her lifeless body and sat on the right side of the desk. He scanned the room to take note of who was in and who was missing.

Moments later Marvin, the school’s janitor came to the door. Scott had heard him coming and was already about 10 feet from the door. As Marvin opened his mouth to utter shock Scott raised his pistol and fired a shot into Marvin’s chest. Marvin cried out “He shot me! Oh my God he shot me!” Within seconds, Coach Calhoun rounded the corner of the hallway and dropped to Marvin’s side. I heard him say “My God Marvin’s been shot!” Then he said “Son, you don’t need to shoot anyone else… Let me get Marvin out of here and get him help.” I heard later that Coach pulled Marvin to safety around the corner to the hall. Marvin died a short time later.

Scott came back into the room. He sat back down in Ms. McDavid’s chair. The next hour is a blur to my memory. At various points classmates that knew Scott tried to reason with him. Scott tried to convince us he was hero, that he had ended Ms. McDavid’s rule… He counted the remaining bullets he had left; assuring us that he only had enough ammunition to kill 15 of us… Some of us would survive.

Eventually he began letting us go… He let many of the girls go. He then started letting groups of four at a time go… The forth group was coming up and I made a decision I don’t even remember. I do not remember getting up from my desk. I do not remember opening the class room door. I do not remember exiting the building. I do remember that I was in the very back corner of the room, completely opposite the door and somehow in that group of freed souls I was first to the door. I do remember wondering if Scott would shoot us as we moved to the door. And I do remember that I left behind friends to the whims of a killer. I, to this day, can’t believe that I would leave people behind. I know that was nothing I could do, but I’m still left with that feeling…always. I remember crouching behind a car with Tallmadge Duncan, one of my fellow escapees. We were ordered by a Police Officer to run behind the building. What a sight that was…. As I rounded the corner of the building I saw the entire school congregated on the hill behind the school. Much of what happened after that is a blur. I remember being hung onto by Stacy Miller, an ex-girlfriend and good friend. I remember her staying with me while I waited in the gym for the police to take my statement. I remember being picked up at her house by my Mom.

Apparently Scott let everyone else go shortly after I was released. He laid his gun on the desk, walked out in the hall, and surrendered to the police. He now sits in a prison, rotting for at least the next … well now fourteen years.Inmate record

Nate’s Political Labels

For quite awhile I’ve been throwing around the term LibDem in my writing and conversation.  It struck me this weekend that an explanation might be in order as to the meaning of this term and my definitions of the current political labels.

In my view each side of the political spectrum has three basic labels that define its membership.  There are certainly variations on each theme, but the three core labels seem to fit the conversational need.  

First there are partisans.  Republicans and Democrats are individuals who fit in one or more the following categories.  They either label themselves as a member of a political party because Mommy & Daddy and Grandpa & Grandma were members of that party, or they are hard lined partisans who drink the political Kool-Aid of which ever party they pay dues to… Then there is of course the third category.  This is reserved for the elected official that fronts token mannerisms of the party for political advantage and power.

Next we have Conservative and Liberals.  Individuals subscribing to one of these labels have deeply held political and moral beliefs that transcend a political party, candidate, or political action group.  Liberals, in my opinion, are genuinely good people (for the most part) who believe in the misguided idea that socialism, big government, equality through regulation, taxation of the successful, loose translation of a living Constitution and diversity in morality are the foundation of a great society.  These folks believe their ideas with sincerity.  They are truly shocked by their opposition and pray that one day they will be the majority so that America will be a good and just nation.  They also believe that America should be only one of several good countries in the world and that our Superpower status threatens mankind.

Conservatives are individuals that believe with sincerity and conviction that America is made great through limited government, individualism and competition, capitalism and little to no taxation, strict interpretation of the Founders’ Constitution, and morality & law founded in Christian principles.  Conservatives believe that only by holding to these values can America maintain its greatness in the world.  In case you’re wondering, this is how I describe my place in the political spectrum.

Then there are the LibDems and the Right-Wingers.  These individuals and groups practice free speech in a way that threatens our very existence.  LibDems are either groups or individuals such as the so called Mainstream Media, MoveON, Michael Moore, and Ted Kennedy that use the beliefs and values of Liberalism to spread their insane craving and need for power.  They use their place in society to spread the disease of radical liberalism in an attempt to control the masses.  Their goal is not peace in the world or a different America, their goal is control of American Society that allows the progression of their interests and members.  They would literally subject our national interests to the whims of what ever cause or group was mainstream at the time.  Next to Global Terrorism, they are our nation’s biggest threat.  

Right-Wingers are the kooks of my side that endanger our country with moves similar to the LibDems.  Their quest for power progresses through forced subjugation of our principles on the masses.  They, like the LibDems, want power through condemnation of beliefs that oppose their radical interpretation of Conservatism.   They endanger American with their blinders and actions.  They bomb abortion clinics, beat up or kill homosexuals, and disgrace the name of our Lord and Savior by citing him as motivations for their actions.  This group hates and displays absolute intolerance for others who are different.  They take the genuine ideals of conservatism and twist them into anarchical nonsense.

So the question now is where do you fall in the political scale?  Are you a partisan that pulls the level for the (R) or the (D) no matter the candidate?  Are you a radical whose goal is subjugation of the masses through your warped ideals? Or are you an individual with principles, ideas, and beliefs about the way America and our society should be?  Wow, what a question!