ISIS could be sowing the seeds of its own destruction

Excesses ultimately sow the seeds of their own destruction.

Paul Harvey said that, or something very similar. I wish I could remember the exact verbage, but you get the idea.

Which brings us to the present day, to another case of such 'ultimate excesses'. The excesses of brutality, the excesses of a religion hijacked, a portion of which demands, 'You have no freedom, you must live your life and worship in our way and in only our way, or you will die by the sword, and we will take your property and steal and abuse your women and daughters and corrupt your children and destroy your way of life because our version of God says we can do it!'

ISIS.

ISIS lives for leveraging terror, to be the terrorist bullies in the world, with their bombs and their bullets and their sharia law, even against members of their own faith who they consider to be 'infidels', and all for one purpose: to enforce a religious dictatorship on the world—all of us.

And in the process, they are making the rest of the world really, totally pissed off with them.

Which begs a response. And, that's starting to happen. Paris, Friday the 13^th. In Belguim, Hungary, parts of eastern and northern Europe. England. The backlash is starting. It's starting to fester here as well, with We The People who see what is happening. The natives—read that, the non-Islamo-fascists, the future victims---are getting restless, because now, they, we, are 'getting it'. It sure took long enough.

Just a pipedream here: Let's wait and see if ISIS does their 'infidel cleansing' to any Chinese citizens or interests.

Heh-heh.

But maybe, just maybe, we needn't wait that long. Take a page or two out of history. How long did The Great War (read that now, World War I), rage and destroy Europe, before We the Americans got involved? How long did it take for that war to be won after the Americans were forced into it? How close was the fight to being lost before then?

And World War II? How long were Hitler and Mussolini allowed to stage their holocaust before Pearl Harbor brought us, U.S., into the conflict? How did our involvement help turn the tide of the war? Who was the one who led the Allied forces in the battle for the western half of Europe? And from where did he come? (Hint, for those under 50: He became a President of the United States.)

Now, I understand that, for some of you, the similarities between the historical experiences I've mentioned here has a tendency to make one believe that what is staring us in the face today, is World War III, and that, as in the first Two, the result will likely come out the same as in the two World Wars previous. That's good, but if that's to happen, we have to change our strategy to one which has the aim of nothing short of victory. We the People have to start that process by electing the leadership that will. 

Beyond that, there are those among us who see signs that all this is the past that is the prologue for the greatest of prophetic possibilities--Armageddon. Well, maybe so, but let's not get ahead of ourselves....not yet. We have plenty of time to truly ascertain that. But I can't help but think that, in light of the fact that this is a war based on one group's warped religious belief system, waged against all other ways there are of worship, not to mention the manner in which this group is behaving, using the ugliest of terror against the rest of us, including the use of mass executions and beheadings and destruction of houses of worship and ancient shrines of all faiths, among other atrocities, that ISIS is truly what we all see it to be—evil.

When we're finally to the point where we can all agree that evil is what we have here, then I suggest that we have to believe in the one other something which gives us all hope: The one little rule, not mentioned within the Ten Commandments, but no less valid, which states 'excesses ultimately sow the seeds of their own destruction.'

And that hope just may be coming to pass because, except within the halls of the present-day White House, folks everywhere, not just here, are beginning to stop being scared, and starting to be pissed off enough to want to do what has to be done. 

End this.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese fleet which attacked Pearl Harbor, is said to have said in its aftermath, something to the effect, “I fear that we have done more than to destroy a military base. We have in fact awakened a sleeping tiger which will fight us with a terrible resolve, to our destruction.” As prescient as Yamamoto was, we find ourselves having to deal with such a situation again. That is why We The People must elect leadership at the Federal level in 2016 which will galvanize that resolve into action, with the aim of defeating and destroying this hate-filled ideology which is ISIS, no matter where it exists---everywhere. And, as Paul would put it, if it's not the way to bet, it's sure the way to pray.

It can't come soon enough.

For Art of Conservatism, I'm Art Reis

Politics is.......... (Lesson Two)

Written November 3-22, 2015

In an earlier “Art of Conservatism” essay, which I called 'Politics Is.....', I used the typical political scientist definition of politics (war by other means) to explain, in part, why Americans in general consider politics to be so distasteful. While this is indeed the case across the country, I also gave a call to arms for everyone to resist the temptation to avoid jumping into the fray. It's time to bring this lesson up again, and at the risk of dragging a vast right-wing conspiratorial yawn into the discussion, I'm not letting go of this as long as I see the need to keep at it. Which will be a lot. I'm not kidding, folks---this is important.

The other lesson I learned which never left me, way back in that obligatory Political Science 101 course, was this: As politics is waged in the United States, general elections most often consist of two candidates from two political parties, the both of which have already been decided for you.

Let's restate that: When a voter steps into that voting booth on any General Election Day in November, the choices of who to vote for are limited by the two parties sharing power in this country, to just two. Write-in candidates may or may not be allowed, but they almost always have a snowball's chance in a foundry to actually win the election. In short, folks, you're stuck when you vote, especially if you're a Conservative. When it really counts, the voters seldom find candidates on the ballot who share either their life values, or their vision for the country. That's because those candidates who do have been called out of the herd, way back on Primary Election Day. That's why the Primaries are so vital for Conservatives. What's worse is, the failure of so many Conservatives to get as far as the general election is why so many of We The People stay home on General Election days---because too many of them stayed home on the primary election days. They take the easy way out---they don't bother to vote, to support, to work for, those candidates who would do the country the most good.

That's the problem. If America means anything to you, you have to go out and work, grass roots, for candidates who share your beliefs, during the Primaries. And please, don't do it alone---get your friends involved. That's how to fight the Left. That means doing what the Leftist demagogues have been doing for years. They work for it by actually getting involved in the primary election process. Always have.

Look, here's how this works in all too many cases. You're seeing this very strategy being played out right now in the run for the Presidency in 2016: Let's say that a really good conservative candidate enters a state-wide or Federal election. Within his or her party (usually Republican) opposition candidates enter. These candidates usually consider themselves Centrist, or “able to cross the aisle” or “work within the system”.

Let's add, for the sake of argument, and because this is now true in the majority of states, that the primary elections are legally 'open'. That means that anyone, no matter to which party they have allegiance, can vote in any other party's primary election. The Left looks at that and they collectively lick their lips! Usually, their favored candidate is running in the Democrat Party, and is often, but not always, either running unopposed or way in the lead. They than thus turn their attention to defeating the Conservative candidates of the other party. The result is that candidate who most often wins the right to be the Republican candidate in the general election is instead the weakest non-Conservative RINO who entered. The Left can do this easily because, generally speaking, primary elections have such poor turnout. Thus, leftist voters move in and commit their version of 'political cleansing'. Show me a primary where more than, say, 30% of registered voters even bother to show up, and I'll show you a primary with a better-than-even chance for a Conservative to win a spot on the ballot in the general election. And, it works! Put a solid Conservative Candidate on the general election ballot, and see how many of the electorate come out to vote then. Witness, Ronald Reagan.

In the face of all this, does the Conservative cause seem like it has a chance to win elections in this country? Yes it does. But, it has to start with Conservative candidates even bothering to run, which takes effort and money, if only to develop the support of like-minded voters, and for those voters to actually come to the primaries and vote for them. The good news is that many Conservatives are at or near retirement age, and that gives them one of the two most valuable assets that any candidate or worker can have, aside from Conservative Values---time. And these days, many seniors seem to have the energy they need to help wage a campaign and win.

If a Conservative does run for office, and it isn't you, find out who, vet him or her, then support that candidate to the hilt. Then get your like-minded friends off their duffs and get them involved as well. Emphasize the need for more Conservatives to be voting in the primaries, to combat the Leftist robot voters who are already there (I know, not all of them are robots, but you get my drift).

Remember that the Leftists who seek to destroy this country from within, are already mobilized. They make it their business, their career, to work for their goals—against our freedoms, targeting our money, using it to tell us what to do with our lives and our property. We who are in the business of getting things done in this country, well, that's what we do. It's too easy to make the excuse that we don't have the time to get into another career of running this country or even a whole state. In short, we've 'let George do it', and George has become that power-wonking monster who inspires bumper stickers that say things such as, “I love my country; I fear my Government”. Indeed.

No longer do we have the luxury of allowing the Statists to make their living by destroying yours. Conservatism has to get the upper hand, and it's going to take our time, our treasure, our energy and adherence to our principles to do it. There's no Royal Road here. But it must be done, and done now, in order to save our country for our kids, grandkids and their descendents. Yes, you've heard this all before, but now it's time to you to say it, and do it, and live it, and not just rely on a few overwhelmed Conservatives to be the heavy lifters. Get involved, make Conservatives at least one choice in every elective position on every ballot, at the national, state and local levels, and together we can make it happen, and kick the RINO's and the appeasers and the Statists out. Please. We who are talking the talk and walking the walk need more of you to do the same. At the very least, vote---early, and often.

For the “Art of Conservatism”, I'm Art Reis

Atlas has Shrugged..... But it's not who you thought.

In a future episode of the “Art of Conservatism”, I will give you a recommended list of books that Conservatives need to read, in order to learn better what they need to know to make them able to stand up to the Statist onslaught. For now, though, I'd like to reference just one---the classic novel, Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. Yes, that's the correct spelling of her first name. And for those who don't know, Ayn is a 'her'. If you didn't know, you really need to read this book, and possibly her other novel, The Fountainhead.

Atlas Shrugged is not a light read. At about a thousand pages, it's a not a one-evening experience, either. But it has an incredible premise---what would happen to society if the producers, the ones who really make this or any country work, in spite of the increasing of government regulation and taxation—read that, “tyranny”---just simply decide to pack it in and stop producing---take their money and go home---or away, to a more tax-friendly environment? The more one thinks about the ramifications of that, the scarier the concept becomes. And make no mistake--this country is headed that way. Hell, it's already there! Don't disbelieve that.

But even Ms. Rand never envisioned the kind of Shrugging that is now being shrugged by a different Atlas in this country. Who would that be? Do you have to ask? No, you don't, because if you are observant, you are seeing it happening all around you. It's our police.

It is almost impossible to be a police officer these days. Paul Harvey, some 40 years ago, did a classic essay on “A Farmer Is....”, in which the message was, no matter what a farmer does, or whatever decision a farmer would make, he would be damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

It's nothing compared to what our cops are going through today. You have to see that. They're being second-guessed by those in power above them who are determined to build that ultimate utopia, the politically correct society. No matter what a police officer does in any situation, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulder, to see if a lawsuit is going to be fired at them or the powers that be are going to terminate them and their pensions, or worse, send them to prison for the crimes of doing their jobs. Add to that the threat of the Federal takeover of their local police departments by a Federal Government which has God-knows-what motives for nationalizing them, and you have inevitable results—police officers becoming timid and not pro-active in fighting crime, leaving their jobs for other endeavors and, in the worst case, taking their lives. You the reader cannot help but see the results of all this: crime is on the increase, because the criminals know they have the upper hand. In their own enlightened self-interest, residents of the affected areas are taking to arming themselves, assuming that their local governments allow them to, or at most, they do it illegally. In the alternative, the people simply live in fear of losing their property, loved ones or, at the very worst, their own lives. This sort of atmosphere is not stable and not sustainable, and ultimately leads to chaos as the loss of the concept of law and order slowly disappears.

Do you really want to see this Atlas shrug?

There is a remedy. This problem usually starts at the top. Oh, yes, where the problem of over-control of the police is a reality, replacing the local leadership with those who will let the police just do their job of investigating and enforcing, without handcuffing them with a myriad of political correct and onerous regulations, is no doubt a good thing, I'm more interested in the problem all the way at the top. The attitude of the President of the United States, his attorney general, and the Federal Courts toward the police, which as we know has been nothing short of egregious in the last several years, has to change. I believe that, the more that police are supported in the legitimate carrying execution of their duties to investigate and fight crime, the more the police will be moved to do it for the protection of the people they serve, rather than to tyrannize them. That's because I believe that law enforcement has learned its lesson about abiding by the Constitution and serving those who would otherwise be crying for them to serve them, and get rid of the criminal element among them. The word is, “Behave or Be Damned.” That applies to all of us, and especially to police. But let's let them do their job first. Don't let them shrug. Not them. Remember, it is either them, or chaos.

For Art of Conservatism, I'm Art Reis