WHAT KIND OF MINDLESS HORSESQUEEZE IS THIS?

I spent the first part of the Independence Day weekend at the Grove Park Inn & Spa  in Ashville, North Carolina playing a bit of golf, relaxing and working on "Somebody's Gotta Say It"  While there I was treated to several editions of The Asheville Citizen-Times.  This is a Gannett newspaper ... same folks as USA Today.  Needless to say, the slant is decidedly leftists.  That seems to fit in quite well with the Asheville community which, I'm told, is quite proud of its liberal leanings.

A quick glance at the letters to the editor seemed to bear out the tidings of leftist leanings.  It seems that the good citizens of Asheville are somewhat preoccupied with matters such as raising the minimum wage.  Looks like we have an entire city here who's citizens feel that the government should force an employer to pay to an employee more than that employee's services are worth to the employer.  I wonder how many of these people willingly pay more for an item than it is truly worth... just because they want to put some extra money in the merchant's pocket. 

Well ... whatever floats your boat.

The July 2nd edition of the Citizen-Times carried a front-page questionnaire titled "How Patriotic Are You?" Readers were invited to take a quiz of ten questions and grade themselves.  Under this questionnaire there was a quote from one Randy Goodstadt, the chairwoman of social and behavioral science at the Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.  To wit:

"If people don't have a basic knowledge of history and civics, it means that people who are voting are complete ignoramuses, people who don't read a newspaper, who don't understand the policies of the people for whom they are voting.  It's very scary.  Very worrisome."

Well said, Ms. Goodstadt!  Now perhaps you need to have a bit of a talk with the folks at the Citizen-Times.  Here are the ten questions they posted to test the historical knowledge of the readers:

1. What is the date that the Declaration of Independence was signed?
2. What document is the legal framework of the United States?
3. Who wrote the words to the "Star Spangled Banner"?
4. What is the Pledge of Allegiance?
5. Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?
6. What is the number of original Colonies?
7. Who was the first president of the United States?
8. What is the minimum voting age in the United States?
9. Who is the current governor of North Carolina?
10. What is the motto of North Carolina?

Well ... somebody's gotta say it, so here goes.  There are only two questions out of the ten that are worth spending more than one nano-second in answering.  Those would  be questions 2 and 8.  People do need to know that the Constitution is, or is supposed to be, the legal framework of the United States, and if you are at all interested in voting it might serve you well to know that the minimum age is 18.  The other eight questions are complete BS.  Worthless bits of information that do not make one either knowledgeable or patriotic. 

Eight out of ten makes the entire article a vapid exercise in banality.   Perhaps the Citizen-Times was having it's annual "Shallow and Meaningless Writing" contest.

Now you just know I must have some suggestions on how to beef up this particular quiz in order to give it some actual value, right?  Of course!  Let me noodle this out out for --- say --- 60 seconds or so to see if I can come up with a better citizenship quiz than did the Asheville Citizen-Times.

1. Forget when the Declaration of Independence was signed; tell me why it was signed?  What were the signers trying to accomplish?
2. What happened to the men who signed the Declaration?  Did they go on to be heroes and live happily ever after?
3. What does the Declaration of Independence say the people can do when a government becomes destructive to the ends of liberty?
4. What would happen to anyone who tried today to alter or abolish our government if it became destructive to idea that government derives its powers from the consent of the governed?
5. Which articles of the Constitution grant specific powers to the federal government?
6. Which article of the Constitution restricts the powers of the government to only those specifically set forth in the Constitution?
7. Describe the circumstances under which  Francis Scott Key  wrote the words to the Star Spangled Banner?
8. Do you believe people living in a free country ought to be compelled to recite a pledge of allegiance to that country?  Why?
9. Was the Revolutionary War supported by a majority of the Colonists?
10. Where in our Constitution is it stated that anyone has a right to vote for the office of President of the United States?
11. How did our original Constitution provide for the appointment of Senators?
12. Most foreign countries appoint an ambassador to be their official representative before the government of the United States.  Who officially represents the 50 state governments before the government of the United States?
13. Explain the difference between a rule of law and the rule of man.
14. Explain the difference between a democracy and a constitutional republic.
15. Was our country founded to be a country of majority rule?
16. Can you imagine what our country would be like today if the majority did rule?
17. Aren't you glad the majority doesn't rule?
18. Why does it matter in the grand scheme of things who the governor of North Carolina is?
19. Isn't a governor something you put on a state to keep it from moving ahead very fast?
20. What possible benefit could you gain by memorizing the motto of the State of North Carolina, or any other state for that matter?
21. How many times can  the word "democracy" found in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution?
22. How many times can  the word "democracy" found in the constitutions of any of the 50 states?
23. What does this tell you?
24. Define "civil war."
25. Was the war between the northern and southern states in the mid-1800s a civil war?
26. Who is third in the line of succession to the presidency?
27. Based on your answer to the foregoing question, would you demand that George Bush and Dick Cheney never eat from the same container of potato salad should the Democrats gain control of the House of Representatives in the next election?
28. How did the political class manage to fool the people of the United States into supporting a Constitutional Amendment creating an income tax?
29. How do most people get their news on a daily bass?
30. Does the "freedom of press" clause in the First Amendment apply to the broadcast media?
31. So, do most people get their news from agencies licensed to operate by the federal government?
32. Why were the words "under God" placed into the Pledge of Allegiance? 
33. Do you think that it is proper for the federal government to compel students attending government schools under compulsory attendance laws to acknowledge the role of God in the formation of our country? Would this constitute "effecting an establishment of religion?"  If not, why not?
34. Do Americans derive their basic rights from the Constitution?
35. If we don't derive our rights from the Constitution, just why was the Bill of Rights added anyway?
36. Define a system of government where the means of production are owned and controlled privately.
37. Define a system of government where the means of production are privately owned but controlled by government.
38. Define a system of government where the means of production are owned and controlled by the government.
39. What percentage of total income is earned by the top one percent of income earners.
40. What percentage of total income taxes collected by the federal government is paid by the top one percent of income earners.
41. Where in our Constitution does it specifically state that only U.S. citizens may vote for the office of President of the United States?
42. Name one right that a state government can exercise without interference from the federal level.
43. Where in our Constitution does it specifically state that only U.S. citizens may vote for members of the House of Representatives?
44. Look at the Bill of Rights.  List any Amendments in the Bill of Rights that were ratified for the purpose of limiting the powers of the government.
45. If our Constitution provides for equal protection under the law, why, then, does the Voting Rights Act only apply to certain states who were held in political disfavor in the 70's?
46. List any Amendments in the Bill of Rights that were ratified for the purpose of limiting the rights of individuals.
47. If the Bill of Rights was written to limit the rights of government and to guarantee certain rights in the individual, try to explain why so many people seem to think that the 2nd Amendment was written to limit the rights of individuals and guarantee the rights of government?
48. Does the First Amendment protect speech that some people might find offensive?
49. Explain how our Republic was threatened when Janet Jackson showed the world that she likes to wear a Japanese throwing star on the nipple of her left breast.
50. What is the one exclusive power our government has that no individual or business can legally exercise?

Now this list could be expanded to fill an entire book.  I could, for instance, add a hundred or so questions beginning with "Where does the United States Constitution give the federal government the right to .........."  Fifty questions is enough, though, and it's time to finish the Nuze and head to the studios. 

It does occur to me that some of you high school and college government teachers and instructors might have a bit of fun with these questions and your students.  No ... I'm not providing the answers. 

THE NEW JERSEY BUDGET CRISIS

Not that the rest of the country is all that concerned, but they seem to be having a bit of a budget crisis in The Garden State.  It's not that tax revenues are down.  The problem is that New Jersey politicians have been spending too much money to buy votes so that they can keep their positions of prestige, perks and privilege.

So .. the solution?  Shut down the Atlantic City casinos.  New Jersey earns around two million dollars a day from these casinos, so shut them down!  Put thousands of people out of work so that the social services agencies can spend even more money helping families through the crisis! 

This, of course, is nothing but heavy handed politics .. New jersey style.  Make the people scream so that you can get your tax increases without having to cut any of your precious vote-buying programs.

Only government.

THE GARGOYLE PULLS THE TRIGGER

Well, he finally did it.  North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il went through with the threat this morning and fired a long-range ballistic missile...the so-called Tae po dong missile, renamed the Tae po Dud.  There is special concern over this one because it is technologically capable of reaching the United States with a variety of payloads, including nuclear.

And what of the missile? Well, it went the way of the other missiles that were fired this morning...falling into the Sea of Japan.  So either North Korea purposely made the missiles fail after launch or they were incapable of making them work properly...who knows.  So what's going to happen now?  Despite all of the talk, condemnation and the White House statement that called the launches a "provocation,"  here is what is in the offing ....

Absolutely nothing.

Oh sure...Japan is threatening North Korea with sanctions.  The worthless U.N. Security Council is headed into emergency session this morning.  Australia said it would call the North Korean ambassador to complain. I'm sure Kim Jong-Il is shaking in this high-heeled boots.  Threats of sanctions mean absolutely nothing. They haven't worked to this point.

And let's think about sanctions from the U.N. Security Council?  Please...that didn't stop Saddam Hussein for 12 years.  There are ways around sanctions, such as bribing public officials. Let's start the guessing game as to which U.N. officials will be involved in the North Korean bribery scandals we're sure to read about in about five years.  North Korea will keep firing its missiles as long as (a) it is tolerated and (b) they perceive a political advantage in doing so.  Right now they view the United States as being weak ... thanks in no part to the lack of support we have given Bush for his efforts in Iraq.  Peace-at-any-price does, indeed, have a price. 

And so it goes...more tough talk against North Korea...without anything to back it up.  Perhaps the White House is waiting for North Korea to successfully launch a "real missile?"

LIBERALS TO START FASTING....SORT OF

Anti-war leftist Cindy Sheehan is back in the news today (as if she ever left it.)  She is announcing that she is now going to fast all summer to protest the war in Iraq.  Oops...but wait.  When Cindy Sheehan says "fast," what she really means is no solid food.  She'll still drink water, because without that, she would die.  Evidently her political convictions only run so deep.

I give it two weeks.

Ever notice with liberals that whenever they announce they're going on a hunger strike that it never lasts very long?  A group set up outside the White House is also announcing a fast, with one woman saying she is putting her life on the line by not eating until the United States withdraws from Iraq.  Yeah ... right.  The  U.S. not expected to fully be gone from Iraq for another couple of years, she should expire well before then.  She'll be chowing down on sushi and cabernet in ten days .. max.

Hollywood actors have joined the fasting against the war, but there's only one problem.  You see, not eating and then dying doesn't exactly work for actors.  They need to maintain their appearance so they can get jobs and earn money.  So what is the Hollywood left's answer to the problem of the political fast?  It's the rolling fast .. a sort of fasting relay.  Here's how it works:

Stars such as Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Danny Glover and other leftist crazies will start the fast.  When they get hungry and it becomes inconvenient...or reach 24 hours, whichever comes first, they'll "hand off" the fast to someone else.  But wait...I thought there was supposed to be some real sacrifice here in the name of political belief?  Aren't they willing to put their lives on the line for a cause?  Are you kidding?  These are Hollywood stars we're talking about here.  It's about the headlines, not the results.

DEMOCRATS ABANDONING JOE LIEBERMAN

Way back during the 2004 election cycle, one Democrat running for his party's nomination did not do what John Kerry and others were doing.  He did not run away from his vote to invade Iraq.  He stood right up there and announced that Saddam Hussein was a dangerous man that had to be removed from power.  This went over like a pregnant nun and Joe Lieberman was cast aside...never amounting to much in the Democratic primary.

So what happened?  Just a few years earlier, as Al Gore's vice-presidential nominee, Joe Lieberman was the darling of the left.  But he was off the list...supporting the war or anything remotely having to do with George W. Bush was a capital crime to liberals.  And so the abandonment of Joe Lieberman continues to this day.

The latest Democrat to throw Lieberman under the bus is Hillary Clinton.  The Senator from Connecticut is facing a tough primary vote August 8th.  As a believer in the war on terror and supporter of the Iraq war, Democrats are challenging Lieberman in the primary.  The conventional wisdom is that he'll lose.

But Lieberman isn't going down without a fight.  He says he may run in the general election as an independent.  This doesn't set well with Democrats who want to punish Lieberman for standing up for what he believes.  And so it is that The Hildabeast is announcing that despite knowing Joe Lieberman for 30 years, she just won't support him for re-election unless he wins the Democratic primary.

And what is Lieberman's crime?  Actually being a sensible, true moderate Democrat that believes national security is important.  But he's not welcome in today's Democratic party, and that's a shame.

LOVE THOSE MUSLIMS!

The so-called "Palestinians" launched a missile into an Israeli high school today.  Those who condemn the United States for any perceived wrong suffered by civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan will have absolutely nothing to say about these wonderful, peace-loving Muslims launching missiles at children.  Look for condemnations, however, of Israel.

CELEBRATING THE FOURTH OF JULY

Last Friday I took a call on the air from someone who was very upset with me because, in his words, "You don't celebrate the 4th of July." Well ... perhaps it's time to set the record straight here.

The fact is that I most certainly DO celebrate the 4th of July.  I revere this holiday.  I know of no other symbol of freedom and independence that stands out stronger than this day. 

The 4th celebrates not only freedom, but independence from an oppressive government.  For seven long years following July 4, 1776, an unbelievably courageous and determined minority of colonists fought to achieve our independence from England.  That's right ... a minority.  At no time during our Revolutionary War did the majority of colonists support the cause of independence.  If CNN, ABC, The New York Times, and other agencies had been around to do their polling back then we would undoubtedly have been faced with a barrage of weekly poll results showing a lack of public support for the war.  Loyalists would be demanding an exit strategy.  Newspapers would be editorializing for negotiations and troop withdrawals.  There would be feature stories on the news every night about families left behind to take care of the family farms while husbands and brothers were off fighting this unwinnable war. 

Thank God we didn't have television during the Revolutionary War.  It certainly wouldn't have ended the way it did in 1883.

But ... back to this independence thing.  July 4th is known as Independence Day.  Independence from what? Independence from the government of Great Britain, that's what. 

Now, in 2006, Americans are far more dependent on and oppressed by the Imperial Federal Government of the United States than they ever were by Great Britain.  The level of taxation is higher, and the level of government interference in our daily life exceeds anything the colonists ever saw.  In spite of all this, Americans will be waving flags, watching parades, going on picnics, and gawking at fireworks today, all in celebration of their love of freedom.

Love of freedom, my left big toe.  This isn't a celebration of freedom, this is a celebration of hypocrites. 

So .. you love freedom, do you?  You're out there waving your flag and watching fireworks with the rest of the freedom lovers?  Do you mind very much taking the time off to handle a little quiz?  Just go through the following scenarios and answer a few questions:

I could make expand those questions to 10 pages or more, but the point is made.  I doubt many of you actually chose the response that eliminated government interference and left you to be free to make your choices and suffer the consequences.  If you did, congratulations.  If not ... have fun waving your flag today.

AND JUST ONE EMAIL

Sometimes we're just a little dumbfounded by some of our emails. This one qualifies. Please don't write asking why this is funny...you'll just embarrass yourself.

Subject: hate mail generator for neal

Name: Gary

Email: XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Message:

this is a web site to create hate mail and send it to you

http://boortz.com/more/hate_mail.html

Check it out

REDNECK SCRAP BOOK

Ah, wedding season is in full swing, for rednecks too! More in the Redneck Scrap Book.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Once again Florida tries something innovative to give parents options for educating their children.  Once again local government school administrators don't like it.

I just know this is going to be good news for you.  The United Nations has issued it's six rules for sound investing.  Trust me on this one ... if the UN could find a way to make this mandatory they would move post haste to do so.

According to Al Gore's movie, global warming is going to reach a point where entire cities are under water because of rising sea levels.  John Stossel says this should go on the scrap heap with other environmentally extreme predictions over the years.

Everyone should stop what they're doing and recognize that actress Keira Knightley says she isn't anorexic.  The media believes this is one of the most important news stories of the day, so we should all pay attention.  Don't you feel better knowing that today?

With the New York Times' disclosure of the terrorist financing monitoring program, Thomas Sowell wonders if there is any such thing as patriotism anymore.  He says patriotism is one of the ties that binds a civilization together.

Both Washington and Jefferson believed that the United States should stay out of alliances with foreign governments.  Pat Buchanan notes how times have changed in that regard.

In his second appearance in today's reading assignments, Thomas Sowell highlights a special edition of Time magazine with Teddy Roosevelt on the cover.  Why does the media love TR so much?  Because of what they perceive as his crusade against free enterprise.

The U.S. Department of Education has released its annual report card on the children of the nation.  Dr. Walter E. Williams looks at the plight of  black fourth graders.  And what is the left's answer to poor test scores from this group?  Why more money, of course.

Gun enthusiast and University of North Carolina at Wilmington professor Mike Adams frequently has numerous questions asking for advice on purchasing a handgun.  Today, he takes a few minutes to give some handy advice on what to buy.

The New York Times, by disclosing yet another secret operation by the U.S. government against terrorists, shows that it believes we shouldn't be able to conduct covert operations.  Jonah Goldberg says many in the mainstream media hold this view.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair says Muslims need to get rid of the extremists in their ranks.  He even went so far as to say they should get rid of people from Islam that have a list of grievances against the west.  Since this isn't politically correct, Blair will no doubt be driven from office a little faster.

Christopher Hitchens had some great advice for America on the Fourth of July: ignore the polls that say our image in the world is falling.  And why should we not believe such polls?  Read on to find out.

Here's the morning sickness even Neal wouldn't finish on the air...

Less than half celebrate Independence and the birth of our nation on July 4.

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