New Blog: The Captain and the Kid

There's a new Blog in town: The Captain and the Kid. Don't miss the first video just posted on it earlier today. It's called "Buckets."

Click on and subscribe. Regular posting starts next week.

Heritage Explains The "T" Word

Remember when the word "Million" conjured up visions of unbelievable luxury? Then, after many years, we started hearing the word "Billion," as in billionaire - someone who had amassed a fortune of ten hundred million dollars. Most of us couldn't begin to fathom such a number, but the number heard most today - especially when talking about our government's debt - is "Trillion," but what exactly is a "Trillion"?

The Heritage Foundation provided this visual which puts the number is a little better perspective:

Scary, isn't it? Try not to think about our $14.3 trillion debt (that will be left to our grandkids and their grandkids), or the $62 trillion in our unfunded liabilities (entitlements), or you could get very nervous - maybe even sick.

Rob Bluey of Heritage provides us with a few examples to help us begin to grasp the significance of the bigness of the "T" word:

One trillion = 1,000 billion

$1,000,000,000,000 (that’s 12 zeros)

At $45.8 million per year, LeBron James would need to work 21,843 years

Average life in the U.S. lasts 2.4 billion seconds

One billion seconds ago = 1979

One trillion seconds ago = 29,700 BC

It will be entertaining to watch and listen as the Democrats try to spin the "T" word during the 2012 election campaign (actually it will be surprising if they even mention it), and anyone who believes those Democrats will stop spending will believe anything.

Click on the link below to read the entire post by Rob Bluey in The Foundry, the Blog of The Heritage Foundation.

Just How Big Is $1 Trillion? | The Foundry

"Sharia and Violence in U.S. Mosques"

Frank Gaffney was on Fox News Network this past Sunday discussing a recent survey conducted of United States Mosques. The survey, "Sharia and Violence in U.S. Mosques," was reported by Middle East Quarterly and the results make one think that the term "Radical Islam" is becoming a redundancy.

You can watch a video of the Gaffney interview on YouTube by clicking Here.

Say Goodbye to Turkey

That's Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and he's no Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the father of modern Turkey who truly believed in a secular democracy form of government for his homeland. Erdogan doesn't much like us or Israel (somebody tell our president before he sells Turkey our F-35 Joint Strike Fighter), but he's gotten very close to our greatest enemy, and together they are Two Dangerous Guys.

Erdogan was reelected last Sunday, and that is bad news for us, because there can be no doubt his plans are to eventually replace the country's secular government (the legacy of Ataturk) with a religious one (guess which religion).

Michael Rubin, a resident scholar at The American Enterprise Institute, just wrote about Sunday's election in Turkey and the title of his piece is: Erdogan’s Re-election Marks a New Era, But Not a Good One, which pretty well sums it up.

Finally, here's a much more in-depth piece on the problems of Turkey written by Michael Rubin for the July/August 2010 edition of Commentary.

Turkey, from Ally to Enemy

Celebrate Flag Day 2011

Leon and Amy Kass, along with Diana Schaub, are editors of a new anthology, What So Proudly We Hail: The American Soul in Story, Speech, and Song. Their website is www.whatsoproudlywehail.org.

They posted this article today on National Review Online:
What So Proudly We Hail - Leon Kass & Amy Kass - National Review Online

A clip: We need ordered respite from commerce and amusement — and politicking — for expressions of communal gratitude: for the privilege of living in a republic that enables us to live and work, love and play, freely and with dignity; for the blessing of living under “a grand old flag . . . the emblem of the land I love, the home of the free and the brave.”

H/T: rutusmc

Contrasting CEOs and What They Wrought

Arthur Herman, a visiting scholar at AEI, wrote an insightful piece at National Review Online yesterday about two very different kinds of men who have served as CEO of General Motors (unfortunately, one of them still does). Mr. Herman is the author of Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry That Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2009.

The first CEO discussed by Mr. Herman is "General Motors’ current CEO, Dan Akerson, who last Monday told the Detroit News that Congress needs to slap a dollar-a-gallon tax on gasoline. That way Americans won’t buy as many gasoline-powered cars and will be forced to turn to alternative vehicles instead. That’ll be good for the environment, he claimed. But it will also be good for sales of his Chevy Volt, which, despite a hefty government subsidy, has more wheels than buyers." You got to love that guy, right?

Former CEO Bill Knudsen, on the other hand, happens to be the man who made General Motors the greatest automobile company in the world (notice past tense).

"William Signius Knudsen arrived in this country as a Danish immigrant and started work with a gang of Irish riveters in a Brooklyn shipyard. Then he moved to Buffalo to work in a bicycle factory, making parts for Henry Ford’s Model T. Ford was so impressed with Knudsen’s skill in organizing the shop floor that he brought him to his Detroit Highland Park plant in 1913, where Knudsen turned the mass-production technique Ford had created there into a flexible system that could be set up anywhere. Knudsen built more than 20 Ford plants around the country and in Europe. Then in 1922 he moved to GM, where he used the same flexible mass production to introduce the idea of annual model changes for cars.

"Knudsen’s idea revolutionized the American auto industry. It turned Chevrolet from GM’s biggest money-loser into its lead division, surpassing Ford in sales in 1931.

"He did it all with no government subsidies or loans. He saw his duty as making a better car at a lower cost, not asking Washington to raise his customers’ costs."

To read the entire article, click on the link below.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/269356/tale-two-gm-ceos-arthur-herman

Vortex: Obamanomics

Dear Friend in Christ,

The US economy is in a much greater crisis than just money. There's a moral debt that's even more staggering than 15 trillion dollars. Please watch this episode of The Vortex and pass it along to friends and family.

http://www.youtube.com/user/RealCatholicTV?feature=mhum#p/u/0/8i9qj4YAo_M

GOD Bless you and your loved ones,

Michael Voris
~senior executive producer, RealCatholicTV.com

Support Israel's Right to Exist

Liberty Counsel™ is a nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the family.

Matt and Anita Staver of Liberty Counsel are asking those who support Israel's right to exist to sign an open letter to President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Speaker of the House John Boehner, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, openly rejecting the "land swap" proposed by President Obama which would return Israel to her 1967 borders.

If you would like to sign the letter, which will be hand delivered next week to key Israeli leaders, please click on the link below.

http://www.libertyaction.org/333/petition.asp?PID=31654998&NID=1


H/T: luv2sing

Sundays are for Beauty: "Souvenir D'enfance"

The young Chinese girl playing "Souvenir D'enfance" by Richard Clayderman, has no fingers on her right hand. She started playing the piano only about three years ago.

Have a Beautiful Sunday.


H/T: rkwlsn

Liberals Will Never Understand Ayn Rand

Bill McGurn writing at Ricochet.com yesterday discussed the "great idea" the Liberal Democrats have to use Ayn Rand against Republican Conservatives in the 2012 election show about to unfold (be sure to watch the video).

Liberals just refuse to understand what it is that Conservatives admire about the author of Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, and other similar masterpieces. Her ideas about government control of citizens, and the curtailment of individual freedom that goes with that control, are the things we admire about her. I don't know of one Conservative who admires her lack of a personal moral compass, nor could I name one Conservative who would vote for her (were she still with us) for president. Some of the greatest Conservative voices in America, in fact, condemned her weaknesses - especially her apparent total lack of compassion for the truly needy and her doctrinaire treatment of religion among other things. It cannot be denied, though, that her ability to write with passion about individual freedom and the right to protect one's property, is almost unparalleled.

So, good luck to the Liberals who think the attack mounted in the video will convince voters to turn their backs on Conservatives. They should be wary that it might cause another run at Amazon.com by folks wanting to read more of her work. They ought to know already about the incredible number of sales of Atlas Shrugged caused by the socialist policies of the current administration.

Kyle Singler: The Next Dave DeBusschere

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBSQf0wWiKw


Kyle Singler, who graduated from Duke University last month is awaiting the NBA draft, and is projected as a second round pick. If he turns out to be a second round pick, then for some reason the league will have decided not to have a first round of picks. If he's not the second coming of Dave DeBusschere, then he's the second coming of John Havlicek.

H/T: rmck1

Glick: Is BHO Retaliating Against Bibi?

Remember back on May 19th when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embarrassed President Obama in the White House by stating unequivocally during their joint press conference that Israel would not agree to return to their 1967 borders as Obama had practically demanded the day before? Of course, Obama attempted to walk back his demands in a May 22nd speech before AIPAC, but his original remarks were much clearer. Well, according to Israel's Iron Lady, Caroline Glick, Obama might just be seeking revenge for that embarrassment by deliberately harming Israeli covert ops in Iran. That might sound a little over the top, but read her recent post and decide for yourself.

Word on Fire: Catholicism Film Series Complete

From Fr. Robert Barron at Word on Fire:

Finally, here it is!

It's been over three years in the making. We've traveled to over 50 locations across 16 countries and captured hours of high-definition footage. It's the most extensive and ambitious film series ever produced about the Catholic Faith. And all of it has been made possible through your support with millions of prayers and dollars.

This is has truly been a global grassroots effort.

CATHOLICISM is now available for pre-order. Place your order today, and you will receive your DVD Box Set of all 10 episodes as soon as the series is available (estimated ship date: August 2011).

As you know, four episodes of CATHOLICISM will air this October on WTTW television in Chicago and other public television stations nationwide. We will send you the television schedule as soon as we have it.


NOTE: When you click on "pre-order" above, be sure to watch the 9 minute video of the Catholicism film series highlights.

To review prior posts about the Catholicism Project click on the "Word on Fire" label below.

World Youth Day, Madrid 2011

World Youth Day was initiated by Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1985. This year, World Youth Day will be held in Madrid, August 16 thru 21. Michael Voris and RealCatholicTV will be attending this year's event and bringing their messages to the young people in attendance. You can learn more about the event and the participation by Michael and others from RealCatholicTV by clicking on the link below.

http://www.realcatholictv.com/nobullinmadrid/

Firewall: Turncoat Nation

Bill Whittle, in the below edition of "Firewall," makes it clear that he is not calling our president a traitor - just a "turncoat," and he makes his case as clearly as it can be made. He refers, for myriad examples, to the 2009 book by the classicist Dr. Victor Davis Hanson: How The Obama Administration Threatens Our National Security.

http://declarationentertainment.com/firewall-turncoat-nation

Andrew Klavan's One State Solution

Andrew Klavan, of PJTV and City Journal, has come up with the perfect solution for the age old Arab/Israeli conflict. He calls it his One State Solution, and I'm betting a majority of the women and persecuted Christians in the Muslim world would be all for it.

http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=mpg&load=5527&mpid=80

Living Battlefield: Great Website for Military History

This great website, which is unafraid to not only speak of but to clearly demonstrate the many military examples of American Exceptionalism, has just been linked here under "My Blog List" on the right side of this Blog. The Mission statement listed on the website is:

Living Battlefield, LLC is a non-profit corporation registered in South Carolina. We are passionately committed to the cause of history.

By both commissioning and partnering with historical documentary filmmakers, we aim to produce programming that engages, enlightens and entertains public television audiences and students.

No more dry historical lectures, but battlefield tours with passionate presenters who draw viewers into the heart of the action. Because our shows are shot in the actual locations where events took place, at the time of year when they happened, viewers will feel like they are really there. First hand accounts from veterans form the backbone of the films, with re-enactment, special effects and easy to follow graphics fleshing out the stories of true life, American heroes.

Our first trilogy of films, The American Road to Victory, produced by Labyrinth Media & Publishing Limited, begins broadcasting on U.S public television near Memorial Day 2011.


Click on their website below to watch the video, and check back anytime on their blog site feed under "My Blog List" on the right.

http://www.livingbattlefield.org/

Vortex: ND-88, Free at Last

Dear Friend in Christ,

It's high time that the hypocrisy of "official" Catholics is exposed for all the world to see; not out of a sense of vigilante justice, but out of a sense of charity. These hypocrites are ruining the faith life of others. Please watch this episode of The Vortex and pass it along to as many friends and family as possible.

http://www.youtube.com/user/RealCatholicTV?feature=mhee#p/u/1/BEOMijcnHBM

GOD Bless you and your loved ones,

Michael Voris
~senior executive producer, RealCatholicTV.com

Best Sign in Alaska

H/T: rkwlsn

Off To Alaska...

Faithful readers (if you like) can take some time to review missed posts. If you click on any "Label" under a post, you will go to all posts so labeled.

Will return early June.