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REQUIEM

Below are the two final essays to be posted on Allegiance and Duty Betrayed. The first one is written by a friend -- screen name 'Euro-American Scum' -- who, over the past four years, has been the most faithful essayist here. He has written about everything from his pilgrimage to Normandy in 2004 to take part in the 60th–year commemoration of the invasion, to his memories of his tour in Vietnam. His dedication to America’s founding principles ... and those who have sacrificed to preserve them over the past 200+ years ... is unequaled. Thank you, E-A-S. It has been a privilege to include your writing here, and it is a privilege to call you my friend.

The second essay is my own farewell. And with it I thank all of the many regular visitors, and those who may have only dropped in occasionally, for coming here. I hope you learned something. I hope a seed or two was planted. But, even if not, I thank you for stopping by ... 25 March, 2010

3/20/2010

Evil By Any Other Name is Still Evil


Since I am in the process of moving from what we term 'adulthood' into my 'senior' years, I am finding that, while my responsibilities are shifting, they are in many ways increasing -- and yet stamina, and the desire to 'make a difference' in the world, are not increasing concurrently. :) These days, I would much prefer taking a long fresh-air walk with Rick and Bert to writing political commentary. I suppose it's a resignation to the idea that I want to enjoy what is left of life rather than devote precious time and energy to an uphill battle whose 'hill' becomes higher and more precarious with each passing day.

For many weeks (maybe even months) I have been contemplating writing something of a 'swan song' here on Allegiance and Duty Betrayed, and yet the desire to cover everything that I would want to say, in specific, about the current state of our beloved republic, and the future that this weekend in particular portends, has become a task upon which I no longer want to embark. It's just too energy- and time-consuming, and its purpose is nebulous and undefined, at best.

So I've settled on authoring a 'swan song disconnect’, and will simply list a set of concerns and observations with which I would like to bow out of the fray. I leave it to the wonderful readers who have frequented this blog for nearly four years to pick up the slack. You ... especially the young adults on fire for liberty ... represent the hope of America ... the hope of mankind.

America is now infected with an apathy, self-indulgence and sloth that represent the core reason for our impending fall. Yes, there are courageous and vigilant pockets of citizens ... 'tea party' organizers and faithfuls among them ... who remember the vision and sacrifice of, and stern and heartfelt warnings issued by, our Founders ... and who revere the American Constitution as the most magnificent blueprint for governance ever conceived by the mind of man.

But such patriots find themselves in an ever-decreasing minority. America's 'leadership' in Washington, the mainstream media, institutions of 'higher learning', and the ever more powerful 'entertainment industry' now hold the reins of public opinion with an iron-fisted grip. All four of those powerful opinion-makers for more than six decades have been systematically infiltrated by left-leaning ideologues bent on 'transforming' our Founders' vision into something frighteningly grotesque and diabolical: the implementation of an ideology that considers individual human liberty ... and all of the belief in 'right' and 'wrong', progress, productivity and sense of personal responsibility that that precious commodity engenders ... to be its most threatening enemy.

It is a mass ignorance of our noble roots, combined with a laziness and unwillingness to consider them at all, that has allowed evil men to gain, and scheme to retain in perpetuity, the upper hand. And the U.S. Constitution, and the concept (and reality) of individual liberty, have found themselves premeditatedly murdered in the process.

The pockets of citizens who actually see the emperor without his clothes have now begun to feel a kinship with that courageous young Chinese student who attempted to face-down a military tank in Tiananmen Square. The tanks are indeed mobilizing. They have become arrogant with power and will no longer be denied the completion of their assignment ... and the majority of the citizenry is too busy watching reality TV to recognize and acknowledge their movement. President Obama's popularity remains consistently in the neighborhood of 50%, in spite of mountains of liberty-loathing, criminally unconstitutional pronouncements and policymaking.

For the first time in America's history, the mass 'ignorance is bliss' philosophy embraced by the American populace, as well as the massive, historically unprecedented unconstitutional power grab being perpetrated by Washington, can no longer be turned back. Educational indoctrination is irreversible; election results will increasingly find themselves dictated by groups such as ACORN and SEIU; as taxes and bureaucratic regulations on small businesses increase, more and more American jobs will be government jobs and fewer and fewer will be in the private sector; and as an increasing number of Americans find themselves standing in unemployment lines for much more than a year (while our 'altruistic leadership' increases the unemployment compensation timeline), America will become an entirely socialist state, with the citizenry completely dependent on government 'largesse' and bureaucratic dictate for their very existence. Not only has our current 'leaderhip' amassed massive unconstitutional power, but they intend to stack the deck so that that power is now omnipotent and irreversible.

I received an e-mail from a dear friend this morning stating, in part, regarding ‘healthcare reform’:
_____________________

I have read many of the parts from the bill, which are so obviously punitive, intending to force people who are already insured to either pay double what they pay now or quit their insurer and submit to the government plan, if their insurer does not pre-emptively dump them because their statistical coverage pool dried up from an inability to pay.

I think that inability to pay is what the government planners are attempting to take advantage of -- not the inability to pay by those who have a record of being unable to pay premiums, but the inability to pay by the people who have been paying.

The government plan -- the ‘healthcare bill’ -- intends to make Unable Payers out of Able Payers -- and it will use the power of law enforcement to force you to not be able to pay or go to jail.

The bill does not say ‘let us insure the people who cannot get insurance, and pay for that with increased taxes’.

The bill does say ‘let us force into ‘cannot pay’ status, a large portion of existing payers, so that the pool of the then un-insured is great, and great with desperation, such that the new pool submits to government control over their situation.’

... If the aim of the bill were to provide health care for the uninsured, by insuring them and socializing the cost -- taxing the citizens in order to fund the insurance -- then the aim, honestly stated, and the insurance coverage, and its funding could be written on one page.

Instead of that simple act, the bulk of the bill is a stepping stone path of discovering what patients and doctors may freely choose to do, and then using the coercion of federal law enforcement in order to stop the freedom to choose. It is possibly the most horrible and despicable act of Congress, other than pre-Civil War acts that kept some Americans in slavery.
_____________________

My friend is well-read and entirely capable of thinking outside the box. Not so with the majority of Americans these days.

Had the bone-deep government duplicity regarding 'healthcare reform' occurred decades ago, it would have caused mass outrage, and would have resulted in citizen outcries to hold back the leftist tide. Yet, because we have been 'educated' by both the American 'public education' system, the biased media's lack of interest in such topics, and the entertainment industry's insistent maligning of the conservative viewpoint, massively unconstitutional government actions have caused but a soon-to-be dispersed ripple.

Congress and the President continue to depict the 'healthcare reform' bill as an altruistic program aimed at increasing the quality of American healthcare and bringing healthcare insurance to those who cannot afford it ... and all of this altruism will be accomplished at a substantial savings over the current system.

Not one word of the above premise is true. In fact, the truth lies 180-degrees from the words our ‘leaders’ speak.

America's healthcare system, though flawed, is the most moral and successful system of caring for the sick, needy and dying in the history of mankind. And, although not all, the majority of the 'flaws' in that system can be traced back to long-term government interference in the system. Burdensome bureaucratic regulation of the entire healthcare, HMO and insurance industries has made a major contribution to skyrocketing costs. And the fact that trial lawyers represent one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington has led to a 'hands off' philosophy in response to any rational call for tort reform. Frivolous medical malpractice suits contribute mightily to healthcare costs in America, and they also contribute to the growing dearth of available doctors, especially in the field of obstetrics. Doctors are leaving many specialties in droves simply because they can no longer afford to pay the skyrocketing malpractice insurance premiums.

Yet our 'leadership' in Washington, desperately in need of the hundreds of millions in campaign donations that the trial lawyer lobby provides, remains mute ... while at the same time crucifying the health insurance industry's 'blood-sucking, exorbitant' 5% annual profits as 'ungodly' and 'un-American'.

You see, the demonizing of that industry, as well as the maligning of the medical profession (the President himself has repeatedly accused American surgeons of performing unnecessary operations, simply to improve their bottom line) is a necessary tactic in the march toward government solutions to 'capitalist evils' ... and the full-fledged embracing of government-run universal, socialist healthcare.

The majority of the citizenry is at least informed enough to recognize that any such plan is not in their best interest, but two factors are working in our leadership's favor in their soon-to-be-successful effort to impose this abomination on America:

(1) The fact that, no matter what atrocity they commit this weekend, the outrage among the populace will not be sufficient to force them to roll back the egregious unconstitutional legislation.

(2) Two-thirds of the hundreds of billions in recently-approved 'stimulus money' has not yet been spent. That money will be spent as we near the November elections, resulting in a mirage 'improving economy' and 'improving jobs prospects'. The result will be that the average American voter, whose attention span can now be measured in nanoseconds, will forget whatever outrage he may have felt in March and will opt to re-elect the incumbents, simply because he believes that a healthy economy (even if that 'health' is dangerous, phony and fleeting) represents hope for America, and upsetting the apple cart would be unthinkable.

I have recently attempted to debate on an internet forum the merits of 'healthcare reform' with people who consider themselves intelligent and well-informed. I have alluded to the actual wording in the senate bill when making my points and observations. When asserting that rationing, under this bill, is all but inevitable, I have pointed to the fact that three independent amendments were proposed -- amendments that would simply make rationing illegal -- nothing more, nothing less … and yet all three amendments were voted down on party lines. I have asked those who claim that this bill will not result in rationing, 'How then can you explain congress' unwillingness to pass even one such amendment?' One response I received was, 'This is nothing but Glenn Beck drivel,' and most of the other responses were along the same vein.

Such closed-minded thought processes would not upset me, were it not for the fact that I believe that half or more of our countrymen are similarly afflicted. It is simply too much trouble to consider facts. After all, the swallowing of sound-bites, and the pleasures of bread-and-circus diversions, are far less demanding on our grey matter.

Who among us has read the entire 2,000+ page bill?

Who among our ‘leadership’ has read the entire 2,000+ page bill?

Will our President read the entire 2,000+ page bill before signing it into law?

Who authored the entire 2,000+ page bill?

Answer to (1): Very few

Answer to (2): None of them

Answer to (3): No

Answer to (4) A myriad of left-leaning special interest groups, over a period of several decades worth of social engineering ideology perfection

For specifics regarding a few of the abominations included within the 2,000+ pages, please read Dare We Hope That Massachusetts Will Inspire Us Again? and scroll to the list at the bottom of the essay (the list is taken from the original HR3200 bill, but the current senate bill is a fraternal twin).

What is more evil than men conspiring, in smoke-filled rooms, to serve as mini-gods, and couching in pious, altruistic words a gargantuan crusade to seat themselves as a ruling elite and render their countrymen subservient to their rulings?

Answer: A populace whose heritage and forebears were noble beyond anything ever before experienced by mankind, and yet who have chosen to passively allow the success of the above.

God bless all American patriots! Receive your peace of mind from the knowledge that there will indeed be a final judgment, and the Judge who sits in that seat of authority knows the real content of every man’s heart.

~ joanie

65 comments:

Anonymous said...

A-W-E-S-O-M-E analysis!!!!!

First_Salute said...

Stress caught up with one doctor I knew. He left the practice and the state, thereby incidentally avoiding what is coming - the penalty on doctors who attempt to leave their practices after Obamacare is signed by Obama.

Dreadful it will be, the unionized "health care" employees who will stop you dead in your tracks to your doctor, because of some "union violation. That would be the usual "slight" that their paranoia detects in all other peoplem whom union managers profile and deem to be enemies of the union to redistribute all well being to the union.

On the other hand, we have your incredible writing, Joanie, which spirit reflects the same determination by so many individuals who have made great, health care before the present concoction being stirred in the Congress.

I look around at a sea of entertainment and infotainment to which are drawn so many people who are bored more and more by their own unwillingness to find something better to do.

While good people, such as yourself and mountain man Cooper, take up the pen and protest, as we lawfully should exhaust these opportunities to arouse the people about what threatens their well being.

God bless you, Joanie.

lori_gmeiner said...

This is absolutely one of your best pieces of writing ever Joanie! I sincerely hope it will not be your "swan song". I've sent it far and wide!

lori_gmeiner said...

"I look around at a sea of entertainment and infotainment to which are drawn so many people who are bored more and more by their own unwillingness to find something better to do."

I'm with you, First_Salute!

First_Salute said...

The rally in Washington, DC, at the Capitol, continues on Sunday.

According to U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-IA), some Congressmen and their families will have a prayer service at the Capitol Rotunda on Sunday morning, 11:00 AM. He asked that people come to the Capitol, the House steps, and stay, if they can, for the day.

It is having an effect.

He said that the vote will probably occur around 2:00 PM.

Source:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2475529/posts?page=212#212

PS. Lori, tx for the kind remarks.

Cal Brindisi said...

What is more evil than men conspiring, in smoke-filled rooms, to serve as mini-gods, and couching in pious, altruistic words a gargantuan crusade to seat themselves as a ruling elite and render their countrymen subservient to their rulings?

Answer: A populace whose heritage and forebears were noble beyond anything ever before experienced by mankind, and yet who have chosen to passively allow the success of the above.


Nothing more needs to be said.

Consider this your "swan song" Joanie, but please come back when you feel the urge to write. I'll check in to see when you do!

stonemason said...

Obama's popularity staying around 50% makes me crazy too. He is running Chicago style politics from D.C. now. You can see it in all of the back room deals he's had to make to get this bill passed. The unions and special interest groups are now officially running the country.

First Salute, your comments are great.

Joanie, I have no fear you'll be back. You can't stay "out of the fray." But take a little vacation and then come back and write more after the dust has settled in Washington. :-)

Great writing, as usual.

John Cooper said...

"There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. When there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. "

--Ayn Rand

Anonymous said...

I am copying this letter and sending it to the 'letters to the editor' section of our local newspaper, with your permission of course. Please let me know if that's o.k.

First_Salute said...

Health Care Mandate to Be Enforced by IRS 'Bounty Hunters' - article:

http://mensnewsdaily.com/sexandmetro/2010/03/21/health-care-mandate-to-be-enforced-by-irs-bounty-hunters/

Excerpt:

"In addition to more complicated tax returns, families and small businesses will be forced to reveal further tax information to the IRS, provide proof of ‘government approved’ health care and submit detailed sales information to comply with new excise taxes."

Anonymous said...

Last night marked the final nail in the coffin of our free republic. R.I.P America.

Sam Waters

Lou Barakos said...

Well said as always, Joanie. Like others have said, I hope you'll leave the writing option open. I only check in here maybe once a week but I am always happy to see when new essays are up. It makes me feel as though I am not alone.

It's a sad day in America.

Jeff Head said...

I'm already sick of hearing from the press what a "masterful" job Pelosi and Obama have done with the Health Care Monstrocity.
What the State-run Media (aka the Main Stream Media) will not tell you is that if it was masterful, it was only masterful in its lies, deciet, and treachory. They used trickery, sculldruggery, bribery, threats, and lawlessness to pull this Health Care Vote out by the skin of their teeth.

We have a band of traitors running this country. I know of no other way to state it or express it.

Anonymous said...

Dear Joanie,

Well said per usual. And I can understand you needing to take a break and attend to things that you have put on hold while fighting this good fight. You have inspired many that can and will pick up where you leave off. Your body of work is very much appreciated and is not in vain. As for those who would dismiss your thoughtful writings as "Glen Beck-speak" or from watching too much Fox news, well, let's just say that I cancelled a paid subscription to a certain stock industry newsletter. Starve the beast.
And while we're on that subject, is anyone as appalled as I am that General Electric, chaired by a huge Obama supporter/contributor, has the sheer unmitigated gall to promote a 100 year celebration of Ronald Reagan? Sure, he worked for them, so did I. But I will NOT spend one red cent on a GE product while the current management is in charge. And I am writing to stations that air this insipid commercial attempt to use the good name of Ronald Reagan to promote their existence. Ronald Reagan may no longer be able to speak for himself..but we sure can.

Susan

First_Salute said...

Exempted from Obamacare: Senior Staff Who Wrote the Bill

http://newledger.com/2010/03/exempted-from-obamacare-senior-staff-who-wrote-the-bill/

joanie said...

Excellent comments, as always, First_Salute. I agree completely with you that perhaps the unkindest cut of all will become the fact that we are going to wind up having to dance for 'union type' bureaucrats in order to be able to receive the medical care we need in the future. And the widespread involvement of the IRS simply added gross insult to injury.

I am afraid that those who are saying 'They'll get theirs come November!' are the same ones who are always looking at the glass as half full. The glass is three-quarters empty at this point, and, barring a miracle of God or a mass re-awakening by the populace, America is finished.

Thanks for your wonderful contribution to the essay, and the excellent responses that followed.

Rick and I are privileged to call you our friend.

~ joanie

joanie said...

Thanks, lori, for the kind words, and for your wonderful support these past four years. Even if this blog remains 'as is' for the future, I know we'll keep in touch!

~ joanie

joanie said...

Cal, thanks for the kind words, and for your friendship over the years. It has meant, and continues to mean, a great deal to Rick and me!

~ joanie

joanie said...

Susan,

You are a genuine patriot. Your writing, both here and on the other forum, is heartfelt, intelligent and passionate. And there is rarely, if ever, a word with which I disagree. It is a privilege to be in the company of a modern American patriot.

Continued best to you and yours in these troubling times ...

~ joanie

joanie said...

Lou,

Thank you for your faithful contributions here over the past four years. You have been a constant source of information and support and your conservative values and insights are very much appreciated. Keep 'spreading the word' in your neighborhood, among family and friends. That is all that is left to us now, but we cannot abandon that avenue of informing people, no matter how discouraged we may feel.

God bless you and yours in these troubling times ...

~ joanie

joanie said...

Stonemason, you also have provided such wonderful insights here. The links to information that was not readily available or accessible were bookmarked and used on other forums and in other discussions. And your support has meant a great deal.

Please continue the fight in your part of the country. Even though we may feel that the battle is over, we cannot stop speaking out, as long as there are those who will listen.

God bless you!

~ joanie

joanie said...

'Anonymous', please feel free to use anything you read here. Thanks. :)

~ joanie

joanie said...

Jeff, I'll be in touch later tonight. Thanks so much for the contribution!

~ joanie

Minuteman23 said...

Joanie, I've said it before and I'll say it again. You are a national treasure. Don't stay away for good! (Say hi to the MD crew this weekend.) :-)

Anonymous said...

Joanie, this is the absolute best commentary I've read about what happened this weekend (present company excluded of course)- :)

"We've Crossed the Rubicon"

http://proxify.com/p/011010A1000100/687474703a2f2f70616a616d61736d656469612e636f6d2f766963746f72646176697368616e736f6e2f776576652d63726f737365642d7468652d72756269636f6d2f3f73696e676c65706167653d74727565

Rob Maroni said...

America's 'leadership' in Washington, the mainstream media, institutions of 'higher learning', and the ever more powerful 'entertainment industry' now hold the reins of public opinion with an iron-fisted grip. All four of those powerful opinion-makers for more than six decades have been systematically infiltrated by left-leaning ideologues bent on 'transforming' our Founders' vision into something frighteningly grotesque and diabolical: the implementation of an ideology that considers individual human liberty ... and all of the belief in 'right' and 'wrong', progress, productivity and sense of personal responsibility that that precious commodity engenders ... to be its most threatening enemy.

That is our epitaph, in a nut shell.

Love you, Joanie! Always have, always will.

3timesalady said...

Nice work as always Joanie! Please write when you alot are able to. I'd miss you if you didn't. :(

Anonymous said...

Fine writing and reasoning indeed!

Charles Lorah

Anonymous said...

I am very sad to hear that this is your last column Joanie. I have been reading AADB for more than a year, but I have never written anything here before.

Thank you for all the valuable words. This last article made me sad and angry, even though I knew everything you wrote about. It's hard to read it written down in black and white.

God bless you! And God bless America! And God help our children and grandchildren.

J.B.B.

John Galt said...

I am very sad to hear that you are leaving this blog, Joanie. This has been a watering hole for me. When I was feeling alone and disgusted I could come here to be reminded that I was not alone and to read the voice of reason.

I do understand why you are leaving though.

Thank you for all the excellent writing and much needed arguments.

I agree with you that very dark days are ahead.

God bless you, Joanie!

DaveBurkett said...

Joanie, it's a sad day for me knowing that this blog is finished. I know you didn't post here much lately but at least I checked in now and then hoping there might be something new. Like the others, I completely understand though.

We all have a feeling of helplessness now, things have gotten so out of control and the American people have no say anymore. Tyranny tastes really bad and I don't want my children to live with that taste for the rest of their lives.

Thank you for everything you wrote here. I'm glad you're keeping it up.

Carrie and I wish you and Rick nothing but the best. You're both patriots through and through.

Steve Leiden said...

You should have been a lawyer or a judge. Common sense, convincing arguments, and excellent writing are your strong suits.

Gonna miss you. A lot.

Anonymous said...

Repeal Obamacare:

http://www.cafepress.com/repeal2010

lori_gmeiner said...

God bless you Joanie. You are a treasure.

Anonymous said...

Quiet desperation is the way to go. It will make it easier on all of us. You're rocking the boat.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting and informative writing. I am a college student who just got turned onto Glen Beck a month or so ago. Since watching him I am more willing to listen to arguments like yours. I would have called you a radical a month ago. Thank you for speaking out.

John Bohannon
Syracuse, NY

Barry up the road said...

Fantastic piece Joanie! I'm sorry to hear it is your last. You're a true patriot, a thinking man's thinker and a good neighbor.

Please let me know if you change your mind about writing again.

Glenda Canning said...

This is as cogent an analysis as I have read on where America now stands. I'm afraid it's do or die and I'm also afraid your pessimism is justified. Thank you for the writing that I plan to send to some fence-sitters I know.

2ndAmendmentDefender said...

Howard Dean: "Of course the healthcare law is a re-distribution of wealth"---

http://www.breitbart.tv/howard-dean-of-course-health-care-law-is-redistribution-of-wealth

Their arrogance is appalling!

Anonymous said...

Joanie, I discovered AADB about 3 years ago and I've made it a practice to stop by here about once a week to see if anything knew was posted. I think I've only written a comment once or twice but I have been a faithful reader.

You have a gift, Joanie. And your vision is clear and uncorrupted. I have been a physician for more than 40 years, a vascular surgeon, and although I have watched my country deteriorate gradually over my time in medicine I have never seen a more dangerous and threatening time than this past year under the Obama adminitration and Pelosi and Ried.

American medicine will never be the same. Bureaucrats will ruin both the healthcare industry and the average American's ability to benefit from it.

You have said before, and I will reiterate: There is no greater evil than one man's desire to rule over another. Freewill is God's greatest gift to us and we are losing ours, thanks to a handful of evil men.

I will miss this blog, and I thank you for keeping it up and running for 4 years.

James Knight, M.D.

Luis said...

Joanie,

I have been on my my travels lately hence late to read your post and late to comment.

All I can say is that if this concludes AADB, it goes out on the same high standard it has always shown.

I will miss your writing and I only hope that it may yet reappear.

I am sorry that AADB ends with such a conclusion but I accept that the apathy of the general population is almost as culpable as those in leadership who seek to take their hard won freedoms.

All the best Joanie. You will be missed.

Anonymous said...

I share everyone's great disappointment that this site is closing down. I read here alot. I will miss the sanity.

J. D. Bullock

Arlene Albrecht said...

I'm really sorry to hear that you won't be keeping this blog running, Joanie. Like the rest of the posters, I am going to miss your clear thinking commentary. I hope you will rethink your decision, but if you don't I want to thank you for all the great writing. God bless you!

Anonymous said...

No no no no no no no no! You can't leave!

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry to hear you are leaving us, but completely understand your reasons. God bless!

Mark Ellenberger

Anonymous said...

Ok Joanie, you have had your vacation. Now it's time to come back.

I miss you

B4Ranch

Anonymous said...

Joanie, when I heard about Dendreon's new prostate cancer drug being okay'd by the FDA yesterday and saw how the stock skyrocketed, I seemed to remember you writing a long column on that stock and that drug a long time ago, so I just spent about a half hour trying to find the column here, and I did!

You were right on the money!!!!!

Do you still own shares? If you do, can I borrow a million dollars or so?

Just kidding. Congratulations!

Ken O'Donnell

joanie said...

'Minuteman' and Rob,

Thanks for the very kind words. I value your friendship and look forward to continuing the fight together. :)

~ joanie

joanie said...

3timesalady,

Thank you for the kind words. As I recall, if was your daughter who was interested in piano a year or so ago. I hope she is doing well!

Best to you and yours in these troubling times ...

~ joanie

joanie said...

John Galt,

Thank you, also, for the very kind words, and for all of the excellent commentary you have contributed on the thread here over the past four years.

You are a modern American patriot, and it has been a privilege to include your writing here.

Best to you and yours ...

~ joanie

joanie said...

Dave,

Your support here over the past four years has been invaluable. Rick and I value your friendship more than you may know, and we look forward to continuing the fight right alongside you in the months and years to come.

~ joanie

joanie said...

Steve and Lori,

Thanks for the very kind words. Rick and I wish you both the very best!

~ joanie

joanie said...

John Bohannon,

You've made my day! Please continue to watch Glenn Beck. He is our last best hope -- a modern day Thomas Paine/Sam Adams.

Thank you for sharing the story of your 'awakening'. :)

~ joanie

joanie said...

J.B.B. --

Thank you for the very kind words, and best to you and yours in these troubling times ...

~ joanie

joanie said...

Barry,

Thanks for the kind words, as always. I enjoy our talks, even though we don't seem to solve many of the world's problems through them. :) It's good to know there are a handful of people in our area who 'get it'. :)

God bless you, friend!

~ joanie

joanie said...

Glenda,

Thank you for the very kind words, and for sharing what you have found here with others.

~ joanie

joanie said...

Dr. Knight,

I truly appreciate what you have written here, and I wish you and yours all the best in the future.

God bless you!

~ joanie

joanie said...

Luis,

Thank you for the kind words. I think of you and K and N often, especially now, as you are nearing this crucial election.

Best to you and yours ...

~ joanie

joanie said...

J. D. Bullock,

Thank you for checking in and letting us know that you have been here before. Best to you and yours ...

~ joanie

joanie said...

Arlene and Mark,

Thanks for the kind words. Best to you and yours in these troubling times ...

~ joanie

joanie said...

B4Ranch,

I probably won't be coming back, but a appreciate your sentiments (especially considering their source). :)

God bless you!

~ joanie

joanie said...

Ken,

Yes, I have been in Dendreon since the beginnings of their clinical trials back in '02. It's been a long seven-plus years, but patience was rewarded -- and I am so thankful that present and future victims of prostate cancer will finally have access to this revolutionary treatment that harnesses the body's own immunie system to fight this dreaded disease.

~ joanie

Anonymous said...

I'm very sorry to see you stop this. :-(

Judy Taylor said...

So sad to see you stop posting.

Jeff Head said...

God bless you Joanie, and all you have done for this nation over the years, both locally there in pA, and around the country via rallies and particularly via the internet.

You voice, and the truths you have shared are a shining light and will remain so.

Our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ still rule in the heavens and here on earth. I stand with Exra Taft Benson, and so many others, including George Washington who believe He is still watching over America...even in these our darkest hours...and He will see that the millions of efforts for the truth and light...like yours...shall not be in vain.

2010 sent a message, I pray 2012 resounds with it and gives us one more opportunity, yet another chance from a merciful God, who sees our efforts and finds them acceptable, to turn back the clock like Reagen did in the 80s.

God grant it be so.

I thank you, my dear friend, both you and your wonderful husnabd, Rick, for your friendship, your patriotism, your christ-like faith and example for all to see.

I count it an honor to know and be numbered as friends with you both. i look forward to the time when we can meet again, be it here, or at the feet of our Savior either with Him in yonder heaven, or in the air when He returns.

Sincerely,

Jeff Head