“And now, to you Sir Winston – my old friend – farewell!”

Sir Winston Churchill. November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965

"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter." -- Sir Winston Churchill

That momentous meeting between Sir Winston and his Maker occurred 43 years ago today as the world relinquished and Heaven reclaimed the mighty soul of Sir Winston Churchill. Never one to allow mere mortality to get in the way of a grand entrance, Sir Winston had of course prepared for the occasion in his inimitable fashion, with a plan he dubbed, “Operation Hopenot.”

“I want lots of soldiers and bands,” he had instructed his funeral administrators, lead among whom was no less than the Queen herself. He had his soldiers and bands, and then some, in an affair of pageantry, pomp, ceremony, and tradition scarcely paralleled before or since. (We strongly recommend your reading this exquisite accounting of the event from the 5 February, 1965 issue of TIME magazine; a once factual and well-written publication.).

Times have changed since Sir Winston’s passing. One is tempted to expound on the devolution of Western culture that began seemingly minutes after his demise. How buried with him, it seems, was also the reverence we once knew for honor, nobility, duty, courage, chivalry, and bold individualism; virtually all of that replaced now with sensationalism, socialism, entitlement mentality, and the cult of perpetual puberty. One could expound on that, (and we regularly do!), but not now.

We shall instead reserve this space for some words from our dear friend General Dwight D. Eisenhower who eulogized Sir Winston at his grand funeral. The General saw, as do so many of us, how unique and significant a gift to the world was the presence of Sir Winston Churchill, a presence which death could diminish only slightly.

“To those men Winston Churchill was Britain,” explained Ike, referring to British and America soldiers during World War II. “He was the embodiment of British defiance to threat, her courage in adversity, her calmness in danger, her moderation in success.”

Later Ike speaks of the friendship, both personal and national, between Sir Winston and he; Britain and America.

“The war ended, our friendship flowered in the later and more subtle tests imposed by international politics. Then, each of us, holding high official posts in his own nation, strove together so to concert the strength of our two peoples that liberty might be preserved among men and the security of the free world wholly sustained.”

Finally, General Eisenhower concluded his remarks with an eloquence few of us knew he possessed and which moves us still into near inconsolable blubbering.

“At this moment, as our hearts stand at attention, we say our affectionate, though sad, goodbye to the leader to whom the entire body of free men owes so much.

In the coming years, many in countless words will strive to interpret the motives, describe the accomplishments, and extol the virtues of Winston Churchill—soldier, statesman, and citizen that two great countries were proud to claim as their own. Among all the things so written or spoken, there will ring out through all the centuries one incontestable refrain: Here was a champion of freedom.

May God grant that we—and the generations who will remember him—heed the lessons he taught us: in his deeds, in his words, in his life.

May we carry on his work until no nation lies in captivity; no man is denied opportunity for fulfillment.

And now, to you Sir Winston—my old friend—farewell!”

Indeed, my dear General. Indeed!

Cheers,

Charlie

Harry Potter and the Sword of the Caliphate

In times of national peril, Sir Winston Churchill often conjured references from Great Britain’s prodigious literary heritage to stir the patriotic passions of the British people and rally them to defend their homeland and all it stood for.

Modern Britons, however, are much too cosmopolitan and enlightened to be moved by the hackneyed melodrama of Shakespeare, Dickens, and Scott. They require literary stimuli of a far more sophisticated and compelling nature. Therefore, in an effort to rouse and rally Britons to get up off their duffs and confront the national peril at present – Islamic Usurpation of all things British in Britain – allow us to reference a more contemporary jewel of Brit Lit: Harry Potter.

We are unaware of the politics of J.K. Rowling, authoress of the Harry Potter book series. Nonetheless, in the most recent Potter film based upon her book, The Order of the Phoenix, she provides a near perfect allegory for the slow suicide which Britain is currently in the process of committing. In the story, Harry, our young wizard hero, finds his beloved school of magic taken over by a corrupt government entity, The Ministry of Magic. The Ministry’s first order of business is to gut the school’s Defense against the Dark Arts program wherein it had prepared students to defend themselves against the very real evils they may well encounter in their future magical exploits. Accompanying this effort is the Ministry’s campaign to discredit and silence Harry and all others who have personally fought those very real evils and who seek to warn their contemporaries of the gathering storm. In this way the Ministry is serving to clear the path for the evil overlord of the dark forces so that he might re-enter the wizarding world at the time of his choosing and take full control with nary a peep of resistance.

That is fiction. Here is reality. British educators are dutifully removing references to Sir Winston Churchill, Adolph Hitler, and the Holocaust from their curricula. The British government seeks to eradicate terms such as "war on terror" and "Islamic extremism" and “London is a battlefield” from political discourse. And The Ministry of Justice is busily hounding those few brave souls seeking - at their own risk - to warn of the gathering storm. One such brave soul on our radar screen (and the radar screen’s of an ever-increasing many) is a young blogger named Paul Ray, otherwise known as Lionheart.

“Britain is burning, Britain is burning, and America is next,” declared Lionheart in a recent interview on Political Vindication Radio. “My government is in fear. My people are in fear of Muslims. That’s no way for us to be living. That’s not how I’m going to live anyway. I’d rather die who I am as a person standing up for what’s right rather than bow down and be a weak pathetic little coward.” Such earnest passion is reminiscent of the melodrama mentioned earlier, and thus proves irritating to the modern sensibilities of contemporary British authorities. In fact, for statements such as these, Paul Ray – Lionheart – is to be arrested by the British government.

And yet he roars on.

“In the north of England, you had twelve year old little girls being targeted by gangs,” Lionheart explains. “You’ve got shopping centers with Muslim security guards and men spotting the little children. Then the runners who go in and ply the little children with money and cigarettes and whatever. And then you’ve got taxi drivers that take them away. And then they ply them with drugs and then they start trafficking them amongst their Muslim friends. People have known about all this for a while but the actual exposure’s only come out recently because the government wanted to keep it quiet. The police didn’t want to do anything about it for fear of ‘breaching community cohesion.’ So our young children are being forced to endure this degradation, this depravity.”

Because of cases such as these, and many others, most of which are happening in and around his hometown of Luton, England, Lionheart is – to put it mildly - very angry. His blog has been a means of venting his rage and making the public aware of the gathering storm.

“We’re not calling people to go marching in the streets killing people,” explained Lionheart. “All we’re doing is saying to people, look wake up, you know. Wake up! Telling our neighbors, telling our friends, wake up. Look at what’s surrounding us. And the internet is that battle line. That is our war front at this moment in time. Who knows when all that’s going to change?”

Well if the British Ministry of Justice has its way, it will change very soon.

“If you look at my blog, I haven’t said come on let’s kill these people. All I’ve done is written the truth. Now they’re trying to silence me.”

Now that the word is out however, across the blogosphere and across Blog Talk Radio, silencing Mr. Ray’s lion heart may prove more difficult than the Ministry had originally hoped.

Speaking on behalf of “Keyboard Warriors” the world over, Political Vindication host, Shane Borgess, assured Lionheart, “You’ve got a lot of people that are dedicated to the battle you’re fighting. It doesn’t matter that we’re on different continents my friend.” (Not surprising that our American friends are drawn to Mr. Ray’s righteous defiance.)

“People can be complacent now about what’s happening,” continued Lionheart. “But you’ve only got to look at the facts now to think ‘what’s it going to be like in twenty years or thirty years for my children, my grand children? What are they going to face if we don’t do something now?’ In America you’ve got thirty or forty years to wait. In Great Britain, it’s happening on the ground now. Our communities are being overrun.”

For now, Mr. Ray is taking refuge in America; perhaps the first of many Britons soon to do so. When a caller during the program posited the question, “Where do you think the final stand is going to be,” host Borgess proudly chimed in, “It’ll be America again, baby!”

At this juncture, it appears that will quite likely be the case. But what of Britain? Has she truly abdicated her sovereignty to the European Union, her soul to Islam, and her defense to the United States? For what reason? Fear? Apathy? Cultural self-hatred? Wither the isle of Blackstone, of Burke, of Churchill who, when staring into the maw of Nazi dominion spat:

“Nations which went down fighting, rose again. But those who surrendered tamely, were finished. If this long island story of ours is to end at last, let it end only when each one of us lies choking in his own blood upon the ground.”

Is Lionheart all that remains of this? We hold fast to the belief that this is not the case. We hold fast to the belief that righteous British patriotic passions merely lay dormant at present, lulled to sleep by the lullaby of popular culture. Would that we could convince that culture to join Lionheart in crying, “Wake up! Look at what’s surrounding us.”

Which brings us back to Miss Rowling’s Harry Potter. We realize Miss Rowling has retired the series, but one last book/film combo may just be the ticket. Our recommended title:“Harry Potter and the Sword of the Caliphate.” With the full force of the Potter juggernaut behind it, this message would reach billions worldwide and might even stoke the passion for freedom yet smoldering in the hearts of Britons and liberty lovers around the globe. (Note to Miss Rowling: For a small portion of the proceeds, I am happy to offer my services in composing the original manuscript.)

Until such time (we advise not holding your breath), it remains for we bloggers to sound the warning bells.

“The battle takes many fronts now,” Lionheart explained. “We’re living in the 21st century. The computer, the Internet is a medium and it’s a forum to educate people to the truth that surrounds them.”

Let us continue to do so my fellow bloggers. And let us fight any and all ideologies and institutions that would silence our efforts to honor Sir Winston’s clarion call:

"We must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence.”

Cheers,

Charlie

P.S. We highly recommend you listen to the entirety of Mr. Ray’s interview on Political Vindication radio from January 17, 2008.
Also on The Gathering Storm radio program from January 18, 2008
Mr. Ray’s blog, of course - Lionheart - also a must visit at http://www.lionheartuk.blogspot.com/

An Assault on Free Speech

“All this means that the people of any country have the right, and should have the power by constitutional action, by free unfettered elections, with secret ballot, to choose or change the character or form of government under which they dwell; that freedom of speech and thought should reign; that courts of justice, independent of the executive, unbiased by any party, should administer laws which have received the broad assent of large majorities or are consecrated by time and custom. Here are the title deeds of freedom which should lie in every cottage home. Here is the message of the British and American peoples to mankind. Let us preach what we practise - let us practise what we preach.”

- Sir Winston Churchill, March 5, 1946

Britain - birthplace of Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, the English common law, and a blogger named Lionheart.

Lionheart is to be arrested by British authorities for making his case, speaking his mind, exercising his God-given right of free speech. But they haven’t silenced him yet. Here’s your chance to hear him for yourself! Our good friends at Political Vindication Radio - where freedom of speech and thought do reign - will interview Lionheart LIVE Thursday, January 17 at 6 pm Pacific/Friday, January 18 at 2am in the UK. Call in at 646-652-4598 and exercise your right of free speech to support Lionheart’s exercising his.

Remember – even you Lefties – if they get him now, it'll be the bloody rest of us tomorrow!

Cheers,

Charlie

Churchill’s Parrot Launches Anglosphere Consortium Blogroll

Churchill’s Parrot Launches

Anglosphere Consortium Blogroll

January 14, 2008. Surrey, England – Charlie, Churchill’s Parrot, former pet and advisor to Sir Winston Churchill (1937-1965), announced today the inauguration of a new blogroll: “The Anglosphere Consortium.”

“With the escalation in instances such as those presently being endured by Lionheart and Ezra Levant, wherein the heretofore unalienable rights of citizens of Western nations are being threatened by the very governments sworn to protect them, it is clear the Left’s 40 plus year campaign to defame Western Civilization is reaping dividends,” said Churchill’s Parrot in his remarks at The Anglosphere Consortium’s official inauguration ceremony. “Since roughly 1965, all we have told ourselves is that we are racist, greedy oppressive goons deserving of nothing but humiliation and defeat. Not overly surprising then to see we have all but completely lost the will to uphold our principles and defend our heritage, and are in fact turning on ourselves,” Churchill’s Parrot continued. “Mankind is not served by our cowering. It is high time the citizens of Western Civilization cast off this yoke of self-loathing, reacquaint themselves with their profound contributions to human advancement thus far, and, led as always by the English-Speaking nations, get back to their ‘common duty to the human race’ as declared so eloquently by Sir Winston Churchill in 1946.

‘We must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence.’”

Churchill’s Parrot said that in his flights about the blogosphere he has encountered a number of sites and organizations that have taken Sir Winston’s clarion call to heart. “It is paramount that we showcase these efforts and emphasize their common advocacy of this geo-political phenomenon, the awareness of which has perhaps never before been more urgently needed,” said Churchill’s Parrot citing the external threat of Islamo-fascism and the internal threat of institutional spinelessness. “Thus, The Anglosphere Consortium”

An Anglosphere Consortium blog (http://anglosphereconsortium.blogspot.com/) provides bloggers with the means to join the consortium as well as a reading list by which to educate themselves further on the concept. The blogroll’s logo features an image of Sir Winston set within a field comprised of the American, British, Australian, and Canadian flags. “Clearly there are more English-speaking nations,” explained Churchill’s Parrot. “These, however, form the power-core of the Anglosphere if you will, despite Britain’s best efforts of late to prove more Euro and Islamo than Anglo!”

The blogroll is open to anyone who sees value in the concept. Nonetheless, Churchill’s Parrot anticipates mischaracterization from the usual suspects. “I fully expect this effort to be derided as some sort of neo-fascist white supremacist web ring by those Lefties and Islamaniacs for whom the term ‘Anglo’ means nothing more than ‘white.’ That the English-Speaking Peoples have willingly sacrificed more blood and treasure than any other defending the rights of their fellow man, regardless of color or creed, is lost upon them. Sad really. Bloody wankers.”

Churchill’s Parrot invited attendees to explore the blogroll and the blogs of its constituents, then concluded his comments, as he is wont to do, with a quote from Sir Winston.

“The preservation of what Sir Winston christened The Special Relationship - the essence of today’s ‘Anglosphere’ - was, in his mind, vital to human survival,” said Churchill’s Parrot. “He made this quite plain when addressing a group of young students at Harvard University in 1943 as he declared, ‘To the youth of America, as to the youth of all the Britains, I say, you cannot stop. It must be world anarchy or world order.’ Many of us today concur!”

###
Via his web log, http://www.churchillsparrot.com/, Charlie, Sir Winston’s 107 year old pet parrot, endeavors to reinvigorate flagging Western Civilization through regular injections of the Churchillian spirit, so desperately lacking in the enfeebled, addle-brained “culture” left us in the wake of the 1960’s.

Noblesse Oblige - I hereby Surrender Myself to the Bedfordshire Police

Citing the Public Order Act of 1986, Part III, Article18, Britain's Bedfordshire Police Department has requested that all bloggers who have at any point written ill of the actions of Islamofascists please turn themselves in for questioning at their earliest convenience, preferably no later than January 25, 2008 at 11:59 PM. In short this includes all "Right Wing" bloggers. Unbeknownst to us and our neanderthal sensibilities, we have quite likely been "stirring up racial hatred" and are thereby in violation of the statutes detailed in Public Order Article 18, the punishment for which is described in Article 27.

Violators are asked to kindly report themselves to the following:

Greyfriars Police Station, BEDFORD- Hate Crime Unit

Greyfriars, Bedford. MK40 1HR DC 5398
Ian Holden - Telephone 01234 841212 Ext 5356

This request is being made following the Bedfordshire bobbies uncovering of what is perhaps the blogosphere's very e-portal to hell: the blog know as Lionheart. Subsequently, Mr. Lionheart is to be arrested for questioning and may well be convicted of "Racial Hatred" as defined by the Public Order Act of 1986. The complaint against Mr. Lionheart, of course, does not actually define his offense, but we would guess it has to do with his cataloguing of all the threats, intimidations, rapes, and murders committed by "Asians" within Britain against Britons and Britishness that has stoked the ire of Public Order enforcers. That the instances cited by Mr. Lionheart actually occurred is of no consequence. Merely citing them is an offense in the eyes of the truly enlightened and thus punishable by "imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or a fine or both." Thus spake England's Ministry of Justice!

Here, here. It is high time we Right Wingers evolve to the Progressive realization that Western Civilization and its myriad fetishes with individual liberty, limited government, human rights and other such rot is rancorous and loathsome, not at all in the interest of Public Order, and fully deserving of the fate the Islamists seek to bring upon it.

Therefore, immediately upon the successful uploading of this post, I shall turn myself in to the Bedfordshire Police. One quick perusal of my blog will make more than plain that I too am quite guilty. I advise all of you - from London to Los Angeles - to do likewise. Presuming, however, the Bedforshire Police lack the resources necessary to promptly accomodate the legions of racists hereby identified, we implore that you exercise patience and maintain civility throughout your surrender proceedings.

Cheers,

Charlie

Of Lionhearts and Bloody Cowards

Our good friend Shane Borgess, co-conspirator at http://www.politicalvindication.com/, has penned a masterpiece I simply must share with you all, not merely for its lyrical prose, but for its profound and disturbing subject matter as well. For now, I shall let Shane's words speak for me, as I have ripped the majority of plummage from my hind quarters and must now seek medical attention, so enraged did I become upon reading this. Best you take more care, eh? Nonetheless, we WILL have more to say on this.

Cheers,

Charlie

http://politicalvindication.com/?p=1629

The Burden Of Freedom Takes The Heart Of A Lion
By Evrviglnt January 5, 2008

“I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” - Thomas Jefferson

We Americans are sensitive about our liberty - it was won at a high cost and throughout our history good men and women have died far from home to protect it. Some of the liberties we insist on keeping are used by the irresponsible to prey upon the civilized, like the right to bear arms or the first amendment right to express our political thoughts. Some ask why we pay such a high price for the right to enjoy such adult liberties? Our answer is that human history has taught us that no life is “so dear, or life so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains or slavery.” What the European has dismissed we cherish, asking ourselves “what infringement on our freedom are we willing to endure for promises of peace and equality? ” In America, such questions are answered by our willingness to endure ignorance and insult, we believe that to ban expression because it hurts feelings creates a standard so low that we are all soon in chains. There has been a movement to impose such a standard here, but we reject it as unbecoming of a free people, while believing that the relationship between a government and the citizen is built upon the belief that there is inherent dignity due every one of us. When our government begins to believe that its citizens are not worthy of the liberties of a free people - not worthy of the dignity afforded a living soul - then the relationship becomes one of the authoritarian to the child, and we are not free any longer. It is the legacy of the West that we have empowered the free man to direct his government to protect his rights, for in human history freedom is rare and the seduction of the tyrant draws a line of shame in blood unbroken to this very day. So we have learned only that freedom is fleeting.

There is a choice for the free man. A battle of civilizations has broken out; on one side Western values of individual liberties and equality, on the other submission and order. One claims to unburden mankind from its fetters of prejudice and poverty, the other claims to unburden man of his arrogance and greed. One offers a world free to express human aspirations and ingenuity, the other a world free from chaos and sin. The dichotomy is stark, and as the world grows smaller and these two visions collide, the debate rages about the rude influence of Western freedom on Islamic submission, or in grander terms, democracy versus totalitarianism. In America, Western values define us, and we will abide a Serrano’s crucifix in urine rather than legislate permissible expression pegged to the subjective reactions of those injured. It is another battle in the larger confrontation between cultures clashing, but a battle on the home front as important as the one the soldier faces in Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan.

Britain, home of the sagacious Winston Churchill, finds itself suppressing again his wisdom and faith in freedom. The birthplace of Western values finds today those values inconvenient in a multicultural environment, where the diminution of Western culture seems a small price to pay for peace and stability. Ayaan Hirsi Ali would tell you that a free society cannot trade away its freedom to accommodate immigrants who deny themselves such things - a state must teach freedom or soon the free will find themselves boxed into an argument pitting the chaos of freedom against the order of submission. Mother England finds herself there now, home to a growing insolence that mauls the hand that feeds it. Extremists argue that freedom breeds entitlement and arrogance, and it does, for all the reasons every slave, woman or minority might argue from a position of oppression. It was once deemed liberal to insist on such libertine avenues of expression - but today liberals argue for order over liberty, and collude in the deconstruction of notions that once freed a people. After banning the gun and the blade, they have now come to ban the word. Calling it the ‘Public Order Act of 1986‘, they have dropped to a knee in response to those who claim that the outrage directed at their efforts to undermine freedom ought to be silenced. Islamists in Britain are using the nation’s own laws to defeat any opposition to its home grown insurgency against British culture and Western values.

There is a case in point I’d like to use. Those who blog and those who read our musings may not recognize it but what you see before you is proof of our freedom here in America. The ability to write and disseminate our thoughts without censorship is crucial to any functioning democracy. What do you call a society that censors its bloggers, or censors any free expression whatsoever? Authoritarian might be an apt description. An English blog has become a victim of the authoritarian state in its quest to enforce peace and tranquility. The blog is titled Lionheart, and its writer, who goes by the same name, writes forcefully about the growing Islamist threat inside Britain - doing so without threats of violence but vows of defiance. His site is loaded with history and outrage, and unabashed opinions about the appeasement approach his government has taken even after the 7/7 bombings by British Islamic terrorists that killed 52 people and wounded scores more. He certainly represents those Brits yet uncowed by Big Brother, and that might be why the multiculturalists have come after him. He has been alerted by Ian Holden of the Bedfordshire Police that based upon the complaint by an unnamed person he will be arrested upon arrival back to his home country. When he contacted the police for an explanation, they replied ” The offence that I need to arrest you for is “Stir up Racial Hatred by displaying written material” contrary to sections 18(1) and 27(3) of the Public Order Act 1986. You will be arrested on SUSPICION of the offence. You would only be charged following a full investigation based on all the relevant facts and CPS consent.” What has he written about that is worthy of imprisonment? They won’t tell him, they want to arrest him first then tell him. Here are the sections of the Public Order Act that the officer mentioned:

18. - (1) A person who uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or displays any written material which is threatening, abusive or insulting, is guilty of an offence if—
(a)he intends thereby to stir up racial hatred, or
(b)having regard to all the circumstances racial hatred is likely to be stirred up thereby.
and:
27. - (3) A person guilty of an offence under this Part is liable—
(a)on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding [ seven years ] or a fine or both;
(b)on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both.

The blogger Lionheart is being hunted by his government not for threatening the life of another, or urging the death of British Muslims, but for expressing thoughts considered offensive by those he intended to offend. Had this law been in force when Sir Winston Churchill stood and denounced Nazism and the Nazis that practiced such depravity, the savior of Britain would have been at the mercy of British Nazis who, with one complaint, could have had him silenced and imprisoned for insulting them. Are you curious to see what chains sound like when put into words? Then read the Public Order Act of 1986 - and imagine yourself confined to the sensitivities of those you disagree with! It would be near impossible to escape harassment, and would certainly prove paralyzing to anyone who dared depart from main stream opinion.
But the blogger stands and fights, and bloggers in England must understand that Lionheart fights for them as well, regardless of what they may think about what he has written. It is said that freedom is won wielding swords and armor and lost wearing silk slippers and robes. The decadence of the West has led to its slow demise, and from across the ocean, where God granted liberty is a reflection of inherent dignity, we see the English have left themselves in a very undignified condition. What is it that they are thinking will come from abandoning the right to rise up in outrage? How can they not see that they put their freedoms in the hands of those who care nothing for it? We must always teach the value of freedom, for we see ironically those that have it often forget what it was like without it. Whether what inspires such self loathing in the English is guilt or insecurity, they have abrogated the responsibility they have as a free people to prevent tyranny for ever darkening the globe again. Thank God there are still a few there like Lionheart who will fight, and God willing, will serve to inspire once again the will to carry the burden of freedom.

By Evrviglnt
http://www.politicalvindication.com/

The Bird’s Eye View on Iowa

At this junction of the American presidential horserace, we are compelled to reexamine the leading candidate’s positions regarding the gathering storm in Iran; whether you see it as such or not, the most important issue of this era. (Take it from one who’s been through all this before.)

For Ron Paul and the Democrats, the task is simple: it’s all Bush’s fault.

Examination of Republican positions, however, requires slightly more engagement of the intellect. Fortunately, our friends at The Israel Project have compiled key statements of all candidates for our perusal. Here I shall re-post those of the Iowa top “three”: Messer’s Huckabee, Romney, and Thompson/McCain. I shall then provide my invaluable commentary for further elucidation.

Iowa’s Choice #1 - Mr. Huckabee:

From Foreign Affairs magazine (Jan./Feb. 2008 edition)

“Whereas there can be no rational dealings with al Qaeda, Iran is a nation-state seeking regional clout and playing the game of power politics we understand and can skillfully pursue. We cannot live with al Qaeda, but we might be able to live with a contained Iran.”

What on its face appears reasonable is, upon further analysis, suicidal bolderdash. The Twentieth Century (namely World War 1, World War 2, the Cold War, The Gulf War, and throw in the September 11 attacks for good measure) was nothing less than a 100 year lesson on the disastrous ineffectuality of the concept of “containment.”

To his credit, Mr. Huckabee does not go so far as to recommend withdrawing military action from the table in attempts to persuade Iran to relinquish its nuclear ambitions. But we have heard language such as the following before, and it has ended – quite often – in disaster:

“When one stops talking to a parent or a friend, differences cannot be resolved and relationships cannot move forward. The same is true for countries. The reestablishment of diplomatic ties will not occur automatically or without the Iranians' making concessions that serve to create a less hostile relationship.”

We hope that either Mr. Huckabee or New Hampshire, come to their senses.

Iowa’s Choice #2 – Mr. Romney:

From his statement provided to The Israel Project (June 2007)

“To aggressively combat Iran's nuclear ambitions and exploit the regime's vulnerabilities, I have outlined a five-pronged strategy:

First, we should tighten economic sanctions. Denying Iran access to the international banking system is crucial. The U.S. and Europe should ensure that Iran finds it very difficult to obtain credit and make purchases in foreign currencies. In addition, I have called for strategic divestment among state pension funds from companies that support the Iranian regime's dangerous actions.

Second, we should isolate Iran diplomatically. Of course, we keep communication channels open. Yet, we should work to unite our allies against Iran’s actions and America should take no actions that legitimize Iran's defiance of the world. As part of this effort, Iran's President Ahmadinejad should be indicted under the terms of the Genocide Convention for incitement to genocide. As Governor, when former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami was invited to speak at Harvard University, I denied him state police security for his visit. It is wrong to welcome a person with open arms who has preached the destruction of Israel, developed nuclear technology, jailed dissident students in his country and has praised Hezbollah.

Third, Arab states must join this effort to prevent a nuclear Iran. These states should support Iraq's government; turn down the temperature of the Arab-Israeli conflict; stop the financial and weapons flows to Hamas and Hezbollah; and tell the Palestinians to drop their terror campaign and recognize Israel's right to exist.

Fourth, we must make it clear to the Iranian people that while nuclear capabilities may be a source of pride, it can also be a source of peril. The military option must remain on the table. The regime should know that if nuclear material from their nation falls into the hands of terrorists and is used, it would provoke a devastating response from the civilized world.

Fifth, our strategy must be integrated into a broader approach to the Muslim world. We must work with moderate Muslim communities and leaders to build a lasting Partnership for Prosperity and Progress - a global effort which would support progressive Muslim communities and leaders in every nation where radical Islam is battling modernity and moderation. This Partnership for Prosperity and Progress should help provide the tools and funding necessary for moderates to win the debate in their own societies. In the final analysis, only Muslims will be able to permanently defeat radical Islam. But we can and should support this effort.”

To the above we say verily, Amen. But the spud boy hair has got to go!

Iowa’s Choice #3a - Mr. Thompson:

From his commentary after speech given at Policy Exchange (June 2007)

“Obviously there are basically three choices that we have: Sanctions, regime change, or military option or fourth I suppose if you consider doing nothing… I think that we made some progress on sanctions but not nearly enough… but Iran is very vulnerable, I think, in many different ways… and some of these problems may work in our favor especially if we ratcheted the sanctions, certainly a blockade could also be an option… We are all in this together, the forces of civilization should be aligned against the forces of annihilation in this world.”

Bit light on detail, but the spirit is dead on. (After eight years of Bushie , you should all be used to this.) Mr. Thompson was also perhaps the most outspoken about the ridiculous NIE report of late.

From his statement issued Dec. 6, 2006

“The accuracy of the latest NIE on Iran should be received with a good deal of skepticism. It's awfully convenient for a lot of people: the administration gets to say its policies worked; the Democrats get to claim we should have eased up on Iran a long time ago; and Russia and China can claim sanctions on Iran are not necessary. Who benefits from all this? Iran.”

Score another point for home-spun, backwoods, American hillbilly insight!

Iowa’s Choice #3b - Mr. McCain:

From his address to Christians United for Israel (July 18, 2007)

“And every option must remain on the table. Military action isn't our preference. It remains, as it always must, the last option. We have some way to go diplomatically before we need to contemplate other measures. But it is a simple observation of reality that there is only one thing worse than a military solution, and that, my friends, is a nuclear armed Iran. The regime must understand that it cannot win a showdown with the world.”

We would submit that not EVERY option remain on the table (i.e. Mr. Thompson’s observation about the Left’s proposed policy of doing nothing.) However, Mr. McCain demonstrates some wisdom here, as he does in the following:

From his FOX news appearance (Dec. 9, 2007)

“The most over-rated aspect of our dialogue about international relations is direct face-to-face talks. BlackBerries work. Emissaries work. There's many thousands of ways to communicate. The question is are you going to have direct talks, and does that enhance the prestige of the president of Iran, who has said all these things about us, and has announced his country's continued distinction to the extinction of the state of Israel, or does it reach a successful conclusion? That's the question you have to ask when you talk about "face-to-face talks. "I'd remind you that when we stopped the bombing in Vietnam, we were going to talk in Paris. It took 2.5 years because of the shape of the table. Bombing started of Hanoi. And guess what? Negotiations started again.”

Here, here! I’ll take a ride on the Straight Talk Express for that.

There are, of course, numerous issues you all must take into account in selecting your candidate. We hope that our profile here has provided further clarity on what we believe to be the most pressing of all.

American conservatives - choose wisely. In terms of global security and defense of Western Civilization, England has abdicated virtually all responsibility. Your liberal counterparts are foolish children at best. More than perhaps ever before, the fate of the free world rests upon your decision. Do not make it lightly.

Cheers,

Charlie

SUNLIT UPLANDS: THE ANGLOSPHERE: NEW ATTENTION TO AN OLD IDEA

Excellent and inspiring analysis of The Special Relationship! Kudos to Mr. Cassidy. You have earned a widely-sought wave of the Churchill's Parrot wing. No need to thank us!

SUNLIT UPLANDS: THE ANGLOSPHERE: NEW ATTENTION TO AN OLD IDEA

Cheers,

Charlie
P.S. Will someone please forward this to Gordy Brown?!?!

Happy New Year 1938!

"I never worry about action, but only about inaction." - Sir Winston Churchill

Jews flee their homes amid increasing state persecution. A belligerent little dictator arms his nation against the will of the international community, promising genocide. The Western powers, befuddled by their own notions of “keeping the peace” and cultural deference, do nothing.

Seventy years since, is it 1938 all over again?

Following your perusal of the links above regarding Appeasement 2008, we invite you to sample from the following collection of links regarding Appeasement 1938. See if you cannot smell any similarities between the ineptitudes of then and now in the face of gathering storms.

We do. And it is not at all a pleasant smell.

APPEASMENT 1938

What is Appeasement?

The Munich Agreement: The quintessential example of Appeasement.

Further details regarding The Munich Agreement

The Munich Agreement itself - Sept 29 1938

The subsequent debate in British House of Commons, October 3, 1938
(Sir Winston’s chillingly brilliant denouncement of the Agreement begins roughly halfway into the document. A MUST read!)

“This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.”

– Sir Winston Churchill

A bit of educational background and exercise regarding the matter

Interesting public opinion poll from England, 1938 regarding the matter
(So much for the wisdom of the people, eh?)

Splendid essay on Appeasement 1938

Free Republic collection of Sir Winston quotes regarding the travesty of Appeasement (and then some!) (Prepare to fall in love all over again!)

There's more to come, for we intend to "celebrate" this 70th anniversary of Appeasement the year through!

Cheers,

Charlie